Author: Chronicle Editor

A New Jersey teen, Santos Colon, has pleaded guilty to a plot allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group to kill Pope Francis during his 2015 visit to the US. The US Justice Department on Monday said 15 years old at the time, sought to recruit a sniper to shoot the Pope as he celebrated Mass in Philadelphia on September 27, 2015. Colon also allegedly planned to set off explosives Africa Review reports on Tuesday. But the teen unwittingly recruited an undercover FBI agent for the job, and was arrested quietly 12 days before the event. “Colon engaged someone he…

The Commissioner of Police in Abia, Mr Leye Oyebade, says the command has arrested three kidnap suspects involved in the gruesome killing of four members of the state vigilance group known as Bakassi in Aba. The deceased Bakassi men were reportedly attacked by the assailants, who allegedly ambushed them on Aba-Owerri Road around 4:00 p.m. in February. The Bakassi men were said to be returning to their office in their operational van when the hoodlums reportedly opened fire on them, killing three of them on the spot, while the fourth person died later in the hospital. The vigilance group allegedly…

The Bring Back Our Girls, BBOG, movement says Nigeria’s government must speedily negotiate the release of 195 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram extremists nearly three years ago. The movement also asked Tuesday why two dozen Chibok girls who were freed last year have been held for months of alleged rehabilitation instead of being reunited with their families. Bring Back Our Girls says Nigeria’s government has failed to respond to its questions and suggestions laid out in a January letter. Nigerian officials did not comment Tuesday. Chibok schoolgirls were kidnapped on the night of 14–15 April 2014 from the Government…

The speaker of Kano State House of Assembly has said that the public will be consulted on a bill that aims to ban poor men from marrying more than one wife. Alhassan Rurum told BBC Hausa that Muslim religious leaders and scholars will also be consulted on defining who can be considered to be poor. The controversial proposal on polygamy was made by Muhammad Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano, to ensure that men have families that they are able to take care of. Sanusi gave the hint of the revamp some laws on 20 February. He said certain laws…

The British Government, will release information about Nigerians, who own property in that country next year. Prof. Bolaji Owosanoye, Executive Secretary, Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York that negotiations on this had reached advanced stage. Owosanoye said the measure being taken by the governments of both countries was a step up the fight against corruption. “There’s no doubt that rogues in government oppress and impoverish their people by corruption and this must be sanctioned by collective action. “We need to make sure that there is no safe haven for corrupt officials to…

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has received a belated birthday present of a motor-controlled wheelchair. Zimbabwean leader, 93, got the “mobile chair” from his cabinet ministers during a ceremony held at State House in Harare on Monday, APA reports. The ministers said the wheelchair is meant to make it easy for Africa’s oldest leader to “navigate his way around the office and at home.” Mugabe has lately struggled to walk, often becoming an embarrassment to his countrymen during foreign visits. The present comes about a month after First Lady Grace Mugabe boasted that her husband will rule the southern African country…

The opposition parties in the South African parliament are considering an emergency session to pass a vote of no confidence on President Jacob Zuma. APA reports that pressure is already building on Zuma to resign. The Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbeke said in Cape Town that the motion was resulting from his unexplained sacking last week of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas. Briefing reporters, Mbeke said her office has received a request from the opposition leaders of the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters for a motion of no confidence in Zuma to…

Mo Adeniran, 21- year- old Nigerian singer, has emerged the winner of the 2017 edition of The Voice, United Kingdom. “After months of stellar performances, battle rounds and public votes, Mo Adeniran was crowned the winner of The Voice UK during Sunday night’s live final,” according to Daily Mail UK. Flabbergasted as the result was announced, Adeniran looked on in shock whilst his mentor, singer and Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson immediately burst into tears of happiness. Adeniran who worked night shifts at a hotel prior to the show, came to the show with his best friend, Max Vickers, who made…

The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, has suspended its nationwide strike which began on April 2. The suspension followed the intervention of the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation( NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru. According to Mr Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division on Monday in Abuja, Baru said his intervention was in the national interest. Baru further approved the increase in bridging costs from N6.20 to N7.20. Bridging is money paid tanker drivers per kilometre for trucking petroleum products from depots to final destinations. ‘Mediating between the Nigerian Association…

The Federal Government has urged parents and guardians to monitor the activities of their children and wards in order to prevent them from being recruited by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has now resorted to targeting vulnerable individuals, including foreign students, using financial inducements to recruit them into the terrorist organisation. In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday April 3rd, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, cited the recent recruitment into ISIS of 27 medical students of the University of Medical Sciences and Technology (UMST) in Sudan as an example of the new strategy…