Family members of a little girl, her father and brother, reportedly raped her while her mother was away.

In Calabar, Cross River State, a man and his young son have been tied with chains based on an allegation of rape of little daughter.

A Facebook user, Kijiejake Jacob Ochang, made this known in a post.

He explained that the shocking sexual abuse occurred when the girl's mother was away from home. The suspects were apprehended and have been delivered to the police according to Linda Ikeji's Blog (LIB).

Pictures which accompanied the post showed the pair tied by the wrist with chains clipped to truck-sized tyres.

Neighbours who gathered to watch the culprits of the abominable act wore a look of shock - their responses to the distressful event.

The Nigerian troops have lost two soldiers in the ongoing clearance operation in Sambisa Forest.

The troops killed five Boko Haram insurgents in the operation.

Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Operation Lafiya Dole,Nwachukwu, said the soldiers were killed and two others wounded when an insurgents’ Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) laced vehicle hit a military vehicle.

Nwachukwu, said that the troops also cleared various insurgents enclaves.

Nwachukwu disclosed that the troops under Operation DEEP PUNCH II had cleared insurgents ’ s hideouts at Agapulawa; Amuda, Nyawa, and Attagara in Sambisa Forest.

He said that the wounded soldiers were evacuated to a military medical facility for treatment.

He said troops also killed five insurgents at Tchikide and Chinene in the Lake Chad region.

“In continuation of the successful exploits by troops of Operation Dole, under Operation DEEP PUNCH II, to clear Boko Haram insurgents from the Sambisa forest and the Lake Chad Islands,.

“On Tuesday 28, February, 2018; troops successfully cleared and dismantled insurgents’ camps at Agapulawa, Amuda, Nyawa and Attagara in the remaining parts of Sambisa Forest.

“The clearance operations progressed further into other identified insurgents’ camps around Tchikide and Chinene, where the troops ferociously engaged and cleared pockets of resistance by the insurgents and killed five of them,” he said

According to him, the gallant troops had reorganized and resumed operation and assured of the military’s commitments to the successful completion of counter-insurgency operation.

Source: NAN

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of the recent Mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

JAMB’s Head of Media and Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

According to him, candidates are to check their results on line by visiting [JAMB](www.jamb .org.ng) with their registration numbers.

Benjamin described the conduct of the examination nationwide as hitch-free.

A total of 245,753 candidates registered for the mock examination which took place on Monday.

Mock UTME is optional for UTME candidates.

The main UTME is expected to hold from March 9 to March 17.

Source: NAN

Former Acting Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Calistus Obi, has admitted to diverting N331 million belonging to the agency.
Obi made the revelation on Monday, February 26, 2018, during his cross-examination at his ongoing trial before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of a Federal High Court in Lagos.

He said he used the N331 million to build a hotel.

On April 12, 2016, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Obi, alongside one, Alu Dismas, a former P.A to the immediate past DG of NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi.

They were arraigned before the court on an 8-count charge of converting N331 million belonging to NIMASA to personal use.

During the cross-examination by the EFCC's lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, Obi said he transferred part of the diverted money to a firm known as Seastroke International, which built a hotel for him in Asaba, Delta state.

He, however, added that he has since refunded the money when the EFCC asked him to do so.

Justice Olatoregun adjourned the matter to March 7.

On February 5, 2018, A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos had ordered the final forfeiture of the sum of £578,080.00 to the Federal Government.

Justice Saliu Saidu ordered the final forfeiture, saying that the EFCC had proven that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activity.

Other forfeitures secured by EFCC
In December 2017, the anti-graft agency filed an exparte application through its counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, seeking the forfeiture of the funds.

Oyedepo argued that the money sought to be forfeited is reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities of a maritime firm, ZAL Marine Limited.

He also alleged that the money was stolen by the maritime firm through some employees of NIMASA.

The Commission accused one Macfoy Irene, an Assistant Director and Head of Nigerian Seafarers Development Program, to have facilitated the fraudulent transfer of the sum of £1,074,600.00 from NIMASA's Zenith Bank (UK) Account to an offshore account belonging to Swiss Bulk carriers S.A under the false Pretenses of training 54 Nautical Science and Marine Engineering Students on Sea Training on March 16, 2013.

The EFCC said the money was transferred from NIMASA’s Accounts without any parastatal or Ministerial Tender Board Approval or Contract.

Source: Pulse.NG

Officers and men of Kano State Police Command have arrested a 20-year old man impersonating the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, with a verified Twitter account.
The suspect who uses the verified Instagram page to deceive members of the public, was arrested after months of manhunt

He is currently helping the police in their investigation.

Emir Sanusi had on several occasions denied owning any Instagram account before it was verified.

'Slash officials salaries'
Sanusi recently called for the salaries of ministers and legislators to be slashed by half.

According to him, “If the salary of each member of the National Assembly was divided into two, it would go a long way to provide more jobs for 70,400 jobless Nigerians at between N90, 000 and N92, 500 monthly salary.”

