Two to die for killing priest in Makurdi
News & Trends •
the makurdi high court has sentenced two persons to death for kidnapping and killing a former vicar-general of otukpo catholic diocese rev. john alexander adeyi1 the convicts are suleiman goma and haruna idi who were slammed with a six count charges1 the court says the convicts conspired and kidnapped adeiyi on april 26th 2016 and took him to okungaga forest in okpokwu area of the state where they demanded n2 million and eventually killed him after collecting a ransom of n1.5 million1 the trial judge justice andover kakaan said three guns including two pistols and a dane-gun as well as charms were recovered from the convicts in the forest where they committed the crime1 justice kakaan said that one of the two convicts in his statement which was tendered in court admitted that he bought the pistol for the purpose of committing armed robbery and kidnapping1 justice kakaan while delivering his judgement advised youths to desist from criminal act and engage in useful ventures1 reports say that decayed body of the priests was found behind the local government council secretariat obu otukpa1

PDP members sue Adeleke over certificate
News & Trends •
source63 the plaintiffs are also asking the court to grant an order restraining the pdp from presenting adelekes name to the independent national electoral commission inec for the september 22nd governorship poll2 the members are seeking that the court grant an interim order to set aside results of the governorship election that produced adeleke2 when the case came up for mention on wednesday july 25 the counsel for the applicants mr. mathew ayandokun prayed the court for an interim order setting aside the election of adeleke1 he also asked the court to stop the inec from accepting his nomination as the partys flag bearer1 ayandokun after the court hearing told journalists that his clients were challenging adeleke in court because he does not possess and has not produced his school leaving certificate1 the osun pdps governorship candidate sen. ademola adeleke has been dragged to court by some aggrieved members of the party for alleged non-possession of primary school certificate1 biri-omoni while addressing journalists insisted that his client has a certificate1 he added that it will be proper for him and his client to be put on notice and served with the necessary papers before coming to court1 justice david oladimeji adjourned ruling on the application till thursday july 261 adeleke a lawmaker representing osun west district in the national assembly during the primary held on saturday july 21 polled a total of 1569 votes to beat his closest rival dr akin ogunbiyi who scored 1562 votes1 adelekes lawyer mr. edmond biri-omoni however debunked the allegations1

NFF Crisis and FIFA’s dangling hammer
Sports •
nff crisis and fifa’s dangling hammer1

Coach Salisu Yusuf caught on tape receiving bribe to field players
News & Trends •
watch the video3 the bbc has published a video showing nigerias top football coach salisu yusuf caught on camera taking cash from men posing as football agents to two nigerian players1 the footage was captured by controversial ghanaian journalist anas aremeyaw anas in september 2017 and is being broadcast for the first time by bbc africa eye1 yusuf was the first assistant to super eagles coach gernot rohr during the russian world cup. and he is due to lead the national team to the tokyo olympics in 20201 nigerias top football coach salisu yusuf has been caught on camera taking cash. the footage exposed here for the first time was captured by controversial ghanaian investigative journalist and recently handed to 1 bbc news africa @bbcafrica1 according to the video yusuf accepted 1000 from the men posing as football agents to field some unidentified two players1 in his response yusuf denied any wrongdoing. he said he did not demand any money and that what he was given 750 and not 1000 was a gift1 yusuf also said his selection of players for the african nations championshipchan 2018 was based on merit1

House in rowdy session as 37 members dump APC
News & Trends •
details shortly2 by ifeanyi nwokoeric james ochigbo1 thirty seven members of the house of representatives formerly in the fold of the all progressive congress apc has dumped the party and moved to the peoples democratic party pdp and african democratic congress adc1 the representatives in a letter to the speaker of the house of representatives yakubu dogara officially announced their defection during plenary on tuesday1 top on the list of the defectors is the chairman committee on rules and business rep. emmanuel orker-jev benue1 of the 37 defectors 33 went to the pdp while four others from oyo state moved to adc1 other prominent members who dumped the apc includesani rano barry mpigi ali madaki dickson tackighir hassan saleh danburam nuhu mark gbilah razak atunwa ahmed garba bichi abdulsamad dasuk and zakari mohammed1 this is coming after 15 senators in the senate dumped the apc for pdp1 the defection in the house of representatives threw the chamber into a rowdy session as the remaining members of the apc in the house staged a walkout from plenary to address newsmen1

