Headline

Police Confiscate Over 2000 Logs In Edo

Published

4 years ago

February 9, 2022

The Edo State Government’s drive to rid the state off illegal loggers got a boost on Wednesday as the state Police Command confiscated over 2000 logs at the Gelegelegbene river.

At the bank of the river, the state command Spokesperson, SP Bello Kontongs stated that the confiscation was done in line with the directives given to the police by the state government led by Governor Godwin Obaseki.

He said the criminals escaped by jumping into the river on sighting the Marine police who were saddled with the responsibility of checkmating the loggers’ illegal activities.

Kontongs also stated the the logs were being shipped to Lagos for onward transmission to other parts of the world.

He also said that the logs that were intercepted in Ondo State would be sent back to Edo.

He said: “At the sea port here is the log of woods seized from illegal loggers. The seizure was done after Governor Obaseki gave the order to the Commissioner of Police, Philip Ogbadu to arrest and check the activities of this criminals.

“The state government has banned the felling of three in the 49 forest reserves in the state. The woods are being taken illegally to all parts of the world which the state government is against. The forest reserves is for the benefit of all Edo People. The level of deforestation is high which is not to the benefit of everyone.

“Also, the illegal activities of the loggers is impacting negatively on wildlife, while the logs recovered will be handed over to the state government by the CP in due course.

“The seized logs are not just from Gelegele but from all the forests in the state. Some have already crossed to Ondo and we are working with the Marine Police in Ondo to recover the logs,” he stated.

He also warned criminal element to desist from their illegal activities as the state would be too hot for them to operate.

Headline

12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

17 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP

Headline

Nigeria Grants Asylum To Guinea-Bissau Opposition Candidate

Published

17 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian embassy in Guinea-Bissau has granted asylum to Fernando Dias da Costa, the country’s opposition presidential candidate, following alleged threats to his life after last week’s military coup, The Cable Reports.

The coup was announced by military officers on Wednesday, just days after Guinea-Bissau’s presidential election in which both incumbent President Umaro Embaló and his main challenger, da Costa, claimed victory before official results were released.

Nigeria condemned the takeover and urged an immediate return to constitutional order.

In a letter to the President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, dated November 30, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said President Bola Tinubu had approved asylum and protection for da Costa inside the Nigerian embassy in Bissau.

Tuggar wrote that the decision was made “in response to threats made against da Costa’s life.”

“In this regard, it would be appreciated if you would kindly mandate the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau to provide him protection and security while in the premises of the Nigerian embassy,” the letter stated.

The foreign affairs minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to The Cable on Monday.

He said, “The decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant asylum and provide protection to Fernando Dia Da Costa falls squarely within Nigeria’s sovereign responsibility and longstanding commitment to regional peace, stability, and democratic governance.”

He added that Nigeria acted “in the broader interest of de-escalation,” saying the government had exercised its discretion “to prevent further deterioration of tensions and to promote social cohesion in Guinea-Bissau and the wider West African sub-region.”

According to Abdulkadir, the intervention aligns with ECOWAS principles and reflects Nigeria’s role as a stabilising force in West Africa.

Following the coup, ECOWAS held an emergency virtual summit of heads of state and subsequently suspended Guinea-Bissau from the regional bloc until constitutional order is restored.

Headline

Trump To Attend FIFA World Cup Finals Draw On Friday

Published

18 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The White House on Monday confirmed US President Donald Trump would attend the draw for the FIFA World Cup finals in Washington later this week.

The United States will co-host the 2026 tournament alongside Canada and Mexico.

“On Friday, President Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup final draw at the Kennedy Centre,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Trump has made the World Cup a centrepiece event of both his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.

But the giant sporting extravaganza has not escaped the political turmoil caused by Trump’s hardline stance on a host of issues.

Trump, a Republican, has raised the possibility of moving games from some US host cities amid a crackdown on what he says is crime and illegal migration in some Democratic-run areas.

AFP