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The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has condemned the early morning Sunday church killing in Anambra state. At around 6:00 am (0500 GMT) at least one gunman opened fire at St. Philip's church in Ozubulu, near the city of Onitsha, unleashing terror on the congregation. The attack saw at least twelve persons dead and over eighteen others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
However, condemning the terror attack, PDP, in a statement signed by Prince Dayo Adeyeye, its
National Publicity Secretary and made available to newsmen, said that it was barbaric and sacrilegious, adding that the crime shows that the Nigerian society is fast degenerating into a state of anomie, total collapse and disregard for the sanctity of the human life.
St Philip Catholic Church Ozubulu, where the lone wolf struck this morning.
The party which also gave its condolence to the people of Anambra state also said that the attack is simply a wake-up call to the government to up her ante in the area of security of lives and property.
"The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is shocked to receive the news of a gunman attack in the early hours of this morning at St. Philips Catholic Church in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, killing and injuring several worshipers.
"This invasion is indeed barbaric, sacrilegious and a serious indication that our society is fast degenerating into a state of anomie with total moral collapse and utter disregard for the sanctity of human life.
"We sympathize with the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano and the entire people of the State; and in particular, worshipers of St. Philips Catholic Church and families of the Victims. We wish those injured quick recovery; and may the Souls of the departed rest in the Lord, Amen.
"The killings is a call for moral rearmament by all and sundry. It is also a wake-up call for the Government to do more in the area of protection of lives and property.
"God bless Anambra State! God bless the PDP!! God bless Nigeria!"
By Dapo Akinrefon Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo Sunday, faulted the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinabjo for describing those agitating for restructuring as political jobbers. *AdebanjoAdebanjo Adebanjo said this yesterday at the Southern Leaders Forum meeting in Lagos. Reacting to the Acting President’s remarks that those championing the call for restructuring were looking for appointments, the Afenifere leader said: “That is a very unfortunate statement. I would like it to appear that we are attacking our acting president.
The Acting President was born on the principle of restructuring. Myself and his father were followers of Awolowo since the 1950s.”
Speaking further, he said “he cannot say we are looking for appointment, is it me or Horsfall or Gen Ike Nwachukwu? It just shows someone in position, but does not understand the problem of the people he is leading.
It is an unfortunate statement to make, I am not going to engage in a brick bat with him, it shows the limit of his knowledge of how the country came together. I think he should know better.
He is not only a lawyer, he has been an Attorney-General and Vice President.”
Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has revealed why Former Head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, was overthrown in a bloodless coup on July 29, 1975, ushering in the government that came to be known as the Muritala/Obasanjo regime.
General Gowon was overthrown and replaced by Brigadier Murtala Muhammad as head of the new government, and Brigadier Olusegun Obasanjo as his deputy when he was attending an OAU summit in Kampala.
Chief Obasanjo who gave a chronological account of his life at the Diocese of Lagos West, Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral in Lagos, also said that despite the evil thought of the later head of state, General Sani Abacha against him, he did not, for a day, wish anything bad for the general.
Gowon and Obasanjo
“After the war, General Gowon said that military will go by 1976 but later said that it will not be realistic again and that was the major reason why he was unseated.
“That later brought about what was termed as Muritala/Obasanjo regime. But we were careless as regard security in which Muritala was killed like chicken and I would have been killed but God's grace preserved me and I was later persuaded to take over.
“We stabilized the country, conducted election and handed over. But when there was incessant coup in different parts of the country, I spoke against Military in general and Abacha's in particular.
“The consequence was that I was arrested, tried and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment which Abacha later reduced to 15 years but God in his mercy, I only spent 3 years, three months and three days.
He pointed out that the person who sent him to prison was not alive by the time he came out.
“But when I was in prison in Jos, Abacha's son died and I wrote a condolence letter to him and also when he died, I also wrote a letter of condolence to his wife of which the prison authority found unbelievable but delivered all my letters.
Obasanjo who spoke on the topic, “God in my Life” under the auspices of Torchbearers Society, said his educational career was God's destiny.
He disclosed that the respect he had for his biological father made him slap his teacher on his first day in school, after his teacher had asked him the name of his father.
“I do follow my father to farm but one day, he asked me what I wished to do and I told him I would prefer to be a mechanic. But he suggested education and I bought into it.
“We both went to Abeokuta and visited five different schools of which they rejected me because the school season was already in the middle.
