FOR THE RECORD: Rivers Election Petition Tribunal Sacks Wike As Rivers Governor, Orders Rerun

Wike as he was sworn in as Rivers State Governor following a violence filled and fractious elections

The Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal has sacked Nyesom Wike as the Governor of Rivers State. The tribunal, which delivered its ruling in Abuja on Saturday, also ordered that a fresh governorship election be conducted in the state.

The petition challenging the election of Mr. Wike as Rivers State Governor was filed by Dakuku Peterside, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the election.

The Rivers governorship election, which was criticized by local and international observers, witnessed the largest amount of violence both in its build-up and after the elections.

BREAKING: Tribunal Removes Wike As Rivers Governorship

The Rivers state governorship election ‎petition tribunal sitting in Abuja has nullified the election of Nyesom Wike as governor of the state. 

The tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh governorship election in the state.

55 Killed, 100 Injured As Boko Haram Hits Maiduguri, Yola Mosques

People inspect a damaged mosque following an explosion in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. A self-defense fighter says twin bomb blasts have killed at least 18 at a northeast Nigerian mosque crowded with people observing pre-dawn prayers. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola)

Terror sect, BokoHaram, yesterday let loose its suicide bombers on worshippers in Maiduguri and Yola, leaving at least 55 people dead in both attacks. Twenty-eight worshippers were feared killed during the Fajr (early morning prayer) in a mosque at  Jiddari Polo area of  the Borno State capital. Time was 5 am.

Umar Sani, a civilian vigilante assisting the military in the counter-insurgency, and local resident Musa Sheriff both told AFP there were two blasts at the mosque.

“I was involved in the evacuation. We counted 28 dead bodies apart from the two bombers, who were identifiable by the mutilation of their bodies,” said Sani.

“Over 20 other people were injured.”

Biafra Group No Threat To Nigeria – Gowon

Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd.)

A former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd.) has said the resurgence of a group claiming to be Pro-Biafra will not in any way pose a threat to the sovereignty of the country. He added that Nigerians had put the memories of the 1967 civil war behind them, saying the recent activities of the group did not pose a threat to the country as they were only seeking to reintroduce what had long been forgotten.

Thousands of members and supporters of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra had on Tuesday embarked on a protest in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, demanding to break away from Nigeria. And in a swift reaction, governors in the South East and other leaders in the zone had dissociated themselves from the protests, saying they were not in support of the group.

Rivers Governorship Election: Anxiety In Wike’s Camp As Tribunal Delivers Judgment Today

Chief Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State

There is palpable tension in the camp of the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, ahead of the delivery of judgment today in the state’s governorship election filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Dakuku Peterside. The Rivers State Elections Tribunal is led by Justice Mohammed Ambrosa and has been sitting in Abuja.

The exchange of addresses by counsel to the petitioners—Peterside and the APC—as well as the respondents—Wike, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)—took place on Thursday, with the tribunal adjourning indefinitely for judgment.

Information, however, filtered out in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital yesterday afternoon that the tribunal would deliver judgment in the case at 10 a.m. today.

FOR THE RECORD: Buhari Warns Lecturers Against Academic Corruption

President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday warned university lecturers against academic corruption and inciting students. Mr.Buhari, who gave the warning at the 31st Convocation and 40th Anniversary of the University of Ilorin, said corruption does not only involve politicians and goes beyond money or concern only politicians.

He said his administration would not condone any institution or lecturer exploiting students academically or inciting them to destabilize the system.

The President, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, David Babachir, said the present administration was ready to support development of infrastructure in institutions.

He added that government would also support vocational studies and education reform as a means of ensuring graduates were fully employed.

In Death, Adadevoh Still Honours Nigerian Heroes

Bankole Cardoso, Ameyo Stella Adadevoh’s son, is the chairman of DRASA’s board.

In her death, Stella Adadevoh, the doctor who sacrificed her life to protect Nigeria from the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), still celebrates Nigerian heroes. This was visibly seen at the ‘Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh (DRASA)’ health trust inaugural event, which brought together health professionals, government representatives, businessmen and women, high-profile individuals, and more to celebrate one year of Nigeria’s Ebola-free status and the heroes and heroines that made it possible.

