By Rasheed Sobowale

It is a new day in the month of September (26/09/2019). Like always, we want to keep you informed of the latest news in Nigeria. We have compiled 10 news that you might have missed today.

Editorial

The new Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Mohammed (Matawallen Maradun), became an instant sensation when he engaged the so-called bandits wreaking havoc in some states of the North West in negotiations.

The perceived success of the gesture was evident in the fact that Governor Bello Masari of neighbouring Katsina State also embraced the strategy after four years of fruitless efforts to contain the outlaws who specialise in the killing, kidnapping, highway robbery, racketeering in precious metals and cattle rustling.

1. Kogi governorship poll: PDP will struggle to get 25% of votes, says Adeyemi

The Director-General of the Governorship Campaign Committee of the All Progressives Congress in Kogi State, Sen. Smart Adeyemi, said yesterday,  that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would struggle to secure 25 per cent votes in the November poll.

Adeyemi mocked the PDP for having no candidate in the upcoming election, basing his argument on the fact that the governorship primaries is still being disputed in court even after INEC had closed nominations.

2. Fire service seeks EFCC’s partnership on fire forensic audit

The Federal Fire Service (FFS), Kaduna has sought the hand of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the conduct of forensic audits on fire disasters. This was made known on September 25, 2019, as the management staff of FFS, Kaduna came on a courtesy visit to the Kaduna Zonal office of the Commission.

The FFS team which was led by the officer-in-charge of the Service in Kaduna, Chief Superintendent of Fire Manasa Manaja Mailafia noted that “most of the fire outbreaks in public offices destroy vital documents or information.  Carrying out a forensic audit will assist in unravelling the cause.”

3. EFCC docks conman for N65.1m oil fraud in Kaduna

The Kaduna Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on Wednesday, September 25, 2019 arraigned one Nuhu Ibrahim Shuaibu ( alias Ishaku Abdulrazak) before Justice P. Mallong of the Federal High Court, sitting in Kaduna on four-count charges that border on impersonation and fraud to the tune of N65,150,000 (Sixty-five Million, One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira).

Shuaibu’s road to the dock began sometime in 2017 when he introduced himself as NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Finance and Accounts to a businessman, Mallam Faisal Safiyanu, whom he promised to assist in the procurement of between 2,000mt to 2,500mt of petroleum products.

4. Buhari, other African leaders seek repatriation of stolen funds

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday evening joined his Zambian and Ethiopian counterparts in demanding for unconditional repatriation of assets stolen from the continent.

The call came at a high-level event on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) held on the sidelines of the ongoing 74th United Nations General Assembly  UNGA) in New York., United States.

5. 10 high points of President Buhari’s speech at UNGA

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and other world leaders have been addressing pressing global issues in the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 74th meeting in New York.

President Buhari talked about issues bordering on the ongoing P&ID case, taking a new dimension in London later today (Thursday), poverty, corruption, terrorism, xenophobia among others.

6. Nigerian man in Italy cleared of fine for sweeping street without permission

A local council in northern Italy has cancelled a fine imposed on a Nigerian migrant for sweeping streets without permission.

The unemployed 29-year-old, named Monday, had decided to clean streets in the Venice suburb of Mestre instead of begging passersby for money, according to BBC report.

7. Army begins another round of Operations Python Dance, Crocodile Smile, others Oct.7

The Nigerian Army has said it was set to begin another round of Operations Python Dance, Crocodile Smile and Ayem Akpatuma in the South East, South West and North Central parts of the country simultaneously.

The special operations, according to the army, in a statement, Wednesday evening, through its spokesman, Col. Sagir Musa,”will start concurrently from the 7th of October to 24th of December 2019.”

8. Saudi Arabia says military response to Iran is possible

Saudi Arabia’s minister of state for foreign affairs has said all options, including a military response, are open after attacks on two oil facilities, which it has blamed on Iran.

While Saudi Arabia wanted to avoid war and escalation, Iran would be held accountable for the drone and missile strikes, Adel al-Jubeir told the BBC.

9. US museum returns Egyptian gold coffin looted by art thieves

A gilded coffin looted by art thieves in the wake of the Arab Spring and unwittingly purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has been returned to the Egyptian authorities.

The sarcophagus dates back to the first century BC and once held the mummy of Nedjemankh, a priest of the ram god Heryshaf.

10. Nigeria lost $157.5bn to illicit financial flows in 9-yrs — Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said that Nigeria lost an estimated US$157.5 billion to illicit financial flows between 2003 and 2012.

Quoting from the 2014 Global Financial Integrity Report in his address to the High-Level National Side-Event organised by the African Union Development Agency and New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday in New York, on the margins of the 74th United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, under the theme, “Promotion of International Cooperation to Combat Illicit Financial Flows and Strengthen Good Practices on Assets Recovery and Return to Foster Sustainable Development,” the Nigerian leader noted that such massive loss of assets, resulted in dearth of resources “to fund public services or to alleviate poverty,” in the country.

Vanguard News Nigeria.