The Emir also called on public office holders to make sacrifices so that Nigeria can come out of the current economic challenges.

Source: Pulse.NG

After weeks of medical vacation abroad, President Muhammadu Buhari’s son, Yusuf, is back to Nigeria.

He was received early hours of Thursday, March 1, 2018, by Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state; junior minister of health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire and interior minister, Abdulrahman Danbazau amongst other top government officials.

Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari disclosed this in an appreciation tweet earlier today.

“We thank God for the return of our son Yusuf today after his medical trip. On land at the airport he was received by the Minister of Health (state) Dr. Osagie, while at the Villa he was welcomed by family members, Wife of the Vice President, the Interior minister, Governor Yahaya Bello & associates.

“On behalf of the family I wish to express our appreciation for the goodwill & prayers since the unfortunate accident. May God Almighty bless all & continue to guide us all aright,” she said on Twitter.

Yusuf suffered injuries on his head and limbs as his power bike crashed while he was racing with his friend.

The accident occurred at the Gwarimpa district of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja on Tuesday, December 26, 2017.

Upon his discharge from a private hospital in Abuja, Yusuf was flown abroad for further medical treatment.

Yusuf's return will quell insinuations that the President's son had died as a result of the bike accident.

Source: Pulse.NG

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) states that Nigerians are getting poorer. This is despite the several economic reforms embarked upon by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
In a report seen by Reuters on Wednesday, February 28, 2019, the IMF says more economic reforms are urgently needed in the coutry.

IMF expects the Nigerian government to “muddle through” in the medium term. Although any progress made within this period could also be threatened if the 2019 elections drain political resources.

Since emerging from recession in the second quarter of 2017, officials of the Nigerian government have repeatedly stated that the economy is back on the right track.

According to Reuters, "critics say much of the recovery comes from a return to oil dependence after a rise in global oil prices and a rebound in crude production - more the result of militants in the Niger Delta halting attacks on oil facilities than of economic policy under President Buhari’s administration."

The IMF in its reports stated that despite the improved outlook for growth, the situation is still challenging.

“Comprehensive and coherent” economic policies “remain urgent and must not be delayed by approaching elections and recovering oil prices,” it said in its annual Article IV review of Nigeria’s economy.

“Higher oil prices would support a recovery in 2018 but a ‘muddle-through’ outlook is projected for the medium term under current policies, with fiscal dominance and structural constraints leading to continuing falls in real GDP per capita,” the IMF said.

The report also identified risks to the growth of the Nigerian economy which include additional delays to implementing key policies and strategic reforms ahead of 2019 elections, security issues, and oil prices.

“Further delays in policy action -- including because of pre-election pressures -- can only make the inevitable adjustment more difficult and costlier,” the report said.

Source: Pulse.ng

Italys general elections on Sunday could see the phoenix-like resurgence of scandal-tainted ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi or condemn the eurozones third-largest economy to becoming nearly ungovernable.

But while Berlusconis bloc has a poll lead over the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the incumbent Democratic Party (PD), it may not win overall control of parliament; it doesnt help that Berlusconis bloc is also internally divided, fuelling doubts about its ability to last in government.

A hung parliament or a narrow parliamentary majority for the centre-right are the two most probable scenarios, predicted Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of Teneo Intelligence, noting that the latest projections had conservatives falling short of an outright win.

With that in mind, many analysts foresee a post-election realignment in which Berlusconi and the centre-left PD would join forces in a re-enactment of the grand coalition that has held sway in Germany since 2013.

Current government leader Paolo Gentiloni a PD stalwart respected across the political spectrum or European Parliament President Antonio Tajani a former Berlusconi spokesman have been singled out as possible compromise candidates for the premiership.

However, rising anti-establishment sentiment could also usher in a radical M5S-led government that would unsettle financial markets and Italys European Union partners.

Alternatively, there could be major deadlock, leading to new elections before years end.

Opinion polls are not allowed in the last two weeks of campaigning, but before the ban kicked in, pollsters had the Berlusconi bloc near 40 per cent, and the M5S and a PD-led alliance each under 30 per cent.

Those figures are a testimony to Berlusconis stunning resilience, after a tax fraud conviction and parliamentary ejection in 2013, and open-heart surgery three years later.

He is now courting voters with unrealistic promises to slash taxes and expel 600,000 immigrants.

In his latest guise, the 81-year-old has reinvented himself as a wise, pro-EU statesman in contrast with the untested M5S.

Im like good wine, I get better with age and now Im perfect, he quipped this month.

The tycoon-turned-politicians resurgence has taken place amid a tense campaign marred by political violence, most notably in the central town of Macerata, where a Nazi sympathizer wounded six African migrants in a drive-by shooting spree.

Yet Berlusconis revival cant be fully realized, since his criminal record bars him from holding public office. He is also at odds with far-right ally and League party leader Matteo Salvini on the EU, protectionism and who should be prime minister in case of victory.

