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The four locally transmitted cases in Da Nang prompt a tourism ban and renewed prevention measures.

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More than 80 people were killed in two attacks in Sudan's restive western region, the UN says.

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The event comes after China's state media said HSBC played a role in the arrest of Huawei's finance chief.

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Investors will now have greater access to Chinese tech firms including Alibaba, China's answer to Amazon.

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China's decision to close the US mission came after the US shut China's consulate in Houston.

Nigerian Soldiers In Borno Lament Poor Feeding By Government, Accuse Commander Of Embezzlement WATCH VIDEO: Nigerian Soldiers In Borno Lament Poor Feeding By Government, Accuse Commanding Officer Of Embezzlement Of Funds Military VIDEO NEWS News Reports AddThis :  Featured Image :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
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Facts have emerged on how some Nigerian Government officials and senior Nigerian National Petroleum Corporations staff connived to sell 48 million barrels of Bonny Light crude oil stolen from the country during the first year of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term in office in 2015.

The stolen crude was moved to China where it was stored in various ports and terminals including Sinochem tanks in Zhoushan bonded area and Vishal star tanks.

Potential buyers were from that point contacted for the stolen product by the Nigerian Government officials including a company that eventually blew the whistle on the monumental fraud.

Realising that the crude was stolen, SAMANO SA DE CV brought to the Nigerian Government’s attention the criminal activity involving the NNPC, according to documents seen by SaharaReporters.

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Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari, late Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Abba Kyari, and Mr Umar Mohammed were all promptly notified of the stolen crude in order to take appropriate action.

However, a letter written by the whistleblower to the President was prevented from getting to him by Mohammed.

In October 2015, the stolen crude was moved from China without the knowledge of President Buhari and sold illegally by some government and NNPC officials with the proceeds not remitted to the government's coffers.

When the whistleblower pushed for its agreed five per cent cut of the sale of the crude for exposing the theft, its officials were harassed and issued death threats.

Several efforts for compensation by the whistleblower continues to be frustrated by government officials, who were part of the illegal deal and economic sabotage.

The whistleblower in a letter by its lawyer, Gboyega Oyewole of Lord and Temple, a United Kingdom-based law firm, dated July 23, 2020 to the NNPC GMD has demanded for the company’s compensation for helping to expose the criminal activity.

The whistleblower policy, an anti-corruption programme launched in 2016 by the Nigerian Government, encourages individuals to report cases of financial mismanagement or stolen funds in return for a share of the recovered item if the information provided turns out to be credible.

The letter reads, “Our client was approached by a group in the Peoples’ Republic of Chinas with the intent to sell 48 million barrels of Bonny Light Crude Oil believed to have been stolen from the Federal Republic of Nigeria and stored in various ports and terminals in China.

“It was revealed to our client that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporations authorised certain companies to sell the stolen product.

“It was agreed that an investigation into the stolen products should be made to ascertain the veracity of the information and gather more facts as to the fraudulent activities. It was also agreed that if the information is found credible, the perpetrators of the offensive will be apprehended and that compensation due to our client for the information so brought forward will be awarded.

“In October 2015, our client got wind of the fact that the stolen products were being moved from their location in China by the Nigerian Government in calculated steps to recover the said products. Our client then caused a letter to be written to Mr Mele Kyari, through Mr. Marco Ramirez, offering to legally purchase the said products from the Nigerian Government if available for sale.

“Our client through its representative subsequently wrote to Mr Umar Mohammed clarifying its intention to the criminal activity in respect to the stolen products and not to make illegal purchases of the same.

“To date, our client has unfortunately not received any form of compensation for the information provided to the Nigerian Government in respect of the stolen products and or response to its offer to legally purchase the same when recovered.

“The upright act of reporting the criminal activity to appropriate quarters was not protected by the expected confidential nature of the policy, thereby exposing officials of our client to serious consequences including threat to life.”

DOCUMENT: Whistle Blower Letter to NNPC by Sahara Reporters on Scribd

The whistleblower’s lawyer further revealed that Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, and former Director-General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura, were contacted to help get its compensation but nothing tangible surfaced.

The company has now threatened to take legal action against the NNPC if after 14 days from the date of the receipt of the letter the demand was not met.

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The police have confirmed the arrest and detention of one Pwadimadi Zeham, 26, for defiling a four-year old girl in Adamawa State.

Spokesperson for the police in the state, DSP Suleiman Nguroje, told SaharaReporters that Zeham, who was arrested in Numan town where he committed the crime, had on Thursday had carnal knowledge of the little girl.

He said, "The Adamawa State Police Command wishes to inform the public that it's fight against sexual violence against women and children is extended to Numan Federation.

