Curator

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The father of suspected Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi was once part of a Libyan militant group with alleged ties to Al-Qaeda, a Libyan security source said Thursday. Abedi’s father Ramadan “was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG),” said Ahmed bin Salem, spokesman for Libya’s Deterrence Force, which acts as the police for Libya’s unity government. The Tripoli-based force arrested Abedi’s father and brother after Monday’s attack at a pop concert which killed 22 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group. Ramadan Abedi was hunted by the regime of Moamer Kadhafi for his ties to the group, finding refuge in Britain before returning to Libya in 2011 to join the NATO-backed uprising that finally overthrew the dictator, British media have reported. The now-disbanded LIFG was founded in 1995 by Libyans who had fought Soviet forces in Afghanistan and stayed on after their withdrawal. The group’s sole aim was to topple Kadhafi. Afte...

http://ift.tt/2rYaW3t ASUU National President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, has bemoaned the four per cent reduction in the 2017 budget allocation to the education sector. He made the observation on Thursday in Abuja when he paid a courtesy call on the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Mr Ayuba Wabba. He said such reduction was capable of destroying the nation’s educational system. According to him, the decline in funding education from 11 per cent to eight per cent in 2015 will do the education system no good. “About six per cent was proposed in 2017; about four per cent was given at the end of the day. “The decline will also destroy the country because destroying the educational system of a nation means destroying the nation,’’ he said. He said education had been relegated to the background because political office holders, now own private universities at the detriment of gove...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Ibadan Zonal Office of  the EFCC  on Tuesday intensified its campaign against corruption as it embarked on a road walk round Ibadan metropolis to sensitise the public. The road walk started from the historic Mapo Hall through Beere, Agbeni, Oke-Ado and  Dugbe to its office in Iyaganku. Mr Akanninyene Ezinma, the Zonal Head, told newsmen that they embarked on the road walk to sensitise the public on the directive of the acting Chairman of the commission,  Mr Ibrahim Magu. He said that the essence of the road show was to sensitise and solicit the support of the public, adding that the anti-graft body alone could not fight corruption. “Corruption is a dreaded monster which the EFFC alone cannot  fight without the support of the public. “This is a quarterly programme aimed at reaching out to the public. We need to make our nation greater. “We need to preserve this nation for our children. We believe posterity will judge us if we did n...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Nigerian Communication Commission(NCC) on Tuesday said it was partnering with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other security agencies to curtail criminal assaults on the nation’s telecommunication operations. Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC  made this known during a one day sensitisation workshop for law enforcement agencies on telecommunication issues organised by the organisation in Keffi, Nassarawa State. Danbatta was represented by the NCC’s Head of Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement, Mr Efosa Idehen. He said that the collaboration between the organisation, the security agencies and other stakeholders would help in tackling all forms of criminality on telecommunication operations in the country. He said that the workshop was planned to sensitise the law enforcement officers on some key challenges and issues on telecommunication regulation in Nigeria for the overall development of the sector and c...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Cross River Police Command on Wednesday said it had arrested a couple, [names withheld], for allegedly selling their six-year-old daughter for N400,000. Presenting the couple before newsmen, Mr Hafiz Inuwa, the state Commissioner of Police, said the suspects were arrested at Ikom Local Government area on April 26 following a tip-off. According to Inuwa, the couple sold the child to enable them offset their house rent and open up a small provision shop. “On April 26, 2017, following a tip-off, our men arrested a couple, George-Sunday Udoh and his wife Victoria, for allegedly selling their daughter at the cost of N400,000. “The suspects were arrested by our operatives attached to the Ikom division. “The case has been transferred to State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department here in Calabar and investigation is ongoing,’’ he said. The father of the child, however, denied selling the child in an interview with newsmen. . “It is true that we do...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J A Karmo Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, on Wednesday ordered that Ibrahim Bala should be given six lashes of cane for stealing a gas cylinder. The judge, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, who ordered the punishment, warned the convict to desist from committing crime. Bala of no fixed address was charged with theft. He had admitted committing the crime and prayed the court to temper justice with mercy. He claimed that he was under the influence of bad friends. Earlier, the prosecutor, Florence Auhioboh, had told the court that one Baba Umar of Ministry of Defence, Abuja, reported the matter at the Gwarimpa Police Station on May 4, 2017. According to her, the complainant said that Bala criminally entered into their compound and stole a gas cylinder. Auhioboh said that he was arrested in the process, and that during police investigation, the cylinder was recovered. She told the court that the offence was punishable under Section 288 of the Penal Code. The post Abuja Court o...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Senate on Wednesday approved the harmonised version of the Agricultural Credit and Guarantee Scheme (Amendment) Bill, 2017. This followed the consideration of report of the Conference Committee on the bill, which was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives. Presenting the report, Chairman of the Joint Committee of both chambers, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, said the differences in the versions passed by both houses had been harmonised and fit for approval. In his remarks, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided at plenary, commended the committee for a detailed job. He said the bill when made law would help to enhance agriculture and provide food for teeming Nigerians. It would fast-track development in the agriculture sector by providing credit facilities to commercial agricultural enterprises at a single digit interest. It would also enhance national food security by increasing food supply and effecting lower agricultura...