The Naira on Friday lost N0.5 against the US dollar at the parallel market.
The Nigerian currency ended the day at N225.5 to the dollar as the previous value of N225.
Forex traders attributed the loss to increased demand from businessmen and travellers for the dollar.
Nigerian troops on Sunday foiled a suicide bomb attack at an army base in the Northeast of the country.
A source told AFP that the suspected female suicide bomber was shot at when she defied the order of the guards to stop at the gate for security checks.
According to Babakura Kolo, a member of the Civilian JTF,
“Soldiers at Maimalari army barracks this morning (Sunday) foiled a suicide attack by a female bomber.
"The woman approached the barracks around 7:00 am (0600 GMT) and headed towards the gates. Military guards at the gates shouted at her to stop for security checks but she ignored them and continued walking towards the gates.
“She continued walking with her handbag slung on her shoulder, despite repeated shouts from the soldiers asking her stop.
“One of the soldiers opened fire on the woman and the handbag exploded, blowing the woman to pieces.”
No other casualty was recorded in the incident which the Army described as an attempted suicide attack on the barracks.
The Kano State Police Command has raided the notorious Falgore forest in Tudun Wada local government area of the state.
During the raid, 72 suspected cattle rustlers were arrested while 818 cattle were recovered.
Kano State Commissioner of Police, Mr Muhammad Katsina disclosed this to newsmen on Sunday, while parading the suspects and the animals at Kwanar Dawaki in Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area of the state.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the suspects were also paraded before the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, and Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje.
The Commissioner of Police said that In addition to the 818 cattle, the police also recovered a large cache of arms, fake military and police uniforms and charms used by the suspects.
He said that the police killed three suspected cattle rustlers including the notorious Senegal-born Umaru Dogo Ndaiye who led the raid and sacking of Gidan-Kare village in Sumaila Local Government Area of the state.
He said ;
‘’Ndaiye was gunned down when he engaged our men in a gun battle who were on special duty at Falgore forest by Gazobi village.‘’
He later gave up while receiving treatment at the hospital. A revolver pistol and 224 rustled cattle were recovered from him while four other members of his gang were arrested."
He added that two other bandits were also killed during the gun battle while one policeman was injured.
Governor Ganduje who expressed worry about the rising cases of cattle rustling in the state said that the recovered animals would be returned to their rightful owners.
President Muhammadu Buhari has restated his administration's determination to make Nigeria self-sufficient in food production. He said that his government plans to achieve the capacity to export 10 million tons of grains and other processed foods annually by 2019.
Buhari said this in a message to the Green River Project, an agricultural initiative sponsored by Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC, and its partners, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and Oando, an indigenous oil and gas company.
The message was read on his behalf by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Arc. Sonny S. T. Echono.
The President said that government was returning marketing corporations as the main platform for the raising of 740,000 market-oriented young agricultural entrepreneurs.
He added that government has set up the Youth Employment in Agriculture Program (YEAP) to help 20,000 school leavers and rural youth leaders in each state of the federation and groom 18,500 university graduates into agribusiness entrepreneurs.
He also said that government plans to inject a total of 6,000 units of tractors and implements, 15,000 power tillers, 20,000 planting and post harvest equipment to mechanise an estimated 4 million hectares of land nationwide, through the
Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprises (AEHEs).
President Buhari noted that
" the Green River Project has become more important at this time in our national life when oil has ceased to become the cash cow of our economy. We have no option than to turn to agriculture.
”Diversification of our economy is no longer something to pay lip service to”, he said.
American troops on Saturday began drone surveillance and intelligence gathering operations over Sambisa forest in Northeast Nigeria.
According to AFP, this marks a significant escalation in Washington's contributions to the war against Boko Haram insurgents.
Already, many militants have been sighted in Sambisa forest which is believed to be the fortress for Boko Haram.
Reports have it that about 145 of the 300 military personnel promised by President Barack Obama to Cameroon have arrived the country.
LEADERSHIP reports that the
US drone base in Cameroon will provide intelligence support to the multi national coalition fighting Boko Haram, the radical Islamist group that seeks to carve a separate state for itself out of Nigeria .
The drone base in Cameroon is reported to be the thirteenth surveillance base established by the United States in Africa. In West Africa, there are U.S. surveillance facilities in Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has penciled down some staff of the Akwa Ibom State government for questioning over the alleged misappropriation of N108.1b by former governor Godswill Akpabio.
Also to be questioned are officials of the banks which Akpabio allegedly used for the unlawful deals.
The anti graft agency had on Saturday grilled ex-Governor Akpabio for several hours for the second day running over his alleged misuse of government funds while in office.
THE NATION reports that Akpabio arrived the Abuja Headquarters of the EFCC at about 11.45am and was still there after 7pm.
He was reportedly accompanied by his attorney, Mr Ricky Tarfa, SAN, and two other friends, Wole Arisekola and Segun Odubela.
An official of the EFCC told newsmen ;
“We are going to interrogate some officials of Akwa Ibom State Government and a few banks.
“Some of these officials were named in the petition by a lawyer-activist, Mr. Leo Ekpenyong.”
Ekpenyong had alleged in his petition that Akpabio fraudulently diverted state funds while serving as governor.
His words ;
“Between January –December 2014, it is on record that the trio of Godswill Akpabio and two others made illegal but substantial withdrawals of cash from a designated state government-owned account with Zenith Bank with account number: 1010375881 amounting to N22.1 billion.
“It is worthy of note that reasons for such ungodly cash withdrawals against financial regulations and due process laws range between sundry use and unjustifiable expenditures by Godswill Akpabio and his numerous surrogates and proxies.
“For example, a whopping N18 billion was withdrawn fraudulently from the state FAAC account with the United Bank for Africa in tranches of N10 million and above by Mr. Isobara in a surreptitious manner to conceal their dishonest intention.
“The cumulative aggregate of these monies stolen by Godswill Akpabio from the coffers of government as pocket money is the annual budget of some states in Nigeria put together.”
The Nation
According to figures collated by AFP from various governments across the globe on the number of their pilgrims killed in this year's Saudi Arabia Hajj stampede, the 2015 Hajj tragedy has become the deadliest in the history of the annual event.
With the death toll at 1748, the 2015 Hajj tragedy has surpassed the previous highest toll of 1426 recorded in the tunnel stampede of the 1990 Hajj.
See the breakdown of the death toll from the 2015 Hajj tragedy as collated by AFP from foreign governments.
- Iran: 464 dead
- Egypt: 177 dead
- Nigeria: 145 dead
- Indonesia: 129 dead
- India: 101 dead
- Pakistan: 87 dead
- Bangladesh: 79
- Cameroon: 76 dead
- Niger: 72 dead
- Senegal: 61 dead
- Mali: 60 dead
- Chad: 52 dead
- Benin: 34 dead
- Morocco: 36 dead
- Ethiopia: 31 dead
- Sudan: 30 dead
- Algeria: 28 dead
- Burkina Faso: 22 dead
- Ivory Coast: 14 dead
- Libya: 10 dead
- Somalia: 8 dead
- Tunisia: 7 dead
- Kenya: 6 dead
- Ghana: 5 dead
- Mauritius: 5 dead
- Tanzania: 4 dead
- Burundi: 1 dead
- Iraq: 1 dead
- Jordan: 1 dead
- Netherlands: 1 dead
- Oman: 1 dead.
Source: AFP
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