Kevin Abosi Updates

Monday, 6 July 2015

Airtel Raises $1.3bn From Mobile Towers Sales

Bharti Airtel said it had raised $1.3 billion with the sale of its mobile towers in five African countries from Helios Towers, IHS Plc and American Tower Company. The proceeds will go towards reducing the $10 billion debt used in its African operations in 2010.

Last month, Airtel said a proposed deal with Helios Towers in Tanzania and Chad had expired without a final agreement. Airtel does still work with Helios in other countries. The India-based operator said it was negotiating similar deals with six other countries in Africa. Under the original agreement, Airtel said it would sell around 3,100 towers in four countries to Helios.

The Police have made a breakthrough in their investigation of the June 24 Ikorodu bank robbery. They have arrested four of the perpetrators.

The arrest of one of them in Ondo was said to have led to the arrest of others in Ikorodu on Saturday.

The suspects are Promise, who was arrested in Ondo, Baba Ibeji, Bright and Monday.

Apparently worried by the purported recent transfer of Boko Haram suspects to Anambra State, the South-East governors have called on the Federal Government to reconsider the relocation.

Briefing journalists on Sunday after the meeting of South-East governors in Owerri, Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, stated that the suspects should have been relocated to any northern part of the country instead of the South-East.

The meeting was attended by Enugu State Governor, Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Abia State Governor, Mr. Okezie Ikpeazu; and the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Dr. Kelechi Igwe.

A kidnap suspect, Vincent Ibor, said he collected reluctantly the sum of N3.5m after an abduction deal in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State.

Ibor, who hails from Akamkpa Local Government Area of the state, said he was lured into the kidnap deal and threatened with gun after attending a birthday party.

The 25-year-old suspect is currently in police custody with two other accomplices, Justice Ajodo (21) and Stanley Obi (20), who he alleged lured him into the crime.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Hogan Bassey, said the three suspects had on October 9, 2014, kidnapped one Chief Samuel Onyeka at the Ikot-Ishie axis of Calabar.

Dangote Backs Central Bank's Forex Restrictions on Rice, Toothpicks, Others

Following the criticisms by foreign media who are calling for a massive devaluation of the naira instead of foreign exchange restrictions on certain items such as rice and toothpicks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Africa’s richest man and foremost businessman, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has come out in strong support of the CBN’s decision, calling the ban on 41 items from forex market as "excellent and one of the best decisions taken so far by the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele."

Apparently miffed by criticisms in some quarters against the apex bank’s decision to restrict forex on the importation of certain items, Dangote, who is President of Dangote Group, described the CBN’s intervention as appropriate for the Nigerian economy saying, “We cannot be importing poverty and exporting jobs.”

Ibrahim Coomasie, former Inspector-General of Police and present chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) discloses why the North moved massively for President Muhammadu Buhari and against Goodluck Jonathan. A former classmate of PMB, he reveals why it would not be business as usual with Buhari. He spoke with Leadership's Kunle Somorin, Catherine Agbo and Muazu Elazeh:

With the emergence of Buhari, do you think the North has achieved one of its major agenda?
Buhari became so famous during the electioneering and on the political scene generally. If you recall, the arrangement when it was decided that power should go to the South was that after eight years, it would come back to the North but that was disrupted somehow by nature when the late president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua died and Jonathan continued, isn’t it? Some people believed that with the completion of his first tenure, Jonathan should have stepped aside and allowed another Northerner to come and complete the term. This was not to be.

To make matters worse...

A WOMAN and a technician who was trying to rescue her from a jammed elevator car plunged to their death from the eighth floor of the National Railways of Zimbabwe headquarters on Friday at around 4pm, only to be discovered 24 hours later yesterday.

The technician from Schindler Lifts had been called to assist the trapped woman, who is an NRZ employee in the accounts department.

Police and the Bulawayo Fire Brigade battled for close to three hours to retrieve the bodies of the victims from the shaft. They only managed to recover the bodies around 7pm.

National police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba confirmed the incident last night.

It's said What Hollywood can do.. Nollywood can do even better. Check out these mind blowing totally nude photos of Nollywood actress Dior Chidera Adiele. Dior recently had the shoot, 24th June, 2015 to celebrate her pregnancy and her new body.

And according to her photographer, his intention was to create a beautiful painting. You like? Dior is also a video vixen, she has been featured in one of Reekado Banks music videos. See more pictures after the cut....

Nicki Minaj put her curves on display during a performance in Finland

Following the relocation of Boko Haram detainees to the Ekwulobia Prisons in Anambra State, the military have taken over the security of the facility.

