A Nigerian newspaper and Online version of the Vanguard, a daily publication in Nigeria covering Niger delta, general national news, politics, business, energy, sports, entertainment, fashion,lifestyle human interest stories, etc
Romario believes Neymar is the best player in the world, ahead of Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi and Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
Neymar, Messi & Ronaldo
Neymar has played a starring role for Brazil, scoring six goals in CONMEBOL qualifying to help the South American giants become the first nation to book a spot at next year's World Cup.
The 25-year-old has also been in good form for La Liga titleholders Barca this season, netting 15 goals in all competitions as he bagged his 100th goal for the Spaniards last week.
And Brazilian icon Romario feels Neymar has surpassed Messi and Ronaldo, who have shared the past nine Ballon d'Or awards.
"Nowadays, Neymar is Brazil's biggest star. He's the best player in the world right now, with all due respect to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – which, particularly, I believe has been much inferior to the other two," he told ESPN.
"For what he's been doing both for Barca and Selecao, it's about time Neymar is elected the number one in the planet.
Sokoto – Breakdown in electricity transformer has forced a two weeks shift in the Second Semester resumption date of Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto,
The shift, from the initial resumption date of April 10, to April 24, 2017, was announced in a press release signed by the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof.Abdullahi Zuru, and made available in Sokoto on Saturday.
" The suspension (shift) was sequel to the break-down of an electricity transformer.
" However, a new one is being installed and work would be completed as soon as possible.
" The management is hereby regretting any inconveniences that the suspension might have caused," said Zuru in the statement.( NAN)
Gov. Muhammadu Bindow of Adamawa has disassociated himself and his administration from reported threat to quit the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Newsmen recall that recent media reports quoted Alhaji Abdulrahman Abba-Jimeta, the Chief of Staff to the governor as saying that the state-led APC government may be forced to leave APC.
He had said this measure might be taken if the party's national secretariat did not address the problem of its (Adamawa APC) marginalization by the national body on issues regarding the party in the state.
Gov. Mohammed Bindow Jibrilla
The Governor ,who spoke through the Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Malam Ahmad Sajoh, told newsmen Saturday in Yola that the media, which ascribed the statement of the Chief of Staff to the governor, were not fair to the governor, who had spoken at that occasion and declared his full support to the party.
"What Abba-Jimeta said was his personal opinion and the governor did not waste time in countering him at the event.
"The way the story was presented by the media is not fair to the governor.
"Whatever a governor's aide said cannot supersede what the governor said at an event; we must subscribe to what the governor said as it override whatever his aides say.
"We are loyal to the party; we are loyal to the leadership of the party and we are loyal to President Muhammadu Buhari," he stressed
Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante has dismissed suggestions he ranks among the world's best players.
N’Golo Kante
Kante won the Premier League title with Leicester last term and has established himself as a key cog in Antonio Conte's Chelsea side following a £32million summer move.
The France international will win a second successive top flight medal if Chelsea can hold off Tottenham in the race for the league crown and has won plaudits for his energetic, combative displays in deep midfield.
But Kante has brushed off talk he should be considered among the best talents on the planet
"Last season we were champions with Leicester and at the moment we are top of the league with Chelsea.
"That's why people put it on me but it is not me. I have been in two good teams."
"I am not one of the best midfielders in the world or something like that. I play with some talented players like Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic and Nathaniel Chalobah. They have different styles and I can learn from everyone."
"I need to keep improving tactically, defensively and offensively for the last pass, the last shot."
And Kante says his ability to cover every inch of grass comes from a love of the game.
He added: "People say 'look at his energy, look at his tackling' but I always wanted to give the best for the team and if I need to run until the end I will try to."
Some operators of restaurants and relaxation centres at the National Theatre, Lagos, on Saturday complained of low patronage, blaming their misfortune on the economic recession.
Food and drinks sellers told newsmen in Lagos that they started experiencing low patronage from January this year.
"Business has been very dull since the beginning of the year. We are operating virtually at a loss.
"Our customers now prefer to stay at home because of the economic situation,'' said Mrs Bola Akindele, a shop owner.
Another operator, Mrs Aisha Ibrahim also blamed the dull in business activities on the economic situation in the country.
"I know our government is doing everything possible to take us out of the economic situation; maybe when the economy improves, things will be better,'' she said.
She urged Nigerians to continue to pray for the quick recovery of the economy.
