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Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has admitted that he and some other people he did not name can no longer be laughing with President Muhammadu Buhari as they were doing when they were in opposition. He said in those days, he and others would be laughing and rolling on the floor of Buhari’s living room. The governor who apparently was talking about the funny aspect of the President spoke in a documentary, “Buhari: Beyond the Iron and Steel” put together by the President’s media team. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, made excerpts of the interviews in the documentary, meant to show the other side of Buhari, available on his Facebook page on Sunday. “When we were in the opposition, you needed to see how we rolled on the floor in his (Buhari’s) living room, as we laughed. Of course, we can’t do that again now,” Adesina quoted El-Rufai as saying in the documentary. Vice-President Yemi O...

The Police Command in Enugu State has declared members of the “Malaysian Boys’’ gang wanted for alleged criminal activities. Police said the “Malaysian Boys’’ gang have been operating within Nimbo and Adani axis of Uzouwani Local Government Area of the state. The Command’s spokesman, SP Ebere Amaraizu, in a statement on Sunday said that the command had issued a warrant of arrest for all the members of “Malaysian Boys’’ gang. Amaraizu urged members of the public to urgently furnish it with information that could lead to their arrest. He also said that the command had intensified manhunt for the fleeing “Malaysian Boys” who had been a thorn on the flesh of the law-abiding members of the public within Nimbo and Adani axis of Uzouwani council area. “They are advised in their own interest to report to the state Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department (CIID) of the command in Enugu. “T...

The Christian Association of Nigeria has expressed worry over the resurfacing of long queues at filling stations across the country during the Christmas holiday. The Director, Legal and Public Affairs, CAN, Evang. Kwamkur Samuel, in a statement on Saturday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to restore normalcy immediately. Samuel said, “CAN is worried about the resurfacing of long queues at filling stations in Nigeria, after several increases in fuel price to ensure the availability of the product to all citizens. “We are not only concerned that this seeming artificial scarcity happens mostly during Christmas period. We are also disturbed that everything is looking like an attempt to deliberately sabotage the celebration of Christmas by some people. We wonder why queues would suddenly resurface after all assurances and steps have been taken towards constant availability of petroleum product. “We want to call on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Ministry of Petroleum...

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday assured all Nigerians that better days lie ahead of the nation despite its current challenges. Buhari gave the assurance in a Christmas message he personally signed and was made available to journalists in Abuja. “I am deeply convinced that better days lie ahead for us as a nation as we make progress on all the major fronts where we have set our energies to surmount the challenges. I wish you all Happy Christmas celebrations,” the President said. He described the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ as an important opportunity for Nigerians to show love to one another and encourage unity by spending quality time with their friends, families and the less-privileged. He said it was also an occasion to draw inspiration from the exemplary lifestyle and teachings of Jesus Christ, who he said constantly stood for what is right, true and honest. The President urged all, while celebrating, to remember members of the armed forces wh...

The Federal Government paid €3m for the release of some Chibok schoolgirls who were in Boko Haram custody, according to  Wall Street Journal . In 2014, Boko Haram insurgents had kidnapped 276 girls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno state. Of the 276, 163 are now free: 57 fled in the early days after their abduction, three escaped later, and a Swiss-coached mediation secured 103. Twenty-one of the 103 were freed on October 13, 2016, while the remaining 82 were freed on May 6 this year. In a detailed report on the incident, WSJ said while €1m was paid for the 21 first freed, additional €2m accompanied the five Boko Haram commanders that were exchanged with the next batch: the 82 girls. TheCable  had earlier reported how the €2m were reportedly paid. Ahmad Salkida, a journalist known to have links with the sect, and Zannah Mustapha, a lawyer, were said to be key mediators involved in both deals. After months of talks involvin...

President Donald Trump has tongue-lashed countries with immigrants in the US, according to a  New York Times  report. In a meeting he reportedly attended in June at the Oval Office, Trump was quoted to have said Nigerians refuse to “return to their huts” after seeing America. He was also quoted to have said immigrants from Haiti “all have AIDS”, while describing Afghanistan as a “haven of terrorists.” Trump was said to be angered by the rising number of immigrants in the US despite his travel bans. He described this as a mockery to his campaign pledge. TheCable  reported that earlier in the year, Trump had issued an executive order banning travellers from six Muslim-majority countries from gaining access to the US. “More than 2,500 were from Afghanistan, a terrorist haven, the president complained,” officials in the meeting reportedly told New York Times. “Haiti had sent 15,000 people. They all have AIDS. ...

