Malaysia set to hang 2 Nigerians for drug crimes

A court in Malaysia has sentenced two Nigerian students to death by hanging for trafficking hard drug.

A High Court Judge, Datuk Abdul Halim Aman sitting in Shah Alam ruled that Mustafa Azmir, 28, and Jude Nnamdi Achonye, 30 be hanged after convicting them.

Their ordeal started three years ago when the two students of a private university in Kuala Lumpur were arrested for being in possession of several boxes that contained 3.5kg of methamphetamine.

They were accused of trafficking the drugs at an apartment in Petaling Jaya at 3.30pm on September 2, 2014 which is an offense under Section 39B (1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 of Malaysia.

In his ruling, the judge said the prosecution had proven a prima facie case against the convicts and the court had studied testimonies from 13 prosecution witnesses and two defence witnesses, alongside 73 exhibits tendered during the trial.

"The defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt at the end of this case and presented no testimony that thoroughly refutes the prosecution. Besides that, there were also discrepancies in testimonies of the accused and their defence only amounted to denial without concrete evidence," he said.

Mustafa and Achonye were represented by lawyer Leonard Anselm Gomes while Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohammed Rehan Mohammed Aris represented the prosecution.

Daily Trust

Nigeria rejects President Donald Trump’s decision on Jerusalem

Nigeria was among the 128 countries, which voted against the decision of President Donald Trump, to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The voting took place at the UN General Assembly.

The countries on the opposing side stood their ground, despite Trump’s threat to cut off funding to them.

Thirty-five countries abstained, while nine tiny countries including Togo, voted along with US.

The resolution insisted that the status of Jerusalem must be resolved through negotiations.

Speaking ahead of the emergency session, Nikki Haley, US ambassador warned the general assembly that the United States “will remember this day”.

“America will put our embassy in Jerusalem. No vote in the United Nations will make any difference on that.

“But this vote will make a difference on how Americans look at the UN and on how we look at countries who disrespect us in the UN.

“When we make generous contributions to the UN we also have a legitimate expectation that our goodwill is recognised and respected,” Haley said.

The status of the Holy City is one of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with both sides claiming it as their capital.

Daily Post

Four in ten people in Nigeria are unemployed

Nigeria may have Africa’s biggest economy, but four out of every ten people in the country’s workforce were unemployed or underemployed by the end of September, the government statistics office said on Friday.

The regional power climbed out of its first recession in a quarter of a century in the second quarter, but economic growth remains sluggish. That has lead to a drought of work opportunities, contributing to a cycle of poverty that drives Nigeria’s yawning wealth inequality as well as social unrest.

“A return to economic growth provides an impetus to employment,” Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a report released on Friday.

“However, employment growth may lag, and unemployment rates worsen especially at the end of a recession and for many months after,” the stats office said, adding that it expects unemployment to peak in the fourth quarter of 2017.

By the end of September, Nigeria’s economically active or working population was 111.1 million people, said the NBS.

Unemployment has increased to 18.8 percent of that population from 16.2 percent at the end of June, it said.

The combined proportion of people unemployed or underemployed was 40 percent at the end of September, up from 37.2 percent by the end of June, said the NBS report.

Earlier this month, ratings agency Fitch cut its 2017 economic growth forecast for Nigeria to 1 percent from 1.5 percent.

The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who campaigned on vows to fix Nigeria’s economy, has struggled to follow through with plans to reduce the country’s dependence on oil.

Much of Nigeria’s recovery since the second quarter has been driven by crude production, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of government revenues, despite the government’s assertions they are investing in infrastructure and key industries such as agriculture to drive employment and boost growth.

Reuters

Video - Nigeria seeks bids for concession contracts of 4 major airports

Nigeria's government is set to begin accepting bids for concession contracts of four of the country's major airports. Both foreign and local investors have expressed interest. The government is seeking to concession the airports to generate revenue and make them work better. But the unions are opposing the plan.

Nigerian Navy rescues kidnapped Chinese men

The Nigerian Navy in Lagos on Thursday said it rescued four Chinese men from kidnappers around Igbokoda area of Ondo State.

The Flag Officer Commanding, FOC, Western Naval Command, Sylvanus Abbah, told journalists in Lagos that the four victims were abducted on board a fishing trawler within the Lagos waters on December 14.

According to him, operatives of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT rescued the abducted Chinese nationals from a militant camp in the riverine area of Ondo State.

He said that after the abduction, the kidnappers took their victims in a speed boat to Igbokoda, Ondo State the same day.

“Naval operatives attached to Forward Operations Base (FOB) who sighted the kidnappers as they were entering Igbokoda gave them a hot pursuit.

“The kidnappers opened fire on the naval gunboat.

“There was a fierce gun battle between the suspects and the naval men and the hoodlums abandoned their boats and fled on foot through the creeks,” he said.

Mr. Abbah said that the naval men went after the suspects who later abandoned the four Chinese men and fled.

“Presently efforts are ongoing to arrest the suspects.

“The Chinese sustained bullet wounds during the gun battle and they have been treated and are in stable condition,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Acting Chinese Consul General in Nigeria, Mr Guan Zhonggi, who paid a thank you visit to the FOC, commended the navy for its prompt intervention.

He said that the four Chinese men regained their freedom because of the swift action of the naval men.

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