Splash Instablog

The Ebonyi Police Command has confirmed the retrieval of the corpse of a Second Republic Senator, Offia Nwali, from a pond behind his house. George Okafor, the Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), made the confirmation to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki on Tuesday. He said Mr. Nwali’s corpse was found in a pond at the back of his building in his hometown of Ameka, Ezza South Local Government Area, at the weekend. “We cannot establish whether he drowned inside the pond or whether he was killed but investigations have commenced to unravel the mystery behind his death. “We have not made any arrest so far but we assure the citizens of the state that we would ensure that the matter is investigated to its logical conclusion,” he said. Meanwhile, Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi has described the death of 74-year-old Nwali as a ‘monumental loss’ to the state and nation. Mr. Umahi, who commiserated with Mr. Nwali’s family during a condolence visit on Tuesday, des...

he Senate on Tuesday indicted Bua Group, Elephant Group and others in waivers, concessions and grant scam between 2011 and 2015. The waivers were said to be worth about N447 billion. This was contained in the Report of ‎the Senate Adhoc Committee on Import Duty Waivers, Concessions and Grants, which was considered on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday. According to the findings of the Committee, there was gross abuse of waivers, grant‎s and Concession by Ministries, Department and Agencies, especially the Budget Office of the Federation that continued to abuse Presidential approval process through reliance on stale delegated powers by former President Umaru Musa Yar’adua to Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, the then Minister of Finance. The report revealed that Customs Duty Waivers and Concessions have been used by the Budget Office of the Federation to entrench a ‎very destructive patronage system to the economy, whereby very few operators in the economy were singled out for favours, ...

The Portuguese coach is expected to be confirmed as the club’s new manager in the coming days, with both parties having agreed his salary and the length of his contract. Issues regarding Mourinho’s image rights remain and still need to be resolved before the appointment is confirmed, though there is little chance of such obstacles scuppering the deal. However, negotiations may now also have to consider the bizarre fact that Chelsea, Mourinho’s former employers, own the rights to his name.

Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja A three man panel of Court of Appeal led by Justice Abdul Aboki has just affirmed the judgement of Justice James Tsoho of Federal High Court denying Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra  and his two co accused bail. The appellate court said the Federal High Court properly exercised its discretion judiciously and judicially in denying bail to  Kanu and two others being tried by the Federal Government for treason. The appellate court in a unanimous judgement ruled that there was enough facts in the proof of evidence filed before the court to show that the appelaants do not deserve bail.

Nigeria has set plan in motion to sign economic pact with a block of eight countries, as part of the efforts to promote economic partnership among African countries. Though the names of the countries making up the block was yet to be disclosed, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr.  Geoffrey Onyeama who disclosed this Tuesday while briefing newsmen on the one year of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. Onyeama noted that trading among African countries have been very low. He however said that with the initiative by the Buhari led administration, it is expected that there will be an upsurge in economic partnership in Africa. While stressing that Africa still remains the centre peace of the country’s foreign policy, the minister however regretted that it is a paradox that as a Nigerian, one cannot go to an African country without a visa unlike what is obtainable in West Europe.

A Lugbe Grade 1 Area Court on Wednesday sentenced a 22-year-old businessman, Kingsley Okoh, to three months imprisonment for stealing N3, 060. The Judge, Mr Garba Ogbede, however, gave the convict N 20,000 option of fine. Ogbede said that: “I have no option than to sentence the convict accordingly since he had pleaded guilty to the charge.”

The EFCC said on its official Facebook page that Omisore had been evading arrest for several months and it had no choice but to declare him wanted. A former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, was on Tuesday declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over a N700m contract he (Omisore) allegedly received from the embattled former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.) But Omisore has described the EFCC’s declaration as mischievous, adding that he was with the EFCC operatives in court on Tuesday and wondered why they did not arrest him in court. The anti-graft agency said instead of responding to an invitation, the former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2014 Osun State governorship election, decided to approach a court for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights. The commission, however, said it was able to obtain an arrest warrant against Omisore on Tuesday. The statement read in part...