Author: straightnewsng.com

Pope Francis, Wednesday, condemned the massacre of farmers in Borno State by Boko Haram insurgents. The terrorists attacked the area outside Borno state’s capital Maiduguri on Saturday, slaughtering at least 76 labourers in rice fields near the village of Zabarmari. “I want to assure my prayers for Nigeria, where blood has unfortunately been spilled once more in a terrorist attack,” he said in his weekly general audience. Remembering those who he said were “brutally killed”, he said: “May God welcome them in his peace and comfort their families, and convert the hearts of those who commit similar atrocities, which gravely…

A Swedish-Nigerian woman has been handed a four-year imprisonment by Federal High Court, Uyo  for alleged child trafficking in Akwa Ibom State. Stephany Isaksson, 43, was jailed on two counts of keeping an 18-month-old baby by means of fraud from one Uduak (currently at large), an offence which is contrary to section 13(2)(b) of trafficking in persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act 2015 and for receiving the custody of the baby, knowing that the infant would be subject to exploitation. This is contrary to section 21 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act. Isaksson was apprehended by…

The 18-year-old set a new landmark for the Austrian giants on Tuesday Nigerian wonder-kid, Karim Adeyemi, broke a Champions League record for Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday, when he netted in their 3-1 victory at Lokomotiv Moscow. Adeyemi added Salzburg’s third in the 81st minute away at the RZD Arena, finally killing off the contest after Anton Miranchuk had pulled one back for Lokomotiv two minutes beforehand following a first-half double from the visitors’ Mergim Berisha. In finding the net, Adeyemi becomes—at the age of 18 years and 318 days—the youngest player ever to score in the Champions League for…

More than 300,000 passengers have been airlifted by Ibom Airlines Limited since its inception last year, the Group Manager, Marketing and Communications of the Airline, Mrs. Aniekan Essienette, has said. The airline also said it has contributed more than one billion naira directly and indirectly to the economy of Akwa Ibom people through vendors and suppliers within the period. Essienette told our correspondents in Uyo on Tuesday that the airline would continue to play its role as  a key vehicle for the economic development and growth of Akwa Ibom state. According to him, the 300,000 passengers included the COVID-19 lockdown…

Pope Francis, Saturday, promoted Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory, the first African- American and 12 new Cardinals to be admitted among the so-called Princes of the Church. Gregory, who turns 73 next month, leads an archdiocese rocked by the scandal of Theodore McCarrick, a former archbishop who was defrocked last year after being ousted as a serial sexual predator. In June, Gregory made headlines after criticizing outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump for turning a visit to the Saint John Paul II National Shrine as “a photo opportunity.” He and other cardinals-elect were given the red hats and rings that come with…

The Nigerian Senate’s resolution asking President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately initiate a way of sacking the current overstayed service chiefs and replace them with new ones with new ideas and solutions may fall on deaf ears. Resolutions of the Senate Tuesday were sequel to a motion entitled, ”Beheading of 67 Farmers in Borno by Boko Haram insurgents: Need for Urgent Decisive Action” and sponsored by Senator Kassim Shettima, All Progressives Congress, APC, Borno Central and co-sponsored by 17 other Senators. The Vote-of-No-Confidence on Buhari’s inability to secure Nigeria comes in the wake of Saturday’s brutal massacre of 43 rice farmers…

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has reported three deaths and 281 new COVID-19 infections in the country. Of the new infections, Lagos State recorded the highest toll of 123 new cases while Kaduna and Imo trailed with 38 and 15 respectively. NCDC tweeted on Tuesday “On the 1st of December 2020, 281 new confirmed cases and 3 deaths were recorded in Nigeria. “The 281 new cases are reported from 13 states- Lagos (123), FCT (64), Kaduna (38), Imo (15), Rivers (11), Plateau (8), Ogun (5), Bayelsa (4), Kwara (4), Bauchi (3), Edo (3), Kano (2) and Osun (1).” According to…

World Health Organisation says 38 million people in the world lived with HIV infection last year. According to WHO, an estimated 26 million people globally were on antiretroviral treatment in mid-2020, against 2.4 per cent from an estimated 25.4 million at the end of 2019. In marking World AIDS Day on December 1, WHO noted, “This increase is too slow by comparison to last year where treatment coverage increased by an estimated 4.8% between January and June of 2019. “In 2019, there were still 38 million people living with HIV infection. One in five people living with HIV were not…

As the months-old strike lingers, the national leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, is ambivalent over the Federal Government’s offers. Consequently, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, the ASUU National President, said the union is still consulting on what its reply will be to the offers the Federal Government made for it to end its months-old strike. Announcing this on Tuesday in the union’s Twitter handle, he said the consultation is with members across the country and other critical stakeholders. “We have what the government is offering and have transmitted same to our members nationwide and we are consulting on…

Worried by the heightened level of insecurity in Nigeria, the House of Representatives December 1, passed a resolution to invite President Muhammadu Buhari to brief the house on the true state of the security situation in the country. Though no date was fixed for the summon, the decision was taken during Tuesday’s plenary when the House considered a motion moved by members from Borno State on the recent massacre of 43 rice farmers in the state by Boko Haram insurgents. The debate had earlier turned rowdy after the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila appealed that it would be inappropriate to invite the…