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The Office of National Security Adviser has described has unfair and a total falsehood the news report in some media that the National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki has ordered the arrest of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal at a meeting with Vice President Namadi Sambo and Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba. The Director Special Duties in the Office of National Security Adviser, retired Colonel Bello Fadile described the reports and rumours as untrue and total falsehood. Colonel Fadile said: “It is not only untrue and mere fabricated reports that the NSA met with the VP and ordered the arrest of Hon Tambuwal. The fact is that the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki has been outside the country since Wednesday on pressing national security issues. “To the best of our knowledge there is no any order for the arrest of Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of the House of Representatives. "We therefore urge the media to always cross-check their

The Senate has failed for the second day to approve President Goodluck Jonathan’s request to extend emergency rule in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States by another six months. The Senate president, David Mark, after the closed-door sitting, announced that the deliberation will continue Thursday. He also said service chiefs have been invited to provide clarifications to senators on the fight against Boko Haram. An emergency rule in the three states which has been in place since May 2013 expires this week. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives, currently on break, said it will convene Thursday to discuss the request. President Jonathan has urged the Senate and the House of Representatives to approve a six-month extension.

Nigerian military operating in the North-East had taken full control of Gombi, Pelia and Hong communities in Adamawa State. The communities had in the past few weeks fallen under the control of Boko Haram insurgents resulting in the displacement of many persons. The Defence Headquarters in a statement said many terrorists were captured while some died during confrontation with the military. The statement said weapons and equipment were also recovered while mopping up exercise is ongoing in the area.

  The Governor of Lagos State Babatunde Fashola has approved the appointment of four high court judges for the state. The newly appointed judges are Mrs. Iyabo Akinkugbe, Mrs. Serifat Sonaike, Mr. Abdulfattah Lawal and Mr. Abisoye Bashua. Spokesperson for the Lagos State Judiciary, Grace Alo in a statement said the approval followed the recommendation of the National Judicial Council headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar. The statement said the judges would be sworn-in on November 21.

The Nigerian troops in their daring exploit have taken full control of more communities in Adamawa State including Gombi, Pelia and Hong. The ongoing military operations in the North-Eastern Nigeria is to clear all areas infested by terrorists. Meanwhile many terrorists have been captured with some died in their confrontation with the military. In an update on its Twitter Account, the Defence Headquarters added that more "Weapons and Equipment are also being recovered while mopping up exercise is ongoing in the areas."  

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it had taken measures to track campaign expenditure incurred by political parties as it lifted ban on election campaigns. The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Kayode Idowu, made this known in Abuja following the lifting of the ban on election campaigns. In line with the electoral timetable released by INEC, presidential and National Assembly aspirants of political parties are allowed to commence campaign from November 16. Similarly, the ban on campaign by governorship and state House of Assembly aspirants is expected to be lifted on November 30. Idowu said the commission now had a department to monitor spending of candidates in the 2015 elections, adding that the department was functional and was in full capacity. He stressed the need for political parties to adhere to election expenses as stipulated by the Electoral Act. “According to section 91 of the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended, th

The 7 Division of Nigerian Army on Sunday in Abuja said it has captured Chibok town in Borno State from insurgents. Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Col. Sani Usman said in a statement that the military was still carrying out Mopping-Up Operation on the surrounding environment. The statement added that Chibok was fully secured. The insurgents had stormed the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok on the evening of April 14 and forced 276 students onto trucks in a mass abduction. Fifty-seven of the abducted girls have since then managed to escape. The insurrection by Boko Haram, which wants to create an Islamic state in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria, has claimed more than 10,000 lives in the past five years. They have seized more than 20 towns and villages in the northeast in recent months.

