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The Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel, has promised to pay the Super Eagles $10,000 for every goal the team score against Cameroon in their 2018 World Cup qualifier in Uyo on Friday. The governor also redeemed his pledge of $30,000 to the Eagles for their 3-1 win against Algeria in a 2018 World Cup Group B qualifier last year. Emmanuel called on Nigerians to support the Eagles with prayers as well go to the Uyo stadium to cheer the team to victory against the Indomitable Lions.  “You (Eagles) should be able to hold the Lions; I believe the Lions by this time tomorrow (Friday) will not be able to roar. We believe in prayers. We also need your support. You have to do something to ensure that, at least, we project our own to the world. “I don’t know how I feel when I hear of some people collecting almost £300m and some of our players are equally talented enough to collect that kind of money. Nobody has the monopoly of sports. Let us also encourage ou...

While Nigerians have continued to condemn the alleged torture of an undergraduate of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State, Chioma Pius, by some policemen attached to the Rivers State Police Command for having tattoo on her body, another victim of a similar attack has spoken up. The victim, Dereck Triggs, a paint producer, told  PUNCH Metro  that prior to Pius’ ordeal, the car he was travelling in was stopped by the same set of policemen, who accused one of the occupants of wearing a tattoo. He claimed that all occupants in the car, except his sister, was locked up in the cops’ mobile cell, adding that they were all released after payment of N20,000. PUNCH Metro  had reported that Pius was travelling from Bayelsa State to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday, when her car was stopped at Elebrada Junction, in the Emohua area of Rivers State. The policemen were alleged to have accused her of having tattoos on her body and battered her with a gun and punches, a...

A policeman, Inspector Wasiu Lawal, attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ogun State Police Command, has brought the life of a father of four children to an abrupt end. The killer cop reportedly shot the car dealer, Danton Hodewu, in front of the palace of Alase of Ilase in the Ipokia Local Government Area of the state. PUNCH Metro  learnt that the deceased and the youth leader of the community, identified simply as Ope, had a few disagreements over a bus transaction and a parcel of land. It was gathered that the youth leader led policemen to arrest Danton in his house and took him to the palace. Our correspondent learnt that the 45-year-old was leaving after a discussion at the palace when he was shot by the inspector. The deceased’s son, Sunday Hondewu, told PUNCH Metro  that his father had bought the land some years ago and made part payment. “But the youth leader was also interested in buying the same land,” he added. Sunday explained that...

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said he would not rest until Nigerians see the country of their dream. Buhari made the promise in his Eid-el-Kabir message to Nigerians, which he personally signed. “Once again, I assure you that this administration, which has made the security, economic well-being and prosperity of all Nigerians its priority, will not rest on its oars until we see the Nigeria of our dream,” the President promised. Buhari, who returned to the country penultimate Saturday after spending 104 days in London, United Kingdom on medical grounds, again thanked Nigerians who prayed for his recovery and had continued to extend their goodwill and support after his return to the country. The President said, “Indeed your fervent and sincere prayers, which cut across religions, political and ethnic divides, have energised me to re-dedicate myself and this administration to the task of building a great Nigeria. “On the joyous occasion of this year...

A family doctor has appeared in court charged with 118 sexual offences on 54 victims, including a girl under 13. Manish Shah, 47, is accused of assaulting his victims at his surgery in Romford, Essex, United Kingdom, between 2004 and 2013. An investigation was launched after several people went to police in July and August 2013, when he was finally arrested. He faces 65 counts of assault by penetration, 52 counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual assault on a girl under 13. Shah appeared at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where it was indicated that he denied all charges against him. Judge Richard Hawgood said: “I hear what your indication is. These are matters that can only be dealt with in the crown court, or they are matters that are linked to matters that can only be heard at crown court.” Shah is suspended from practising as a doctor by the General Medical Council and barred from accessing any NHS medical records. He was granted bail ah...

