The Minister of Interior, Retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, on Thursday canvassed for a strong Police Force for effective policing of Nigeria. Dambazau stated this during a familiarisation visit to the Nigeria Police Force headquarters, Abuja. “Police is the most strategic as far as internal security is concerned.

Tension heightened Thursday among among members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following the killing of Diseye Dickson, the deputy ward chairman of APC, Ward 1 in Odi, Kolokuma-Opokuma council area of then state by unidentified gunmen.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an urgent appeal to Mr. David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, requesting him to “you use your good offices and position to urgently request the National Assembly of Nigeria, specifically the Senate, to withdraw a bill which if passed into law would undermine the internationally recognized right to freedom of expression and press freedom on the internet in the country.”

Oscar Pistorius was found guilty of murder on Thursday after South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal threw out a manslaughter conviction for killing his girlfriend, and he now faces a 15-year prison term. The judge described the Paralympian’s testimony over the 2013 shooting of Reeva Steenkamp as “untruthful” and delivered a damning indictment of the original verdict.

FIFA’s Executive Committee on Thursday “unanimously” approved a programme of reforms which includes limiting presidents to a maximum 12 years in charge and introducing “transparency of compensation” for leading officials.

A Cambodian man was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday for infecting 270 people with HIV while he was working as an unlicensed doctor in a village. Yem Chrin, 57, was arrested in December 2014 after a routine health check revealed unusually high numbers of HIV-positive villagers in Battambang province’s Roka commune in western Cambodia.

“My Lord, I want an end to this marriage because I am no longer interested and I do not love him anymore.” The nurse told the court that the marriage was contracted in 1986 and had produced four children. The respondent, however, did not object to the plea of his wife.

The police on Thursday arraigned a 41-year-old man, Ahmadu Samboke, in a Mararaba Grade 1 Area Court, Aso Pada, for allegedly cheating a friend. Samboke of Ruga Maishai Mararaba, is standing trial on a three-count charge of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and cheating.

FIFA is considering expanding the World Cup from 32 teams to 40 in 2026 and will discuss the proposal at a future meeting, with support particularly strong among Asian and African representatives. No formal agreement on the matter was reached at FIFA’s Executive Committee meeting on Thursday, but ExCo member Wolfgang Niersbach said it will be discussed at a later date.

Ghost boats washing up on the shores of Japan are causing puzzlement, with indications that they come from North Korea. Since October, 21 bodies have been found on 13 otherwise empty boats, a spokesman for the coast guard said on Thursday.