A former Premier League and FIFA accredited official, Mark Clattenburg, has listed a former Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi, among the five most annoying players he refereed during his blistering career, Goal.com reports. Widely regarded as one of the best referees of his generation, Clattenburg took charge of the 2016 European Championship, Champions League and FA Cup finals among others. But the 45-year-old’s career was not without its challenges and in a recent interview, he opened up about the footballers that got on his nerves during his 13 years of top-flight officiating. In the chat with Daily Mail UK,…
Author: Victor Gai
Nigerian Army authorities say its Special Task Force Operative that shot and killed Mr. Rinji Peter Bala, a University undergraduate on Tuesday in Jos has been detained, Masarakim Blog reports. Bala, 20, was arrested following a distress call but was released before being shot by an operative on sentry duty, said Major Ibrahim Shittu, Media Officer, Operation Safe Haven, Jos. Shittu in a press statement on Wednesday said, “At about 10pm on 12 May 2020, information was received on the activities of suspected armed robbers and cultists operating around No. 18th Street, Jos South LGA of Plateau State. “The report…
Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, has ordered for an investigation into the shooting and eventual death of a university undergraduate, Rinji Peter Bala by an operative of the Special Task Force on Tuesday, April 12th. In a press statement by the Director of Press and Public Affairs to the governor, Makut Simon Macham, stated that the governor was “shocked” over the incident. “Governor Simon Lalong expresses shock and sadness over the death of Mr. Rinji Peter Bala, who was said to have been shot by security personnel along Zaria Road, Jos on 12th May 2020. “Consequently, he has directed that…
Soldiers have reportedly opened fire at unarmed civilians in Jos, Plateau State, killing a university undergraduate, Masarakimblog reports. The report revealed that one Rinji Peter Bala, a 300 Level student of the University of Jos, was arrested at about 7pm local time, in his neighbourhood, Hwolshe, during the lockdown. Eyewitnesses say he and six others were whisked to Sector 1 headquarters of the Special Task Force near Jos Zaria Road stadium, on a military patrol van. “They didn’t tell us our offence but tortured us for over an hour before releasing us. “At the gate, some soldiers asked us to…
The Nigeria Police, Plateau State Command has warned “its personnel and those of other security agencies engaged in this all-important national assignment to avoid corrupt practices and compromise of any sort” and “urged to be firm and display a high level of professionalism”. In a press statement released on Tuesday and signed by Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Ubah Gabriel Ogaba, maintained that the time for the curfew remains and appealed for residents to comply. “There will be an overnight curfew from 08:00 pm to 06:00 am daily across the state. This means that all movements are prohibited…
Nigerian football has gone through the ‘acid test’ over the years, most especially in the aspect of the management of its senior national team, the Super Eagles. Being three-time winners of the AFCON, the Super Eagles have not looked back since they qualified to the World Cup for the first time in 1994, ramping up seven appearances to date. Besides that, Nigeria has recorded the most silver and bronze medals at the AFCON thereby becoming one of the most successful footballing nations in the continent. But these successes are the opposite of what transpires at the management level of the…
Taye Taiwo has accused former Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi for his early exit from the national team set-up because of his dirty dealings, the ex-international reveals to Goal.com. The former AC Milan defender managed just a single appearance under late Keshi, an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Rwanda in February 2012, which was also the last of his 59 caps for Nigeria. Taiwo made his Nigeria debut in 2004 and went on to play at the three Afcon tournaments and the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa during his eight-year international career, in which he scored five goals. He claimed he dumped the three-time African…
The recent decision of the northern governors to ban the Almajiri practice across the 19 northern States, has come with mixed fortunes, which might have confirmed the fears that the decision was rather premature. The Northern Governors’ Forum, had in a recent meeting agreed to ban the practice of Almajiri in the north. The decision was taken considering the threat of the COVID-19, of which the Almajiris stand a great risk of contracting. Consequently, the northern governors started by deporting the children to their various States. Kano, Kaduna and Katsina took the first steps by deporting thousands of these Almajiris.…
A survey carried out by a group of media organisations and civil society groups have revealed that Journalists covering the Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria lack sufficient protection and are not adequately catered for. In a press statement issued by Lanre Arogundade, on behalf of the groups, says, The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), Enough is Enough (EiENigeria), International Press Centre (IPC), the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), and Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), commissioned the survey following perceptions that journalists were being exposed to danger in the course of covering the pandemic. According to the…
Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, has condoled with the chairman, the people of Wukari Local Government Council and the family of the State Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation, Comrade Naphtali Kefas who died on Thursday in Jalingo after a brief illness. In a press statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media and Publicity, Bala Dan Abu regretted that the death of Naphtali Kefas came “less than a year of his appointment as member of the state Executive Council” and “has robbed the state of the services of a patriotic and hard-working gentleman”. According to the statement the…
