Nigeria on Tuesday catalogued progress ranking in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), moving five places up to rank 145 out of 180 countries assessed. According to the latest corruption index released by Transparency International (TI), the country also gained one point added to its previous 24, ending up scoring 25 out of the 100 maximum points in the 2023 CPI results, apart from moving five places up from its 150th position. Arguably the most widely used global corruption ranking in the world, the CPI measures how corrupt each country’s public sector is perceived to be. It uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero means “highly corrupt”, and 100 means very clean”. The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC0 which presented the index in Abuja said Nigeria’s score is below the sub-saharan African average of 33 points. While the index does not show specific incidences of corruption in the country, it indicates the perception of corruption in Nigeria. CISLAC points that...

  Two terrorists have been wasted in Katsina State with 35 kidnap victims rescued in military operations in the North-Western state. The captives were liberated on January 27 by the troops of the Joint Task Force North West Operation Hadarin Daji (OPHD) in Katsina. Spokesman of Operation Hadarin Daji, Captain Yahaya Ibrahim, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday. He stated that several other terrorists escaped with gunshot injuries. “During the operation troops had an encounter with the armed terrorists, neutralizing two of the terrorists while others escaped with severe gunshot wounds,” the statement read. “In continuation with the series of simultaneous well-coordinated clearance operations in its Areas of Operational Responsibilities in the North-West which has continued to yield tremendous successes. Troops of the Joint Task Force North-West Operation HADARIN DAJI (OPHD) operating in Katsina state have rescued 35 kidnapped victims and neutralized two terrorists in Katsina ...

  The trial of the Chairman of Ibeto Energy Development Company, Chief Cletus Ibeto, over an alleged N4.8 billion fraud, was on Monday delayed at the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja due to the return of the case file by the trial judge, Justice Ismail Ijelu, to the Chief Judge of the court, Justice Kazeem Alogba. Justice Ijelu told lawyers that the case could not proceed until the Chief Judge decides on the various petitions written by the defence challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case and accusing him of bias. Last year, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had charged the defendant before the court alongside his companies, Ibeto Energy Development Company and Odoh Holdings Ltd, on a 10-count charge bordering on allegations of conspiracy, fraud, forgery, and fraudulent use of documents. The planned arraignment of the defendant on the charge was, however, stalled on four occasions due to his failure to appear in court, although his lawyers repre...

        Antonio Guterres UN chief Antonio Guterres has pleaded for donor states to “guarantee the continuity” of the body’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) after some discontinued funding over accusations of staff involvement in Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel. “While I understand their concerns — I was myself horrified by these accusations — I strongly appeal to the governments that have suspended their contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations,” Guterres said in a statement on Saturday. Israel has alleged several UNRWA staff were involved in Hamas’s attack, leading a number of key donor countries to suspend their funding. The agency has fired several staff over Israel’s accusations, promising a thorough investigation into the claims, which were not specified. Israel has meanwhile vowed to stop the agency’s work in Gaza after the war. The row between Israel and UNRWA follows the UN’s International Court of Justice ruling on F...

Jurgen Klopp   Jurgen Klopp announced Friday Jan. 26, 2024, he will step down as Liverpool manager at end of this season,  saying he is "running out of energy". Klopp was appointed in October 2015 and his contract was due to run until 2026. He won the Champions League in 2019 before leading Liverpool to their first league title in 30 years in 2019-20. "I told the club already in November," said Klopp, who has announced his decision with his side top of the Premier League. "I can understand that it's a shock for a lot of people in this moment, when you hear it for the first time, but obviously I can explain it - or at least try to explain it. "I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything. But that I still take this decision shows you that I am convinced it is the one I have to take. "It is that I am, how can I say it,...

  Disturbed by the recent slayings in Plateau State, the House of Representatives will hold a security summit. More than 30 people have been reported killed in renewed violence in the North-Central Plateau State. The senseless killings and burning of houses have continued in Mangu town of Mangu Local Government area of Plateau State despite the 24-hour curfew imposed by the government. Reacting to the violence, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, condemned the recurring attacks in the state in the strongest terms. Tajudeen, according to a Thursday statement by his media aide, Musa Abdullahi Krishi, hinted that the lower chamber would take a strong position upon its resumption from the Christmas and New Year break next Tuesday, January 30. “I am deeply saddened by the continuous killings in Plateau State. It is unfortunate and disheartening that this is happening at this time when efforts are on to tackle insecurity around the country,” the speaker was quote...