The Borno Government said on Sunday that it plans to evacuate 78,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) back home from Cameroon. The News Agency of Nigeria [NAN] reports that the affected IDPs fled to Cameroon at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency in the state. The IDPs had a week ago, urged the state government to facilitate their return home or they will trek back to Nigeria. Ahmad Satome, Chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) told newsmen in Maiduguri that government plans to shelter the returnees in four temporary satellite camps. “The issue of the 78,000 Nigerian IDPs…
Author: David Folami
Some unidentified gunmen on Sunday abducted Mr Gabriel Odu-Orji, the Cross Rivers Commissioner for Water Resources at Effionawan street in Mayne Avenue area of Calabar South. An eye witness, Mr James Ibri, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that five gunmen came in a blue Audi car and picked Odu-Orji away as he stepped down to eat in a restaurant. “At around 12 noon today, I was in front of one restaurant waiting for a friend when the Commissioner for Water Resources stepped down and was approaching the restaurant. “Those guys were kidnappers because they wore mask to hide…
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Sunday said that his government never plotted to kill former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi (rtd ) as claimed by Bamaiyi in his book. Obasanjo said this while playing host to members of the Correspondents Chapel, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ogun Chapter, at his hilltop residence in Abeokuta. The former president explained that his administration only asked Bamaiyi to respond to accusations that he was responsible for some killings, saying that the decision was legitimate. “That I wanted to kill him? What of the people he killed? My government did not plot…
Mr Inuwa Bwala, the Special Adviser on Media to the National Chairman of the People’s Democracy Party (PDP) Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff on Sunday announced his resignation. Bwala in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja stated that the recent developments in the polity,especially as it affects his duties made it imperative for him to step down as the official spokesman of Sheriff. He added that he was stepping down for personal reasons to enable him face his personal challenges, especially his health. Bwala also said “I wish to apologise to Nigerians, especially our political leaders and professional colleagues,…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted fielding an unpractised formation in the 2-1 win at Stoke City on Saturday. Liverpool had to come from behind to win at the bet365 Stadium, with Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino both needed from the bench to net second-half goals and secure the victory. A switch to a 3-5-2 formation for the game seemed to provide instability to the visitors in a wretched first half in which they were lucky to go in at the break only trailing to Jon Walters’ opener. “The first half was actually not as good as we thought we…
Gabriel Jesus is in a race to be fit for Manchester City’s pivotal week of the season. City face Arsenal in the FA Cup semifinal on April 23 followed by the Manchester derby against United four days later, but Pep Guardiola has said those games may come too soon for the Gabriel. The Brazil international returned to training earlier this week as he continues his recovery from a fractured metatarsal bone in his right foot, which he suffered in the 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Feb. 13. Guardiola said City’s medical staff had originally expected the striker to return in…
Bayern Munich defender Mats Hummels has been ruled out of Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal at home to Real Madrid because of an ankle injury. The Bundesliga leaders say the 28-year-old Hummels pulled out of training Sunday with a ligament injury in his right ankle and will be “out for the time being.” Hummels said in a tweet, “Very sad to be out for at least the next week.” Manager Carlo Ancelotti will turn to Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez for the first leg against Madrid. Both played in Bayern’s 4-1 defeat of Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Madrid…
Arsene Wenger wants Arsenal to keep their group of British players together this summer, and said it would be “a big damage” to the club if Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was to leave. Arsenal face a summer of important contract negotiations as Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs and Aaron Ramsey are among a group all with deals that expire after next season, meaning the club will have to decide whether to give them long-term extensions, sell them or risk losing them for free. All four were part of the “British core” that penned long-term deals in 2012 — a moment that at…
Jose Mourinho says Manchester United are still committed to trying to secure a top-four Premier League finish following Sunday’s 3-0 Premier League victory over Sunderland. Mourinho, who takes his side to Anderlecht for the first leg of their Europa League quarterfinal on Thursday, had said United could switch their focus from the Premier League to their European campaign if they were to lose sight of a top-four finish this week and then saw his side held by Everton. United, though, reduced the gap to fourth-placed Manchester City to four points, with a game in hand on their rivals, after a…
Marcos Alonso has warned that Chelsea have “seven finals” left in the Premier League title race after scoring from a 25-yard free kick to wrap up the Blues’ 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Saturday. Alonso found the top corner with a curling shot in the 68th minute to ensure that Chelsea maintained their seven-point lead over Tottenham, who had applied pressure on the leaders with a 4-0 rout of Watford in Saturday’s early kick off. Bournemouth are the visitors to White Hart Lane next weekend while Chelsea take on Manchester United at Old Trafford, but Alonso dismissed the suggestion that…
