Author: Akintayo Adams

The roof of a newly refurbished terminal at New Delhi’s international airport collapsed early Friday due to heavy rains, killing one person and injuring eight others. Images online show vehicles crushed under giant steel girders at the departure forecourt of Terminal 1, a project inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March. The terminal handles domestic flights only, and all departures have been canceled until early afternoon, according to airport authorities. “Due to heavy rain since early this morning, a portion of the canopy… collapsed around 5 am,” they said in a statement posted online. “Emergency personnel are working to…

The Supreme Court on Friday morning upheld the conviction of Mr. Francis Atuche, the former Managing Director of the defunct Bank PHB Plc. The trial spanned about 13 years. In a unanimous judgment read by Justice Moore Adumein, the Supreme Court held that the appellant, Francis Atuche, did not challenge the trial court’s and the Court of Appeal’s findings on his credibility. Relying on precedent, the court noted that when a trial court’s decision on a party’s demeanor is supported by documentary evidence, an appellate court should not interfere. Consequently, the Supreme Court found no reason to alter the concurrent…

The Olayemi Cardoso-led Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised N284.26 billion from investors in its latest Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs). The auction on Wednesday drew total subscriptions of ₦773.98 billion, significantly exceeding the ₦228.72 billion offered. This marked a 417.1% increase from the ₦44.23 billion offered in the previous auction on June 13, 2024. Additionally, total subscriptions surged by 89.8% from ₦407.76 billion, while total sales increased by 414.7% from ₦55.23 billion. The auction featured three tenors: 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day bills. Treasury Bills (T-Bills) allow the Central Bank of Nigeria to manage the money supply by issuing or redeeming…

Shehu Sani, a former senator from Kaduna State, has disclosed how he prevented former President Olusegun Obasanjo from being assaulted by inmates of the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison in 1995. Sani made this known while speaking at a lecture in Abuja on Thursday. Sani was among the pro-democracy activists and dissidents imprisoned by the military junta under Sani Abacha, who ruled from 1993 to 1998. Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s Head of State from 1976 to 1979 and civilian president from 1999 to 2007, was also jailed in 1995 for an alleged coup plot. Recounting events from that period, Sani said he,…

Mongolians started voting in parliamentary elections on Friday, with the ruling party anticipated to secure victory despite growing public discontent over corruption and economic conditions. Citizens throughout the expansive and thinly populated nation of 3.4 million people, situated between authoritarian China and Russia, are exercising their democratic rights to choose 126 members of the State Great Khural. Polling stations opened at 7 am local time (2300 GMT Thursday), as observed by AFP reporters in the capital Ulaanbaatar and at a distant polling location. Voting will continue until 10 pm. At a polling station in rural Sergelen, an administrative division located…

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has released the results for candidates who took the supplementary Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination conducted on June 21 and 22, 2024. The board’s spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, announced this in a statement in Abuja on Friday. According to JAMB, 28,835 applicants who could not provide biometric verification during the main 2024 UTME participated in the supplementary exam. Additionally, the board noted that students given a second chance to take the exam, who were suspected of examination misconduct during the main UTME, comprised the other category of candidates. “The exercise, which recorded a huge success…

The Lagos State Government has issued a two-week registration notice to all public transport drivers. This, according to the Lagos State Government is part of its restructuring plans to improve commuting experience. Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, said the move is on par with the Strategic Transportation Master Plan for Lagos State. He said this at a meeting with bus operators and Union leaders in the State. Giwa described the present state of bus operations on the corridor as disordered, stressing the necessity for cooperation to successfully regulate and incorporate the informal transport sector into the…

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo said private illegal aircraft operators are immersed in hard drug transportation as well as money laundering in the country. Keyamo disclosed this at a management meeting in Abuja on Thursday, where he expressed readiness to tackle the perpetrators headlong without any form of shyness. “It has come to my attention, through a series of disturbing reports, that the practice of illegal charter operations is thriving within the aviation industry, thereby undermining the efforts of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and other regulatory bodies,” he said. “These illicit activities have not only…

Prior to the first presidential debate in Atlanta, Democrats advised President Joe Biden to “be yourself.” This sentiment was echoed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate candidate Lisa Blunt Rochester from Biden’s home state of Delaware, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who remarked to The Independent that people should consider what former president Donald Trump needed to do to appear “barely cogent.” However, Democrats became concerned after Biden’s performance on Thursday evening in Atlanta. Throughout the night, Biden frequently interrupted himself, his voice sounding hoarse and strained. This served as a stark reminder that Democrats had nominated not only the…

VFD Group Plc announced plans to raise ₦30 billion in additional capital through various instruments, including share issuance, global depository receipts, commercial papers, loans, convertible and non-convertible instruments, medium-term notes, and bonds. Company Secretary Gbeminiyi Shoda revealed this at the annual general meeting held in Lagos State on Thursday, stating that the initiative aims to strengthen the company’s financial base and support its growth plans. “That directors be and are hereby authorised to raise additional capital of up to N30bn through an offer by way of issuance of shares, global depository receipts, commercial papers, loans, convertibles, or non-convertibles. medium-term notes,…