Civil servants in some states of the federation may not be able to meet their obligations to their family members on Christmas Day (tomorrow) as their employers have failed to pay their December salary. Investigations by  SUNDAY PUNCH  across the country revealed that most workers would not have enough money to celebrate because they either have not been paid for December at all, nor have their governors paid the full sum. Some of those who shared their pains and agonies with our correspondents expressed disappointment in their various state governors who chose to deny them of their rights, despite the huge resources at their disposal. They described as unfortunate a situation whereby governors, who, just last week, shared part of the N609bn federal allocation for November and N243bn Paris Club refund, would refuse to pay their salary. In Ondo State, the civil servants who are currently being owed four months’ salary arrears had yet to receive their December pay as...

Against the latest round of fuel scarcity rocking many parts of the country, private oil marketers are calling for government intervention to enable them to access foreign exchange at a special rate for the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol). According to them, selling the product at N145 per litre is no longer feasible with the current exchange rate. Private marketers stopped fuel importation last year due to shortage of foreign exchange and increase in crude prices, which they said had made it unprofitable to import petrol and sell same at N145 per litre. The National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Mike Osatuyi, said, “The problem is that the importation (of petrol) is being handled almost 100 per cent by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as private importers have backed out because the increase in crude price has made the landing cost enter subsidy. “When the crude price hit $59 per barrel, we could not s...

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris  has directed immediate commencement of stop-and-search operations during the Christmas and New Year celebrations. A statement by the Force spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood in Abuja on Saturday, said Idris directed all State Police Commands across the country to beef up security at flashpoints, black spots and vulnerable points on major roads and highways across the country. He warned that in order to ensure the free flow of traffic and ease movement of travellers, the operation should not be located at areas susceptible to traffic gridlock or vehicular hold-ups. “The Police teams on traffic control and observation patrols have been deployed to such points and sections to manage traffic and carry out Police observation duties,” he said. Moshood said that Idris further directed all Commissioners of Police to supervise police personnel deployed to these stop and search points to make sure that they are not turned to road...

Success Nwogu A middle-aged man who pretended to be mentally ill has been apprehended in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. Our correspondent learnt that the man, whose name could not be ascertained, as of the time of filing this report, was apprehended near the state Ministry of Environment and Forestry along the Ahmadu Bello Way in Ilorin. Sources said when he was searched, a cheque of N100m, pictures he allegedly took with top politicians in Nigeria, four automated teller machine cards, male and female condoms, Valium injections and Infinix Hot 5 phone were found on him. The sources said the man, who would have been lynched by a mob, was rescued by another man dressed in a native attire. An eye-witness who pleaded anonymity, said she got there when people caught the fake madman.  She said she witnessed how the man was searched. According to her, she ran away when it seemed the mob  might lynch the suspect. The picture of the man and a brief description of what transp...

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris  has directed immediate commencement of stop-and-search operations during the Christmas and New Year celebrations. A statement by the Force spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood in Abuja on Saturday, said Idris directed all State Police Commands across the country to beef up security at flashpoints, black spots and vulnerable points on major roads and highways across the country. He warned that in order to ensure the free flow of traffic and ease movement of travellers, the operation should not be located at areas susceptible to traffic gridlock or vehicular hold-ups. “The Police teams on traffic control and observation patrols have been deployed to such points and sections to manage traffic and carry out Police observation duties,” he said. Moshood said that Idris further directed all Commissioners of Police to supervise police personnel deployed to these stop and search points to make sure that they are not turned to road...

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris  has directed immediate commencement of stop-and-search operations during the Christmas and New Year celebrations. A statement by the Force spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood in Abuja on Saturday, said Idris directed all State Police Commands across the country to beef up security at flashpoints, black spots and vulnerable points on major roads and highways across the country. He warned that in order to ensure the free flow of traffic and ease movement of travellers, the operation should not be located at areas susceptible to traffic gridlock or vehicular hold-ups. “The Police teams on traffic control and observation patrols have been deployed to such points and sections to manage traffic and carry out Police observation duties,” he said. Moshood said that Idris further directed all Commissioners of Police to supervise police personnel deployed to these stop and search points to make sure that they are not turned to road...