Petrol Will Soon Be Cheaper, Says Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has revealed that the Muhammadu Buhari administration is working on a medium-term reduction of the pump price of petroleum products. The professor of law said the government was working on ensuring that private refineries work, while reducing importation of refined petroleum.

“We are unbundling the NNPC so that its various components are effective core centres and are able to do their business well,” he told Bloomberg in an interview.

“In the refining area, we know that at the moment, we have quite a few, about two of the refineries are getting back up. Using those refineries, we have seen the inefficiencies already; we’ve seen the cost. You can refine at 60 percent capacity, but if it costs 20% more than it would cost you elsewhere, perhaps a private refinery, then you know that there’s a problem.”

Saudi Arabia Could Be Bankrupt By 2020 – IMF

A man looks at central Riyadh from the Faisaliah Tower, Saudi Arabia. © Peter MacDiarmid / Reuters

The Middle East’s biggest economy, Saudi Arabia may run out of financial assets within the next five years if the government maintains its current policies, warns the International Monetary Fund. Saudi Arabia is expected to run a budget deficit of 21.6 percent in 2015 and 19.4 percent in 2016, according the IMF’s latest regional economic outlook.

The country needs to adjust spending, the IMF urged.

The IMF outlined two key factors shaping the region’s outlook. They are spreading and deepening regional conflicts and slumping oil prices.

FOR THE RECORD: Ben Nwabueze (SAN) Says Igbo Better With Young Leaders Not Old Generation

Professor Ben Nwabueze

Erstwhile Secretary General of, Professor Ben Nwabueze, SAN, has called on young men and women to take over the leadership of the Igbo land, stressing that the old generation of leaders have literally expired. Nwabueze, who chairs a group known as The Patriots, spoke in Enugu at the recently held 16th annual Convention of the Igbo Youth Movement, IYM.

Looking towards the direction of Dr Alex Ekweme, who chaired the event, Nwabueze said, “Our generation has passed. I am tired. This is the first time I could stand up to address people in the last two years. Ide (Ekwueme) will be 83 years (tomorrow) today. Prof Ike is about 95. All of us on this high table have aged.

“Leadership is not a small matter. We should look for those in their thirties and forties to support.”

Suicide Bombing Kills At Least 10 In Maiduguri, Borno State – Officials

Suicide Attack At Borno Mosque

At least 10 people were killed and 11 wounded on Friday in a suicide attack at a mosque in northeastern Nigeria's Borno state, hospital sources said. Borno state is the birthplace of the Boko Haram insurgency and has been the focus of attacks by suspected members of the militant Islamist group that have killed around 1,000 people since President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May.

A suicide bombing during dawn prayers at a mosque in the state capital Maiduguri killed at least 10 people, a hospital source said.

Cameron Shuns UK Anti-Obesity Sugar Tax, ‘Powerful Food & Drinks Lobby’ Blamed

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron © Dan Kitwood / Pool / Reuters

Prime Minister David Cameron has shunned a controversial 20 percent tax on sugar aimed at addressing obesity in Britain without even reading the official report backing the measures. Campaigners have called the move a “stitch-up.”  A report from Public Health England, teased to the Commons Health Select Committee on Wednesday, demonstrated the tax would discourage individuals from buying sugary food and beverages associated with weight gain. 

One government source said Cameron considered the tax a “blunt weapon” which would hit poor families and make food more expensive.

Corruption Not Nigeria’s Primary Problem, Nwabueze Tells Buhari

Prof. Ben Nwabueze

The Igbo Leaders of Thought, an association of prominent Igbo personalities led by foremost constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, has said that corruption is not Nigeria’s primary problem. The Igbo leaders stressed that while President Muhammadu Buhari engages in the fight against corruption, he should equally address other critical problems, particularly what they described as the ‘Nigerian question’ – the dysfunctional federal system practiced in the country.

Nwabueze made the group’s feelings known after an extensive meeting in Enugu.