“Later, I was taken to another school in the beginning of a new season. But, on my first day in school, they asked of my name and I gave them but when they asked of my father’s name, I found it irritating.
“By my own training in the village, to mention your father’s name is an insult and for him to ask for my father's name is an insult. So, I slapped him and I was punished for that.
He said that would have been the end of his educational career but God’s plan made him rise to his present level.
A Canadian and a Polish passenger jet clipped wings on the ground at a Toronto airport, causing “serious” damage but no casualties, a spokesman for Air Canada confirmed Sunday.
The Polish plane, operated by the LOT airline, was on the tarmac at Pearson International Airport late Saturday when it was struck by an Air Canada plane that was taxiing toward a nearby landing gate, Peter Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the Canadian company, said in an email.
The Air Canada craft, a Boeing 767-300, was carrying 286 passengers from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
Authorities are investigating the incident.
Chris Krepski, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, told public network CBC that preliminary information indicated that the Air Canada plane had struck the LOT plane as the Polish aircraft was preparing for takeoff.
CBC identified the Polish plane as a Boeing 787; its flight to Warsaw was canceled.
An Air Canada Airbus A320 was involved in a potentially catastrophic incident last month at San Francisco International Airport in California, when it came perilously close to landing on a taxiway where several planes were lined up for takeoff.
Air controllers urgently redirected the plane and it landed normally.
Senator Andy Uba has condemned in strong terms the shooting and killing of worshippers at the St. Philips Catholic Church, Ozubulu in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra state.
Senator Uba visits wounded gunshot victims in Anambra
In a statement issued by his media aide, Joseph Itazi, Sen. Uba who visited the scene of the incidents said that people of Anambra were not known for such violence.
He called on the commissioner of Police and the state governor to ensure that the perpetrators of such dastardly act are brought to book.
Uba who was very emotional, also donated an undisclosed amount of money to add to the treatment of the victims.
"Such acts cannot be tolerated in Anambra: for worshipper to be slaughtered during mass is something that we must not allow in this state.
"I call on the state governor and the commissioner of police to immediately swing into action to root out those who killed these innocent worshippers".
"My heart goes out to the families of the diseased.
"Although it is a sad event, we must take solace that having been martyred in the church, the deceased would have gone to a better place," he said.
Speaking wih the victims at Access Specialist Hospital and Martanity Ozubulu and Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital Nnewi, Senator Andy Uba expressed deep shock and added that this kind of heartless evil must not be allowed to fester in Anambra State.
"We must not allow such to continue: our people cannot be allowed to be snatched by the cold hands of death due to the activities of recalcitrant members of our society.Senator Uba visits wounded gunshot victims in Anambra
"This is an eye-opener that we need a better and effective administrative system that can adequately take care of security challenges and youth unemployment in the state".
"He also said that this is a clarion call to all Anambrarians to play their individual part in maitaining the peace and unity of the state through community policing.
"We must work together to avoid a recurrence of such incident," he said.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has described the late Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, as a `detribalised public official' who believed in the unity of the country.
Onyeama made the remark on Sunday in Abuja at a memorial service held in honour of the late politician and former Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, First Abuja Parish.
reports have it that the late Maduekwe, a lawyer, politician and diplomat, died at the age of 71 on June 29, 2016.
In his tribute, Onyeama said: "he was a public official in the true sense of it for the whole of Nigeria and for all Nigerians; he believed that was what he was without any allegiance to any section of the country.
"One of the greatest testimonials on him was a reception that was organised for him by a particular group who told him that he belonged to them and had to do certain things for them.
"However Chief Ojo Maduekwe told them that he was a minister for the whole country and not for any particular group and I think that really spoke about this man.
"He brought this passion to his work and of course it could underpin his intellectual pedigree which is razor sharp that made him outstanding in all his endeavours."
The minister noted that the late Maduekwe was one of Nigeria's icons, adding that the country had not produced many leaders who came with many qualities as the late politician.
He said that the deceased was "a good person and an intellectual with razor sharp mind'' who occupied the most important offices in the country.
"He has been Minister of Culture and Tourism, Minister of Transport, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of a political party and Nigeria's High Commissioner to Canada.
"So he was really up the height in terms of political and public service career; he was a humble man to the core.
"I had wanted to go and see him when I was made a minister of Foreign Affairs but before I did that he came to see me.
"He gave me a master class for almost one hour on many things even beyond foreign affairs; really amazing and really helpful," Onyeama said.
