Image  Courtesy  - Pixabay/ADMC  The Federal Government is set to begin the roll-out of fifth-generation (5G) services across the country. Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, made the statement on Friday at a public inquiry on the instruments necessary for the deployment of the technology. The instruments are the annual operating levy regulations and the frequency spectrum regulations. Professor Danbatta clarified that the commission has submitted the proposal to the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy and is awaiting approval from the Federal Government to roll out the services. He added that the commission is also discussing the fees and pricing for the technology. The NCC and the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in May to facilitate the deployment of 5G technology. Both agencies signed the agreement on the use of C-Band Spectrum for 5G servic...

  A warrant of arrest has been issued against a Deputy Commissioner of Nigerian Police Abba Kyari following his indictment in the ongoing trial of Nigerian fraudster Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, known as Hushpuppi, in the United States. The warrant was issued by Otis Wright, a judge in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, on July 26. The court instructed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to track down Kyari and produce him in the United States to face trial for his roles in the fraud. Kyari was said to have been bribed by Hushpuppi to have Chibuzo Vincent, one of his business partners, arrested in Nigeria following a dispute over a $1.1 million. T he court ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigation to track down Kyari and produce him in the United States to face trial for his roles in the fraud. Meanwhile,  Kyari had denied the allegation in a statement on his Facebook page, but he admitted to have collected the sum of N300,000  transferred...

Alleged international scammer, Ramon Abbas who is popularly known as Hushpuppi, has pleaded guilty to multi-million-dollar fraud charges filed against him by the United States government. In a plea agreement document, Hushpuppi agreed to plead guilty as charged. The document was signed by Hushpuppi; his lawyer, Loius Shapiro; acting United States attorney, Tracy Wilkison, amongst others. This was contained in a statement released on Wednesday by the court titled, ‘Six Indicted in International Scheme to Defraud Qatari School Founder and then Launder over $1 Million in Illicit Proceeds’. His plea agreement stated further that he will now be pleading guilty to Count Two which is “Conspiracy to Engage in Money Laundering,” an offence that attracts a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment among other punishments including full restitution. The document partly read, “defendant (Hushpuppi) admits that defendant is, in fact, guilty of the offence to which defendant is agreeing to plead gui...

  Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles said “mental health” concerns had led to her withdrawal from the women’s team final at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday. “I have to do what’s right for me and focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and my wellbeing,” the 24-year-old American said after her team were beaten by the Russian quartet in her absence. Biles exited the final at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre after a lacklustre opening vault and walked off the competition floor before returning a short time later. The US team immediately withdrew her from the rest of the final. After she joined her teammates to collect their silver medals, four-time Olympic champion Biles confirmed she had not been injured. She said: “I just don’t trust myself as much as I used to, and I don’t know if it’s age. I’m a little bit more nervous when I do gymnastics. “I feel like I’m also not having as much fun, and I know that this Olympic Games, I wanted it to be for myself,” she said, as she bega...

  The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has postponed the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Justice Binta Nyako adjourned the trial on Monday at the resumption of proceedings at the court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) because the Department of State Services (DSS) failed to produce Kanu in court Justice Nyako faulted the action of the security outfit, saying that she had stayed back in her chambers waiting for the defendant to be in court. She asked the prosecution to be diligent with dates whenever she gives one, stressing that it was important for Kanu to be present at his trial. In his response, the prosecution, Mohammed Abubakar, informed the judge that the defendant was not in court due to logistics reasons. Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, on his part, decried that the DSS has denied them access to the defendant for the past eight days. As a result, he urged Justice Nyako to grant the request of his client seeking to be tran...

  Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Department of State Service (DSS) to produce the 12 aides of Chief Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, who have been in their custody since the second of July, 2021. The aides to Igboho who were arrested at his residence are expected to be in court on Thursday, 29th July and their case is expected to proceed regardless of the annual court vacation slated to begin on the 26th of July. The suspects had earlier sued the DSS before the Federal High Court Abuja, on grounds that their fundamental human rights had been infringed. They also claimed that their arrest and subsequent detention were unlawful. Already, Igbohos aides had petitioned the court, through their counsel, Pelumi Olajenbasi, pressing the DSS to produce them before the court and to show why they shouldn’t be granted bail in accordance with the provision of section 32 of the criminal justice act 2015.

More than 800 people in Uganda have received counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines, officials said Wednesday. Police, Health Ministry officials and the State House Health Monitoring Unit have arrested two nurses for injecting people with fake shots and issuing fake certificates. The doctor who was leading the operation, however, is on the run. Addressing a news conference in the capital Kampala, Dr. Wallen Naamara, the head of the health unit, said the network duped many people and companies. "It is unfortunate that some medical workers are administering fake COVID-19 jabs to unsuspecting people. We did undercover work and arrested two nurses in the act," she said. According to her, those injected were mostly from companies that paid 200,000 Ugandan shillings ($54) for the vaccination of each of their workers. A representative of the Uganda National Medical Stores, a government-owned organization mandated to obtain, store and distribute medicines, said the items seized from the nurse...

     Image Cortesy - Pixabay/TheDigitalArtist  Nigeria on Sunday  18th July 2021  recorded an increase in new Covid-19 cases after 203 infections and one death were confirmed. According to data from the Nigeria Centre of Disease Control (NCDC), Lagos  State accounted for over  75% of the  cases  with 186 reported. The rest of the cases were from Edo (4), Oyo (4), Rivers (4), FCT (3), and Kwara (2). This brings the number of cases recorded in the country to 169,532 – although 164,699 have been discharged – and a death toll of 2,127. The surge in new cases comes as the Federal Government on Saturday placed six states on red alert amid fears of a third wave triggered by the Delta variant of the virus. The Delta variant is believed to be more contagious and deadlier. According to a statement signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, the state...

