Author: Opalim Lifted

Explosions on Tuesday allegedly killed scores of persons in the Galkogo community, in the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State. There were two accounts of the circumstances surrounding the explosions that created tension in the community. A resident, Tanko Erena, while speaking with our correspondent, said the explosions were caused by air strikes from officials of the Nigeria Air Force, adding that the explosions occurred when men of the Joint Security Task Force were patrolling the area. He said, “I believe the occupants of the fighter jet thought that the JTF members were bandits because there is really no…

Rwandan forces on Tuesday fired at a fighter jet from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that it said had violated its airspace, prompting the Congolese government to accuse it of an act of war. A video shared widely on Congolese social media showed a projectile shooting toward an airborne military plane, before exploding in the air near the plane, which continued to fly. Media reports could not immediately verify the video. Congo denied Kagame’s accusation that the jet had been in Rwandan airspace – the latest dispute between the two countries whose relationship has been strained by a rebel…

Justice Abiola Soladoye of an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court, Lagos State, on Tuesday, sentenced an Islamic teacher, Adam Farouk, to life imprisonment for defiling eight pupils in his class. Farouk defiled the pupils, who were between the ages of six and 11, between November 2018 to February 2019 on Balogun Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos. The convict was arraigned on eight counts of sexual assault preferred against him by the Lagos State Government. While delivering judgment, Justice Soladoye stated that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt the ingredients of the eight counts bordering on sexual assault by…

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday faulted Ethiopia’s final report into the March 2019 Boeing 737 MAX fatal crash and said investigators did not adequately address the performance of the flight crew. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said in an interview that Ethiopia’s Aircraft Investigation Bureau (EAIB) had made errors in its report. “We feel what they did not do is really delve into the flight crew performance issues and whether they were adequately prepared,” Homendy said. “We felt like it was not as comprehensive and robust as it could have been.” The MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019…

The Founder of Rochas Foundation and former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has launched a Teach a Child/Sponsor a Child Project aimed at targeting one million out-of-school children and bringing them to school. According to a statement made available by the foundation to our correspondent on Wednesday, Okorocha made this known at the unveiling of the project in Abuja on Tuesday. Speaking during the launch, the former governor noted that the country owed a responsibility to give every Nigerian child and unborn children the right education for their liberation. “In Africa, we have over 50 million out-of-school children and…

Thirteen crew members were rescued on Wednesday from a cargo ship that sank off southwestern Japan during fierce winter winds, with planes and ships, including private vessels, searching for the remaining nine. The vessel, the 6,651-tonne Hong Kong-registered “Jintian”, issued a distress call late on Tuesday, the Japan Coast Guard said. Media reported a person on the ship said it was listing and taking on water, and later reports said the 22 crew members – all Chinese or Myanmar nationals – had transferred to lifeboats. There was no immediate word on what caused the vessel, which was carrying lumber, to…

The Federal Government has said that the existence of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) over the past 60 years saved the global oil market from perpetual chaos. The Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva stated this on Tuesday in Abuja when he received Gabriel Lima, Equatorial Guinea’s Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons. Lima’s visit marked his first official visit to Nigeria in his capacity as the 2023 President of the OPEC and Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Council of Ministers. Sylva said that without OPEC’s existence, many countries would not have been able to develop their…

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday inaugurated the first phase of the Lagos Blue Rail Line and took a ride from the Marina Station to National Theatre Station in Lagos mainland shortly thereafter. Buhari was on the train ride alongside Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Deputy Governor of the state, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; some members of the federal and state executive councils; members of the federal and state legislative assemblies; President of China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), Chen Sichang and journalists, among others. The first phase of the project, executed by the state government, spans 13 kilometers and has five stations…

The Mafab Telecommunication Company on Tuesday inaugurated the Fifth Generation (5G) network and unveiled its logo in Abuja. The Chairman of Mafab, Dr. Mushabu Bashir, said the launch had added another chapter in its journey towards a brighter and stronger future filled with hope and prospects. Bashir said with the 5G, business outfits would expand their frontiers with operational ease and speed, especially in the fields of education. Other fields are medical sciences, engineering, security, businesses like the banking sector, SMEs, and smart cities, among others. He said 5G would not just benefit the urban areas but also meet long-term…

Two hundred asylum-seeking children, including some aged under 16, are missing from temporary hotel accommodation in Britain, the government said on Tuesday, raising new questions over ministers’ handling of migrant arrivals. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is under pressure on two fronts over immigration: from those who say he is failing to protect Britain’s borders from migrants arriving in small boats and others who say the government is not treating those who arrive properly. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick was called to parliament on Tuesday by a member of the Green Party to explain media reports of missing children. Jenrick said…