News Desk Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Tribunal Nullifies Election Of Plateau Speaker

The Plateau State Elections Petition Tribunal yesterday delivered a landmark judgment by nullifying the election of the speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Emmanuel Goar. The tribunal held that Mr. Goar was not duly elected and thereby ordered INEC to conduct fresh elections within 90 days into Pankshin-North Constituency of the House of Assembly. MORE>>>

How Kudirat’s Murder was Hatched, By Witness

The trial of former Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Ishaya Bamaiyi (rtd), continued yesterday at an Ikeja High Court, Lagos, with the former driver to Alhaji Mohammed Abacha, son of late General Sani Abacha, giving graphic details of how he and other members of late Abacha's Strike Force killed late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of late Chief M.K.O. Abiola in 1996 in Lagos. MORE>>>

Yar’Adua, lawmakers head for showdown

PRESIDENT Umaru Yar’Adua and the National Assembly appear to be on a collision course over the benchmark of oil price for the 2008 budget. The President had proposed a benchmark of $53.83 per barrel while the National Assembly had raised this to between $60 and $70 per barrel based on the current price of oil in the international market. MORE>>>

Shake-up Imminent In Police

A reshuffle is expected in the police next week which may affect three Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs) and ten Commissioners (CPs). Likely to be affected are DIGs Yakubu Mohammed (from Katsina State), Abdulrahman Yusuf (Kogi), and Bukar Dikwa (Borno). They are expected to proceed on retirement leave in January 2008. MORE>>>

Tribunal Sacks Male Lawmaker After Presenting Certificate From A Girls’ School

A member of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Obo Mkpanam Bassey, has been sacked by the Governorship and House of Assembly Elections Tribunal in Calabar for certificate forgery. The Action Congress (AC) candidate, Mr. Eyo Egbai, had dragged Hon. Mkpanam who is serving a second term in the House to the Tribunal on allegation that the legislator’s secondary school certificate was forged. MORE>>>

Bakassi Revisited

THE Senate's rejection of the ceding of Bakassi Peninsula, Cross Rivers State, to Cameroun by former President Olusegun Obasanjo has returned this ever contentious issue to international attention again. The ceding was an aftermath of an International Court of Justice, ICJ, judgment of 10 October 2002. MORE>>>

Glimpsing Nigeria's digital lifeline

But in March this year, the scruffy primary became part of a remarkable experiment. It was the first in Africa to get its hands on the so-called $100 laptop, a rugged device aimed at helping children in the developing world get the most from their education. MORE>>>

Siemens apologises to Nigeria over 10m-euro bribery scandal

Lagos, Nigeria - German company Siemens has written to Nigeria's Presiden t Umaru Yar'Adua to apologise for the bribery scandal, in which the company repo r tedly funnelled 10 million euros to several Nigerian officials to facilitate con t ract deals. MORE>>>

IN GLOBAL NEWS:

Musharraf steps down as military chief (LOS ANGELES TIMES)

Somali journalists banned from covering insurgents (ALERT NET)

Senegal's Wade to mediate with Mugabe on EU summit (REUTERS)

Mideast Talks Yield Promises To Press On
Israelis, Palestinians Will Restart Peace Negotiations (WASHINGTON POST)

After Annapolis (BOSTON GLOBE EDITORIAL)