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President Muhammadu Buhari hasruled out the possibility of his government devaluing the naira. The president said this while contributing to a Presidential Panel Roundtable on Investment and Growth Opportunities at the opening session of the Africa 2016: Business for Africa, Egypt and the World at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. President Buhari said for Nigeria, being a mono-economy dependent on oil, and with a teeming unemployed youth population, the way out of the current slump in the global oil market, is for the administration to focus on agriculture and solid minerals development. “The land is there and we need machinery inputs, fertilizer and insecticides,” he said. Reiterating his opposition to the devaluation of the naira, President Buhari said Nigeria cannot compete with developed countries which produce to compete among themselves, and can afford to devalue their local currencies. “Developed countries are competing among themselves and when they devalue they compete better ...

JUSTICE Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos yesterday ordered the forfeiture of multi-billion naira properties belonging to the former Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo popularly known as Tompolo. The judge made the order following his refusal to appear in court over allegations of money laundering and stealing of about N34 billion belonging to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). Properties to be forfeited include a River Crew Change Boat named MUHA – 15; the property known as “Tompolo Dockyard” by the end of Enerhen Road, Effurun, Warri; and the property known as “Tompolo Yard”, at the end of Chevron Clinic Road, next to Next Oil, Edjeba, Warri. Others are the Diving School at Kurutie, at Escravos River; the property known as “Tompolo House” at Oporaza Town, opposite the palace and any other property discovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), moveable and immoveable, belonging to Tompolo. Just...

The longest-serving prisoner to be held in solitary confinement in US history, Albert Woodfox, has walked free in Louisiana after 43 years. Woodfox was part of the group known as the "Angola Three", after the prison where they spent years in confinement. He had been there since April 1972 for the murder of a prison guard. Maintaining his innocence in the death of Brent Miller, Woodfox, 69, was finally freed after accepting the lesser charge of manslaughter. The plea bargain was negotiated with state prosecutors. Twice in decades of legal battles, his murder conviction was thrown out of court, yet Louisiana state prosecutors were preparing to try him a third time. He finally agreed to plead no contest to lesser charges in exchange for freedom but insisted this was not an admission of guilt. "Although I was looking forward to proving my innocence at a new trial, concerns about my health and my age have caused me to resolve this case now and obtain my release w...