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Saturday, 30 October 2021 06:02

Search warrant relied upon to search Mary Odili’s residence bears no name, has wrong address - Counsel

Documents have revealed that the warrant presented by security operatives to search the Abuja residence of Mary Odili, a justice of the supreme court, carries a wrong address. The security operatives, who stormed the residence on Friday, said they received information on “illegal activities” going on in the house. Documents seen by our correspondent showed that one Aliyu Ibrahim had, on October 13, deposed to an affidavit stating that he has “observed some illegal activities going on in some houses within Abuja and its environs”. “That I am sure and convinced that the kind of activities going on in those…

Saturday, 30 October 2021 06:01

‘I was misled to issue search warrant on Mary Odili’s home’, Chief Magistrate says in revoking order

A Chief Magistrates’ Court has revoked a search warrant granted to the Joint Panel Recovery unit of the Federal Ministry of Justice to search the home of Supreme Court Justice Mary Odili. The panel, which comprises the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Nigeria Police Force and the Ministry of Justice, had obtained a search warrant from the magistrates’ court after a whistleblower, Aliyu Umar, claimed to have observed illegal activities going on at No. 9, Imo Street, Maitama, Abuja. Umar’s affidavit dated October 13, 2021, read in part, “I have observed some illegal activities going on in those houses…

Saturday, 30 October 2021 05:58

FAAC: FG, States, LGs share N740bn for September

Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared to the three tiers of government, N739.965 billion as federation allocation for September. According to a statement from Oshundun Olajide, Deputy Director (Information), Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning late on Thursday, the meeting was held through a Virtual Conference. “From the N739.965 billion, inclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT), and Exchange Gain, the Federal Government received N301.311 billion, the states received N220.272 billion, the LGs got N164.176 billion. However, oil producing states received N54.206 billion as derivation (13 per cent of Mineral Revenue). The communique issued after the meeting indicated that…

Saturday, 30 October 2021 05:56

‘Anti-grazing law is just a media thing; it can never be implemented’ - Miyetti Allah

National President, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Socio-cultural Organisation, Abdullahi Bello Bodejo, has said the anti grazing laws by some states, especially in the Southern part of the country exist only in the media and could not be implemented. Speaking with VINCENT KALU, Bodejo said the groaning over the high price of cow meat would get louder, asserting that prices would hit the rooftop in the coming months. What is your view on the way things are going on in the country? I have to speak on the side of the Fulani. For us, we have not had it so bad…

Friday, 29 October 2021 06:03

eNaira - what about it? Here are 10 key points to know about Nigeria’s digital currency

On Monday, Nigeria’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), eNaira, was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja. The eNaira was developed by the fintech company, Bitt, based in the Carribeans. At the launch on Monday, Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele, said 500 million eNaira ($1.21 million) had already been minted. CBDC’s digital currency app and its merchant wallet also became available for download after going live. Nigeria is one of only a few countries in the world and certainly the first in Africa to develop an official digital currency. While the currency has taken…

Friday, 29 October 2021 05:59

Nigeria’s manifold challenges: ‘If we’re still looking to this govt for solution, then I think we really are lost’ - Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka, Nobel laureate, says Nigeria is “in a mess”. He spoke on Thursday at a media briefing held at the Freedom Park in Lagos. Soyinka, who said the present administration doesn’t appear to have a grasp of solutions to the country’s challenges, said Nigerians need to embrace unity to foster true development. “We’re in a mess. This country is in a mess. It is disintegrating before our very eyes. The government is floundering. It’s not merely that the government is devoid of a holistic solution, the problem really is that this government does not have a holistic grasp of…

Friday, 29 October 2021 05:56

Respected cleric, Taiwo Akinola expresses concern over declining Naira exchange value, worsening security, others

PRESS RELEASE Text of the Address of the presiding Bishop, Rhema Christian Church & Towers, Taiwo Akinola, at the Rhema World Press Conference organised for the Rhema World Convention 2021, held at Champion Peace Cathedral, Sango Otta Dear Gentlemen/Women of the Press, We welcome you to another press briefing heralding the 30th Anniversary of Rhema Christian Church as a nation church and indeed our annual convocation, Rhema World Convention 2021. It has been our pattern over the years to engage the media at this period to pass across necessary information about the Convention and also to air our views on…