Secondus, Atiku decry siege on Saraki, Ekweremadus homes
News & Trends •
similarly a former vice president atiku abubakar in a statement by his media office also called for stop to the persecution of national assembly leadership1 the national chairman peoples democratic party pdp mr uche secondus has condemned tuesday morning security siege on the abuja residences of senate president bukola saraki and his deputy ike ekweremadu1 he said that directorate of state services dss army and the police had attacked the national assembly with the aim of forcibly overthrowing its leadership and rendering it comatose1 the senate president dr bukola saraki his deputy ike ekweremadu and other distinguished senators are currently under severe assault from security agencies1 it is now a known fact that democracy have now collapsed in nigeria and we are now under a totalitarian and fascist government with no appetite for opposition secondus said1 he called on all nigerians home and abroad to immediately speak up against the act he described as gross violation of the constitution of nigeria1 the chairman also called on all traditional rulers in nigeria the international community and all well-meaning nigerians to rise against the antics to forestall possible derailment of democracy saying the time to act is now1 secondus in a statement issued on tuesday in abuja described the development as attack on democracy using state security apparatus1 the news of the siege on the residences of the senate president bukola saraki and his deputy ike ekweremadu is both troubling and unsettling1 no democratic nation ought to treat the leadership of its parliament like common criminals in the course of a political disagreement1 i remind the powers that be that on aug. 31 2013 when sen. bukola saraki walked out of the pdp and began the process of joining the all progressives congress there was celebration in their camps1 i also remind them that their electoral victory which they have so badly mismanaged today would not have been possible without the senate president1 power is transient and is also a trust that should only be used for the good and advancement of the people one leads and not for the persecution of real and imagined political opponents1 i therefore call for the lifting of the sieges on the persons and homes of saraki and his deputy ekweremadu by security forces1 abubakar urged president muhammadu buhari to live up to his words after sarakis ordeal which was brought to a halt by the supreme court1

Stakeholders evaluate evidence, status of corruption in Nigeria
News & Trends •
a coalition of civil societies led by the youth alive foundation yaf in collaboration and the independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission icpc on tuesday in abuja hosted a stakeholders summit on corruption in nigeria. dr udy okon yafs executive director who spoke with newsmen at the sidelines of the event said that foreign partners such as department for international development dfid participated in the summit. the theme of the summit is towards evidence based interventi1

APC to members: No shaking, we have majority in 25 states, Reps
News & Trends •
it would appear however that the individuals involved have different considerations beyond the grievances that they were willing to discuss and which our leaders were willing to addressit said1 the all progressives congress apc has told its members and supporters not to be flustered by the loss of some elected representatives and senators to the opposition peoples democratic party pdp1 abdullahi said the buhari administration would continue to work harder to deliver on its campaign promises to nigerians1 the apc notes the development in the national assembly with the defection of some of our members from the party1 in the last couple of weeks our party leaders have worked to stave off this situation as responsible party leaders would do1 in a statement by malam bolaji abdullahi its national publicity secretary on tuesday in abuja the party said it would continue to consolidate on its majority status both in the house of representatives and 25 states ahead of the 2019 general elections1 the apc said as a truly democratic party it respects the right of every citizen to political association1 it therefore urged its members to remain calm as it continues to work hard to position the party strongly for the next general elections1 the statement added that the apc remains in firm control of 25 states of the 36 states of the federation and maintains a clear majority in the federal house of representatives and state assemblies1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that senate president bukola saraki earlier today announced the defection of 15 apc senators from the party. in the house of representatives 33 apc members also switched allegiance to pdp while 4 left for the adp1 senate president saraki is believed to be part of the senators already in pdp1

