Author: Chronicle Editor

Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has been arrested as part of a money-laundering investigation. A number of other people were also held as police raided nine offices and homes in north-eastern Catalonia. The arrests are part of an investigation into rights sales relating to Brazil, police sources say. Rosell was Barca president from 2010 to 2014, when he resigned following a Spanish court’s decision to investigate the 2013 signing of Brazilian Neymar. In June 2016, Barcelona paid a fine of 5.5m euros (£4.7m) over the 25-year-old’s move from Santos. The club was accused of tax fraud, which it denied. Rosell’s…

No fewer than 174,000 N-power volunteers in the Federal Government’s Social Intervention Programmes (SIPs) have started receiving N30,000 monthly stipends. There have been protest nationwide by beneficiaries clamouring for arrears of their stipends. On Tuesday, Afolabi Imokhuede, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation, told State House correspondents in Abuja, that “As we speak right now, about 86 per cent of them really have been paid”. “Now when I mean 86 per cent after physical verification, as at last count in end of April we had about 174,000 qualified, verified volunteers out of 200,000. “We are currently right…

Actor Sir Roger Moore, best known for playing James Bond, has died aged 89, his family has announced. He played the famous spy in seven Bond films including Live and Let Die and the Spy Who Loved Me. Sir Roger’s family confirmed the news on Twitter, saying he had died after “a short but brave battle with cancer”. The statement, from his children, read: “Thank you Pops for being you, and being so very special to so many people.” “With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We…

and leadership position to urgently enforce your directives to electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) to provide free pre-paid meters to Nigerians, and end the use of patently illegal and inordinate estimated billing across the country.” The organization asked Fashola to “take this step within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter, failing which SERAP will institute appropriate legal proceedings to compel the discharge of your ministerial and statutory duty in this matter in order to ensure completion of metering of unmetered customers and total abolition of estimated billing in the country.” In the letter dated 22 May 2017…

The Islamic State group says one of its members planted bombs in the middle of crowds in Manchester, England, where 22 people died in an explosion. Police, however, have spoken only of “an improvised device” used in the attack. ISIS says “a soldier of the caliphate planted bombs in the middle of Crusaders gatherings” then detonated them. According to Fox News, ISIS did not say whether the attacker was killed. The group claimed that “30 Crusaders were killed and 70 others were wounded,” higher than the totals confirmed by authorities in Manchester. Several explosions have rocked Manchester Arena, in northern…

North Korea’s recent missile tests are a legitimate act of self-defense by a “fully-fledged nuclear power” and are not against international law, North Korean diplomat Ju Yong Chol told the UN Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday. “It is the U.S.’ hostile policy and its aggressive joint military drills, nuclear threats and military build-up around the Korean peninsula that really aggravates the situation on the Korean peninsula and the region and which compels the DPRK to also up its nuclear deterrence,” he said. U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood responded that it was “ridiculous” to claim North Korea’s actions were legal. U.S. President…

Mr Isaac Ishola, the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources in Oyo State, says wares seized from traders who flout environmental sanitation laws will be distributed to orphanages. Ishola said in a statement in Ibadan on Tuesday that street trading persisted because offenders were able to retrieve their wares after paying fines. The commissioner said in the statement signed by the Press Officer in the ministry, Mr Olusegun Adesoji, that government would do everything possible to ensure environmental cleanliness. “The present administration places so much priority on healthy and hygienic environment as well as safety of lives and properties,’’ Ishola…

Zimbabwe, which has not had power cuts for the past one and half years, might experience massive load shedding by May 31, if it fails to settle its power import bill with Mozambican and South African power utilities. Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) Holdings chief executive Josh Chifamba said on Tuesday that the company failed to pay 43 million U.S. dollars it owed South Africa’s Eskom and Mozambique’s Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) due to foreign currency shortages. The 43 million U.S. dollars is coming from a payment plan that ZESA struck with the two regional power utilities early this…

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has described the demolition of the structures housing the Breeze 99.9 FM, Lafia as “shocking and unbelievable”. The structures were demolished on Saturday, May 20, 2017, by the Nasarawa State Urban Development Board (NUDB), over alleged violation of approved land laws. Mrs Franca Ayetan, NBC Zonal Director for North-Central, who led a team on a verification visit to the destroyed station on Monday, said that the development was surprising because the station followed due process in obtaining its broadcast license. “The owner of the private radio station, Dr Nawani Aboki, followed due process in obtaining…

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Sen. Bola Tinubu has warned soldiers planning a coup d’etat in the country to stop it as they would be resisted. Tinubu gave the warning at the Lagos Assembly Special Parliamentary Session to celebrate Lagos at 50, Second Anniversary of the 8th Assembly and official inauguration of L-Shaped Assembly Complex. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the army had, in a statement on May 16, warned all officers and soldiers to steer clear of politicians trying to woo them. Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, the army spokesman, had said in the…