The Nation Newspaper

Category: News Update

  • Adegbite, effective mouthpiece of Islam – CAN

    Adegbite, effective mouthpiece of Islam – CAN

    President, Christian Association of Nigeria , Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has described the late Dr. Lateef Adegbite as “an intellect, a distinctive spiritual charisma and an extremely popular and effective mouthpiece of Islam.’’

    Adegbite, Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), died in Lagos on Friday, at the age of 79.

    Oritsejafor said this in a statement released in Lagos on Sunday.

    The CAN leader said he was deeply pained by the demise of the Islamic scholar because he was “a visionary, passionate and consummate lover of peace.’’

    The cleric said that the late Adegbite was a unifying factor in his moderate and temperate approach to ethno-religious issues.

    “I received with shock the news of the death of Dr Lateef Adegbite, the Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), renowned Lawyer and former Attorney-General of the defunct Western Region.

    “The foundation of his message consists of joining religious belief and modern education, one that is based on positive activism, interfaith and intercultural dialogue.

    “Adegbite spent his career impressing on people that true religion preaches love, tolerance, open-mindedness, compassion, hard work, peace and many other values and practices that lead a person to virtue and perfection.

    “Indeed, he was a perfect influence on those who desire a better understanding of the Islamic religion. Nigeria and the international community will surely miss him,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Oritsejafor as saying in the statement.

     

  • ‘EFCC cannot do the work of the courts’

    ‘EFCC cannot do the work of the courts’

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has debunked claims that it has not made meaningful progress, stressing that the courts have the final say in convictions in cases of corruption.

    EFCC’s Secretary, Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye, made the declaration in Abuja on Sunday when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria.

    He said that the public misconception was based on the premise that once a person was alleged to have stolen money the person should be convicted immediately.

    “Between 2003 and now that the EFCC was established and started operating, we have had not less than 500 convictions of persons in various offences of money laundering, corruption, advance fee fraud, bank fraud, pipeline vandalism, or illegal oil bunkering.

    “There was no such record before then. We always look at today, and again, issues of justice are not things that you command to happen, you must follow the process.

    “And we should also remember that some few years back, particularly during the military regime, those attempts at instilling disciplines in ways other than through the rule of law became unsustainable, so we must realise that we must do things that we can sustain them over time.

    “We are aware that the public wants results now. That is the public perception. They hear that somebody is alleged to have stolen money they believe that you should just take him straight to the court and have him convicted. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t happen like that.

    “There is a process in all these, ‘’ Akomaye said.

    He told NAN that the commission had incurred damages from unconstitutional detention of persons alleged to have stolen funds.

     

  • Child killed in Kenya’s grenade attack

    Child killed in Kenya’s grenade attack

    A nine-year-old boy was killed and three other children wounded when a hand grenade was thrown into a Sunday school session in a church in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, police and medical staff told Reuters.

    Kenya has suffered a series of grenade attacks since it sent troops across the border into Somalia last October in pursuit of Islamist al Shabaab militants who it blamed for kidnapping its security personnel and Western tourists.

    The attack on the church came days after Kenyan troops launched a surprise offensive on the southern Somali port of Kismayu, the last stronghold of the al Shabaab, forcing the rebels to flee.

    Police said attackers threw the grenade into the Sunday school service in St. Polycarp’s church on Nairobi’s Juja Road.

    The grenade exploded, spraying the children with shrapnel and fatally injuring the boy.

    “We suspect this blast might have been carried out by sympathisers of al Shabaab,” said deputy police spokesman Charles Owino.

    “These are the kicks of a dying horse since, of late, Kenyan police have arrested several suspects in connection with grenades,” he added.

    Masked assailants launched simultaneous gun and grenade raids on two churches in the northern town of Garissa in July, killing at least 17 people.

     

  • U-17 Women World Cup: Nigeria through to quarterfinals

    U-17 Women World Cup: Nigeria through to quarterfinals

    Nigeria has qualified for the quarterfinals of the on-going U-17 Women World Cup tournament beating Colombia 3-0 on Saturday.

    The flamingoes will now meet France in the next round.

     

  • Islamic groups mourn Adegbite’s death

    Islamic groups mourn Adegbite’s death

    Various Islamic groups on Saturday paid glowing tribute to late Dr AbdulLateef Adegbite, describing his death as a big loss to the Muslim community and the nation.

