Monday, September 12, 2016

Nigerian paralympian brings in 3rd gold and breaks world record

Nigeria has won her third gold medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Brazil through Team Nigeria’s Captain Lucy Ejike who also shattered the Paralympic and world record to dominate the women’s -61kg event in powerlifting.

Power-lifter, Paul Kehinde, in the 65kg men’s category, had earlier on Friday lifted 218kg to outshine his competitors to win the country’s second gold medal after Roland Ezuruike opened the gold haul also in powerlifting on Friday.

Ejike began her campaign at the Riocentro Pavillion 2 on Sunday with a successful attempt at 136.0kg, which was a new Paralympic Record (PR) and World Record (WR). However, that was just the beginning as she went on to set a superior mark of 138.0kg at her next attempt, before culminating with a massive lift of 142.0kg.

Egypt’s Fatma Omar finished in 2nd place with her lift of 140kg. China’s Yan Yang won the Bronze medal with a distant 128kg. China’s Peng Hu (200kg) came second, while Egypt’s Shaaban Ibrahim (193kg) came third. Ejike and Kehinde’s victory take Nigeria’s total medal tally to 5 – three gold and two silver medals which came from Latifat Tijani and Esther Onyema. Already the performances of Nigeria’s physically-challenged athletes has drowned their main Olympics counterparts who only managed a football bronze medal throughout the competition.

Vanguard

Friday, September 9, 2016

Video - Deadly clashes reported between rival factions of Boko Haram group



Reports have emerged of deadly clashes between rival factions of the Boko Haram militant group. The violence has taken place in Borno State near Lake Chad. Details remain sketchy, though. The dispute is over the leadership of Boko Haram. The group is an affiliate of ISIL. Last month, ISIL declared Abu Musab al-Barnawi the leader of Boko Haram - replacing Abubakar Shekau. Shekau says he is still in charge, though, despite claims by the military that soldiers fatally wounded him. Shekau initially pledged Boko Haram's allegiance to ISIL.

Video - President Buhari urges Nigerians to shun corruption, social vices



Nigeria's President Muhamadu Buhari has kicked off a social change campaign called ‘Change Begins With Me’. He has pledged to get rid of corruption and other social vices. He has also warned Nigerians that they too must change their attitudes. The president has praised his government's efforts to fight corruption, adding that the campaign is a way of getting ordinary Nigerians to join in.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Video - Nigeria's army claims arrest of Avengers militant group leader



The Nigerian army claims it has arrested a suspected leader of the Niger Delta Avengers, as well as other suspected militants accused of attacking oil and gas infrastructure. Isaac Romeo and two others were detained over the weekend in Calabar, the capital of Cross River state in the Delta region. Authorities say they picked up a fourth man on Tuesday in Edo, north of Delta. He's thought to be responsible for last month's attack on a pipeline operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company and energy giant Shoreline.

Video - Nigeria's trade deficit narrows 44% in the second quarter



Nigeria's export trade has increased by over 60% to $5.9 billion in the second quarter of the year. Latest data from the national bureau of statistics shows the the trade deficit narrowed 44% as the value of exports surged after a devaluation of the naira. However, the rise was not enough to help the economy avoid a recession. Low oil prices have hammered vital public finances and the naira -- prompting foreign investors to flee bond and equities markets, causing chronic dollar shortages. Meanwhile, exports were dominated by crude oil, which contributed 79.7 percent of total exports. Imports rose 38.1 percent in the second quarter, with machinery and appliances, vehicles and aircraft parts and petroleum products making up the bulk of the numbers.