Author: straightnewsng.com

The House of Representatives has moved to enact a law prescribing a five-year jail term, with an option of N1 million for any security officer who arrests a judge within the court premises.  The Bill sponsored by Onofiok Luke (PDP-Akwa Ibom) also seeks to protect judicial officers from arrests and prosecution is underway in the House of Representatives. The legislation obtained by Vanguard is entitled: “An Act to Preserve the Sanctity and Authority of Court as A Sacred Institution in order to Effectively Discharge its functions and Exercise the Judicial Powers Conferred on it Under the Constitution of the Federal…

By Akanimo Sampson Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, says the Nigerian Army is not only locked in fighting insurgency everywhere in the country. Buratai said the army has been busy developing capacity to contribute to the country’s economic development. He was speaking through the army’s Chief of Policy and Plan, Lt. Gen. Lamidi Adeosu, at the Nigerian Army Special Day at the ongoing 41st Kaduna International Trade Fair. Besides its primary role of defending the territorial integrity of Nigeria, Buratai says the army is deeply involved in fighting insurgency in the North East and other internal security operations across…

Five suspected herdsmen linked with killings in Agadama, Avwon and Okugbe communities of Uwheru Kingdom in Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state have been arrested. Delta State Police Command, Sunday, confirmed the arrest which is coming, as sources from Ughelli Central Hospital mortuary told Vanguard that autopsy on the eight locals who were killed during the attack, had been completed with the report indicating how the victims were killed. Recall that the corpses of eight indigenes of the communities were exhumed and taken to Ughelli ‘A’ Division police station en route the Ughelli Central Hospital, following reported attacks…

By Akanimo Sampson This Sunday, March 8, is International Women’s Day. The stakes could not be higher. This 2020 marks a quarter-century since the creation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a global blueprint for advancing the rights of women. It called for equality in all spheres of life and – building on a landmark consensus reached the previous year – it affirmed that reproductive health and rights are central to achieving that goal. Former Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Nafis Sadik, at the 1995 conference in Beijing where the Platform for Action was…

Tunisian club Esperance this weekend became the latest victims of a jinx that has prevented any club winning the CAF Champions League three consecutive times. Zamalek of Egypt defeated the 2018 and 2019 trophy-holders 3-2 on aggregate in a quarter-final after losing the second leg 1-0 in Tunis Friday. Esperance joined Al Ahly of Egypt and TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo (twice each) and Enyimba of Nigeria as back-to-back title winners who could not complete a treble. The Tunisians, who also lost to Zamalek in the one-off CAF Super Cup match last month, were hit by a…

By Akanimo Sampson More than 20,014 migrants have perished in the Mediterranean Sea since 2014. The death toll was pushed up by a tragic shipwreck off the coast of Libya last month and more than a dozen other recent fatalities elsewhere. Director of the International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) Global Migration Data Analysis Centre, Frank Laczko, says “the disappearance and presumed drowning of at least 91 people reported missing aboard a dingy north of Garabulli, Libya, on February 9 is the latest in a series of so-called ‘ghost boats’ that have vanished en-route to Europe, claiming hundreds of lives. “Two-thirds…

By Akanimo Sampson The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) does not want any expectant mother to fall victim to the rampaging coronavirus. UNFPA is urging pregnant women to take routine preventative actions to avoid infection with the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). These preventative measures, recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), includes diligent hand-washing, avoiding close contact with people exhibiting symptoms of infection, covering sneezes and coughs, and thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Public health officials are rushing to contain the rapid spread of the virus. More than 95,000 cases have been confirmed across 79 countries. The illness, caused by…

As the controversy over the status of the embattled Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole rages on, feelers have emerged that the governors in the party are already shopping for his replacement. The Federal High Court, Jabi in Abuja on Wednesday, March 4 suspended Oshiomhole over claims that his ward in Edo State had suspended him, though Federal High Court in Kano on Thursday quashed the judgment. Governors’ Mandate exclusively gathered that most of the governors are seriously looking in the direction of picking one of the three former governors from the South-South, the region to…

By Akanimo Sampson President Muhammadu Buhari is currently warming up to flood Nigeria with Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs). The Buhari administration wants to use SAPZs as integrated development initiatives with the goal of concentrating agro-processing activities within areas of high agricultural potential to boost productivity, integrate production, processing and marketing of selected commodities. To this effect, a workshop was held in Abuja last February 17 to 18, to address the categorisation and location of the SAPZs, which are meant to kick-start the agriculture sector. Also, African Development Bank (AfDB) in collaboration with the Federal Government has held a meeting…

By Akanimo Sampson Oil-producing governors of Southern Nigeria are persuading President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately constitute the governing board for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). According to them, the interventionist agency will play a great role in the regional development of the Niger Delta. The governors have also agreed to restart the BRACED Commission and ensure that they provide the necessary logistics for it to function properly. The commission as established was to help the governors look into the issues of the regional economy and the need for them to develop the environmentally despoiled oil and gas region collectively,…