Three suspects, linked to a spate of killings targeting women in Nigeria's oil-rich Rivers State have been arrested, police said on Wednesday.
A woman was rescued by police who arrested a man in the city on Wednesday after he attempted to strangle her while she slept in a hotel room they shared, police spokesman Nnamdi Omoni told CNN.
"The young woman escaped because she was able to raise the alarm at about 2am. She was sleeping when she suddenly woke up and saw the man who brought her to the hotel charging at her,"Omoni said.
"She was almost dying when the man tried to strangle her," he added.
Hallmarks of cultism
Women in the city have been found murdered in different hotel rooms since August, often strangled with a piece of white clothing tied either around their neck or waist, police commissioner Mustapha Dandaura said at a briefing Tuesday.
The killings in Port Harcourt bore all the hallmarks of "cultism," police said.
"The same modus operandi is used by the killers. They drug the ladies before strangling them to death. They use a white cloth to tie either on their neck or their waist. There is an element of cultism," Dandaura, said. He added that all the women's body parts were found intact.
Hotels shutdown
All the women killed were involved in prostitution in the city, according to the police.
The police commissioner said a man has confessed to one of the murders and is cooperating with detectives investigating the murders.
Another man was arrested Monday night after a woman alerted officers that the suspect tried to lure her to a hotel room against her will, police said.
"He has also confessed and gave useful clues in our investigation," Dandaura said.
CNN
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Video - Tijane Bande of Nigeria gives maiden address as General Assembly President of UN
Tensions between the United States and Iran as well as climate change will be at top of the agenda in the world's biggest annual diplomatic gathering. The 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has officially opened in New York, one week before world leaders arrive.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Nigeria to play Brazil in football friendly
Brazil have confirmed they will face Senegal on 10 October and Nigeria three days later at the National Stadium in Singapore.
It will be first ever meeting between Brazil and Senegal, who lost the Africa Cup of Nations final to Algeria and are the continent's top-ranked African side.
Nigeria, who won Bronze in Egypt, will be meeting Brazil for the second time at senior level following a 3-0 defeat in a friendly in June 2003 in Abuja.
"We chose two of the best African teams because they are high level opponents," Brazil Football Confederation official Juninho Paulista said on the website.
"It was a wish of the technical commission. So we went after these opponents."
The friendlies are in line with Brazil's wishes to play top 50 ranked teams whenever possible.
Brazil's only other Africa opponent under coach Tite was a 1-0 win over Cameroon in November last year, in a match played in England.
It will be Brazil's second game in Singapore following a Neymar-inspired victory over Japan in October 2014.
BBC
It will be first ever meeting between Brazil and Senegal, who lost the Africa Cup of Nations final to Algeria and are the continent's top-ranked African side.
Nigeria, who won Bronze in Egypt, will be meeting Brazil for the second time at senior level following a 3-0 defeat in a friendly in June 2003 in Abuja.
"We chose two of the best African teams because they are high level opponents," Brazil Football Confederation official Juninho Paulista said on the website.
"It was a wish of the technical commission. So we went after these opponents."
The friendlies are in line with Brazil's wishes to play top 50 ranked teams whenever possible.
Brazil's only other Africa opponent under coach Tite was a 1-0 win over Cameroon in November last year, in a match played in England.
It will be Brazil's second game in Singapore following a Neymar-inspired victory over Japan in October 2014.
BBC
South Africa apologizes to Nigeria for xenophobic attacks
A South African envoy to President Cyril Ramaphosa apologised "profusely" to the Nigerian government after a spate of deadly xenophobic attacks that rocked Johannesburg and Pretoria.
Jeff Radebe was in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, to attend a meeting on Monday to convey "sincerest apologies about the incident that has recently transpired in South Africa".
"The incident does not represent what we stand for," Radebe said, adding South African police would "leave no stone unturned, that those involved must be brought to book".
The Nigerian government said in a statement following the meeting: "President [Muhammadu] Buhari responded to profuse apologies from the South African president, pledging that relationship between the two countries will be solidified."
Foreign workers in South Africa - the continent's second-largest economy after Nigeria - are often victims of anti-immigrant sentiment in a nation where almost one-third of people are unemployed.
At least 12 people were killed in recent weeks after 1,000 foreign-owned business were targeted.
The violence prompted reprisal attacks against South African firms in Nigeria and the temporary closure of South Africa's diplomatic missions in Lagos and Abuja.
The violence sparked an international outcry and calls for a boycott of South Africa.
Following the violence, Nigeria announced it would repatriate more than 600 nationals to protect them from future violence.