Former Vice President and All Progressives Congress presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar has ruled out the possibility of determining APC’s presidential flag bearer by consensus. Atiku Abubakar told newsmen in Bauchi on Sunday that it was ‘too late’ to select a candidate among the aspirants, by consensus. According to him, it is one of the tenets of best practices in democracy for candidates to be allowed to test their popularity. Atiku Abubakar was in Bauchi, where he held a closed-door meeting with APC stakeholders in the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Sunday extended the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in Lagos and Ogun States by two days. The Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Adekunle Ogunmola said the extension was to enable the commission to register more eligible voters. According to him, the exercise, earlier scheduled to end on Monday, will now end on Wednesday. "We want all eligible voters whose names are not on our Electronic Voters Register to take advantage of that and get registered. "But people should avoid multiple or double registration as this will deprive them of voting in future elections," he said. Ogunmola said the commission had addressed the challenges it faced at the beginning of the exercise and there were tremendous improvements. He said that during monitoring, it was, however, seen that a lot of people were still eager to register, which necessitated the extension. In Ogun, the state’s REC, Sam O

The Confederation of African Football has picked Rajindraparsad Seechurn of Mauritius as Centre Referee for Wednesday’s 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Nigeria and South Africa in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Seechurn will be assisted by countrymen, Balkrishna Bootun as Assistant Referee 1, Vivian Vally as Assistant Referee 2 and Parmendra Nunkoo as Reserve Referee. CAF also appointed Cameroonian Abel Mbengue as Security Officer, to assist the Match Commissioner, Laryea Louis, from Ghana. The South African delegation to Wednesday’s match will arrive in Uyo on Monday evening. The delegation will be composed of 26 players and 15 officials. South Africa currently lead Group A with 11 points from five matches, while Nigeria are in second place with seven points from five matches.

The Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, says the Federal Government has proposed a review of the oil benchmark from 77.5 dollars to 73 dollars for the 2015 budget. Okonjo-Iweala said this on Sunday in Abuja at a media briefing on government’s strategic response to the decline in global oil prices. She said the proposal would be sent to the National Assembly for approval, adding also that there would be review of the entire Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). The minister said government was adopting the best scenario approach to address the current situation, adding that there was expectation that the price decline would continue in the nearest future. She said government would adopt additional fiscal measures with appropriate monetary policy measures to cushion the effect of the decline on expenditure. According to her, government expenditure would drop from N4.8 trillion initially submitted to MTEF to about N4.6 trillion this time. Okonjo

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has said that it was intensifying efforts towards empowering women for political leadership in 2015 general elections. Towards this end, it said the third regional Training of Trainers (TOT) on ‘Gender and Transformative Leadership’ was held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on November 6 and November 7. This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Ronald Kayanja, Communication and Information Advisor at UNESCO Regional Office, Abuja. The statement explained that the training was part of UNESCO’s support to the electoral process in Nigeria. ``The training was jointly funded by the EU, UK AID, the Canadian Government and UNDP through the Democratic Governance and Development project with the support of Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.’’ It quoted Prof. Hassana Alidou, Director, UNESCO Regional Office Abuja, as saying that gender equality was a human rights principle, a pre-condition f

The Court of Appeal in Lagos on Friday granted bail to Fred Ajudua who is standing trial on charges of fraud to enable him to seek proper medical attention. The court granted the bail in the sum of N10 million with two sureties in like sum. The court held that the sureties must have property worth N50 million in Lagos. It also ordered that Ajudua signed an undertaking to remain in Nigeria throughout his trial, unless there was need for him to travel broad for treatment. It set aside the ruling of an Ikeja High Court which refused a similar application by the appellant. The lead judge of the appellate court, Justice Rita Pemu, granted the bail on the ground that only a living person could stand trial. It would be recalled that Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of the lower court had refused Ajudua’s application. The suit was filed against Ajudua by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over alleged fraud. Ajudua was alleged to have defrauded f

