Author: straightnewsng.com

The United Nations Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial and Arbitrary Executions, Agnes Callamard, has expressed concern over the high rate of extra-judicial killings in the country. The UN envoy, whose official visit to Nigeria ends today, is in the country to examine situations of violations of the right to life by state and non-state actors; the federal, state security strategy and the responses at federal and state levels to allegations of arbitrary deprivation of life. She arrived the country August 19, 2019. According to Callamard, the “overall situation that I encountered in Nigeria gives rise to extreme concern. ”By many measures,…

By Akanimo Sampson Academic activities in Nigeria’s public universities are likely to be shut down in the weeks ahead, if the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of President Muhammadu Buhari fails to address concerns by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Although ASUU has already tasked President Buhari to use education to solve poverty problem in the country, the erudite scholars have however, described the statement credited to the President, citing education as a way to end poverty, as a mere political statement. ASUU Chairman at the University of Ibadan, Professor Deji Omole, said on Sunday in Ibadan, the…

By Akanimo Sampson With Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State (Peoples Democratic Party) locked in a veiled political war with his Kano State counterpart, Abdullahi Ganduje (All Progressives Congress) over a purported demolition of a mosque in the big oil state, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) appears to be busy fanning the embers to speed up the disintegration of Nigeria. Nigeria appears to be a country dangerously polarised by religion (Christianity and Islam) and geo-political rivalry (North and South) since 2015 and the Muslim North seems to be viciously taking advantage of the Muhammadu Buhari administration to strangulate the…

A former employee of ExxonMobil is in hot soup as an Uyo High Court in Akwa Ibom State has ordered her to pay N500,000 as damages for libel against Mrs Regina Udobong, the immediate past Manager, Public and Government Affairs, Joint Venture Operations of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, (MPNU). The court presided over by Justice Margaret-Mary Udoma ordered one Ms Mfon Abia, the one-time employee of ExxonMobil to pay the money for falsely and maliciously publishing libelous materials against Udobong on social media in the LinkedIn, Online Professional Platform to the entire world, read by numerous persons within and outside…

As Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, and Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Associated Institutions, NASU, plan to embark on mother of all strike, Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, plans to meet with the unions’ leadership to avoid the planned strike. The two non-teaching staff unions in the universities, under the umbrella of Joint Action Committee, JAC, have threatened to embark on what they called mother of all strike, if the Federal Government failed to address their demands. Already, Chairman of JAC and President of SSANU, Comrade Samson Ugwoke, told Vanguard that JAC might likely…

The Federal Government has faulted the cancellation of the $100 million concession agreement by Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, with Phase3 Telecom Ltd and Alheri Engineering Services, describing it as illegal and a nullity. The government had on March 20, 2006, facilitated the signing of $100 million Concession Agreement that mandated the concessionaire to design, build, finance and operate, DBFO, fibre optic network infrastructure in the country. Arising from the need to review the concession terms as envisaged in the agreement, following the liberalisation of the National Long-distance Fibre Optic landscape in Nigeria, TCN reneged on reports by an audit firm and recommendation of…

Suspected Boko Haram members Sunday killed five farmers around Molai general area of Maiduguri metropolis. This is even as the insurgents invaded Yimirmugza, near Kautikari community of Chibok local government area of Borno State, razed houses and looted foodstuff while the residents fled for safety during the weekend. Similarly, the insurgents and troops of Operation Lafiya Dole clashed on Friday, leaving three soldiers and dozens of the terrorists dead, while scores of sustained gun shot injuries. The Chibok attack came five years after Boko Haram also 196 students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, were kidnapped after Boko Haram insurgents attacked…

Rattled by a botched gas supply and processing agreement that culminated in an English court awarding $9.6 billion (N3.5 trillion) against the country, the Federal Government through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has begun manhunt for local and international collaborators who sealed the deal. The controversial deal entered into between Nigeria’s Ministry of Petroleum Resources in January 11, 2010 and Process and Industrial Development Limited, was for the processing of 400 million metric standard cubic feet of wet gas into lean gas by the company for Nigeria in 20 years but which did not work out, leading to…

Arsenal fought back from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw against Tottenham in a pulsating north London derby on Sunday which both sides will feel they should have won. Spurs preyed on the Gunners’ vacant midfield early on as Christian Eriksen tapped home at the end of a flowing counter-attack before Harry Kane’s penalty doubled the Champions League finalists’ lead. However, Arsenal were always a threat going forward and, after Alexandre Lacazette reduced the arrears in first-half stoppage time, were well worthy of a point after the break. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got the equaliser 19 minutes from time and…

By Akanimo Sampson Inflow of refugees and returnees from the Central African Republic to Chad has increased pressure on host communities, now leading to clashes over access to limited livelihood resources. From March to July 2019, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) identified 69,343 returnees in the provinces of Logone Oriental and Moyen-Chari, in Southern Chad. To address this issue, IOM Chad, in conjunction with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has implemented the Emergency Food and Livestock Crisis Response project (PURCAE II) which aims to increase social cohesion, peaceful co-habitation and intercommunity dialogue between refugees, returnees and host…