The Defender

Two persons are currently trapped, while nine others have been rescued from the rubbles of a story building which collapsed in Anambra State in the early hours of today (Thursday). According to a statement issued by the Police, the three-story building belonging to one Mr Avoyi Collins ‘m’ collapsed at Okpuno Otolo in Nnewi Local Government Area of the state at about 5:20 am. Following a distress call from a vigilante group in Okpuno, patrol teams led by the Area Commander, Nnewi, Acp Nnanna Ama, rushed to the scene and cordoned off the area to prevent looters from taking advantage of the situation to rob. According to the police, with the help of other volunteers, the nine persons were rescued alive, while two others are still trapped. The rescued victims were immediately rushed to the community health Center for medical examination.

Femi Falana, a senior lawyer and human rights activist, says the executive order imposing a travel ban on some Nigerians is a violation of the law Falana says only the courts and anti-corruption agencies can impose restrictions on persons in the country - The senior lawyer calls on the federal government to withdraw the travel ban without any delay Femi Falana, a senior lawyer and human rights activist has said the travel ban placed on 50 high-profile Nigerians by President Muhammadu Buhari would expose the current administration to ridicule. The Cable reports that Falana in a statement on Sunday, October 14, said the directive that is backed by an executive order signed by the president was a violation of the law. The senior lawyer stated that only the courts and anti-corruption agencies could impose restrictions on persons in the country. He called on the federal government to withdraw the ban without any delay, noting that the ban was a reminder of how the military imposed rest...

Nigeria’s First Lady has shown dissatisfaction over the just concluded primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.                                                  Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari In a statement released on Monday, Aisha Buhari said that it is disheartening to note that some aspirants used their hard earned money to purchase nomination forms, got screened, cleared and campaigned vigorously yet found their names omitted on Election Day, these forms were bought at exorbitant prices. The First Lady further noted that many others contested and yet had their result delayed. Fully knowing that automatic tickets have been given to other people. "All Progressives Congress being a party whose cardinal principle is change and headed by a comrade/ activist whose main concern is for the common man, yet, such impunity could take...

The federal government has charged the contractor handling the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge line to get more equipment to speed up the track laying and launching of beams. The minister of transportation Rotimi Amaechi made this known at the monthly inspection of the rail line saying that the challenge of getting a station in Abeokuta has been resolved but the launching of beams might slow down the work. Amaechi noted that there is huge improvement in the level of work on the Abeokuta axis where some bridges had been constructed including the one on Ogun River.

President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with the Nigerian air force on the air accident which involved two fighter jets in the fleet in Abuja earlier on Friday. The president paid tributes to the gallantry of squadron leader Mb Baba-Ari, the officer who died in the accident while also wishing the two other wounded officers quick recovery. In a condolence message delivered on his behalf by the chief of air staff, Air Marshal Abubakar Siddique at the burial of the officer Friday in abuja, President Buhari extolled the virtues of the dead pilot saying that he laid down his life in the service of his fatherland at a time that patriotic citizens were needed to join hands to move the nation forward. He assured that, having paid the supreme sacrifice, the nation would not forget him. He prayed that god will grant the soul of the departed eternal rest and assured family members that the country will not abandon them. Representatives of the president had visited the two othe...

The Central Bank of Nigeria says a notification to revoke the operating licences of 182 other financial institutions in the country has been issued. According to the list released by the regulator, 154 of the affected institutions are microfinance banks; six are primary mortgage banks; while the remaining 22 are finance companies. The CBN said 62 of the microfinance banks have already closed shop; 74 became insolvent; 12 were terminally distressed; while six voluntarily liquidated. The CBN listed the primary mortgage banks for revocation as accord savings and loans limited in Lagos that failed to recapitalise; and ahold savings and loans limited in Anambra (state government-owned) that closed shop. Other mortgage banks are in Bayelsa, Delta and Lagos states. The CBN disclosed that eight finance companies voluntary liquidated; 13 failed to recapitalise; while one became insolvent.

