Nigerian Eye

Police arrest killers of Nnadi Michael, unravel other killings by gang

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The Nigeria Police Force on Sunday has finally arrested and released the names of the kidnappers and killers of Nnadi Michael that left the Catholic Church in mourning in February. 
 
Nnadi Michael was kidnapped and subsequently murdered in cold blood, and was buried February 11, with Bishop Matthew Kukah berating the President Muhammadu Buhari government at the burial. 
 
DCP Frank Mba, Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, who made the arrest known in a statement on Sunday, said the suspects are all of Igabi LGA of Kaduna State. 
 
The statement reads: “Police Operatives have arrested a deadly criminal gang responsible for the kidnap and murder of a Catholic Seminarian, Nnadi Michael of the Catholic Good Shepherd Major Seminary at Gonin Gora, Kakau in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State. 
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“Recall that, on January 9, 2020, the criminal gang stormed the Catholic Seminary and kidnapped four (4) seminarians, murdered one of them in cold blood and released the remaining three on 31st January, 2020, having obtained a ransom. The remains of the fourth Seminarian were found in a bush where abandoned. 
 
“The suspects: Tukur Usman ‘m’ aged 37, father of 7, Shehu Bello ‘m’ aged 40, father of 5 and Mustapha Mohammed ‘m’ aged 30, father of 1, all of Igabi LGA of Kaduna State were arrested after several months of intensive and extensive intelligence-led operations by crack detectives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT). 
 
“Discreet investigations so far reveal that the arrested suspects are part of a 19-man gang that also carried out the kidnap of Dr Phillip Ataga’s wife and two daughters on January 24, 2020 at Juji Community in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State. Mrs Ataga was killed by the gang following her heroic resistance to the despicable and inhuman attempt by the leader of the gang to rape her. The suspects after killing her released the daughters and corpse of the slain woman to the family after collecting ransom. 
 
“Further investigations reveal that the same criminal gang is responsible for the kidnap of six students and two teachers of Engravers College, Chikun LGA, Kaduna, from their school premises on October 3, 2019. 
 
“The suspects, known to belong to a hybrid terrorist criminal network causing untold havoc in North-Central, Nigeria, have confessed to several other random operations along Abuja-Kaduna Expressway where they kidnapped, killed and robbed motorists, collecting ransom and valuables running into millions of naira. 
 
“The Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni while reiterating that the Force will remain unrelenting in ensuring that crimes across the country are reduced to the barest minimum, assures the nation that the Force will not rest until the other members of the gang also responsible for the above crimes, but currently on the run, are apprehended and brought to book”.

Latest-News Police arrest killers of Nnadi Michael, unravel other killings by gang

The Nigeria Police Force on Sunday has finally arrested and released the names of the kidnappers and killers of Nnadi Michael that left th...

China confiscates over 89 million poor quality face masks

12:20 Unknown 0

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China has confiscated over 89 million poor quality face masks, a government official said Sunday, as Beijing faces a slew of complaints about faulty protective gear exported worldwide. 
 
Demand for protective equipment has soared as nations across the globe battle the deadly coronavirus, which has infected around 2.9 million people. 
 
But a number of countries have complained about faulty masks and other products exported by China, mostly for use by medical workers and vulnerable groups. 
 
China’s market regulators had inspected nearly 16 million businesses and seized over 89 million masks and 418,000 pieces of protective gear as of Friday, said Gan Lin, deputy director of the State Administration of Market Regulation, at a press conference. 
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Regulators had also seized ineffective disinfectants worth over 7.6 million yuan ($1.1 million), she said. 
 
It is unclear how much of the confiscated goods were destined for markets abroad. 
 
In a bid to eliminate poor-quality products, China released new rules Saturday saying even non-medical masks must meet both national and international quality standards. 
 
Exporters must file a written declaration that their medical products meet the safety requirements of the destination country, the ministry of commerce said in a statement. 
 
The tighter rules come after several countries including Spain, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Turkey were forced to recall hundreds of thousands of shoddy masks and pieces of protective gear imported from China. 
 
The Canadian government last week said that about one million face masks purchased from China failed to meet proper standards for healthcare professionals. 
 
Dutch health officials last month recalled over half a million Chinese masks — which had already been sent to hospitals –- after complaints that they did not close over the face properly, or had defective filters. 
 
China is producing more than 116 million masks per day, according to official figures. 
 
It has exported more than one billion masks this year so far, commerce ministry official Li Xingqian told reporters. 
 
China has also signed contracts to export medical materials worth $1.41 billion to 74 countries and six international organisations, he added. 
 
In the first two months of the year, a staggering 8,950 new manufacturers started producing masks in China, according to business data platform Tianyancha. 
 
Despite the nationwide crackdown, businesses were continuing with illicit production of medical equipment since it was a way to earn “quick money”, Chinese customs official Jin Hai said earlier this month. 
 
Over 31.6 million faulty masks and 509,000 protective suits destined for export had been confiscated by port officials as of mid-April, he said.

Latest-News China confiscates over 89 million poor quality face masks

China has confiscated over 89 million poor quality face masks, a government official said Sunday, as Beijing faces a slew of complaints ab...

NPFL players to undergo COVID-19 test when season resumes

11:50 Unknown 0

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Whenever the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL  resumes for the current season, all the players in the top division will undergo COVID-19 tests. 
 
This is one of the outcomes of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) board meeting held via video conference on Friday. 
 
Even as the board resolved to ensure that the league which stopped at Matchday 26 in the projected 38 match days is concluded, the testing of all the players, as well as backroom staff, will be done before the resumption of matches. 
 
It is projected that about 1,200 will be affected by the tests which will be with the support of the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). 
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The NFF board endorsed a report of a similar virtual meeting of the League Management Company and NPFL clubs held on Thursday, 23rd April 2020 and at which decisions were taken to conclude the League season after the COVID-19 and resumption of football activities. 
 
