The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria News

  • Kano suspends environmental sanitation exercise

    Kano suspends environmental sanitation exercise

    The Kano State Government has suspended the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, which is expected to hold on Saturday, due to a religious function that will take place on that date.

    This government made this known via a statement signed by the state Commissioner for Environment, Dr Ali Makoda, in Kano on Friday.

    The statement said that the religious function, known as Maukibi, was an annual religious rite of the Kadiriyya sect.

    “The Maukibi usually starts very early in the day and that ought to be considered; thus leading to the suspension of the monthly environmental sanitation, as Maukibi is an annual event,’’ the statement said.

    Kano residents, particularly members of the Kadiriyya movement, commended the state government for postponing the monthly environmental sanitation because of the ceremony.

    NAN

  • Man in court for beating girl who refused to go out with him

    Man in court for beating girl who refused to go out with him

    The Police on Friday arraigned a 25 -year-old motor  man, Isiaka Abiodun, who allegedly beat up a girl to pulp for refusing to go out with him before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

    The accused was arraigned before the Magistrate, Mrs O.I Raji, on a charge of assault.

    Abiodun, who resides at Agbede, Ibadan in Oyo State, pleaded not guilty and was admitted to bail in the sum of  N100,000 with two sureties.

    Raji ordered that the sureties should be gainfully employed and show evidence of two years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

    According to the prosecutor, Sgt. Yomi Egunjobi, the accused committed the offence on December 14 at Ikeja, Lagos.

    He said that the accused beat up Miss Success Enebe for refusing his proposal.

    “The accused asked Miss Enebe out but she refused his proposal. Few days later, the accused attacked her  using a plank and injured her on the head.

    “After the attack, the accused ran away, leaving Miss Enebe bleeding from her injuries.” Egunjobi  said.

    He said the offence contravened Section 173 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015(Revised).

    The section stipulates three years imprisonment for assault.

    The case was adjourned until January 9 for mention.

    NAN

  • Australian PM fined $195 for not wearing life jacket on boat

    Australian PM fined $195 for not wearing life jacket on boat

    Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, was fined 250 Australian dollars (195 dollars) for not wearing a life jacket while moving his dinghy on Sydney harbour, a local media reported on Friday.

    Turnbull was moving the small vessel about 20 metres from a jetty to a beach near his harbour-side home when he was photographed by a paparazzo.

    The photo appeared in the Australian newspaper on Thursday and the Maritime Service division Chief, Angus Mitchell, told newsmen safety was paramount on the water.

    Mitchell said the prime minister would be fined the 250 dollar penalty for not wearing a life jacket while alone in a boat.

    Turnbull said on Facebook that he had learned his lesson.

    “I will make sure I always wear a life jacket in my dinghy regardless of how close I am to the shore, just as I always do on my kayak.

    “The rules can often seem very technical, but they are there to keep us safe and we should all comply with them,” Turnbull said.

    The fine came the same day a man drowned in waters off Sydney after his fishing dinghy capsised and two others had to be rescued by helicopter.

    According to news report, none of them was wearing life jackets.

    (dpa/NAN)

  • ‘Be loyal to the country’, IGP tells officers

    ‘Be loyal to the country’, IGP tells officers

    The Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, has enjoined officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force to rededicate themselves to their constitutional duty of protecting lives and property of Nigerians and foreigners resident in the country.

    Idris also called for diligence among the personnel even in the face of “undue hostility and unwarranted criticism of members of the force and its leadership by a spectrum of the Nigerian society in recent times”.

    He made the call at a get-together organised by the family and friends of a Cadet Inspector, Mr Idris Baba-Mohammed, at the Bida campus of the Niger Polytechnic, over his recent successful passing out and Presidential Commissioning from the force.

    Represented at the occasion by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Dibal Yakadi, the inspector-general described police job as one of the best jobs in the world.

    He, however, said that the job could also be hazardous, sometimes.

    He further said if the officers and men of the force, including the celebrator, were genuinely busy protecting lives and property of other people in the larger society without getting involved in unwholesome practices, God would also bless and protect such members and their families.

    Idris, therefore, advised the celebrator, including officers and men of the force, to further rededicate themselves in the service of their fatherland, exhibit discipline, be upright in their official conduct and obey lawful orders.

    “ You should always be courageous, prayerful, shun unwholesome acts capable of tarnishing your names, families and that of the Nigeria Police.

    “Be loyal to the country and constituted authority and make sure you always obey lawful orders and be prayerful at all times for Allah’s protection and blessings.”