The quake hit the Mentawai islands in West Sumatra province about 75 kilometres (46 miles) southwest of the provincial capital Padang at 00:06 am (1706 GMT), at a depth of 49 kilometres, according the US Geological Survey. The disaster agency said officials were checking for damage and casualties. Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide. An earthquake struck the country’s western Aceh province in December 2016, killing more than 100 people, injuring many more and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

The Nigerian Communications Commission on Thursday warned Nigerians against use of   substandard phones, saying this was responsible for some cancer ailments. An official of the commission, Mr  Kunle Olorundare, gave the warning at a stakeholders workshop organised by the Ibadan Zonal office of NCC at the popular Fayose GSM Market in Ado Ekiti. Olorundare lamented that fake phones had taken over the country’s phone market, adding that they have had  negative implications on the health of users. The NCC official  also identified unapproved phones as a major cause of network interruptions. He said the preponderance of substandard phones was causing colossal damage to network services and health of users. Olorundare  warned that sellers of unapproved Information and Communication Technology products were flouting the commission’s Act. He said they could face prosecution or seizure of their market...

The United States is requiring Russia to close its consulate in San Francisco and two annex buildings in Washington, D.C. and New York City, the State Department said on Thursday, in response to the Kremlin’s decision to shrink the U.S. diplomatic mission in Russia. Last month, Moscow ordered the United States to cut its diplomatic and technical staff in Russia by more than half, to 455 people, after Congress overwhelmingly approved new sanctions against Russia. “We believe this action was unwarranted and detrimental to the overall relationship between our countries,” State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, said in a statement on Thursday. “In the spirit of parity invoked by the Russians, we are requiring the Russian Government to close its Consulate General in San Francisco, a chancery annex in Washington, D.C., and a consular annex in New York City,” Nauert said. “These closures will need to be accomplished by September 2.”  ...

At least five persons were on Wednesday stabbed when the indigenes of Owerri Municipal Council clashed with thugs allegedly brought from the Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area of the state to enforce the demolition of the Owerri main market. The clash caused panic in the state capital, causing people, including motorists, to run for their lives. Motorists abandoned their vehicles, even as shop owners also fled to safety, abandoning their shops. According to eyewitnesses, trouble started when the indigenes started exchanging words with the thugs. The argument, our correspondent gathered, degenerated into a free for all. A resident who simply gave her name as Chika said, “One person was stabbed in my presence. He was stabbed in his head. I had to run for my life, abandoning the things I bought.” She disclosed that the warring groups were using knives and other weapons of destruction against one another. The clash, our correspondent gathered, extended to Wethereal road...

A 30-year-old Russian woman accused of being a cocaine mule faces the death penalty in Vietnam. But Maria Dapirka, who has already written a ‘farewell letter’ to her mother, claims she was set up by her lover who posed as a top footballer. Her lawyers have said she has accepted she may soon be executed, but still clings on to some hope she will be freed after three years in prison. Dapirka, who lived in Thailand when she met her lover, known as Nick, was caught with almost 3kg of cocaine by Vietnamese customs on a flight from Singapore. She said the cocaine was planted in her luggage by Nick — or ‘Chib Eze’ — who apparently has a penchant for seducing attractive young women before conning them into carrying drugs. Dapirka’s verdict and sentence was due to be handed down by a Vietnamese judge on Thursday in a Ho Chi Minh city court, but the session was postponed ‘for further investigation’ for the fifth time. In a letter to he...

The Niger State Police Command on Thursday said 184 Inspectors in the command were among the officers recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police for their diligence. The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Austin Agbonlahor, said this in Minna while decorating the officers with their new ranks. Agbonlahor said that the personnel were promoted after the Inspector General and the Police Service Commission had recognised their commitments to work. He lauded the police authority for approving the promotions and urged the beneficiaries to reciprocate the gesture by working harder to justify their new ranks. “Niger state is lucky to be one the states with the highest number of police personnel promoted across the country recently. “Your promotion will spur you to hard work and to be good ambassadors of the police force and Nigeria,’’ he said. ASP Mathew Abubakar, who spoke on behalf of others, said that promotion means more responsibility....

