One of the bullets reportedly fired by policemen attached to the Ijora Badia Police Division, Lagos State, has killed a 16-year-old pupil at Randle Secondary School, Apapa, Emmanuel Chukwu. The Senior Secondary School 2 pupil was said to be in front of his parents’ residence on Fadaini Street, Ijora Badia, watching some protesters when he was hit by the bullet. WEXERES  gathered that some youths of the area had stormed the station around 8am on Sunday to protest against the rescue of a suspected female kidnapper by policemen. The operatives were said to have resorted to shooting to repel the rampaging youths during which the Ebonyi State indigene was killed. Our correspondent gathered that some residents had apprehended a woman for allegedly kidnapping a five-year-old girl in the community and attempted to lynch her. The suspect was rescued by the policemen and taken to the station. Angered by the police’s action, the youths mobilised to the station and dem...

Photo by The Punch About seven persons were injured in Rafiki and Dutse Kura communities of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State during a fresh attack by suspected Fulani herdsmen on Wednesday (today). Although the number of deaths has not been confirmed, it was however learnt that one of the persons shot by the assailants have been declared missing. The youths in the communities were said to have entered the bush looking for him following speculations that he may have been killed. The president of Miango Youths Development Association, Lawrence Zongo, stated this in a WhatsApp message to our correspondent on Wednesday. He said, “There was a fresh attack this (Wednesday) morning around 6:30am. “More than seven people have been seriously injured by Fulani terrorists. One person is missing. “We appreciate the efforts of management of Enos Hospital and Bingham University Teaching Hospital in Jos for taking time in treating the injured ones.” Several call...

Top Russian officials have threatened to retaliate with force if President Donald Trump orders an attack that could endanger the lives of its soldiers stationed there in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's campaign against rebels and jihadis near Damascus. Army General Valery Gerasimov warned on Tuesday that the U.S. was preparing to launch raids against Moscow's ally, the Syrian government, as it attempted to clear bastion of jihadis and rebels—some of which were once backed by the West—in the suburbs of the capital city of Damascus. The leading military official claimed that the U.S. would strike under the false pretense of a chemical weapon attack—a tactic that Russia has denied the Syrian military utilizes—and vowed to fight back. "In the event of a threat to our military servicemen’s lives, Russia’s Armed Forces will take retaliatory measures to target both the missiles and their delivery vehicles," Gerasimov said, according to the state-run  Tas...

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday sacked his Special Adviser on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh (retd.). In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President also named Prof. Charles Dokubo as his replacement. In addition to his sack, Buhari directed the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, to carry out a full investigation into the activities of the Amnesty Programme from 2015 to date. The President said the investigation should focus on allegations of financial impropriety and other acts that were allegedly detrimental to the objectives of the programme. The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Prof. Charles Quaker Dokubo as the new Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme for former Niger Delta militants. “He replaces Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh (retd.) with Prof. Dokubo, who is currently the Director of Research and Stud...

An FCT High Court, Maitama on Tuesday ordered the police to pay N3 million to one Kingsley Efobi, for violation of his fundamental right to personal liberty. Efobi had on May 10, 2017, filed a suit against the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, for violating his fundamental right. Justice Jude Okeke, delivering judgment in the suit filed by Efobi, held that there was no basis for the court to disbelieve the evidence of the applicant, which was not contradicted by the respondents. He held that in order to ensure that the applicant was protected from further violation of his fundamental right to personal liberty, in facts of this matter, the court would be minded in line with the provision of 46 (1) of the Constitution. “Accordingly, an order of perpetual injunction is granted, restraining the respondents, their agents or servants from harassing the applicant on account of the subject matter of this suit....

The mass burial of victims killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in several communities in Bassa Local Government of Plateau State was on Tuesday disrupted by a fresh attack which left 25 persons dead. Those to be given mass burial today were murdered between Thursday, March 8, 2018 when President Muhammadu Buhari paid an official visit to the beleaguered state, and Sunday, March 11. During the latest attack which took place by 7:00pm on Monday, 11 houses were also razed down. Persons suspected to be Fulani herdsmen were said to have killed the 25 persons, including three children and two women, in Dundu Village of Kwall District in Bassa LGA of Plateau State. The spokesperson of Miango Youth Development Association, Lawrence Zongo, confirmed the casualty rate in an interview with The PUNCH in Jos on Tuesday. He said, “Very sad! Again, Fulani terrorists killed 25 persons in Dundu Village of Kwall District in Bassa LGA of Plateau State. “Eleven houses were razed down....

