By Maureen Ojinaka

The police command in Enugu State has arrested three alleged highway robbers operating along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Road.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, SP Ebere Amaraizu, said in a statement issued on Sunday that the suspects were arrested on Feb. 15 at about 8p.m.

Amaraizu said the feat was achieved by police operatives of Mbanabo Division who acted on intelligence information.

He noted that the suspects specialised in planting sharp objects on Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, thereby causing vehicles tyres to be punctured, forcing affected vehicles to stop and rob passengers.

He said the suspects gave their names as Henry Odogwu of 36 Amechi Road, Awkunanaw; Clement Udo of 28 Odudukoko Street Gariki and Chinweuba Okoye of 17 Chikaogbe Street, Maryland Enugu State.

According to him, the suspects were nabbed on their way to carry out their activities where they were rounded up by the operatives.

In their separate reactions, suspects had maintained that it was their friend identified as one Ifeanyi from Agbogugu in Awgu Local Government Area of the state who lured them into the illicit business.

The sharp chisel-like objects are usually placed on the road along Ogbaku axis of Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway at night.

They said their role was always to come out from the bush to rob occupants of vehicle which tyres had picked sharp chisel objects placed on the road by the said Ifeanyi, he said.

Amaraizu said the suspects were regretting their actions and advised youths to know the kind of persons they keep as friends.

He said this would allow them to avoid being misled into getting involved in criminality.

He said that the suspects had been helping police operatives in their investigation, while manhunt on other members of the gang had been intensified. (NAN)

Source: NAN

Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nominated US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize last autumn after being requested to do so by Washington, a Japanese newspaper reported Sunday.

Washington sounded out Tokyo over the possibility of nominating Trump for the prize after his landmark summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in June last year, an unnamed Japanese government source told the

The report came after Trumps claim on Friday that Abe had nominated him for the prize.

Trump said Abe had sent him a copy of a five-page nomination letter delivered to the Nobel Peace Prize committee in which the Japanese leader praised his efforts in defusing tensions with Pyongyang.

He said I have nominated you respectfully on behalf of Japan. I am asking them to give you the Nobel Peace Prize. I said thank you, Trump told reporters at the White House.

Many other people feel that way, too. Ill probably never get it. Thats okay.

Read more at https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/195469-190217-japan-pm-nominated-trump-for-nobel-after-us-request-report

Source: NAN

Support

By Habibu Harisu

Sokoto State Chapter of the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO) has refuted the rumour being circulated in social media platforms about last minute shift of its political support, describing the message as fake news.

Malam Aminu Farouk, Director Media and Publicity BSO (Sokoto chapter), in a signed statement issued to Journalists on Sunday, said: It is false, baseless and malicious.

It is the handwork of detractors and their cronies who have been perpetrating lies just to deceive the public.

BSO members are firmly in Support of President Muhammadu Buhari whose leadership credentials put him very high among leaders, Farouk stated.

Reacting to the postponement of the general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), he emphasised that the State chapter aligned with the BSO headquarters in the appeal to Nigerians to remain calm.

The BSO calls on all its members, affiliate organisations and members of the public to remain calm and steadfast despite the setback and to prepare to cast their votes on the rescheduled election dates.

The INEC had postponed the Presidential and National Assembly elections to Feb. 23, and the Governorship and State Assembly elections to March 9, stating logistic challenges and sabotage as reasons.

Source: NAN

Election

By Funmilayo Okunade

Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, has expressed confidence that the postponement of the general elections by one week will not stop the All Progressives Congress (APC) from winning the polls.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that, Egbeyemi made the remark during a meeting with APC members at his residence in Ado-Ekiti on the heels of the postponement of the general elections.

He urged party members not to be discouraged by the shift, saying that victory is sure for President Muhammadu Buhari and other APC candidates in the general elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the early hours of Saturday shifted the Presidential and National Assembly election to February 23 and the Governorship and State House of Assembly election to March 9 citing logistic challenges.

The deputy governor gave assurance to the APC members that the Party was poised for victory on the new dates announced by the electoral umpire noting that the poll shift would only delay celebration of victory by its members.

Egbeyemi explained that the APC, as a law-abiding party, had campaigned vigorously across the length and breadth of Ekiti and Nigeria and was confident of achieving victory at the polls before the shift was announced.

While noting that although the postponement of the elections was painful, Egbeyemi described it as a price to pay for a long-awaited victory by the APC, which he described as a party to beat at the polls.

The deputy governor said party members in Ekiti State has sold the candidacy of President Buhari and other APC candidates to the electorate whom he said are waiting to speak with their votes.