The controversial Infectious Diseases Bill has been described as “superfluous, illegal, unconstitutional” and an attempt to “subvert the federal system of government”. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana stated this during the program Politics Today on Channels TV. “It is pertinent to inform you that in November 2018, a law was enacted in this country- The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control Act which has taken care of infectious diseases. “Infact, it is misleading on the part of the House of Representatives, to say that it is amending the 1926 Quarantine Act. “Between 1926 and now, you had the 2018 Act which had…
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has stated that the recovered $311 million from the Abacha administration was looted from the Federation Account and that if it was recovered, it had to return to the Federation Account. Falana, while speaking on the program Politics Today on Channels TV, also said that the USA, where the monies were lodged, cannot dictate to Nigeria how to spend her money. Earlier on in the program, the Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, had disclosed that the recovered money would be used to fund the second Niger bridge, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road,…
Ringed in his residence by three AK-47 bearing men, shortly after his evening family prayer meeting, Rev. Adebayo James Faminlunwe, 70, had no defence but prayer. Calvary Ministries (CAPRO), an international Christian missions agency started in Zaria-Northern Nigeria in 1975, had suffered many armed invasions on its Central Nigerian base in Gana-Ropp village, 30miles southeast of Jos the capital of Plateau State. Tuesday, May 5, 2020, however, came with a different experience. With no clear motive, the invaders, scaling through 8ft tall brick fence, started shooting from the main entrance of the CARPRO Country Director’s official residence. Rev. Adebayo, the…
Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed has said that he still stands by his word that Chroloquine, Zithromax, Zinc and vitamin C are used to cure Coronavirus as he was administrated with the drugs when he was receiving treatment in isolation. The Governor was reacting to comments generated on the social media on the use of the drugs for the treatment of the virus, during a COVID 19 press conference in Bauchi. Governor Mohammed said that due to reactions from the social media on the recommendation of the drugs for COVID 19, he felt he should make certain clarifications concerning…
Nigeria has 21,208 samples tested in its ongoing campaign against the deadly COVID-19, which is far less than Ghana and South Africa which have conducted over 100,000 and close to 200,000 testings so far, with South Africa increasing its daily tests to more than 10,000 a day. According to the NCDC COVID-19 microsite, Nigeria has 2,950 confirmed cases, 2,371 active cases, 481 discharged cases and 98 deaths so far. The latest statistics are as follows: On the 5th of May 2020, 148 new confirmed cases and 5 deaths were recorded in Nigeria. No new state has reported a case in…
The COVID-19 seems to be the game-changer from the long neglect of the Almajiri issue in northern Nigeria. The Almajiri system is one that poses a considerable social threat to the nation, yet it has never been given a serious thought like now. The reasons, however, may not be far-fetched. It is either that the authorities were overwhelmed by the menace and had simply given up the battle or they have been made to believe it is a normal way of life since it is deeply rooted in the northern socio-cultural way of life. Moreover, why would the northern political…
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Godfrey Onyema, has disclosed that about 4000 Nigerians would be evacuated from the UK, USA, South Africa, France, China and other countries from Wednesday this week. Onyema disclosed this during the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Monday. According to him, 300 Nigerians would be evacuated from the UK on Friday in a British Airways plane which is coming to evacuate British nationals. He, however, lamented the lack of quarantine facilities to accommodate them. “The numbers are going up in our country, so a lot of resources are being drawn to address the real…
Four Irigwe youths lost their lives in the late hours of Sunday in an ambush around Kwal district of Bassa LGA of Plateau State, while another one, suspected to be among the attackers was killed in the fracas. Reports reliably gathered by our reporter says the four victims were returning to Miango from Kwal around 9pm when they were ambushed by gunmen. Instantly, three of the men died while the fourth died at Enos Hospital Miango in the early hours of Monday, as a result of an injury sustained from the attack. It was however alleged that the attacker that…
About 51 staff of Gotel Communications Limited, an Adamawa State-based radio and television service owned by a former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, have been sacked, Premium Times report. Mr Abubakar was the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general elections. Gotel Communications had in 2016 carried out a mass retrenchment after which it placed others on renewable contracts. This week, Gotel Communications axed more staff. The sacked workers, who are mostly contract staffers of the local TV and radio stations, said: “no reason was given for their sack”. One of the staff…
Edward Chuka Egbuka has been appointed as the new Commissioner of Police for Plateau State. In a telegraph message addressed to the media with Ref: AZ 5250/PLS/PRO/VOL.11/208 and dated 1st May 2020, says: “Before he took over as the Commissioner of Police Plateau State Command, he was the Commissioner of Police Operations at the Force Headquarters Abuja”. The statement which was signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, Plateau State Command, Ubah Gabriel Ogaba, further reads: “The Imo State-born Commissioner of Police was enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force on 15th March 1988 as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police…