In his tribute, Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, who was represented by his deputy, Ude Chukwu, said the late Maduekwe was a political god father to many people.
He described the late diplomat as "transparent, very intelligent and a man that would want you to do exactly what he said.''
According to the governor, the late Maduekwe did his best to hold Abia together, as well as ensuring the unity of Nigeria.
"He was a man that would want Nigeria to be like one of the developed countries of this world if it was possible for him overnight to turn Nigeria to a great country of this world.
"When he was PDP chairman, he showcased his legendary; when he was a minister he was always outstanding.
"Left for us we would have wanted the man to be alive but what can we do as death snatched him away.
"We pray that God would continue to grant him eternal rest," Ikpeazu said.
The wife of the late former Minister, Mrs Ucha Madukwe, described her late husband as "a lover of peace who wanted the country to be in peace always.''
"My husband wanted peace in the country always; he liked peaceful atmosphere; that was one important thing for him.
"He also wanted to see the youths doing the right things.
"In the midst of this agitation in the country, he would have been in the centre and would have loved peace to reign across the country," she said.
By Chinedu Adonu ENUGU – INTER-PARTY Advisory Committee, IPAC, has flayed the pro-Biafra group, Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, for their stand to boycott Anambra State November election if Biafra is not granted self-autonomy nor a date set for a referendum for the process. Overall Leader of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu
The organisation maintains that Nigeria is still one sovereign nation and as such, such a call tantamount to a joke taken to far.
Chairman of IPAC, Enugu State Chapter, Rev. John Nwobodo, who stated this in an interview with newsmen in Enugu weekend, said that IPOB had no right to order people not to participate in an electoral process, pointing out that self-rule does not just come overnight.
Nwobodo, who is also the Enugu State chairman of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, maintained that since the areas agitating for Biafra independence are still part of Nigeria, IPOB miscalculated by giving such order that election should be boycott.
“Telling people to boycott the Anambra polls, I think is a joke taken too far by members of IPOB because we are still part of Nigeria and should participate in the electoral process,” the IPAC boss said.
He however said that in as much as they may have genuine aspiration for self-determination, they don’t have to give orders but engage in consultations and dialogue to achieve their objective.
On the supposed rejection of restructuring and devolution of powers by the National Assembly, Nwobodo said that the matter has not been concluded because they may still revisit the issue in due course.
According to him, it was a national issue that requires wild consultations with various stakeholders and opinion moulders in the society.He stated that some of the legislators are not read while some of them are sectional, parochial and ethnic chauvinists, pointing out that it would take time for the issue to be sorted out in the interest of progress and development of the country.
While commenting on the forthcoming council polls in Enugu State in the fourth quarter of the year, Nwobodo flayed Enugu State Independent National Electoral Commission, ENSIEC, for setting the election timetable without consulting with the political parties.
The IPAC boss said that ENSIEC has no right to ask the candidates to pay money to participate in the electoral process, describing as laughable the various sums the election umpire has stipulated for the candidates to pay.
Nwobodo described the fees as illegal and said that if PDP candidates are ready to pay, others parties are not ready to pay, pointing out that should they conduct the elections without candidates of other political parties, it would be a nullity.
“The fees are illegal and the parties will not pay. We have always contested the payment of money to participate in an election. If they do the election without other parties, it will be a nullity,” the IPAC boss said. Ends.
Pastor Tim Gbasha of Sheperd International Assembly, Jos, has advised men to always resist the temptation to spank their erring wives, "no matter the provocation".
Gbasha gave the advice while delivering a sermon on Sunday.
"Women get angry easily and could shoot hard words at their men, but true men must resist the temptation to hit their wives when provoked," he said.
Gbasha, in the sermon with the theme: "The Trials of Faith", noted that trials were constant companions of Christians, but said that they should not make one deviate from the ways of God.
"Women, when angry, can provoke their husbands. They can go round, like an aircraft in the runway, raining insults on their husbands.
"At such moments, the husbands should never hit them because that period is a trial of their faith," he said.
The Pastor admonished Christians to be strong during trials, pointing out that even Jesus faced trials.
He reminded the faithful of the trials that confronted Job.
"Job lost everything including his children, wealth, health, and all that was dear to him, but he kept the faith. He did not complain," he said.
Gbasha urged Christians to always be on the watch as the devil could use just anything, including wives, children, friends, neighbours and even colleagues, to bring them down.
Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue state has said that his administration needs N40 billion to clear the backlog of salary arrears owed workers of the state.
Ortom dropped the hint in a statement issued on Sunday in Makurdi by his Special Adviser on Media and ICT, Mr. Tahav Agerzua.
He denied owing workers up to 10 months at a stretch, explaining that he had not breached his agreement with labour leaders in the state concerning the mode of salary payment.
"I have kept my agreement with labour leaders that as a result of insufficient funds, the federal allocation of two months would be combined to pay one month's complete salary for workers."
According to him, it is the accumulation of the unpaid months that gave the wrong impression of 10 months at a stretch.
Ortom
Ortom also expressed regret that the N8.2 billion inherited wage bill had compounded the financial situation of the state.
He said his administration had, however, reduced the wage bill to N7.8 billion, adding that the recovery of looted funds would help address the challenge of unpaid salaries faced by his administration.
He alleged that N107 billion had been looted from the coffers of the state government and that one of the persons indicted by an investigative panel had refunded N370 million.
He further said that N4.5 billion bond proceeds that had been diverted, had also been recovered and channelled to the original purpose it was meant.
The governor said the state of emergency declared on the payment of salaries would focus on reducing the wage bill and clearing the backlog of arrears owed workers.
He said the government was working hard to turn around the fortunes of the moribund industries.
Benue workers are being owed eight months' salary arrears.
The state government recently received N6.4 billion from the Federal Government as its share of Paris Club refunds for the payment of salaries among other interventions.
Wesley SneijderUnfashionable Nice have made a habit of signing top class talent over the last few seasons, with France international Hatem Ben Arfa, Italian striker Mario Balotelli, Brazilian centre-back Dante and Morocco playmaker Younes Belhanda all joining over the past two years.
Sneijder
Now, 33-year-old Dutch international Sneijder, who won the Champions League with Inter Milan in 2010, is set to sign a one-year deal with an option for another year, according to a club source.
On Sunday evening, Nice posted on Twitter to say they had reached an “agreement in principle” with the former Real Madrid and Ajax star.
They also posted a photo of the player at their club offices and an emoji of two shaking hands.
Sneijder, who arrived in Nice at 5pm, will undergo a medical on Monday and could put pen to paper later in the day.
The attacking midfielder, who played in the 2010 World Cup final for the Netherlands and has won league titles in four countries, was released by Galatasaray at the end of last season, meaning he is available for free.
Nice signed Ben Arfa from Newcastle United in 2015, with the talented playmaker helping them qualify for the Europa League before moving on to Paris Saint-Germain.
Nice followed that up a year ago by bringing in Balotelli, who won the Champions League alongside Sneijder at Inter, Dante and Belhanda.
The latter left to return to Dynamo Kiev, from where he’d been on loan, before signing for Galatasaray — replacing Sneijder.
Nice finished third in Ligue 1 last season and face a two-legged play-off against Napoli later this month to qualify for the Champions League group stages.
On Saturday they lost their opening league match of the season 1-0 to Saint-Etienne.
Israel said on Sunday it planned to close the offices of Al-Jazeera in the Jewish state, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Arab satellite news broadcaster of incitement.
Netanyahu had said on July 27 that he wanted Al-Jazeera expelled amid tensions over a sensitive Jerusalem holy site.
“Al-Jazeera has become the main tool of Daesh (the Islamic State group), Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran,” Communications Minister Ayoob Kara, a member of the Druze community from Netanyahu’s Likud party, told a news conference.
He accused the Qatar-based broadcaster of “inciting violence which has provoked losses among the best of our sons”, referring to two Druze policemen who were killed in a July 14 attack near the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem.
Al-Jazeera microphone
Netanyahu tweeted his congratulations to Kara “who on my instructions took concrete steps to end Al-Jazeera’s incitement” in Israel.
An official at Al-Jazeera in Doha said the channel “deplores this action from a state that is called the only democratic state in the Middle East” and called the move “dangerous”.
The official, who declined to be named, said the broadcaster would “follow up the subject through appropriate legal and judicial procedures”.
Israel’s communications ministry said “nearly all countries in the region including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, have concluded that Al-Jazeera incites terrorism and religious extremism.”
It said it had become “ridiculous that the channel continued to broadcast from Israel”.
– Credentials revoked – Regional kingpin Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt broke ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of fostering extremism and later issuing 13 demands, including Al-Jazeera’s closure.