SUNDAY PUNCH investigations showed that security operations in the Federal Government facility are no longer the exclusive preserve of the officials of the Nigeria Prison Service.

The development, sources told our correspondent, is not unconnected with the calibre of the detainees being held behind the walls of the facility.

The heroic man who shielded his fiancee and told her to run during the Tunisian massacre has spoken for the first time..Matthew James, whose courage made headlines around the world, tells how he was initially convinced he was going to die after being hit by three bullets as he flung himself around Saera Wilson to protect her.

When the shots were fired at the German couple it simply didn’t register with Saera,’ said Matthew. ‘At least not for a few seconds. She said later she thought it was a joke, some kind of game. But I just kind of acted instinctively, and pulled her out
of the way.’

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday promised that his administration will ensure that all cases of political assassination and kidnapping in the country are thoroughly investigated.

A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, quoted the President as making the promise while addressing state chairmen of the All Progressives Congress who visited him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Adesina said, “I can confirm to you that the President did say during the closed-door meeting he had with the APC state chairmen that his administration will ensure that all cases of political assassination, intimidation and kidnapping in the country are thoroughly investigated to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. The President said the cases will be investigated irrespective of the perpetrators’ political affiliations.”

Wardrobe allowance: Okogie blasts lawmakers

Cardinal Okogie

Archbishop Emeritus of Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Okogie has condemned the outrageous wardrobe allowances reportedly earmarked for the nation’s legislators, saying that the proposed national change will be impossible when National Assembly members live in contradiction to the moral, social and political aspirations of their fellow citizens.

In a statement titled; “The moral blind spots of the jumbo package”, made available to Sunday Vanguard by the archdiocesan Director of Social Communication, Monsignor Gabriel Osu, the archbishop argued that duty, honour, country: are the mandates the nation needs to rediscover at this hour, noting that the allowances and the jumbo package of the lawmakers are not only shocking, but outrageous and outlandish.

According to the statement, “they (the allowances) are hard to be justified in the face of widespread poverty and the socio-economic realities of our nation. It is highly unjustifiable that our national resources service a profligate class of politicians, but neglect the hope and welfare of civil servants especially teachers who build the engine of our nation’s future.

Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah

The Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shield, on Friday alerted the public on the new tricks deployed by kidnappers.

The JTF also urged the public to be security conscious and be wary strange movements around them.

This was contained in a statement issued by Lt.-Col. Isa Ado, Spokesman of Operation Pulo Shield in Yenagoa.

It said that the kidnappers now dress in military uniform, describing such act as mischievous and dubious.

According to Ado, the hoodlums who abducted the wife of ex-Bayelsa acting governor recently dubiously and mischievously claimed they were sent by the Commander Joint Task Force.

Failure to comply with these rules could lead to a fine by the tribal court or, worse, a group of initiates breaking the windows of the homes of offenders.

Residents of Ga-Mamaila villages in Sekgosese outside Modjadjiskloof claimed their headmen announced at community meetings more than a week ago that failure to comply with the rules could lead to them being summoned to the local tribal court.

But the Ga-Mamaila Tribal Council has denied the banning of women from wearing pants . The council, however, admitted it had prohibited the playing of loud music for the duration of the initiation period.

Council spokesman Peter Mamaila said those who played loud music during this period would "definitely be summoned to the chief, who will decide on what to do".

A baby has been left completely blind after a surgeon reportedly removed the wrong eye.
One-year-old Fernando Jonathan Valdez Ayala had a potentially life-threatening tumour in his left eye and could not see out of it.
He was receiving chemotherapy but his surgeon Armando Cisneros Espinoza decided it was not working and the eye would have to be removed.But he removed the baby's fully functional right eye instead leaving him blind.

The mix-up happened at the Medical Unit of High Speciality Mexican Social Security Institute in Ciudad Obregon, in the northwest Mexican state of Sonora.
The baby's horrified parents are now suing on the grounds of medical negligence and are demanding compensation.

Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo yesterday advised public officers and politicians to get rid of their private jets as President Muhammadu Buhari had begun blocking financial leakages in the country’s economy.

Oshiomhole made this known at a public lecture titled “Labour and the Nigerian Economy: What needs to be done” held at the University of Port Harcourt.

He said that businessmen who connived with some officials of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to defraud the nation through subsidy claims would be probed.

“Few people (in Nigeria) are taking away so much wealth, while majority of the people are going home with almost nothing.

“A clear example is when you arrive at the private wing of the airport in Abuja; you will find more than 40 to 50 private jets parked there in one airport alone.

