Author: Chronicle Editor

A 14-year-old boy, name withheld, on Tuesday appeared in an Ota Senior Magistrates’ Court in Ogun for allegedly raping a seven-year-old girl, name withheld. The accused, who lives at No. 6, Ifelodun Community, Oke-Ore, Atan, Ota, is facing a charge of defilement. The prosecutor, Chudu Gbesi, told the court that the accused committed the offence on April 2 at 11.30 a.m. at his residence. He said that the accused had an unlawful carnal knowledge of the seven-year-old girl. Mr. Gbesi said that the offence contravened Section 32 of the Child Right Law, Law of Ogun, 2006. The accused, however, pleaded…

After repeated denials in various countries, Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell, on Monday finally admitted it had foreknowledge that the $1.3 billion itself and ENI paid to Nigerian government for the OPL 245 oil block licence would ultimately be used to settle convicted former Minister of Petroleum, Dan Etete. “Over time, it became clear to us that Etete was involved in Malabu and that the only way to resolve the impasse through a negotiated settlement was to engage with Etete and Malabu, whether we liked it or not,” The New York Times quoted Andy Norman, a spokesperson for Shell,…

The headquarters of Federal Airport Authority (FAAN), Lagos is on fire. Twitter accounts say that members of staff FAAN took to their heels as fire razes. Baba ibeji in view‏ @oladapoyusuf said that the fire started from the Audit unit of FAAN. Fire brigade is battling to contain the fire before it ‘gets out of hand’ Another tweet by Olayinka Okelana‏ said the huge fire has caused traffic jam at the terminal two of the Murtala Muhammed Airport. An official of National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE, identified as Frank, said the Audit unit of FAAN was heavily affected…

President Donald Trump’s administration is pushing forward with plans to sell up to a dozen aircraft to Nigeria’s air force for the fight against the extremist group Boko Haram. Sources said the deal could be worth up to $600 million (about N184 billion). Sources also said the Super Tucano A-29 aircraft, an agile, propeller-driven plane with reconnaissance and surveillance as well as attack capabilities, is made by Brazil’s Embraer. A second production line is in Florida, in a partnership between Embraer and privately held Sierra Nevada Corp of Sparks, Nevada. Former President Barack Obama’s administration originally agreed on the sale,…

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has published his monthly salary which reflects a gross pay of N555,926.74 and take home pay of N470,521.74 The governor also published his security vote and budgets of both the state and local governments. His action is a direct response to the challenge posed to him by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, to make public what he gets as security vote and local government funds. The monies, he said, reflected what the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission approved as the salary and allowances of every state governor. El-Rufai said…

Agbani Darego, 2001 Miss World, got married over the weekend to Ishaya Danjuma, son of former defense minister, Theophilus Danjuma. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the former beauty queen shared the news on her Instagram page with the picture showing her in a wedding dress with her partner turning their backs to the camera at the wedding. She shared the picture with the caption, “08-04-2017, #Mrs. Danjuma”, which was further confirmed by her friend Elizabeth Elohor. Elohor, while sharing the same picture wrote, “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Danjuma @agbanidarego. May the almighty God bless your union. #mysisismarried, #beautifulcouple,…

Crystal Palace continued their recent revival to boost their Premier League survival hopes and leave Arsenal struggling to maintain their run of top-four finishes under Arsene Wenger. Palace led through Andros Townsend’s close-range finish, doubling their lead when Yohan Cabaye’s shot looped in. Luka Milivojevic clinched victory with a firm, low penalty as Palace moved six points clear of the relegation zone. Sixth-placed Arsenal did not manage a shot on target in a poor second half. Some travelling Gunners fans again called for manager Wenger, who has led Arsenal to top-four finishes in each of his previous 20 seasons at…

A man opened fire with a pistol in a classroom at a Southern California elementary school on Monday, killing a woman presumed to be the teacher and wounding two children before killing himself. Police said the two students were not believed to have been targeted by the gunman but were wounded because of their proximity to the slain woman. San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan called the shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, about 65 miles east of Los Angeles, an apparent murder-suicide. Investigators were working to confirm the identities of the gunman and the dead woman…

A few days after seizing a huge cash from a plaza in Lagos, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Monday uncovered another N250 million from the popular Balogun Market still in Lagos. But just like the previous haul last week, the owner of the cash could not be identified. The discovery of the huge cash according to a statement by the EFCC’s Spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, followed a tipoff by a whistle blower, whose information forced operatives to swoop on the market. The cash, which belongs to an unnamed top official from one of the northern states, was to be…

A Pakistani military court sentenced an Indian accused of espionage to death on Monday, potentially escalating tension between the two nuclear-armed states. Kulbushan Sudhir Jadhav was arrested on March 3 in the turbulent province of Baluchistan, which has seen a long-running conflict between Pakistani security forces and a militant separatist movement. The Pakistani military said in a statement he had confessed to being tasked by India’s intelligence service with planning, coordinating and organizing espionage and sabotage activities in Baluchistan “aiming to destabilize and wage war against Pakistan”. The sentence was passed by a Field General Court Martial and confirmed by…