Author: Chronicle Editor

Nigeria on Wednesday called for an international inquiry after 26 women and girls drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. The bodies of the victims — all believed to be Nigerians — were brought on a Spanish ship to Italy last Sunday, where the authorities are looking into how they died. Twenty-three lost their lives last Friday when the inflatable dinghy they were travelling on sank. Three others were found during operations earlier in the week. The foreign ministry in Abuja said its mission in Rome said the victims were aged 14 to 18. It described their deaths…

The Nigerian Army said it had destroyed 46 illegal bunker sites in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers at the just-concluded Exercise Crocodile Smile II. Col. Aminu Iliyasu, Spokesman of 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, said in a statement that several wooden boats and barges loaded with huge quantity of crude oil were seized. Iliyasu said that several suspects were arrested and handed over to relevant security agencies for possible prosecution. Read Also Nigerian Police rescue woman, kill five kidnappers “Troops also destroyed illegal oil dump sites; seized vehicles transporting illegal products and arrested perpetrators of the illegal activities. “A…

Nigeria’s Senate on Wednesday approved a report largely exonerating South African telecoms company MTN Group Ltd’s Nigerian unit, after the business was accused of illegally repatriating $14 billion to its parent. But the Senate report also asked Nigeria’s central bank to sanction Stanbic IBTC Bank “for improper documentations in respect of capital repatriation and loan repayments” on behalf of MTN. Parliament’s upper house agreed in September last year to investigate whether Africa’s biggest telecoms firm unlawfully repatriated $13.92 billion from Nigeria – its most lucrative market which generates a third of its revenue – between 2006 and 2016. READ: Nigeria…

Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Police Command in Cross River has rescued a lady (name unknown) and killed five suspected kidnappers in Ikom Local Government Area. Spokesperson of the command, ASP Irene Ugbo, disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Calabar. Irene said the suspected kidnappers had been under the trail of the police for four-days since the incident occurred. READ: Army denies forcing Boko Haram suspects to drink urine She explained that men of the SARS unit on gathering intelligence information traced the kidnappers to their hideout in the bush…

The Nigerian Army on Wednesday denied forcing the 486 Boko Haram suspects arrested on their way from Jigawa to Port Harcourt on June 15, 2014, in 33 buses to drink urine. Army witness, Major Chudi Aniukwu, stated this on Wednesday in Abuja, when he testified before the Presidential Investigation Panel on Human Right Violation. Aniukwu, who was cross examined by Mr Abdullahi Achara, counsel to the petitioners, debunked the allegation. Aniukwu, also a Controller of the Nigerian Army Operation Centre, North East, said none of the arrested suspect was forced to drink urine as reported in the media. READ: Bayelsa…

The Bayelsa Government on Wednesday said it withheld the October salaries of 4,204 workers with questionable records, as part of steps to reform the state civil service. The Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd), who announced this at a press conference in Yenagoa, said that those affected were from the eight local government areas in the state. According to him, 1, 329 are local council workers, 2,184 in the primary school system and 707 on pension payroll. Jonah listed those affected to include workers recruited without authorisation from relevant agencies, those with forged certificates, those receiving salaries from multiple…

The feuding duo of Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to the President and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita appear to have put their past behind them. The duo shared a joke during the Federal Executive Council meeting held at the Presidential Villa and presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria. It would be recalled that President Buhari had invited the two senior members of his cabinets to the Presidential Villa following an heated argument between them. READ: #Budget2018: MURIC condemns 7% allocation for education It was believed that the misunderstanding stemmed from the…

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has strongly condemned the meager seven per cent allocated to education in the 2018 Budget by the Federal Government of Nigeria describing it as “naïve, perversive and retrogressive”. On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari presented N8.6 trillion budget to the National Assembly with education getting just seven per cent. In a statement signed by MURIC president, Professor Ishaq Akintola, he noted that the present Nigeria government has demonstrated that it is yet to come to terms with the monstrous challenges facing the education sector. “With more than 70% of candidates who applied for admission into tertiary…

Users call for edit button The first time Twitter flirted with its 140 characters many users took a swipe at the social media platform for tinkering its unique selling point. Fast forward to today and users appear to be happy with the 280 characters that Tweet has introduced. The thing about the 140 characters was that it made more people intelligent. Users who wanted to say to much, needed to do it in the most concise and precise fashion. Users had to constantly think up words that made communication short. READ: Chinese, US firms sign $9bn in trade deals But…

A helicopter crashed in a village northwest of Tokyo on Wednesday afternoon, killing four employees of the helicopter service company who were on board, local authorities said. The helicopter crashed around 2:30 p.m. and burst into flames in the Gunma Prefecture village of Ueno, the site where a Japan Airlines jumbo jet crashed in 1985. Operator Toho Air Service Co. said among the four employees in the accident were a 60-year old pilot and three mechanics — two in their 20s and one aged 50. Read Also Chinese, US firms sign $9bn in trade deals No damage to the surrounding…