The Federal Government has approved the sum of N22bn as payment for retirement benefits to former workers of the liquidated Nigerian Airways Ltd. The amount which was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari is about 50 percent of the N45bn entitlements for the former workers of the company. Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, while speaking at a meeting with the former workers said that apart from the N20bn that was released, another N22bn has been approved for the education sector. “Upon my resumption of office as the minister of finance, some pending fiscal issues in the aviation and education sectors were immediately brought to my attention. “As such, I took it as a challenge to quickly address key issues regarding the settlement of existing claims in both of these sectors. “I am happy to inform you that Mr President has graciously approved the sum of N22.68bn and N20bn to aviation and education sectors respectively”, she said. The Minister through her Twitter page anno...

The general public and politicians in particular have been warned against the proliferation of prohibited arms and the need to eschew violence during the campaign period as anyone caught in violation will be dealt with severely according to the law irrespective of his position. Commissioner of police Benue state command Ene Okon who stated this in Makurdi during his maiden press briefing added that the eight o’clock restriction on motorbikes within the state capital is still in force and will be enforced to the letter. Addressing newsmen at the force headquarters Makurdi state, commissioner of police Ene Okon made it abundantly clear the command's resolve to track down sponsors of thugs using prohibited arms to cause mayhem no matter how highly placed. While highlighting the successes of the state command since his assumption of duty, Okon announced the total clamp down of criminals using unregistered motor bikes or fake number plates to commit crimes. The commissi...

Deputy comptroller of the Nigeria customs service and national coordinator strike force team zone 'b' Abdullahi Kirawa says, the team has succeeded in seizing smuggled items worth twenty point five million naira from august twenty eighteen to date. Kirawa stated this while displaying the seized items before newsmen at the Kaduna/ Katsina command headquarters of the service, northwest Nigeria, as part of their working tour to all the zones of the strike force. According to the national coordinator of the strike force team zone 'b' Abdullahi Kirawa, the seizure of a trailer laden with one hundred and eighteen second hand clothing was made possible and successful following intelligence gathered by the officers of the strike force following the ban of the item and the health hazard it may pose to the public. Deputy comptroller Kirawa also restated the strike force’s readiness to continue implementing the zero tolerance to smuggling by the federal government as, he...

Police authorities say they have recovered monetary and non-monetary assets of the Federal Government hidden in some commercial banks across the country. They have also recovered a total of 9,657 illegal and prohibited arms and more than 26,000 ammunition in two batches across the country. Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood on Thursday said the nationwide mop up exercise by the police is aimed at the full enforcement of the Firearms Act. According to him, the mop-up began after the expiration of the ultimatum of the deadline given by the force for persons with illegal firearms, weapons and ammunition to turn them in. Read the full statement by the police below: PRESS BRIEFING UPDATE ON THE RECOVERY OF PROHIBITED FIREARMS, ILLEGAL WEAPONS AND LOCALLY FABRICATED LETHAL DEVICES RECOVERED IN THE ONGOING MOP-UP OF FIREARMS/ILLEGAL WEAPONS BY THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE AND EFFORTS OF THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE IN THE RECOVERY OF MONETARY AND NON- MONETARY ASSETS FOR THE...

The Nigerian government says it remains committed to implementing the prisons reform policy in the areas of welfare, rehabilitation, reformation and protection of rights and privileges of inmates. Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau said this while receiving the 2018 United Nations, Education, Scientific And Cultural Organization (UNESCO) confucius award for literacy and skills acquisition for inmates won by the Nigeria Prisons Service in France from the controller general, Ja'afaru Ahmed. The minister said government has already approved funds to improve the condition of inmates in line with united nations standards. He also said that the Nigeria Prisons Service is collaborating with the ministry of justice and the judiciary to secure the release of minor offenders to enhance prison decongestion. The controller-general of Prisons Ja’afaru Ahmed who handed over the award to the minister said the Nigeria Prisons Service in collaboration with the national open ...