    Adegbite, who until his death on Friday, was the Secretary-General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) died in Lagos at the age of 79.

    The groups in their various condolence messages described him as an exemplary leader and a lover of peace whose death had created a vacuum in the community.

    The groups include the NSCIA, Nigeria Inter Religious Council, (NIREC), Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, (MSSN), Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN)

    Others are Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association (UNIFEMGA), Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), National Council of Nigerian Muslim Organisations in the USA (NCNMO) and the National Council of Muslim Youths Organisations (NACOMYO).

    In his condolence message, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, National Coordinator of NIREC and Adegbite’s deputy at NSCIA, said “ we have lost an illustrious son of Africa’’.

    “As an academician, an erudite scholar and season lawyer, a political figure, a religious leader and founder of many Islamic societies and groups, the religious community has lost a rare gem,’’ Oloyede said.

    In his message, MURIC National Coordinator, Prof Ishaq Akintola said Adegbite lived a life of devotion and piety.

    “He promoted the golden qualities of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence even at the peak of worst crises and irrational provocation.’’

    Akintola said that Adegbite was a team player who steered the affairs of the Muslim Ummah with dexterity, adding that “Nigeria has lost a gem’’.

    In his tribute, national President of UNIFEMGA, Dr Abdulwahab Egbewole, said the death of Adegbite should be a lesson that “we need to do our best to serve Allah and leave our footprints in all the areas we may find ourselves’’.

    He described the deceased as “a consummate administrator, committed academic, focused religious leader, concerned community leader and a bridge builder’’.

    The MMPN Chairman, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said the demise of Adegbite was a great loss to the Muslim Ummah.

    He added that the deceased was instrumental to the formation of many professional Islamic organisations in the country with the aim of projecting Islam through their professional callings.

    NACOMYO said the death of Adegbite was a big loss to the Ummah.

    Mas’ud Akintola, NACOMYO Coordinator in Oyo State said Adegbite’s death had created a big vacuum for the Ummah and prayed Allah to grant him Aljannah Firdaus.

    Adegbite was born in Abeokuta, Ogun, on March 20, 1933 and attended Methodist School, Abeokuta and Kings College, Lagos.

    He co-founded and was the first national president of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria.

    Until his death, he was the Secretary General of NSCIA, and a member of Nigeria Inter Religious Council. (NAN)

  • Qatar Air aircraft in emergency landing at MMIA

    Qatar Air aircraft in emergency landing at MMIA

    A burst tyre forced a Qatar Air aircraft with 248 passengers on board to resort to emergency landing on Saturday at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.

    The aircraft was guided to land on the runway close to the cargo shed, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    Mr Ibraheem Farinloye, the South-West Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the National Emergency Management Authority , (NEMA), confirmed the emergency landing to journalists.

    The airbus 332 was said to have flew into Lagos from Doha.

    Farinloye said that NEMA received an alert from FAAN between 12. 55 p.m. and 1.00 p.m. that the aircraft with registration number A7AEE had landing challenges.

    “We are happy to inform you now that it had landed safely with the assistance of the various security and other agencies, such as the FAAN fire fighters, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), the police , Julius Berger officials and men of the Lagos State Fire Service.

    A source said that the pilot had suspected the problem and informed the control tower at MMIA to prepare emergency landing facilities for the jet liner.

    NAN observed that the aircraft was towed to the international air-side of the airport where the passengers on board disembarked.

    Eyewitnesses around the airport cargo shed said that the airbus plane roved in the air for about an hour before it finally landed. (NAN)

  • Chelsea beats Arsenal 2-1

    Chelsea beats Arsenal 2-1

    Chelsea handed Arsenal its first loss of the season, winning 2-1 on Saturday to consolidate top spot in the Premier League.

    A free kick that glanced off Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny into the net proved to be the winner in the 53rd minute, earning the European champions a fifth win in six league games and dealing a blow to one of their potential rivals for the title.

    So solid at the back this season, Arsenal’s defensive vulnerability returned at Emirates Stadium, looking unsure at set pieces with Fernando Torres beating Koscielny to another free kick by Mata to give Chelsea the lead in the 20th.

    “Defensively, we were not at the level we have to be in a game like this,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who may regret the decision to play Koscielny ahead of the in-form Per Mertesacker.

    The spotlight was also on a center back for Chelsea, with John Terry playing just two days after being banned for four games for racially abusing an opponent in a league game last year.

