If we expose those in Buhari govt, they’ll not only go to jail, they’ll go to hell – Obasanjo (Punch)
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said those in the present administration will not only go to jail, they will go to hell if their corrupt acts are exposed. He also explained why he forgave an ex-Vice-President and Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in an interview with the BBC Yoruba monitored by our correspondents. Comparing Atiku with President Muhammadu Buhari, Obasanjo said his former deputy, though not a messiah, was far better than the incumbent President. He said, “What I am saying is that where we are today; our present situation, if you look at those who are there today and our boss (Buhari), I insist that Atiku will do better than them. Read more
Nigeria needs to be saved urgently, says Ezekwesili (Nation)
The presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, has raised an alarm on the urgent need to rescue Nigeria from the current leadership. She said this while participating in the presidential debate organised by the Nigeria Elections Debate Group and the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) at the weekend. Ezekwesili said Nigeria is suffering from leadership deficit coupled with incompetence and highly-spirited zeal to loot the nation. She said: “Nigeria needs to be rescued urgently. What we see in our country is a massive failure of our leaders. Some 60 per cent of our women are poor. There is massive poverty. We have no business being the poverty capital of the world. We must disrupt the current political setup. As a technocrat in government, I served the Nigerian people. I have the competence and capacity to serve Nigerians. Read more
Handle Obasanjo with caution, Sani warns Buhari (Punch)
The lawmaker representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Shehu Sani, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to apply caution in dealing with former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Sani who gave the warning via his twitter handle, @ShehuSani, on Tuesday advised Buhari against probing Obasanjo because many of the current presidential aides were part of the former President’s government. In the tweets laced with figurative expressions, Sani said, “If you decide to open and probe the kitchen and the food store left by Obj (Obasanjo) because of his bitter leaf letters, you will see the names of many people on your dining table today. Read more
More cash found in CJN Onnoghen’s accounts (Nation)
Detectives may have found more “suspicious” funds in Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen’s accounts, The Nation has learnt. There are also “suspicious” transactions, including an $800,000 Standard Chartered Bank investment subscription, sources said. Also found is $630,000 lodged in some of the accounts through what is described as “structured payments” in tranches of $10,000 each. Most of the lodgments, effected between 2012 and 2016, were undeclared in Justice Onnoghen’s assets declaration form, the sources claimed, pleading not to be named because of the “sensitivity” of the investigation. The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has restricted the operation of five accounts with about $3million. Read more
Miyetti Allah attacks Atiku for saying Buhari not a full-blooded Fulani (Punch)
The Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Fulani has rebuffed an accusation by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, that President Muhammadu Buhari is not a “full-blooded Fulani man because he cannot speak Fulfulde.” Atiku, who made the claim during a campaign rally in Jigawa State, described Buhari as a fake Fulani man, saying, “a real Fulani man would not drag his followers into extreme poverty like what is happening under the All Progressives Congress administration.” However, the National Secretary, Miyetti Allah, Mr Saleh Alhassan, said Buhari’s inability to speak Fulfulde did not make him any less of a Fulani man. Read more
Labour rejects N27, 000 offer for states (Nation)
The N27, 000 recommended approved yesterday by the National Council of State as minimum wage for states and the private sector has been rejected by Labour. In separate statements, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and United Labour Congress (ULC) described the decision as unfortunate and shocking. Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) said last night on the Council’s approval: “With profound respect, the members of the Council acted ultra vires as it has no power whatsoever to approve minimum wage. It is not an approving authority but an advisory body to the president in the areas listed in Part 1 of the Schedule to the Constitution. And the areas do not cover minimum wage.” Falana is Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)’s lawyer. Read more
Truck crushes motorcyclist as Wike supervises corpse evacuation (Punch)
A hit-and-run truck driver, on Monday, crushed a motorcyclist along the Igwuruta Road in the Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. The unidentified commercial motorcyclist was said to have died on the spot. The accident forced the convoy of Governor Nyesom Wike to stop. It was gathered the governor alighted from his vehicle to ascertain what happened to the motorcyclist, whose body was lying lifeless on the ground. The governor was said to have directed medical personnel, who were also in his convoy, to evacuate the accident victim to a mortuary. Read more
Zimbabwe troops accused of ‘systematic torture’ of protesters (BBC)
