Man kills wife with machete

A man who was identified by the police as Sunday Eze (Jnr) has reportedly matcheted his wife to death at the University town of Nsukka in Enugu State.

Eze, alleged to be a native of Agbani Nguru in Nsukka Local Government was said to have killed his wife following a slight misunderstanding he had with her.

Vanguard sources said at Nsukka that the suspect allegedly killed his wife lon Tuesday night in the presence of their only child Onyebuchi Eze, 11. The suspect was alleged to have rebuffed pleas by the child not to kill his mother.

The kid who received a deep cut in his hand in attempt to prevent his father from killing his mother is a form five pupil of a primary school in the area.

The suspect was however said to have had a mental problem before the incident. It was alleged that the suspect had threatened to kill his wife each time they had any disagreement.

Police sources quoted the 11 year old boy as stating that his parents had quarrels that night before his father used his matchet and killed his ‘’mummy,’’ adding, ‘’I rushed him and pleaded but he did not listen to me. He stabbed my mother severally both on the head and legs and on seeing that mummy is dead, he asked me to go to his elder brother’s residence, and tell them what has happened while he also moved to the nearby neighbours to inform them.’’

According to the police sources, Onyebuchi complied as directed by his father only for the assailant to escape into the bush for three days before he was caught by a search party in the community.

The search party headed by one Christopher Ejike Onah alias Papa Nsukka, was said to have apprehended the suspect after ransacking all the nearby bushes and villages.

He was said to have attempted to kill himself with a screw driver which gave him a very deep cut in the throat.before he was arrested on the third night, looking frail and haggard.

The suspect told Vanguard that his late wife was responsible for his mental problem even as he further claimed that she died during a scuffle with him on the fateful night.

“I was told by my diviner that my wife has a hand in my mental problem which causes me internal heat at intervals,’’ the suspect further told Vanguard.

Vanguard

Boko Haram attack telecoms facilities

Gunmen attacked and damaged many mobile phone masts belonging to MTN and Airtel in Kano and Maiduguri yesterday, disrupting telecommunications in parts of the two cities, Daily Trust learnt.

In what appeared to be coordinated attacks on telecom installations, at least eight MTN masts were destroyed and its office burnt in Maiduguri between Tuesday night and early morning yesterday, while attackers detonated an explosive in front of a cell phone tower in Bauchi.

No one was reported killed in the attacks, which are likely to be blamed on a sect that has waged a campaign of violence in the North because the sect in February issued threats against mobile telecom companies.

In Maiduguri, residents said about 10 gunmen hit the MTN office around 2am yesterday and chased away private security guards on duty, before setting fire to the building.

The gunmen also damaged telecommunication masts belonging to MTN at Bolori, Ngaranam, Dala Alamdiri, Adam Kolo, Limanti, Gwange, Bayan Quarters and West End areas.



"Some young, about ten of them, armed with guns came to this place in the night and ordered the security men out of the place before they set the office including the mast ablaze," a security guard for one of the companies close to the MTN office said.

A spokeswoman for MTN confirmed to Daily Trust that some of MTN's installations were damaged in the North.

"We confirm that like all the other major telcos, some of MTN's installations in northern Nigeria have been damaged by unknown persons," spokeswoman Funmilayo Omogbenigun said.



"All the relevant government security agencies have been informed and we are receiving their full co-operation."

Airtel was not immediately available for comment.

Spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State, Lt. Col Sagir Musa, confirmed the attacks on facilities of telcos but said he will brief the media later on the incident.

When our reporter visited the burnt MTN office, it was found destroyed and no staff was seen around.

Residents of the affected areas said there was no mobile telephone reception after the incidents.

The attacks appeared to scare telecommunication company workers in the city as they all locked their offices.

In Kano, men on motorbikes destroyed MTN and Airtel mobile phone masts in Hotoron Hangama and Sharada industrial estate early yesterday.

An official of MTN, who does not want to be named, told our correspondent that the company's Hotoron Hangama base station went up in flames around 7am.

"It is obvious that the fire was set by someone because we hardly encounter such fire incidents at our stations," he said.

Witnesses reported seeing two men on a motorcycle setting the facility on fire.

A security guard attached to one of the industries in Sharada said the Airtel base station was burnt by two attackers.

Meanwhile, security was beefed up around telecommunication installations in all parts of Kano yesterday.

When contacted, spokesman for the Kano State Police Command, ASP Musa Magaji Majiya, said a fire incident was reported at MTN base station in Hotoro but was put out immediately by guards. H said the command did not receive any report about the incident affecting Airtel mast in Sharada.

In Bauchi, one person was injured when an explosive went off apparently targeting a mobile telecom installation on Tuesday night. The Police said they diffused another bomb elsewhere in the city.


Spokesman for the Police in Bauchi ASP Hassan Mohammed Auyo confirmed the incidents but did not give details.

In his reaction, chairman of Association Licensed Telecommunications of Nigeria (ALTON) Engr. Gbenga Adebayo said attacks on telecom facilities could affect the quality of service.