"Detectives attached to Numan Division have arrested one Pwadimadi Zeham, 26, a resident of Mbulawa ward, Numan Local Government Area, for raping a four-year-old girl. 
 
"The suspect, who happened to be a close neighbour to the victim, took her into his room on July 23 and had carnal knowledge of her.

"The mother, upon noticing the unusual behaviour of her little baby, closely monitored and observed sperm in her private part, hence she reported.

"The victim is now undergoing medical screening while the suspect is taken into custody for investigation and prosecution."

This comes one week after two minors were raped in the state, the first being a nine-year-old, who was defiled by her step-father; and the second an underage girl with special needs.

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Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has explained the reason why he left the opposition Peoples Democratic Party for the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Dogara said he resigned from the PDP because of the alleged failure of governance in Bauchi State where he hails from.

In his letter of resignation addressed to the Bogoro ‘C’ Ward chairman of the PDP, the former House of Representatives Speaker said Governor Bala Mohammed whom he helped into power, had not lived up to expectation.

His letter reads, “I write to intimate you of my decision to resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party. This became necessary because the same reasons why we fought hard in 2019 to effect changes in the governance of our dear state are festering now.

“I intend to bring these issues to the front burner once again as the fight to install a decent and egalitarian government in our dear state continues.

“I cannot raise these issues and many more questions without a charge of disloyalty levelled against me if I were to remain a member of the PDP. I cannot also fail to raise these questions now having raised similar ones during the administrations of governors Isa Yuguda and Mohammed A. Abubakar. If I abdicate this responsibility on the altar of partisan loyalty, I will be the most irresponsible and unprincipled politician in Bauchi State.

“Thus, by this letter, I have resigned my membership of the PDP to enable me keep faith with my principle of fighting for good governance in our dear state.”

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There are fears that the police formation in Abia State may be infected with COVID-19.

This followed the escape of 29 detainees from a police station in Umuahia, the state capital.

The  Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre  in a statement said that sources in the police confirmed that the incident may have been caused by fear of Coronavirus.

“Reliable sources informed us that there is an outbreak of COVID-19 at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Umuahia. The source said the number of affected detainees and police officers are yet to be ascertained.

“Police authorities are reported to be taking measures to ensure that the virus does not spread to other police formations in Umuahia. Our source said samples have been taken from detainees at Central Police Station Umuahia,” the statement said.

The group noted that 20 of the 29 detainees have been rearrested with minimal force but called for an investigation into the incident.

“It is, however, imperative to inquire into the reason the detainees made the escape. It is important to ascertain the categories of offences of the detainees to know if they fall within categories of offences permitted under the IGP's directive to detain accused persons only for major offences. It is also important to ascertain the conditions and security of the cells, the level of congestion in the cell, whether there is maltreatment of inmates and if there's scare of infection.

“It is clear that the refusal by correctional centres to accept persons on trial ordered by courts to be remanded in prisons has forced judges and magistrates in Abia and other states to order the remand of defendants in police cells thereby creating challenges for the police with regards to complying with the directives by the IGP to ensure decongestion of police cells.

“This has led to breaches of the IGP's directive that arrests and detention should be minimised to only major offences,” the statement added.

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A Chief Magistrates Court sitting in Calabar, Cross River State and presided over by Mrs Rita Marshall, has fixed August 10, 2020 to rule on the no case to answer submission filed by the defendants in case number MC/428C/19.

The defendants, Jonathan Ugbal and Jeremiah Archibong, are the News Editor and Managing Editor of CrossRiverWatch, an online newspaper based in Cross River State.

They were arrested on August 5, 2020 and after spending two nights in detention, three counts charges bordering on conspiracy, unlawful assembly and conduct causing breach of public peace were preferred against them when they were arraigned on August 7, 2020.

Mr Jonathan is said to have arrived the venue for the #RevolutionNow protest in the morning of August 5, 2019 on his way to work to report it but was arrested by the Anti-Cultism and Kidnapping Squad, who claimed he had knowledge of the protest beforehand and therefore was part of the planning.

Mr Archibong and Nicholas Kalu, a correspondent with The Nation newspapers, visited the unit to inquire why he was arrested and were both detained.

However, Mr Kalu was released shortly before midnight.

After several adjournments, the arresting police officer, DSP Igini Chukwuma, and the investigating police officer, Sergeant Aaron Adie, testified before the court.

Chukwuma told the court that he was ordered to arrest anyone, who approached the venue and having seen Jonathan he decided to “take him in”.

He said he was later ordered to transfer him to the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department, which he did and had no knowledge of the investigations after that.

Sergeant Adie in his testimony denied knowledge of the fact the duo were journalists and could not explain why only two out of the three were charged in court.

