The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • U.S issues global travel alert

    U.S issues global travel alert

    The U.S state department has issued a global travel alert because of fears of an unspecified al-Qaeda attack.

    The department said the potential for an attack was particularly strong in the Middle East and North Africa.

    The United States intercepted electronic communications between senior al-Qaeda figures, according to officials quoted by the New York Times.

    BBC reports that the alert comes shortly after the U.S government announced nearly two dozen embassies and consulates would be shut on Sunday.

    The U.S state department said the alert expires on August 31 and it recommended America’s citizens travelling abroad be vigilant.

    “Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August,” the statement said.

    The alert warned of “the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure.”

     

     

  • Nigerian clubs must stop road trips – Eguma

    Nigerian clubs must stop road trips – Eguma

    Manager of the Nigeria Premier League side Dolphins, Stanley Eguma, believes the car crash suffered by Kano Pillars gaffer, Baba Ganaru, on Thursday highlighted the dangers players and officials of clubs campaigning in the domestic league face as a result of consistent road trips.

    Teams in the NPL honour games by road irrespective of the distances they have to cover and Eguma is shocked at the practice, supersport.com reports.

    “It is no secret that most roads in Nigeria are riddled with risks and difficulties. I don’t understand why all teams travel by road despite the dangers they face,” Eguma told supersport.com.

    The gaffer then took the time to discuss his plans on getting things up to speed in the NPL in that regard.

    “With effective marketing and branding, we can get corporate bodies and well-meaning individuals to partner with our cubs.

    “These sponsors would make the monies available and things will change.

    “The current situation does not allow teams to effectively express themselves, “he added.

     

  • Four die in Jigawa collapsed building

    Four children have died in a building which collapsed after a heavy down pour in Danzomo village of Sule-Tankarkar Local Government Area of Jigawa State.

    Malam Sabiu Danladi, a resident, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday that the house was built with mud.

    Danladi said the incident occurred at about 8:00pm shortly after the rain that lasted for hours.

    He said the children were in one of the rooms playing when the house collapsed.

    Habib Basiru, another resident, said they tried to rescue them but the effort did not yield positive result.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mr. Abdul Jinjiri, confirmed the incident.

    Jinjiri named the children as Abdullahi Abdu (6), Bashir Abdullahi (3), Maimuna Mansur (4) and Kabiru Yasir (6).

    He said another child who sustained injury was taken to a hospital.

     

  • Lagos Assembly confirms new Finance commissioner

    Lagos State House of Assembly has confirmed Mr. Ayodeji Gbeleyi as new Commissioner for Finance in the state.

    He was confirmed during Friday’s emergency plenary presided over by Majority Leader, Hon. Ajibayo Adeyeye, after a brief question and answer session with the lawmakers on the floor of the House.

    Governor Babatunde Fashola had in a letter, read on the floor of the Assembly, requested for the confirmation of Gbeleyi whom he nominated to replace Tokunbo Abiru, who resigned as commissioner for finance for new appointment on the board of the First Bank of Nigeria Plc.

    After a brief question and answer session, Gbeleyi, who had appeared before the House for the same purpose when he was nominated as Special Adviser at the commencement of Governor Fashola’s second term was asked to take a bow and leave.

    Gbeleyi, until his new appointment, was the Director General of the State’s office of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) before he was later appointed Special Adviser to the governor on PPP.

     

     

  • NUT plans strike over LG autonomy

    The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) on Friday resolved to stay off school system as from the beginning of the next academic session in order to force the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to stop any plan to grant autonomy to local government councils.

    Besides, the union insisted that even if the lawmakers are bent on granting autonomy to the local councils, it will not allow the abolition of states and local government joint account.

    NUT, however, gave a widow to the National Assembly and the state Houses of Assembly, saying that there must be a stable alternative platform for funding primary education in the country as such would guarantee regular payment of primary school teachers’ salaries.

    The union president, Comrade Michael Olukoya, who made this known in Abuja, said, “the union has resolved to stay off the school system as from the beginning of the next academic session as a temporary measure to secure the education of the less privileged in the country.”

    Although the position of the NUT is at variance with that of the mother union -the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Olukoya said NLC was on its own since the teachers must defend their source of income.

     

     

  • Aneke joins Crewe on loan

    Aneke joins Crewe on loan

    Arsenal and League one club Crewe Alexandra have agreed a loan deal for Nigerian youngster Chuks Aneke, futaa.com reports.

    The England Under-19 midfielder, who spent two productive spells with Crewe last season, has been in talks with the club according to media reports earlier in the week.

    The youngster will now join Crewe on an initial six-month loan deal and could be available for the friendly game against Rotherham on Saturday.

    Crewe boss Steve Davis who told the BBC that he was keen to repeat the dose and he had a chat with the 20-year-old about the plans to bring him back to Gresty road.

    Aneke, who had a fantastic pre-season tour of Asia with Arsenal’s first team scored eight goals in 38 appearances during his last two loan spells at Crewe.

     

  • Al Qaeda: FG sets to extradite Nigerian suspect

    The Federal Government has initiated extraction proceedings against a Nigerian, Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi, suspected to be member of the terrorist organisation, al-Qaeda.