The Nasarawa State Government has placed an embargo on the employment of non-academic staff in three of its tertiary institutions. Commissioner of Education, Tijjani Ahmed, disclosed this during a tour of Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia, on Thursday. He said, “In the course of my tour of College of Education, Akwanga, College of Agriculture, Lafia, and the polytechnic, I discovered that the non-academic staff outnumbered the academic staff. “This situation is not healthy for a higher institution to have more non-teaching staff than teaching staff. “Therefore, as from now henceforth, no head of any tertiary institution in the state should employ any non-teaching staff till further notice.” Ahmed explained that the government would give priority to the employment of more academic staff in order to meet up the necessary requirements for accreditation of courses in the three institutions. He directed all the institutions to write formally to the government ...

A South African university student’s spending spree on clothes, a party and a new smartphone slammed to a halt after it emerged that the roughly $1m fuelling her splurge had been given to her in error. A company that hands out student funding accidentally transferred 14 million rand into the young woman’s account, instead of the 1,400-rand ($107) monthly food allowance she was supposed to get, officials said Wednesday. The Walter Sisulu University, in the Eastern Cape region, said the whopping error was made in June during monthly disbursement of state-issued student loans. “The error was only discovered on Monday after the matter was reported to us by another student,” the university spokeswoman Yonela Tukwayo said. Tukwayo said the student, who cannot be named, had already spent nearly 800,000 rand ($61,250) of the money. “She is liable for the amount that she has already spent, as part of our  agreement with students who take out loans,...

The Government College University of Lahore, Pakistan, has announced scholarship offer for Nigerians interested in its undergraduate and post graduate studies. The Head of Chancery, Pakistan High Commission, Azim Khan, made this known in an interview with  News Agency of Nigeria  on Wednesday in Abuja. Khan said the scholarship offer covered “all degree programmes,” adding that there were already about 30 Nigerians on Pakistani scholarship, studying in the university. “The scholarship is on first come, first served basis,” Khan said, urging interested Nigerians to  apply online via http://www.gcu.edu.pk/foreign_stu.htm . The envoy disclosed that the current scholarship offer would admit “at least 30 Nigerians.” GCU is a public research university. Its alumni network includes two Nobel Prize laureates Abdus Salam and Har Gobind Khorana; as well as philosopher Muhammad Iqbal, World Court President (1970-1973) Muhammad Zafarullah Kh...

Women have greater muscle endurance than their male counterparts, a recent study suggested. The study, published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, has found that women are considerably less exhausted after natural, dynamic muscle exercises than men of similar age and athletic ability. “We’ve known for some time that women are less fatigable than men during isometric muscle tests, static exercises where joints don’t move, such as holding a weight, but we wanted to find out if that’s true during more dynamic and practical everyday movements,” said Brian Dalton. Dalton, a study author and an assistant professor at the University of British Colombia, said: “the answer is pretty definitive: women can outlast men by a wide margin.” The study had a small sample, involving eight men and nine women at a similar level of physical fitness to flex their foot against a suite of sensors as quickly as they could 200 times. Th...

The alleged award of landscaping and beautification of the Costain Roundabout Garden to a barbecue services company – Topmost Suya and Asun Enterprises – has been causing a buzz online with Nigerians calling for investigations into the award. Many commentators on different platforms described the contract as a fraud, saying it was a reflection of the state of the country. On lindaikeji.com one Hrm Paul, said, “What do you expect in a corrupt country; fictitious names of contractors. What a shame.” Another poster,  asamp okoto , demanded explanations, saying there was more than meet the eyes in the award of the contract. “There’s absolutely nothing funny about this. If anything, we should be asking questions. This is obviously a company that doesn’t exist; the contract was obviously awarded to a person who then subcontracted it after stealing his own bit,” he posted. “Nigerian youths; this should actually cause some sort o...

