Author: Chief Editor

The House of Representatives has accused the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) of negligence in the alleged killing of five persons by officers of the service in Iseyin, Oyo State, on May 13, 2021. The House made the accusation yesterday during the commencement of investigative hearings on the killings by its committee on Customs and Excise, which was chaired by Hon. Leke Abejide. Recall that on the fateful day, the officers allegedly killed five persons after shooting sporadically in an attempt to accost some suspected rice smugglers. Speaking at the hearing, the families of the deceased persons who were led by…

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced that 404 additional COVID-19 infections and zero COVID-19 related deaths were registered in Nigeria on July 27, 2021. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Wednesday morning. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the additional infections represents the highest number of daily cases recorded in over four months, taking the total tally to 171,728 and 2,134 casualties. This came few weeks after the Government confirmed Delta COVID-19 variant in the country, the nation’s coronavirus infection has been on the rise. The Delta variant is recognised by the…

Barely three days to the close of the substitution window set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the November 6, 2021 gubernatorial poll in Anambra State, billionaire captains of industry in the state have planned a meeting to review affairs in the three major political parties. The Guardian learnt that during the meeting, scheduled for Friday, July 30, the billionaires would deliberate on the implications of pending lawsuits and factionalisation of the governing All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) on the governorship candidate of the party, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo. It would be recalled that some multi-billionaire businessmen endorsed Soludo…

A British team spearheaded by Tom Dean and Duncan Scott stormed to victory in the men’s Olympic 4x200m relay on Wednesday, narrowly missing the world record. Led off by recently-crowned 200m champion Dean and brought home by Scott, they touched in 6min 58.58sec, just outside the 6:58.55 global mark held by the United States. “I think this is really special, with those boys,” Scott said. “We were so close to the world record in the end, if anything I’m a bit gutted.” It meant the British team, which featured James Guy and Matthew Richards on the middle legs, went one…

First, it was Naomi Osaka, now weeks later a tearful Simone Biles. Two of the biggest names in the sport have publicly revealed that they are struggling with their mental health — and they could be the catalyst for wider change. The superstar American gymnast Biles on Tuesday stunned the Tokyo Olympics when she pulled out of the women’s team final, saying: “I have to do what’s right for me and focus on my mental health and not jeopardise my health and my wellbeing.” The 24-year-old had already hinted that she was feeling the immense pressure in the Japanese capital,…

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has stressed the need for the nation’s judiciary to embrace technology and innovation for the evolution of the profession and national development. This, he said, is necessary to ensure that the country’s justice delivery mechanism is run on a system of enforceable, discernible laws and efficient institutions. Osinbajo stated this yesterday in a pre-recorded speech as guest speaker at the 2021 Annual Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Lagos Branch, with the theme: ‘Disruption, Innovation and The Bar’. Speaking on how the country’s justice delivery system can support critical investments in today’s very dynamic…

Sergio Ramos will be unable to make his debut for Paris Saint-Germain in the French season curtain raiser due to a calf injury, the club announced Tuesday. PSG, the French Cup winners, face Ligue 1 champions Lille in Sunday’s Champions Trophy being played this year in Tel Aviv. Ramos, 35, signed a two-year contract with PSG earlier this month after a storied career with Real Madrid where he won the Champions League four times. He is also a World Cup winner and a two-time champion of Europe with Spain. [GuardianNG]

Manchester United have agreed on a deal to sign France defender Raphael Varane from Real Madrid, according to several British media reports. Varane had been a longstanding target for United, who last week completed the transfer of England winger Jadon Sancho from German club Borussia Dortmund for a reported £73 million ($100 million). Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men are now closing in on the signing of Real centre-back Varane, having agreed a deal worth a reported £34million rising to £42million with add-ons. The 28-year-old Varane, a 2018 World Cup winner, has one season left on his contract at the Bernabeu. He…

Over one million Nigerians have so far availed themselves of the online pre-registration of voters which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) commenced four weeks ago on June 28. A statement by Mr. Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voters Education revealed that as at Monday, July 26, the number of new registrants has risen to 1,006,661. The detailed distribution of the registrants by age, state/FCT, gender, occupation and disability for week four of the exercise has been uploaded to the commission’s website and social media platforms. However, the distribution by age still shows that 740,063…

The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) yesterday said that it would present Certificate of Return to winners in last Saturday’s local government election today. Spokesperson of LASIEC, Mr.Tope Ojo, disclosed this in chat with jounalists in Lagos. Ojo said: “Our next responsibility now is to issue the Certificate of Returns based on what they (Operation and Logistics) Committee) sent to us from each local government.” Speaking on pending results, he said: “That is the responsibility of the Returning Officers(ROs). The chairman has said that she didn’t want to be involved in the declaration of results because it is not…