Nigerian football star Nwankwo Kanu robbed in Russia

Nigerian legend Nwankwo Kanu had $11 000 stolen from his luggage in Russia as he arrived for a World Cup curtain-raiser.

The former Arsenal star was in Moscow to play for for the FIFA Legends against their Russian counterparts, and reported the missing money upon arrival in Kaliningrad, where the Super Eagles open their World Cup campaign against Croatia on June 16.

Russian Interior Ministry Irina Volk confirmed that two workers at the Sheremetyevo Airport had been arrested, saying: "The stolen money has been confiscated and will be returned to its owner."

The FIFA Legends team won the match 6-4, with Niko Kranjcar, Nuno Gomes and Cafu each scoring a brace.

ESPN

Muslim group in Nigeria threaten Falz with legal action for his This is Nigeria music video

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has asked Folarin ‘Falz’ Falana to withdraw his ‘This is Nigeria’ video and apologise to Nigerians, or face legal action.

In the recently released video, some girls dressed in hijab were seen dancing the “shaku shaku” dance.

Responding to criticisms that trailed the video, Falz explained that the girls were a representation of the abducted Chibok girls still in Boko Haram captivity.

But MURIC, in a statement by Ishaq Akintola, its director, said the dancers in the video in no way depict the situation of the girls.

The group also condemned “a character that dressed like a Fulani man, who suddenly abandoned his traditional guitar and beheaded a man” featured in the video.

Describing the video as “thoughtless, insensitive and highly provocative,” MURIC said it could brew religious and ethnic crisis.

It also said the video is spiteful and intended to denigrate Islam and Muslims.

“MURIC rejects Falz’ explanation that the girls in hijab in his ‘Shaku Shaku’ dance symbolize the Chibok girls because nothing in the video indicates that the girls represent the Chibok girls,” the statement read.

“At least none of the Chibok girls have been seen dancing like a drunkard. They are always in pensive mood. Do they have any cause to be dancing? Are they happy?

“The video manifests ethnic bias against Fulanis while it ignored the criminal activities of ethnic militia of the Middle Belt who have also massacred Fulanis and rustled their cattle in their thousands.

“It is a hate video. This video has the potential of causing religious crisis of unprecedented dimension.

“It is an assault on the self-dignity of every Muslim. It is freedom of expression gone haywire.

“We therefore demand its withdrawal and an apology to Nigerian Muslims within seven days or the authors and their agents will face legal action if they fail to comply.

“Only the scenes portraying police brutality and the money-swallowing snake in the video are near the truth.”

The group called on security agencies and the National Film And Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to clamp down on the video.

“We call the attention of security agencies to this hate action,” the statement continued.

“We remind Nigerians of the outcome of similar provocative actions in the past and their unpalatable outcomes.

“The National Film And Video Censors Board (NFVCB), a regulatory agency set up by Act No. 85 of 1993 to regulate films and the video industry has a case to answer. ‘Shaku Shaku’ video was shot and released under its watch.

“Instead of going violent, Nigerian Muslims should take those behind the ‘Shaku Shaku’ video to court in order to serve as a deterrent to others.

“We therefore give notice of impending legal action against the artist behind the ‘Shaku Shaku’ video unless the latter is withdrawn and an apology is widely published within seven days.”

The Cable

Attacks on Shell installations continue as oil output recovers in Nigeria

Nigeria’s oil wells may be flowing again, but the country’s largest operator says attacks continue to put a brake on output.

“Security in parts of the Niger delta remains a major concern with persisting incidents of criminality, kidnapping and vandalism as well as onshore and offshore piracy,” said Igo Weli, general manager for external relations at Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s local unit. The warning underlines the enduring threat of attacks even as production recovers from a major militant campaign in 2016.

Shell declared force majeure on Bonny Light crude shipments last month following pipeline leaks, while loadings of Forcados exports were also delayed. Weli didn’t specifically link those incidents to his comments on vandalism.

Militant assaults on Nigeria’s oil infrastructure in 2016 cut the country’s output to less than 1.4 million barrels a day, the lowest in 27 years. While there hasn’t been a major attack since, the security situation in the oil region remains fluid, according to Weli. Brent crude, which compares with Nigeria oil grades, has rallied almost 50 percent in the past year, trading at $74.35 a barrel as of 12.07 p.m. in London.

