How we plan to win 2019 election, by Buhari, Atiku (Nation)
It is less than four months to the presidential election, but the shadow boxing has begun in earnest. The two leading contenders are bragging about their chances. Former Minister of Information Prince Tony Momoh yesterday said he was confident President Muhammadu Buhari will win. Momoh told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone that the president deserved re-election. The Atiku Abubakar camp disagreed. It said the former Vice President would retire President Muhammadu Buhari to his village in Daura after the election. Read more
Tension as hoodlums kill Small Jpron, three others over politician’s largesse (Punch)
There is tension in the Somolu and Bariga areas of Lagos State after four suspected cult members were killed during a gang war. Among the slain was self-confessed Eiye Confraternity leader, Ibrahim Balogun, aka Small Jpron, who was paraded in 2016 at the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja, for the killing of five rival cult members. Read more
Gunmen assassinate APC treasurer in Ekiti (Punch)
Some gunmen on Wednesday invaded the home of the treasurer of the All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State, Moses Adeoye. The assailants reportedly shot dead Adeoye while he ate at his residence in Otun-Ekiti, a town in the Moba Local Government Area of the state. He had served as the chairman of the APC in the council before his recent emergence as the treasurer of the party in the state. Read more
Don’t destroy Emmanuel’s work, Akwa Ibom youths tell senators (Punch)
The Akwa Ibom Youth League has warned the senators representing the state at the National Assembly not to take steps that will undermine the peaceful atmosphere created by Governor Udom Emmanuel in the state. The youths said before Emmanuel took over the mantle of leadership, Akwa Ibom State was plagued with insecurity, which scared investors away. Read more
Court strikes out Omo-Agege’s contempt suit against Saraki (Guardian)
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday, struck out the suit seeking to commit Senate President Bukola Saraki to prison for allegedly refusing to pay salaries and allowances of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege. The action followed the confirmation that the entitlements of the Delta Central representative had been offset by the upper chamber of the National Assembly. Counsel to Omo-Agege, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), who confirmed the development, subsequently applied for the withdrawal of the contempt. Read more
Baba Sala’s contemporary, Ajimajasan, dies at 83 (Punch)
Ola Omonitan, who was one of the comedians who dominated the stage at the same time with the late comic actor, Moses Adejumo, popularly called Baba Sala, has died at the age of 83. Omonitan, who was popularly known as Ajimajasan, died at his home in Ibadan after a protracted illness. Our correspondent learnt that the comedian had been admitted at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, for old age-related ailment a few weeks ago but was discharged on Monday. Read more
Experts seek passage of mental health bill, telephonic counselling (Guardian)
Experts have urged the federal and state government on the immediate passage of the Mental Health Bill into law in order to arrest mental illnesses and issues that pose great danger to the society. They stressed that since the introduction of the Mental Health Bill in 2003, with the hope of reducing the burden of mental illnesses in the country, the bill is yet to be passed into law as it keeps on ending on the floor of the Senate. Read more
Abiy Ahmed: Protesting Ethiopian soldiers wanted to kill me (BBC)
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said that some of the soldiers who entered the grounds of his office last week had wanted to kill him. At the time, he defused the situation by ordering them to do press-ups and joining in. Mr Abiy and the soldiers were seen laughing but he told parliament that “inside I was very unhappy”. Read more
Pope gets invite from Kim to visit N. Korea (CNN)
Pope Francis received an invitation Thursday from Kim Jong Un to visit North Korea, and said he would consider the invitation, according to a South Korean spokesman. The offer was conveyed verbally by South Korean President Moon Jae-in during his visit to the Vatican, the spokesman said. The invitation comes at a time when the North Korean leader is on a diplomatic outreach campaign, holding several summits in recent months with the leaders of South Korea and of China, and meeting with US President Donald Trump. Read more
US Army general survives Taliban attack (CNN)
The powerful police chief of Kandahar province in Afghanistan was killed Thursday in an attack following a security meeting with the top US commander in the city, three Afghan officials told CNN. Two Americans also were wounded in the shooting attack at Kandahar Palace, said Col. Dave Butler, a spokesman for US Forces-Afghanistan. US Army Gen. Scott Miller, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, was present but uninjured in the attack, a statement from US forces said. Read more
Russia footballers charged with assault and hooliganism (BBC)
Two Russian footballers have been charged with assault and hooliganism, in a high-profile case that triggered hot debates across the country. Zenit St Petersburg’s Aleksandr Kokorin and Krasnodar’s Pavel Mamaev are accused of attacking a trade ministry official with a chair and also beating up a driver in Moscow on 8 October. The trade official needed medical treatment after the incident. Read more
Church guard, workers disarm armed robber in Ogun (Punch)
Some workers at Grace and Truth Tabernacle have reportedly disarmed a suspected robber, Samuel Ola, who allegedly invaded the church’s premises in the Magboro end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expresseway, Ogun State. PUNCH Metro gathered that 37-year-old Ola and his accomplice, identified simply as Aboy, had attempted robbing a motorcyclist when a mob gave them a chase. Read more
Dismissed policeman, two others paraded for murder (Nation)
The Nigeria Police Force on Thursday paraded a dismissed Police Sergeant and two others for their alleged involvement in the assassination of one Mrs. Rasheedat Jimoh in Ilorin. According to the Police, the suspects shot the deceased in her shop at Ilorin in the presence of her daughter and house help on the 7th of July, 2017 The dismissed Sergeant, Oche Ellah, was parraded for allegedly selling the gun that was used to kill Mrs. Jimoh. Read more
I rob because I wasn’t enrolled in school – Suspect (Punch)
Operatives of the Niger State Police Command have apprehended one Abdulrasheed Usman for burgling a house in Minna, the state capital. The 18-year-old suspect was found with an LG plasma television, one ceiling fan, one GoTV decoder, two remote control sets and extension cable valued at N88,000. Usman was said to have broken into a home at 19 Military Cantonment, 31 Artillery Brigade, Minna. Read more