Author: straightnewsng.com

By Akanimo Sampson Since the middle of 2018, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) has continued to ramp up attacks on the military, while the Abubakar Shekau group tends to be hitting softer civilian targets. Formerly known as Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah, ISWAP split from the Boko Haram faction headed by long-time leader Shekau in 2016. Quoting three military and government sources, Reuters, reported that a suicide bomber killed five people, including a Chadian soldier, when she blew herself up on the shores of Lake Chad on August 14. The sources, according to Reuters, said the attack happened…

By Akanimo Sampson Former Nigeria’s President, Goodluck Jonathan says Africa needs huge investments to create jobs and employ its teeming youthful population, in a frantic bid to steer them away from crimes, conflicts and illegal migration. Jonathan was speaking at the weekend in Seoul, capital of South Korea at the International Leadership Peace Conference with many world leaders including government officials, former presidents, lawmakers and entrepreneurs in attendance. According to the former Nigerian leader, “When people say that Africa lags behind other continent in terms of strategic and sustainable development, it is because the continent is yet to find answers…

As Ati Annang Foundation, a foremost socio-cultural organization in Akwa Ibom State, marked its silver Jubilee, Governor Udom Emmanuel has implored the organization to join in tackling the scourge of drug abuse and secret cultism among youths in the state. Owing to the damaging influence of cultism, Akwa Ibom government proscribed 32 secret cults last year in the state, though nobody has been convicted since then. Emmanuel, who handed down the advice as the special guest of honour at Ati Annang Secretariat, Cardinal Ekanem Avenue, Ikot Ekpene, on Saturday, decried the rate of cultism right from the primary school level…

By Akanimo Sampson Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, is back from an aborted medical treatment in India with his wife and in the custody of the Department State Services (DSS), Nigeria’s secret police. El-Zakzaky, the founder of the IMN, a Shia group, appears to be a major headache for the Buhari administration. He had been imprisoned following a clash between security services and Shi’ites procession in 2015, which led to the deaths of hundreds of his followers and some members of his family. A raid on his home then led to his arrest. During the raid,…

By Akanimo Sampson The United Nations AIDS agency is currently under the watch of an African. The Executive Director of Oxfam International, Winnie Byanyima, of Uganda will be leading the UN AIDS. Byanyima succeeds Michel Sidibe who stepped down in May after he was accused of creating “a patriarchal culture tolerating harassment and abuse of authority.” UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, however, appointed the new HIV/AIDS chief on Wednesday after the previous incumbent left accused of serious mismanagement. An Independent Expert Panel (IEP) report commissioned by UNAids’ governing body said the agency’s culture under Sidibe also failed “to uphold the United…

Voting has begun to select the final winners for the 11th edition of Akwa Ibom Icons Awards (AKIA 2019) tagged Dakkada Plus. The voting which commenced on August 15 and will end on August 20, 2019 will see 55 nominees emerging from 11 different categories. A press release issued by Prince Ene Baba Owoh, Jr, the executive secretary of AKIA, said voting which took place from July 24 – 31, 2019 recorded 278 nominees, drawn into the respective categories with a cumulative votes of 198,730 representing 197,234 at home and 1,496 from the Diaspora as shown on the table below:…

By Akanimo Sampson Worried by the current situation in Kashmir, China at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Friday expressed “grave concerns,” saying that the situation in the state is serious and dangerous. The Chinese diplomat at UNSC said that such unilateral practices (as were carried out by the Indian government) were “invalid.” The Chinese envoy’s statement came after the UNSC held a closed-door meeting on the Kashmir situation after Pakistan approached it against New Delhi’s August 5 decision. India had on August 5 scrapped the provisions under Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.…

Former Nigeria’s coach, Samson Siasia has been banned for life and fined $50,000 by Fifa for agreeing to ‘the manipulation of matches. Siasia was coach of Nigeria between 2010-2011 and for a spell in 2016 but the time period when Fifa believes he committed his infractions is unclear. He has also served as coach of the country’s Under-20 and Under-23 sides. In a statement, Siasia was found ‘guilty of having accepted that he would receive bribes in relation to the manipulation of matches.’ The sanction stems from an ongoing ‘large-scale investigation’ Fifa is conducting into the behaviour of Wilson Raj…

By Israel Umoh Cross River State which derives its name from Cross River is in the Niger Delta region, occupying 20,156 square kilometers. It shares boundaries with Benue State to the north, Ebonyi and Abia States to the west, to the east by Cameroon Republic and to the south by Akwa Ibom State and Atlantic Ocean. The defunct South-Eastern State was created on May 27, 1967 from the then Eastern Region, Nigeria by General Yakubu Gowon regime. Its name was changed to Cross River State in the 1976 state creation exercise by the late General Murtala Mohammed regime from South…

By Akanimo Sampson A pilot study by the University of Otago has shown the powerful influence music and dance can have on older adults with dementia. A Rael-Science post says it is stereotypically viewed as passive and immobile. According to the post, researchers from the Department of Dance and Department of Psychological Medicine used familiar, reminiscent music and the natural gestures of a group of 22 participants to create an original series of dance exercises. Lead author Ting Choo, Dance Studies Masters graduate, says the aim was to promote a better quality of life for people with dementia by providing…