Author: Chronicle Editor

Nigerian police have rescued two Turkish men kidnapped earlier this month in the country’s southeast, a police official said on Saturday. The pair, who worked for a construction company, were abducted on April 11 in the town of Eket in Akwa Ibom state, in the country’s Niger Delta energy hub. Kidnapping for ransom is common in some parts of Nigeria. “The two Turkish nationals were rescued by police on the 19th of April,” said Okechukwu Chukwu, a deputy superintendent in Akwa Ibom state. “No casualty was recorded during their rescue but five suspects were arrested. No ransom was paid, and…

President Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu have commiserated with Osun State Government and the National Assembly on the death of Senator Isiaka Adeleke on Sunday. Buhari in a condolence message issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Sunday, described the late lawmaker as “the gentle and kind-hearted former Governor of Osun’’. He said that Adeleke had passionately and relentlessly championed the cause of the less-privileged and most vulnerable in Nigeria. According to him, the sudden loss of the legislator will create a gap in the hallowed red chamber as Adeleke…

An Election Observer from Anambra, Miss Isabella Monye, has disputed the high figures released by Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC) for the local council polls held on Saturday. Monye said the figures did not reflect what observers witnessed in various polling units. “During our monitoring on Saturday we observed that the turnout for the election was poor so I wonder where EBSIEC got these high figures from,” she said. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the chairmanship seats of the 13 Local Government Areas of Ebonyi in the Saturday local council polls. NAN reports that the party also won…

Everyone wants a happy hunting ground and Lionel Messi has found one in Arsenal. Messi scores for fun but more importantly he scores the crucial goals that lifts his team and hands them a life line when there is none in sight. Regarded as one of the greatest footballer ever, Messi scored his 500th Barcelona goal in the El Clasico to take Barcelona top of the league. Having scored 23 times against Real Madrid, Messi is no doubt a fear factor for his Spanish rivals. But it is not only in Spain that Messi is feared. He is also dreaded…

Pro-European Emmanuel Macron is set to face far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in France’s presidential run-off, results showed Monday, making him clear favourite to emerge as the country’s youngest leader in its history. Macron topped Sunday’s first round with 23.9 per cent of votes, slightly ahead of National Front (FN) leader Le Pen with 21.4 per cent, according to near-final results from the interior ministry. They will contest the run-off on May 7. “For months and again today I’ve heard the doubts, the anger and the fears of the French people. Their desire for change too,” 39-year-old Macron told thousands…

With a jaunty victory dance, 101-year-old Man Kaur celebrated winning the 100 metres sprint at the World Masters Games in Auckland on Monday, the 17th gold medal in the Indian athlete’s remarkable late-blooming career. Kaur clocked one minute 14 seconds as a small crowd cheered her on — ending a mere 64.42 seconds off Usain Bolt’s 100m world record set in 2009. In truth her dash became more of a gentle amble the closer the tiny centenarian came to the finish line, with more energy spent beaming at spectators than running. But Kaur was guaranteed victory as the only participant…

……..says Dino Melaye’s allegations are baseless and ludicrous Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has hit back at Senator Joseph Waku over claims by the Arewa Consultative Forum chieftain that the Governor had a hand in the alleged assassination attempt on Senator Dino Melaye. The governor said Waku has not surprised Nigerians who “see him as a clownish alarmist.” Speaking through his Director General on Media on and Publicity, Kingsley Fanwo, in Lokoja over the weekend, the Governor said he won’t succumb to efforts at distracting his administration from the ” noble New Direction Agenda aimed at repositioning the state…

North Korea is “ready to sink” a US aircraft carrier heading for the peninsula, state media have said. A commentary in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper warned that the USS Carl Vinson could be sunk “with a single strike”. A battle group headed by the Vinson is expected off the peninsula this week. It was dispatched by President Donald Trump amid a warning that US “strategic patience” over the North’s nuclear ambitions had come to an end. Tension also rose after a recent failed missile test by the North and a massive military parade showing off its latest hardware. Sunday’s commentary…

A fast-moving fire killed five people, including three children, as flames surged through a New York City home on a sunny spring afternoon, leaving authorities to scour for clues about what sparked the deadly blaze. The fire broke out Sunday afternoon, on a street full of single-family homes in the middle class neighborhood of Queens Village, a neighborhood near Belmont Park, which hosts the Belmont Stakes, the final leg in horse racing’s Triple Crown. Television news footage showed flames chewing through the roof of the two-story home and roaring in upstairs rooms of the house as smoke poured from it.…

The Nigerian Army in collaboration with operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) said they have arrested two suspected thugs and recovered some arms, ammunition and other items in Anambra. Colonel Sagir Musa, Deputy Director Public Relations, 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Enugu made the disclosure in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Onitsha. “Following intelligence report, Operatives of the DSS, Anambra Command and a patrol team from 302 General Support Regiment Onitsha, successfully carried out a Cordon and Search Operation on three identified locations. “The locations are in Amansi – Umuru,…