May 2019

Adamu confirmed as IG, promises to restructure police

Begging bandits is not a security strategy

May 5, 2019 10:40 pm

Dear Police Inspector-General Mohammed Adamu,

You cannot tackle the atrophic security threat assailing the country by pandering to the whims of the antagonists. Of course, being a sterling security professional, you know this; hence my befuddlement by your statement at the meeting in Kebbi State few days ago.

At the indaba with the leaders of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), you were quoted to have said these words by national newspapers: “We will take measures to dialogue with the bandits to become better citizens, but if that fails we will deal with them.”

Dear IGP, when did …

Nigeria records ₦27b foreign portfolio deficit in Q1

May 5, 2019 10:18 pm

Nigeria suffered a net deficit of N26.6 billion in foreign portfolio transactions in the first quarter (Q!) of this year amidst fears of political and macroeconomic uncertainties.

A report on foreign portfolio investments (FPIs) obtained over the weekend indicated that the country recorded a negative balance of N26.6 billion in inflow and outflow transactions by foreign portfolio investors in Q1 as against a positive balance of N30.88 billion recorded same period last year.

The report also showed that foreign portfolio transactions dropped by N159.95 billion in Q1, representing a decrease of 41.89 per cent from the turnover in Q1 of …

Bandits attack: 2,277 people displaced in Niger

Unknown gunmen kidnap Permanent Secretary in Taraba

May 5, 2019 9:53 pm

The Permanent Secretary in the Taraba State Ministry of Water Resources, Mrs. Susana Jonathan, has been abducted by unknown gunmen, it was learnt yesterday.

Mrs. Jonathan was allegedly abducted from her home at ATC in Jalingo, the state capital, at about 2:17am, residents told reporters.

The news came barely five days after the Deputy Registrar of the Taraba State University, Jalingo, Mr. Sanusi Sa’ad, was kidnapped in the university’s quarters, a few meters from the house of the abducted permanent secretary.

2019 UTME: JAMB begins biometric verification of candidates

May 5, 2019 9:41 pm

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has begun the biometric verification of the 1.8 candidates who sat for this year’s unified tertiary matriculation examination, it was learnt yesterday.

It was further learnt that the exercise embarked upon by the board, was responsible for the delay in releasing the UTME results conducted from April 11 to April 18.

The board has already carried out biometric verification of candidates in 31 states.

CBN: ₦2b stolen as fraudsters target Mobile Apps users

May 5, 2019 9:27 pm

Going by the record of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), e-fraudsters have fleeced customers of self-initiated banking solutions, such as Mobile Apps and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) of about N2.08 billion in the last one year.

CBN Director, Payment System Management, Sam Okojere, who broke the news at the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) general meeting in Lagos, said that customers of banks, Other Financial Institutions (OFIs), digital wallets and remittance players are prime targets for cyber criminals seeking quick monetisation of stolen credentials.

Trump confirms death of Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza

Trump threatens to increase tariff on Chinese goods

May 5, 2019 9:06 pm

US President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States would raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25 percent this week, because trade talks are moving “too slowly.”

Trump’s action came as a major Chinese delegation is expected to arrive Wednesday in Washington for the latest round of talks to end the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies — a round billed as the last one and possibly leading to a deal to end the conflict.

“For 10 months, China has been paying Tariffs to the USA of 25% on 50 Billion Dollars of High …

Tonto Dikeh quits Nollywood, turns Bible preacher

May 5, 2019 7:05 am

Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh may have dumped the movie industry as she took to her Instagram page to preach to her fans about God’s love for his people.

Dikeh’s action is coming less than 24 hours after the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) threatened to sanction her over “bad behavior” exhibited concerning her marriage.

Chairman of the AGN BOT Prince Ifeanyi Dikehad said “Dike is exhibiting bad behavior that we will no longer condone. What she should realize is that every marriage has its own issue.

Pope urges Bulgarians to ‘open hearts’ to migrants

May 5, 2019 6:54 am

Pope Francis urged Bulgarians to open their hearts and doors to refugees as he began a visit to the European Union’s poorest country.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov met Francis at the airport, with the government welcoming how the visit has put the former communist country, which joined the EU in 2007, and the Balkans in the international spotlight.

The three-day tour, which also takes in North Macedonia, includes a visit to a refugee camp on the outskirts of Sofia and a commemoration of Mother Teresa, the most famous native of the Macedonian capital Skopje.

994 Nigerians deported from Ghana in 18 months

Dabiri-Erewa renews call for Diaspora voting

May 5, 2019 6:45 am

Presidential aide Abike Dabiri-Erewa on Sunday told Nigerians in the Diaspora to prevail on the National Assembly to approve voting for Nigerians in the Diaspora.

Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora, made the call at a Diaspora Leadership Conference, organised by the Nigerian Consulate in New York, U.S.

The SSA, whose confirmation as chair of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission is pending in the senate, said that Diaspora voting was one of the things the commission would pursue relentlessly when operational.

Banditry, kidnappings, and killings in the North

May 4, 2019 11:25 am

By Odumodu Gbulagu

In the times past when the kidnapping scourge was at it’s peak in the Southeast and South South geopolitical zones of Nigeria, the two zones were mocked by the rest of the country and the Igbos especially were accused of turning everything including kidnapping to money making venture.
Now the menace is a thing of the past in both zones, and it has become a lucrative and budding business in the unlikeliest of places: the Northern part of the country and
Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara and Abuja have become the hotbeds.

ILO begins €28m project in five African countries

May 4, 2019 11:09 am

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has begun a 28-million-euro project, sponsored by the Netherlands, to accelerate the fight against child labour in Nigeria and four other African countries.

This was announced by the Ambassador of Netherlands to Nigeria, Marion Kappeyne van de Coppello, on the side line of a two-day workshop on the project in Abuja on Friday.

The project, Acceleration of Action in the Elimination of Child Labour in Supply Chains in Africa (ACCEL), was also being carried out in Mali, Malawi, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt and Uganda.

The ambassador said the project was a long term one which focused …

Soyinka, others protest as DSS moves Sowore to Abuja

Calabar: DSS nabs 59 for commercial sex, minors, men

May 4, 2019 10:50 am

No fewer than 59 commercial sex workers which included 43 girls and 16 men have been arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS) in Calabar.

Mr Ilupeju Adebayo, Director of DSS in Cross River, who briefed newsmen on Saturday in Calabar, said the girls were rounded up at 2:15 a.m Saturday morning at Peace Garden Hotel and Papsi Place along Murtala Mohammed highway.

Adebayo revealed that there was a cartel responsible for luring the girls and making them swear oaths of secrecy not to abscond or divulge information about the business.