    He stressed that if all the instructions were properly observed, they would get to the peak of their career, just as he warned the commissioned cadet to remain focused and make up his mind not to be influenced negatively by worldly things.

    NAN

     

  • ‘Change is on,’ says George Weah

    ‘Change is on,’ says George Weah

    Former football superstar, George Weah, took to his Facebook page to react to provisional results of Tuesday’s presidential runoff polls in Liberia.

    “My fellow Liberians, I deeply feel the emotion of all the nation. I measure the importance and the responsibility of the immense task which I embrace today.

    “Change is on’’, Weah wrote shortly after the results were released by the National Elections Commission (NEC), putting him in a comfortable lead to be the next president of Africa’s oldest republic.

    The former World Footballer of the Year who ran on the platform of the opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) is way ahead with 720,023 votes or 61.5 per cent.

    His rival and incumbent Vice President, Joseph Boakai, of the ruling Unity Party ( UP ) is far behind with 451,088 votes representing 38.5 per cent.

    Read also: George Weah set to become Liberia’s President

    The Chairman of NEC, Mr Jerome Korkoya, who released the results at a news conference in Monrovia on Thursday, said 98.1 per cent of the total votes cast in the polls had been counted.

    With pending results from just 104 or 1.9 per cent of polling places, Weah has sealed a massive victory as the successor to outgoing President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

    The announcement was greeted with massive celebrations by Weah’s supporters in the capital, Monrovia, and across the country.

    NAN

  • Turkey detains 201 IS members planning New Year attacks

    Turkey detains 201 IS members planning New Year attacks

    Turkish authorities have detained 201 suspected members of the Islamic State extremist group over the past 48 hours accused of planning attacks on New Year’s Eve celebrations.

    State-run Anadolu news agency reported that the police carried simultaneous raids in 14 separate provinces, netting 124 suspects with alleged ties to the Sunni extremist group on Thursday and another 77 on Friday.

    According to the news agency, the suspects included foreign nationals.

    Police seized documents and digital material that revealed plans for separate attacks on New Year’s Eve.

    The raids came nearly a year after an Islamic State gunman attacked the Reina nightclub in Istanbul as revellers were celebrating New Year’s Eve, killing 39 people.

    Read also: How Buhari doused tension between Nigeria, Turkey

    The Reina shooting preceded a wave of smaller attacks by Islamic State and hardliner Kurdish nationalists in Turkey in 2015 and 2016.

    The news agency reported on Wednesday, security forces in Istanbul cited security concerns in issuing a ban on New Year’s Eve celebrations in three central districts, including the iconic Taksim Square.

    Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, set aside January 1 as a public holiday.

    Trees and ornaments appear in public displays to mark the occasion, but Islamists have pushed back against them as symbols of Christmas.

    (dpa/NAN)

  • Italy to deploy 470 troops to tackle traffickers in Niger

    Italy to deploy 470 troops to tackle traffickers in Niger

    Italy aims to deploy up to 470 troops to Niger to help tackle traffickers, the military General Staff said.

    Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on December 24 that some of the 1,400 Italian troops now stationed in Iraq could be transferred to the Sahel region in West Africa, which includes Niger, after victories against Islamist militants in Iraq.

    Gentiloni said the redeployed troops could also help to combat terrorism in the Sahel.

    The military said in a statement that a reconnaissance mission was underway in Niger to help decide the scale of the assistance, which the African country’s government has requested but which still needs to be approved by Italy’s parliament.

    The general staff said if the necessary approval is given, Italy would aim to gradually send up to 470 troops, probably posting an average of 250 over the course of a year.

    Read also: Dogara leads Nigerian delegation  to Italy over Human Trafficking

    “The aim of the mission is to increase the operational capacity of the Niger forces and put them in a position to guarantee stability in the area and fight illegal trafficking of migrants,” the military added.

    Italy’s president dissolved parliament on Thursday ahead of an election due in March, but lawmakers will continue to meet, and could approve Gentiloni’s request to transfer the personnel.

    Italy is especially keen to help tackle the people-smuggling gangs because it has borne the brunt of seaborne illegal migration to Europe from Africa.

    No fewer than 600,000 people have made the perilous journey across the central Mediterranean from Libya in the past four years.

    Arrivals have fallen sharply since officials working for the UN-backed government in Tripoli persuaded smugglers to stop boats leaving and the Libyan coastguard stepped up interceptions at sea.

    (Reuters/NAN)

  • U.S. airstrike kills four al-Shabaab fighters

    U.S. airstrike kills four al-Shabaab fighters

    Four al-Shabaab fighters have been killed and a vehicle destroyed in a U.S. airstrike about 25 kilometres west of Somalia’s Capital, Mogadishu, U.S. Africa Command said on Thursday.

