Sabinews Daily Nigeria/World News Update for August 1, 2014
11 Indians, Five others Arrested for Oil Theft
The Nigerian Navy has arrested 11 Indian nationals, three Ghanaians and two Nigerians in connection with oil theft in Bayelsa State.
The 15 suspects were allegedly arrested by the operatives of the Forward Operating Base of the Central Naval Command while attempting to lift substances suspected to be crude oil from an offshore loading terminal in Brass area of the state. Read more
Three-day Gaza cease-fire begins
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A three-day cease-fire in the Gaza Strip went into effect Friday following heavy Israel-Hamas fighting that killed 17 Palestinians and five Israeli soldiers.
The cease-fire, announced by the U.S. and the U.N. hours earlier, took effect at 8:00 a.m. local time (1 a.m. EDT) Friday.
Negotiations on a more durable truce are supposed to take place under terms of the deal worked out by the U.S. and U.N. Read more
Taiwan gas explosions kill 24; blows car onto roof
BEIJING — Underground explosions devastated a district of Taiwan’s second-largest city, Kaohsiung, early Friday morning, killing at least 24 people and injuring 271.
The blasts, likely caused by a gas leak, were so powerful that rescuers found a car and injured survivors on the top of buildings three to four stories tall, reported Taiwan’s state Central News Agency. Read more
Reconstruction is Solution to Apapa Gridlock –Commissioner
The total reconstruction of the entire stretch of the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway is the permanentsolution to the enduring gridlock on the road.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Kayode Opeifa, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ikeja on Thursday.
He said the root cause of the chaos on the road, especially around the Coconut bus-stop and the Apapa ports, was that several portions of the road had failed. Read more
Ebola Scare in Anambra as State Govt Seals off Hospital
Fears that the dreaded Ebola virus may have crept into Anambra state emerged Thursday following the discovery of the corpse of a citizen of the state brought in a cargo from Liberia and deposited in the morgue of one Apex hospital in Nkwelle Ezunaka, Oyi council Area of the state.
The corpse it was gathered was deposited in the hospital morgue at the weekend by relatives of the deceased who were said to be making arrangement for his burial ceremony. Read more
Nigeria Starts Temperature Screening for Ebola at Airport
LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria’s civil aviation authority (NCAA) said on Thursday it had started temperature screening passengers arriving from places at risk from Ebola and had suspended pan-African airline Asky for bringing the first case to Lagos.
Ebola has been blamed for 729 deaths in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, according to the World Health Organization. Read more
Boko Haram Attacks Borno Communities, Razes 4 Churches
Gunmen believed to be Boko Haram members, dressed in military fatigues, yesterday night attacked about four communities in the southern part of Borno State where they burnt down four major churches, security sources and government officials said.
The attacked community comprise Kwajaffa, Tashan-Alede,Karbutu, Manjakwa, all predominantly Christian communities of Hawul Local government area of Borno State, 250km away from Maiduguri.
The gunmen, according to sources in Hawul local government, stormed the communities on Wednesday, targeting only churches and using explosives and petrol bombs. Read more
Terrorism Should End by December – Council of State
Members of the Council of State rose from an emergency meeting on Thursday with a resolution to support President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that the current spate of terrorism in parts of the country ends before December.
They also resolved to put an end to all discriminatory practices in states including the registration and “deportation” of non-indigenes as well as different school fees for indigenes and non-indigenes in state-owned institutions among others. Read more
Presidential Committee Raises Over N80bn to Support Terror Victims
The rousing desire of most Nigerians to see an end to the scourge of Boko Haram terrorism galvanized people from across the nation to massively support the initiative to raise a special fund to assist victims of the raging insurgency.
Over N80 billion was raised last night at the fund-raising dinner.
President Goodluck Jonathan had recently inaugurated Victims Support Funds Committee chaired by Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd).