Rex Tillerson has been removed as the Secretary of State, ending a tumultuous tenure as America’s top diplomat that was marked by a series of public disagreements with his boss — President Donald Trump. Trump plans to appoint CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace the former Exxon Mobil chief executive. The president picked deputy CIA Director Gina Haspel to run the spy agency. Just on Monday, March 12, Tillerson visited Nigeria on the last leg of his official visits to Africa, being the first high-ranking official under the Trump administration to do so. He met President Muhammadu Buhari during the visit, where they discussed issues of mutual interest to both countries. The ex-Secretary of State had also warned Nigeria and the rest of Africa against accessing financial help from China. Trump announced Tillerson’s sacking via his verified Twitter handle: Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to...

At least 40 people were killed and 23 injured when a Bangladeshi passenger plane crashed near Kathmandu airport Monday, an official said. “Thirty-one people died at the spot and nine died at two hospitals in Kathmandu,” police spokesman Manoj Neupane told AFP, adding another 23 were injured. There were 67 passengers and four crew on board the US-Bangla Airlines plane from Dhaka. The plane crashed after catching fire while trying to land. Witnesses described seeing the plane flying at a low height before crashing onto a football pitch at Nepal’s only international airport in the capital, Kathmandu. Amanda Summers, an American who works in Nepal, watched the crash happen from the terrace of her home office. “It was flying so low I thought it was going to run into the mountains,” she said. She said it was unclear if it had reached the runway when it landed. “All of a sudden there was a blast and then another blast,” she said.

The House of Representatives on Thursday resolved to draw up a list of bills the National Assembly passed but which have not been signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari. The move is preparatory to a possible override of the President’s veto on such bills. The Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, specifically directed the Chairman, House Committee on Rules/Business, Mr. Orker Jev, to compile the bills and forward it to the floor for members to look at them and decide whether to override Buhari’s veto on them. The decision followed a point of order raised by the Chairman, House Committee on Public Petitions, Mr. Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, who complained that several bills passed and forwarded to Buhari were neither signed into law nor returned to the National Assembly. Nkem-Abonta, a Peoples Democratic Party member from Abia State, recalled that some of the bills dated back to 2017. He argued that this was contrary to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and t...

A Peruvian woman was tragically killed after her husband allegedly used a mortar bomb as a sex toy on her after they had been drinking for hours. According to reports, Ruben Valera Cornejo and his wife, Yubitza Llerena de Meniburu were having sex inside their home in Arequipa, when he inserted a 16-inch-long, 2.4-inch-wide mortar bomb as sex toy into her vagina. Unfortunately, Mr.Ruben fell asleep, and when he woke up he found his wife unresponsive. He was arrested on suspicion of murder, and explained to authorities that he was so drunk that he could not remember what happened to his wife. Police officers investigating the case reported that they found the mortar with blood stains and pubic hair on it in a handbag among other sex toys. Police chief Javier Arana said that the mortar, believed to be inactive and used as an ornament, was around 15.7 ins long and around 2.3 ins wide, meaning the mortar bomb didn't explode during the romp. He added: 'Painkill...

The Senate on Wednesday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to review his position in withholding assent on the bill to establish Peace Corps of Nigeria. This followed the adoption of a Point of Order raised by Senator Dino Melaye during plenary. Relying on the Senate rules, Melaye urged the Senate to revisit the bill with a view to veto the President if he fails to rescind his rejection of the bill. President Buhari had cited duplication of duty and funding challenges in declining assent to the Nigerian Peace Corps (Establishment) Bill, 2017 recently passed by the National Assembly. However, Melaye said Buhari should give the bill a priority. “The same thing happened when the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps was to be established; there was also the same complaint that there was no money and all of that. “But today, we can see the advantages of the civil defence and how they have helped in safeguarding government infrastructure. “About $5.5bn was borrowed from eu...