The Igbo Leaders of Thought, comprising mostly elder statesmen, stressed that other vital issues like poverty, illiteracy and security should not be neglected because of the campaign against corruption.

Malawi Receives US$300 Million Grant To Fight AIDS

Malawi has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, straining the impoverished country's healthcare system and economy ©Marco Longari (AFP)

Malawi President Peter Mutharika said Thursday the country had received a grant of US$332 million (€292 million) to fight AIDS and other diseases, bringing much-needed support to a nation wrestling with public health problems. Malawi has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, straining the impoverished country's healthcare system and economy.

Mutharika accepted the grant from international aid organization The Global Fund in Lilongwe, Malawi's administrative capital.

Robert Mugabe Wins China's Alternative To Nobel Peace Prize; Mugabe ‘Nobel Peace Prize’ Draws Scorn

A Chinese peace award to President Robert Mugabe has drawn scorn from the opposition, which described the honour as a mockery to Zimbabweans, who, they say, have been subjected to gross human rights abuses by the veteran leader. (Image source: NewsDay)

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been awarded China's alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize for what the prize committee called his inspired national leadership and service to pan-Africanism. The 91-year-old Mugabe is the latest in a series of critics of the West who have received the Confucius Peace Prize, first awarded in 2010 amid Beijing's anger and resentment over the granting of the Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.

Mugabe has "overcome difficulties of all kinds and has strongly committed himself to constructing his nation's political and economic order, while strongly supporting pan-Africanism and African independence," the committee said in announcing the award.

Falae: War Would Have Broken Out If I Was Killed

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae has said that an outbreak of ethnic war would have ensued between the Fulani and the Yoruba if he had been killed by his abductors. He spoke in Akure when former Education Minister Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau paid him sympathy visit over the incident.

Falae, who also served as a Finance Minister said that he survived the abduction through the grace of God as the abductors attempted to kill him.

He said: “God has a way of doing His things. I know God just decided to spare my life; God really saved my life; they tortured me; stripped me naked and did a lot of things to me in their den, they attempted to kill me but they did not succeed.

Wife Of Danish Genital Mutilation Suspect Killed In Lesotho

Lesotho police say the key suspect was gunned down as she hailed a taxi in Maseru ©Hlompho Letsielo (AFP)

The wife of a Danish man who was caught in South Africa last month with 21 pieces of female genitalia in his freezer has been killed in Lesotho, police said Thursday. The Lesotho national and a key witness in the case against her husband, was shot on Tuesday outside her home in the capital Maseru.

Her 58-year-old husband, who owned a gun shop, was arrested last month in the South African city of Bloemfontein, and is due to appear in court on November 4 to face charges of sexual assault.

He has been held in custody since his last court hearing earlier this month.

FOR THE RECORD: Ex-Head Of Service, Kifasi, Hands Over To Oyo-Ita, Urges Improved Welfare For Civil Servants

The outgoing Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, HOS, Danladi Kifasi, has called for more attention to the provision of welfare support for civil servants. Mr. Kifasi made the call while presenting his handover notes to the acting HOS, Winifred Oyo-Ita, on Thursday in Abuja.

According to Mr. Kifasi, the desire to motivate civil servants for higher productivity has always been constrained by lean budgetary allocation.

He said it had become imperative to adjust expenditure to meet critical needs, sustain operations and ensure effective service delivery to the public.

Ebola Nurse Has Meningitis

Ms Cafferkey is being treated in a specialist unit in London (Photo: BBC)

A Scottish nurse who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone is recovering well after the virus caused her to develop meningitis.

Pauline Cafferkey, 39, was readmitted to an isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London earlier this month after suffering an apparent relapse.

Health officials confirmed she had been diagnosed with meningitis caused by Ebola and had a "long recovery ahead".

Ms Cafferkey, from South Lanarkshire, contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone.