Prior to the fund raising, President Jonathan, in a moving speech that appealed to the audience, vehemently condemned the evil acts of the terrorists. Read more
SON, Service Providers to Deploy Technology to Shut down Fake Phones Remotely
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) yesterday stated that it was working with service providers to deploy technology that would automatically shut down any phone that does not meet the basic quality requirement of the Nigeria Industrial Standard (NIS).
The Director General of SON, Dr. Joesph Odumodu, explained that the agency was in collaboration with the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) to ensure that International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI) and other marks of quality are used as the yardstick for identification of fakes and therefore employ technology to shut down any phone that does not meet the minimum standard. Read more
Ex-Militants Warn against Termination of Amnesty Programme
Yenagoa—Ex-militants in the Niger Delta have said that termination of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in 2015 could trigger fresh crisis in the region.
Coordinator of the ex-militants under the third phase amnesty (Ebipa-Opre Ex-militants Forum), Mr. Ramsey Oyakemeagbegha, in a statement in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, said that the conditions which triggered militancy in the region had not been addressed.
He said: “We are of the view and in support of our leader, Asari Dokubo’s suggestion that the amnesty should continue and not stop, as being rumoured, in 2015. Read more
Experimental Ebola Serum Arrives in Liberia
An experimental serum arrived in Liberia yesterday but there was only enough for one of the Americans to receive it.
Samaritan’s Purse said that both Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol are in stable, but grave, condition. Although Brantly took a slight turn for the worse, Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse said Brantly asked that the dose of experimental serum be given to his colleague.
“Dr. Brantly received a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who had survived Ebola because of Dr. Brantly’s care,” Graham said. “The young boy and his family wanted to be able to help the doctor that saved his life.” Read more
Jonathan Names Suleiman Abba New IG of Police
In March 1984 when the young Suleiman Abba joined the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) as a young cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), little did he know that one day he would be the chief cop of the nation.
He was yesterday announced by the federal government as the acting Inspector General of Police (IG), to replace the outgoing Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, who retired yesterday. Read more
State FA Chairmen Reinstate Maigari as NFF President
The drama playing out at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) assumed an asymmetrical dimension yesterday when 26 State FA chairmen reinstated sacked Aminu Maigari as the president of the federation.
But the Mike Umeh led board of the NFF in a swift move, described the purported reinstated of Maigari as a joke.
“There was no Congress at all, and we urge Nigerians to ignore the so–called decisions contained in the document. A properly –constituted NFF Congress would be convoked at a date to be made known to the public soon,” the NFF acting president, said in Abuja yesterday. Read more
NFF Electoral Committee Releases Election Guidelines
The NFF Electoral Committee has unveiled the dates for all processes leading to elections into the Executive Committee of the nation’s football –governing body on Tuesday, 26th August, 2014.
“We have taken into careful consideration, the yearnings of everyone in the Nigeria football family for a level –playing field for all, and have decided to slightly extend the deadline for the endorsement and collections of forms, which has also affected slightly other deadlines. However, we are committed to holding the elections as scheduled on Tuesday, 26th August, 2014. Our responsibility is to play the role of an impartial, unbiased umpire in the entire process to ensure fairness for all,” Chairman of the NFF Electoral Committee, Mr. Amoni Biambo, said in Abuja on Thursday. Read more
NFF Cautious over Keshi’s Contract
The Nigeria Football Federation members have said that they are being very cautious about Stephen Kesh’s contract renewal despite their reported plans to complete the process as quickly as possible. Read more
MTN Appoints Group COO, South Africa Head
One of Africa’s biggest telecommunications operators, the MTN Group, said yesterday that it had appointed Zunaid Bulbulia as its new Group Chief Operating Officer, adding that Ahmad Farroukh would replace him as head of the company’s South African operations.
As CEO of MTN South Africa, Farroukh would face growing competition in the company’s home market, which has been overtaken by Nigeria as the group’s biggest revenue earner, Reuters said. Read more