Also, he said he neither knew the source of livelihood of the duo nor their addresses.

Counsel to the defendants, Kehole Enya, proceeded to file a no case to answer submission, which was adopted on Wednesday.

He prayed the court to acquit and discharge the duo as the police had failed to prove their case.

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Ruth Olowookere, the Iyaloja-General of Ondo State, is dead, SaharaReporters can confirm.

Olowookere, who died on Sunday afternoon, was the President of the National Association of Traders and Market Leaders Council of Nigeria.

A family member of the deceased, Kunle Ajibogun, confirmed the death of the woman.

He said, "She died on Sunday at the aged of 70 after a brief illness. The family is deeply saddened by her demise.”

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Suspended Acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, has denied a media report that he misappropriated the sum of N329bn recovered for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

He said the fund was remitted directly into NNPC dedicated accounts via REMITTA under a special arrangement endorsed by the oil firm, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the affected indebted marketers.

Magu disclosed this on Sunday in a statement by his lawyer, Wahab Shittu.

Ibrahim Magu

He said NNPC formally requested the commission to recover the said amount from NNPC’s marketers and in turn confirmed the receipt of the fund.

The statement said the anti-graft agency never took custody of any of the recovered funds. 

It reads, “We wish to express our profound gratitude for the successful collaboration between the EFCC and PPMC/NNPC which largely resulted in the huge recovery of debts from the marketers from the inception of the recovery exercise in 2016 till date.

“We appreciate your commission’s professional and diligent handling of the recovery of debts from the marketers throughout the period and we look forward to further collaboration in further areas.

"The issue of NNPC recovered funds has never featured in the proceedings of the panel and our client has never been confronted with such wild allegations.

“Our client is alarmed at the motive behind such spurious allegations in spite of altruistic service to the country without personal pecuniary benefits."

On the claim that Magu was questioned by the Presidential panel over assets declaration, Shittu said that his client has never been confronted with any of such allegations.

He said the report was false and being orchestrated in the public space to malign and discredit the work of his client in the fight against corruption.

While responding to the claim that Magu failed to explain the rationale for exclusion of culprits in the alleged misapplication of N3bn at the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Shittu said the matter had been referred for prosecution and charges had been prepared ahead of arraignment in court, therefore the question of complicity by Magu does not arise.

Shittu said, "Our client did not give any express or implied directive that anyone indicted be excluded from the legal process. Our client has no interest in shielding anyone found culpable from the long arms of the law. At any rate, time does not run against the state in criminal prosecutions."

Shittu said his client would no longer be silent in the face of sustained malicious attacks to prejudge him in the public space.

He added, "Take notice that our client can no longer fold his hands in the face of these sustained malicious attacks to prejudge him in the public space.

"Our client will henceforth point by point reply to all false allegations orchestrated against him in the public space on a daily basis as well as present his comprehensive defense for the world to see.

"This is without prejudice to the willingness of our client to defend himself in the ongoing proceedings at the Presidential investigation panel.”

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Dickson Yeo, a PhD student-turned-agent, targeted Americans that had access to private information.

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Two people were killed during a protest in Garissa sparked by the arrest of a murder suspect.

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Dozens of inmates fled after a group at Malmesbury Prison overpowered staff during exercise on Friday.

The Defence Headquarters says the Air Component of Operation Hadarin Daji has overrun a bandits’ camp, headed by one of their leaders, known as “Dangote” in the Doumborou Forest of Zamfara.

The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

Enenche said the air interdiction missions, which were conducted on Thursday, also resulted in the killing of several armed bandits.

He said the operation was based on intelligence that revealed the relocation of the bandits in the new camp, around a rocky high ground within the forest.

The coordinator added that the bandits moved along with logistics, including motorcycles and hundreds of rustled livestock to the location.

He said the Air Component dispatched an enhanced force package of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), fighter jets and helicopter gunships to attack the location.

“The attack aircraft engaged the target area, scoring accurate hits and taking out some of the bandits.

“Many others, who were seen trying to flee the location in disarray, were mopped-up in follow-on attacks.

“The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, commended the Air Component of Operation Hadarin Daji, for their professionalism.

“He urged them to remain resolute in the conduct of airstrikes, while continuing to provide close air support for ongoing ground operations, to eradicate all armed bandits.

“This is geared towards accomplishing directives of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), to restore normalcy in the North West and North Central zones of the country,” Enenche said in the statement.

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Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State says security is not an issue on the Abuja-Kaduna rail service but that of people obeying the Federal Government’s COVID-19 guidelines.

El-Rufai said it was also appropriate to increase fares along the route, noting that the tickets' prices were too low.

He said the low prices was what led to the racketeering.