Firefighters Battle 5th Suspected Arson At Swedish Refugee Shelters In 2 Weeks

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire that broke out early in the morning at an accommodation for asylum seekers, near Munkedal in Sweden October 20, 2015. © Adam Ihse / TT News Agency / Reuters

Firefighters in southern Sweden have doused the flames at yet another temporary facility for refugees and migrants. The fifth in a series of suspected arson attacks in the last two weeks comes despite tight security and secrecy over their locations.  Teams from three fire stations have been deployed to extinguish the blaze at a former retirement home in Oderljunga, being prepared to become a temporary asylum for refugees, The Local reports. The fire alarm at the facility went off at about 2:40 a.m. local time, regional newspaper Sydsvenskan reported.

The firefighters were able to put out fire almost immediately and save the building, which suffered only slight damage from the water that was poured on it and the smell of smoke that saturated the installation.

Masked Man ‘With Sword Or Knife’ Kills Teacher, Injures 4 At Swedish School

Police cordon an area after a masked man attacked people with a sword at a school in Trollhattan, western Sweden October 22, 2015. © Stig Hedstrom / TT News Agency / Reuters

A teacher was killed and four others injured by a masked attacker with a sword or knife at a school in the city of Trollhättan in southwest Sweden, local media report.  “A single man went into the school building...and he injured four persons – two male adults and two boys," police media officer Stefan Gustafsson told RT.

He confirmed that an adult male had been killed.

Sweden's Channel 4 said the killed man was a teacher who died at the scene.

Kenya's Government 'Doesn't Care' About Para-Athletes

Kenya, which came top of the medals table at the World Championships in Beijing this summer, will not be represented at the IPC World Athletics Championships, which has started today in the Qatari capital Doha. 

Kenyan para-athletes were reportedly only told last Wednesday that the government did not have enough money to fund their participation at the championships: 

"It is unfair for the Paralympic team because the able-bodied team had the World Champs in Beijing, and the government supported them 100%, but when it comes to the para-athletes they really don’t care," President of the Kenya National Paralympic Committee, Agnes Oluoch, told the BBC's Newsday programme.

Akure Monarch Bans 'Eze Ndi Igbo' Title

Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi

The Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, has banned the title of ‘Eze Ndi Igbo’ in Akureland and ordered it to be reviewed and replaced with a non-controversial honorary title. This is one of the conditions given by the monarch to end the crisis between him and the leader of the Igbo community in the town, Mr. Gregory Iloehike. The monarch said the condition must be met before Igbo traders in the area would be allowed to continue operating their businesses in the community.

The traditional ruler dethroned the Igbo leader last week and stopped his men from opening their shops following an alleged rude behaviour against the traditional ruler at his palace by the Igbo leader during a meeting with Oba Aladelusi.

Some other conditions included that the dethroned Eze must apologize for his behaviour, said to be unruly in at least three national dailies as well as go to broadcast stations to also tender an unreserved apology. He was also ordered to write a letter of apology to the monarch and the Deji-in-Council.

‘Nigeria Losing Millions Of Naira To Non-Evacuation Of Generated Power’

The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) on Thursday said it was losing several millions of naira on power it generated but could not be evacuated by distribution companies. Yakubu Lawal, spokesman of NDPHC, said this during an interview with NAN.

“NDPHC has capacity to generate more power but cannot generate according to its capacity because distribution companies do not have facilities to evacuate this power being generated to the national grid,” he said.

“This un-evacuated power causes NDPHC a lot of money.”

"Roads? Can We Eat Roads?": As Côte d'Ivoire Heads To Polls, Many Left Out Of Economic Boom

President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d'Ivoire

At 3 a.m. on a Sunday last month Charles Kakou was awoken by the trill of whistles he had helped distribute to warn that bulldozers had arrived to demolish his seafront community in Côte d'Ivoire's commercial capital Abidjan. Police moved in with tear gas, arresting anyone who resisted. By the afternoon, Kakou and his neighbours were homeless and the last vestiges of what was once a 9 km-long (6 mile) coastal shantytown had been reduced to rubble.

"We've been here for 40 years. All our children were born here," he said, standing amid a vast expanse of sand and broken concrete adjacent to a highway, whose refurbishment authorities used to justify the eviction of tens of thousands of residents.

In the five years since President Alassane Ouattara was elected, Côte d'Ivoire has emerged from a decade-long political crisis and a 2011 civil war to become Africa's rising star.