Pirates attack Greek oil tanker off Nigeria

By Agency Reporter 

 

 A military helicopter patrolling the Gulf of Arden. Photo: IMB

Pirates attacked a Greek-owned oil tanker off Nigeria Friday but failed to hijack the ship after the crew hid in a safe room, the International Maritime Bureau said.
The tanker was anchored off Lagos when armed pirates boarded early on Friday, said Noel Choong, head of the IMB's piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur.
The 23 crew onboard managed to lock themselves into a safe room and sent out a distress call that was received by the IMB, which in turn alerted the Nigerian navy and other warships patrolling the area, Choong said.
Safe rooms are increasingly used by shipping firms to protect crews and thwart pirate attacks.
Choong said the pirates, likely aiming to steal the ship's cargo, abandoned their plan as they could not enter the safe room and urged crews of other ships off West Africa to be vigilant.
"The area remains risky. We urge all ships to maintain strict anti-piracy watches," he told AFP news agency.

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

Rights violation: Court awards N5m against EFCC, UBA

By Chris Oji 

 

EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde

The Federal High Court sitting in Enugu on Thursday awarded N5 million compensation against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and United Bank for Africa (UBA) for human rights violation.

 The beneficiary, Eric Emeka Onoh, a security staff of the UBA, Enugu branch, was reportedly stripped naked in the banking hall for alleged fraud.

  Justice Dorothy Agishi in her judgment admitted that the applicant proved his case beyond reasonable doubt.

The court held that the applicant has the legal rights protected by law and after analyzing the submissions of both the applicant and respondents counsels, found that the rights of the applicant was infringed upon by  the respondents.

The judge accepted the graphic details given by the applicant on the roles played by the respondents in the incident.

The court noted that the respondents did not deny all the allegations made by the applicant in their submissions and awarded a compensation of N5million against them.

Justice Agishi also ordered that his frozen account  in Diamond Bank be reopened.

She, however, regretted the non-inclusion of the police in the matter.

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

Kidnapped American regains freedom

By Agency Reporter

Security agents in Benin have freed a United States citizen lured to the West African state last week by criminals he met on the internet, the country’s interior ministry said.
"The kidnappers are in the hands of the police," spokesman Frank Kinninvo said, adding that the U.S. national had been found in the Mono region of southwest Benin.
A security source said the man had travelled to Benin to meet a group of people from Benin and neighbouring Nigeria.
He was abducted and then forced to contact his family to ask for a ransom payment, the source in Benin said, adding that there were no apparent links to Islamist groups or pirates who operate in the region.
Reuters says kidnappings of foreigners are rare in Benin, a French-speaking country of about nine million people, but there have been several abductions in Nigeria this year.
There have also been a number of cases of foreigners being kidnapped in West Africa after making contacts on the internet over the past two years.

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

Renaming of institution:UNILAG students, police clash

By Agency Reporter

 
Dozens of UNILAG students on Wednesday seized a BRT bus on Third Mainland bridge, Lagos, to protest the renaming of their school. Photo: Getty Images

Police in Lagos used tear gas on Friday to disperse angry university students protesting President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to change the name of their school.
The Associated Press reports that the protest began peacefully at the University of Lagos. But students then surrounded an armored police truck and beat on it.
Police fired tear gas and hundreds of students responded with a barrage of thrown stones.
President Jonathan on Tuesday renamed UNILAG to Moshood Abiola University in honor of the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief M.K.O Abiola, who died in prison over a decade ago.
The president said the name change would honour Abiola's "heroism."
He also announced that government would establish an institute of democratic studies in the renamed university.
For many students, however, this is an unfair trade-off. They argued that the government has perennially neglected the university which has overcrowded classrooms and ill-equipped laboratories.
The university senate declared a sudden two-week holiday on Wednesday but many students remain in the university's dormitories, from where they continue to organise protests.

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK