Author: straightnewsng.com

Members of the Muslim sect, also known as Shi’ites, however, vowed to continue in their expression of dismay over the refusal of the government to obey multiple court orders directing the release of their leader, Shiekh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, through every legitimate means at their disposal. Sheikh El-Zakzaky, who had been held since 2015 by the Department of State Services, DSS, marked his 68th birthday last weekend under ‘protective’ custody. Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, has said it was not at odds with either the federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari or any other constituted authority in Nigeria, in spite of…

Impelled by a renewed war between the Tiv and Jukun ethnic groups, House of Representatives, Tuesday, charged the nation’s security agencies to arrest the perpetrators of the killings in Taraba State. The House also sought thorough investigation to unravel the forces behind the crisis with a view to providing a lasting solution to it. The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Danjuma Shiddi (PDP, Taraba) and Emmanuel Udende (APGA, Benue) at Tuesday’s plenary on the need for intervention in the crisis in Wukari local government area of Taraba State. While further directing the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, and the Presidential…

Nigeria lost a substantial $32 million due to its inability to export about 450,000 barrels of crude oil, bpd, for three days, owing to razing of Nembe Creek pipeline. The export disruption took place from April 21 to 23 due to destruction of the facility, culminating in the declaration of force majure. Meanwhile, Aiteo has tackled the fire incident, thus paving way for inspection and rehabilitation of the facility. This is even as Neconde Energy Limited has invented an Alternative Evacuation Technology, AET, to tackle oil theft and pipeline vandalism in Nigeria. In a statement Tuesday, Aiteo stated: “Aiteo confirms…

The acting Inspector-General of Police, Ag. IGP, Mohammed Adamu, Tuesday ordered the immediate arrest and prosecution of persons involved in the unprovoked and gruesome attack on police officers in Cross Rivers State. Adamu said the police operatives who were attacked were on a legitimate mission to arrest some suspected armed robbers and receivers of a stolen vehicle in a community in the state. The FPRO, Frank Mba in a statement explained that the attack occurred on April 17, at Ogoja community of the state. He added, “It was masterminded and executed by one Ikenga, a notorious receiver of stolen property,…

After exchange of blames and accusations, the legal team of Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom Northwest) on Tuesday inspected election materials used on February 23, 2019 Senatorial election in the area. Akpabio’s team of lawyers led by Patrick Umoh was at the state headquarters of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Udo Udoma Avenue, Uyo, Akwa Ibom state by 10 a.m. for the inspection. It was gathered that the ongoing inspection process was stopped last Tuesday because of the Easter holidays after Akpabio’s lead counsel Umoh had accused INEC of preventing them from accessing and inspecting the materials. They were led…

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has accepted a fresh suit seeking to stop President Muhammadu Buhari from appointing the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Tanko Muhammad, to take over the leadership of the judiciary in substantive capacity. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/420/2019, is praying the court to declare that Justice Muhammad who is currently the most senior jurist at the Supreme Court, was unfit to replace the sacked CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen. Specifically, the plaintiff, Chief Malcom Omirhobo, who is a human rights lawyer, is praying the court to declare that the Acting CJN, Justice Muhammad,…

Nigeria’s borrowing put at 19 percent to the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, is low compared to such countries as Ghana, Brazil, South Africa, Egypt and Angola, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance has said. Ahmed in a statement by her Special Adviser, Media, Mr. Paul Abechi, in Abuja, Tuesday, was obviously reacting to concerns by critics that the current administration was mounting debts. “In the borrowing, we are still at 19 per cent to GDP.  Our borrowing is still low. What is allowed by our Fiscal Responsibility Act is the maximum of 25 per cent of our GDP compared…

Among the highest recipients of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations in the country, Akwa Ibom State is second having collected N272 billion from January to December, 2018. This was contained in a report by Economic Confidential, an intelligence economic magazine, released on Tuesday, April 22, which stated that N8 trillion from the Federation Account was shared among the 36 states and the 774 local government councils in Nigeria last year. Recall that in 2017, Akwa Ibom collected the highest share of N143.6 billion, showing an increase of 25 per cent from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements, Nigeria…

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the North East geo-political zone is safer under his administration contrary to insinuations in some quarters that he was not doing much to curtail killings in the area. President Buhari who was reacting to the comment credited to the Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese, Rt. Rev. Stephen Mamza, where he allegedly described the President as “sleeping on duty as Commander-in-Chief.” Describing the comment as unfair, the President through Malam Garba Shehu, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity in Abuja Monday, said that he had done enough to protect the people than previous…

The Republic of Ghana is soliciting the support of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, in its bid to host the Secretariat of the proposed African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA. The Ghanaian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Botchwey made the request at the ongoing ECOWAS Parliament Delocalised joint Committee Meeting in Accra, Ghana. According to her, Ghana has since its independence in 1957, committed so much to Africa’s unity to deserve the hosting of a continental initiative like AfCFTA. “Our government has decided to and has, indeed, formally expressed its interest to have Ghana…