The Al-Jazeera official said Sunday he was “surprised” at Israel’s move, and defended the channel’s “professional and objective” coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The channel’s Jerusalem bureau chief, Walid al-Omari, said his office had not received any official notification that it would be forced to close.
Speaking on Al-Jazeera, he said the move was related to internal Israeli politics.
“Netanyahu wants to distract attention from issues he is facing,” he said, in an apparent reference to ongoing investigations into graft cases allegedly involving the premier.
The Israeli ministry said it would cut the channel’s cable and satellite connections and demand that Al-Jazeera journalists be stripped of their credentials.
The closure of Al-Jazeera’s offices would come under the remit of security officials.
Israeli authorities would also seek to limit access by the Jewish state’s Arab citizens to the station’s Arabic-language broadcasts, the ministry said without elaborating.
Arab Israelis, the descendants of Palestinians who stayed after the state of Israel was created in 1948, make up 17.5 percent of the country’s population.
Israel has regularly accused Al-Jazeera of bias in its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Netanyahu heads what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israeli history.
He has frequently criticised the news media, accusing outlets of seeking to undermine his government.
– ‘Incitement’ – In July, Netanyahu accused the channel of “inciting violence around the Temple Mount,” a sensitive Jerusalem holy site known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif compound.
The site in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed, is central to the Israeli-Arab conflict.
Protests erupted there last month after Israel installed new security measures including metal detectors, after the two Israeli policemen were shot by attackers who emerged from the compound.
“I have appealed to law enforcement agencies several times to close the Al-Jazeera office in Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said on July 27.
“If this is not possible because of legal interpretation, I am going to seek to have the necessary legislation adopted to expel Al-Jazeera from Israel.”
Palestinians refused to enter the site for nearly two weeks over the new security measures imposed after three Israeli Arabs shot dead the policemen nearby.
That triggered protests which left six Palestinians dead. A Palestinian also broke into a home in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank and stabbed four Israelis, killing three of them.
The crisis ended when the Israeli authorities removed the new security measures including the metal detectors.
Palestinians, who viewed the measures as an Israeli attempt to assert further control over the compound which houses the revered Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, then ended their boycott of the site.
Under a decades-old agreement, only Muslims may pray inside the compound, although anyone can visit, including Jews.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), has predicted cloudy weather conditions over the Central States on Monday morning with isolated thunderstorms over Abuja, Jalingo, Jos, Bauchi, Gombe, Yola, Ibi and Mambilla Plateau.
NiMet's Weather Outlook by its Central Forecast Office (CFO), released on Sunday in Abuja, also predicted prospects of rain showers and localised thunderstorms over most parts of the region later in the day.
It said that the central region would have day and night temperatures in the range of 24 to 31and 18 to 24 degrees Celsius respectively.
The agency further predicted that Southern states would experience cloudy conditions in the morning with chances of isolated rains over Port-Harcourt, Calabar, Uyo and its environs.
It also predicted prospects of isolated rains over most parts of Soutern states during the afternoon and evening hours with day and night temperatures of 27 to 29 and 21 to 22 degrees Celsius respectively.
According to NiMet, Northern states will experience cloudy conditions with chances of isolated thunderstorms over Nguru, Katsina, Dutse, Kano, Maiduguri and it's environ during the morning hours.
"Later in the afternoon and evening period, isolated thunderstorms are likely over most part of the region with day and night temperatures of 30 to 34 and 21 to 24 degrees Celsius respectively.
"Relative instability is expected within the country. These may give rise to cloud build up, thunderstorms and rains across most parts of the cities in the next 24 hours," NiMet also predicted.
The Catholic Diocese of Nnewi, Anambra, has described Sunday's attack on worshippers at St. Philip's Catholic Church, Ozubulu, by a gunman as regrettable.
The church, in a statement signed by Rev. Hygi Aghaulor, Director of Communications of the Diocese, and available to newsmen, said that the Parish Priest, Rev Fr. Jude Onwuaso escaped unhurt.
He described the act as a sign of loss of what is sacred and consoled the families of victims of the attack.
"It is regrettable that our people are more and more losing a sense of what is sacred.
"What on earth would make people open fire on innocent unarmed worshippers including children and women on a Sunday morning?
"We condemn this ungodly act in its totality; we pray Almighty God to console the families affected and assure them that our hearts are with them as we pray for the quick recovery of the wounded.