More defections loom in the House of Reps, says lawmaker
News & Trends •
the lawmaker added that they had monitored and had seen that the pdp had taken corrective measures1 a house of representatives member rep. abdulrazak atunwa who with 36 others defected from all progressives congress apc on tuesday said more members would leave the party in the coming weeks1 the legislator said that they believed in respect for the rule of law improved education social welfare of the people as the men women and youth of the country deserved better among other ideals1 sadly no sooner we formed government in may 2015 the party put itself on course to be derailed and that derailment has continued to today1 some of us have been agitating that we should go back to the ideals that brought us together but the party was not listening1 the party rather embarked on victimization and criminalisation of its members those perceived as opponents and have divergent views he said1 he said that the party set itself on the line of destruction when the aggrieved members brought up their concerns but were castigated and referred to as inconsequential and as nobody1 putting all that together and the interest of the country particularly as the apc has derailed from the ideals that will propel nigeria to advance we felt we have to take this step we took today he said1 atunwa said the defectors were interested in economic development respect for parliament and rule of law while the apc was concerned about membership to form majority1 he however said that the pdp in the past three years had learnt its lesson1 briefing newsmen in company of some of the members who moved to the peoples democratic party pdp atunwa said that tuesdays defection was just the first batch of members that would leave the apc1 he said that having been beaten at the polls in 2015 the pdp had got its acts together and was now a reformed party adding that it was the reason they felt confident to return to the party1 also rep. hassan saleh who also defected said that from the ward congress up to the national convention of the apc no fewer than 25 states in the country had parallel congresses1 he questioned the process that brought about the national convention given the issues at ward levels saying that the foundation was faulty1 according to him we cannot continue to hide our faces like nothing is wrong when the problem is there1 rep. alliyu madaki said some of the defectors joined the apc because it campaigned and promised to ensure security of lives and properties1 he said section 14 of the constitution said that the primary responsibility of government is the protection of lives and properties of nigerians1 according to him nobody is safe today in nigeria under the pdp administration l could drive from abuja to kano with myb eyes closed but now i depend on consistent prayer to arrive safely1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that 33 lawmakers in the lower chambers defected from the apc to pdp four others to african democratic party adc while one resigned1 the house however adjourned to proceed on eight weeks break and will resume plenary on sept. 251

Buhari undaunted with defection
News & Trends •
as the saying goes all politics is local. we understand that some of the distinguished and honourable lawmakers have issues with their home states especially on zoning which bars some of them from seeking another term in their constituencies he said. he explained that none of the lawmakers who defected had any specific grievances against him or the government he leads and that the apc had done its utmost to stop the defections.1 president muhammadu buhari is undaunted with the tuesdays defection of at least 52 lawmakers from his ruling all progressives congress apc on tuesday1 no fewer than 15 senators and 37 members of house of representative defected from apc to other political parties in an alignment ahead of the 2019 general elections1 the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity mr. garba shehu said on tuesday that the president was committed to the values of democracy freedom of choice1 the president is also totally willing to work with all members of the national assembly irrespective of their political party in the interest of the nation1 instead the apc leader wished all the defectors well in their future endeavour1 also the president commended the leadership of the party for relentlessly working for its unity and ensuring success in the upcoming elections and assured members of the apc of his total support1 despite the defection the president urged party members not to despair but to see the development as a seasonal occurrence that happens on election eve1 he expressed confidence that no harm or injury will be done to the party and its aspirations by the movements1 in his reaction to the developments tuesday morning at the national assembly the president noted that none of the defecting federal lawmakers of the all progressives congress apc had any specific grievances against him or the government he leads neither did he harbour anything against any of them1 president buhari wished all the decamped members the best in their future undertakings1