Crude Theft

“Facilities operated by both indigenous and international oil companies continue to be vandalized by attacks and other illegal activities such as crude-oil theft,” he said by email. “We are continuing to monitor the situation to mitigate any exposure and minimize risks faced by our personnel.”

Shell pumped an average of 631,000 barrels a day in Nigeria last year, about a third of the nation’s production. Despite the rally in output, the company still counted 60 cases of sabotage and theft, compared with 49 the year before. There were 10 such incidents recorded in the first two months of 2018, according to Weli.

Shell and its Nigerian partners are “currently evaluating opportunities to further increase production of the Bonga field,” a deep-water project which started production in 2005, Weli said, without providing further details.

Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, is scheduled to load at least 1.8 million barrels a day next month. That equals the production cap it agreed on with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which took effect in January.

Bloomberg

148 Boko Haram hostages including children freed by Nigerian Army

Nigeria's army rescued 148 hostages, most of them women and children, from Boko Haram militants, the army said Monday. 

Soldiers rescued the hostages during an operation Sunday as members of the terror group fled "troops' onslaught in the Lake Chad Islands and fringes of the northern borders of Borno state," according to a statement. 

The captives were freed in the large but remote town of Bama, about 45 miles southeast of Maiduguri. Borno state in northeast Nigeria borders Niger, Chad and Cameroon, all of which have experienced violent incidents with Boko Haram.

Seventy-five children, 58 women and 15 men comprised the rescued group, the army said. There were two pregnant teenagers among the hostages. 

The women told their rescuers they were "sexually violated and used as sex slaves," while the men were forced to carry out labor, the army statement said. 

The freed hostages will be transported to a Bama camp for internally displaced people, the army said.
Last month, the army freed 1,000 hostages after a weeklong battle with Boko Haram that left 50 militants dead, according to an army spokesman. That battle also unfolded in Borno state.

Boko Haram militants mainly inhabit areas in the northern states of Nigeria, specifically Yobe, Kano, Bauchi, Borno and Kaduna. The group has kidnapped more than 1,000 children in Nigeria since 2013, according to a recent report. 

The group sparked global outrage after militants seized 276 girls from a boarding school in Borno's Chibok town in 2014. Some of the girls were freed last year following negotiations between the government and Boko Haram. 

In April, the Nigerian government said a disagreement between members of the terror group had caused a breakdown in negotiations for the release of the remaining schoolgirls.

CNN

Senate president of Nigeria linked to heist that left 33 people dead

Nigeria's Senate President is linked to suspects involved in a notorious bank heist where 33 people died, Nigerian police has said. 

Police say the robbers attacked six banks in the remote town of Offa in Kwara State and fired at a police station, killing nine police officers and passersby including some pregnant women on April 5 this year. 

Five members of the criminal gang arrested after the robbery in central Nigeria allege the operation was financed by Bukola Saraki, Nigeria police said in a statement.

"Senate President, Bukola Saraki, is being invited to report to the police to answer allegations indicting him from confessions of five gang leaders arrested for active participation in Offa bank robbery and killings of 33 innocent persons," said Nigeria police spokesman Jimoh Moshood in a statement.

Saraki later sent a tweet saying that Nigeria police no longer required him to attend the station but had asked him to respond to the allegations in writing instead.

According to the police, the five suspects arrested in the robbery confessed they had been "sponsored with firearms, money and operational vehicles" by the lawmaker to carry out the bank robberies.
However, the leader of Nigeria's Upper Chamber released a statement Monday saying the allegations were "baseless." 

"Let it be known that there is no way I could have been associated with armed robbery against my people. I hereby state categorically that I have no link with any band of criminals. As a person who has utmost respect for the rule of law... when the invitation from the police is formally extended to me, I will be ready to honor it without any delay," Saraki said in a statement. 

A commentator online, Reno Omokri questioned why Saraki, who controls Senate's annual budget of around $300 million, would rob a bank.

"But why will politicians who can rob the treasury prefer to rob a bank? Which is easier and more profitable?" asked Omokri, a former aide to ex-Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan. 

The Offa bank robbery is one of the most audacious heists carried out in the country in recent years, police say.

 
The thieves got away with millions of naira in local currency after using dynamite to blow up a vault in one bank.

CNN