Just In: Massive 7.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Indonesia

A Powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of western Indonesia, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reports.

There have been no immediate reports of damage.

The USGS said the earthquake struck at 19:49 local time (12:49 GMT). It said the epicentre was 805km (500 miles) south-west of the city of Padang, and 24km deep.

Indonesia’s National Meteorological Agency lifted its tsunami warnings several hours after the tremors.
Australian tsunami warnings for Cocos Island, Christmas Island and Western Australia were also lifted.

No tsunami warnings were issued in India or Sri Lanka.

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Buhari Duped Nigerians, Says Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of exhibiting “the peak of political 419″ by making promises without fulfilling them.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his media aide, Lere Olayinka, Fayose said APC deceived Nigerians to get their votes in the last election by promising to create 3 million jobs per year, yet the president had “not created a single job”.
“President Muhammadu Buhari prefers and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), duped Nigerians by obtaining their votes by trick. Everything Buhari and his party promised Nigerians when they were looking for votes, they have denied and it won’t be a surprise if one day, Buhari comes out to even deny that he was elected on the platform of APC.
“Buhari’s declaration that he would not pay the N5, 000 stipend he promised to unemployed youths in the country and minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed’s claim that creation of three million jobs per year was not promised by the APC as the peak of political 419 that the president and his party represent.
“They have not fulfilled any of the promises they made to Nigerians. In fact, they have even told us that they never made any promise. It is close to one year that Buhari assumed office; no single job has been created. Instead of the three million jobs per year that they promised, what we have been witnessing is job losses, economic hardship and budget padding”, the statement reads. Thanks for reading.

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Oil prices fall before US energy report Oil prices fall before US energy report

Oil prices fell Wednesday as traders awaited the release of US crude inventory data, which are expected to show a further rise in stockpiles.
At around 1100 GMT, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in April slid 74 cents to stand at $33.66 a barrel.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for May shed 36 cents to $36.45 a barrel compared with Monday’s close.
Crude futures had risen Tuesday on fresh Russian calls for a production freeze to reduce the global supply glut.
“US crude oil inventories increasing is almost becoming a norm. Inventories are already at a historic high” and markets are taking a nonchalant stance towards a continued inch upwards, said Daniel Ang, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
“US production, on the other hand, is slightly more interesting as it is finally starting to show corrections. We highly expect to see US oil production drop a lot more now that prices are in the $30 region, which could result in the easing of global oil supply,” he added in a note.
A Bloomberg News survey ahead of Wednesday’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) report showed that US crude stockpiles probably increased 3.4 million barrels from an 86-year high last week.
The EIA is projected to report that supplies of gasoline and distillate fuel, a category that includes diesel and heating oil, dropped, Bloomberg added.
Oil prices had risen Tuesday on increasing optimism of an output freeze to shore up the market as Russia said domestic oil groups supported the proposal.
Opening a meeting with Russian oil group chiefs, President Vladimir Putin said Energy Minister Alexander Novak had led discussions on forging a freeze agreement between producer countries.
He said the idea was to “fix Russia’s 2016 production level at that of January,” which was a post-Soviet record of 10.8 million barrels per day on average.
The market gained a lift in the latter half of February when OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC member Russia agreed to freeze output to January levels, if other major producers followed suit.
But disappointment that there was no output cut, and skepticism that such a freeze could be agreed, has contributed to recent market volatility.Thanks for reading

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Don’t Trust Politicians, Kashamu Tells Nigerians

Senator Buruji Kashamu, representing Ogun East Senatorial District at the Senate has told Nigerians not to be deceived by politicians, stating that public office holders including lawmakers play politics with everything.
He made this disclosure when he disagreed with Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose on his comments against President Muhammadu Buhari.
Kashamu, during an empowerment programme in Ijebu-Igbo urged Buhari’s critics to shun destructive criticism.
He said, “President Muhammadu Buhari is on course. Why it looks as if there are some dislocations is because of the blockage of lose funds and sources of financial leakages in the system. I am persuaded that in a short while things will pick up.
‘’Nigerians should not allow politicians to deceive them. We tend to play politics with everything. We forget that the elections or campaigns are over. Now, we have a government in place. We should rise above selfish and narrow partisan interest and join hands to build our country by offering constructive advice just as some senior citizens like Prof. Wole Soyinka and Chief Emeka Anyaoku have done. We have no other country than Nigeria.’’