In 2002, after 35 years of service, she retired as a deputy superintendent from the Nigeria Police Force, while her squad mates did as superintendents, assistant commissioners and deputy commissioners. Wine glasses were raised up on the day they retired, all laughing and dancing to have served in the Force and retired alive, and not killed while on the job. Some others were not that lucky. Nonetheless, she wasn’t happy and maybe she still isn’t.

Thirteen years are gone now since her retirement, but anytime she remembers the treatments meted out to her by her male bosses, the agony returns. But for the passion she had for the job, she would have long quit, but she stood up against them, fought them with everything at her disposal – for the most years she spent in the Force.

They were bent on frustrating her – and they succeeded, at least to some extent.

First, her promotion through the ranks was always delayed; second, her name was dropped at least twice from the inspectorate and assistant superintendent of police calls – promotional training courses for members of the Force; and finally, she was always asked to perform duties that were below her capability and strength.

Kidnapping spree has continued unabated in coastal communities of Bayelsa State.

The Enewari community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area was the latest destination of gunmen whose activities created panic among the residents.

The bandits were said to have abducted three women and in the process killed a young man in the community.

The slain man was said to have incurred the wrath of the abductors when he tried to foil the devilish operation.

Couple Who Were Married For 75 Years Died Hours Apart As They Held Hands in Bed

Jeanette Toczko, 96, and her 95-year-old husband, Alexander Toczko, from San Diego, California, died just hours apart as they held hands in bed.
The pair spent their lives in love after becoming boyfriend and girlfriend when they were only eight years old.

But several weeks ago, Mr Toczko suffered a broken hip in a fall and was left bed-bound. A local hospice delivered a special bed to his home, which staff pushed up next to his beloved wife's bed.

Sure marriage is hard enough but bringing it on social media will probably make it harder - when people start to share unwanted opinion.

A 34 year old man named Citizen Emeka Benjamin Uche fled his home & remained incommunicado after his wife, Ruth, informed him that her third pregnancy was a set of twins - the couple's third set. A distraught Uche upon hearing the news left their home in Agege in February this year. He hasn't been heard from since then.

The couple welcomed their first set of twin, both girls – Goodness and Goodnews in 2009 and in 2011 welcomed another twins – a boy and a girl, named John and Joyce.

Ruth, who gave birth to the couple's third set of twins, Daniel and Daniella last month, was at the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa yesterday July 2nd with her six children, to solicit for government's assistance.
Speaking with newsmen, Ruth said

They both were sharing the same banana after they caught a misguided man who eventually impregnated the mother and daughter, probably on the same night. Indeed, wonders shall never end!

A South African woman, Mildred Mashego, and her daughter Patricia, have entered the record books as the first mother and daughter to give birth to their babies in the same week and for the same man.

Times Live reports that 38-year-old Mashego of Casteel, South Africa, was pregnant when she learned that her 19-year-old daughter was also pregnant, and the two were due just days apart.

The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused Nyesom Wike,of squandering over N60 billion in his first 30 days as governor of the oil rich state.They broke down the expenditure to an average of N2 billion per day.
The accusations were laid down in a statement by Rivers APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s resolve to end terrorist insurgency in the North East, and restore the livelihood of Nigerians who have been badly affected by it was restated again Thursday in Yola by Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

Prof Osinbajo who has been traveling in the North East in the last two days on the instruction of the President told IDPs in the NYSC camp and terrorism patients at the Federal Medical Center, both in Yola “every day the president is thinking about you. That is why he sent me. To come and see, take notes, to understand what is going on, to hear from you, so that I can report to him for positive action. That is why I am here.”

He said the President wants the IDPs and all victims of terrorism to be hopeful, that there would be restoration.

Delta State Commissioner of Police, Alkali Usman

Two notorious cult leaders, Chukwudi Opobo, and other yet-to-be-identified, have been gunned down by the police in Delta State during separate operations.

PUNCH Metro learnt that 26-year-old Opobo, aka Okonam, was killed on Monday, June 22, while he led a robbery gang to unleash terror on residents of the Ugiliamai area of Kwale, while the other gang leader was shot dead in Ogbeofu Quarters, Ogwashi-Uku.

Our correspondent gathered that Opobo, said to be a leader of Aiye Confraternity, opened fire on an anti-robbery police patrol from the Kwale division, which came to the area after a distress call.

During the gun battle, he was shot and arrested, while his two gang members reportedly escaped with bullet injuries.