Mrs Bukola Owoeye, another drinks seller at the centre, said she was optimistic that things would be better in the second quarter of the year
A customers who simply identified himself as Nurudeen, urged Nigerians to pray for the government so that the nation would overcome its challenges.
When newsmen visited the area at about 4pm, time of peak business activities before the downturn in the economy, only a few vehicles were parked, while a good number of chairs were empty.
Only a handful of people were seen eating and drinking.
Newcastle wasted a chance to seize pole position in the race to the Premier League as Sheffield Wednesday beat the Championship promotion chasers 2-1, while Norwich crushed play-off hopefuls Reading 7-1 on Saturday.
Newcastle United
Rafael Benitez’s side had been knocked off top spot by Brighton’s 2-1 win at QPR on Friday and they were unable to reclaim first place after a limp display at Hillsborough.
Jonjo Shelvey almost gave Newcastle the lead with an audacious effort on the stroke of half-time, the former Liverpool midfielder striking the crossbar from inside his own half.
But Tom Lees broke the deadlock in the 59th minute as the Wednesday defender headed home from a Ross Wallace free-kick for his first goal since March 2016.
Wednesday striker Steven Fletcher made amends for two earlier misses when he struck with a looping header from a 68th minute long throw.
Shelvey got one back in the 88th minute, but it was too late for a Newcastle escape act.
Newcastle remain in second place, two points behind Brighton with five games remaining, while sixth placed Wednesday hold onto the final play-off spot.
At Carrow Road, Norwich’s Nelson Oliveira opened the floodgates with a third minute penalty and Wes Hoolahan, Russell Martin and Alex Pritchard, who netted twice, were all on the scoresheet before half-time.
Yann Kermorgant got one back for fourth placed Reading, but Hoolahan added his second after the interval and Cameron Jerome made it seven to complete the visitors’ humiliation.
Huddersfield’s pursuit of automatic promotion suffered a major blow as they lost 2-0 at lowly Nottingham Forest.
Eric Lichaj put Mark Warburton’s side ahead and Jamie Ward sealed the win to leave third placed Huddersfield 10 points adrift of the top two.
Fifth placed Leeds consolidated their position in the play-offs with a 3-0 win against Preston at Elland Road.
Kemar Roofe struck first and Pablo Hernandez and Souleymane Doukara also netted.
Fulham remain seventh, two points behind Wednesday, after a 3-1 win against Ipswich at Craven Cottage.
Derby still have an outside chance of making the play-offs after their manager Gary Rowett enjoyed a 2-1 win on his return to his old club Birmingham.
Rowett was surprisingly sacked last year to make way for Gianfranco Zola, who has struggled to emulate his predecessor’s solid results.
Derby went ahead at St Andrew’s through Birmingham keeper Tomas Kuszczak’s own goal.
Che Adams levelled for the hosts, but Tom Ince snatched the points for Derby in the 90th minute.
Aston Villa drew 1-1 at Burton, while Cardiff beat Brentford 2-1.
At the bottom of the table, Bristol City boosted their survival hopes with a 3-1 victory over Wolves.
Blackburn occupy the final spot in the bottom three and trail City by four points after losing 2-0 at home to Barnsley.
Rotherham are already relegated and Wigan could soon join them, but the Latics gave themselves a lifeline as they beat the Millers 3-2.
Marcos Alonso netted a picture-perfect free-kick as Chelsea triumphed 3-1 at Bournemouth on Saturday to restore their seven-point advantage at the top of the Premier League.
Tottenham Hotspur had cut Chelsea’s lead to four points by crushing Watford 4-0, but Antonio Conte’s men responded to take another step towards the title.
Liverpool remain third after Brazilian substitutes Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino inspired a 2-1 comeback win at Stoke City, while fourth-place Manchester City beat Hull City 3-1.
Chelsea went 2-0 up inside the first 20 minutes at Bournemouth, Diego Costa’s mishit shot ballooning in off Adam Smith for an own goal before Eden Hazard added a second.
Freed by N’Golo Kante’s pass, the Belgian sprinted in on goal, rounded goalkeeper Artur Boruc and slipped in his 14th goal of the campaign.
Benik Afobe volleyed against the post for Bournemouth before Josh King reduced the arrears in the 42nd minute with an effort that fizzed past Thibaut Courtois via a deflection off David Luiz.