    *Pictures shown are  for illustration purpose only .   The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has revealed how one of its pilots survived an air crash after an attack by bandits on the boundaries of Zamfara and Kaduna State. In a statement signed on Monday by Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, the pilot identified as Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo survived after he successfully ejected from the aircraft. “On 18 July 2021, at about 12.45 pm, a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Alpha Jet aircraft, returning from a successful air interdiction mission between the boundaries of Zamfara and Kaduna State, came under intense enemy fire which led to its crash in Zamfara State. “Luckily, the gallant pilot of the aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo, successfully ejected from the aircraft. “Using his survival instincts, the pilot, who came under intense ground fire from the bandits, was able to evade them and sought refuge in nearby settlements a...

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has said that the first batch of six A-29 Super Tucano aircraft have departed the United States of America enroute to Nigeria. NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Edward Gabkwet, in a statement on Thursday, said the fighter jets departed from the US on Wednesday and are expected in Nigeria anytime soon. The statement was titled, ‘First Batch Of A-29 Super Tucano Aircraft Depart The United States Of America For Nigeria’. “The six aircraft will be leapfrogged through 5 countries including Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and Algeria before arriving their final destination in Nigeria towards the end of July 2021. “An official induction ceremony of the aircraft into the inventory of the Nigerian Air Force is already being planned at a later date in August 2021 to be announced in due course. The Office of the Director of Public Relations and Information remains open to any inquiry regarding the arrival and induction of the aircraft,” the stateme...

  Image Courtesy Pixabay/nwrsdesign  Boris Johnson has vowed to ban people guilty of sending racist abuse to footballers from attending matches. The prime minister said he would ensure the "football banning order regime is changed" to crack down on racism. Labour has been calling for the law to be changed after England players were subject to abuse. But Sir Keir Starmer said the PM's promise to take action "rings hollow" after his previous refusal to condemn fans who booed players taking the knee. An online petition calling for the FA and the government to ban those who have carried out racist abuse to be banned for life has reached over a million signatures. A Football Banning Order is used to ban someone from attending matches for a set period of time, and can be imposed for offences such as throwing missiles onto the playing area or into the crowd, and racist or indecent chanting at a match.

  I mage credit - Phill Magakoe/AFP/ South Africa's army said Monday it was deploying troops to two provinces, including its economic hub of Johannesburg, to help crush mob violence and looting as unrest sparked by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma entered its fourth day. "The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has commenced with pre-deployment processes and procedures in line with a request for assistance," the military said in a statement. Personnel will “assist law enforcement agencies deployed in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces respectively to quell the unrest that has gripped both Provinces in the last few days,” it said. The violence raged as the Constitutional Court was reviewing a landmark decision to jail Zuma for contempt of court. An announcement is expected later. The country’s top court on June 29 slapped Zuma with a 15-month term for snubbing a probe into the corruption that stained his nine years in power. Zuma began the sentence last Th...

  Nigerian singer, songwriter, actor and movie producer, Olanrewaju Fasasi, popularly known as Sound Sultan is dead. According to a statement released by the family and signed by his sibling Kayode Fasasi, the 44-year-old singer died from “a hard-fought battle with Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma”. The legendary Nigerian singer  is survived by a wife and three children. Sound Sultan came into the spotlight in the early 2000’s when he released his first single ‘Jagbajantis’, which became an instant hit in Nigeria. The musician has been laid to rest Sunday evening at a cemetery  in New Jersey, US a ccording to Islamic rites  .

  Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse has been killed in an attack on his private residence, according to a statement by interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph. Mr Joseph said the president's residence in Port-au-Prince was stormed by unidentified armed men at 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT). The First Lady was reportedly also injured in the attack. Mr Joseph said that "all measures had been taken to guarantee to continuance of the state". President Moïse, 53, had been in power since February 2017.

  The Southern Governors Forum at the end of the meeting held on Monday, 5th July, 2021 reviewed the situation in the Country and focused on the current security situation, constitutional amendment, Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). Rising from the meeting, the Forum agreed on the following: 1. Re-affirmed their commitment to the unity of Nigeria on the pillars of equity, fairness, justice, progress and peaceful co-existence between and amongst its people. 2. The Forum reiterates its commitment to the politics of equity, fairness and unanimously agrees that the presidency of Nigeria be rotated between Southern and Northern Nigeria and resolved that the next president of Nigeria should emerge from the Southern Region. 3. Security a. The Forum reviewed the security situation in the country and commends security operatives for their relentless efforts in restoring security and safety and commiserates with families and loved ones of those who have fallen in the line of duty; b. Re-emphasi...

The Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Police Force has denied responsibility  for the death of a 14-year-old female street hawker presumed to have  been killed by  a stray bullet during the Yoruba Nation rally in Ojota on Saturday. The Police in a reaction after the news of the girl’s death went viral said its operatives present at the scene of the planned rally did not fire any live bullet. "The attention of the Lagos State Police Command has been drawn to a news making rounds that a 14 year-old girl was hit and killed by police bullet today 3rd July, 2021 at the venue of the Oodua Republic Mega Rally in Ojota, Lagos.” “The Command hereby wishes to debunk the rumour and state categorically that it’s a calculated attempt to create confusion and fears in the minds of the good people of Lagos State and the country at large.” “The Command did not fire a single live bullet at Ojota rally today. The said corpse was found wrapped and abandoned at a distance, far from Ojota ven...