Gunmen ambushed and killed four soldiers and a civilian in Nigeria’s oil-rich south, local sources said Wednesday, breaking months of uneasy calm after unrest over the distribution of the country’s oil revenues and forcing a military retaliation. Armed men ambushed the military contingent in the Ekeremor waterways area of Bayelsa State as they returned from an assignment in the Letugbene community on Monday. The gunmen, who outnumbered the soldiers, forced the servicemen to surrender, marched them to a creek, executed them and stole their weapons and military gear. A civilian boat driver with the military detachment attempted to escape but was also shot and killed by the attackers. Nigeria’s oil-rich south and southeast had been ravaged by violence orchestrated by groups seeking to force the government to more evenly share petroleum revenues with local residents. But violence had fallen away sharply in recent months after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo led negotia...

Suspected assassins have reportedly shot dead ward 4 party Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Felix Okugbeni, at his residence in Ughwagba, Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State. It was learnt that the incident occurred on Friday last week. Many residents have been forced to flee the community after many buildings were destroyed and burnt over the killing. Residents told our correspondent that the deceased was repeatedly shot while he was driving his tricycle into his residence. A female occupant of the tricycle, Gloria Aragba, also sustained life threatening injuries during the attack which led to the death of the PDP chieftain. One of the residents who is now taking refuge in Ughelli following the attack confirmed the development, saying that many houses had already been burnt down by some angry youths. The source stated that the incident happened a few hours after the local government chairman in the area, Prince Godwin Ejinyere, visited the late Okugbeni-led P...

The police in Lagos on Thursday said that five persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the lynching of two suspected ritualists in Mushin area of the metropolis. The spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, who confirmed the arrest, said the suspects would be charged to court for jungle justice once the investigation was concluded. Another ritualists’ hideout was uncovered in a tunnel at the Challenge area of Mushin, Lagos on Wednesday. Sources said that two of the three suspects found at the hideout were lynched by a mob before the arrival of policemen. “The hideout used to be the sewage tunnel of a moribund company in the area. “Syringes and needles were also found in the hideout,” a source said. Two similar ritualists den had been discovered in different parts of the state in the last two months, resulting in the death of suspected ritualists through jungle justice. On Aug. 9, two people were set abla...

Russia’s FSB intelligence agency said Thursday that it had detained two men from ex-Soviet Central Asia who were plotting to carry out stabbing and suicide bomb attacks in Moscow. The FSB said the men were looking to strike “mass gathering places” in Moscow and the surrounding region on Friday, the first day of the Russian school year. One of the suspects was arrested after posting a video of himself swearing allegiance to the Islamic State group and was intending to “attack civilians using bladed weapons”, the agency said in a statement. A second alleged IS member was detained after a “powerful homemade explosive device” was discovered at his residence, the FSB said. “He admitted that he intended to become a suicide bomber,” it said. Russia has repeatedly been threatened by Islamic State jihadists over its intervention in Syria on the side of President Bashar al-Assad. The group has claimed responsibility for two recent stab...

At least 18 people died Thursday when a building collapsed in India’s financial capital Mumbai following heavy rains that have wreaked havoc in many parts of South Asia. A dozen others were pulled from the rubble of the four-storey residential building, which gave way around 8:40 am (0310 GMT) in the densely populated area of Bhendi Bazaar. It was the most recent deadly housing collapse to strike the teeming metropolis — shining a spotlight on poor construction standards in the Asian country — and came after flooding in the city killed 10 people. “Eighteen people have died. Another 12 have been admitted to hospital,” Vijay Khabale-Patil, a spokesman for Mumbai’s civic authority, told AFP. Officials estimated that up to 40 people could have been caught up in the disaster. Khabale-Patil said rescue operations would go on into the evening. Ambulances rushed the injured to the nearby J.J. Hospital in the south of the city while locals joined a 43-m...

