Author: Alade Adisa

The UK on Tuesday slapped sanctions against 10 people and entities behind Russia’s “forcible deportation and attempted indoctrination of Ukrainian children”, 1,000 days after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The curbs target “those who prop up this insidious programme”, the foreign ministry said, and follow similar sanctions in 2022 and 2023 against individuals and bodies involved in the alleged forced deportations. They include several Russian officials and the All-Russian Young Army Military Patriotic Social Movement, a paramilitary organization that London said is “central” to the effort. The sanctions are the latest imposed by Britain and Western allies in response to…

Saudi Arabia has executed more than 100 foreigners this year, according to an AFP tally. The latest execut!on, on Saturday November 16, in the southwestern region of Najran, was of a Yemeni national convicted of smuggling drugs into the Gulf kingdom, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. That brought to 101 the number of foreigners executed so far in 2024, according to the tally which is compiled from state media reports. This is almost triple the figures for 2023 and 2022, when Saudi authorities had put to death 34 foreigners each year, according to AFP tallies. The Berlin-based European-Saudi Organization…

A recent plot by Iran to assassinate Irwin Cotler, a former Canadian justice minister, who has been a strong critic of Tehran. This development was revealed by Cotler’s organization on Monday. Cotler, 84, was justice minister and attorney general from 2003 to 2006. Though he retired from politics in 2015, he has remained active with many associations that campaign for human rights around the world. According to The Globe and Mail newspaper, Cotler was informed on October 26 that he faced an imminent threat, within 48 hours of assassination from Iranian agents. The paper said authorities tracked two suspects in…

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that he was under investigation by the anti-graft agency for two years over allegations of corruption. He spoke during the opening of the sixth Annual Criminal Law Review Conference organized by the Rule of Law Development Foundation in Abuja on Monday. Reaffirming his dedication to upholding transparency and accountability within the EFCC, Olukoyede also announced the recent dismissal of two EFCC operatives who were found guilty of corrupt practices. He said the operatives, dismissed two weeks ago, are now facing prosecution, highlighting the agency’s zero-tolerance policy…

A new presidential aide, Daniel Bwala, on Monday, fired back at Senator Ali Ndume, who asked him to apologize for his previous attacks on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC.) Bwala was appointed Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication by President Bola Tinubu last Thursday. Ndume, following the appointment, had in a statement on Sunday, called on Bwala to apologize for his past conduct, particularly his opposition to the choice of Senator Kashim Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate in 2023. However, speaking during his first appearance since his appointment, in a session with State House Correspondents…

Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has approved the payment of N70,000, the new minimum wage for all workers. The development was contained in a statement signed by the Press Secretary to the FCT Head of the Civil Service, Anthony Odeh, and made available to journalists on Tuesday. According to the statement, Wike approved the payment of the minimum wage on Monday, November 18, 2024, “in a bid to ameliorate the plight of workers under the employ of Federal Capital Territory Administration.” Following months of negotiation with organized labour, President Bola Tinubu, signed the new Minimum…

The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) has disclosed that about 32 persons were saved from death following the collisions of nine vehicles along the Danco area of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Monday. TRACE Commandant, Seni Ogunyemi, in a traffic update on Monday, said the accident occurred due to excessive speeding and loss of control on the part of one of the drivers which resulted in multiple collisions with other vehicles. The TRACE boss noted that 32 persons were involved in the accident including 20 adult males and 12 adult females. According to the traffic report, a Scania…

Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry officials in Gaza confirmed that over 20 local residents were killed by Palestinian security forces for allegedly stealing humanitarian aid. The operation, carried out with the assistance of tribal committees, targeted individuals suspected of hijacking aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip. According to reports, the victims were part of organized gangs that had taken control of aid shipments. In a statement on Hamas’s Al-Aqsa channel, officials declared that the operation was the start of a larger security crackdown aimed at eradicating theft from aid trucks, a crime that has caused widespread hunger in southern Gaza. “These security…

On Monday evening, the Department of State Services (DSS) in Ogun Statearrested the 2023 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Oladipupo Adebutu. NEW DAILY PRIME gathered that Adebutu was arrested in respect of last Saturday’s local government election in Ogun State. He was accused of bringing 40 ‘illegal policemen’ from MOPOL 49 in Lagos to the state on the day of the election and also going about the Ikenne local government area of the state with PDP thugs riding on motorcycles in an attempt to snatch ballot boxes while brandishing guns and other weapons. The party’s publicity secretary,…

Nigerian Air Force has received two new ATAK-129 helicopters for the Nigerian Air Force as part of efforts to strengthen the fight against banditry and other criminal activities in the country. Speaking at the event on Monday at the NAF base in Katsina State, the Minister of Defence, Badaru Abubakar, expressed confidence that the addition of the helicopters would enhance military operations in the Northwest region. He noted that the aircraft, inducted into Operation Fansan Yamma Sector 2, has unique capabilities to locate and eliminate threats with speed and precision. “These helicopters give us an advantage over other fighter jets,…