Simon Utebor A former Senior Special Assistant on Youth Development to Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, Nasko Egei, has died at Aridolf Resort Wellness and Spa, a hotel owned by former First Lady, Patience Jonathan. Egei is also a member of the All Progressives Congress in the state. He reportedly died in the hotel on Isaac Boro Expressway, Yenagoa, the state capital, on Friday. Two versions emerged regarding what led to the death of the father of two said to be in his late 30s. The first version claimed that the deceased was allegedly poisoned by his female companion who was with him in the hotel. The other account indicated that the deceased died peacefully in his sleep in one of the hotel rooms. A kinsman of Egei who spoke on condition of anonymity said the deceased hailed from Amassoma in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state. The kinsman, who is an APC leader in the state, urged the management of the hotel to unravel what led to Egei’s death. He said ...

Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, (SAN), on Saturday described Nigeria’s dependence on other countries for infrastructure development and basic means of sustenance as embarrassing. Akeredolu made this known shortly after he was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree by the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State. Other awardees present were the Chief Executive Officer of the Ibru Organisation, Olorogun Oskar Ibru; and son of a former Deputy Senate President, Alhaji Umar Mantu. The governor explained that with Nigeria’s investment in human capital development, it ought to depend mainly on the expertise of “those whose trainings have gobbled huge investments from the commonwealth, to abridge the wide gap in infrastructure deficit”.  “At this stage, considering where we were, especially in this part of the country during the first republic, we should be far less dependent on other nations of the world for basic means of sustenance. It ...

After the star-studded #BAAD2017 traditional wedding which went down on Sunday, followed by the court wedding during the week, the last leg of the wedding party going down in South Africa on Saturday. It is also full of celebrities like the traditional wedding. Here are some of the photos from the event.

A late night inferno early on Tuesday morning gutted five of eight shops attached to a Union Bank building on 411 Road Junction, Gowon Estate, Federal Housing Authority, Egbeda. The fire began at the makeshift shops at about 11.20 pm shortly after electricity supply was taken by the providers, Ikeja Electric. However, many of the shop owners had closed and gone home. The youth in the area had contained the fire before the arrival of the men of the Lagos State Fire Service about an hour after the inferno started. The residents and sympathisers, who urged the state government to install water hydrants and fire notices all over the estate, lamented that some of the areas marked for the development of infrastructure for sports, fire service stations and recreation had been sold to individuals by the FHA. “The areas meant for these purposes have been built up. The last is the Kuwait Field which used to house sports facilities, including football, basketball, tennis and others ha...

A Chinese general has killed himself in his Beijing home after becoming the latest top official ensnared by President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign, state media said Tuesday. Zhang Yang, a member of the state’s Central Military Commission, was being investigated over connections to two graft-tainted former senior military officers when he hanged himself on November 23, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Xi promised during last month’s Communist Party congress to intensify graft crackdowns which have already brought down 1.5 million party officials of various levels — including top military brass — since 2012. Zhang, 66, was previously head of the state military commission’s political work department. Before the congress, he was also part of the Communist Party’s Central Military Commission. Members of the two bodies overlap. According to Xinhua, which cited a commission statement, Zhang “gravely violated d...

The former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, has spoken out on the allegations of corruption levelled against him. He also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to allow him prove his innocence in the cases he is currently enmeshed in. Maina made the call in an exclusive interview with Channels Television broadcast on Monday during its  News At 10 programme. He said, “Thank God our President stands for the truth, the unfortunate thing is that some people around him whom he has given trust are lying to him; this one I can attest to and I can give you instances, I can give you documentary evidence,” Maina said. “I’m appealing to you Mr President, there are so many things people are not telling you; when I get to that public hearing I will tell you some things that nobody ever told you Mr President because I never had the opportunity to sit down with you.” Trouble started for Maina in 2015 when he w...

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Tuesday that any African can get a visa on arrival in Kenya, and will be free to settle in the country if they marry a Kenyan, removing restrictions on some nations. “If you wish and find a willing partner, you can marry and settle in Kenya,” he said during his inauguration address, saying the move was designed to cement African ties. “This commitment we make again with no requirement for reciprocity.”