No one claimed responsibility for the attacks as at last night, but the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunnah Lid Da'awati Wal Jihad otherwise known as Boko Haram in February threatened to attack telecom companies over alleged collaboration with security agencies that led to the arrest of some of their members.

Daily Trust

Video - Nigerians fight government in court over contested land

Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians living in informal settlements face having their homes demolished.

Authorities say the households were built illegally on government land, but the people who live there argue they are the legal owners. Now they are taking their claim to court.

Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege reports from Mpape, the largest settlement in Abuja, the capital, facing demolition.

Related story: Video - Thousands homeless after forced eviction from Makoko

Nigerian government lifts suspension on Dana Airline

The Federal Government has lifted the suspension of the operating licence of Dana Airlines. A statement by Media Aide to the Aviation minister, Mr. Joe Obi said the decision followed "government's satisfaction with the air-worthiness of the airline after a rigorous technical, operational and financial audit of the airline.

"By this development, Dana Airline is free to resume its normal commercial flight operations."

The statement said government will continue to strengthen its oversight and regulatory functions "to ensure that all airlines operating in the country, including Dana adhere strictly to safety procedures as required by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act and all other relevant local and international regulations that ensure and promote sustainable air safety."

The operating licence of Dana Airlines was temporarily suspended following the crash of one of its aircraft on June 3, in Lagos that killed 146 passengers and 7 crew members, as a safety precaution.

Daily Trust

Related story: Compensation begins on bereaved families of Dana Air victims

Nigeria ranked behind Ghana and Kenya by World Economic Forum

Despite a series of reforms to improve the economic conditions and business competiveness in Nigeria, the country still trails smaller African countries like Ghana, Cameroun and Kenya in global competiveness.

The Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) Index 2012-2013 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) indicated that Nigeria ranked 115th out of 144 countries assessed - behind Ghana, Kenya and Cameroun, which ranked higher at 103rd, 106th and 112th positions respectively. Only Benin Republic trailed Nigeria with a ranking of 119th while South Africa ranked 52nd globally, making it the most competitive in Africa.

The GCR Index, which assessed the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity, indicated that after some deterioration in the rankings in recent years, Nigeria has moved up to 115th place this year due to improved macroeconomic conditions which reflected a positive government balance and a drop in inflation.

According to the report, despite a slight improvement since last year, the institutional environment did not support a competitive economy because of concerns about the protection of property rights, ethics and corruption, undue influence, and government inefficiencies.

The security situation in the country was also considered dire and having worsened since last year. Additionally, Nigeria received poor assessments for its infrastructure (130th) as well as its health and primary education levels (142nd).

On IT infrastructure, the report pointed that Nigeria was not harnessing the latest technologies for productivity enhancements, as demonstrated by its low rates of ICT penetration.

However, despite these weaknesses, the report noted that the country has a number of strengths on which to build, including its relatively large market (33rd), which provides its companies with opportunities for economies of scale as well as sophisticated regional standards (66th), with some cluster development, companies that tend to hire professional managers, and a willingness to delegate decision-making authority within the organisation.

Ghana ranked 103rd this year, having moved up an impressive 11 places since last year, on the back of improvements in the basic requirements of its macroeconomic stability and health as well as educational outcomes.

The report noted that Ghana traditionally displayed strong public institutions and governance indicators, especially in regional comparison, along with increased government regulation, though sizeable deteriorations in all indicators dragged down the country's score in the institution's pillar to 75th place (from 61st last year). Education levels also continued to lag behind international standards at all levels, labour markets are still characterized by inefficiencies, and the country is not harnessing new technologies for productivity enhancements (ICT adoption rates are very low).

South Africa was ranked 52nd this year, remaining the highest-ranked country in sub-Saharan Africa and the third-placed among the BRICS economies. According to the report, the country benefited from the large size of its economy, particularly by regional standards (it ranked 25th in the market size pillar).

It also does well on measures of the quality of its institutions and on factor allocation, such as intellectual property protection (20th), property rights (26th), the accountability of its private institutions (2nd), and its goods market efficiency (32rd).

Particularly impressive is the country's financial market development (3rd), indicating high confidence in South Africa's financial markets at a time when trust is returning only slowly in many other parts of the world.

South Africa also does reasonably well in more complex areas such as business sophistication (38th) and innovation (42nd), benefitting from good scientific research institutions (34th) and strong collaboration between universities and the business sector in innovation (30th).

Overall, this year's report findings showed that Switzerland topped the rankings in the Global Competitiveness Report for the fourth consecutive year. Singapore remained in second position with Finland, in third position, overtaking Sweden (4th). These and other Northern and Western European countries dominated the top 10 with the Netherlands, Germany and United Kingdom respectively ranked 5th, 6th and 8th.

The United States (7th), Hong Kong (9th) and Japan (10th) completed the top 10. The Report emphasized persisting competitiveness divides across and within regions, as short-termism and political deadlock continue to hold back the economic performance of many countries and regions.

Looking forward, productivity improvements and private sector investment would be key to improving global economies at a time of heightened uncertainty about the global economic outlook, the report said.

Leadership

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