A Karmo Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, on Thursday sentenced one Ibrahim Ahmed, a house agent, to 16 months imprisonment for absconding with a prospective tenant’s N1,650,000 . The judge, Mr Abubakar Sadiq, convicted Ahmed after he admitted committing the offence. Ahmed of House 8 Etabg Obuil Crescent Lugbe, Airport Road, Abuja, was sentenced on a two-count of criminal breach of trust and cheating. The judge, however, gave the convict N30,000 option of fine, and warned him to view the reprieve as a second chance to become a better citizen. Sadiq also ordered the convict to pay N1,650,000 as restitution to the complainant, adding that paying back the amount was a key condition for him to regain his freedom. Mrs Florence Auhioboh, the prosecuting officer, earlier told the court that Ibrahim Sherifat of Plot 759, Solomon Lar Road, Utako, reported the matter at the Utako Police Station on May 8. Auhioboh averred that Saherifat gave the convict his apartment located at Utako Abuja ...

The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control has arrested a man and a woman in Aba for selling banned Analgin injection to unsuspecting residents. Mr. Olisa Okeke, the Abia Coordinator of NAFDAC, made this known on Thursday in Aba in an interview with the  News Agency of Nigeria. He said although the woman had been released on bail, she was being monitored and would be helping NAFDAC to further the investigation to burst other dealers in that drug ring in Aba. Okeke said that the man who also stocked the products in his shop has been made to pay a fine of N200,000, while NAFDAC confiscated the remaining drugs in his shop and sealed it. However, he said that full details of the suspects would not reveal now as they were helping in the investigation and possible arrest of those in their ring. “We got some expired injections in a shop and also found that the woman who is the owner is a nurse and she is using Analgin injection, a banned product. “As...

The Zone B of the Nigeria Customs Service Kaduna has placed its personnel on alert to prevent smuggling and sale of frozen products during Sallah, its Controller, Aminu Dahiru, has said. Dahiru said in a telephone interview on Thursday in Minna that additional manpower had been deployed to all border posts to also prevent illegal importation of weapons during the celebration. “We have placed our officers at the border posts on alert to prevent illegal importation of frozen poultry products and dangerous weapons during and after the Sallah festivities. “We want to ensure that smugglers and other bad elements do not take advantage of the festivities to bring in prohibited items particularly weapons, vehicle, rice and frozen products,” the controller said. Dahiru appealed to residents of border communities to support the NCS in tackling smuggling because of its negative impact on the economy and livelihood of Nigerians. The zone comprises Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Sokoto...

405 attendees of a Regional Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses were rendered unconscious on Friday morning, August 25, 2017, in Angola after assailants released toxic gas in the main auditorium and separate restroom facilities. According to the organisation’s website, jw.org , the gas was not lethal and no one was killed. The victims were taken to local hospitals and most were treated and released within a few hours. The incident is being investigated by the local authorities; three men were arrested and taken into police custody on Friday afternoon. The branch office in Luanda reports that all of the victims are recovering well. It was noted that those in attendance did not panic and worked together to care for the injured. In cooperation with recommendations from the local police, the Friday afternoon session of the convention was cancelled. However, the convention resumed successfully without major incident on Saturday, August 26, and Sunday, August 27....

Pyongyang has sentenced four South Korean journalists to death for book reviews that insulted the North, state media said Thursday. The Chosun Ilbo and the Dong-A Ilbo, both of them conservative newspapers, reviewed the new Korean edition of “North Korea Confidential”, a book by two Seoul-based British journalists first published in 2015. The work details the growing role of the market in daily lives in the North, where South Korean television dramas are circulated on the black market, and fashion items and hairstyles from the South are copied. Those caught in possession of DVDs or USBs containing South Korean TV dramas can bribe their way out of any trouble, it says. For the Korean edition, the book has been retitled “Capitalist Republic of Korea”, in a play on the North’s official designation as a democratic republic, and its cover replaces the red star in the North’s coat of arms with a dollar sign. By reviewing the book, newspapers “c...

The President, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, on Wednesday said he has not been invited to any meeting with government officials. Ogunyemi said the Federal Government had only responded to its August 28, 2017 letter, in which the union had listed the minimum demands that must be met before it would call off the ongoing strike. He added that the union would deliberate on the response before accepting or rejecting the offer. “Yes, they (government) have responded to our letter and we are discussing with them. We will discuss their offer with our members and then get back to them,” he said on the telephone, but declined to provide further details. When asked if the union had a meeting with government officials on Wednesday, Ogunyemi said, “No, I have not been invited to any meeting, we have only received a response to our letter.” ASUU had, on Tuesday, boycotted a scheduled meeting with a Federal Government delegat...

