Author: straightnewsng.com

Against the rising wave of kidnapping in Eket local government area of Akwa Ibom State, more than 10 persons abducted in various parts of the area by unidentified gunmen were said to have coughed up millions of Naira as ransoms to secure their release, investigation by Straightnews has shown. It is alleged that the persons comprising seven men and three women who were abducted between August and October, this year gained freedom after payment of various ransoms to their abductors. Recall that the Akwa Ibom Police Command had on Wednesday, September 25 banned commercial cyclists in Eket, to checkmate criminal…

As rains continue to come down in torrents this year, many families in Nigeria are in tears as flood has visited woes on them. In Akwa Ibom State, the heavy downpour of Tuesday, October 22 triggered ferocious flood to have washed away millions Naira farmlands and swept away household properties, causing many families to shed tears. On that day, some Nsekhe people in Ukanafun local government area wore mournful look as the flood wrecked havoc in many families forcing the victims to cry to high Heavens for assistance. Aged Emmanson Udom whose compound sits along Abak-Ukanafun Road is an eye…

By Udeme Nana Three unrelated events sum up the topic of this column today. One was the statement made by the Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom concerning the use of social media by youths to insult their elders. The Governor attributed this sorry state of our society to the abdication of parenting responsibilities. The second issue concerned the wife of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mrs Aisha Buhari where she was recorded on video in a moment of madness by Fatima Daura, a tenant in Aso Rock quarters. Hear Fatima, perhaps young enough to be Mrs…

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Thursday, said the Nigerian Air Force would soon take delivery of two helicopter gunships to help in stamping out insurgency and other criminal activities that threaten the territorial integrity of the country. Abubakar stated this at the 2020 budget defence exercise of the Force before the House of Representatives Committee on Air Force. He noted that airpower was critical in resolving many conflicts, such as Boko Haram insurgency that has ravaged the north eastern part of Nigeria. According to him, the Nigerian Air Force has recruited over 10,000 youths, among whom…

The United Nations resident coordinator for Nigeria, Mr Edward Kallon believes Nigeria has the capacity and resources to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030. Speaking during the celebration of United Nations Day in Abuja, Kallon added that the Nigerian government needs to mobilise the required resources and adopt an unusual approach to achieve the goals. Meanwhile, the Federal Government has handed over the renovated UN building to the global body. The event marked with the significant laying of a wreath for victims of the 2011 car bomb explosion. The UN building was renovated by the Federal Government after…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has re-arraigned a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu over money laundering. Professor Iwu was re-arraigned Thursday before Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos on four counts bordering on money laundering to the tune of N1,203,000,000. Iwu was first arraigned on August 8 before Justice Chuka Obiozor, a vacation judge, but the matter was re-assigned to Justice Oweibo for trial. According to the EFCC, he is alleged to have aided the concealment of the money between December 2014 and March 2015 in…

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has advised leaders of different faith in the country to be careful with the use of social media to avoid promoting conflicts that could go out of hand. Osinbajo also said government regulation on social media was not necessarily the way to go, but noted that as persons of faith and leaders that use social media actively, they owed a responsibility to the society and everyone else to ensure it was not allowed to become an instrument of conflict and war. He stated this in his remarks at the interfaith religious dialogue on promoting religious tolerance…

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has canvassed for financial autonomy for States Independent Electoral Commissions, SIECs, saying they cannot be truly independent if they have to depend on the magnanimity of state chief executives to discharge their mandates. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the call during a meeting of the commission with the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria, FOSIECON, in Abuja Thursday. Yakubu urged the SIECs to ensure timely conduct of free and credible councils’ elections across the country. He said: “”here is a special relationship between INEC and SIEC. We are both creations of same section…

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has been directed to sanction mobile network operators in the country making illegal deductions from subscribers. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, who issued the directive also ordered the immediate stoppage of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data deductions by network providers in Nigeria. In a statement signed by his spokesman, Uwa Suleiman, Thursday, the minister said “We have directed the Nigerian Communication Commission to ask MTN to suspend the plan. We are not aware of it officially. We will investigate and make sure the right thing is done. “The attention of the Ministry…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Thursday, said within the next 90 days, Nigerians would be able to know the actual volume of crude oil produced in the country, and the actual quantity of petroleum products imported into Nigeria. The actual volume of crude oil produced and the volume of petroleum products consumed in the country had been a source of controversy over the last couple of months. Before 2015, Nigeria’s fuel consumption was put at an average of 35 million litres per day, but today, the NNPC said it was averaging 55 million litres daily and this claim has…