Author: straightnewsng.com

A gang which kidnapped a group of missionaries from the US and Canada in Haiti on Saturday is demanding $1 million (£725,000) in ransom for each of the 17 people it is holding, the Haitian justice minister has told the Wall Street Journal. The gang is notorious for kidnapping groups of people for ransom. The same gang, 400 Mazowo, abducted a group of Catholic clergy in April, though the clergy were later released but it is not clear if a ransom was paid. Who are the victims? All of those kidnapped are US citizens, except one who is a Canadian…

Three traditional rulers were killed by unknown gunmen at Nnenasa community, headquarters of Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State. The traditional rulers from the area numbering over 20 were having a stakeholders’ meeting at the local government headquarters in the community when gunmen invaded the venue and opened fire on them. Among the monarchs confirmed dead were the Obi 1 of Okwudor autonomous community, Eze E. Anayochukwu Durueburuo and Eze Sampson Osunwa of Ihebineowerre autonomous community. It was gathered that other traditional rulers sustained varying degrees of injuries. Spokesperson of the State Police Command, Mike Abattam, said two of the traditional…

Benue and Edo governors, Samuel Ortom and Godwin Obaseki, have condoled with their Sokoto State counterpart, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and families of the victims of Goronyo market attack. No fewer than 40 persons were Sunday night killed by bandits at the popular and busy Goronyo market in Goronyo local Government Area of the state. Ortom described the incident which left more than 40 persons dead and many others injured from the sporadic attacks as sad, unfortunate and shocking. The Governor urged relevant security agencies in the state to ensure that the perpetrators of this dastardly act are apprehended and…

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, a Socio-cultural group, has called on the Federal Government to produce the detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, in court on Thursday, October 21. The group said dialogue was the best solution to ending the crisis and youth restiveness in the South East. Its National Publicity Secretary, Alex Ogbonnia, in a statement, said Kanu’s appearance in court was necessary to prove to the global community that a shady judicial process is not contemplated while he is on trial. “Ohanaeze Ndigbo calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that our son, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is produced…

By Aniefiok Christopher Three persons were roasted to death in a gas explosion in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The sad incident which took place at 24 Nwaniba Road in Uyo, the state capital happened when one Utibe sparked a match stick on his gas cooker and it exploded, burning him and his friend, one Enwongo beyond recognition. When Straightnews reporter visited the compound on Thursday, October 14, the half brother of the landlord who did not want his name in the print conducted the reporter round the scene of the tragedy. He narrated ”The incident occurred on Wednesday,…

President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled President Joe Biden, the government and the people of the United States, on the passing into eternity of the former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell. This was contained in a statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President Media and Publicity, on Monday. The President believed that as the first African American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as the first African American Secretary of State, Powell was a great statesman and a global icon in every sense of…

Former US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has died of Covid-19 complications despite his full vaccinated against the virus, his family has announced. “General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid-19,” the Powell family wrote on Facebook on Monday afternoon, October 18 said. “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American,” they said, noting he was fully vaccinated. “We want to thank the medical staff… for their caring treatment,” it added. He was a former top…

Months of intense cults war have continued unabated as no fewer than four persons have been consumed in some communities in Etim Ekpo and Ukanafun Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State on Sunday. The killings, it was gathered, followed months of supremacy battle involving two rival outlawed cult groups – Iceland (The Red) and the Debam (The White) – confraternities. Those killed, it was learnt, include one Samuel Ekeke Mkpokporo from Udianga Enem village and Gideon Monday Udoekong from Ikot Umoabiat village in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area. Besides, an unidentified victim from Ikot Unah village in Ukanafun was…

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has restated the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari administration to completing all abandoned projects in the nine states of the Niger Delta Region. Akpabio spoke Sunday in Uyo after an inspection tour of the long-abandoned 1000-bed hostel blocks constructed by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for the University of Uyo, Uyo. Located at the Main Campus of the institution at Nsukara Offot, Uyo, the three-storey building which started about 15 years ago, but was delayed for many reasons is almost 98 percent completed and ready for commissioning in the next…

No fewer than 18 people have died a day after torrential rains swept through villages and flooded roads in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Officials said rescuers recovered the bodies in two of the worst-hit districts, Kottayam and Idukki, where the heavy downpours triggered massive landslides, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency. The National Disaster Response Force and the Indian Army deployed teams to help with rescue efforts as several are still feared to be missing. On Saturday, when the heavy rains began, television reports showed people wading through chest-deep waters to rescue passengers from…