Around 600 African migrants were rescued off the coast of Spain in 24 hours, a sea rescue patrol said Saturday. The Guardia Civil and Salvamento Maritimo rescue service added that operations to recover further migrants were still underway. Spain is the third busiest gateway for migrants arriving in Europe, but far behind Italy and Greece. However, the number of people arriving by sea in Spain has nearly tripled over the last year to 17,687. Many Africans undertaking the long route to Europe are choosing to avoid crossing danger-ridden Libya to get to Italy along the so-called central Mediterranean route and choosing instead to get there via Morocco and Spain. On Saturday, most of the migrants arrived in the south-eastern region of Murcia, where 431 people aboard 41 makeshift boats were discovered. Patrols found more than 110 people in the Alboran Sea, between Morocco and Spain’s Andalusian coast. Operations were also conducted in the Strait of Gibraltar, recovering 48 peop...

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday set aside its June 30, 2017, interim order of forfeiture of the sums of N500m and $500,000 allegedly looted from the Zamfara State’s share of the Paris Club refunds made by the Federal Government. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had alleged that the Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, diverted the money from the state government’s account to two firms; First Generation Mortgage Bank Ltd and Gosh Projects Limited, from which the funds were allegedly recovered. Justice Nnamdi Dimgba on Friday dismissed EFCC’s application for an order of final forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government. The judge ruled that it would be “an unjust, inequitable and irresponsible exercise” of his judicial powers under section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act to gloss over the claims and go ahead to make the final forfeiture order. “I do not believe that this provision should be available where the abs...

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party will meet on Sunday to discuss removing him as president, a government MP and a party official told AFP. “There’s a central committee meeting (on Sunday) to endorse the resolutions reached by the provinces,” said the MP. The parliamentarian, who declined to be named, referred to the decision by eight of the party’s ten regional committees on Friday to call for Mugabe to resign as president and party leader. “Yes we are meeting (Sunday) to endorse the decisions of the nine provinces,” said the party official who confirmed that a further region had called on Mugabe to go since Friday night’s announcement. “We are also recalling him as the president and first secretary of the party,” said the source who also declined to be named. The meeting comes after tens of thousands of overjoyed protesters flooded Zimbabwe’s streets on Saturday, celebrating the crumbling o...

Embattled President Robert Mugabe will meet on Sunday with the army chiefs who took over Zimbabwe in a bid to end the crisis that has gripped the nation, state TV said. “President Robert Mugabe will meet the commander-elect of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (on Sunday),” said the ZBC broadcaster, citing father Fidelis Mukonori, the catholic priest who is chairing the talks between Mugabe and the military. The announcement of the crunch talks comes after tens of thousands of overjoyed protesters flooded Zimbabwe’s streets on Saturday, celebrating the crumbling of Mugabe’s ruthless regime which had controlled the country for nearly 40 years. The mass turnout came after an unprecedented week in which the military seized power and put Mugabe under house arrest in response to his sacking of vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim, for allegedly collecting N520m from the embattled former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), on the eve of the 2015 presidential election. The EFCC also accused the former SGF of giving N13bn contracts to companies linked to him. The money was said to be part of the N58bn Ecological Fund he handled while he was the SGF between 2011 and 2015. Anyim, who also served as the Senate President from 2000 to 2003, is the most senior former government official ever to be arrested by the EFCC. A source at the EFCC said Anyim was previously invited by the anti-graft agency but he refused to show up. The commission was said to have obtained a search warrant and stormed his house on Thursday evening and searched the entire house and arrested him. The source said, “Anyim was arrested on Thursday, November 16, by operatives of the anti-graft agenc...

Thousands of Zimbabweans flooded the streets of Harare on Saturday, waving national flags and singing and dancing in an outpouring of elation at the expected fall of President Robert Mugabe. “These are tears of joy,” Frank Mutsindikwa, 34, told Reuters, holding aloft the Zimbabwean flag. “I’ve been waiting all my life for this day. Free at last. We are free at last.” NAN reports that on Friday, President Ian Khama of Botswana urged Mugabe to end his attempts to remain in office after the military seized power, as he has no regional diplomatic support to stay in power. The military intervention, which political sources say could pave the way to a national unity government after 37 years of Mugabe rule, also presented “an opportunity to put Zimbabwe on a path to peace and prosperity”, Khama told Reuters. “I don’t think anyone should be President for that amount of time. We are Presidents, we are not monarchs. It’s just com...

