Author: Chronicle Editor

One person is dead after two small planes collided mid-air over a large shopping centre south of Montreal, Canada. Three others were injured in the accident on Friday, which took place over the Promenades Saint-Bruno. Police say one of the planes crashed into the mall’s roof, while the other slammed into a car park. One pilot is dead and the other is in hospital, and two bystanders had minor stress-related injuries, they confirmed. The aircraft carried only one pilot each, and no passengers. Nheil Martinez, who works inside the shopping centre, told the Canadian Press he saw the shadow of…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday , March 17, 2017, secured the conviction and sentencing of an Internet fraudster, Akintunde Vincent Abiodun, a.k.a. Christopher Williams, before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja. The 37-year-old was arraigned on January 23, 2017 on an amended 12-count charge of stealing and forgery to the tune of N7, 806, 093.00(Seven Million, Eight Hundred and Six Thousand, and Ninety Three Naira). Abiodun’s walk to jail began after he presented himself as Christopher Williams to his victim, D. Bonni, whom he met on a dating site on the Internet.…

Nigeria’s amnesty programme which provides vocational training and stipends to former militants who attacked oil facilities in its Niger Delta energy hub is struggling with a shortfall of funds, a special adviser to the president said. The government has been in talks with militants to end the attacks which cut Nigeria’s output by 700,000 barrels a day (bpd) for several months last year, reducing total production at that time to about 1.2 million bpd. It has since climbed. Under the amnesty programme, each former militant is entitled to 65,000 naira ($213.68) a month plus job training “The main challenges the…

Days after the Senate rejected his nomination, Ibrahim Magu, the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been invited by two leading anti-corruption organizations, the Transparency International and Global Witness to speak at an international conference on money laundering and assets recovery on March 21, 2017 in London. Magu is expected to deliver a paper on the topic, “Give Us Our Money Back – Nigeria’s Fight Against Corruption: A Critical Conversation”. The invitation from the Global Witness and Transparency International is in recognition of the invaluable role the Magu-led EFCC has played in his more than…

A US Secret Service laptop with details on a criminal inquiry into former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s use of private email, according to ABC News. The computer, which was protected by encryption, was taken on Thursday, the Secret Service confirmed. The computer also has Trump Tower floor plans and other sensitive material has apparently been stolen from an agent’s vehicle in New York. Police are looking at surveillance footage to identify a suspect. The Secret Service released a statement saying “an employee was the victim of a criminal act in which our Agency issued laptop was stolen”. The agency added…

A Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja presided over by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba on Friday, March 17, 2017 turned down the application of Abba Moro, former interior minister, to travel abroad for medical appointment. Moro is facing an 11-count charge of procurement fraud and money laundering preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. He is being charged alongside one-time permanent secretary in the ministry, Anastasia Daniel-Nwobia, a deputy director in the ministry, F. O Alayebami, one Mahmood Ahmadu (at large), and Drexel Tech Nigeria Limited, a firm that was given the recruitment job, in the…

Nigerians in the Niger Delta deserve a fair deal, according to the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, who outlined the vision of the Buhari administration and why it would depart from past leadership and governance failures in the region. Prof. Osinbajo said President Muhammadu Buhari is now advocating a New Vision for the people of the Niger Delta. The vice-president who went on several trouble-shooting missions to the Niger Delta spoke today at the Presidential Villa while chairing an inter-ministerial follow-up meeting with relevant government ministries, departments and agencies involved in the Niger Delta. “The President believes the people of…

The remains of the late Dr Samuel Ogbemudia, the former governor of the defunct Midwest region and Bendel State, was on Friday interred in his Iheya country home. The body was interred by family members at 1.47 p.m. with a 21-gun salute by men and officers of the 4 Brigade in Benin. Ogbemudia had prepared his grave five years ago beside that of his mother. Hundreds of thousands of Benin residents, including school children, had earlier besieged the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium to bid the late elder statesman farewell. Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo had on Thursday declared one-day public holiday…

There are only eight teams left standing in the Champions League. This is the stage of the tournament where Europe’s biggest and best clubs (and Leicester City) will battle for ultimate supremacy. And quite the fascinating battle it will be, because the draw is fantastic: This draw is maybe a little unfortunate for Leicester, though. Their success in Europe this season closely mirrors their success in England last season, where most teams see that they’re playing Leicester and figure “Oh, these guys are jokes, this won’t be hard at all” and proceed to play a wide-open game that plays directly…

The House of Representatives on Thursday resolved to set up an ad hoc Committee to investigate the operational activities of telecommunications equipment and services companies/vendors operating in Nigeria. This was to determine whether there were irregularities in the employment status and conditions of Nigerians viz-a-viz their foreign counterparts, both in Nigeria and overseas. The ad hoc committee would evaluate the companies’ administrative and operational procedures and assess their tax compliance status. It would also ascertain the parameters and procedures used by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in approving funds transfer from these companies.…