Author: Chronicle Editor

Kenya’s press on Saturday praised the Supreme Court decision to annul last month’s presidential poll as a hard-fought victory for the rule of law, and sign of a maturing democracy. Pointing to widespread irregularities in the electronic transmission of vote results, Chief Justice David Maraga declared President Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory “invalid, null and void”. The unexpected ruling in favour of opposition leader Raila Odinga stunned the nation. The Saturday Standard headlined its front page “Maraga Thunder”, while the Star went with “Not yet, Uhuru” and the Saturday Nation had “Raila’s big victory”. All agreed that what the Nation termed a…

Suspected Boko Haram militants killed 18 people in northeast Nigeria on Friday, according to local witnesses and officials, the latest in an escalating number of lethal attacks in the region. Reuters report that the knife-wielding attackers, moving under cover of night, targeted people in the town of Banki, 80 miles (130 km) southeast of the city of Maiduguri in Borno state. Borno is the epicentre of the eight-year conflict with Boko Haram, said a community leader and a local member of a vigilante group. The attack on the town, which sits on the border with Cameroon, is the latest in…

Nigeria took a step into the Russia 2018 World Cup yesterday when they dominated the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in Uyo, beating the African champions 4-0. If there were any doubts about the ambition of the Super Eagles to be at the Russia 2018 World Cup, it was emphatically erased by Gernot Rohr and his boys, who reduced the Indomitable Lions to sobbing cubs at the magnificent Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo. The Indomitable Lions were full of drama before and in the early minutes of the game, but the Eagles knew what they wanted and hit targets at each given…

Chelsea have taken the shock decision of including castaway striker Diego Costa in their Premier League squad. Costa is currently holed up in his hometown of Lagarto in Brazil and refusing to return to Chelsea after a major fallout with manager Antonio Conte at the start of the summer. Atletico Madrid were continuing to negotiate with Chelsea on Thursday as they sought to secure the transfer before the Spanish transfer window closes on Friday night. However, several sources in Spain felt the deal appeared unlikely to go through in time. Atletico are under a transfer embargo until January and therefore…

Says Ngige, Adamu Continue To Lead Talks Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has denied leading the role in the Federal Government negotiations with the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Osinbajo, in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, clarified that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, and his Education counterpart, Dr. Adamu Adamu, would continue to lead the FG-ASUU talks. Read Also Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni, forced out of Lagos Police Command The statement said earlier reports that Osinbajo had taken over the negotiations from Ngige was inaccurate, adding:…

Kenya’s supreme court has declared Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory in the presidential election last month invalid and ordered a new vote to be held within 60 days. The decision to nullify the result, a first in Kenya, sets up a new race for the presidency between Kenyatta and the veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga. Analysts said it marked a watershed in the east African nation and set a unique precedent for the continent. Kenyatta accepted the court decision on Friday afternoon, calling for “peace, peace, peace” in a televised address. The six-judge bench ruled 4-2 in favour of a petition filed…

Serena Williams has given birth to a baby girl, the first child for the former world number one tennis player, her coach Patrick Mouratoglou said on Twitter on Friday. The 35-year-old American, who is engaged to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, has not competed since winning the Australian Open in January but has posted several videos to social media showing her hitting balls during her pregnancy. “Congratulations @SerenaWilliams for your baby girl. I am so happy for you and I feel your emotion,” Mouratoglou wrote. “Btw…I wish you a speedy recovery…we have a lot of work ahead of us,” he added.…

The office of Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police finally succeeded in forcing out controversial Lagos Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, from his post in Lagos State police command. Imohinmi Edgal, a recently decorated Commissioner of Police, had been nominated to replace Mr. Owoseni but the CP refused to step down and hand over power to his replacement for more than 24 hours. Mr. Owoseni, whose first redeployment in February was blocked by the Oba of Lagos, himself a former top police officer, has been assigned to head the administrative division of the Force Criminal Investigation Division (CID) at the police…

By Seun Bisuga Many things have been said of President Donald Trump of the US and most of them are rightly so but when it comes to the flooding in Houston and Texas, loquacious Trump deserves some credit. Even if he is doing it for the camera, he has scored some points in my books. First he visited Texas and victims of the flood then he seconded Vice President Mike Pence to oversee recovery following the havoc wrecked by Hurricane Harvey. Hours ago, he donated $1million of his own funds to help victims who are in dire need of clothes,…

The White House says it will ask the US Congress for emergency funding to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey. President Donald Trump is expected to propose an initial $5.9bn (£4.56bn). Texas authorities say the state might need more than $125bn. At least 39 people have died in the storm and its aftermath. East of Houston, floodwaters are still rising. READ: Buhari orders emergency response to Makurdi flooding Visiting Texas, Vice-President Mike Pence promised federal help to “rebuild bigger and better than ever before”. The BBC’s Barbara Plett Usher in Houston, Texas, says Congress is expected to act quickly on…