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and some leaders of the All Progressives Congress on Friday continued their consultation with former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Abubakar and other leaders of the APC, including a former Minister of Education, Prof. Babalola Borishade who is also the Director General of the Atiku Campaign Organisation and Chief Oyewole Fasawe, an associate of the former president held a 35-minute closed-door meeting with Obasanjo at his hilltop mansion in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Others at the meeting with Obasanjo were Prof. Maxwell Gidado, Director (Legal) of the ACO, Senator Mohammed Ohiare (Kogi Central) and Dr. Adeolu Akande. Also, the former governor of Lagos and APC national leader, Senator Bola Tinubu was said to have earlier held a separate closed door meeting with Obasanjo along with former Governor of Ekiti, Chief Segun Oni. Speaking with newsmen immediately after the meeting, the former vice president said he had come to pay his “re

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has held a closed door meeting with members of the Lagos State House of Assembly at the Assembly complex, Alausa in Ikeja. Our Correspondent reports that the Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji led other lawmakers to the meeting where Atiku Abubakar solicited for their support on his 2015 presidential ambition. The former vice president we gathered also told the lawmakers that he decided to present himself again for the number one seat in the overall benefit of the country.

A suspected suicide bomber struck at a filling station in Kano late Friday killing himself, three policemen and two other persons as well as injuring several others. The attack occurred at Magasiku Filling Station, opposite the NNPC mega filling station along Maiduguri Road in the Hotoro area of Kano. The state police commissioner Aderenle Shinaba confirmed the  toll and said the suicide bomber was driving a Toyota Sienna vehicle when the blast occurred on Friday around 7pm.

A PDP presidential aspirant, Dr Abdul Jhalil Tafawa Balewa says he had not withdrawn from the 2015 race as being speculated. He made this known to newsmen at the PDP national headquarters after submitting his Nomination and Expression of Interest Forms to contest the election. The aspirant, son of late first Prime Minister of Nigerian, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, obtained the forms after the National Executive Committee (NEC) of PDP had endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan as sole presidential candidate. The PDP NEC, its highest decision making organ, endorsed President Jonathan after the PDP Governors Forum and other organs of the party adopted him as their candidate for the election. Balewa was initially speculated to have jettisoned his ambition after alleged due consultation and a visit to Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark. But in a dramatic turn of event, Balewa denied his withdrawal from the race for the PDP presidential ticket, saying: "I have never withdrawn

President Goodluck Jonathan has submitted his nomination and expression of interest forms to contest the presidential election in 2015 on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party. The party had given all aspirants November 14, as deadline for the submission of all forms for the 2015 general elections. Vice President Namadi Sambo, who submitted the forms on behalf of President Jonathan, described the President as a transformer. The vice president then presented the forms to the PDP National Chairman, Admau Mu’azu, for onward transmission to the party`s National Organising Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapher. In his response, Mu’azu expressed happiness that the party at its caucus meeting, agreed to unanimously endorsed President Jonathan as its sole presidential candidate for 2015 presidential election. The PDP National Organising Secretary, in his remarks, said that the desire of Nigerians, was for President Jonathan to be given a second term in office in

Boko Haram militants have seized Chibok, a town in Borno State, where nearly 300 schoolgirls were abducted by the same group on April 14. Residents of Chibok said militants attacked and took control of the Chibok Local Government Area Thursday night. One resident, Musa Chibok, told PREMIUM TIMES he managed to leave the town as the insurgents took charge. It is not clear whether any resident was killed. The extremist group, Boko Haram, has seized several towns lately in Borno and Adamawa State, driving out government soldiers and other security operatives and confiscating their arms. On Thursday, the Adamawa State governor, Bala Ngilari, said local vigilante and hunters, backed by the military, reclaimed Mubi, the second most important town in Adamawa, nearly two weeks after the town fell to the insurgents. Chibok became the centre of international attention in April after Boko Haram fighters stormed the town and took away nearly 300 female students from

The Inspector-General of Police,  Suleiman Abba has directed Commissioners of Police across the nation to ensure adequate screening/supervision of Vigilante group to ensure that they work in conformity with lay down Regulation in order to avoid all forms of abuses.   The IGP in a statement also issued a stern warning  against the use of thugs to further political interest. He warned that thugs and their sponsors will be arrested and prosecuted   The statement added that these directives have become imperative, considering the need to ensure a violent free General Election in 2015. To this end, IGP has also instructed that an Officer be appointed in all Commands to oversee the activities of these groups and render regular reports of their activities. 

