Christmas: Prices of food items crash in Kaduna (The Nation)
As Christmas celebration draws nearer, prices of some food items have crashed while others were stable in the last one month in Kaduna metropolis. A check at Central Market Kaduna on Wednesday revealed that the prices of rice, beans, millet, maize, wheat, tomatoes and pepper have decreased. A 100kg of local rice which sells for between N27,000 and N28,000 now sells at N25,000 while a 100kg of white beans fell from N30,000 a month ago to N25,000. A measure of… Read more
Police arrests 37 suspected members of IPOB in Umuahia (The Nation)
Abia State Command of Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in collaboration with other sister security agencies in the state on Tuesday hold a Joint Show of Force (JSF) operation in major cities of the state. The Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Chris Ezike in a telephone interview told our reporter that the command arrested thirty seven members of outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Umuahia, the state capital who he said dressed in Jewish robe while they joined… Read more
Police kill suspected robber in Edo (The Nation)
Men of the Edo State Police Command have shot a suspected armed robber dead during a shoot out. The slain robber and his fleeing gang members were robbing residents of Upper Mission when a police patrol team ran into them. They were said to have robbed a man of his Honda Pilot Jeep along Akpakpava Street in Benin City before heading to other areas in the metropolis. Read Also: Police arrest 51 suspected IPOB members in Umuahia State Police Commissioner, Babatunde… Read more
Fashola blames past administration for electricity challenges (The Nation)
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has blamed the past administration for the electricity challenges witnessed in some parts of the country. The Minister said the past administration delayed the implementation of the Strategic Rural Electrification Plan (SREP) for ten years thereby making it difficult for some rural communities to enjoy power supply. Fashola however disclosed that the approval of the plan by the present administration has made it possible for the government to access $200m adding… Read more
$8.1bn reparation: Judge gives MTN, CBN more time to settle (The Nation)
A Federal High Court in Lagos, on Wednesday granted MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) till January 22, for a report of settlement talks in their $8.1bn reparation dispute. Justice Saliu Saidu adjourned till January 22, after parties prayed for more time to forge a deal. At the last hearing of the suit on December 4, the parties told the judge that they were exploring an out of court agreement following which the suit was… Read more
Kidnapping: Ondo monarch seeks involvement of vigilantes (The Nation)
The Akala of Ikaram-Akoko in Ondo state, Oba Andrew Momodu has called for incentives to local vigilante groups to complement the efforts of security agents to curtail criminality in the state. The monarch expressed concern over incessant kidnapping,robbery and ritual killings especially in Akoko area. Oba Momodu noted that local vigilante members were familiar with all nooks and crannies of communities where criminals hide. The royal father, a retired Navy Commodore advocated for motorised patrol of highways by security personnel.… Read more
Army arrest three gun runners, recover 44 rifles in Niger (The Nation)
Troops of 1 Division Nigerian Army Kaduna, deployed for Operation WHIRL PUNCH have arrested three notorious gun runners in Rijau area of Niger State and recovered 44 rifles. The Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 1 Division Nigerian Army, Col. Muhammad Dole made the disclosure in a press statement issued in Kaduna on Wednesday. Dole identified the three gun runners as Aminu Umar, Shehu Samaila and Bilyaminu Abdullahi, were arrested on Tuesday during a Stop and Search operation at Rijau. “The… Read more
Sales agents docked for selling pre-registered SIM cards (The Nation)
Three sales agents, Joe Obudu, Abodunrin Ibrahim and Ojo Taiye, were on Wednesday arraigned before an Ilorin Magistrates’ Court for allegedly selling pre-registered SIM cards. The Prosecutor, Ajide Kehinde of Legal Department of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) told the court that the accused were arrested on Nov. 30. Kehinde said the arrest followed the information received from a member of staff of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). According to an official of the NCC, Mr Fiefamotey… Read more
Tanzania dam: Power plant planned in Selous Game Reserve (BBC)
The Selous Game Reserve is home to a huge range of species, including the African fish eagle
Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has signed a deal for the construction of a hydro-electric power plant in one of East Africa’s best-known game reserves, amid criticism from environmentalists. The deal, worth $3bn (£2.4bn), envisages the construction of a dam on the Rufiji River in the Selous Game Reserve, a Unesco World Heritage site. Tanzania says the project will double its total power supply. But conservationists warn that it will destroy wildlife habitat. Read more
Letter from Africa: Why Kenyan men don’t want to share power with women (BBC)
In our series of letters from African journalists, media and communications trainer Joseph Warungu reflects on gender inequality in Kenyan politics. The Kenyan parliament is a tough playground. And just like any other playground, the bigger ones tend to play rough and keep the toys to themselves. The “boys” in parliament have been doing exactly that, by refusing to share their play area and their toys – or their seats and their political power. Read more
Ghana man drowns during baptism (BBC)
