Author: Chronicle Editor

The High Court in Johannesburg has sentenced a man convicted of sexually exploiting a 15-year-old girl and forcing her into prostitution to an effective 20 years in prison. Two weeks ago Eke Ogochukwu was found guilty of four charges relating to human trafficking. The teenager escaped in August 2015 and received help from a nearby church in Rosettenville. Judge Majake Mabesele says what the accused did was cruel. “Clearly what happened to her was cruel, inhuman and degrading and was a violation of the right to human dignity, which is enshrined in our Constitution.” Ogochukwu, known to the girl only…

The mother of the baby whose alleged abduction sparked a national manhunt in South Africa has been arrested. One-month-old Siwaphiwe Mbambo was found alive and well around midnight on Saturday. The mother had told police that she was taken during a car-jacking outside a shopping centre in the South African city of Durban on Friday. But a police official has accused her of making the crime up, after the baby was found with her boyfriend. The boyfriend, and a woman thought to be his other girlfriend, have also been arrested. “This was a false case and cost us money and…

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) will begin the sale of the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination ,UTME forms on March 20. Dr Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s Head of Public Relations, told NAN on Monday in Bwari, that the date was fixed following an agreement that was reached on the harmonization of the examination timetable at a meeting with other exam bodies on Jan. 24. “We will begin the sale of the admission forms on March 20, while UTME is scheduled to hold in May. “We are ready to commence the sales of the 2017/2018 admission forms for UTME and…

Police say 35 people are dead after a truck lost control on a Nigerian highway, AP reports. Adamawa state police spokesman Othman Abubakar says another 28 people were injured in Sunday’s crash between Yola and Ngurore. Abubakar says the speeding truck had been loaded with cattle and merchants. Witness Abdu Ngurore says 15 cattle died in the crash. The state chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Bello Adamu Ngurore, says the trailer had been coming from the town of Song in eastern Nigeria. Yola is the capital city and administrative center of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Located on…

Abu Dhabi telecoms group Etisalat may sell its stake in Etisalat Nigeria, which has defaulted on a $1.2 billion loan, but wants the company’s debt restructured before it does so, two sources told Reuters on Monday. Nigeria’s central bank and telecoms regulator on Friday agreed with local banks to pursue a default deal rather than a receivership for Etisalat Nigeria so as not to deter investors and to avoid a wider debt crisis. Etisalat is due to meet with creditors in Nigeria on Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss the default, the source said. It was not clear whether Etisalat, which…

Nigeria’s president is expected to officially get back to work after nearly two months in London on medical leave. President Muhammadu Buhari’s personal assistant Bashir Ahmad tweeted that Buhari will send a letter to the National Assembly on Monday “to formally notify the legislature of his return.” On his first day back on the job, the Federal Government sacked the acting Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs. Mariel Rae-Omoh. According to reports online, the FG has appointed Dr. Paul Adalikwu as the new acting DG pending the appointment of a new helmsmen. Also, 15 senior officials, who…

Ayuba Wabba, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Sunday in Abuja opposed the new directive by the Nigerian Customs Service, asking Nigerians to verify whether duties have been paid on their vehicles and pay if not already done. Wabba, in a letter to the Comptroller General of Customs, Hameed Ali, said that the directive was unrealistic. The directive, which was published by Mr Joseph Attah, acting Public Relations Officer on behalf of the Comptroller-General asked motor dealers and private owners of vehicles “whose customs duty has not been paid to do so” between Monday, March 13 and Wednesday,…

Son Heung-min scored a hat-trick as Tottenham Hotspur reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup with an easy win over League One Millwall but lost striker Harry Kane with an ankle injury. England striker Kane was replaced after being hurt when Lions defender Jake Cooper tried to block his shot after seven minutes. Christian Eriksen, Kane’s replacement, opened the scoring with a finish into the bottom corner after Dele Alli’s chest down before Son scored either side of half-time. Alli tapped home the fourth with substitute Vincent Janssen adding the fifth – his first from open play for Spurs -…

Craig Shakespeare has been appointed Leicester City manager until the end of the season. The 53-year-old has been in caretaker charge since Claudio Ranieri was sacked on 23 February, nine months after winning the Premier League title. Shakespeare, who has never managed full-time, was Ranieri’s assistant after being brought to the club by the Italian’s predecessor, Nigel Pearson. Leicester have won both of their games with him in charge. Foxes vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: “We always knew the team would be in good hands when we asked him to take charge a fortnight ago. “He has initiated the type of…

A Nigerian medical expert, Professor Femi Williams, has declared categorically that President Muhammadu Buhari is suffering from anaemia. This, the certified physician in Anatomical Pathology from London and Ireland, told The Nation in an interview, could only have been responsible for the blood transfusion which the president got during his medical vacation in the United Kingdom. Buhari admitted on his return home on Friday that he had transfusion in London. “We now have a pretty good idea of diagnosis, which is now comprehensive or good enough to say that the diagnosis of President Buhari’s illness is anaemia,” Williams said. “You…