A French motorbike rider competing in the Dakar Rally died on Friday after crashing into a Chilean police car, organisers reported. Thomas Bourgin, aged 25, was making his way to the start of the seventh stage when he hit the car, which was coming in t...
Reigning African champions Zambia wasted a myriad of scoring opportunities as they battled to a goalless draw against Norway at the Levy Mwanawasa stadium yesterday. In the final warm-up international before commencing the defence of the title Chipolop...
A former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, on Saturday called on the government to engage in dialogue with the Boko Haram sect to end the insecurity in Northern Nigeria.
Abubakar made the call at the graduation ceremony at Abdulsalami Abubakar Institute for Peace and Sustainable Development Studies, Minna.
``Today, the cycle of blood-letting, the brutal termination of lives of innocent and defenseless Nigerians should not be tolerated,'' he said.
Abubakar said dialogue between the Federal Government and Boko Haram was the only way to tackle the current security challenges in the North.
``It is a collective responsibility of all to dispassionately understand the root causes of the problems and urgently search for lasting solutions.
``The path of dialogue is the most appropriate strategy in addressing security challenges; we must, therefore, cooperate and address our problems.
``The government at all levels, the people within the crisis zones, security personnel, sympathisers of the aggrieved parties and the aggrieved must, for the sake of our future and that of our children, dialogue.
``This approach will yield huge dividends and this will eventually lead to the restoration of peace, security and development in our nation,`` he said.
Abubakar said the institution, which was affiliated to University of Jos, would promote African conflict transformation, development methodologies and equip students with the intellectual and practical skills to prevent conflict.
``It will remain focused on its mission and mandate in the coming years to play its vital role that will continuously be a platform for transforming conflicts for human security and sustainable development,`` he said.
The former head of state, who is the chairman, Governing Council of the Institution, congratulated the graduands and urged them to strive and excel in ensuring transparency and accountability toward sustainable peace and development.
Gov. Gabriel Suswan of Benue in his speech called for dialogue between Boko Haram and the Federal Government to resolve the security challenges.
He said the crisis was grinding economic activities in the region to a halt. He said political leaders and opinion leaders in the North should work together to address the crisis to avert future catastrophe.
He described it as a serious crisis that required the support of all northerners to tackle. About N60 million was realised at the launch of the endowment fund of the institute with Niger and Rivers donating N20 million each.
Imo and Benue e donated N10 million each. Gov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger, Gov Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers, Suswan and Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo were honoured with the fellowship of the institute.
The ship, MV Marivia, arrested at the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos on Wednesday with two containers of e-waste is still being detained, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. An official of the Tin-Can Island Container Terminal, who preferred ...
Task Force on Flood Disaster Intervention on Saturday began a tour of areas affected by flood in Cross River.
Dr. David Atowo, the leader of the team, said in Calabar that the visit followed government concern on the havoc caused by the recent flood disasters in the country.
He said that the government was also concerned about the outbreak of diseases among internally displaced persons.
Atowo said the task force would go round the 21 local government areas affected by the flood to assess the extent of damage. He restated the government's commitment to prevent future occurrence.
The task force was set up to establish the extent of the disaster, identify the pattern of injuries, disabilities, morbidity and mortality from the flood and determine the general nutritional status of children in camps and communities.
In her remark, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Angela Oyo-Ita, commended the government for setting up the task force.
According to her, all the local government areas affected by the flood are vulnerable to diseases.
She assured the team of the state government's co-operation to enable it to execute its assignment.
Mr. David Akate of the State Emergency Management Agency said Boki Local Government Area was the worst hit by the disaster.
He said 30,000 people were displaced in the state.
No fewer than 30 persons, suspected to be NNPC vandals died in a pipeline fire at Arepo village, in Ogun early on Saturday, the police said. The Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in-charge of the Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism...
The Nigeria Customs Service on Friday arrested a Hong Kong-bound passenger at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, with 767,500 dollars. The Customs Command at the airport said the passenger was arrested while boarding Emirates flight number ...
Gov. Murtala Nyako of Adamawa on Saturday called on PDP members in the state to support the Presidential Committee set up to reconcile factions of the party. Nyako made the call while addressing party supporters at a solidarity rally in Yola, say...
ECOWAS has ``decided to authorise the immediate deployment of troops to Mali, a statement said in Abuja on Saturday.
The statement by the Chairman, ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State, President Alassane Ouattara, said measures would be taken to implement the decision to assist the Malian Army to defend the nation's territorial integrity.
It said the chairman took the decision in consultation with his peers and in conformity to Resolution 2085 of the UN Security Council.
The statement said the deployment was ``within the AFISMA framework’’ and added that ECOWAS was committed to support the Malian Government to tackle its security crisis.
``The authority recalls its previous decisions on Mali and reaffirms its commitment to support the Malian Government in overcoming the security crisis.
``It shall hold responsible any individual or group threatening national cohesion and the decisions of ECOWAS and the African Union,” the statement said.