17 bodies recovered in Laos floods
News & Trends •
rescuers have recovered 17 bodies after the flash floods caused by a dam breach in southern laos in thailand1 a wall of water was unleashed on monday after parts of the dam were washed away sending floods surging downstream sweeping away homes and leaving an unknown number of people missing1 there are 17 bodies recovered so far but we cannot estimate the number of missing yet chana miencharoen thai official said1 he adding roof-level flood waters have submerged several villages near the xe-namnoy dam1 all the dead are laotian more than 6000 are affected from eight villages near the dam he said from the relief centre in attepeu province where the disaster occurred on monday1 the remote area is only accessible by helicopter and flat-bottomed boats with roads badly damaged by the flash flooding or completely washed away1 communist laos is criss-crossed by a vast network of rivers and scores of dams are being built or planned in the impoverished and landlocked country which exports most of its hydropower energy to neighbouring countries like thailand1 the south korean partner in the hydropower project said wednesday it discovered the upper part of the structure had washed away 24 hours before it collapsed1 sk engineering1 we immediately alerted the authorities and began evacuating nearby villagers downstream it said in a statement1

IS claims Pakistans polling station bomb
News & Trends •
islamic state claimed responsibility for an explosion near a polling station in quetta pakistan on wednesday according to the groups amaq news agency1 at least 24 people were killed and 35 injured in the blast in the western city of quetta which happened as pakistanis vote in a knife-edge national election1 the group said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber but did not provide further detail or evidence for its claim1 the bomber targeted a senior police officer and his guards when he came to examine the security arrangements at the polling station1 there were imminent threats of violence during wednesdays voting after a deadly campaign in which more than 180 people were killed in a series of bombings1 authorities have ordered the deployment of more than 800000 troops and police to guard polling stations across the country1 militant islamic state and taliban militants have threatened to target the voting saying they considered democracy as a system followed by western infidels1 no fewer 100 million people are registered to vote in the muslim-majority country that has alternated between democracy and military rule1 no fewer than 11000 candidates are running in the national legislature and its provincial counterparts according to election authorities1

Disasters: Institute urges Nigerians to be safety conscious
News & Trends •
by gami tadanyigbe5 he therefore enjoined nigerians to be safety conscious and pro-active in order to reduce risks of disaster in the country1 mr ochagwuba edwin the registrar of the institute gave the advice in an interview with the news agency of nigeria nan in abuja1 according to him specialised education was required by nigerians to effect meaningful improvement in the global response to disaster and management1 every year thousands of people and property worth billions of naira are affected by disaster often receiving aid after a long delay and suffering1 nigeria is prone to multiple disasters like floods erosion droughts desertification terrorism conflicts and communal clashes1 the institute of disaster management and safety science idmss has called on nigerians to be more safety conscious in order to prevent and reduce the risk of disasters in the country1 we call on all nigerians to be safety conscious by avoiding any form of carelessness both at home and the office for disaster risk reduction in the country he said1 edwin said the institute aimed at positioning nigeria and africa for disaster risk reduction capacity building security management peace building and partnership through collaboration and empowerment1 the registrar disclosed that the institute conducted training programmes class room and online professional courses for various levels of stakeholders and members of the society1 the institute is a research body for human resource development capacity building professional competency certification and policy advocacy in the field of disaster risk management and safety science1 we give policy support for organisations and advice on disaster risk reduction and safety strategies for safe living edwin said1 many die or are injured needlessly as a result of inadequate social preparation untrained and ill-prepared leadership for disaster response1

Trumps Cohen hush money tape released
News & Trends •
afp25 donald trump can be heard discussing with his personal lawyer how to buy the rights to the story of a playboy model who says she had an affair with the now president on a tape released tuesday night by cnn1 now the recording is available for the world to listen to1 it involves karen mcdougal a former playboy model who says she had a months-long fling with trump after they met in 2006 shortly after trumps wife melania gave birth to their son barron1 in the tape trump and cohen talk about buying the rights to mcdougals story which she had sold a month earlier to the national enquirer for 150000. the tabloid never published the story1 in the at-times muddled recording cohen says he wants to set up a company to acquire the rights off american media the company that owns the enquirer1 during the campaign the trump team denied any knowledge of the deal between mcdougal and american media1 but in the tape candidate trump expresses no surprise when the issue comes up and cohen talks about essentially reimbursing the company for what it paid mcdougal1 the existence of the tape secretly recorded by his former longtime attorney michael cohen two months before the 2016 election was reported last week by the new york times which said the fbi seized it during a raid on cohens office this year1 when it comes time for the financing which will be cohen says at which point trump interrupts and says what financing1 well have to pay cohen says according to a cnn transcript of the conversation which also addressed other business issues between the two men1 we wont pay with cash trump asks according to the cnn transcript of a segment that is particularly hard to hear1 cohen is then heard saying no no and it is not clear what is said next1 the tape made in september 2016 two months before the election was provided to cnn by cohens attorney lanny davis1 cohen who has fallen out with trump is under federal investigation in new york for his business dealings and reportedly whether hush payments violated campaign finance laws1 i need to open up a company for the transfer of all that info regarding our friend david cohen says apparently referring to david pecker the head of american media1