But Alonso settled the visitors’ nerves with 22 minutes to go, the Spanish wing-back arcing a sumptuous free-kick over the wall and into the top-right corner, leaving Boruc rooted to the spot.
Earlier, South Korean forward Son Heung-Min scored twice as Tottenham overpowered Watford at a sun-soaked White Hart Lane, with Dele Alli and Eric Dier also on target.
“The message for us is to keep pushing, winning games,” said Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, who also welcomed back top scorer Harry Kane after an ankle injury.
“The team deserve full credit because the energy and the way they played was fantastic.”
Alli opened the deadlock with a sublime effort in the 33rd minute, arcing a shot into the top-right corner from 25 yards, before his England team-mate Dier battered in Spurs’ second.
Son struck either side of half time — a left-foot curler followed by an adroit right-foot volley — to seal Spurs’ 11th consecutive home win in the league.
Liverpool sit five points below Spurs, having played a game more, after Firmino’s stunning strike secured victory at Stoke.
Jonathan Walters’s header — his seventh league goal against Liverpool — put Stoke ahead shortly before half time.
– Guardiola frustrated –
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp made a double change at the break, sending on Coutinho and Firmino for teenagers Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Woodburn, and it proved a winning move.
Coutinho, a pre-match doubt due to illness, levelled in the 70th minute and two minutes later Georginio Wijnaldum freed Firmino to thump in a glorious, dipping winner from 20 yards.
“Second half was really good, but we played a big gamble on a low battery bringing on Firmino and Coutinho,” said Klopp.
“No team in the world wins only the very, very good games. You need to win games like this.”
Manchester City trail Liverpool by two points, but have a game in hand, after seeing off Hull at the Etihad Stadium to end a run of four league games without victory.
City manager Pep Guardiola, who recalled goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, saw his side take a 31st-minute lead when Ahmed Elmohamady turned in Jesus Navas’s cross for an own goal.
Sergio Aguero made it 2-0 early in the second half, polishing off Raheem Sterling’s cross after a sweeping team move, and Fabian Delph lashed in the hosts’ third.
Andrea Ranocchia replied for Hull, who remain two points above the bottom three in 17th place.
City now have a seven-point cushion in the fourth and final Champions League qualifying spot, although fifth-place Arsenal and sixth-place Manchester United each have two games in hand.
“It was important for us to win after many days without a win,” said Guardiola, whose side lost 2-1 at Chelsea in mid-week after three successive draws.
“We could have scored many more goals. It is frustrating not to get a clean sheet, but we defended poorly at set-pieces.”
West Ham United eased their relegation fears as Cheikhou Kouyate’s low drive secured a 1-0 home win over third-bottom Swansea City, who trail Hull by two points.
Second-bottom Middlesbrough squandered an opportunity to claim a precious win in a 0-0 draw at home to Burnley.
Jordie Clasie struck from Dusan Tadic’s lay-off as ninth-place Southampton won 1-0 at eighth-place West Bromwich Albion.
English Premier League table after Saturday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):
Chelsea’s Brazilian-born Spanish striker Diego Costa (R) scores their third goal during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Swansea at Stamford Bridge in London on February 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO
Chelsea 31 24 3 4 65 25 75
Tottenham 31 20 8 3 64 22 68
Liverpool 32 18 9 5 68 40 63
Man City 31 18 7 6 60 35 61
———————————–
Arsenal 29 16 6 7 61 36 54
Man Utd 29 14 12 3 43 24 54
Everton 31 14 9 8 53 34 51
———————————–
West Brom 32 12 8 12 39 41 44
Southampton 30 11 7 12 37 37 40
Watford 31 10 7 14 36 52 37
Leicester 30 10 6 14 37 47 36
Burnley 32 10 6 16 32 44 36
Stoke 32 9 9 14 34 47 36
West Ham 32 10 6 16 42 57 36
Bournemouth 32 9 8 15 45 59 35
Crystal Palace 30 9 4 17 39 50 31
Hull 32 8 6 18 33 64 30
———————————–
Swansea 32 8 4 20 37 67 28
Middlesbrough 31 4 12 15 22 37 24
Sunderland 30 5 5 20 24 53 20
Note: Top four qualify for Champions League; teams finishing fifth to seventh qualify for Europa League; bottom three relegated to Championship
Three wise men distribute gifts to herald Lagos @ 50 celebrations across the state. So if you see them ask for your own gift.