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says the club will need to spend big this summer to improve their squad ahead of next season. United currently sit sixth in the Premier League table, seven points off the top four, but could also qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League this term. Mourinho splashed out £157 million on transfers following his appointment at United last summer, and he says they will need to do something similar this year if they are to really challenge for the top honours next season. “We had just one transfer window, we didn’t use…
Months after giving birth to her first child at 50, Janet Jackson has split from her billionaire husband, Wissam Al Mana. The pop star has left her third husband after 5 years of marriage, Page Six reports. Daily Mail was the first to report the news. According to them, a source claimed, “They’re both busy people but determined to be good parents, even if they’re apart. It’s amicable and Eissa will stay with his mother, who is basing herself in London.” Meanwhile, others say trouble had been brewing for months. “She thought he had become too controlling during the pregnancy…
Ayo Adesanya and Patience Ozokwor have clashed in their roles as mothers-in-law in one of Kunle Afolayan’s new movie project, “Omugwo.” The two notable Nollywood stars, who acted opposite each other as mothers-in-law in the movie, are been paired for a movie for the first time. Tagged a low budget movie by Kunle Afolayan, the movie is one of the three movie projects which Africa Magic/Multichoice have commissioned the filmmaker to shoot in 2017. Speaking on her role, Ayo Adesanya said she still can’t believe she carried out the role to the delight of guests at the private screening and…
Marion Suge Knight has finally exposed the supposed killers of Tupac Shakur back in 1996. The embattled rapper reportedly revealed that his ex-wife, Sharitha and former Death Row Records security Chief, Reggie White Jr. were behind the murder that shook the rap world. Suge continues to maintain that he had been the real target of the 1996 drive-by in which Tupac had been gunned down and that the deceased rapper had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Daily Mail reports that Thaddeus Culpepper, Suge’s attorney, wrote in a signed affidavit, “Knight has known for many years that…
Former President Goodluck Jonathan said the PDP had constituted a committee to find political solution to its leadership crisis. He told newsmen in Abuja that constitution of the committee was a major outcome of a stakeholders meeting of the party’s members held on Thursday. Jonathan, who convened the meeting, said that the committee would be chaired by him and had two weeks to submit recommendations for consideration by the stakeholders. He said that in his absence, the committee would be chaired by former Vice President, Nnamadi Sambo or Sen. David Mark. Jonathan said that PDP leaders believed that various matters…
The INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu has lauded the Senator Bukola Saraki led eight Senate for the amendment of the electoral act. Mahmood showed his excitement over the electoral act when he visited the Senate President alongside a delegate from the Independent National Electoral Commission to present a four year Strategic Plans for 2019 elections. “INEC Bill is the most technology-friendly amendment to the electoral act ever passed. It’s great that the Nigeria Senate’s amendment came two clear years before the 2019 election,” Mahmood Yakubu said. In his response, Saraki said: “Today, the INEC Chairman reminded me that last year, when…
Senator Florence Ita-Giwa will defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) today, 7. The former presidential adviser said she is joining her contemporaries in the ruling party. Ita-Giwa disclosed this on Thursday, April 6. According to her, she has been idle in the PDP for over one year. She added that her huge supporters from her constituency, Bakassi, will also join the APC to boost the fortunes of the party in Cross River State. From May 1999 to May 2003, Ita-Giwa was elected as a senator to represent the Cross River South senatorial district on the platform of the All…
Stop what you’re doing. Phil Jones might have just accidentally revealed that time travel exists. While he should have been getting plenty of rest ahead of Man United’s game against Sunderland tomorrow, he instead popped up in Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund. Not only did he pop up, he managed to take over Arturo Vidal’s body. Confused? We don’t blame you. Allow us to explain. With Bayern leading 2-1, through goals from Franck Ribery and Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele burst into the area in search of an equaliser. It was then that Vidal, sorry Jones, put his neck on the…
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho led his depleted squad into Carrington again before revealing Phil Jones and Chris Smalling could miss the rest of the season. But Wayne Rooney is back for Manchester United after missing out on the England squad with injury. The two central defenders left the England camp having picked up problems, Jones’s toe injury caused by Smalling himself. Both could have played their last games of the campaign, a bitter blow for Jose Mourinho who has to contend with a fixture pile-up in April. Smalling’s issue is thought to be in his calf and the United…
Marcos Rojo should have been happy to get his head kicked off against Phil Jagielka, according to Rio Ferdinand. The Everton star struck past David de Gea in the 22nd minute despite Rojo being right beside Jagielka when the ball arrived in the box. Rojo was waiting for the ball to drop when Jagielka snuck in ahead of him to fire Everton into an early lead at Old Trafford. And Ferdinand believes Rojo could have prevented the Toffees from going ahead had he been braver. ‘Rojo has got to go and head this, Get kicked in the face, get a…