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Ikorodu Abduction Latest: Police, School Clueless About Missing Girls’ Whereabouts

The Nigeria Police Force and the management of Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary are presently totally clueless about the whereabouts of three students of the school who were abducted from its premises in Ikorodu area of Lagos State on Monday night.
We can authoritatively report that contrary to rumours making the rounds that the girls have been found, they are still missing, and both the police and the school authorities have no idea where the girls are or might have been taken.

Our correspondents currently at the school confirm that the girls’ whereabouts are still unknown and the police is not even sure of where they might be or how to bring them back home. Efforts by Our correspondents to speak with officials of the school, particularly the principal to get first hand information on the whole incident, has proved abortive as they have remained tight-lipped over the fate of the girls and what is being done to ensure that they are found.
It is hoped that the Nigeria Police Force would intensify efforts to find the three secondary school girls who were abducted yesterday night.
As at the time of filing this report, the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni has been to the school to speak with the management of the school and to monitor how the situation is being managed. Although the police has deployed personnel and helicopter to scout the area and environs for the abducted children, they have so far come up with nothing.

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Ikorodu Abduction: Parents Withdraw Children From School

Following the abduction of three girls on Monday night by unknown gunmen in what is reminiscent of the squaring away of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State almost two years ago, parents have begun withdrawing their students from the affected school, Barbington Macaulay Junior Seminary in Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
our  correspondents who were at the school report that cars could be seen filing in droves into the school premises this afternoon as parents trooped in to pick up their kids, and guardians came to pick up their wards as they worried for their safety.

Parents’ cars parked alongside a road inside the premises of the school.

It was however gathered that while some of the parents were there just to pick up their children for their JAMB exams set for this weekend, others, greatly scared of the whole saga, were there to take their children to the safety of their homes.
The school authorities are not stopping any parent from picking up their kids.  According to principal of the school, Venerable O. Adeyemi, parents were free to pick up their kids in the light of the sad development at the school.
Adeyemi, who spoke exclusively with Greennews.ng inside the school premises on Tuesday, also revealed that the parents of the missing girls have been fully briefed about the efforts being made by the school authorities to rescue the girls and they are fully supportive of the school’s attempts so far.

A police helicopter deployed in search of the missing girls.

Security operatives assessing the situation inside the school premises on Tuesday.

Adeyemi also confirmed that the missing students were really three girls but refused to disclose their names for security reasons. He also confirmed that they were abducted on Monday night at around 8pm but denied reports that attempts had been made in the past to cart away students of the school. He said those reports were totally untrue.
He refused blatantly to comment on reports that security operatives may have arrested one of the kidnappers saying that he was not in the position to speak on security matters as he has been strongly advised against it by the police.
Meanwhile, a resident within the area told Greennews.ng on grounds of anonymity that the gunmen operated for about an hour on Monday night, shooting sporadically into the air as they carried out their raid without being disturbed.
As at the time of filing this report, the girls are still missing and nobody (person or group) has come out to claim responsibility for the Monday night abduction.

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Gunmen Kidnap Ex-Director Of SSS

A retired Director of the State Security Service in Taraba state, Mr. Hosea Danjuma has been kidnapped by unknown gunmen at his residence at Baisa town, in Kurmi local government area of Taraba state.
Hosea was said to be abducted by the gunmen in the early hours of Tuesday at about about 2 hours past midnight

The policePPRO Taraba state police command, ASP Joseph Kwaji, confirmed that Hosea Danjuma was kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Baisa.
He however said that a special squared has been deployed by the command to rescue the former SSS Director.
Kwaji added that no contact has been established with the kidnappers yet.
It will be recalled that the mother of the deputy governor of Taraba state was kidnapped two weeks ago before she was later released.

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