Britain will give Nigeria aid worth £200 million over five years to help it cope with the brutal insurgency being waged by Boko Haram jihadists, the foreign ministry in London said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Boris Johnson visited Maiduguri, the capital of  Borno State and epicentre of the Boko Haram organisation, to meet some of those involved in the fight. The Islamist militant group has increasingly used child suicide bombers and targeted civilians in its eight-year insurgency which have left at least 20,000 dead and displaced more than 2.6 million. “In Maiduguri, I met casualties of Boko Haram violence, including bomb and gunshot victims, and saw for myself the displacement of people that brutality and poverty have created,” Johnson said in a statement. The £200 million ($260 million, 220 million euros) will help supply food to 1.5 million people facing famine as a result of the bloody insurgency while providing treatment for 120,000 children at risk...

Rescuers were desperately searching for up to 40 people feared trapped when a building collapsed in India’s financial capital of Mumbai Thursday, killing one, an official said. The four-storey residential building gave way around 08:40 am (0310 GMT) in the densely populated area of Bhendi Bazaar, after heavy rains in the city killed 10 people. An official in the control room of India’s National Disaster Response Force said one body had been pulled from the rubble. Four people have been rescued but dozens more are thought to be trapped, he added. “Forty people are believed to be stuck inside and a 43-member team is conducting rescue operations,” the official told AFP. He said eight or nine families were thought to have been living in the building. Building collapses are common in India, especially during the monsoon season from late June to September, when heavy rains lash the teeming metropolis. Severe downpours began on Tuesday and caused flooding acros...

A 25-year-old undergraduate of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State, Chioma Pius, who was allegedly tortured by some policemen attached to the Rivers State Police Command, has identified the patrol team behind the attack. The victim, who spoke with our correspondent on Wednesday, said the matter had also been taken to the Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, Abuja. Our correspondent had reported Pius’ post on Facebook  on Wednesday, where she briefly recounted her experience with a four-man patrol team on the Elebrada Junction, in the Emohua area of Rivers State. She had said the police team accused her of putting on tattoos on her body and assaulted her before locking her up in a mobile cell. During a chat with  PUNCH Metro , she explained that the cops had earlier checked the vehicle particulars and that of the driver of the cab she took and finding no fault, shifted attention to her. She said, “The incident happened arou...

The Makurdi metropolis, Benue State, was again flooded on Wednesday after a five-hour downpour. It was gathered that the rain started around 12.24am and lasted till 5am, rendering thousands of residents homeless. The devastated areas are Zone 4, Wurukum, Gebade, Nyinma, Ghana, Naka Road, Wadatta Gboko Road and Media village in Achusa. PUNCH Metro  observed that the only access road linking three major communities in Makurdi was completely flooded, which prevented movement of vehicles. Parts of the public places buried in water along the major roads were Holy Trinity Specialist Hospital and Hotel Lucia. Also affected was the Living Faith Church on Naka Road, with several houses within the area completely buried in water. The state Governor, Samuel Ortom, called on the Federal Government to urgently intervene in the problem of flooding in the state, which he said had rendered many residents of Makurdi, the state capital, homeless. Ortom, who inspected the flooded areas on We...

Sahara Reporters  and its publishers, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, on Wednesday asked Justice Adeyinka Oyinloye of an Ilorin High Court to set aside his June 28, 2017 judgement against them. Justice Oyinloye had awarded a N4bn judgment against the online medium and Sowore, who were the defendants/respondents in the Suit No. KWS/23/2017. The judgement award is in favour of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who was the claimant/applicant in the suit. Sowore, who was absent during the proceedings on Wednesday was, however, represented by his counsel led by Mr. Stanley Imhanruor from Falana & Falana Chambers. Sowore and  Sahara Reporters  in their motion had prayed for an order extending the time within which the defendants/applicants might apply to set aside the entire proceedings in the suit and the judgement delivered by the court. They also sought an order setting aside the entire proceedings of the court in the suit and an order setting aside the judgement of th...

