The Late 5: Minister reveals why FG can’t secure Nigeria’s borders effectively, Super Eagles melts Iceland in dramatic World Cup encounter and other stories

These are the stories that drove the conversation today:

The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau has revealed that the close family relationship between traditional rulers in Nigeria and the neighbouring countries constitutes a strong hindrance to efforts at securing the country’s porous borders.

“You will agree that with the situation where you have half-brothers that have a virtually common cultural affinity, it is extremely difficult. I have visited some towns and I have requested to meet with the leadership of border communities, and when they came, we started discussing the security of our borders and coincidentally, the chief of the community that is between Nigeria and Niger Republic are brothers. They are of the same father, same mother. So, they did not like me to talk about borders because as far as they are concerned, there is no border,” he said.

Dambazau disclosed this at the opening of the International Press Institute (IPI) World Congress 2018 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja where he told the gathering that the problem of Boko Haram insurgency in the North East is a regional issue,but also blamed state governors for poor governance which has contributed to the insecurity challenges besetting the country.


The Kaduna Police Command said it had arrested nine suspected members of Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shiites on Friday over violent attacks on police officers in the state.

Commissioner of Police in the state, Austin Iwar, disclosed this in a statement signed by the Public Relations’ Officer (PRO) Muhktar Aliyu in Kaduna, confirmed the killing of a police officer during the attack and said the command had deployed men from its intelligence unit to trail the leaders and coordinators of the attack.

Aliyu described the action as confrontational and a calculated attempt to force the police into conflict with the group to disrupt the peace in the state, adding that “the police will not leave any stone unturned in making sure that those who are bent on perpetrating evil through violence are brought to book.


The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen has admonished judicial officers to be wary of the antics of politicians as the country gradually moves into another season of intense political activities.

The CJN who spoke in Abuja on Friday while swearing in 12 High Court judges, recently elevated to the Court of Appeal, advised them to always be guided by the Constitution, their Code of Conduct and oath of office, and as well warned Justices and judges against yielding themselves and positions as tools for politicians.

Onnoghen, who also regretted the growing impunity in the Executive arm, which he noted, accounts for why some states were reluctant to comply with the constitutional provision for fiscal autonomy for the Judiciary.


The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed fears over the safety of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, (PDP Abia South), after he was arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS) on Friday.

In a statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP condemned what it termed the Gestapo-style arrest of lawmaker, stressing that the development further confirmed their earlier alarm that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government has commenced a total clampdown on the opposition and perceived opponents of President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2019 re-election bid.

The PDP noted that the federal government has given no reasons for the arrest and detention of Senator Abaribe, who has been kept incommunicado without access to his lawyers and associates.


Two brilliant goals from Ahmed Musa ensured Nigeria defeated Iceland 2-0 to give the Super Eagles campaign much needed hope ahead of their last group game against Argentina on Tuesday.

Musa opened the scoring in the 49th minute by scoring a screamer in the box from a Victor Moses cross from the right before he added another in the 75th minute with a beautiful solo effort to beat the Icelandic goalkeeper Hannes Thor Halldorsson and showed great composure to slot it into the net.


And stories from around the world:

Syrian government helicopters dropped barrel bombs on opposition areas of the southwest on Friday for the first time in a year, a war monitor and rebel officials said, in defiance of U.S. demands that President Bashar al-Assad halt the assault.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Friday that the Syrian military escalation “unambiguously violates” the de-escalation arrangement and that more than 11,000 people had already been displaced.

“Russia will ultimately bear responsibility for any further escalations in ‎Syria,” Haley said in a statement. (Reuters)


Venezuelan security forces have carried out hundreds of arbitrary killings under the guise of fighting crime, the UN’s human rights body says.

In a report, it cites “shocking” accounts of young men being killed during operations, often in poor districts, over the past three years.

The UN’s human rights chief said no-one was being held to account, suggesting the rule of law was “virtually absent.” (BBC)


An Ethiopian rebel group has suspended its armed resistance against the government.

Ginbot 7 said Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s reforms had given it hope that “genuine democracy” may be “a real possibility”.

This is the latest of numerous changes made since Mr Abiy came to office in April, relaxing the state’s previously tight grip on power. (BBC)


At least five women working for an NGO have been abducted and gang-raped at gunpoint in eastern India’s Jharkhand state, police have said.

The women were performing a play raising awareness of human trafficking in the Khunti district on Tuesday when armed men abducted them at gunpoint, it was reported on Friday.

Attackers filmed the assault and used the video to blackmail the women not to go to the police.

The women were working for Asha Kiran, an NGO supported by Christian missionaries, police officer Rajesh Prasad told AFP news agency. (Aljazeera)


Protests were planned across Spain on Friday, after a court ordered the release on bail of five men sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually abusing a young woman at Pamplona’s bull-running festival.

All five, aged between 27 and 29, were convicted of sexual abuse in April but were acquitted of the more serious crime of sexual assault — which includes rape — as the court did not consider the victim to have been subjected to intimidation or violence.

The ruling sparked nationwide protests demanding a change in the law. (AFP)

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