Friday, 29 October 2021 05:55

Benin bronze: Looted Nigerian sculpture returned by another UK university

A sculpture was handed back to Nigeria by the University of Aberdeen on Thursday after its "extremely immoral" acquisition. The "priceless" bronze is described as having been looted by British soldiers in Benin City in 1897. Depicting an Oba (king) of Benin, it was acquired by the university in 1957 at an auction. The university approved repatriation in March, and a handover ceremony took place on Thursday evening. Thousands of sculptures and carvings were removed during the destruction of Benin City in present-day Nigeria. Many ended up being sold to museums or private collectors. A panel unanimously recommended its return…

Thursday, 28 October 2021 05:56

FEC approved NNPC’s request to spend its tax credit to fix federal roads. These are the 21 roads and their lengths across the 6 geopolitical zones

Federal executive council (FEC) has approved N621.2 billion for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to take over the reconstruction of 21 federal roads across the six geopolitical zones of the country. Babatunde Fashola, minister of works and housing, disclosed after the FEC meeting presided by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday. The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) had decried the loss of its members and properties to dilapidated roads — but NNPC appealed to the union to shelve the planned strike and accepted to rebuild some roads. The approval, according to Fashola, was in line with…

Thursday, 28 October 2021 05:55

Cambridge University college hands back looted cockerel to Nigeria

The master of a Cambridge University college has described the return of a looted bronze cockerel to representatives of Nigeria as a "momentous occasion". The statue, known as the "Okukur", was taken by British colonial forces in 1897 and given to Jesus College in 1905 by the father of a student. A decision for it to be returned was made in 2019 after students campaigned. A ceremony has been held at the college to sign the handover documents. "It's massively significant," said Sonita Alleyne, master of Jesus College. "It's a momentous occasion." She said returning the artefact was the "right…

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Thursday, 28 October 2021 05:52

US issues international passport to citizen who identifies as neither male nor female

The United States has issued its first passport with an “X” gender designation, marking a milestone in the recognition of the rights of people who do not identify as male or female, and expects to be able to offer the option more broadly next year, the State Department said Wednesday. The department did not identify the passport recipient, but Dana Zzyym, an intersex activist from Fort Collins, Colorado, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that they received it. Since 2015, Zzyym, who prefers a gender-neutral pronoun, has been in a legal battle with the State Department to obtain…

Wednesday, 27 October 2021 05:34

Nigeria’s per capita income lower now than it was 40 years ago - World Bank

The World Bank made a startling revelation that Nigeria’s per capita income (PCI) has not improved in the last 40 years as it remained static since 1981. World Bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, stated this on Monday at a panel at the ongoing 27th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES#27) and urged the economy managers to quickly assemble potent strategies to harness the robust potential of the country. The summit, themed ‘Securing Our Future: The Fierce Urgency of Now’, drew economic experts, fiscal and monetary policy stakeholders, the academia and more. In economics, PCI scales the average income earned per…

Wednesday, 27 October 2021 05:33

FG seeks senate’s approval to borrow yet another $200m to import - wait for it - mosquito nets!

Members of the Senate Committee on Health, on Tuesday, knocked the federal government over the plan to borrow $200 million for procurement of mosquito nets and malaria medicines. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Mammam Mahmuda, had, in his presentation before the committee during budget defence session, said the loan had become necessary due to high rate of under five mortality in Nigeria largely caused by malaria and inaccessibility to malaria treatments. He said the loan, if approved by the National Assembly, and accessed, would be used to procure mosquito nets and medicines to be distributed to 13 vulnerable states that…

Wednesday, 27 October 2021 05:30

UN queries FG over alleged violation of Nnamdi Kanu’s rights

The United Nations has asked the federal government to provide detailed information on the circumstances surrounding Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). This was contained in a document titled: ‘Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishments; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Special Rapporteur on minority issues and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of…

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