As British Prime Minister Theresa May visits Nigeria and two other African countries this week, the country reported it had returned £70 million recovered from a Nigerian, who was convicted of fraud by an Italian court. The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Paul Arkwright, said in Abuja: “There was an Italian court case with a particular person involved. A portion the fund has been in the UK and that was the portion that was returned recently from the UK to Nigeria.’’ The envoy did not mention the identity of the Nigerian involved in the offence, but said more funds would be repatriated. He stressed that his country was working with the Nigerian government to accelerate the legal process of returning the looted money. “The British government has no intention of keeping one kobo of Nigerian funds in the UK. It all must come back to Nigeria. “Just as in Nigeria, the UK feels that the judicial process is important, and we have to go through those processes before the mon...

Former Manchester United captain, Gary Neville, has insisted that the club will not fire manager Jose Mourinho during the season, despite the tension and bad results. Mourinho watched on as United suffered their second consecutive defeat in the Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday. Speaking on Monday Night Football, Neville said United should aim to let him see out the remaining two years on his deal. He saw the end of his contract at Inter Milan, he saw the end of his contract at Porto and he saw the end of his contract at Real Madrid. “It’s only at Chelsea, which is a club of madness, where this has happened. At Inter Milan, Porto and Real Madrid he saw it to the end so let’s not rewrite history. At Chelsea, everybody dies a little bit early. It’s that type of club, he’s not on his own there. “It was tough for him at Real Madrid and he got through to the end of the season. I don’t see it happening during the season. To suggest that Manchester United are li...

The trial of 24 people, including a former intelligence agency informant, suspected in the killings of two UN sanctions monitors in 2017 in central Congo resumed on Monday after a 10-month suspension, defence lawyers said. Zaida Catalan, a Swede, and Michael Sharp, an American, were killed in March 2017 while investigating an armed conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kasai region between government forces and the local Kamuina Nsapu militia. Congo’s government has blamed their kidnappings and killings on the militia but some Western governments and rights groups suspect state officials may have been involved as Catalan and Sharp were conducting investigations in an area where the United Nations has accused Congo’s military of war crimes. Congolese government officials initially said no state agents were involved in the killings and that they did not know at the time that the two experts were in the region. But they later said they could not exclude the possibility state ...

Two Chilean tourists facing the death penalty in Malaysia for allegedly murdering a man in a hotel are innocent and acted in self-defence, their lawyer said Monday. Felipe Osiadacz and Fernando Candia are on trial over the killing of a Malaysian in the lobby of the Kuala Lumpur hotel in August last year, less than 24 hours after they arrived in the country on holiday. The young men have pleaded not guilty. Malaysia has a mandatory death penalty for murder, and if convicted the pair will be hanged. “It was all an accident. A person went into the hotel and demanded money from them,” their lawyer Venkateswari Alagendra told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur High Court after a hearing. The Malaysian man then attacked the Chileans and they fought back in self-defence, before calling the police, she said. She said she was confident that the pair, who went on trial earlier this year, would be acquitted. Two women were seen hugging the men after Monday’s court hearing, but decline...

Troops of 82 Division Task Force Brigade deployed in Operation LAFIYA DOLE, on Sunday, while on fighting patrol at Kukawa general area, killed several Boko Haram insurgents in Kalamari area of Borno State. The troops said they got information on the terrorists’ activities in Kalamari village, 30 Kilometres to Kukawa town of Borno State. Texas Chukwu, Director Army Public Relations, said the insurgents met their waterloo while on looting and extortion mission in Kalamari village and were confronted by the gallant troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE.’ He said, “during the encounter following a superior fire power of the troops, three members of the Boko Haram Terrorists were neutralised. “Items recovered include three AK 47 rifle, two magazines, four rounds of 7.62mm ammunition. “Meanwhile, the gallant troops have continued with aggressive fighting patrol, as efforts are on by the troops to track down other fleeing members of the Boko Haram Terrorists from any hideout, after they s...

At least four people have been killed and seven others wounded in clashes that broke out between rival armed groups in Libya's capital, Tripoli, as they attempt to take control of the city. The health ministry declared a state of emergency on Monday, according to local media, after the Sunday evening clashes continued to escalate. The fighting erupted between local militias and al-Kani tribal fighters from Tarhouna, southeast of Tripoli, who are sending reinforcements to the country's north.  Both sides technically operate under Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). Heavy weapons, including artillery, have been used in the fighting, according to witnesses. Residential areas have been hit by what seems to be random shelling and several families have had to evacuate their homes. Roads were blocked, while tanks and armoured vehicles were seen at several places across the city. The Presidential Council (PC) responded by condemning the GNA for ...