"For the entire parishioners, we call on them not to be discouraged in their usual practice of faith.
"It is when the forces of darkness attempt to overshadow goodness that the light of God shines even brighter than ever just as it happened on Easter Sunday.
"Evil may make attempts but God and goodness will always triumph; we call on the good people to continue to pray for the deceased worshippers and their families," Aghaulor stated.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in the state Mr Garba Umar, has said that the command would leave no stone unturned to bring the attackers to justice.
Umar, who spoke at a news conference in Awka on Sunday, gave the updated figures of casualties as 11 dead and 18 injured.
He ruled out the possibility of a terror attack, and spoke about an isolated feud between individuals in the community.
He said that the command had invited some suspects who would be useful to the investigation.
The CP advised residents to go about their lawful businesses, assuring them that churches and public places were safe.
"At about 6.30 a.m. today, Aug. 6, I got a distress call that gunmen had invaded and shot at worshippers at St. Philips Catholic Church, Umuezekwe, Ofufe, Amakwa Village in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area.
"As a result I, the Commissioner of Police, led my operatives immediately to the scene to rescue worshippers.
"The command, under my watch, will leave no stone unturned in locating and prosecuting those behind the massacre of innocent worshippers.
"The intelligence report and preliminary investigation showed that the incident was as a result of a feud between two individuals from the same community living outside Nigeria.
"One of the individuals built the church where the shooting occurred; it is definitely not a terrorist attack in the mould of Boko Haram or Fulani herdsmen attack.
"The command will brief the public after investigation is concluded; I commiserate with all those who lost their loved ones in this unfortunate incident.
"I also encourage `ndi' Anambra to be vigilant and to promptly report suspicious movements or strange observation of persons and actions in their localities to the security agencies.'' Umar said.
A brace from Vivianne Miedema led hosts Netherlands to a 4-2 win over Denmark and their first women’s Euro title in Enschede on Sunday.
Netherlands’ team players celebrate with the trophy after winning the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 football tournament final match between Netherlands and Denmark at Fc Twente Stadium in Enschede on August 6, 2017. / AFP PHOTO
Miedema pulled the hosts level at 1-1 on ten minutes and added her second goal two minutes from the end to round off the scoring, with Lieke Martens and skipper Sherida Spitse also scoring for the champions.
Denmark took the lead as Nadia Nadim scored from the penalty spot on six minutes after Kika van Es had brought down Sanne Troelsgaard in the box.
Miedema then fired home a superb cross from right winger Shanice van de Sanden who had outsprinted Cecilie Sandvej on the wing.
Martens turned with the ball just outside the box in the 28th minute and her low left-footer beat diving Danish keeper Stina Petersen at her left post.
The valiant Danes equalised on 33 minutes when skipper Pernille Harder picked up a long pass on the right wing, took it inside the box and wrong-footed Dutch keeper Sari van Veenendaal, scoring with a low left-foot shot to her left post.
Spitse then scored five minutes after the break with a low shot from a free-kick and Miedema made it 4-2 after fooling a defender inside the box and beating Petersen with a low shot in the 89th minute.
The Dutch are only the fourth team to lift the trophy after eight-time champions Germany, two-time winners Norway and Sweden, who won the first edition in 1984.
Denmark, like the Dutch playing in their first final, made two changes in their starting line-up as Sofie Junge Pedersen replaced midfielder Line Jensen, out with a torn knee ligament, while Sandvej came in for left-back Line Roddik.
Propelled by a sold-out Twente stadium in Enschede, the Dutch dominated the early minutes of a very lively first half, but Denmark’s first goal levelled the situation on the pitch.
Martens could have extended her scoring record after 15 minutes, when van de Sanden’s low cross found her inside the box, but Petersen had little trouble clearing her weak shot.
Nadim had two good chances to add to her opener, but her one-on-one with Van Veenendaal ended in the hands of the Dutch keeper and then she missed a cross.
In the second half, Van Es sent a long-range shot wide, Petersen superbly stopped Miedema’s blast from long range and Jackie Groenen narrowly missed from long range.
At the other end, Katrine Veje’s attempt from inside the box missed the Dutch goal, just like a rebound from a corner by substitute Frederikke Thogersen.
Troelsgaard missed the top corner by an inch five minutes from the end as the Danes pushed for an equaliser.