Nigerian troops have neutralised several Boko-Haram Terrorists who attempted to attack a military location in Damasak, Borno State.                                                             The terrorists made the attempt on the 145 battalion at about six pm on Wednesday, but were repelled by the troops who had laid an ambush for them. The operation was closely supervised by the chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai who was in the frontlines on an operational assessment visit, while intelligence on the terrorists' movement was provided by an Airforce surveillance aircraft. Several weapons and ammunition were recovered from the insurgents, including mounted gun trucks, assault rifles, and grenades. Army spokesman, brigadier general Texas Chukwu said soldiers wounded during the operation have been evacuated ...

Labour leaders in Nigeria, on Wednesday cautioned the federal government to stop foot dragging on minimum wage and allow the tripartite committee on the new minimum to conclude its job to avoid industrial crisis. The labour leaders, who are members of the minimum wage committee at a joint news conference addressed in Lagos, gave the federal government 14 days to ensure that the committee concludes its work or be ready to face industrial action. Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president, Ayuba Wabba said that the committee was not pleased with the comments credited to the minister of labour and employment, Dr Chris Ngige. According to him, Ngige was reported to have said that the committee should adjourn indefinitely to enable him do further consultations with the government. The NLC president said that in the course of the meeting, the committee members had time to consult and receive memoranda and inputs from 21 state governments, specialized agencies of the federal governme...

The federal government says it is deeply worried over the spate of building collapse and the attendant loss of lives as a result of using substandard materials by developers.  Minister of works, housing and power conveyed governments’ position at a workshop on retooling the Nigerian construction industry to meet emerging global best practice. Fashola was represented by an official Dickson Onoja who advocated an urgent need to migrate the nation’s building code from the 1963 JCT to the 2011 international format to stem the frequency of failing buildings and the economic impact. Also speaking, president of the Nigerian institute of quantity surveyors Obafemi Onashile echoed the views of the works minister. The forum was also to evolve a roadmap for reviewing engineering designs for sustainable buildings in Africa future cities in line with the specifications of the United Nations Development Programmes, UNDP.

Vice president Yemi Osinbajo says the Buhari administration will continue to create the right environment for the growth of technology and startups. Professor Osinbajo said this when he paid a visit to ventures platform hub on Wednesday, along with the British secretary for Africa and international development, Harriett Baldwin. The vice president commended the entrepreneurial creativity of young Nigerians in the technology sector. The British secretary for Africa and international development, Harriett Baldwin, explained that the UK would invest more in Nigeria’s technology sector. At the event the vice president interacted with technology start-ups and entrepreneurs.

In Nigeria’s drive for economic diversification, the government is not ignoring any sector to achieve the desired result of the full recovery of Nigeria’s economy. One of such sectors is culture which is beginning to witness some revival. This development was noticeable at the just concluded FIFA world cup in Russia. On his resumption as director general of national council for arts and culture, Segun Runsewe took a holistic view of the sector and classified culture as Nigeria’s new oil. This was a clear indication of what he had set out to do in arts and culture, apparently designed to be on the same page of the economic diversification policy. Along this foresight with the council’s development in which common waste were transformed to wealth creating items. The new approach was to use these materials as artistic items which were designed to achieve two results. To create job opportunities for people particularly women and youths, who picked the disused materials and conv...

The United States Embassy in Abuja will resume full services on August 24 for both visas and American Citizen Services (ACS). The embassy made the announcement on Monday, noting, however, that consular functions at the U.S. Consulate Lagos, were never affected and will continue as usual. It said, “We regret the inconvenience this interruption of service in Abuja has caused. “Visa and ACS applicants with scheduled appointments for August 24 should come to the Embassy, as usual. “Visa and ACS applicants with cancelled appointments between August 13 and August 23 will be contacted by the Embassy for rescheduling. “Visa and ACS applicants who were requested by an officer to appear again for follow-up questions on existing applications should contact our office to arrange a new date,” the embassy said. The U.S. Embassy in the country had announced the suspension of its consular services in Abuja on Tuesday last week. Although no reason was given for the decision, the emba...