Author: Opalim Lifted

The coast guard said on Saturday that more than 1,300 migrants were rescued in three separate operations off the southern tip of Italy, two weeks after at least 74 people died when their boat collided with rocks near the coast. The increasing number of migrant arrivals has put pressure on Italy’s conservative government, which took office in October promising to reduce the flow, only to see a sharp increase in such landings this year from both North Africa and Turkey. The coast guard said one of its vessels picked up 500 migrants from a boat more than 100 miles (160…

Gunmen kidnapped nine residents of the Grow Homes Estate along Kuchibiyi in the Kubwa area of the Federal Capital Territory. Around 1:30 p.m. on Friday, a group of about 20 gunmen stormed the estate. The victims were apprehended from two separate apartments in the estate, according to a resident of the community who identified himself simply as Hassan over the phone. He went on to say that the incident had caused widespread panic in the community. He said,” Yesterday, at about 11:30 pm some gunmen in their large numbers came to carry out an operation at Grow homes estate along…

Mustapha, an Abuja-based middle-aged man, described how he discovered a vast collection of sensitive materials from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), including results and declaration sheets. Mustapha, who appeared in a viral video obtained by our correspondent, displayed some unfilled sensitive materials littered near the refuse site, in the Jikwoyi area of the Federal Capital Territory’s Karu Amac municipality. Our correspondent reports that seven candidates from seven political parties were discovered in the empty declaration of result sheet, including Dogo Bukar, Action Alliance; Nijhu Jonathan, African Democratic Congress; Golkos Gaius All Progressives Congress; Abubakar Ibrahim, New Nigeria Peoples Party;…

Semiu Adegesin, 45, was arrested by men from the Ogun State Police Command in connection with the death of Esther Samuel, a three-year-old girl. Adegesin was arrested for what was described as “contributory negligence” in the death of the child. The suspect, who owned a dane gun, was accused of leaving it loaded in an open space in his backyard where children played. Babalola, a 13-year-old boy, is said to have picked up the gun, pointed it at the girl, and pulled the trigger. DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the state Police Public Relations Officer, stated that the suspect was apprehended following…

Mr Alkali Baba, the Inspector General of Police (I-,G), has presented N16 million cheques to the families of police officers killed in the line of duty in Kogi. The IG made the presentations at the Command’s Headquarters in Lokoja through the Kogi Commissioner of Police, Akeem Yusuf, who was represented by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Administration, DCP Abel Audu. In Lokoja, N16 million cheques were presented to the next of kin of 28 state police officers who died while on duty. Baba explained, “this gesture is part of the “Group Life Assurance Scheme” and IGP’s “Family…

The Prosper Africa initiative of the United States government has disclosed the conclusion of $274 million in long-term financing for West Africa’s rapidly growing housing sector. This is being done in collaboration with Bank of America Securities, Inc., Brean Capital, LLC, The Bank of New York Mellon, Togo’s Caisse Régionale de Refinancement Hypothécaire (CRRH), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the United States International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC) (DFC). This partnership, announced on Thursday, creates new opportunities for US investment in Africa’s emerging markets and allows West Africans to gain greater access to homeownership, according to a…

Mrs Pauline Tallen, Minister of Women Affairs, has advised the ministry’s incoming minister not to send pregnant girls out of school. Education, she believes, is critical to empowering girls. Tallen gave the advice during a panel discussion on the sidelines of a Federal Ministry of Women Affairs event in New York on Friday. The event was held on the sidelines of the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in collaboration with the World Bank (CSW67). The two-week CSW67 session, which began on Monday, focuses on gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls through…

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has threatened to sue officials of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if they continue to defame his character in the media. The INEC chief’s warning comes after the PDP demanded his resignation yesterday. The INEC chairman was accused by the party of violating the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, as well as the Commission’s regulations, guidelines, and manual issued for the presidential and parliamentary elections on February 25. The PDP also demanded that Prof Yakubu be investigated by the police, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the…

Following the Federal Government’s and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) failure to comply with the Supreme Court’s March 3rd judgment on the extension of the validity of the old naira notes, ten states are preparing for a new legal battle. The failure to implement the court order has heightened anger and frustration across the country, as Nigerians wait in vain for the government to give the go-ahead for the reintroduction of the old N500 and N1000 notes. At the time of publication, merchants, gas stations, and transportation companies continued to refuse to accept the notes, despite the fact that…

Victoria Enwerem (Anosike), 42, was sentenced to multiple prison terms by a Magistrate Court in charge of Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Awka, Anambra State. Enwerem was charged with three counts of conspiracy to steal children, fraudulently enticing away and harboring children, and forcibly isolating children from their parents, all of which are punishable under the Criminal Code, Laws of Anambra State of Nigeria, 1991, and the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition and Protection) Laws of Anambra State, 2017. The five stolen children ranged in age from three to ten years old. The presiding Chief Magistrate, Genevieve Osakwe, stated in…