Author: Chronicle Editor

A minute’s silence will be observed before the Europa League final between Manchester United and Ajax in Stockholm on Wednesday and both teams will wear black armbands. The opening ceremony will also be considerably reduced as a mark of respect for the victims. England and South Africa stood shoulder to shoulder for a minute’s silence before the first match of the one-day cricket series at Headingley. Both teams wore black armbands as they took the field in Leeds, with all 15 members of the England squad lining up on the pitch alongside the tourists and umpires for a sombrely observed…

Chelsea have cancelled their Premier League victory parade, which was due to take place on Sunday, in the wake of the Manchester Arena attack. The club say it would be “inappropriate” with the UK terror threat at its highest level after Monday’s bombing killed 22 people. Chelsea planned an open-top bus tour with the trophy and hoped to add the FA Cup in Saturday’s final with Arsenal. The Gunners have also said they will not stage a parade should they win. A screening of the match at the club’s Emirates Stadium has been cancelled, and fans will be given refunds.…

Ships ladened with petrol are waiting to berth in Lagos ports, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said on Wednesday. The NPA disclosed this in its daily, “Shipping Position” made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. It said that two other ships would berth with aviation fuel and bulk fertiliser. Thirty-one ships laden with petroleum products, food items and other goods are expected at Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports in Lagos between May 24 and June 14. NPA said that the expected ships were carrying bulk wheat, containers, bulk sugar, general cargoes, steel products, base oil, bulk…

Premier League champions, Chelsea, have cancelled the title victory parade, that was scheduled for this Sunday, following the terror attack at the Manchester Arena. The explosion which happened as concert goers were leaving Ariana Grande’s show, killed 22 people and injured at least 59 others. Police has named the suspect as Salman Ramadan Abedi, a Mancunian of Libyan descent. The 22-year-old’s identity was confirmed, after officials in the United States passed it to news reporters, apparently against the wishes of the police and security services in the UK. Police say attacker died after detonating ‘improvised explosive device’ in foyer of…

The Governing Council of the Lagos State University (LASU) has approved the promotion of 228 members of staff of the university. According to a statement by Ademola Adekoya, head of the information unit, on Wednesday, the exercise involved 61 academic staff and 167 non- academic staff. Mr. Adekoya said seven associate professors were promoted to full professors, 39 senior lectures to associate professors and nine other lecturers to senior lecturers. “Council approved the promotions of a total of 228 members of staff in its 114th statutory meeting held on May 11. “The beneficiaries comprised of 61 academic staff and 167…

Lawyer to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Emeka Ephraim Ugwuonye has been temporarily banned from legal practice in Nigeria. Ugwuonye recently joined the legal team of Nnamdi Kanu. The former United States-based Nigerian lawyer, who was disbarred in New York and Maryland for professional misconduct, was yesterday also disbarred in Nigeria, to which he had relocated, for the same offense. Ugwuonye’s sanction was ordered by the Nigeria’s Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC, of the Body of Benchers, a unit which punishes misconduct among lawyers. LPDC ordered Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria to strike…

A 21-month jail term handed down last year to Barcelona and Argentina footballer Lionel Messi has been confirmed by Spain’s Supreme Court, but he is unlikely to go to prison. Messi and his father Jorge, who manages his finances, were both convicted in 2016 of defrauding Spain of €4.1m (£3.5m; $4.6m) in taxes. Jorge Messi’s jail term was reduced because he paid some of the taxes. In Spain, prison terms of under two years can be served under probation. The case will now return to the court in Barcelona that handed down the original judgement. Lionel Messi, a five-time world…

The Government of the United Kingdom on Wednesday deported 35 Nigerians for committing immigration-related offences in the country. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the deportees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMlA) Lagos at about 5.50 a.m. The deportees, comprising 30 males and five females, were brought back aboard a chartered Titanic Airways aircraft with registration Number: G-POWO. The spokesman of the Lagos Airport Police Command, Joseph Alabi, confirmed the development to NAN. The deportees were received by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP)…

The Kebbi State House of Assembly on Wednesday unanimously enjoined the Speaker of the House, Abdulmumini Kamba, to issue a warrant of arrest on the former governor of the state, Alhaji Saidu Usman Dakingari, for his refusal to heed the House summon for the third time. Moving the motion for his arrest shortly after the House sat for the business of the day, Hon. Aminu Mohammed Bunza told the House that, since the former governor had turned down the invitation to appear before it to explain his involvement in a misappropriation of N6.5 billion airport projects for the third time…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday kept its Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), its base interest rate, at 14 per cent. CBN Governor Godwin Emiefele, who spoke to reporters after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja, said the recession corridor would come to an end by the third quarter because of the positive financial and economic indicators, which he said would endure. Defending the MPC’s position to retain the current level of the MPR, Emefiele, said: “In consideration of the challenges weighing down the domestic economy and the uncertainty in the global environment, the Committee decided by a…