A resident, Tobi Abiodun receiving a gift pack from the Three Wise Men, popularly known as Agbagba Meta at Ikeja to herald the commencement of Lagos @ 50 Celebrations across the State on Saturday, April 8, 2017.: Mrs Alheri Chiemeka (right) receiving a gift pack from the Three Wise Men, popularly known as Agbagba Meta at Ojodu Berger to herald the commencement of Lagos @ 50 Celebrations across the State on Saturday, April 8, 2017.Residents troop out to catch a glimpse of the Three Wise Men, popularly known as Agbagba Meta to herald the commencement of Lagos @ 50 Celebrations across the State on Saturday, April 8, 2017.Residents troop out to catch a glimpse of the Three Wise Men, popularly known as Agbagba Meta to herald the commencement of Lagos @ 50 Celebrations across the State on Saturday, April 8, 2017.Residents troop out to catch a glimpse of the Three Wise Men, popularly known as Agbagba Meta to herald the commencement of Lagos @ 50 Celebrations across the State on Saturday, April 8, 2017.Residents troop out to catch a glimpse of the Three Wise Men, popularly known as Agbagba Meta to herald the commencement of Lagos @ 50 Celebrations across the State on Saturday, April 8, 2017.Masters Oloyede Sasore(left); Yusuf Quadri (middle) and Uzzeifa Adam (right) receiving gift packs from the Three Wise Men, popularly known as Agbagba Meta at Oshodi to herald the commencement of Lagos @ 50 Celebrations across the State on Saturday, April 8, 2017.
Resident of Maiduguri on Saturday celebrated the first rainfall of the year recorded in the town, expressing relief that the excruciating hot weather would subside, newsmen report.
Newsmen report that some areas like Bulumkutu and Baga road recorded heavy downpour, while Custom and Tashan Bama axis in the state capital recorded drizzles with heavy storm.
The rain, which started around 4:30 p.m and lasted for about 45 minute, followed days of hot weather that hit over 45 degree Celsius.
Malam Nafiu Dansabo, a resident, said the rainfall took everybody by surprise.
"I was never anticipating seeing rainfall at this moment. I guess it was because of the unbearable heat.
"The weather was very hot; even the water in the tap is very hot. I have been sleeping outside for the past one week because of heat," he said.
Mr Auwal Bashir, another resident, said the heavy downpour was a relief for the people of bulumkutu.
"The heat was something else. This is a sign of fortune in this year's farming season," he said.
Mr Friday Nwachikwu, an ice block seller, said he had been making brisk business out of his ice block business.
"I make nothing less than N20,000 on daily basis from the sales of ice blocks; for me, the heat is a big business," he said.
Mr Adedeji Olatunji, a resident, said he spent about N700 daily, buying ice block and cold drink for his family.
He therefore expressed joy over the sudden change in weather.
Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra has urged university graduates in the country to contribute their quota toward national development through research in order to justify government's investment in the education sector.
Obiano gave the advice on Saturday at the 8th convocation ceremony of Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Igbariam.
The governor, who stressed the importance of research in the development of the country, also charged the graduands to be role models and good ambassadors.
"Once this ceremony is over and you step out into the job market, remember that there will be difficulties and challenges in the world.
"It is the knowledge you have acquired and researches that you have made that will prove your worth and contributions to nation building," he said.
Obiano
Obiano gave an assurance that government would continue to give support to educational institutions to achieve its ambition of moulding future leaders.
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Fidelis Okafor, disclosed that 13 persons bagged first class degrees while 649 had second class upper with 1,348 emerging in the second class lower category.
Okafor said 351 others bagged third class while 17 persons were awarded pass degree.
According to him, a total of 2,851 students graduated from the university in the 2015/2016 academic session, comprising 2,378 Bachelor's degree, 195 Post graduate Diploma, 257 Masters degrees and 21 Ph.Ds.
The vice chancellor charged the graduands to be good ambassadors of their alma mater and register with the COOU Alumni association to ensure active participation in its activities.
Okafor said massive infrastructural development were ongoing or had been completed on the three campuses.
He said they included a completed engineering faculty complex at Uli and an ongoing construction of four-storey ultra-modern research laboratory at Uli.
The vice chancellor commended Obiano for releasing funds to tackle major problems such as water and electricity supply as well as the approval given to construct a medical centre at the Igbariam campus.