    It has applied to a Federal High Court in Abuja for the extradition of Babafemi (32 years) also described as “Abdullah” and “Ayatollah Mustapher” to the United States, where he is being wanted for his alleged involvement in terrorism related activities.

    The FG, in an application for extradition filed before the court, exhibited a four-count charge marked:13CR-109-JG, filed against him before the U.S District Court of the Eastern District of New York and a bench warrant issued for his arrest by a U.S magistrate.

    He is charged with “conspiracy to provide support to a foreign terrorist organisation, provision and attempted provision of material support to a foreign terrorist organisation, unlawful use of firearms and conspiracy to unlawfully use firearms.”

    The offences, on conviction, attract a minimum sentence of 10 years and maximum of life imprisonment.

    Babafemi, who until now, was based in the U.S, fled to the country upon realising that he was to be arrested by operatives of the U.S Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

    He had since been arrested and is being held by the Department of State Services (DSS).

    Documents filed by the FG before the Abuja court revealed that the U.S authorities are of the view that Babafemi belongs to the “al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)” an affiliate of al-Qaeda.

     

     

     

  • Berlusconi rages at prison ruling

    Berlusconi rages at prison ruling

    Italy’s former Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has broadcast an angry video message after his prison sentence for tax fraud was upheld by the country’s highest court.

    Berlusconi said he was the innocent victim of “an incredible series of accusations and trials that had nothing to do with reality.”

    The court also ordered a further judicial review on whether he should be banned from holding public office.

    BBC reports that Berlusconi, 76, is unlikely to go to jail because of his age.

    While he is expected to serve out his sentence as house arrest, he has the option of asking to do community service instead, with the deadline for the application not expected to fall until mid-October.

    The ruling by Rome’s Court of Cassation, against which he cannot appeal, came after a three-day hearing. Berlusconi was not in court.

    In an emotional nine-minute video, Berlusconi denounced the decision as “based on nothing, and which deprives me of my freedom and political rights.”

    “No-one can understand the onslaught of real violence that has been directed against me following an incredible series of accusations and trials that don’t have any foundation in reality,” he said.

    He described the more that 50 court cases he has faced as “genuine judicial harassment that is unmatched in the civilised world.”

     

     

  • Wild TB cases discovered in Adamawa

    A mysterious disease attacking human spinal cord and subsequently paralysing some parts of the body suspected to be caused by a wild tuberculosis virus has been detected in Koma hills in Adamawa.

    Koma is in Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa.

    The Project Manager, Tuberculosis (TB) Control in Adamawa, Dr. Stephen John, said the development was a potential threat to the Koma hills community and the entire people of the state.

    John was speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) shortly after examining one of the affected patients at Nasarawo Koma village’s clinic on Thursday.

    Koma hills are located on the mountainous fringes bordering the Republic of Cameroon and Nigeria in Jada Local Government Area of the state.

    The late Col. Yohanna Madaki , former Military Governor of the then Gongola State, visited the mountains in 1989, and made the inhabitants to be well-known to the world.

    “The discovery of the Spinal Code TB case indicated that the disease has been in existence and deeply for quite a long time within the Koma communities.

    “The situation is a great challenge and potential threat to the entire Koma inhabitants and the people of the state,” John said.

    According to the project manager, the spinal cord TB infection is a serious disease that kills human being within a short time.

    He explained that the disease, if not detected early, caused paralyses of the body completely, and subsequently killed.

    He said that was the first time the spinal cord TB infection was being detected in the state.

     

  • Shariah court vacates custody order on ‘Islamic convert’ girl

    The whereabouts of Charity Uzoechina, the 25 year old lady allegedly forced to convert to Islam is currently unknown as the Sharia Court in Bida Niger state has vacated her order of March 4 that gave her custody to Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar.

    The vacation of the order was not unconnected with the intervention of the Presidency and Niger state government.

    The Court had on March 4th gave the Etsu Nupe the custody of the lady, an order that set the monarch at war part with the parents of the lady and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

    Upturning its earlier order following an appeal by Pastor Raymond Uzoechina, the father of the embattled convert, the Sharia Court Judge, Adamu Idris ruled that since the plaintiff is an adult, she was free to live wherever she desires to live.

    To this end, the judge said Charity who has since March has adopted Aisha as her new name in line with her new faith is free to determine wherever she wants to live without any hindrance.

    Charity had on the same day filed a suit against her father (Pastor Raymond). She sought the protection of the court and requested for an order to be kept in Etsu Nupe palace for fear that she may come to harm by her parents over her new faith.

    But her father challenged the order of the Sharia Court, claiming that the court lack jurisdiction to hear and determine the case because he is not a Muslim.

    As at the time of filing this report, the whereabouts  of Charity is said to be unknown as there were no indications that she has left the palace for any destination.

    It will be recalled that the Presidency had directed Niger State government to wade into the matter in order to avert the ensuing tension from snowballing into religious crisis.

    A stakeholders meeting held at the instance of the acting state governor, Hon. Musa Ahmed Ibeto at the Government House Minna resolved to ensure that the Sharia Court order was vacated to enable government reconcile the lady with her family.

    Ibeto after the meeting which was attended by the national Secretary of CAN, Etsu Nupe, the embattleD convert and her parents and other stakeholders, told journalists that state government will do everything humanly possible to reconcile Charity with her family but was handicapped by the court order that gave the royal father custody of the new convert.