Authorities of the Nigeria Police say it will no longer tolerate excuses from its men concerning unlawful killing of citizens in the name of ‘accidental discharge’. Force Public Relations Officer , Emmanuel Ojukwu who made the declaration at the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA)/I-Nigerian Initiative media briefing in Abuja also lamented the unprecedented number of casualties the force has suffered in the on-going terrorists’ activities in parts of the country. Ojukwu said “there is nothing like accidental discharge because every gun has a safety lever. You must have cocked the gun before it fired and you only cock a gun when you have the intention of firing. If you kill illegally, the police will deal with you.” He noted with regret that most of the time when casualty figures are reported in the media from the war against Boko Haram, no mention is made of policemen whereas “police have more widows and orphans than any other agency in the country” and

The Independent National Electoral Commission has postponed the collection of Permanent Voters card in nine Local Government Areas in Lagos State till November twenty eight to November thirty. The affected councils are Alimosho, Amuwo Odofin, Apapa, Badagry, Epe, Eti Osa, Oshodi-Isolo, Shomolu and Surulere. INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Adekunle Ogunmola who disclosed this in Yaba said the exercise will still go ahead in other eleven council areas from tomorrow (Friday). He blamed the postponement in the affected council areas on non-availability of the cards but assured that all registered voters in the state will collect their cards at the end of the exercise. Adekunle Ogunmola said Rivers and Nasarawa states will also witness partial distribution. In his reaction, the state Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Henry Ajomale demanded the postponement of the entire exercise in Lagos. But the state Chairman of the Labour Party, Abdu

The UK government is to return an additional 6.8 million pounds of the confiscated loot of former Delta Governor, James Ibori, to Nigeria. Mr Rupert Broad, UK Metropolitan Police Senior Investigator, disclosed this in London on Tuesday at a meeting on “Supporting Policing in Nigeria: What Role for Police in the Nigerian Diaspora” held in the House of Commons. While speaking  on UK and Nigeria's anti-corruption partnership, Broad said ``out of the eight million pounds  confiscated from Ibori, 1.2 million pounds had so far been returned to Nigeria, while the rest was waiting for redistribution as to when it would be sent back to Nigeria.'' He also said that an additional 80 million pounds had been temporarily confiscated from Ibori and his associates, including Mr Patrice Gohil, one of his lawyers. “Approximately, 80 million pounds is temporarily frozen and a confiscation hearing has been fixed for April 2015, where the judge will determine how much

President Goodluck Jonathan will Thursday join other leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Accra for an Emergency Summit on the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) which continues to ravage Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The emergency summit which will also be attended by representatives of the United Nations and the World Health Organisation will seek greater international support and collaboration for the containment of the Ebola outbreak. President Jonathan who will be accompanied to the summit by the acting Minister of Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan and the Director of the National Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Abdulsalami Nasidi, is expected to avail the gathering of the benefit of Nigeria’s successful containment of the deadly EVD after it entered the country in July this year through a traveller from Liberia. The President will return to Abuja at the conclusion of the one-day summit.

The Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba has commended Police Intelligence Operatives for the arrest of a wanted murder suspect in the United Kingdom, Jeffery Azuka Okafor. The 23-year-old, who fled to Nigeria after the alleged murder of Carl Beatson Asiedu on the 1st of August, 2009 in London, was arrested on the 23rd of September, 2014 in Asaba, Delta State, after a diligent search. The IGP particularly praised the high level of Professionalism displayed by the Police operatives as well as the effective deployment of the Forces’ high tech-equipment in tracking the suspect. He added that despite the fugitive’s frequent change of identity and locations, the operatives were still able to keep a tab on him without raising any suspicion. Force spokesman, Emmanuel Ojukwu said in a statement that all the necessary required procedures to enable the handover of the fugitive to the UK Authorities have already been concluded. The statement said the IGP further