Okafor, however, urged Obiano to ensure the completion of the perimeter fence around the university in addition to other intervention projects.
Newsmen report that a former governor of old Anambra, Chief Jim Nwobodo, and a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, were awarded honorary degrees.
The former Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, Mr Chike Onyejekwe, was also honoured by the institution.
Nwobodo bagged the honorary Doctor of Letters (D. Litt) while Moghalu got the honorary Doctor of Law (LL. D.), with Onyejekwe bestowed with the honorary Doctor of Science (D. Sc).
Abuja – No fewer than 78,378 pupils are participating in the ongoing 2017 National Common Entrance Examination across the country, according to the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu.
Malam Adamu Adamu
The minister disclosed this on Saturday in Abuja during a visit to some centres in the Federal Capital Territory.
The prospective students for the Junior Secondary School (JSS) I of the 104 Unity Colleges in the country sat for the examination organised by the National Examinations Council (NECO).
Adamu. who commended NECO for a hitch-free exercise, said: " The exam is taking place all over the country but in Borno and Adamawa, the exam is restricted to places that are free from the activities of the insurgents.
"With what I am seeing in this centre and if all places are like this, I think I am satisfied. We will try to make the pupils more comfortable in future exams."
Adamu said the number of successful candidates in the examination would determine the number of candidates to be admitted into the government secondary schools.
"It is the performance that will determine the cut-off mark and how many will be admitted into the secondary schools.
"After the exam, there will also be interviews based on the performance of the pupils," the minister said.
Prof. Charles Uwakwe, the NECO Registrar, noted that there was an improvement in the conduct of this year's exam compared to yhe 2016 exercise.
According to him, the examination is taking place in all the states including the North-Eastern part of the country with adequate security in place.
He said the examination recorded the highest enrollment of pupils from Lagos State with 24,816 candidates, while Kebbi was the least with 63 candidates.
He added that a foreign centre was established in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, to accommodate pupils from the region.
The result of the examination will be given to the Federal Ministry of Education on April 12 for onward release to the public, said Uwakwe.
The exam which started at 9.40 a.m., reports that the exercise was hitch-free at Government Secondary School, Wuse Zone 3 and Tudun Wada Secondary School in Zone 4, Abuja.
Pupils, who turned out in large numbers, wore their school uniforms.
Parents and guardians were also seen waiting patiently for their children and wards to finish the exam.
Damaturu -The JAMB’s mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Damaturu experienced some hitches on Saturday, starting about five hours behind schedule.
At the Yobe State University library, venue of the exercise, examination commenced about 12.40 pm, as against the scheduled time of 7am.
The candidates had reported at the centre in good time, only to remain idle as examination officials struggled to rectify a hitch arising from network failure.
Although the officials refused talking to the press, the candidates said they were told that there was no 'signal from the JAMB portal'.
The candidates, who did not want their names mentioned, said they had to wait for hours for things to take shape.
Alhaji Buba Nguru, a parent, lamented the poor preparation for the mock UTME in the state and prayed that similar incident would not occur during the main examination.
"The arrangement this year is terrible; something should be done to make amends" he said.
The story was the same in one of the five centres in Adamawa , where the exercise was suspended at one of the four centres.
Candidates at the centre (JAMB Zonal Office centre) were asked to leave and come back on Monday.
JAMB Coordinator in the state was not available for comments but another official told NAN on condition of anonymity that the exercise had to be suspended because the number of candidates had overwhelmed facilities available at the centre.
He said there were also some challenges accessing the JAMB website.
A Correspondents who visited the other four centres however report that the exercise conducted smoothly.
Meanwhile, MrJames Elaigwu, Assistant Commandant, Operations, of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Adamawa Command, had earlier told NAN that the command had posted its officials to each of the Centres.
Elaigwu said that the deployment was to ensure a hitch free exercise, saying that their men would do everything possible to ensure the success of the exercise.
NAN also reports that the National Common Entrance Examination (NECO) took place without hitches in various cenres across the state.
The mock examination also took place without hitches in Gombe state, with candidates reporting at their respective venues as early as 7am.
Mr Malami Sa'ad,North East Zonal Coordinator of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) told NAN in Gombe that adequate arrangements had been made in all the 16 centre in the state
"Before the registration commenced, we made sure that the centres had everything intact, like minimum number of computers needed and we ensured that Computer-based Test (CBT) cameras.
