Gist Arena

T he attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to some stories in the media that it is withdrawing its troops from Exercise EGWU EKE II, crediting such information to Abia State Governor and the General Officer Commanding 82 Division Nigerian Army. This is not true. The Nigerian Army wishes to enjoin members of the public to disregards such rumours. For the avoidance of doubt, the Abia State Governor in his speech stated that “there will be gradual withdrawal of soldiers on the streets of Aba and Umuahia from tomorrow”. This should not be misconstrued as withdrawing of troops earmarked for Exercise EGWU EKE II. The General Officer Commanding 82 Division has not said such thing. Consequently, we wish to state that Exercise EGWU EKE II is commencing tomorrow as scheduled. Commanders have been instructed to ensure that all hands are on deck to commence the Exercise to its logical completion. We wish to state further that the successful completion of the exercise will dovet

T he lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu has alleged that men of the Nigerian Army invaded the home of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra on Thursday afternoon. In a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES, the lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, accused the Nigerian Army of declaring war on Mr. Kanu and “innocent, unarmed and defenceless” supporters of IPOB. “The Military has declared war on the innocent, unarmed and defenceless civilians. Sporadic shooting is going on in the premises of Nnamdi Kanu now. “The situation is serious. My client’s whereabouts has remained unknown. His entire house has been shattered with bullets and missiles. “The soldiers had just forcefully gained entrance into his house after shooting for about 40 minutes. His entrance gate was broken and forced open. Their mission is still unknown as every person seen in his house has surrendered, including his aged parents. “We will avail the world with the pictures of these dastardly acts,” Mr. Ejiofo

T he value of Nigeria’s total foreign trade in goods increased in the second quarter of 2017 by 7.7 per cent compared to the N5.3 billion recorded for the first quarter. This was revealed in a National Bureau of Statistics, NBS report, released Wednesday morning. The monthly external trade value stood at N1.86 trillion in April, N1.99 trillion in May, and N1.84 trillion in June 2017.  The report showed that the total trade was about 37.3 percent higher than the value of trade in the second quarter of 2016 valued at N4.15 trillion.  It also showed that the trade balance stood at a surplus of N506.5 billion in the second quarter of 2017, compared to a surplus of N719.4 billion recorded in the preceding quarter and a trade deficit of N572.12 billion in the corresponding quarter last year. “The value of total imports stood at N2.6 trillion, with a percentage increase of 13.51 when compared to the first quarter and 9.97 per cent higher than Q2 2016. “The valu

T he anti-graft agency, EFCC, on Wednesday confirmed that plans were in place to extradite a former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke. Several Nigerians have called for her extradition from the UK, after different corruption allegations were levelled against her. Properties worth billions of Naira linked to her have since been forfeited to the federal government, many permanently. Speaking on Wednesday while addressing journalists, civic groups and others, the EFCC acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu, confirmed the moves to extradite Mrs. Alison-Madueke. “I want you to know that nobody will go unpunished. We are even seeking to extradite Diezani, but investigations are still ongoing,” Mr. Magu said. “We have reached a level where nobody can stop us in the fight against corruption, but we all must realise that we are all stakeholders, and this fight is for the future generation.” He added that all Nigerians must play their roles, “because EFCC can only