Twelve worshippers were shot dead at a church in southeast Nigeria on Sunday, with authorities suggesting the bloodshed was due to a local feud.
At around 6:00 am (0500 GMT) at least one gunman opened fire at St. Philip’s church in Ozubulu, near the city of Onitsha, unleashing terror on the congregation.
Chukwuma Emeka said he had just stepped out of the church to stretch his legs “when I heard gunshots and screaming and people running inside.”
“When the chaos subsided I went inside, I saw my fellow church members dead in a pool of their own blood and many others were screaming in pain.”
Attacks on churches are rare in southern Nigeria, where there is a predominantly Christian population.
Worshippers killed in St. Philips Catholic Church, in Anambra by a gunman
The country’s mainly-Muslim north has been gripped by a violent campaign by Boko Haram jihadists, who specialise in targeting religious centres.
There were varying accounts of what happened in Ozubulu. Witnesses said five gunmen in masks stormed the church, but police said the killing was the work of a lone shooter.
“So far, 12 persons have been confirmed dead and deposited in the mortuary here,” a worker at Nnamdi Azikwe University Teaching Hospital told AFP.
St Philip Catholic Church Ozubulu, where the lone wolf struck this morning.
Several worshippers with gunshot wounds were also receiving treatment at the hospital, the source said. Witnesses said they feared that up to 20 people may have died.
– ‘Feud’ – Garba Umar, Anambra State police Commissioner, said the attacker was a gunman who “went on a shooting spree, killing and wounding” worshippers.
He said the violence was the result of a failed murder attempt, tied to a feud within the local community.
“The information at the disposal of the police is that the gunman had been hired to kill a particular family person believed to be among the worshippers,” he said.
Local rights activist Emeka Umeagbalasi said his information about the motive largely concurred with that of the police version.
The gunmen had gone to kill the son of a local chief but failed to find him at his home, Umeagbalasi said.
The attackers then went to the church to hunt for him, but could not find the intended target and became angry, he said.
They opened “fire on parishioners and shot indiscriminately,” he said, adding that the father of the intended target was shot and wounded.
Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara called the attack “barbaric… the height of wickedness.”
He extended his condolences to families of the victims, assuring them that the government would do everything within its power to track down those responsible.
Hundreds of churches and mosques in Nigeria’s north have been attacked since 2009 when Boko Haram began a violent campaign to impose strict Islamic law.
The rebellion has killed at least 20,000 people and forced some 2.6 million others to flee their homes, sparking a dire humanitarian crisis in the northeast.
Sen. Ita Enang, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), says Nigeria is on the pathway of economic recovery.
A statement signed by his media aide, Mr Essien Inyang, on Sunday in Abuja, said Enang disclosed this at an event organised to mark the end of the second legislative year of the 8th National Assembly.
He said the event was organised to improve the cordial relationship and goodwill between the legislature and the executive arms and to enhance good governance.
"President Muhammadu Buhari is fixing the country the right way and I'm convinced the expectations of Nigerians will soon be met by the government.
"You may not appreciate the pain of the injection caused by the needle but ultimately, it would bring cure."
The presidential aide reminded ex-lawmakers present at the event of the need to project the positive image of the country wherever they found themselves.
He also lauded the former lawmakers for their support for the Buhari administration.
Also, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Ghali Umar Na'Abba, described the legislature as the ultimate training ground for leadership in the country.
On the subject of restructuring, Na'Abba said: "Any part of the country with genuine problems must be listened to.
"Just as we listened to the South-South when the issue of militancy came up. The North-East and the South-East must also be listened to."
He described Enang as the country's most experienced legislator who had gone through all the ranks of the legislature, beginning from his local council as a counsellor.
"He has brought honour to us his colleagues.
"We are proud of Sen. Ita Enang.
"Even when he had no previous experience, he held his own as Chairman of Business and Rules. During his chairmanship, he was able to bring to the House a lot of intellectual discourse.
"Let me congratulate Sen. Enang for his commitment in the discharge of his duties as a presidential adviser,'' said the former Speaker.
Some former legislators including Amb. Jerry Ugokwe took turns to extol the exemplary leadership qualities of Enang and Na'Abba.
They urged Nigerian politicians to strive to emulate the former lawmakers.
