Author: Chronicle Editor

Nigeria has freed another 475 Boko Haram suspects following a series of mass trials in which most cases were dropped for lack of evidence, the justice ministry said Sunday. Over the course of the week, hundreds of suspected Boko Haram extremists have appeared before a court at the Kainji military base in central Niger state. The release order was issued on Friday, with the 475 suspects to be returned to their home states for “proper rehabilitation” before being sent back to their families, ministry spokesman Salihu Othman Isah said. He said they had been arrested on grounds they either…

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to seek reelection in 2019 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Yahaya aired his view, when he received the national chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie Oyegun in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi. “We urge Mr President to run and fly in 2019. Twenty-four APC governors are ready to support you under the leadership of the National Chairman of the party, Mr John Oyegun.” Bello welcomed PDP members from the three senatorial districts of the state who defected. READ: PDP deputy chairman Aminu Yusuf…

Alhaji Aminu Yusuf, deputy chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Niger state has defected to the All Progressives Congress. Mrs Fatima Tijani, National Women’s Leader of the APC, was among the bigwigs that received Yusuf and 34, 825 other defectors into the fold in Minna today. Some of the defectors came from other political parties. “The deputy chairman of PDP decamping to APC shows that the PDP in Niger state has seen the good performance of the APC in the state. “It means that something good is coming from our party so we should keep it up. “I…

Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Manchester United beat fellow Premier League side Huddersfield to progress to the FA Cup quarter-finals. Lukaku opened the scoring after just three minutes, racing onto Juan Mata’s through ball before finishing at the near post. The Belgium striker then got his 21st goal of the season early in the second half as he again broke clear of the Huddersfield defence, this time picking up Alexis Sanchez’s pass before calmly slotting beyond Jonas Lossl. Juan Mata had a goal ruled out just before half time by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), although there was some confusion…

The 4 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Benin, has denied killing any vigilante member or freeing any suspected herdsmen in Edo. Captain Mohammed Maidawa, Assistant Director Army Public Relations, made this known in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Benin, on Saturday. According to Maidawa, the attention of the Headquarters 4 Brigade Nigerian Army had been drawn to a malicious story going round mainstream and Social Media alleging that soldiers killed a vigilante and released suspected herdsmen. He explained that ordinarily, one would have dismissed without responding, but for the ethnic undertone attached to the alleged…

As Nigeria tries to work out a way to solve the herdsmen-farmers conflict, Tanzania faces a different dimension of the problem:herdsmen versus the wildlife in the parks. Tanzania during the week found six lions and 74 vultures dead near a national park, south of the country, after they were poisoned to death. Permanent Secretary for Natural Resources and Tourism Gaudence Milanzi said the way the animals were killed suggested they had been poisoned by local herdsmen amid an escalating human-wildlife conflict in the country. “I can confirm that six lions were poisoned in the wildlife management area just outside…

Three suicide bombers killed 18 people late on Friday in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, epicentre of the Islamist militant Boko Haram insurgency, the state police commissioner said. Damian Chukwu, Borno state police commissioner, on Saturday said the attack took place at a fish market on the outskirts of the state capital at around 8:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Friday and also injured 22 other people. Two days ago, Major General Rogers Nicholas, the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, told Boko Haram factional leader, Abubakar Shekau to surrender. Nicholas said during the monthly press briefing of Operation Lafiya…

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has visited former President Goodluck Jonathan at his home in Bayelsa State. Jonathan and his wife, Patience, welcomed the elder statesman who was in their home for a private dinner. Earlier before the visit, Obasanjo inaugurated a government specialist hospital in the state and unveiled the Bayelsa Heliport which was renamed after the first military administrator of the defunct Rivers State, Alfred Diete-Spiff. Upon his arrival in Bayelsa, the former president was received by the state governor, Seriake Dickson, in company with some top government officials in the state. Obasanjo, on Friday, commended Governor Seriake…

Olivier Giroud and Willian helped Chelsea thrash Hull City to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals – and boss Antonio Conte says they have given him “good doubts” about his team to face Barcelona on Tuesday. Willian was fantastic throughout against the Championship strugglers and scored the opener with a curling effort from outside the box. Pedro scored the second when he slipped the ball under David Marshall after latching onto Cesc Fabregas’ excellent halfway line pass. Willian then scored his second from 25 yards after playing a one-two with Giroud. The France striker then scored his first goal since…

The World Bank has approved a $486 million credit facility to Nigeria for electricity grid improvements, the lender said on Friday. “The investments under the Nigeria Electricity Transmission Project will increase the power transfer capacity of the transmission network and enable distribution companies to supply consumers with additional power,” the World Bank said. Nigeria’s dilapidated power sector is often criticised by economists for holding back the country’s economic growth. Businesses and households are subject to frequent blackouts, and many depend on their own generators that are expensive to run. There are currently two main types of power plants operating…