Plateau state governor, Simon Lalong, has placed a ban on movements between local government areas in the state, beginning from May 4th, 2020. He also imposed a compulsory wearing of face masks by citizens to curb the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus. The governor made this disclosure in the weekly broadcast to the State on the COVID-19 pandemic. “In addition to the total lockdown which closed movement in and out of the State, and to curb community spread of COVID-19, Government has decided to close all intra-State borders with effect from 4th May 2020. “Consequently, there shall be no movement…
The Plateau state government has initiated home learning for children during the current lockdown, using radio and television as a medium. The Plateau state governor, Simon Lalong, made this known in his weekly state address on the COVID-19. According to him, “government is also concerned about the impact of the Corona Virus pandemic on the education sector. That is why I directed the Plateau State Universal Basic Education Board to commence the implementation of the UNICEF EDUCATION CAN NOT WAIT INITIATIVE (ECW) to enable our children to learn at home. “At the moment, learning has started with Television and Radio…
The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has disclosed that “a lot is going on in the background that the public may not necessarily be aware of in terms of how” it “intends to get on top of the issue” of COVID-19 in Kano. While speaking on Channels TV, the National Coordinator, Dr Sani Aliyu, disclosed the measures put in place to ensure that the virus is controlled in the city. “We know that the situation in Kano if it gets out of hand, it would be difficult to control. One of the things that we are also concerned about is the…
The Federal government has ordered States and Law enforcement officials to ensure seamless movement of essential goods, like food, hand sanitizers, face masks and so on. In a statement by the Special Assistant to the President on Media and Public Affairs, Garba Shehu lamented the number of vehicles carrying essential goods that are being delayed at state borders. “The reported a large number of food trucks that are being delayed at various checkpoints around the country or prevented from crossing state borders, as a result of the various curfews and lockdowns in different states. “The restrictions of movement as a…
•Approves phased/gradual easing of restriction on FCT, Lagos and Ogun •Places a 2 week total lockdown on Kano President Muhammadu Buhari had on Monday evening placed a ban on inter-state passenger travels, except those on essential travels, as a measure to check the rising case of the COVID-19 in the country. In his address to the nation, the President disclosed that government would “strictly ensure the mandatory use of face masks or coverings in public in addition to maintaining physical distancing and personal hygiene”. “There will be a ban on non-essential inter-state passenger travels until further notice. “There will be…
A new week in the coronavirus pandemic is beginning with a United States case count approaching 1 million and several cities and states preparing to loosen stay-at-home restrictions, reports CNN. There have been 54,883 coronavirus deaths reported nationally and more than 965,000 cases of the virus in the US. As the numbers continue to climb, several state and city officials are expected to announce plans to reopen their economies this week. A University of Washington model frequently cited by the White House coronavirus task force suggests that no state should open their economies before Friday — and many should wait much longer. In New York, one of the hardest-hit states,…
A total of “1182 cases have been confirmed, 222 cases have been discharged and thirty-five deaths have been recorded in 28 states and the Federal Capital Territory” in Nigeria, according to a mini NCDC website for the COVID-19. “On the 25th of April 2020, 87 new confirmed cases and one new death were recorded in Nigeria. “One new state (Imo) has reported a confirmed case in the last 24 hours. “The 87 new cases are reported from nine states- Lagos (33), Borno (18), Osun (12), Katsina (9), Kano (4), Ekiti (4), Edo (3), Bauchi (3), Imo (1)”, the site stated.…
No Champion No relegation The Dutch Eredivisie title will be left vacant with the season cancelled due to disruption caused by the novel coronavirus crisis, reports Brila FM. Both Ajax and AZ Alkmaar were levelled on points at the top of the Eredivisie, but neither will be crowned champions. Clubs were afforded a vote to decide the outcome of the campaign, with 16 choosing to enable promotion and relegation for the Eredivisie. However, a further nine sides voted against their competitors being allowed to move into different leagues, with nine more abstaining from the vote entirely and believing that the…
Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen has reportedly emerged as a summer transfer target for English Premier League giants Chelsea and Italian club side, SSC Napoli, Brila FM reports. The English club is reportedly monitoring the player’s progress and has watched him closer when they met with his team Lille Metropole in UEFA Champions League game this season. French paper Le 10 Sport, reported that Chelsea is ready to follow up their interest in the player submitting a bid in the region of 55 million pounds for the striker in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Italian Serie A side, Napoli are also said…
Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong has extended the lockdown by another one week, even as the State recorded its first case. In a state broadcast Thursday, Lalong stated that “the total lockdown will be relaxed from Midnight of Thursday 23rd April 2020 to 12th Midnight of Sunday 26th April 2020 to enable people again re-stock their homes. Thereafter, the total lockdown will resume on Monday 27th April 2020”. Lalong also directed the installation of CCTV cameras as well as discreet monitoring to monitor happenings around the official borders and identify the loopholes. According to the governor, violators of the lockdown…
