THE official admission by the Federal Government through the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali, that the leader of Boko Haram Islamist terrorist group, Abubakar Shekau, is still alive and hiding in the Sambisa Forest came as a shock to most Nigerians who had taken it for granted that the military were now simply conducting mop-up operations.

A 55-year-old man, Magaji Dansale, has allegedly defiled his seven months old step-daughter in Marmachi village of Musawa Local Government Area, Katsina State.

MASSILIA Motors Limited, sole distributor of Mitsubishi vehicles in Nigeria, has announced a free one week diagnosis for all Mitsubishi vehicles beginning from Monday.

EARLIER on this week, I was contacted by a gentleman called Jude Ndukwe (jrndukwe@-yahoo.-co.uk). He is the national leader of the Movement for the Advancement of National Transformation, MANTRA, a civil society organisation, CSO, and he introduced himself as the co-convenor of an upcoming rally that would culminate in a solidarity visit to the Abuja headquarters of Amnesty International, AI, the respected multinational human rights organisation.

Police in Edo State have arrested the suspected killer of the Chief Imam of Egbeta Mosque in Ovia North-East Local Government Area, Malam Saka Afolabi.

THE Olu of Warri, His Majesty, Ogiame Ikenwoli, yesterday, pledged moral and material support to the Sola Mese Foundation in its mission to engage helpless ex-convicts in gainful endeavours to guard against their return to crimes after serving their prison terms.

TO forestall crisis that could ensue in respect of the planned relocation of Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, from Rivers State, the House of Representatives, yesterday, inaugurated an Ad-hoc Committee to investigate reasons behind the proposed relocation.

The World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph), His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad delivered the keynote address at the 14th National Peace Symposium hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK.

Factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, yesterday, made a pitch to woo Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, praising him for what he described as his revolutionary steps in governance.

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, forwarded to the Senate three new names for confirmation as board members of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to replace those earlier rejected by the upper chamber.

The Patrotrism Renaissance Initiative, PRI, a non governmental organisation in Nigeria is set to launch its education empowerment programme for selected primary and secondary schools in the North-East of the country.

ASSISTANT Inspector General of Police, Zone 5, Mr Abubakar Mohammed, has said that the force was ready to partner community leaders in Edo State to reduce the spate of crime in the state.

Nigerian athletics stakeholders will meet in Abuja to forge a common agenda for the development of the sport in the years to come.

Dr Abdullahi Eleyinla, lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, University of Ilorin, has called on Muslims to embrace the spirit of team work, rather than individualism, to gain Allah’s mercy.

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has dismissed claims by his Rivers State counterpart, Mr. Nyesom Wike, to the effect that he was constructing the Aliade-Onu-Obarike-Ito-Otukpo and Makurdi-Naka-Adoka roads, describing it as a tissue of lies.
Reacting to publications in some dailies, Ortom asked if the N4 billion Wike claimed he had spent on the road was captured in the 2017 budget of Rivers State.
A statement by his Special Adviser, Media, and ICT, Mr. Tahav Agerzua, said there was no evidence that Wike did what he claimed to have done.
It read: “We read reports in a few national dailies on March 30, attributed to Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, that there were plans to disrupt his road projects in Benue State. Nothing could be further from the truth.
“Benue State does not lack road projects under the Ortom administration, which has mobilised contractors back to site on 11 roads abandoned by Governor Wike’s Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, regime in the state.
“In spite of the recession, Governor Ortom is also constructing two major highways and 17 rural roads across the state, while contracts have been awarded for six other highways.
“Governor Wike’s claim was ridiculous because Benue State is not part of his state and even if he had constructed all his roads, he needed to have contacted stakeholders in Benue State, especially those from the benefitting communities.
“There is no evidence that he did that.”