Avarine

…Insecurity in S’South: Explosion rocks Wike’s father’s church …3 suspects arrested …C’River monarchs threaten native sanction against criminals By Egufe Yafugborhi, Emma Una & Chioma Onuegbu POLICE in Rivers State have arrested three suspects after an explosion suspected to be detonated dynamite, rocked the Azikwe Street, Diobu, Port Harcourt site of the Christian Universal Church International, a denomination founded and presided over by father of Governor Nyesom Wike as overseer. The arrest of the suspects was confirmed by Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan just as traditional rulers in Cross Rivers State yesterday threatened to invoke native sanction on criminals to stem the tide of insecurity in the state. A tragic incident was also recorded in Akwa Ibom State as a middle-aged woman, Mary Imewe, was arrested by the police for slaughtering her own mother, identified as Eka Ime. Confirming the arrest of three persons linked to the bomb explosion at Governor...

By Obadiah Mailafia I love Nigeria. But there is a part of me, to echo the poet Rupert Brooke, that is forever England. Perhaps it’s on account of her medieval knights and Plantagenet troubadours; her baroque royal trumpets; her decency and manners; her poets and seers; her afternoon teas with scones — her love of liberty. On Monday, November 23, following a 200,000-strong petition, the British Parliament held a special debate to consider sanctions against Nigeria. In September, the same venerable house had written to Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, to investigate genocide in Nigeria. Nigerians in the UK have become a powerful lobby. They can no longer be ignored. Several have been elected into parliament, among them Olukemi Badenoch, recently appointed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as Minister for Children and Families. The Mother of Parliaments is as old as Magna Carta. Despite the Nazis and the blitz, it has never stopped sitting for 600 years. It comma...

Edo Queens Football Club of Benin-City captain Osahenoma Igbinovia has reiterated the club’s commitment in winning laurels in the forthcoming 2020/21 Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) season. Captain Osahenoma, told her colleagues during a training session in Abuja to brace up, adding that the only way to get the State government’s attention is by winning matches. ALSO READ:  Excess liquidity, thinning money market margins to sustain bullish stock “We must know that it is no longer business as usual,if we must enjoy the full support of the State government, it is mandatory for us to win matches, because the only way to draw government’s attention to meet our demands is for us to show total commitment to our job and doing very well.” “We should remember that Edo Queens FC is highly rated among female clubs in the country, and a lot of female league players want to come to Edo Queens because of the commitment of the State government towards the club and rebranding that has t...

Police in France detained 81 people across the country after protests were held in several cities against police brutality and controversial new security law, according to reports. The arrests were made after around 133,000 people demonstrated in several cities, with 46,000 in Paris alone, according to French news agency AFP, which cited the Interior Ministry. Organizers later said that as many as 500,000 people nationwide had joined the marches, with as many as 200,000 in Paris, AFP reported. In Paris, where isolated riots broke out, protesters erected barricades and threw objects at the police, and 23 officers were injured, according to the city’s police force. Countrywide, 76 were injured, AFP reported. In the Breton city of Rennes, officers used tear gas against the protesters. Further protests took place in Strasbourg, Marseille and Lyon. The protests come as France reels from two high-profile incidents of police brutality. On Monday, police officers used force to evac...

By Peter Egwuatu The proposed plan by the Federal Government to takeover investors’ unclaimed dividends has drawn the ire of capital market operators who are pointing at the adverse effects on investor confidence and future growth of the market. The unclaimed dividend portfolio is projected to hit N200 billion by the end of this year Some critics of the controversial bill see it as one of the options of the government to fund its budget in the face of increasing budget deficit and rising public debt. The Federal Government has in Section 39 of the 2020 Finance Act proposed that unclaimed dividends of less than 12 years be managed on behalf shareholders through Unclaimed Dividend Trust Fund while after 12 years, the money becomes   forfeited to the   Government as   perpetual debt to shareholders. READ ALSO Hoodlums hold Customs officials hostage, snatch gun from soldiers in Ogun Addressing the Investigative Arm of House Committee on Capital Market a...

Nestoil By Gabriel Ewepu and Alice Ekpang – Abuja A Non-governmental Organization, NGO, Joint Mobile Sanitation Agency of Nigeria, JOMSAN, weekend, called the Federal Government to stop multiple taxation and roadblocks mounted on federal highways in order to enhance smooth food transportation and supply across the country. This was stated by the President, JOMSAN, Dr Nnamdi Ogbogbo, at a workshop on ‘Building Partnership for Food Security in Nigeria’, held in Abuja. Ogbogbo explained that the workshop was held in partnership with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, and National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, whose aim is to eradicate multiple taxations and stop all illegal roadblocks by bringing uniformity among all 774 local government revenue contractors in the Mobile Advert Industry. READ ALSO:  Hoodlums hold Customs officials hostage, snatch gun from soldiers in Ogun He said: “There is a need to introduce policies that can help combat f...

By Henry Umoru—ABUJA Governors of the 36 states in the country, on the platform of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), have described the killing of over 40 rice farmers in Garin Kwashebe, Jere Local Government Area of Borno State, on Saturday, November 28, by Boko Haram terrorists as obnoxious, wicked, unwarranted and morally reprehensible. In a statement, on Sunday, by the NGF Chairman and Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the governors said the action of the Boko Haram insurgents have brought back what they described as the ugly memories of several dastardly attacks on soft targets in the state. The statement read: “The farmers were attacked while harvesting their produce totally oblivious of the danger that awaits them in nearby bushes. “This method is consistent with the senseless bombings of busy markets, bus stations, schools and abattoirs whenever the terrorists feel overpowered by the security operatives or feel their backs against the wall. “Governors, under the ...