Nelly's SmartBriefs

Two South Koreans kidnapped by gunmen along the Ahoada/Abua Road in Rivers State earlier this month have regained their freedom after spending 17 days in captivity. The South Koreans were abducted after gunmen ambushed their convoy on December 12, killing four soldiers guarding them and two civilian drivers. The two Koreans are employees of Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., a major South Korean builder. Announcing their release via a statement on Saturday, December 30, the Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, said: “On Friday, we secured custody of the two abducted Korean citizens. “Both people are currently in good health, and after a hospital checkup, they moved to a safe area and spoke with their families.” The ministry, however, failed to disclose if any ransom was paid. Attacks by militants in the Niger Delta have dwindled over the years.  But the region is volatile and suffers from crude oil theft and vandalism of pipelines, which has taken a toll on Nigeria’s oil output. Kidna...

A former Nigerian Ambassador to Namibia, Ms Lilian Onoh, has lodged a libel suit at the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas against former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama. Also joined in the case is Mr Gabriel Aduda, who was a Permanent Secretary at the ministry. The case has been assigned to Judge Jane Boyle for adjudication but no date has been fixed for hearing. In the court documents, Onoh accused Onyeama and Aduda of using a New York-based online newspaper, to defame her. In the suit before the court, Counsel to Onoh, Steven Thornton, said the Online Newspaper, in April, published an article saying Ms Onoh was sacked by the Nigerian government on account of misappropriation of N50million. Thornton noted that the media outlet published Onoh’s photograph in the story to ensure the object of the story was not mistaken. In court papers, her counsel decried the paper’s portrayal of his client as being corrupt having informed its global audience of dive...

The Head Coach of Nigeria’s Super Eagles, Jose Peseiro, has released names of the team for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire. The names of the team members were posted on the Super Eagles official X handle on Friday. The team is made up of three goalkeepers, nine defenders, five midfielders, and eight forwards. FULL LIST: Goalkeepers Stanley Nwabili Francis Uzoho Leke Ojo Defenders William Troost-Ekong Bright Osayi Samuel Ola Aina Zaidu Sanusi Bruno Onyemaechi Semi Ajayi Calvin Bassey Chidozie Awaziem Kenneth Omeruo Midfielders Wilfred Ndidi Joe Aribo Raphael Onyedika Frank Onyeka Alex Iwobi Forwards Kelechi Iheanacho Samuel Chukwueze Moses Simon Ademola Lookman Victor Osimhen Victor Boniface Ahmed Musa Sadiq Umar Head Coach Jose Peseiro

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has said that prices of beef, rice, beans, onion, tomato, and other food items increased in November. Average price of 1kg of boneless beef increased by 29.61 percent from N2,337.46 recorded in November 2022 to N3,029.50 in November 2023. “On a month-on-month basis, price of 1kg boneless beef increased by 2.76 percent in November from the N2,948.03 recorded in October,” it stated in its Selected Food Prices Watch report for November released in Abuja on Friday. It added that the average price of 1kg of local rice increased by 73.16 percent on a year-on-year basis from N500.80 recorded in November 2022 to N867.18 in November 2023. On a month-on-month basis, price of 1kg of local rice increased by 5.83 percent from the N819.42 recorded in October 2023 to N867.18 recorded in November 2023. Average price of 1kg of brown beans increased by 44.99 percent on a year-on-year basis from N578.55 in November 2022 to N838.85 in November 2023, the NBS added. ...

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday said it arrested 571 suspected vandals and destroyed 71 illegal refineries nationwide within the last 12 months. NSCDC’s Commandant General (CG), Ahmed Audi, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. Audi said of the 571 arrested vandals, 512 were being prosecuted, while 121 had been convicted and were serving various jail terms in various correctional centres in the country. He said the result recorded by the Corps was part of the NSCDC’s commitment to ensuring pipelines were adequately protected against criminal acts. He, however, said the growing trend of illegal refineries and re-emergence of already-destroyed ones was a major concern to the Federal Government. “What is disturbing is the issue of illegal refineries; you destroy one today, tomorrow you will see another one. In fact, the one you destroyed reincarnates in about a week. “However, the Corps has put in place both kinetic and no...

The Labour Party (LP) has pegged the expression of interest and nomination forms for the Senate at N1.5million and N3.5million; House of Representatives at N1million and N2million; House of Assembly at N100,000 and N500,000. The party’s action followed the release of the timetable by the  Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on by-elections across the country. LP’s National Working Committee (NWC) decided on the amount to be paid for both nomination and expression of interest form by aspirants. The party’s National Secretary Umar Ibrahim said the purchase of nomination, expression of interest and delegates’ forms would hold between December 28 and January 4, 2023, while the submission of the completed forms would end on January 4, 2024. The party said the primary elections would hold on January 7, 2024. In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, the LP exempted female aspirants and Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) from paying the fees for the expre...

The Canadian government has revived two programmes to invite caregivers for new applications into Canada from January 1, 2024. According to information released by Canada, the two programmes are five-year trial projects that enable eligible caregivers and their families to migrate and settle down permanently. The Canadian government stated in updated information that seasoned caregivers can use any of the two programmes to immigrate to the nation of North America with their families. It also showed that in contrast to the initial 24 months for caretakers, only 12 months of experience are required to be eligible. The information said: “The Home Child Care Provider Pilot and the Home Support Worker Pilot are 5-year pilot programs that let qualified caregivers and their family members come to Canada with the goal of becoming permanent residents. “If you’ve been offered a job in Canada as a caregiver or have experience working in Canada as a caregiver, you may be able to apply for permanen...

President Bola Tinubu has said that his administration would focus on addressing poverty through the provision of job opportunities for youths and quality education for all Nigerian children. Receiving the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos on Thursday, December 28, 2023, Tinubu called on the leadership of the party to target more youths and women in its e-registration and digital membership validation exercise scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2024. The president, who expressed support for the establishment of the National Institute of Progressive Studies by the APC, said the NIPS would help to conduct diligent research and educate all party members on the principles of democracy and good governance while providing a distinct identity for the party. He said: “Democracy has faced challenges in the past, but I believe in a promising future for our country. We will deliver it. I am committed to supporting a stro...

Russia on Thursday reopened its embassy in Burkina Faso after a gap of nearly 32 years after the West African nation fell out with former colonial ruler France. The Burkinabe foreign ministry confirmed in a statement that “Russia formally reopened its embassy this Thursday in Ouagadougou.” Russia’s Ambassador to Ivory Coast, Alexei Saltykov, said he would head the mission in Burkina Faso until the new ambassador is named and described Burkina Faso as “an old partner with whom we have solid and friendly ties. “Despite our physical absence here, bilateral cooperation in the political and economic fields have never ceased,” he said. The Russian foreign ministry said that the opening of the embassy would “increase coordination in terms of foreign policy” and consolidate the “friendship” of the two countries. Burkina Faso suffered two military coups last year — both triggered in part by discontent at failures to stem a raging jihadist insurgency. Since coming to power in September 2022, the...

Maine’s top election official has ruled that Donald Trump cannot run for president next year in the state, citing a constitutional insurrection clause. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said Trump was not eligible because of his actions leading up to the US Capitol riot in 2021. Maine now joins Colorado as the two states to ban Mr Trump from the ballot. The decisions increase pressure on the Supreme Court to weigh in. Colorado votes reliably Democratic. However, Maine is more politically competitive and would be more significant for Trump – the Republican frontrunner – to lose. The 34-page ruling said that Trump must be removed from the Maine ballot because of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution – which bans anyone from holding office that has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion”. In her order, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, said that Trump “over the course of several months and culminating on January 6, 2021, used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporte...