Herdsmen Invade Enugu Community, Kill Catholic Seminarian

Christopher Isiguzo and Gideon Arinze in Enugu

Suspected Fulani herdsmen in the early hours of on
Thursday invaded the sleepy Ndiagu Attakwu Akegbe-Ugwu
community in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu
State, killing a Catholic seminarian, Lazarus Okafor, and
injuring four others, including a pregnant woman.
The suspected herders were said to have invaded the Ogbodo
Nwarum family compound in the community at about 2 a.m.
and wreaked havoc on the entire household.
While the seminarian had severe machete cuts which led to
his death, the fou

Fraud suspect dies in EFCC custody

Mr

Desmond Nunugwo, a fraud suspect in
the custody of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission, has died barely after six
hours in the custody of anti graft commission.
The spokesman for the commission, Mr.
Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement on
Friday that the suspect was arrested for
allegedly duping a woman of N91m.
Nunugwo was alleged to have collected the
money under the pretext that he had high net
worth business associates in Dubai, United
Arab Emirates, who were on the verge of
buying Nicon Insurance and convinced her of
their disposition to help her stock fish
business.
Consequently, she wired N91m into
Nunugwo’s nominated account (Mainagge
General Merchants) in Diamond Bank.
According to the EFCC, the suspect was
arrested following a petition from the woman
who alleged that he had become evasive after
collecting the money.
The deceased was subsequently arrested and
taken into custody around 5.30pm on
Thursday. Six hours, however, Nunugwo was
said to have fallen ill and was rushed to a
hospital where he died.
The statement read in part, “A suspect under
investigation by the EFCC passed away on
June 10, 2016, few hours after he was taken
into custody. His demise was confirmed at
the hospital where he was rushed after he
suddenly took ill.
“The Late Nunugwu allegedly fraudulently
obtained N91m from an acquaintance after he
tricked her into believing that he had high net
worth business associates in Dubai, United
Arab Emirates who were on the verge of
buying Nicon Insurance and convinced her of
their disposition to help her stock fish
business.
“Nunugwo was arrested in Utako, Abuja at
about 5.33pm on Thursday, June 9, 2016. His
statement was taken, where he admitted
receiving the money from the complainant,
with the additional information that he
transferred N30m of the said money to
Norway. But he could not explain the
whereabouts of the balance of N61m.
“The suspect was detained at about 7.30pm,
in the absence of anybody to take him on bail.
Six hours later, he suddenly complained of
discomfort and was rushed to the hospital
where he was pronounced dead.”
The EFCC said the incident had already been
reported at the Wuse Police Station, where
investigation into the cause of the sudden
death had commenced.

Marginalization 2016 budget: South-East gets lowest allocation for capital projects

There seems to be no end in sight for cry
about the neglect of the South-East geo-
political zone by the President Muhammadu
Buhari led federal government as it has
emerged that the region received the lowest
allocation for developmental projects.
According to details of the capital allocations
for states as contained in a report of National
Assembly Budget and Research Office
(NABRO) seen by Daily Sun, the sum of
N28.22 billion was appropriated for capital
projects for the five States in the region.
A breakdown shows that , Abia State got
N6.93 billion (24.55 percent); Anambra State
got N3.02 billion (10.20 percent); Ebonyi state
got N4.63 billion (16.41 percent); Enugu State
got N10.15 billion (35.98 percent) while Imo
State got N3.49 billion (12.36 percent).
According to the document, the Federal
Capital Territory (FCT) is the single highest
beneficiary of allocations for capital projects
with the sum of N209 billion (76.99 percent).
For other states in the North Central region ;
Nasarawa State received N14.75 billion (5.43
percent); Kwara State- N5.19%); Niger State
recieved N12.59 billion (4.63 percent); Plateau
State got N6.63 billion (2.44 percent); Benue
got N7.46 billion (2.75 percent) while Kogi
State got N7.25 billion (2.67 percent).
Also President Buhari’s North-West region got
a generous allocation for projects in the 2016
Appropriations Bill with capital allocation
worth N73.7 billion for the implementation of
802 projects across the seven States in the
zone.
For the implementation of ongoing and new
projects in the seven states in the region,
Kano State got N32.14 billion (43.61 percent)
for 166 projects; Kaduna State got N19.82
billion (26.99 percent) for 292 projects while
Katsina State got N9.52 billion (12.92
percent).
Also the sum of N3.56 billion (4.84 percent)
goes to Jigawa State; N3.15 billion (4.28
percent) goes to Kebbi State; N2.53 billion for
execution of 61 projects was allocated to
Zamfara State while N2.97 billion (4.04
percent) went to Sokoto State.
From the total sum of N48.97 billion for the
South West region, Lagos State got the
highest share allocation of N16.14 billion
(32.95 percent); Oyo State got N12.28 billion
(25.08 percent); Ogun State got N7.95 billion
(16.23 percent); Osun State got N6.52 billion
(13.30 percent); Ondo state got N3.77 billion
(7.70 percent) while Ekiti State got N2.32
billion (4.7 pecent) of the capital allocation
for this year.
On the part of the North East geopolitical
zone of N46.69 billion for the execution of
454 ongoing and new projects, Gombe State
got N9.70 billion (21 percent); Taraba state
got N9.23 percent); Bauchi State got N9.23
billion (20 percent); Yobe State got N6.99
billion (15 percent); Adamawa state got N5.98
billion (13 percent) while Borno State got
N5.98 billion (12 percent).
The six South South states also got N35.31
billion for execution of 474 projects out of
which 30 are ongoing projects, 438 are new
projects while six are unidentified.
The breakdown indicates that: Cross River
state got N10.75 billion (30.46 percent); Delta
State got N7.55 billion (21.38 percent); Akwa
Ibom State got N1.92 billion (5.45 percent);
Bayelsa State got N3.21 billion (9.08 percent);
River state got N7.29 billion (20.66 percent)
while Edo State got N4.58 billion (12.98
percent) of the total capital allocation.

