Author: Chronicle Editor

Real Madrid are considering a January move for Chelsea and Brazil defender David Luiz, 30, who has found himself out of favour at Stamford Bridge this season. (Daily Mail) Chelsea manager Antonio Conte says he has not yet been consulted by the club’s hierarchy about signings needed in January if the champions are to catch Premier League leaders Manchester City. (Guardian) Manchester City’s 21-year-old Germany forward Leroy Sane will be offered a new deal by Manchester City at the end of the season. (Sun) Watford have warned that their Brazilian forward Richarlison, 20, who joined on a five-year deal from…

West Brom have appointed former Newcastle and Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew as head coach. He succeeds Tony Pulis who was sacked on 20 November. According to the club’s website, Pardew has agreed a two-and-a-half-year contract. He will be adding his former assistant at Newcastle, John Carver, to his backroom staff at The Hawthorns. Alan, who was named both Premier League and LMA Manager of the Year in 2012, was at the training ground today to begin his new job which he described as an “exciting opportunity.” He said: “I’m thrilled with the opportunity Albion have provided and looking forward…

A Lagos High Court, sitting in the Ikeja Judicial Division, has ruled that the Freedom of Information, FOI Act, 2011 is applicable to the Government of Lagos State and does not require “domestication” by the State to have effect. Dismissing a preliminary objection raised by the Lagos State Ministry of Health in a suit instituted against the Ministry and the Lagos State Government by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) over its failure to disclose records and information requested by the organization under the FOI Act, Justice Beatrice Oke-Lawal held that the Act was validly enacted by the National Assembly and applicable…

Court judgments and backlog of corruption cases from the lowest local magistrates all the way up to the supreme court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital can turn painfully slowly in Nigeria. Patience is a necessity when cases are frequently adjourned for want of a document, an official, a witness or even a defendant. The lengthy process — where cases can take years, if not decades, to resolve — often resembles a maddening, judicial Groundhog Day. But while Nigeria is not alone in having a dysfunctional court system, its ability to cope with a slew of corruption cases is coming under scrutiny…

The home of Boko Haram’s founder is to be turned into a museum as part of plans to chart the deadly Islamist insurgency in northeast Nigeria, Borno state commissioner of information said on Tuesday. Muhammad Yusuf, a charismatic Muslim preacher, founded the group in 2001 from his base in the Railway suburb of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri. His followers at the time were disgruntled young people, who met at Yusuf’s “Markaz” (centre in Arabic), which comprised a mosque and his living quarters. Yusuf conducted fiery sermons from the mosque calling for jihad (holy war) against what he perceived to…

An Idi-Ogungun Customary Court at Agodi in Ibadan on Tuesday dissolved a 10-year-old marriage between John Bamidele and his wife, Yinka, over her disrespectful manners. Bamidele had sought for the dissolution of the relationship on the ground that Yinka neither respected him nor obeyed his instructions as a husband. In his testimony before the court, the plaintiff said that all efforts made to correct her wrongdoings always proved abortive. “Therefore, I can no longer live with her so as to avoid her disrespectful way of life. “Moreover, she is very stubborn, troublesome and in the habit of cursing neighbours whenever…

Amnesty International has called for a criminal investigation into the alleged role of Royal Dutch Shell in human rights abuses in Nigeria’s oil-rich Ogoniland in the 1990s, accusations the Anglo-Dutch oil company has denied. The rights group urged the British, Dutch and Nigerian governments carry out probes in a report that it said included evidence showing Shell’s involvement in suppression of protesters by the military government in the 1990s. Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) said the allegations were “false and without merit”. Shell, the largest oil producer in Nigeria, has faced several court cases relating to the…

Nigeria plans to sell 117.17 billion naira worth of treasury bills at an auction on November 29, traders said on Tuesday. The central bank plans to offer 26.14 billion naira in three-month paper, 11 billion naira in six-month bill and 80.03 billion naira in one-year note. Results of the auction will be announced next day. The bank issues treasury bills twice a month to help the government to finance its budget deficit, curb money supply growth and provide an avenue for lenders to manage liquidity. READ: Calabar: Fire destroys 50 shops in Yoruba section of Watt market According to…

Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has confirmed the destruction of over 50 shops after Monday’s fire incident at the Yoruba section of Watt market in Calabar. Mr John Inaku, SEMA Director General, who disclosed this after an assessment visit to the area on Tuesday, said the cause of the fire was still unknown. “Up till now, the cause of the fire is still unknown; over 50 shops were affected during the tragic incident. “I am here on the directives of the State Government to ascertain the cause of the outbreak and to report back so that something can…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said the federal government’s 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd) crude oil projection for the 2018 budget is achievable. The NNPC Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, Mr Bala Wunti, said in Abuja that the projection is realistic. A statememt by Mr Ndu Ughamadu Group General Manager Public Affairs Division of the corporation, quoted Wunti that 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper placed the current production capacity for the country at more than 2.3 million barrels per day. He noted, however, that due to the insecurity in the Niger…