PDP presidential aspirant Ibrahim Shekarau defects to APC (PMNews)
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has led a delegation of bigwigs of the party to formally meet Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau in Kano. The APC chairman and other members of delegation stormed Mundubawa Palace of the former Governor of Kano State and Sardauna of Kano Malam Ibrahim Shekarau to welcome him to join APC. The delegation comprised of Kano state governor Umar Ganduji, and a huge crowd of supporters, chanting “APC’’. Read more
Alarming Incidence of Sexual, Domestic Violence in Lagos (Thisday)
Each day, the mainstream newspapers and the social media are inundated with tales of abuse; either domestic or sexual. Although these vices have been on the increase, nothing seems to underscore their frightening dimension than the revelation recently by the Lagos State Government that the state recorded over 3,089 cases of sexual and domestic abuse in a little over eight months. As alarming as the figure is, the reality is that it only accounts for the reported cases. A lot more remain unreported. Read more
FG ‘deliberately corrupting Osun Voters’ With Trader Moni – Oby Ezekwezili (Guardian)
A former Minister of Education and co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) Group, Oby Ezekwezili, on Friday accused the Nigerian Government of “deliberately corrupting the elections in Osun” by launching the Trader Moni scheme in the state three weeks before its scheduled governorship elections. “The Federal Government either failed to be Ethically Circumspect or in fact Deliberately decided to CORRUPT the Elections in Osun by handing out Cash to Traders on the heels of the State Elections,” Ezekwezili tweeted on her Twitter page. “Such behaviour after the Grand Corrupting of Voters in Ekiti is REPREHENSIBLE,” She added. Read more
2019 Election: Group engages political aspirants at Lagos summit (Punch)
A group, The Ambassadors, has said people vying for political offices in the 2019 elections should seek to realise the “Nigerian Dream” through their plans for the nation. The founder of the non-governmental organisation, Joshua Oyeniyi, said the group decided to engage political aspirants in the country to know what plans they had for the country. He said the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, will lead other speakers at a summit planned by the group for Saturday. Read more
Police arrest 14 suspected armed robbers, 2 kidnappers in Kaduna (Daily Trust)
The Kaduna State Police Command, on Friday said it had arrested 14 suspected armed robbers and two kidnappers in the last two weeks. The Commissioner of Police, Malam Ahmad Abdulrahaman made the disclosure at a press conference in Kaduna. Abdulrahaman said the command also arrested three people involved in currency counterfeiting and a motorcycle thief within the period. According to him, the command will work strictly based on international core values of policing with integrity and within the rule of law. Read more
Man, 28, arraigned for allegedly raping woman to death (DailyTrust)
A 28-year-old man, Kelvin Michael, who allegedly raped a woman to death, was on Friday arraigned in Ota, Ogun. Michael, who lives at No. 21 Abebi St., Sango-Ota, is facing murder charge at an Ota Magistrates’ Court. A state counsel, Mr Bale Nimnan, told court that the accused committed the offence on Aug. 14 at 11.00 a.m. at his residence in Sango-Ota. Nimnan said the accused had several rounds of sex with the 40-year-old woman, Monsura Idowu, which resulted in her death. Read more
Abuja tremor not earthquake — Nigerian govt (PremiumTimes)
The FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Friday assured residents that there was no likelihood of earthquake within the territory and the country, after the earth tremor in Mpappe and its environs on Thursday. Residents in the Federal Capital Territory were alarmed by the sudden shake of the earth in the the affected areas. The director general of the agency, Abass Idris, said there was no cause for alarm. Read more
FCT inaugurates gender-based violence response secretariat (Punch)
The Federal Capital Territory has inaugurated its Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response Team secretariat. Mrs Agnes Utah-Hart, Director, FCT Gender Department and Coordinator of SGBVRT, who spoke during the inauguration, said that the centre would provide succour to victims of sexual abuse in Abuja and its environs. “The focus is to establish a centre where victims of gender-based violence can make necessary reports of such abuses,’ ’she said. Read more
What I saw of Sambo Dasuki in SSS detention — Jones Abiri (PremiumTimes)
It is a heart touching story of scheming, incarceration and torture. Recently released journalist, Jones Abiri shares his experience in the hands of the dreaded State Security Service (SSS) in this interview with PREMIUM TIMES Evelyn Okakwu and Halimah Yahaya. Mr Abiri spent two years without trial at an SSS detention facility.
Excerpts:
PREMIUM TIMES: You were arrested and detained for two years. Can you narrate how your arrest took place?
Mr Abiri: I was arrested in my office in Yenagoa. That was on July 21, 2016, 23 minutes after three o clock. Twelve men came into my office and showed me a warrant for searching my office, duly signed by a magistrate, Lucky. I gave them the privilege to search my office. After the search, they could not find any incriminating thing. Read more
Benue gets first female head of service (Thisday)
Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has appointed Mrs. Veronica Onyeke as the new Head of Service. Mrs Onyeke who is from Ogbadibo Local Government Area of the state, was until her elevation Permanent Secretary, office of the Deputy Governor. She takes over from Engineer George Ede, who is proceeding on retirement. Read more
NANS bans student awards (Punch)
The National Association of Nigerian Students has banned the conferment of awards on individuals and organizations by all student union bodies in the country. The NANS President, Bamidele Danielson, who announced this during the inauguration of the new executive of the association in Abuja on Thursday, explained that such award conferments on organisations, groups and individuals had become a source of distraction for students. Read more
Donald Trump destroys U.S. credibility – Iran (PMNews)
President Donald Trump destroys U.S. credibility while Iran is working toward a political solution in Syria, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif, said in a Twitter post on Friday. Zarif posted the message in the midst of a trilateral meeting between Iran, Russia and Turkey focused on a looming battle against militants in Idlib province in northwest Syria. “As @realDonaldTrump destroys U.S credibility & humiliates his ‘allies’ with “little games”, we’re delighted to engage with responsible powers today in Tehran to further move toward political solution in #Syria,” Zarif wrote. Read more
China signs MoUs with 37 African countries, AU (PMNews)
China on Friday said it signed MoUs with 37 African countries and the AU on the Belt and Road development. Xia Qing, Deputy Head, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), International Cooperation Department, said this in Beijing. The African countries, who signed the MoUs accounted for 70 per cent of all the 53 African nations that attended the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that ended on Tuesday. Read more
Ugbade attributes Golden Eaglets’ victory to teamwork (PMNews)
Nduka Ugbade, the Coach of the U-17 Golden Eaglets on Friday attributed the team’s 5-1 victory over Cote d’Ivoire at the U-17 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers in Niamey, Niger Republic, to team work. Ugbade made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone from Niamey, venue of the ongoing 2018 WAFU Zone B qualifiers for the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations. He said that the match was an interesting one against Cote d’Ivoire. Read more
Maradona named coach of Mexican club Dorados (PMNews)
Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona, a 1986 World Cup winner, has been appointed coach of Mexican second division team Dorados, the club said on its website on Thursday. The club issued a short video on their social media channels with the messages ‘Welcome Diego’, and ‘Make it a 10’, the Argentina great’s shirt number as a player. Although Dorados, who are based in Sinaloa state in northwest Mexico, gave no further details, Mexican newspapers said Maradona had been hired to replace Francisco Gamez. Read more