    With the defender contemplating whether to appeal the suspension, he remained available for Chelsea and shrugged off constant jeers from the home fans to deliver a largely composed display.

    Terry was fooled by the good movement of Gervinho for Arsenal’s equalizer in the 42nd, however. The Ivory Coast international peeled off the former England captain before controlling a cross by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and slamming an unforgiving close-range finish high into the net, maintaining his improvement this season after being handed the center-forward berth by Wenger.

    That was the first goal that Chelsea had conceded in four games but Roberto di Matteo’s side held on to secure victory in its toughest test yet this season, proving it has the mettle in defense and creativity up front to challenge the two Manchester clubs for the title.

    “I’m very pleased today with our performance,” Di Matteo said. “We played against a very good team and we didn’t allow Arsenal to get in a rhythm.”

     

     

     

  • NCC urges telecoms consumers to protect their rights

    NCC urges telecoms consumers to protect their rights

     

    The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah, on Friday urged telecommunications consumers in the country to protect their rights.

    Speaking at the First National Telecoms Subscribers Summit in Lagos, Juwah said they could do this by reporting to the appropriate authorities any unfair practice by the telecoms operators.

    The summit with the theme ”Nigerian Telecoms Revolution: Consumerism as the Last mile Challenge” was organised by the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS).

    Represented by the Director of Public Affairs, NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, Juwah urged the consumers to take advantage of the Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB), established by the commission to protect their rights.

    “In a bid to implement this mandate, the commission established the Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB) in September, 2001,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the NCC chief as saying at the forum.

    He said that one of the commission’s mandates was to protect and promote the interest of consumers against unfair practices from their service providers.

    According to him, there is a paradigm shift from mere service provision to ensuring that consumer satisfaction ranks highest in priority, in the provision of ICT goods and services.

     

  • Somali rebels pull out of Kismayu bastion

    Somalia’s al Shabaab rebels withdrew from their last major bastion of Kismayu overnight, the group and residents said, a day after Kenyan and Somali government forces attacked the southern port.

    The loss of Kismayu will deal a major blow to the al Qaeda-linked movement, weakening morale and depriving it of revenue, but is unlikely to mark the end of its five-year rebellion.

    The insurgents, who once controlled large swathes of the lawless Horn of Africa country, have been turning to guerrilla-style tactics, harrying the country’s weak government with suicide bombings and assassinations.

    “We moved out our fighters … from Kismayu at midnight,” al Shabaab spokesman, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, told Reuters on Saturday.

    Rage threatened to strike back. “The enemies have not yet entered the town. Let them enter Kismayu which will soon turn into a battlefield,” he said.

    Locals confirmed the militants had pulled out under the cover of darkness but said the Kenyan troops, fighting under an African Union peacekeeping force’s banner, and Somali soldiers were still camped on the city’s outskirts.

    “Al Shabaab has not perished, so the worry is what next,” said local elder Ali Hussein.

    One man who was loudly celebrating the departure of al Shabaab fighters from the city was shot dead by two masked men, residents said.

     

     

  • Europe foreign ministers want equal representation in UN Council

    Europe foreign ministers want equal representation in UN Council

    European Foreign Ministers on Friday called for greater representation of countries in the United Nations Security Council.

    German Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, Netherland Foreign Minister, Uri Rosenthal, and Malta Deputy Prime Minister, Tonio Borg, made the call at the ongoing debate of the 67 General Assembly of the UN.

    They urged the Security Council to adapt to a dynamic and changing world.

    “We will weaken the Security Council if we fail to adapt it to today’s world. It cannot be that Latin America and Africa have no permanent seats in the Security Council or that dynamic Asia has only one seat.

    “That does not reflect the realities of today’s world, and more especially, it does not reflect the realities of tomorrow’s world. The challenges are too great for us to simply accept the status quo,” Westerwelle said.

    On the crisis in Syria, the German Foreign Minister said that the Security Council had failed to live up to its responsibility to protect the people in that country and called on the Council to break its diplomatic deadlock.

    The News Agency of Nigeria says he warned that the escalating violence in the Middle Eastern country risked engulfing the entire region.

    “As we Germans have experienced what it is to lack freedom in the course of our own history, we will always stand by those who, wherever they are in the world, call for freedom.

    “Our values and our interests compel us to take the side of those around the world who are fighting peacefully for freedom, dignity, and self-determination,” he said.