A 20-year-old man has drowned while being baptised by a pastor in a river south of Ghana’s capital, Accra. In a video circulating on social media, Yaw Kyeremeh is seen stationed at the banks of River Densu together with a pastor who immersed him in the water. Then after brief prayers he was immersed a second time but he did not emerge from the waters. Accra Regional Police Command spokeswoman Afia Tenge told the BBC a junior pastor had been arrested at the scene while police were still searching for the head pastor of the church involved in the baptism… Read more
U.S. designates Boko Haram, ISIS ‘entities of particular concern’ (The Nation)
The United States has announced the designation of the Boko Haram terrorist group as an entity “of particular concern”. The U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in a statement, designated Boko Haram alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), al-Qa’ida and al-Shabab. Pompeo also designated Saudi Arabia, Iran, Burma, North Korea, among “countries of particular concern”, while Comoros, Russia, and Uzbekistan were placed on “special watch list”. “On November 28, 2018, I designated Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North… Read more
Meng Wanzhou: Trump could intervene in case of Huawei executive (BBC)
Meng Wanzhou has said she will contest allegations of fraud. Donald Trump says he could intervene in the case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou if it helps to avoid a further decline in US relations with China. “Whatever’s good for this country, I would do,” the US president said. Ms Meng, the chief financial officer of the Chinese telecoms giant, was granted bail on Tuesday by a Canadian court…. Read more
Strasbourg shooting: Gunman shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ as he attacked (BBC)
Pater Fritz describes hearing gunshots and helping a victim of the Strasbourg shooting. The Strasbourg gunman yelled “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest” in Arabic) as he opened fire on people enjoying an evening out at a Christmas market, the Paris public prosecutor told reporters. Rémy Heitz said two people had been killed and one left brain-dead after the attack in the eastern French city on Tuesday. Twelve were wounded, six seriously. The man, named by local media as Chérif Chekatt, was known to authorities as having been radicalised in prison…Read more
Inter knocked out after being held at home by PSV Eindhoven (The Star)
MILAN (Reuters) – Inter Milan were knocked out of the Champions League after they could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Group B’s bottom club PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday to finish third behind Tottenham Hotspur. Inter would have qualified with a win but, on a fraught night at San Siro, finished level on eight points with Tottenham who squeezed through after drawing 1-1 away to Barcelona due to their better head-to-head record over the Italians….Read more
Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp has ‘no words’ for Alisson save vs. Napoli (ESPN)
Jurgen Klopp described Alisson’s stoppage-time intervention against Napoli on Tuesday as a “lifesaver” as Liverpool reached the knockout rounds of the Champions League. Liverpool will be in a draw for the round of 16 on Dec. 17 after Mohamed Salah’s 34th-minute goal proved to be the difference at Anfield in the must-win tie. But, with a Napoli goal sending Liverpool into the Europa League, Alisson, the £65 million summer signing, made a crucial save to deny Arkadiusz Milik from close range….Read more
‘I caught my husband having sex with our housemaid’ (The Nation)
A Badagry Customary Court in Lagos on Wednesday dissolved an eleven-year-old marriage between Risikat Kadiri and her husband, Muheem Kadiri over infidelity and theft. Risikat, a 41-year-old trader told the court that apart from numerous cases of his following women around, her husband used to sneak into their maid’s room to sleep with her. “I am aware that my husband flirted with different women, but I was surprised the day I saw him having sexual intercourse with our housemaid, Taiwo… Read more
Medical expert enlightens Nigerians on good eating habits (The Nation)
A Medical expert, Dr Mosun Adeoye, has advised Nigerians to imbibe good eating habits in order to have a healthy lifestyle. Adeoye told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Wednesday that abnormal feeding habits could bring about severe consequences. She said that such consequences include malnutrition, chronic depression and ailing body, among others. The medical expert noted that poor nutrition had negative effect, especially on children as they developed physically and psychologically. “Critical growth periods need special… Read more
Court sentences businessman to eight months in prison for stealing cellphones (The Nation)
An Upper Area Court I, sitting in Kasuwan Nama in Jos on Wednesday, sentenced a 20-year-old businessman, Mohammed Sagir to eight months in prison for stealing two Techno phones, valued at N65, 000. The police charged Sagir with three counts of trespass, shop breaking, mischief and theft The judge, Lawal Suleiman who sentenced Sagir, gave him an option to pay a fine of N6,000. Read Also: Court remands Okada rider for ‘robbery’ He also ordered the convict to pay N15000 to… Read more
Court sentences mason to three years in prison for rape (The Nation)
An Upper Area Court I, Kasuwan Nama in Jos, on Wednesday, sentenced a 43-year-old mason, Augustine Arafan to three years in prison for raping a seven-year-old girl. The judge, Lawal Suleiman, who sentence Arafan without an option to pay fine, said it would serve as a deterrent to others who would want to indulge in such crime. Earlier, the prosecutor, Labaran Ahmed told the court that the case was reported on Oct.3 at Nasarawa Gwong Police station by one Sarah… Read more