Besides the hundreds of Nigerians returning to their home country, more than 700 people from other countries, including Malawi and Zimbabwe, sought refuge in South African community centres.
Many left their homes with little more than a few bags when the attacks began.
In 2008, at least 62 people, including South Africans, were killed in violence and looting targeting foreign-owned stores.
Al Jazeera
Jeff Radebe was in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, to attend a meeting on Monday to convey "sincerest apologies about the incident that has recently transpired in South Africa".
"The incident does not represent what we stand for," Radebe said, adding South African police would "leave no stone unturned, that those involved must be brought to book".
The Nigerian government said in a statement following the meeting: "President [Muhammadu] Buhari responded to profuse apologies from the South African president, pledging that relationship between the two countries will be solidified."
Foreign workers in South Africa - the continent's second-largest economy after Nigeria - are often victims of anti-immigrant sentiment in a nation where almost one-third of people are unemployed.
At least 12 people were killed in recent weeks after 1,000 foreign-owned business were targeted.
The violence prompted reprisal attacks against South African firms in Nigeria and the temporary closure of South Africa's diplomatic missions in Lagos and Abuja.
The violence sparked an international outcry and calls for a boycott of South Africa.
Following the violence, Nigeria announced it would repatriate more than 600 nationals to protect them from future violence.
Besides the hundreds of Nigerians returning to their home country, more than 700 people from other countries, including Malawi and Zimbabwe, sought refuge in South African community centres.
Many left their homes with little more than a few bags when the attacks began.
In 2008, at least 62 people, including South Africans, were killed in violence and looting targeting foreign-owned stores.
Al Jazeera
Monday, September 16, 2019
Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie wins the Kassel Citizens' " Prism of Reason" Award
At the award ceremony which held in Germany on Sunday, coincides with the 42nd Birth Anniversary of the multiple award winning writer.
$9.6bn fine: Count me out of your dubious scheme to defraud Nigeria - Malami replies P&ID(Opens in a new browser tab)
According to a statement issued by the organisers of the event, the prize is awarded to 'persons or institutions whose work serves the ideals of the Enlightenment by overcoming ideological barriers and promoting reason and tolerance towards dissenters'.
"The Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees of the Society of Friends and Sponsors of the Kassel Citizens' Prize have selected Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as the 2019 winner of the "Prism of Reason". This makes her the first Nigerian to receive this remarkable prize.
The award ceremony which takes place at the State Theater of Kassel in Germany is also in recognition of Adichie's undeniable literary prowess, but also for her equality and justice advocacy.
The "Prism of Reason" award was founded in 1990 by citizens of the city of Kassel and the region. So far, the prize has been awarded 28 times. The 2019 award is the 29th in the series.
The first prize-winner (in 1991) was the then German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher; he was honoured for his services to the opening of the Iron Curtain.
Other awardees include Chinese dissident and artist Ai Weiwei; Indian scientist and documenta 13 participant, Vandana Shiva; Somali-born Dutch-American activist, Ayaan Hirsi Ali; Israeli diplomat, peace activist and publicist Avi Primor; and Peruvian farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya.
A statement made by the Kassel Board president Bernd Leifeld said "Combative but not fanatical, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie... points out ways to overcome outdated patterns which are deeply anchored in education and society.
"Kassel citizens honour her with their Prize 'The Prism of Reason 2019' because she believes in the social, political and economic equality of all people," he said.
The prize consists of a certificate, a sculpture designed by the Kassel art professor and documenta artist Karl Oskar Blase with a prism (symbolising the analytical glass of the Enlightenment).
In a related development, its been a good weekend for Adichie as she celebrates her 42nd birthday.
First was the announcement on Friday that HBO Max, a division of WarnerMedia Entertainment, is creating a straight-to-series order for the television adaptation of Adichie's most recent novel 'Americanah'.
The 10-episode series will star Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o, with the pilot being written by screenwriter and actor Danai Gurira (who starred in the movie "Black Panther")- and will be co-produced by Lupita Nyong'o and Brad Pitt's production company Plan B.
Adichie has also been trending non-stop on social media since Friday when a Twitter group of fans of the writer @Chimamanda_Army went viral to announce a competition to celebrate her birthday.
The competition tagged #10ThingsAboutChimamanda, encourages participants to list 10 things about Adichie to stand the chance of winning fan-donated prizes.
The prizes include: 10 collections of Chimamanda's books, 10 pairs of movie tickets to watch a film of their choice at any Filmhouse cinema location; and 10 Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8 Tablets.
According to the fans, the competition kicked off fully at 12am midnight Nigerian time/GMT (the start of her birthday, Sunday September 15th) and will run until 5pm Nigerian time/GMT of the same day.
Vanguard
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