Author: Chief Editor

AC Milan was on Friday awaiting the belated return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic from a protracted and productive coronavirus exile in Sweden that has fuelled speculation in his native country that their biggest star was coming home for good. While most of his AC Milan team-mates have had to sit idle because of the pandemic, Ibrahimovic was busy training in Sweden with players at Hammarby, a first-division club which he part owns. Unlike much of the rest of Europe, where containment has limited or prevented athletes training, in Sweden restrictions to contain Covid-19 have been more flexible. The start of the…

The Supreme Court on Friday nullified the trial of a former governor of Abia State, Orji Kalu, and others, who were in December convicted and sentenced for a N7.1bn fraud. Justice Mohammed Idris, who had been elevated to the Court of Appeal bench, had returned to the Federal High Court in Lagos to complete the case which started in 2007. The judge had sentenced the ex-governor to 12 years imprisonment for the fraud he allegedly perpetrated during his tenure as Abia State governor. But in a unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court led by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, on Friday, the…

Holds talks with Pakistan’s prime minister on debt relief President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday welcomed the exoneration of the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, by the bank’s board, from allegations of impropriety and fraud levelled against him by some officials of the continental bank. The president also held talks with the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Imran Ahmed Khan, on the campaign for debt relief for Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) members. The president, in a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, hailed the outcome of the investigation into the allegations of wrongdoing against…

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) have reiterated that electromagnetic emission from 5G network has no adverse effect on human health. They also said the technology had no link with COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging the world. They spoke in separate telephone interviews with THISDAY, while reacting to a recent call for the suspension of 5G rollout in Nigeria by the Senate, pending the outcome of investigation by its committees detailed to assess the health implications of 5G network. The Senate had called for the suspension of 5G deployment in the country…

Barely a week after helping to repatriate $311m (N118bn) stolen by the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, the United States says there is a separate $319m (N121bn) Abacha loot in the United Kingdom and France. The US Embassy in Nigeria said in a statement on Wednesday that there is $167m in stolen assets in France while there is a separate $152m in the UK which is being challenged in court. The statement read in part, “The funds returned last week are distinct and separate from an additional $167m in stolen assets also forfeited in the United Kingdom and…

The Premier League is adamant that it can overcome huge logistical challenges to get players back on the pitch during the coronavirus crisis but has long since accepted there will be no fans in the stadiums. English Football Association chairman Greg Clarke became the latest senior figure to admit this week that social-distancing guidelines make it impossible for supporters to congregate in stadiums “any time soon”. The drive behind the Premier League’s “Project Restart” is the attempt to avoid having to pay back millions in TV revenue. Clubs could reportedly miss out on £762 million ($946 million) for failing to…

Abimbola Adelakun Last week, the Kaduna State Police Command demonstrated probably their swiftest response to any petition ever when they arrested self-professed atheist and president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, Mubarak Bala, over his Facebook posts that mocked certain religious truths. The petition to the Kano State Commissioner of Police, Habu Sani, was signed by one S.S. Usman & Co of Zoo Road, Kano. In that three-page grievance, Usman accused Bala of ‘blasphemy’ and urged the police to act so ‘Muslims would not take the law into their (own) hands.’ Seeking a comprehensive annihilation of the humanist, a certain…

Manchester United are relaxed about the possibility of Odion Ighalo returning to Shanghai Shenhua now Marcus Rashford is fit again, reports Manchester Evening News. Shanghai Shenhua striker Ighalo, 30, has entered the last month of his loan deal with United and could be recalled by his parent club with the Chinese Super League now due to start in June or July. The CSL campaign – which usually starts in February – was postponed following the coronavirus outbreak and because of where the Chinese league falls in the calendar Ighalo’s loan arrangement was agreed until the end of May. United are…

Some stakeholders in the Niger Delta have commended the National Assembly for its decision to investigate alleged fraud in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The stakeholders under the aegis of the Transparency and Accountability Advancement Group (TAAG) said it was heartwarming that the National Assembly was going to probe the humongous scam in the NDDC under the Interim Management Committee (IMC) in a few months. Its National President, Godknows Sotonye, said in view of overwhelming evidence and in good conscience, the group maintained that the IMC had become a cesspool of corruption where humongous contracts worth billions of naira…

Warns against dangers ahead of non-compliance with guidelines Says Buhari concerned about increasing infection among health workers Extends flight ban by four weeks, predicts many airlines won’t survive Asks states to increase isolation centres To inaugurate THISDAY’s 320-bed isolation centre Tuesday •Cases rise to 3,145 with 534 discharged, 103 dead The federal government wednesday lamented, for the second time since Monday’s easing of the lockdown of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun states, the refusal of citizens to comply with its guidelines on steps to curb the spread of COVID-19. Saying Nigerians were yet to come to terms…