Author: Chronicle Editor

A 15-year-old boy opened fire in a Michigan high school on Tuesday with a semi-automatic pistol his father had purchased days earlier, killing three fellow students and wounding eight other people before he was arrested, authorities said. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard told a news briefing hours after the rampage at Oxford High School that investigators were at a loss to explain what might have precipitated “an unspeakable and unforgivable” act of violence. The suspect, disarmed and taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies minutes after the shooting began, has declined to speak with investigators after his parents retained a lawyer…

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday upheld the election of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, as governor-elect of Anambra State. The court, in a judgement delivered by Justice Taiwo Taiwo, dismissed a suit that sought to invalidate Soludo’s election on the allegation that he supplied false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The Plaintiffs, Adindu Valentine and Egwudike Chukwuebuka, had in their suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/711/2021, alleged that Soludo lied in the affidavit (Form EC9), which he submitted to INEC. They claimed that Soludo, in the said affidavit attached to his nomination form, stated that he was contesting…

Global factory activity accelerated in November although crippling supply bottlenecks remained, putting a cap on output and driving up the cost of raw materials, according to surveys published on Wednesday. Towards the end of the month, the newly-detected Omicron coronavirus variant emerged as a fresh worry for policymakers, who are already trying to pilot recovering economies and tamp-down inflation. The November surveys likely did not reflect the spread of the variant, which could add further pressure on pandemic-disrupted supply chains, with many countries imposing fresh border controls to seal themselves off. “The Omicron variant…could be a game-changer: shortages of inputs…

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday hosted his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, in the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Reports say that Ramaphosa, who is on a two-day official visit to Nigeria, was received at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa by President Buhari before the two leaders went into closed-door bilateral talks. Omicron detected in Netherlands earlier than South Africa – New study reveals It was gathered that there was a brief cultural display by members of the Nigerian National Troupe, who entertained the visiting South African President and his delegation. The two presidents are expected to address a joint press…

MTN Nigeria on Tuesday announced a public offer of 575 million shares at N169 per share with effect from December 1. The offer closes on December 14. MTN chief executive officer, Mr Karl Toriola, told journalists in Abuja that the “Retail Offer” which is to be delivered via a digital platform is the first in Nigeria. Toriola said that by using the power of technology, MTN aims to facilitate the maximum possible participation by Nigerian investors. He said that minimum subscription would be for 20 shares and subsequent subscriptions would be in multiple of 20 shares. He added that it…

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa lashed out at African countries that placed travel bans on southern African states over the Omicron COVID variant. He said it was unfortunate, and that he would have preferred if they did not react like their former colonisers over the discovery of the new coronavirus variant Omicron. “I am concerned and of course out of respect to them, I mean they have their reasons. But we would like to have a discussion with them in a way where we would prefer that they do not react like our former colonisers, who are very quick…

American author Alice Sebold has apologised for her part in the wrongful conviction of a man who was cleared last week of raping her in 1981. In her memoir Lucky, she described being raped and later telling police she had seen a black man in the street whom she believed was her attacker. Anthony Broadwater was arrested and convicted, spending 16 years in prison for rape. A statement from Mr Broadwater, released via his lawyers, said he was “relieved that she has apologised”. In Ms Sebold’s apology statement, she said: “I am sorry most of all for the fact that…

Nigerian troops have foiled an attempt by some members of the proscribed IPOB/ESN to abduct some doctors and nurses. Nigerian Army director army public relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu on Tuesday said a member of IPOB/ESN was killed in a shootout. “Troops of EXERCISE GOLDEN DAWN Sector 3 on Monday 29 November 2021 neutralized a member of the outlawed IPOB/ESN in a shootout at Amauju Isu Local Government Area of Imo state. He noted that, “Members of the outlawed group had attempted to kidnap a group of medical doctors and nurses known as, “Doctors on the move Africa”, who were…

A US judge sentenced Emma Coronel Aispuro, wife of jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, to three years in prison Tuesday on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. The sentence was less than the relatively light four years requested by prosecutors, with the judge acknowledging that Coronel was only a teenager when she married the ruthless drug czar and she readily pleaded guilty after her February 2021 arrest. With long hair and dressed in a dark suit and white turtle neck shirt Coronel, a 32-year-old former beauty queen, apologised to the court. “I express my true regrets…

CNN star Chris Cuomo has been suspended indefinitely over help he gave his ex-New York governor brother while battling sex abuse allegations. The decision came after the New York attorney general released new documents that showed the extent of his work for his older sibling, Andrew Cuomo. CNN said the documents show “a greater level of involvement in his brother’s efforts than we previously knew”. Andrew Cuomo resigned in August after prosecutors said he harassed staff. Chris Cuomo’s behind-the-scenes efforts to help his politician brother were widely considered a breach of journalistic ethics in the media industry. The thousands of…