"The aim of installing the cameras, is to discourage exam malpractice because there are centres
called 'miracle centres'.
"This time, it is going to be 'business not as usual' because there will be no room for cheating," he said.
Also the National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) for entry into Federal Unity Colleges, organised by the National Examination Council (NECO) took place in Gombe without any hitch.
It was gathered that initially, there were five centres across the state and each centre was supposed to host 50 candidates but had to be merged as the entire candidates in the state were not up to 50.
Contacted for comments on the exercise, officer in charge of NECO in the state, Malam Rabiu Usman, said it was only the registrar that could speak for the organization.
In Dutse, the mock UTME was also hitch-free.
Some candidates who spoke to NAN lauded the idea, saying it would prepare those who were not computer literate.
They said the exercise would prevent the occurrence of minor mistakes during the main examination , thereby reducing mass failure.
.In Bauchi, the mock examination commenced in most of the centers on schedule as there were no hitches experienced.
Some of the candidates selected to sit for the exam lauded the proper arrangement at the centres and urged JAMB to replicate same during the main examination.
Brazil team-mates Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino rose from the bench to score as Liverpool hit back to win 2-1 at Stoke City in the Premier League on Saturday. Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Austrian striker Andreas Weimann (2R) celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with Wolverhampton Wanderers’ English midfielder George Saville (2L) during the English FA Cup fourth round football match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on January 28, 2017. AFP PHOTO
Jonathan Walters’s header — his seventh league goal against Liverpool — from Xherdan Shaqiri’s cross put Stoke 1-0 up shortly before half-time at the Bet365 Stadium.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp sent on his Brazilian pair at the interval, teenagers Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Woodburn making way, and they turned the game on its head.
Coutinho equalised with 20 minutes to play before, two minutes later, Georginio Wijnaldum released Firmino to slam a stunning winner home from just outside the box.
Victory kept Liverpool in third place, two points above fourth-place Manchester City having played a game more.
Mark Hughes’s Stoke sit 14th, eight points above the relegation zone.
Bayelsa Police have arrested two suspects, a serving soldier and an engineer, for allegedly kidnapping a lady in Warri, Delta on April 4.
The suspects were paraded before newsmen by the state Police Commissioner, Mr Asuquo Amba, in Yenagoa.
Amba said the suspects abducted one Aya Beauty, aged 25, from Warri in Delta and took her to Bayelsa and kept her captive in a hotel while demanding for a N24 million ransom from her family.
The commissioner said the command also arrested a former soldier, with a military pistol, along Zarama Road, on the East-West road during a stop-and-search operations.
Amba said the three suspects would be charged to court, as soon as investigations on their involvement in the crimes, were concluded.
Amba said the involvement of the community neighbourhood watch and vigilantes in the fight against crime was assisting the command.
He said the command would continue to collaborate with traditional institutions, security stakeholders and Non-Governmental Organisation, youth groups and other relevant agencies to make the state crime free.
The commissioner advised sister security agencies to ensure that dismissed officers were profiled and stripped of ammunitions to check the menace of criminally minded ex-servicemen.
According to him, criminally minded ex-servicemen have tendency to use illicit weapons to terrorise the society.
Freshly anointed Scottish Premiership champions Celtic got back to winning ways as they defeated Kilmarnock 3-1 at Parkhead on Saturday.
RODGERS
Stuart Armstrong fired the Hoops into a half-time lead before Jordan Jones equalised in the second half.
Scott Sinclair quickly restored Celtic’s advantage before James Forrest headed in to seal victory.
It ended a run of two consecutive draws at Celtic Park as manager Brendan Rodgers celebrated signing his new four-year contract on Friday with his side’s 29th win from 32 league games.
“I really enjoyed watching the team today and I thought collectively they were outstanding,” Rodgers said.
“We were playing against a team that sat in, but we showed patience in the game, we showed quality and then we got the goals.”
Kilmarnock’s interim manager Lee McCulloch had no complaints.
“I thought in the first half we were affected by a fear factor as individuals and as a team,” he said.
“Celtic are a very good team and we didn’t deserve to win, but maybe on another day we could have stolen a point.”
Celtic made five changes for the visit of Kilmarnock as Rodgers restored his strongest starting XI following the mid-week draw with Partick Thistle.
The Hoops looked in the mood as they dominated possession, but struggled to create clear-cut chances as Killie put 10 men behind the ball.