Tilers jailed for stealing wrappers
News & Trends •
by mabel yakubu1 a kaduna chief magistrates court on wednesday sentenced two tilers to three months imprisonment each for stealing wrappers worth n1500001 the magistrate mr ibrahim emmanuel however gave the convicts abdullahi bala 17 and fahad ibrahim 20 an option of n5 000 fine each1 emmanuel warned them to desist from committing crimes and ordered that the wrappers should be returned to the owner1 the convicts both residents of liberia road malali kaduna had pleaded guilty to a three-count charge of conspiracy break-in and stealing1 following the guilty plea the prosecutor sgt. chris leo urged the court to try them summarily under section 286 sub 2 of the administration of criminal justice act 20151 earlier leo told the court that the convicts committed the offences on july 18 at ungwan rimi road kaduna1 he said that the convicts broke into a shop belonging to mr abdulmalik rabiu and stole the wrappers. they ran to an unknown destination until they were seen and arrested on july 20 with the said wrappers he said.1 the prosecutor noted that the offences contravened sections 117 174 and 347 of the penal code law of kaduna state 20171

NAF reactivates C-130H aircraft
News & Trends •
by doris esa2 the nigerian air force naf said it had successfully completed the in-house life extension programme on one of its c-130h aircraft naf 913 thereby improving the airlift capability of the service1 nafs director of public relations and information avm olatokunbo adesanya disclosed this in a statement on wednesday in abuja1 according to adesanya the chief of the air staff air marshal sadique abubakar had said that naf would continue to intensify efforts at reactivating unserviceable aircraft in its inventory to enhance its operational effectiveness1 the naf spokesman said that abubakar stated this while assessing the progress of work on the in-country periodic depot maintenance pdm of another nafs c-130 aircraft at 631 aircraft maintenance depot acmd in lagos1 abubakar noted that the reactivation of naf 913 was another major feat recorded by the current naf leadership to further improve nafs capability to provide logistics support across multiple theatres of operations1 he thanked president muhammadu buhari for providing the enabling environment for naf to raise the serviceability status of naf operable aircraft from about 31 per cent in 2015 to an average of 80 per cent as at date1 adesanya said the commander at 631 acmd air commodore moses onilede told abubakar that the depot had also successfully overhauled two c-130h aircraft engines while the in-country periodic deport maintenancepdm of the second c-130h naf 917 had reached an advanced stage1 he said abubakar commissioned two newly-completed and furnished officers residential quarters at the sam ethnan air force base seafb ikeja and the armed forces resettlement centre afrc oshodi1 he reiterated the commitment of the present administration toward meeting the welfare needs of personnel1

Senate President Saraki ignores police invitation
News & Trends •
senate president saraki ignores police invitation1

APC is not jittery about R-APC joining PDP - Oshiomhole
News & Trends •
apc is not jittery about r-apc joining pdp - oshiomhole1

