Gunmen Kill Late Dora Akunyili’s Husband in Anambra
Dr. Chike Akunyili, the husband of the late former Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dora Akunyili has been killed by gunmen.
Dr. Akunyili was killed on Tuesday alongside his driver and a police escort around the Nkpor junction in Idemili North of Anambra State.
A family source confirmed the news to newsmen on Wednesday.
Dr. Akunyili said to have been returning from an event where he received a posthumous award of excellence for his late wife when he ran into the hoodlums at Nkpor and was shot and killed.
Three other attacks were said to have occurred in Agulu, Okoh, and Nkpor areas of the state. During the attacks, a police patrol van and the Labor Party Campaign vehicle were set ablaze.
The police have yet to issue a statement about the incident and also the number of casualties.
Federal Government approves 159 new radio, television stations
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the operation of radio and television stations by 159 companies, communities, and institutions of higher learning.
The Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Balarabe Ilelah, made the announcement on Wednesday in Abuja. He said there are a total of 625 functional broadcast stations in Nigeria.
The commission was established by the NBC Act, Cap. N11, Laws of the Federation 2004, with the mandate to regulate and control broadcasting in Nigeria.
The Federal Polytechnic Ilaro (Radio), Prospective Union of Reno People (Radio), Smile Community Radio Initiative, and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Radio were among the newly approved licenses, according to the NBC boss.
He said others are: Dudu African Broadcasting Communications Limited, Independent Television, Prince Media Network, Jamkat Integrity Investment Limited, Hikima Media Services, and Galaxy Television Radio.
The NBC head also listed other licenses as H-i Fidelity Communications, B360 Nigeria Limited, Communication Faculties Limited, Godfrey Okoye University Radio, Art Broadcasting Company, Hamdana Media, Sunshine Radio, Blueprint Newspapers Limited, NV Broadcasting Company Limited, among others.
Court Stops Former Abia Gov Kalu’s Retrial
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the federal government and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) not to retry a former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzo Kalu, on the N1.7 billion fraud for which he was earlier convicted.
Justice Inyang Ekwo made the order while delivering judgment on the application filed by Kalu seeking to stop his retrial on the grounds that it would amount to double jeopardy if he faces the same trial again after he was released from prison.
The judge held that there was no extant order that directed for retrial of Kalu, saying that the judgment of the Supreme Court did not affect Kalu.
The court however ordered the retrial of former Commissioner of Finance, Jones Udeogu, who was convicted along with Kalu.
IN BUSINESS
FG bans 2,000 from travelling for evading COVID-19 test
The Federal Government has imposed a travel ban on no fewer than 2,000 Nigerians and foreigners, restricting their movement in and out of the country.
This was disclosed by the National Incident Manager of the Presidential Steering Committee, Mukhtar Muhammad, at a briefing in Abuja.
A statement from the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 said it had banned more than 2,000 Nigerians and foreigners from travelling out and into the country for one year for evading the coronavirus Polymerase Chain Reaction test at the country’s international airports.
Muhammad revealed that the names of over 2,000 citizens and foreigners had been shared across major federal medical facilities in the country where medical experts were assigned to give care to Nigerians and foreigners that had travelled into the country during the COVID-19 third wave.
He said the government had warned passengers arriving into the country from high-risk countries to quarantine in a government-provided facility, adding that the passports of those who failed to comply with the protocol had been suspended for one year.
ON THE FOREIGN SCENE
Earthquake Hits Japan
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan’s northwestern coast on Wednesday but no tsunami warning was issued.
The quake produced shaking across a large swath of the northeastern coast and was also felt in Tokyo, but there were no immediate reports of damage.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake hit at a depth of 368 kilometres (228 miles) in the Sea of Japan, known as the East Sea in Korea.
Japan’s meteorological agency said there was no tsunami risk following the jolt.
Japan sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
The country is regularly hit by quakes and has strict construction regulations intended to ensure buildings can withstand strong tremors.
IN SPORTS
Manny Pacquiao Quits Boxing, to focus on Presidency
Philippine boxing legend and 2022 presidential hopeful Manny Pacquiao said on Wednesday that he is hanging up his gloves after a glittering decades-long career in the ring.
The multi-division world champion and senator, who has his sights set on a high-stakes rumble to replace President Rodrigo Duterte, said quitting the sport that lifted him out of poverty was the hardest decision of his life.
According to him, it is difficult for me to accept that my time as a boxer is over, the 42-year-old said in a video message on Twitter that went viral.
It comes weeks after Pacquiao, considered one of the best boxers of all time, lost what turned out to be his last professional fight, against Cuban Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas.
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