Describing the poll shift as blessing in disguise, the Ekiti deputy governor recalled that similar postponement in the 2011 and 2015 general elections resulted in overwhelming victory for the party.

I want to appeal to our teeming party members not to be discouraged by the sudden postponement of the elections by INEC.

APC members should see the postponement as an opportunity to plan better, re-strategize and work harder to ensure victory for our party on the new dates of February 23 and March 9 announced by INEC, he said.

Egbeyemi expressed optimism that APC would coast home to victory and the postponement would not stop APCs victory, but only delay it by a week.

Source: NAN

Materials

By Polycarp Auta

Following the shift in the date for the conduct of the general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Plateau has retrieved all sensitive materials earlier distributed to the 17 Local Government Areas of the state.

Mr Osaretin Imahireogbo, Head, Voter Education and Publicity of the commission in the state told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Sunday in Jos.

NAN recalls that INEC had, last Thursday, distributed all sensitive materials to the various LGAs in the state.

Imahireogbo said that the retrieval, which began on Saturday night, was concluded on Sunday morning, adding that all the materials had been deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Jos, the State capital.

With the change in the date of the general elections, we have retrieved all the sensitive materials that we earlier distributed to the 17 LGAs of Plateau.

All the materials are intact and now kept in the custody of the CBN where it was collected and distributed to the LGAs, he said.

The official said all card readers had also been retrieved and kept at the Commissions office.

Source: NAN

By Femi Ogunshola

A Legal Practitioner, Mr Kayode Ajulo, has demanded compensation of free fuel to all Nigerians over the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Ajulo stated this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) on Saturday.

He said that the Federal Government through the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must compensate Nigerians for wasting resources and energy to travel to their various polling units to cast their vote.

According to him, I traveled to Cardive in America few weeks ago and a certain road was closed without the knowledge of the citizenry, the government had to compensate them with five litres of fuel.

He said that the postponement was a technical disenfranchisement that only the presidency could reverse by providing palliative measures in form of free fuel flows to voters.

He said that an arbitrary predilection for unpleasant surprises, the INEC has made Feb. 16th into a national day of April Fool.

INECs decision to suspend at the eleventh hour, the Presidential and National Assembly elections long billed for today has thrown a crooked wrench in the plans and schedule of several million of voters all over the country

He stated that the election meant taking trips away from primary states of residence and commerce to polling units in other states to participate in the election.

According to him, schedules were disrupted, families uprooted and finances invested in the bid to exercise franchise and execute the civic duty owed by the registered citizenry to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He said that the dilemma for more than a few families and individuals at the moment would be to making a decision between maintaining their locations or heading back to their respective businesses and abode.

Ajulo noted that INEC must be seen to keep its words, adding that a second postponement could have dire implications for it and bleed it of public faith and trust.

Source: NAN

Senate President Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has described the last minute postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections as shocking and disappointing.

Saraki who is also theDirector General of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council, said that the postponement has caused a great inconvenience to many Nigerians who are poised to vote for their choice as president and federal legislators.

In a statement in Ilorin, Saraki expressed shock and disappointment that after all the preparations by the electoral commisssion, the security services and other agencies of government, issues of logistics and related matters are now said to be responsible for postponing the federal elections.

Waiting till just a few hours to commencement of voting before announcing postponement of elections is extremely sad. Nobody can quantify the difficulty that this will bring to people at every level.

I empathize with youth corps members who have been relocated from their places of primary assignment to assist with the conduct of the elections.

My thoughts also go to civil servants who left their bases to go and vote in their hometowns. I also sympathize with millions of ordinary Nigerian traders whose businesses were suspended because of the no movement order.Thus, the costs ofthis postponement are incalculable.

However, I want to appeal to Nigerians not to be deterred, discouraged or disappointed. They must continue to be strong and determined to cast their votes for their preferred candidates.

Next Saturday, they should try and forget the current setback and troop out en masse to vote for their preferred candidates. Not voting because of the postponement is not a good option for Nigerians.

My appeal to our people is that we must still go out next Saturday to exercise our franchise.

At this point, Government and INEC should focus on what is the way forward and ensure that the elections take place as rescheduled. They should move swiftly to smoothen all the rough edges. The commisssion must ensure we do not have a repeat of what happened today. We have been saying it that the 2019 elections should be a clear improvement on that of 2015.

Let me urge our people to continue in their determination to cast their votes. They should remain resolute and come out en mass next Saturday to vote for the PDP. The Atiku-Obi ticket have the momentum on its side. This postponement will not slow us down. We have seven more days to get more voters to come out next Saturday and vote massively for PDP candidates,Saraki stated.