“If you come to buy the tickets, you can’t get it. You have to buy it from a middle man, and it’s twice the price.

“So, why shouldn’t the government capture that? So, it is quite right, and I fully support the decision by the Federal Government to increase the fares,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted him to have said.

He added, “In fact, the fares should even be slightly higher than this to make it difficult for middlemen to come in between.

“I have also appealed to the Nigerian Railway Corporation and the Minister to computerise and make electronic the purchase of the tickets, to cut out middlemen.

“The train is secure, the train is well protected, even the Abuja-Kaduna highway is well protected, and there has not been a kidnapping case there since October last year.

“So, I’m not worried about security. What I want to appeal to people that will use the train is to ensure that they keep physical distancing, wash their hands as the COVID-19 is still very much around.

“Infections are rising and the fastest way to get it is a congested train.

“So we must be very careful, we must not insist on going on the train if it is up to the capacity and everyone must wear his face mask before entering the train, throughout the train ride and after.

“That is what I will appeal to everyone because this disease is still with us, we have not reached the peak and when we reach the peak it comes down and there is likely to be a second wave."

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Following the move by the federal government to standardise artisanal and small-scale gold mining in the North as well as Osun State, observers in the Niger Delta are pleading with the federal government to adapt the policy to oil refining in the South-South region of the country. 

Environmental campaigner, Dumnamenem Fineface, an advocate of modular refineries for Niger Delta youths, said young people of the region that genuinely desire honest living had found it challenging to create modular refining units.

He noted that they have to raise $50,000 to obtain a license and acquire 10 to 15 hectares of land, before seeking an investor to purchase a $150m to $250m modular refining unit. 

It will be recalled that the federal government, through Vice President Yemi Osibajo, had promised that youths of the region would be empowered to own modular refineries.

The government had kept mum since then, returning in January 2020 to instruct artisanal refiners in the oil-polluted region to form cooperatives and obtain modular refinery licenses. 

“In 2017 there was a pronouncement to the fact that licenses would be given. In January 2020, there was a pronouncement from the government that youths should be registered in cooperatives and come forward to get a license for modular refineries,” Fineface recalled. “The process has been very tedious.”

He added, “The youths, who are involved in artisanal refining here, can’t afford 10 to 15 hectares of land. They cannot survey the lands. They cannot construct a modular refinery which costs between $150m to $200m. They also do not have the $50,000 that is needed to obtain a license to operate.

“Since the policy for the licensing of illegal miners in the North and Osun states has been approved, the same thing should be extended here – the Niger Delta.”

While the presidency left its promise to the Niger Delta unfulfilled, it implemented its plans for the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMI). 

Environmental expert, Jesse Manufor, is surprised that the federal government has not extended the PAGMI initiative to the Niger Delta. 

“I don’t know what has happened to the New Niger Delta Initiative announced by the vice-president three years ago,” Manufor said. “There hasn’t been any detailed work put into legalising artisanal refining. 

“The Niger Delta people should ask ‘why is the thing done for gold not done for oil?’ This would help us to understand why to know what to push for.”

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Indian police in Haryana Police on Saturday claimed to have arrested seven people, including five Nigerian nationals, for their alleged role in online fraud in Faridabad district.

The police said the seven people arrested included four Nigerian nationals and one Liberian.

An official spokesperson of Haryana Police said the fraudsters used to befriend people by creating Facebook profiles in the name of a foreigner girl, Republicworld.com reports.

They used to lure people by offering expensive imported gifts like gold jewellery, mobile phones, police said.

The fraudsters allegedly used to convince people that the gift parcels coming from abroad need clearances from custom, excise and other taxes. For this, they ask victims to deposit a certain amount to a particular bank account.

After receiving a complaint of online fraud in which a victim was allegedly cheated of Rs 35,500 on July 23, a police team was constituted to arrest the fraudsters.

The accused were identified as Williams Michael(Liberian), Promise Ebere Okoli, Halimat Mohammed, Okeke Nnabugo, Kenechukwu Okonta, all Nigerian nationals as well as Anurag and Nishant of Ballabhgarh.

Police recovered two passports of different countries from Michael and Okoli. All five nationals were reportedly living in a house in Faridabad.

Both the accused, Anurag and Nishant, had provided bank account numbers to the Nigerians for getting money, police said.

All were produced before a court, which remanded them in custody for intensive interrogation.

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Covid-19 is the latest enemy faced by families in Iraq, and it's overrunning its hospitals and cemeteries.

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An accidental shooting at a protest by heavily armed militia injured three people.

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Marches in support of anti-racism protests in Portland, Oregon were held across the US on Saturday.

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The Rwandan refugee, who worked as a volunteer warden, has admitted arson, prosecutors say.