    According to a statement, no civilians were killed in the overnight strike that also destroyed a vehicle equipped with an explosive device, “preventing it from being used against the people in Mogadishu.’’

    The U.S. has been supporting operations against the Islamist militant group as part of its global fight against terrorism.

    The airstrike marks the second such attack this week.

    Read also: al-Shabaab executes four spies

    U.S. Africa Command said in a statement that it had killed 13 militia fighters in an airstrike in southern Somalia on Sunday.

    Al-Shabaab is seeking to establish an Islamist state in Somalia and is affiliated with the international al-Qaeda terrorist network.

    (dpa/NAN)

  • Fuel scarcity will end soon, DPR assures Nigerians

    Fuel scarcity will end soon, DPR assures Nigerians

    The Department of Petroleum Resources ( DPR ) on Thursday assured Nigerians that the lingering scarcity of petrol being experienced across the country will come to an end in the next few days.

    Mr Mordecai Ladan, the Director of DPR, gave the assurance after his inspection visit to some private depots in Lagos.

    Ladan said: “Petroleum products are coming in gradually; in most of the depots visited, some are being discharged, while there is assurance that some will come in again within 48 hours.

    “I think with all we have seen now in the depots visited, petrol should be available in all filling stations across the country in few days time.

    “The scarcity of petrol will soon ease out in days to come,” he assured Nigerians.

    Ladan appealed to the depots to focus more supply on the independent marketers’ filling stations, saying that they were most affected by scarcity of petrol.

    He said that independent marketers have filling stations in most major locations in the country, and most of them had not received supply for weeks.

    The DPR inspection team visited Folawiyo Energy Ltd., and NIPCO Tank Farm in Apapa.

    Read also: DPR, Oyo govt seal 10 filling stations in Ibadan

    At NIPCO, a vessel was discharging over 23 million litres of petroleum as at the time DPR team reached the tank farm.

    Mr Taofeek Lawal, the Head, Corporate Communications of NIPCO, said that about 300 petroleum tankers were waiting to load the product.

    Lawal said that with 23 million litres of petrol, the company would load over 600 tankers in two days.

    He said that NNPC had assured the company that another vessel carrying the product would arrive on Saturday.

    Lawal assured the DPR team that the company would work tirelessly to ensure that scarcity of petrol was ease out in few days.

    At Folawiyo Energy Ltd., Mr Dipo Makanjuola said that the depot had about six million litres of petrol and had been operating 24 hours to ensure that Nigerians get the product.

    Makanjuola said that the product belonged to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) and they were loading the product according to the directive of the corporation.

    According to him, the last time we received the product from NNPC was on December 23 and that is what we are loading; we hope to get another supply by Saturday.

    NAN

  • France repatriates three children of suspected jihadists from Iraq

    France repatriates three children of suspected jihadists from Iraq

    Three French-born children belonging to suspected Islamic State ( IS ) militants and who were being held by Iraq authorities have been flown back to Paris, France Capital, a foreign ministry official said on Thursday.

    The International Committee of the Red Cross ( ICRC ) said it was the first such repatriation of French children from Iraq.

    It has suffered a series of deadly militant attacks over the past three years and is grappling with the threat of homegrown militancy as well as the risks posed by IS fighters slipping back across French borders.

    “Their return was organised in coordination with the authorities in Iraq,” a foreign ministry spokesman told Reuters.

    French media reported that the family had left France for Iraq in 2015.

    “The father was killed during the battle for Mosul and Iraqi forces later detained the mother and her four children in July.

    “She and her youngest child remain in detention in Iraq,’’ Vincent Brengarth said, the lawyer acting on her behalf.

    Her three older children, aged between three and eight years, were now in foster care after arriving back on December 18.

    Reuters revealed in September that Iraqi authorities were holding about 1,400 foreign wives and children of suspected IS combatants at a single camp after government forces routed the jihadist group from Mosul, its last major urban redoubt in Iraq.

    However, it was not clear if the three children had been among the same group.

    French officials have indicated a preference for their citizens held in Iraq and found to be affiliated to IS to be prosecuted there, although in mid-November President Emmanuel Macron said the fate of women and children should be examined on a case-by-case basis.

    The head of France’s domestic spy agency last month said some 700 men and women either of French nationality or who had resided in France, as well as 500 children, were in Iraq and Syria or linked to the militants.

    Meanwhile several hundred others have already slipped back into France.

    (Reuters/NAN)