Academic activities were, yesterday, paralysed nationwide following industrial action declared by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to press home the non-implementation of the 2009 agreement and stoppage of their February salaries by the Federal Government. Reports from branches of ASUU across the country confirmed that lecturers complied and stayed away from academic activities, including lectures. ASUU had on Monday directed its members to embark on a two-week warning strike because the Federal Government failed to pay salaries of lecturers who did not enroll in the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and non-implementation of the 2009 agreement and…

Health minister and Conservative MP Nadine Dorries says she has been diagnosed with coronavirus. Ms Dorries, the first MP to test positive, said she had taken all the advised precautions after finding out, and had been self-isolating at home. It comes as a sixth person died from the virus in the UK, which has a total of 382 cases. The latest person to die was a man in his early 80s who had underlying health conditions. Meanwhile, NHS England said it was scaling up its capacity for testing people for the infection, with the number of cases set to rise.…

As soon as news of removal of the former emir filtered in, the palace was thrown into mourning. Residents were seen in groups discussing the matter with shock and disbelief. Some however maintained that it wasn’t altogether unexpected. When our correspondent visited the palace, heavily armed security operatives had already sealed up the place to maintain peace. Though movement in and outside the premises was highly restricted, a palace guard informed our correspondent that before the announcement of his removal, the emir had sent a message to the guards who reported for work that he (emir) was indisposed. Shortly after,…

Representatives of civil society groups, government and private institutions, and the media on Monday, asked Senate to drop further consideration of the anti-social media bill, in the interest of Nigerians. Our correspondents observed that only three speakers out of the 62 individuals, institutions and groups, who submitted memoranda and spoke at the public hearing organised by Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, supported the proposed legislation. Those who opposed the bill argued that it violated the fundamental human rights of Nigerians and contravenes existing international statutes to which Nigeria was a signatory. They also insisted that there…