The champions needed a moment of inspiration and it came from Armstrong in the 22nd minute.
Callum McGregor won the ball back after a Celtic attack broke down and rolled the ball to Armstrong, who let fly from 25 yards with a sizzling low strike that flew into the bottom corner.
Celtic started the second half in the same dominant manner, but it was Killie who equalised against the run of play in the 65th minute.
Connor Sammon’s strike was deflected into the path of Jones, whose effort took a nick off a Celtic player on its way past goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
Kilmarnock were only on level terms for six minutes as Sinclair fired Celtic in front again.
A Celtic free-kick was headed back across the six-yard box by Dedryck Boyata and Patrick Roberts was alert enough to cut the ball back for the English winger to tap home from close range.
Australian international Tom Rogic replaced McGregor and the midfielder had an instant impact as he set up Sinclair for a shot that was cleared off the line.
Fellow substitute Moussa Dembele, back after two weeks out with injury, had a hand in Celtic’s third as his deflected shot came back off the post to Forrest, who headed home from close range.
Elsewhere, Partick Thistle sealed their place in the top six with a 1-0 win over Motherwell.
St Johnstone closed to within three points of Rangers, who visit Aberdeen on Sunday, with a 3-0 win over bottom-of-the-table Inverness.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for a spiritual approach to the anti-corruption crusade in Nigeria, calling on the church to wield its influence against the menace. Olusegun Obasanjo
Obasanjo made the call in Abeokuta at the 2017 Convention Lecture of the Victory Life Bible Church International.
He spoke on the theme: "The Role of the Church in the Fight Against Corruption in Nigeria."
The former president described the church as an important and influential institution with a pivotal role in curbing and eradicating corruption in Nigeria.
He described the anti-corruption war in Nigeria as "a fight for the soul of the nation.''
Obasanjo said successive governments in Nigeria had tried to contain corruption through enactment of laws and enforcement of integrity systems with a slow pace of success.
"Legislations alone are not enough as they are often breached by those who make them and those who should implement them.
"Our main problems are moral, ethical, attitudinal failure and disorientation.
"The church is an institution that provides the moral and ethical standards for us as believers.
"Man alone by himself cannot get rid of corruption from the world, he needs the assistance of God.
"Here must come the society and the church with the spirit of God to work together to undo the harm that man has done and continue to do to the perfect work of God on earth,'' he said.
The elder statesman, however, stressed that the anti-corruption crusade must first be fought within the church through ridding itself of the menace before extending it to the larger society.
"The church needs to clear its augean stable.
"The temple of God must be cleanest to restore the holiness of the church.
"Our present day money changers and merchants. Must be chased out of the church.
"The pulpit must be used to teach and preach righteous and honest living.
"To preach that one can acquire wealth without labour is not only deceitful, but also a call to corruption.
"We must be careful in believing and celebrating every testimony of miraculous blessing otherwise we end up celeberating corruption.
"The behaviour of some of our men of God leaves much to be desired.
"They not only celebrate but venerate those whose sources of wealth are questionable.
"They accept gifts (offerings) from just anybody without asking questions giving the impression that anything is acceptable in the house of God," he said.
He called on Christian leaders to sanitise the church for effective anti-corruption crusade.
The former president, who recalled that the church played an important role in the development of Nigeria, noted that the nation had come to another historic juncture requiring the church to play a leading role.
"The role must be played in praying, preaching and teaching.
"This is a period of moral and ethical rebirth and the church as an agent of socialisation must embark on moral re-armament for the church and for the nation. (NAN)
Radamel Falcao marked his first start in six weeks with the only goal of the game as Monaco cemented their position at the top of Ligue 1 with a 1-0 win at Angers. Falcao Falcao’s goal came just after the hour mark and against the run of play, and Monaco were holding on at the end against in-form opponents at the Stade Raymond Kopa.
The result extended the principality side’s run without defeat in the league to 13 matches and moved them four points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand on Nice, who won 2-1 at Lille on Friday.
Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain — who hammered Monaco 4-1 in last weekend’s League Cup final — can cut their lead back down to three points if they win at home to Guingamp on Sunday evening.
For Monaco it was the perfect preparation for their Champions League quarter-final first leg away to Borussia Dortmund in Germany on Tuesday as they stay on course to win their first French title since Claude Puel’s 2000 vintage.
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