Dr. Alex Otti

The Abia State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, Abia State, has fixed July 10 and 13 for the pre-hearing of the petition filed by the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, Dr. Alex Otti, against the victory of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

In the petition, Otti seeks the nullification of Ikpeazu’s election. He urged the tribunal to declare him the winner of the governorship election.

Meet The Doctor Who Altered The HIV Vaccine That Would Have Been A Breakthrough

A former Iowa State University scientist who altered blood samples to make it appear he had achieved a breakthrough toward a potential vaccine against HIV was sentenced on Wednesday to more than 4 ½ years in prison for making false statements in research reports.

Dong-Pyou Han, 58, also must pay $7.2 million to a federal government agency that funded the research. He entered a plea agreement in February admitting guilt to two counts of making false statements.

Government prosecutors said Han's misconduct dates to 2008 when he worked at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland under professor Michael Cho, who was leading a team testing an experimental HIV vaccine on rabbits.

Cameroon Regional Governor, Mijiyawa Bakary yesterday, said the government had released 84 children who had been held in custody for six months in its Far North region.

He said the children, aged between five and 15 years, had been rounded up along with 43 men during raids on Islamic schools, suspected of serving as indoctrination and recruitment pools for Boko Haram. The governor said 41 of the children had already rejoined their families.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered and returned the sum of 10,000 Euros (Ten Thousand Euros) about Two Million, Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira), to F. Mercade, a French citizen, who was victim of internet love scam.
The fund was wired to the victim through his account in France on the recommendation of the French Embassy in Nigeria.

Roger Balima, French Police Liaison Officer who confirmed the receipt of the funds by the victim, thanked the EFCC “for the good job.”

The United States has asked Switzerland to extradite seven Fifa officials arrested on corruption charges in May, the Swiss authorities say.

Formal extradition requests were submitted on Wednesday, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said.
The seven top executives arrested in Zurich are among 14 Fifa officials indicted on charges of "rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted" corruption.

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross Rivers

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River on Wednesday sent an Executive bill seeking death penalty for convicted kidnappers in the state to the House of Assembly for consideration and passage.

This was contained in a statement signed by Mr Christian Ita, Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser to the governor in Calabar.

According to the statement, the bill also seeks to empower the government to seize property belonging to convicted kidnappers and other criminals in the state.

It stated that the bill offers rewards to citizens who volunteer information to security agencies on activities of criminals.

The man, who admitted on radio that he had been masturbating his now 29-year-old son since he was 18, said his intention was to provide for his son's "sexual health and sexual wellbeing and [give] sexual therapy".

The son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at six-months-old.

"In addition to the daily feeding and physical physiotherapy, as well as the mental stimulation that I provide my son, I am also aware of the sexual feelings of my son, indicated to me by my son's various behavioural means, such as an erect penis when I am changing or bathing him," the father said.

He is now on a mission to raise awareness about the sexual needs of disabled people and is campaigning for physiotherapists to be trained to provide sexual therapy to patients with severe disabilities.

The man is to co-author an academic paper with social worker Dr Marlene de Beer on sexual health and the wellbeing of the disabled.

The rate at which phones and chargers are exploding in people's faces is a cause for concern...

Bhavesh Thummer, a professional diamond polisher, was left with burns to his face and chest, after his mobile phone blew up in his face when he tried making a quick phone call.Mr Thummer's left eye and ear were burnt in the incident, leaving him wearing a heavy bandage across the whole of his left eye.

Defence Headquarters (DHQ) spokesman

By Chiemelie Ezeobi in Lagos and Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri with agency reports ¨

Nigerian troops have arrested a businessman accused of “participating actively” in Boko Haram’s mass abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from their secondary school in Chibok, Borno State last year, Nigeria's defence ministry said on Tuesday.

Quoting Defence Headquarters (DHQ) spokesman, Major-General Chris Olukolade, the UK-based Telegraph newspaper reported that the suspect, Babuji Ya’ari, headed a “terrorists’ intelligence cell” for the Islamic extremists while masquerading as a member of the self-defence Youth Vigilante Group.

A Saudi Arabian billionaire is planning on giving his entire $32billion (£20bn) fortune to charity.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the richest men in the world, said he wants to donate to groups that promote health and help with disaster relief.

The 60-year-old will also support women's charities and those that look towards eradicating disease.

He did not say whether the generous move would have any impact on his holdings.

Mr bin Talal is the grandson of Saudi Arabia's founder Ibn Saud.

He is said to have started his business empire with a $30,000 (£19,000) gift from his father and a $300,000 (£191,000) loan.