Mass sack in banks ploy to discredit FG -APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has
described the mass retrenchment in banking
and other sectors as a sabotage and a ploy by
“certain disgruntled persons to blackmail and
discredit the Federal Government.”
National Auditor of the party, Chief George
Moghalu made the observation in a chat with
Daily Sun at the party’s headquarters,
yesterday. He said it was a deliberate plan
orchestrated by some enemies of the APC
government  to create a situation of
uncertainty and unnecessary frustration of the
system.
“Government has told them to stay action on
the sack of staff or face the consequences. I
don’t know why the banks should be sacking,
we need to ask what has happened to the
profit they have been amassing in the past.
“They ought to have been prepared for the
rainy day. People cannot be manipulated to
create the situation of uncertainty and
unnecessary frustration for the system.
“As far as I am concerned, what is happening
now is pure sabotage. Nigerians should still
trust the APC government.
“I will be ready to engage the media after two
years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s
government.”
Reacting to mixed reactions of Nigerians to
Buhari’s health trip to London, Moghalu said:
“Let us assume he is sick; what is wrong with
someone falling sick? On the contrary, Mr.
President should rather be commended
because things that have not been happening
before are happening now.
“We have a president transmitting power to
his deputy to act while he goes on a 10-day
vacation trip and relayed the information to
the National Assembly.
“Previously, government was personalised and
what we had was a case of ‘if he is not there
everything stops.’ President Buhari has
brought a level of civility in politics. There is
nothing wrong with his going on vacation and
what he does with his vacation period is
entirely his business.
“The Presidency has said that he is not sick to
the extent of incapacitation.
There is no debate about whether he is still fit
to rule the country.” Asked why weeks after
signing the budget, the economy still remains
stagnant, he replied: “I won’t agree that things
are not moving.
“There is a process and contractors will not
go to CBN, open the vault to carry and
distribute money because the budget has
been signed.
“The contracts listed in the budget must be
executed and the process of awarding the
contract has to be followed.
“Tenders must be advertised, the committee
that handles tenders will sit over the
applications and approve them before
awarding the contract.
“The Ministry of National Planning has asked
the agencies of government to summit their
priority projects. “What will not happen is
government asking every Nigerian to line up at
Eagles Square to collect money,” he said.

Lagos airport: 2 Chinese nabbed attempting to smuggle 678 elephant tusks

Officials of the Nigerian Customs Service
( NCS) have arrested two Chinese nationals at
the Murtala Muhammed International Airport
( MMIA) Lagos for attempting to smuggle 678
pieces of elephant tusks and eight sacks of
pangolin weighing over 381 kilogrammes out
of Nigeria.
Exports of the items are considered a severe
breach of the Nigerian law as they are listed
among endangered species and wild life that
should be protected and whose parts should
never be traded under Schedule 6 of the
Nigerian Exports Prohibition List.
Customs Area Comptroller of the MMIA
Command, Frank Nduka Allannah told
journalists that the two Chinese have been
remanded in the custody of the Nigerian
Customs at the Lagos Airport pending further
investigation.
It was learnt that of the impounded items the
scales of pangolin is viewed as the most
trafficked endangered animal and that it is a
much sought after part used in Chinese
medicine.
According to Allannah, the impounded items
will be handed over to the National
Environmental Standards and Regulations
Enforcement Agency ( NESREA).
Allannah said vigilant Customs officials at the
Export Shed of the Lagos international airport
intercepted the prohibited items while they
were about to be freighted out of Nigeria by
the Chinese.
He said the Elephant tusks were in two
compartments of 387 unprocessed pieces ,
while 271 had been processed into combs
and hand bangles.
“ We do not intend to give the names of the
Chinese nationals yet. They have been
arrested and are in Customs custody. They
will be handed over to the relevant security
agencies,” he said.