A government-appointed human rights group in Zimbabwe has accused soldiers of using “systematic torture” in a crackdown on protests. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission strongly criticised authorities for using troops to quell demonstrations. Unrest broke out more than a week ago following a sharp rise in fuel prices. Reports have emerged of assaults allegedly carried out by the military in various parts of the capital, Harare. The BBC’s Andrew Harding in Harare spoke to a man who said he and about 30 others had been rounded up and beaten by soldiers. Read more
Four held over New York state ‘plot’ against Muslims (BBC)
Three men and a teenage boy have been arrested and charged over an alleged plot against a small Islamic community in New York state. The suspects are accused of possessing homemade bombs and firearms, and planning to attack Islamberg, founded by a Pakistani cleric in the 1980s. The alleged plot was revealed following a tip-off from a school student. The Islamberg community has become a target for conspiracy theorists who say it is a terrorist training camp. The three men are due to appear in court on Wednesday. They have been named as Andrew Crysel, 18, Vincent Vetromile, 19, and 20-year-old Brian Colaneri. Read more
Mikel undergoes medical at Middlesbrough (Punch)
Mikel Obi is undergoing a medical at Middlesbrough ahead of signing for the Championship club. SunSport understands the former Chelsea midfielder, 31, travelled from London to the north-east on Monday after agreeing personal terms. Two-time Premier League winner Mikel is set to join the Championship club after spending the past two years at Tianjin TEDA in the Chinese Super League. Roma and Wolfsburg registered an interest but the Nigerian international wanted to return to England, where his wife and two young children are based. Mikel will be part of a Tony Pulis side looking to bring Premier League football back to the Riverside next season. Read more
FIFA, UEFA blast piracy network with alleged Saudi ties (Guardian)
FIFA, UEFA and several of the world’s top football leagues on Tuesday condemned alleged piracy of television rights by the “beoutQ” network, which Qatar claims is backed by Saudi Arabia. Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup, and the Doha-based beIN Media Group have described beoutQ as a vast and sophisticated Saudi bootlegging network that has been transmitting stolen programmes via Riyadh-based satellite provider Arabsat. FIFA, UEFA, the English Premier League, La Liga, the German Bundesliga and the Asian Football Confederation weighed in on Tuesday by blasting beoutQ’s actions as “a clear and flagrant breach of our intellectual property rights”. Read more
Balotelli to join Marseille from Nice (Nation)
Italy striker Mario Balotelli has agreed to join Olympique Marseille from fellow Ligue 1 side Nice on a six-month contract, French sports daily L’Equipe reported on Tuesday. The newspaper added that the 28-year-old, who has also played for Inter Milan and AC Milan, as well as Manchester City and Liverpool, would have a medical on Wednesday. Marseille were not immediately available to comment. Balotelli’s contract was due to expire in June. Read more
Ronaldo avoids jail but hit by hefty fine for tax fraud in Spain (Guardian)
Cristiano Ronaldo avoided jail on Tuesday but was ordered by a Spanish court to pay 3.57 million euros ($4.1 million) for committing tax fraud when he was at Real Madrid. The court sentenced him to a two-year jail sentence that it immediately reduced to a fine of 365,000 euros, which adds on to another penalty of 3.2 million euros, the sentence read. A court spokesman said he did not know whether this would be added on to the 18.8 million euros that Ronaldo had agreed to pay Spain’s taxman under a deal reached in June with the player’s lawyers. Read more
Police arraign woman for murder of two-year-old boy (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command has arraigned one Chinenye Ndubuife before an Ebute Meta Magistrates’ Court for the alleged murder of a two-year-old boy, Wisdom Promise. The suspects was said to have hit the victim in the head with a stone. According to police, the suspect committed the murder on December 12, 2018, around 1pm at No. 70 Lawani Street, Olodi-Apapa, Lagos, in the Ebute Meta Magisterial District. The police added that the offence was contrary to Section 222 and punishable under Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015. Read more
Sisters arrested for attempting to smuggle drugs into Kuje prison (Punch)
Officers of the Kuje Medium Security Prison in the Federal Capital Territory have arrested two sisters for attempting to smuggle substances suspected to be cannabis and Tramadol into the prison premises. The prime suspect, identified as Miss Blessing Chinwuba, allegedly concealed the prohibited items in a carton of neatly packed noodles, which she wanted to take into the prison. She was arrested by vigilant officers at the prison’s gate before she could pass the items to an inmate, John Ifeanyichukwu. This was contained in a statement by the FCT Prisons Service Command spokesman, Humphrey Chukwuedo, on Tuesday. Read more
Niger man buries murdered victim after raiding his home (Punch)
A murder suspect in Niger State, Adelowo Adedayo, 31, on Tuesday led police detectives to a shallow grave at the APC Quarters, Suleja in the Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, where he allegedly buried one Abdullahi Liman. The suspect was apprehended by detectives from the ‘B’ Division, Suleja, who were acting on information from the family of the deceased. Northern City News gathered that the suspect murdered Liman before burying him in a shallow grave behind his house at the APC Quarters in Suleja. The suspect was said to have carted away his victim’s belongings, including a set of chairs, an LG plasma television, mattress, three pairs of shoes and two bags of clothes. Read more