Source: NAN

Senator Andy Uba, the lawmaker representing Anambra South in the Senate, has debunked fresh rumours that he had been arrested by operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS).

In a statement issued on Saturday, Uba who is theAnambra State Coordinator of Buhari Campaign Organisation, described the report as fake news and malicious.

Uba who would have contested the postponed National Assembly election on Saturday, said he was not involved in any form of money laundering neither had he been arrested.

According to the statement issued by his Media Office, the news was described as as mischievous and a malicious propaganda sponsored by detractors of the Senator.

Uba who just rounded up his campaign tour for his re-election is presently in his country home Uga in Aguata Local Government Area of the state, the statement said.

Source: NAN

Grieving Argentines paid tribute to footballer Emiliano Sala on Saturday at a special memorial in his home region of Santa Fe.

The body of the 28-year-old Sala, who died in a plane crash last month, was laid out in a gymnasium in the town where he grew up.

This was to enable friends and family pay their last respects.

A single-engine plane carrying Sala from his French club Nantes to his new team Cardiff City crashed on Jan. 21 in the English Channel.

This was before he could make his debut for the English Premier League (EPL) side.

Wreckage was found on Feb. 3 following a privately-funded underwater search, and a body recovered three days later.

Salas body was flown back to Argentina and arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday morning before being driven the 538 km (334 miles) to Progreso, where he grew up.

The gymnasium of the Atletico y Social San Martin de Progreso club hosted boys teams where Sala played as a child.

Many of the residents in the town of around 2,500 people wore the red and black shirt of the local side, with the name EMI on the back.

They began arriving at about 7 a.m. on Saturday to see the body and pay their last respects.

Outside, fans draped a banner saying, Emi, nunca caminaras solo or Emi, Youll Never Walk Alone.

Its as if he was a member of my family, said a sobbing Lucia Torres, who lives nearby.

Its something I cant understand nor accept because it hurts so much. The town has been in darkness since Jan. 21.

Cardiff manager Neil Warnock and the Welsh clubs chief executive Ken Choo are among those who will attend the funeral this weekend.

I will like to find a responsible person; someone who says to me, `This happened, but, well, it seems this was just an accident, said Salas aunt, Mirta Taffarel

Source: NAN

By Emmanuel Afonne

A campaign group working for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari, No Alternative to Buhari-Osinbajo (NATBO 2019), has condemned the action of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which saw the postponement of the Feb. 16 elections.

A statement issued on Saturday by the National Coordinator of the group Vincent Uba, said the action was capable of discouraging prospective voters.

Uba stated that INEC has given Nigerians opportunity to interpret the reasons for the postponement in different ways, and then put the blame on the current administration.

As cogent as INEC reasons for the postponement may be, we had expected the electoral body to be on top of its game, foreseeing the likely issues that could rear their ugly heads leading to this avoidable embarrassing situation we have found ourselves.

In an electoral contest that has been laden with unnecessary desperation by the opposition to unseat the current administration by every means available, it is expected that INEC should have envisaged possible sabotage to compromise the process leading to the free, fair and credible re-election of the party in power.

Notwithstanding the fact that some people had called for the postponement of the election including the opposition party, PDP, this postponement came at a time most unexpected the eve of the election.

It is very appalling and unfortunate that some people are now blaming the government for this postponement as if INEC is no longer independent, but there have been earlier convincing factors that would have been cogent reasons for the postponement, the statement quoted Uba as saying.

The coordinator of the NATBO 2019 expressed disappointment that INEC, even in the face of its budget delay by the National Assembly, assured Nigerians that it was still feasible to hold the elections according to the already released time table.

The statement also quoted Uba as saying: We believe that it was at that point of the budget delay that INEC would have been bold and courageous enough to postpone the election.

Another factor that would have lent credence to the postponement is the burning and other sabotage activities of INEC offices and facilities in some states.

When these INEC office burnings were reported, it became obvious that some unscrupulous persons were on sabotage mission and that the election dates could not be feasible but INEC went ahead to maintain that it was going ahead with election on the original dates.

That would have been a good reason to postpone.

Despite the postponement, we still have confidence on INEC to remain neutral and resolute in its desire and commitment to conduct free and fair elections that would further portray the positive image of Nigeria as the Buhari-led administration work to ensure a better future for the citizenry.

Uba urged the electorate to remain focused in the face of the disappointing circumstance and come out to cast their votes on Feb. 23.

The group while appealing for their understandings of the foreign observers following the postponement, apologised for the inconveniences the postponement may have caused them.

Source: NAN