South African mobile phone firm MTN to pay $1.7bn Nigeria fine

South African mobile-phone giant MTN has agreed to pay
$1.7bn (£1.1bn) to Nigeria over failing to disconnect
unregistered Sim cards.
The firm was originally fined a record $5.2bn by the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC) but the two sides have
settled on a lower amount.
"This is the best outcome for the company," MTN executive
chairman Phuthuma Nhleko said.
The fine was imposed amid fears that militants were using the
phone lines.

Paris floods: Seine at 30-year high as galleries close

The River Seine in Paris is at its highest level for more than
30 years, with floods forcing closed parts of the metro
systems and major landmarks.
The Louvre and Orsay museums were shut while staff moved
artworks to safety as flood levels climbed above 6m (18ft).
The Seine is set to reach as high as 6.5m and unlikely to
recede over the weekend, with more downpours forecast.
At least 15 people have died across central Europe as heavy
rainfall caused flooding from France to Ukraine.
While two people died in France, 10 were killed in southern
Germany as several towns were devastated.
Two more fatalities were reported in Romania and one in
Belgium. Austria, the Netherlands and Poland have also been
affected.
Tens of thousands of people have been forced from their
homes.
The flooding could cost French insurance companies more
than 600 million euros (£470m), according to the industry
association AFA.
In Paris, the Cluny - La Sorbonne and St Michel metro stations
were closed as a precaution while the river spilled onto the
city's streets.
Bridges were closed and non-emergency boats were banned
from the Seine as its swelling forced the closure of museums,
parks and cemeteries.
At the Louvre, curators scrambled to move 250,000 artworks
to higher ground from basement storage areas at risk of
inundation from what President Francoise Hollande called
"exceptional flooding".
Authorities have even taken initial steps to transfer the
presidency and key ministries to secure areas, AP news
agency reported.
An apparent equipment fault led to the river's depth being
wrongly measured for several hours on Friday.
Many locals have preferred to benchmark the rise against the
statue of a soldier - known as the Zouave - standing below the
Alma bridge: His frame is currently submerged up to the waist.
While France's rainfall levels in May were the highest since
1873, the current crisis is eclipsed by the 1910 floods that
saw Paris submerged for two months , when the Zouave was
up to his neck in the Seine.
The river level peaked at 8.62m that year, and has since
reached 7.1m in 1955 and 6.18m in 1982.
Are you in France or Germany and been affected by the
floods? Or run a business or project which has closed due to
flood damage? How are your family and neighbours coping?
If you have an experience you would like to share, or pictures
of the flooding where you are, then share it with us in the
following ways:

Syria conflict: IS 'attacks rebel-held Syria town of Marea'

Heavy fighting has been reported in northern Syria as so-
called Islamic State tries to capture the rebel-held town of
Marea, near the Turkish border.
IS fighters began a surprise offensive in the area on Thursday
and attacked Marea early on Saturday with tanks and car
bombs, monitors said.
The UN fears for tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the
fighting.
The area between the city of Aleppo and the Turkish border is
split between IS, rebel and government-controlled zones.
A nationwide, but often violated ceasefire, between rebel and
government forces, brokered by the US and Russia in February,
does not include jihadist groups such as the self-styled
Islamic State.The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring
group said heavy clashes had taken place inside the walls of
Marea overnight between IS fighters and rebels.
Marea has long been a bastion for non-jihadist rebel forces
who have been fighting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's
five-year conflict.
It lies within the so-called Azaz corridor - a key rebel lifeline of
supplies that links Aleppo city with the Turkish border but
which has previously been severed by government and Russian
air strikes.
Azaz, 20km (13 miles) north of Aleppo, itself hosts tens of
thousands of displaced civilians.
The IS militants' offensive initially captured six villages around
Azaz and took them to within a few kilometres of the city,
cutting off supplies to Marea to its south.
It is thought some 15,000 residents remain in Marea.
The UN's refugee agency said it was deeply concerned about
the plight of more than 160,000 displaced people who are
massed in the north of the country.
It said fleeing civilians were being caught in the crossfire of
the IS offensive, and that they were struggling to get access to
food, water and medical services.
The Marea fighting shows IS's ability to continue launching
offensives, analysts say, despite losing ground in other parts of
Syria and in Iraq.