Nigerian midfielder Sunday Mba has joined a newly promoted second tier Turkish side Yeni Malatyaspor.

Mba, who scored Nigeria’s winning goal in the final match of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, completed the moved from French third division club CA Bastia and was unveiled in Turkey on Tuesday.

The Super Eagles player tweeted photos of his unveiling on Tuesday expressing his delight over the move.

Malatyaspor was promoted from the TFF Second League, which is the third division, to the First League, at the end of last season.

The club, nicknamed Tigers of the East, are based in Malatya in Eastern Anatolia and play at the 15,000 capacity Malatya Inonu Stadium..

Nine rescued, six teenagers missing in Lagos boat mishap

Six teenagers have been declared missing after a boat capsized on Wednesday along the Ojo waterways in Lagos.

The canoe, which was said to be carrying 14 teenagers between ages 13 and 17, sank after a collision with a fibre boat at about 9am, at Irewe area in Ojo.

It was learnt that the fibre boat, which was on high speed, rammed into the canoe around 9am, causing the stick boat to sink.

The Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, has asked traders in the state to be ready to pay taxes and levies for the development of the state.

Obiano said this while inaugurating the Traders’ House built by the Amalgamated Market Traders Association of Anambra State on Wednesday in Onitsha, the Anambra State capital.

Obiano, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Nkem Okeke, noted that taxes were needed by the state government to meet various social and infrastructural obligations it owes the citizenry.

“The government had performed excellently well in security, construction and re-construction of roads as well as environmental cleanliness, which all of you can attest to.

House Wife Dies In Custody Of Lover

There was confusion on Monday at Ejigbo, after a housewife, Mrs Joy Bakare, impregnated by her secret married lover died in her lover’s custody after she gave birth to twins in Lagos State, western Nigeria.

The incident happened at Aya-Oye Street, Ejigbo, Lagos where her lover simply called Fatai kept her after she became pregnant for him.

Fatai took the late Joy from her matrimonial home to a single mother’s apartment in Ejigbo after she became pregnant for him.

Beyonce shared stunning photos..

The Osun State government has begun the payment of eight-month salary arrears to civil servants and pensioners.

Media aide to Governor Rauf Aregbesola Semiu Okanlawon confirmed this to reporters in Osogbo, the state capital.

He said the government paid the balance of November salary to workers on Grade Level 15 and above as well as full salary for December to all workers.

No fewer than 20 houses in Afaha Ikot Eyo Edo in Esit Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom have been destroyed by rainstorm.

The village head of Afaha Ikot Eyo Edo, Chief Samuel Ikene, said this during a press conference on Tuesday. He stated that the flood had rendered over 1,000 people homeless in the community.

“Since the rainstorm started on Sunday, flood has ravaged the community and people have been rendered homeless. Some people moved their belongings to neighbouring. We don’t have a place to sleep and even clothes to wear,” he said.

Activities were paralyzed Tuesday in Ekwulobia, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra state as traders, young and old trooped out to protest the dumping of alleged Boko Haram suspects in the prisons in the area.

As early as 7.30am, placard carrying protesters, including some clergy and high chiefs and women marched through the Ekwulobia Street to register their grievances.

All the shops in the Area were under lock and key as security operatives were deployed by the state commissioner of police, Hosea Karma to maintain law and order.

Chairman, NERC, Dr Sam Amadi

Electricity consumers across the country who are on estimated billing are to pay lesser than their counterparts who have been provided with meters, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has said.

The Chairman of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, who said this in Abuja at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, said a new regulation was coming to compel electricity distribution companies to provide meters for all their customers within four months or accept a cap on what they could charge as estimated bills.

Suspected kidnappers in military uniforms yesterday struck again in Yenagoa ,Bayelsa State, and abducted the 48-year-old wife of the former Speaker and acting governor of the state, Hon. Nestor Binabo.
Mrs. Martha Binabo, according to the State Police Command,was abducted on Monday at about 11:30am at the premises of Seleyibo Multi-Global Coy Ltd, along Agbura community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Mrs Amina Bala Zakari as the Acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following the exit of Prof. Attahiru Jega.
Jega’s five-year tenure ended on Tuesday.

In a statement signed by the Director Communication, Haruna Imrana, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Danladi Kifasi stated that Zakari’s appointment takes effect from 30th June pending the appointment of a substantive Chairman.

Zakari is presently a National Electoral Commissioner at INEC.

Monday, 6 July 2015

Sunday, 5 July 2015

Saturday, 4 July 2015

Friday, 3 July 2015

Thursday, 2 July 2015

Wednesday, 1 July 2015