AS the people of Anambra State decide who occupies the position of the state governor today (Saturday), there is palpable fear that the election could be marred by violence. This is happening amid fears of bomb blast in Onitsha. Some residents of the state were seen gathered in different groups to discuss, in trepidation, what the outcome of the election might be. It was also observed that security had been beefed up at public places with units of armed policemen stationed at strategic locations. Some other Anambra residents, who spoke with  Saturday PUNCH,  expressed their readiness to vote while many others pointed out that they had their reasons to be afraid that the exercise could be marred by violence. A resident of the state, Ifeanyi Ogockukwu, from Ihiala Local Government Area and a computer operator, said, “I will remain indoors tomorrow (today) until I notice that everywhere is calm because I do not know what it will look like. “But I will come out ...

A teenager has died after she was apparently electrocuted in her sleep by her iPhone cable. Le Thi Xoan, 14, is believed to have touched the charging cable which was broken and is not believed to have been a charger issued with the phone. Police in Hanoi, Vietnam, said they discovered the burned white cable on her bed and say that a tear in the rubber casing exposed the live wires. The broken end of the cable appears to have been taped up in a bid to prevent further damage. She was discovered unconscious by her parents and taken to hospital where efforts were made to save her life but she was later declared dead. Doctors confirmed that she had died as a result of electrocution. Investigators said she regularly slept with her iPhone on her bed while it was plugged in to charge overnight. They said the tragedy likely struck as she slept and rolled onto the iPhone’s charging cable, which had tears in it and which electrocuted her with the current. The charging cable is bein...

The Anti-Kidnapping unit of the Imo State Police Command has arrested a couple, Ifeanyi Anyanwu and Amarachi Ugorji, for allegedly stealing and selling a two-year-old boy, Ikechukwu Nwachukwu, for N500,000. The couple allegedly stole the child on August 28 from his parents in Umuozu-Uguiri in the Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of the state. PUNCH Metro , however, learnt that prior to the incident, Anyanwu and Ugorji had sold their first child on credit to a man in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Andrew Enwerem, during a parade on Wednesday, said in the latest incident, the couple kidnapped and sold Nwachukwu for N500,000 to one Ifeanyinwa Duru. Duru was said to have resold the  boy to one Mrs. Chidinma Emmanuel, for N700,000. The police spokesperson, who described the development as worrisome, said the couple, Duru and Emmanuel were nabbed in Aba, Abia State, adding that the child was rescued unhurt. Enwerem said, “On Augu...

Tragedy struck in Umueze community, in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State on Wednesday, after the traditional ruler of the community, Eze Opara, allegedly killed a 25-year-old graduate, Uchenna Opara, aka Junior. Our correspondent, who visited the community in the early hours of Thursday, was informed by residents that the incident occurred on around 6.15pm at the community’s primary school playground. When our correspondent visited the palace of the traditional ruler, scores of youths were seen setting the palace ablaze, including destroying the suspect’s Nissan car. An oil mill belonging to the monarch, which was a stone’s throw from the palace, was not spared, as the enraged youths set it ablaze as well. The youth leader of the community, Bethel Iwuoha, told  PUNCH Metro  that while one of the security guards of the monarch, Atuonye Opara, allegedly cocked the pump-action rifle, Eze allegedly pulled the trigger. Iwuoha said immediately ...

A Cameraman with the Anambra Broadcasting Service, Mr Ikechukwu Onubogu, has been found dead four days after he was declared missing by members of his family. Although the cause of his death remained sketchy, the  News Agency of Nigeria  gathered that the late Onubogu, who was at home with his wife, was said to have received a phone call in the afternoon on Nov. 12. Sources said the deceased, thereafter, took his camera and left his home, located near the popular Aroma Junction in Awka but never returned. His remains, now deposited at the Amaku Teaching Hospital, Awka, were reportedly discovered on Thursday by men of the Nigerian Police Force at Obosi, near Onitsha. The Managing Director of ABS, Mr Uche Nworah, in a statement on Friday, described late Onubogu as a “peace loving man that you would never expect that anybody would want to harm him’’. “The horrific death of our beloved and hardworking staff, Onubogu, has thrown the entire ABS family ...

A national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Thursday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to do more to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians. He said although the administration had achieved a lot in the two years of its existence, too many Nigerians were still too poor to be ignored. Tinubu made the call in his keynote address at the public presentation of a book, “Making Steady, Sustainable Progress for Nigeria’s Peace and Prosperity” at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The 360-page book is a mid-term scorecard of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration authored by the Presidential Media Team. The former Lagos State governor said though the present administration worked hard to fix the country, it must recognised the situation of millions of people who had been denied for a long time and were still suffering. He said, “True, much good has been done by this government to ignore. However, too many of...