9JATRAFFIC

President Muhammadu Buhari and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), have asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to strike out all suits seeking the removal of the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrhim Magu, from office. “This honorable court cannot invoke its judicial powers under Section 6(6)(b) (of the Constitution) to hear and determine this case,” the President and the AGF stated in a preliminary objection challenging the competence of a suit seeking Magu’s removal from office. The AGF took the legal position backing Magu’s appointment despite the reported strained relationship between the minister and the acting EFCC chairman. There are said to be pending 17 suits filed in support and against Magu’s appointment, following the refusal of the Senate to confirm the appointment of Magu as the substantive EFCC chairman on two different occasions. One of the suits is ...

Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu said yesterday he is unaware of the whereabouts of leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu. Kanu is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow for his case but he has not been seen since September 24 when military men entered his compound in Afaraukwu, Umuahia. Members of his outlawed organization are claiming that the military too him away a claim that has been denied. Former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu said he was reliably told that Kanu had eloped to London through Malaysia. Speaking to reporters in Abuja at the weekend, Ikpeazu said:  “I don’t think that is a fair question. I don’t have the capacity to determine where Kanu is. I have never visited him. I have never called him on phone and he has never taken me into confidence as to what he does, where he goes. So, those who are close to him would answer. I don’t have capacity to monitor him to know where he is, maybe journalists, through inves...

The British and Scottish executives have made progress in talks on how to share powers after Brexit, they said on Monday, but Edinburgh still objects to the central government’s proposed law on withdrawing from the European Union. Scotland, which has a semi-autonomous parliament and executive with powers over specific policy areas, has been seeking assurances from the United Kingdom’s central government over the status of those powers after Brexit. The sides held talks in London on Monday along with representatives of Wales, which also has devolved institutions. “We have been able to make some progress, including agreeing general principles that should ensure the role of the Scottish parliament in any potential UK- or GB-wide frameworks,” said Michael Russell, Scotland’s Brexit minister, after the talks. The British government’s minister for Scotland, David Mundell, said the parties had moved in a positive direction. “We have taken a major step today by agre...

More than 300 people died after twin bomb explosions in Mogadishu, an official said on Monday, as locals packed hospitals in search of friends and relatives caught up in Somalia’s deadliest attack in a decade. The death toll has steadily risen since Saturday, when the blasts – for which no organization had claimed responsibility by Monday morning – struck at two busy junctions in the heart of the city. “We have confirmed 300 people died in the blast. The death toll will still be higher because some people are still missing,” Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of the city’s ambulance service, told Reuters on Monday.  Aden Nur, a doctor at the city’s Madina hospital, said they had recorded 258 deaths while Ahmed Ali, a nurse at the nearby Osman Fiqi hospital, told Reuters five bodies had been sent there.   Nur said 160 of the bodies could not be recognized. “(They)were buried by the government yesterday. The others were buried by their relatives. Over ...

Lebanon’s president said on Monday his country could no longer cope with hosting huge numbers of Syrian refugees and called on world powers to help them to return to calmer areas of their troubled homeland. Michel Aoun told international envoys he wanted to work out ways to help refugees return safely to the neighboring state but he had no plan to force people back to places where they could face persecution.  “My country cannot handle it anymore,” Aoun told representatives of the European Union, the Arab League and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council at a meeting in Beirut, according to his media office.   More than six years into the Syrian war, 1.5 million Syrians account for one quarter of Lebanon’s population and patience is wearing thin with their presence and the strain it has placed on local resources. As the Syrian government regains control of more territory, calls have increased in Lebanon for Syrians to return home. ...

A nutrition crisis, exacerbated by continuing violence, instability and displacement in Mali, is threatening the lives and futures of thousands of children in the West African country, UNICEF warned this week. New data published today from the 2017 SMART (Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions) survey shows that the rate of acute malnutrition among children under five has reached critical levels in the conflict-affected areas of Timbuktu and Gao, while the national rate remains very high. The survey shows acute malnutrition of children in Timbuktu has risen to 15.7 per cent and in Gao to 15.2 per cent, a worrying rise from “serious” to “critical” level on the World Health Organisation’s classification scale. Serious levels of acute malnutrition were also recorded in the regions of Kayes (14.2%) and Taoudéni (14.3%), while the national rate is 10.7%. “Behind these figures are the lives of the most vulnerable and forgotten girls and boys in...

Excessive force by police against protesters and residents in strongholds of opposition leader Raila Odinga caused the deaths in Nairobi, the report said. President Uhuru Kenyatta defeated Odinga in the Aug. 8 election and days of protests followed. The Supreme Court last month voided the election citing procedural irregularities and ordered a re-run, which is to be held on Oct. 26.  “Researchers found that although police behaved appropriately in some instances, in many others they shot or beat protesters to death.”   The report is likely to bolster the case of Kenyan activists and rights groups who accuse police of brutality and extrajudicial killings but say few officers are charged and convictions are extremely rare.  Police spokesman Charles Owino did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Police have said only looters and thugs were killed or injured in the violence.   The report said a 9-year-old was shot dead whil...