APC leads the numbers game in Senate minus Saraki
News & Trends •
he gave the names of the 52 senators still with the apc to include adamu aliero-kebbi yahaya abdullahi-kebbi bala ibn nallah-kebbi aliyu wamakko-sokoto ibrahim gobir-sokoto and ahmed yerima-zamfara1 the all progressives congressapc caucus of the senate has said that the party remains in control of the senate even without reckoning with senate president bukola saraki who is believed to be heading to peoples democratic party1 he said out of the 109 senate seats the apc has 52 the pdp has 50 the adc has three and apga has two1 recall that we lost two of our colleagues one from katsina one from bauchi. so we have two vacancies. if you put this together we have 1091 i want to assure you that by the grace of god inec will conduct by-elections to fill in the vacancies in bauchi and katsina and by the grace of god they are our safest seats1 we are still expecting some of our colleagues in the pdp who are originally our members to defect1 they have expressed willingness to join apc and for our collleagues that have left we are still optimistic that many of them or all of them will have a change of heart1 apc remains the majority party in the senate and in the house of representatives he said1 the lawmaker said the apc lawmakers would continue to support president president muhammadu buhari to deliver on his promises to nigerians1 the leader of the senate ahmad lawan who spoke on behalf of the caucus while briefing newsmen in abuja after about three hours closed session said there was no cause for concern1 others are kabiru marafa-zamfara tijjani kaura-zamfara abu ibrahim- katsina umar kurfi-katsina kabiru gaya-kano barau jibrin-kano abdullahi gumel-jigawa sabo mohammed-jigawa shehu sani-kaduna1 they also include ahmed lawan-yobebukar abba ibrahim-yobe ali ndume-borno abubakar kyari-borno baba kaka garbai-borno sabi abdullahi-niger david umaru-niger mustapha mohammed-niger abdullahi adamu-nasarawa1 others are george akume-benue joshua dariye plateau francis alimikhena-edo andy uchendu-rivers magnus abe-rivers ovie omo agege- delta john eno-cross river nelson effiong-akwa ibom andy uba-anambra sonni ugboji-ebonyi hope uzodinma-imo ben uwajumogu-imo danjuma goje-gombe1 they further include binta masi-adamawa ahmed abubakar-adamawa yusuf yusuf-taraba oluremi tinubu-lagos gbenga ashafa-lagos solomon adeola-lagos tayo alasoadura-ondo1 they equally include gbolahan dada-ogun soji akanbi-oyo ajayi boroffice-ondo yele omogunwa-ondo south abdullahi buhari-oyo babajide omoworare-osun olusola adeyeye-osun fatima raji rasaki-ekiti1 this administration of apc is focused the federal government of president muhammadu buhari is doing so much for this country1 we need to work to support the president to ensure that nigeria reduces its deficit in infrastructure so that the social investment we are making will come to fruition1 every well meaning nigerian is supposed to support the president to fight all those few challenges that we have across the country he said1 fourteen lawmakers had earlier at plenary on tuesday announced their defection to the pdp and other parties1

Researchers unveil biometric mirror to analyse personality traits
News & Trends •
researchers at the university of melbourne in australia have developed the worlds first artificial intelligence ai system a biometric mirror that can detect and display personality traits of a subject simply by analyzing a photograph1 thebiometric mirror was unveiled on tuesday. it works by comparing the users data with thousands of other facial images in its database1 the datathat biometric mirror uses is based on crowdsourced feedback on peoples facial appearance project leader dr niels wouters from the university of melbournes centre for social natural user interfaces said1 when someone stands in front of biometric mirror the system detects a range of facial characteristics in seconds. it then compares the users data to that of thousands of facial photos which were evaluated for their psychometrics by a group of crowd-sourced responders1 biometric mirror displays 14 characteristics from gender age and ethnicity to attractiveness weirdness and emotional stability. the longer a person stands there the more personal the traits become1 the research project led by dr niels wouters from the centre for social natural user interfaces socialnui and science gallery melbourne explores the concerns this technology raises around consent data storage and algorithmic bias1 with the rise of ai and big data government and businesses will increasingly use cctv cameras and interactive advertising to detect emotions age gender and demographics of people passing by dr wouters said1 our study aims to provoke challenging questions about the boundaries of ai. it shows users how easy it is to implement ai that discriminates in unethical or problematic ways which could have societal consequences. by encouraging debate on privacy and mass-surveillance we hope to contribute to a better understanding of the ethics behind ai1