It called on the transitional authority to expedite action on the establishment of an agency responsible for political dialogue with rebel groups that renounced terrorism and violence in Mali.
It expressed gratitude to the African Union, UN, partner countries and the international community for their efforts aimed at stabilising the situation in Mali.
The Ghanaian President, Mr John Mahama, has pledged to support the education policy of the Imo government.
The Imo Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Chinedu Offor, said this while briefing journalists in Owerri.
Offor, who travelled to Ghana with Gov. Rochas Okorocha, said that Mahama made the promise when he received the Imo governor in Accra.
According to the commissioner, Mahama urged Okorocha to continue providing effective leadership to Imo people and commended him for his philanthrophy, through the Rochas Foundation Colleges.
“President Mahama said his sister’s mother came from the Balogun family in Offa, Kwara. ``He, therefore, pledged the commitment of his administration toward improved ties with Nigeria.
“The President said he had Nigerian roots and that it is in the mutual interest of both countries to ensure a vibrant economic and cultural cooperation for maximum benefits.''
Offor said that former Ghanaian President John Kuffour also received Okorocha and urged him to work hard toward greater cooperation between Nigeria and Ghana.
The Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse (LMDC) said on Saturday that it successfully resolved a total of 780 cases out of the 1,708 referred to it within the last 10 years. Mrs Caroline Etuk, the Director of the centre, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Etuk said that most of the cases were referred to the court from the High Court of Lagos State, adding that the 780 cases were amicably settled.
``The cases we have settled during our annual Settlement Week since we started in 2002, ranges from breach of contract, landlord and tenant disputes, family matters as well as defamation.
``Generally, we handle the whole range of matters that we have on the litigation track. We had a lot of banking cases as well. ``We even had people coming in whose matters were not referred from court and they wanted to be part of the Settlement Week."
Etuk said the outcomes of the settlements were sent to the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) judges who entered them as the judgment of the court.
The director condemned the poor response of lawyers and litigants to ADR and attributed this to the low figure of cases handled by the court in the last 10 years.
She said that the introduction of mediation and arbitration into the legal process was aimed at reducing the number of civil cases in courts.
According to her, embracing the ADR process saves time, is cost effective and also helps in maintaining cordial relationships between the parties in the dispute.
Etuk, however, said that the introduction of ADR into the High Court of Lagos (Civil Procedures) Rules 2012, had made it mandatory for lawyers and litigants to embrace the system.
``Under the new rules, when a civil case is filed, it is taken to the ADR track and efforts are made to determine if the parties in the dispute can settle the matter out of court.
``It is only when the matter cannot be resolved that it is re-assigned to the litigation track and the case is taken before the court for hearing,” she explained.
The expressed the readiness of the court to handle cases that would be referred to it as a result of the new rules.
According to her, the appointment of 10 ADR judges and the recent training of 58 mediators, were clear indications of the commitment of the Lagos State Judiciary to promote ADR.
She, therefore, urged lawyers to embrace ADR, stressing that it would help facilitate speedy dispensation of justice.
``That is where the world is moving now and we cannot afford to be left behind,” Etuk said. NAN reports that The Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse (LMDC) was established on June 11, 2002, as a public-private partnership between the High Court of Justice, Lagos State and the Negotiation and Conflict Management Group (NCMG), a non-profit private organisation. The overarching objective of The LMDC is to facilitate dispute resolution within the Nigerian Justice System.
It is the first court-connected Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre in Africa.
The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) said on Friday it had promoted 66 assistant general managers to the position of deputy general managers.
Mr Nnamdi Udoh, the Managing Director of NAMA, who disclosed this at a media briefing on Friday in Lagos, said the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, had approved the promotion.
Udoh pledged that the agency would sustain its seamless air navigation services to its numerous clients, and the continued safety of the country's airspace.
He advised the newly promoted officers to put in their best for the development of the aviation sector.
Some of the newly promoted officers commended Udoh for recommending them to the minister for promotion.
The officers said this was the first time the agency would be promoting such a large number of people in one fell swoop.
The promoted officers include Messrs Charles Obi, Julius Ojewale, Damian Ejiogu, Fidelis Ogbonna, Samuel Madunagwu, Romanus Uche, Festus Aseghiemhe, Clifford Esoung, Anthony Omashor, Levi Nnadi and Mrs Agnes Chinda.
Mr Mecha Kalu, who died in the June 3 Dana plane crash in Lagos, was posthumously promoted.
It is said that radiation in small dose is harmless, but no amount is actually safe for the body. Even though it is used to treat some kind of ailments, such as cancer, the side effects far outweigh its benefits. In most instances, exposure to radiatio...
Your lips are the next most noticeable feature of your face after the eyes. Unfortunately, we tend not to pay much attention to it apart from swiping on a lip balm or lipstick. The beauty of it is that your lips do not need all that much care to ...
Bitter leaf is an herb that is known due to the fact that it is a homely plant found almost everywhere. An indigenous African species, it grows in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The East African country of Tanzania is traditionally linked to this pl...