AN Asaba High Court, yesterday, sentenced two persons to death by hanging, having found them guilty of kidnapping and robbing a female magistrate at gunpoint on Boxing Day two years ago.

ONE of the most urgent bills before the National Assembly is one seeking amendments to the 2004 Passport Act. It has gone through the second reading at the House of Representatives and it is a matter of time for the amendments to become law.

Chairman of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission, NCPC, Most Revd. Nicholas Okoh, has led technical experts to Istanbul, Turkey to inspect the approved aircraft that will fly intending pilgrims to Israel, Rome and Greece for the 2013 Christian Pilgrimage operations.

Super Eagles’ stand-in captain, Vincent Enyeama, has declared that they will have no excuses for not making a positive result in the first leg of their World Cup qualifier playoff tie against Ethiopia on Sunday.

LORD’S Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, yesterday, denied stories that the Lagos State Government had closed the church headquarters located in the Amuwo Odofin Industrial Estate, for violating environmental laws of the state, saying the church has not been closed by any government.

Nigeria’s delegation to Sunday’s 2014 FIFA World Cup final elimination fixture, first leg encounter between the Super Eagles and Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia will arrive in Addis Ababa on Saturday morning.

Members of the House of Representatives committee on Special duties yesterday visited the Presidential Villa to carry out oversight function on the performance of the 2013 budget.

The fledging leadership of the Abubakar Baraje-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party suffered major setbacks, yesterday, with the rejection of its list of officials as the authentic leaders of the party by Independent National Electoral Commission as well as defeat at a Lagos High Court in its suit against the Bamanga Tukur-led faction of the party.

It once seemed inconceivable. Yet, Ethiopia are just two games from reaching the 2014 World Cup.This was a country that were the champions of African soccer in 1962. Ethiopia then fell off the soccer map for three decades. Civil war ravaged the country and famine killed nearly a half million people in the early 1980s.

After he was declared winner of the first season of Idols West Africa in 2007, Timi Dakolo has been soaring high with success after success.
Currently working on his second album, Dakolo, in this chat with our reporter speaks about the industry, his life, plans, growing up and other issues. Excerpts:

Several families have been rendered homeless and property worth millions of Naira destroyed by ravaging flood that followed a torrential rain in parts of Imo State yesterday.

Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) has stated that it has provided N12 billion in lending to Nigerian export manufacturers, many of who put the “Proudly Nigerian” label on their products in the West African sub-regional market and globally.

Following the conversion to the exalted principle of Dialogue, Dr Goodluck Jonathan (like a born-again Christian) has sworn in the members of the Advisory Committee on National Dialogue, which by itself has become popular with majority of Nigerians.

Against all odds, the RiversState government led by Chibuike Rotimi Ameachi, chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, scored another first: offering employment to 13,000 teachers at once! At an envisaged colourful ceremony at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt where the new teachers were to be offered their ‘Letters of Appointment’ on Wednesday, September 25, the police invaded the venue in over 20 Toyota Hilux patrol vans and brutalised the teachers!

Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, has commenced the distribution of 500 buses to secondary schools in the state with 120 school principals receiving keys of vehicles for their schools.