UGHELLI – FORMER presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Prof. Patrick Utomi has denounced his inclusion as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the proposed interim government of the Republic of Biafra as announced by pro-Biafra group, Biafra Zionist Federation, BZF, led by Chief Benjamin Igwe Onwuka, last Monday.Pat Utomi
Utomi also condemned the actions of the group for seeking to relate his hard-earned reputation with its interests, stressing that he has always been an advocate for a united, peaceful and productive Nigeria that has so many opportunities, whether it be economic or social on the basis of its diversity.
Utomi in a statement, Sunday, said: "I want to register in the strongest possible terms that Biafra Zionist Federation (BZF) is totally alien to me, even by name, and it is very devious for them to have included my name as a cabinet member of its purported Interim National Government.
"I have never had any link with them, whether in word, speech, thought or in person. It is most uncharitable and unthinkable that BZF would seek to relate my hard-earned reputation with its interests. I completely dissociate myself from this body in every ramification.
"May I use this singular opportunity to make it expressly clear that my candid preference has and will always be for a solid, united, stable, peaceful and productive Nigeria that has so many opportunities, whether it be economic or social on the basis of its diversity. I do not support a break up of our country in whatever manner, and will advise the proponents of BZF to have a rethink and to set out to work towards building a Nigeria that they will be proud of."
Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa has condoled his Anambra counterpart, Chief Willie Obiano over Sunday’s church attack at St Philips Catholic Church Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The Governor in a statement on Sunday in Asaba by his Chief Press Secretary, Charles Aniagwu, condemned in strong terms the unprovoked attack by gunmen leading to the death of several worshippers.
Mr Charles Aniagwu,
“On behalf of my family, the government and people of Delta State, I commiserate with my brother, the Governor of Anambra State, His Excellency, Chief Willie Obiano, the government and people of Anambra State over Sunday’s church attack at Ozubulu leading to the death of several worshippers”.
The Governor expressed sadness on the desecration of the temple of God which served as a place of worship, adding that the Church is a place of refuge and devoid of attacks even in war situations.
"This is tragic, the church is a place of refuge for all who run into it, this unwarranted attack and mindless bloodletting is not only wicked but barbaric and must be condemned by all good men of conscience”.
“Our hearts are with the bereaved families at this moment of anguish. I pray that God grant the soul of the departed eternal rest as I urge the police and other security agents to fish out the perpetrators and bring them to book.
Governor Okowa urged the Church not to despair as to asking God why He allowed the worshippers to die right inside the church when they were worshipping God.
“To the Church, I urge you to be cheerful, prayerful and courageous in these trying times. Do not despair for every thing that happens under the earth is for a reason. For God knows the end from the beginning,” he said
The Nigerian Anatomy Act would come under intense scrutiny as over 400 anatomists from 55 private and public universities offering anatomy would converge in Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo this Tuesday.
The chairman of the local organizing committee, Professor Jide Desalu, who disclosed this on Thursday, said there was an urgent need for the society to close ranks and see to the amendment of the anatomy act to meet the needs of the 21st century.
For this reason, according to him, the keynote speaker for the event would be no other person than the majority leader of the House of Representative, Hon. Femi Gbajabimila.
In addition, a retired United Nations Organisation's official, Professor Oladapo Walker and an official of the federal ministry of health, Mr. Wole Afolayan would deliver lead papers at the two plenary sessions.
Professor Walker, who is a Babcock University lecturer would dwell on Anatomy as a basic medical science: Re-positing for cutting edge research and innovation with Afolayan speaking on Anatomy in the context of the global sustainable development goals.
Professor Walker's presentation, among other things, would examine anatomy as basic medical science from fundamental perspectives while Afolayan's paper would examine the present state of anatomy in Nigeria.
According to Professor Adesalu, the over 80 year's old act that has never been amended since its enactment would be a subject both for academic and professional experts in the field to analyse and situate against the modern trends in medical discoveries.
"This is the time for specific answers to be provided for what the Nigerian anatomist is to be."
"We should have a fundamental philosophy for their training. We cannot pretend that we are far from answering these questions right now."
This, in addition to several other important factors, according to him, underline the uniqueness and significance of this year's conference with the theme, Anatomy Act: What Next?
The organisers express the view that Babcock University would remain a landmark in the history of Anatomical Society of Nigeria, especially as a turning point and new beginning for the Nigerian anatomist.
"This is the time to make a difference in the life of the many undergraduate students graduating annually but without being mentioned in any public announcement for employment."
This, according to the society, remained the only way to justify the essence of training and the prospective professional destination of the Nigerian anatomist.