The leader of the Biafra Independent Movement, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, on Wednesday rejected the leadership of the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo. He said his movement would no longer recognise Nwodo as the leader of the apex Igbo socio-cultural group. Uwazuruike, who stated this in a statement in Awka, the Anambra State capital, said his non-recognition of Nwodo was as a result of his (Nwodo’s) meeting with an expelled member of MASSOB, Uchenna Madu. He said, “It was a deliberate move by Nwodo to spite my person as the leader and founder of MASSOB/BIM;  that is why he (Nwodo) invited one Uchenna Madu to a meeting yesterday(Tuesday) in Enugu knowing full well that Madu had been expelled from MASSOB. “Nwodo is fully aware of his intentions knowing very well that Madu is no longer a MASSOB member and he invited him for a meeting as MASSOB leader, when the said Madu does not have executive members or followership. “For this singul...

The Defence authorities have denied the claim that the military is monitoring hate campaigners  with the aim of arresting them, saying it does not have the powers to arrest Nigerians for such infraction. The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. John Enenche, who said this while featuring on Sunrise Daily  on Channels Televis ion on Wednesday, added that the military had no information about where Boko Haram insurgents were keeping the remaining Chibok girls. He explained that the military would only monitor the social media to sheave out information that could be useful for the planning of its operations. When asked to respond to the accusation that the military was planning to arrest hate campaigners, he said, “There was nothing like that. We do not have power to arrest people for hate speeches. It is just false assertion, against the military, and against my humble self that I said that we will be arresting people or checkmating people. “The military ...

Two people on Wednesday were killed by an irate mob in the Mushin area of Lagos State over suspicion of involvement in kidnappings and ritual killings. PUNCH Metro  learnt that while one was butchered and set ablaze on the road, the other, who had been beaten to a stupor, died at the police station after rescue. The incident happened at Challenge bus stop, Mushin. On August 9, two people were set ablaze by a mob in the Obadeyi-Ijaiye end of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway for allegedly operating a ritual den in the community. On August 11, a man was also killed at the Ile Zik bus stop, Ikeja Along end of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, over a similar allegation. Our correspondent gathered that the lynching of the two suspects in Mushin started after a vulcaniser sighted a ‘mad’ man discussing with another person in a tunnel at the Challenge bus stop around 6am. The vulcaniser was said to have raised the alarm as residents gathered around the scene. However, only t...

Three foreign nationals have been arrested in Anambra State for having in their possession several numbers of Permanent Voter Cards allegedly issued to them by the Independent National Electoral Commission. It was gathered that voter cards were for the purpose of voting in the governorship election in the state scheduled for November 18. The Comptroller of Immigration Service, Anambra State Command, Mr King Ekpedeme, disclosed this in Awka, the state capital, while screening ECOWAS citizens resident in the state to ascertain the genuineness of their documents. Ekpedeme, who expressed his command’s determination to ensure that people would not sneak into the state to cause confusion during the November poll, reminded foreigners that they were not eligible to vote in elections in the country. He advised Heads of the National Association of Citizens of the ECOWAS member states resident in the state to encourage their nationals to document their residency with immigration officer...

There seems to be no end in sight to the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities as the Federal Government says it is still studying the fresh demands made by the union. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, disclosed this on Wednesday while responding to an enquiry by one of our correspondents. The correspondent had, in an SMS, asked if a date had been fixed for a meeting between the Federal Government and ASUU. Ngige, who responded through an SMS, said, “No. Government side is still studying their new demands with the Vice-President (Prof. Yemi Osinbajo) as mandated by FEC (the Federal Executive Council).” Although both the Federal Government and ASUU failed to disclose the fresh demands by the university teachers, there were reports on Wednesday that the union asked the Federal Government to pay the shortfall in salaries in the universities. The reports also indicated that the union wanted universities to manage their internally gen...