With pollsters estimating that about one third of almost 51 million eligible voters are undecided, the election outcome is still wide open, especially in swing southern regions where the M5S could score a historic breakthrough.

The PD is crumbling, the race now is between us and the centre-right, M5S prime ministerial candidate Luigi Di Maio, a 31-year-old university dropout and deputy leader of the lower house of parliament, told RAI state radio on Tuesday.

The preppy-looking Di Maio replaced comedian Beppe Grillo as party leader last year and has steered the protest party towards more moderate positions, for example, by dropping plans to hold a referendum on exiting the eurozone.

It is time to embrace change, because there is no longer any reason to be afraid of it, Di Maio said, pledging to exclude from his government team the same faces you have seen for 20 years.

Di Maio is expected to unveil his team on Thursday.

To detractors, the partys main weakness is inexperience which is exactly what appeals to many of its fans, who are pining for a clean slate in Italys often-corrupt politics and are attracted by the partys promises to introduce minimum income subsidies for the poor.

The PD, meanwhile, is struggling despite some success in office: With voters listing the economy and migration as their biggest concerns, the party can claim credit for reducing boat arrivals from Libya and lifting the country out of a record double-dip recession.

Are you better or worse off compared to four years ago? This the question we will pose to voters, Renzi told journalists earlier this month a message that seems to be failing to make inroads.

Italys economy is still lagging behind its EU peers, and most of the 1 million new jobs Renzi has touted are of a low-paid, temporary nature, which helps explain why there is not much of a feel-good factor benefiting his party.

In addition to bleeding left-wing votes to Free and Equals, a splinter group formed last year, the PD is being hobbled by Renzis popularity crisis, exacerbated by the 2016 referendum defeat on constitutional reforms that led to his resignation.

According to pollsters, the PD has a lot of potential for improvement in its poll standings, if it can win back some of its estranged voters. The results due Monday will show whether a polarizing figure such as Renzi was the right man for that task.

News analysis by dpa

Source: NAN

The Mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi has said that Rome will ban diesel cars in an attempt to combat air pollution.

Now cars with diesel engines will be banned from heading into the centre,the mayor said.

Raggi announced the decision on her Facebook page on Tuesday, saying: If we want to intervene seriously, we have to have the courage to adopt strong measures.

Her comments followed a court ruling in Germany that cities there can ban the most heavily polluting diesel cars from their streets.

About two-thirds of the 1.8 million new cars sold in Italy last year were diesel, according to industry figures.

The Italian capital is one of the most traffic-clogged cities in the world. But the damage done by those engines is threatening the thousands of historic monuments that are found there.

Rome has no major industries, so nearly all of the air pollution in the Italian capital is caused by motor vehicles.

The city regularly tries to ban older, more polluting vehicles from roads on days when pollution reaches critical levels.

It has also tried to reduce pollution by allowing only cars whose number plates end in either odd or even numbers to circulate on alternate days.

But both regulations are widely flouted and lightly enforced by traffic police. To skirt the alternate days regulation, many families buy a used car with a different number plate.

Apart from health issues, pollution from combustion engines causes severe damage to Romes many ancient outdoor monuments.

According to a study last year by a branch of the culture ministry, 3,600 stone monuments and 60 bronze sculptures risk serious deterioration because of air pollution.

Ahead of celebrations marking the start of the new millennium in 2000, the darkened facade of St. Peters Basilica at the Vatican was cleaned as part of a project that lasted several years.

But fresh signs of pollution-related stains are visible again.

Before the German courts ruling on Tuesday, officials in highly industrialised Milan, in northern Italy, had already announced plans to make the city diesel free by 2030

Source: NAN

By David Adeoye

A divorce-seeking woman, Funke Adeyemi, on Wednesday told an Idi-Ogungun Customary Court, Agodi, Ibadan, that her husband, Wasiu Adeyemi, abandoned from home because of N24,000 unpaid rent on their apartment.

The 29-year-old woman said that her husband of 12 years ran away from their home when the landlord demanded for payment of the outstanding rent, leaving her and their three children.
She stated that the defendant had refused to pay the debt and had not been seen since June, 2017.

The landlord has ejected me from the house and I have been living with my parents since then.

All efforts to contact him proved abortive and I have been shouldering the responsibility of the three kids alone.

I pray the court to dissolve our union and order him to be responsible to his paternal roles, she pleaded.

The defendant was not in court to defend the allegation, but the court registrar said that he (Adeyemi) was duly served the court summon.

President of the Court, Chief Mukaila Balogun, said that evidence before him, coupled with the deliberate non-appearance of the defendant in court, had proved that there was no more love in the union.

Balogun dissolved the marriage and ordered the defendant to pay N12, 000 monthly for the upkeep of the three children.

He directed the court registrar to serve the defendant with a copy of the judgment.

Source: NAN