They are to also consider the most plausible format for the conclusion of the remaining games and to communicate with the clubs and ensure commitment by the clubs to continuous payment of the salaries of their players, coaches and backroom staff under the current circumstances.

Latest-News NPFL players to undergo COVID-19 test when season resumes

Whenever the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL resumes for the current season, all the players in the top division will undergo ...

COVID-19: Saudi Arabia partially lifts curfew, maintains lockdown in Mecca

11:50 Unknown 0

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Saudi Arabia on Sunday began to loosen its nationwide curfew imposed last month to limit an outbreak of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). 
 
Saudi King Salman ordered the curfew partially lifted starting from Sunday until May 13, allowing people to go out from 9 am (0600 GMT) until 5 pm, the state Saudi news agency SPA reported. 
 
A 24-hour curfew will, however, remain in place in the holy city of Mecca, the agency added. 
 
In his decree, the monarch also allowed some businesses, including shopping centres, retail and wholesale stores, and factories to reopen for two weeks, beginning next Wednesday. 
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The agency said the latest steps were taken on a recommendation from the health bodies and out of the monarch’s interest to ease restrictions on the public. 
 
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has suspended congregational prayers in mosques and halted religious journeys to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina as part of strict measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus. 
 
The country has reported so far a total of 1,699 virus cases and 136 deaths.

Latest-News COVID-19: Saudi Arabia partially lifts curfew, maintains lockdown in Mecca

Saudi Arabia on Sunday began to loosen its nationwide curfew imposed last month to limit an outbreak of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)...

US records 2,494 new coronavirus deaths in 24 hours

11:20 Unknown 0

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The United States recorded 2,494 more coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, according to figures reported Saturday night by Johns Hopkins University. 
 
The country now has an overall death toll of 53,511, with 936,293 confirmed infections, according to a tally by the Baltimore-based university at 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Sunday). 
 
The United States is by far the hardest-hit country in the global pandemic, in terms of both confirmed infections and deaths. 
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The toll of 2,494 was a jump from Friday, when the US recorded the lowest number of virus deaths — 1,258 — in nearly three weeks.

Latest-News US records 2,494 new coronavirus deaths in 24 hours

The United States recorded 2,494 more coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, according to figures reported Saturday night by Johns Hopki...

COVID-19 lockdown: My worries ― Beverly Naya

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With the gloom of COVID-19 looming ominously over our heads, everyone has a sort of fear nudging at them and even so-called celebrities are not left out of the loop. 
 
For British-born Nigerian actress, Beverly Naya, her fear is not of the lockdown but after the lockdown. 
 
“When Nigeria ends the lockdown, I have no intentions of leaving my house for at least another week or two. Gotta be wise and figure out how to actually live in Africa during a pandemic,” she writes on her Twitter handle. 
 
When she was reminded by one of the respondents to her tweet that Africa is still safer than other continents, she replied thus: 
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“Every country was once safer than China, remember that time? The UK was once safer than Italy, remember? Yeah, I have started to accept it’s a lost cause”.

Latest-News COVID-19 lockdown: My worries ― Beverly Naya

With the gloom of COVID-19 looming ominously over our heads, everyone has a sort of fear nudging at them and even so-called celebrities ar...

Uncertainty surrounds Kim Jong Un’s health status, his train spotted at resort town

10:50 Unknown 0

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In a report on Saturday, 38 North monitoring group said the train was parked at the “leadership station” in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23. The station is reserved for the use of the Kim Jong Un family, according to the Washington, DC-based group. 
 
“The train’s presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country’s eastern coast,” it said. 
 
Speculation about Kim’s health first arose due to his absence from the birth anniversary of North Korea’s founding father and Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, on April 15. 
 
North Korea’s state media last reported on Kim’s whereabouts when he presided over a meeting on April 11, Al Jazeera said. 
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China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on Kim, Reuters news agency reported, citing three people familiar with the situation. 
 
A third-generation hereditary leader who came to power after his father’s death in 2011, Kim has no clear successor in a nuclear-armed country, which could present a significant international risk. 
 
Daily NK, an online media outlet run mostly by North Korean defectors, reported last week that Kim underwent a cardiovascular procedure and was recovering at a villa in North Pyongan province. 
 
Citing an unidentified source in the country, it said Kim, who is in his mid-30s, had needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue. 
 
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump downplayed reports that Kim was ill. “I think the report was incorrect,” Trump told reporters, but he declined to say if he had been in touch with North Korean officials. 
 
Trump has met Kim three times in an attempt to persuade him to give up nuclear weapons programme that threatens the United States as well as its Asian neighbours. While talks have stalled, Trump has continued to hail Kim as a friend. 
 
Reporting from North Korea is notoriously difficult because of tight controls on information. 
 
On Thursday, citing an unidentified government official, South Korean broadcaster SBS reported that Kim appeared to have been in Wonsan for at least the past four days and would soon return to the public eye. 
 
The report added that the military was monitoring Kim’s train, which had been seen in Wonsan, while his personal jet – frequently used by Kim on his trips to Wonsan – remained in Pyongyang. 
 
North Korea’s state media remain silent about the international speculation on Kim’s health. On Saturday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim had received a message of greeting from the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation on the occasion of the first anniversary of Kim’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The message wished Kim “good health and happiness”, the KCNA said. 
 
This is not the first time that Kim Jong Un has vanished from the public eye, and past absences in state media dispatches have also triggered speculation about his health. 
 
In 2014, state media did not report any public activities for Kim for about six weeks, before he reappeared with a cane. South Korea’s spy agency later said he had a cyst removed from his ankle.