Ohanaeze disowns Nnamdi Kanu, Biafra

The apex Igbo socio–cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the on Friday disowned the Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, and his cohorts in their struggle for Biafra agitation.

Addressing reporters in Awka, the Chairman, Forum of State Presidents of Ohanaeze in the seven Igbo –speaking states, Dr. Chris Eluomunoh, said no right thinking person would support what he called the madness of the group .


He said: “You will notice that Ohanaeze has been very silent on the issue of Biafra insurgency, though the youth wing of Ohanaeze has been speaking on it. Ohanaeze, as the Igbo cultural group, cannot support Biafra and we dissociate ourselves from it totally.

“Igbo people have contributed much to the development of Nigeria and we cannot allow some people to jeopardise the lives and efforts of millions of Igbo residing in all parts of Nigeria.

“We believe that anybody who has any issue to settle with the Federal Government should use dialogue and that is why we participated in the last National Conference. No sane Igbo person would want to witness a repeat of the kind of thing that happened during the Civil War.

“(Chief Odumegwu) Ojukwu, who led the Biafra war, returned to Nigeria from exile and contested elections in Nigeria, which showed that he was fully integrated into Nigeria and was a full-fledged Nigerian before he died.”

Eluemunor denied the speculation that politicians of Igbo extraction were supporting the Biafran agitation, adding that their support came mainly from outside the country.

He, however, said that part of the reasons for the agitation was the dearth of infrastructure in Igbo land and pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to address the infrastructural decay in the area.

He called on Buhari to declare a state of emergency on the infrastructure problem in the South East by rehabilitating the federal roads that have become death traps due to neglect.

He said doing so would help to correct the imbalances and marginalisation being suffered by the people of the area.

He said, “We know the marginalisation was not caused by him, but we plead that he should look into the problems being complained about by the people of South East and South–South. He has won the election and we in Ohanaeze support him and will work with him for the unity of the country.”

Radio station for women starts test transmission

Nigeria’s first radio station to focus on issues surrounding women only, WFM 91.7, has started its test transmission, a statement by the firm’s management has said.

The niche radio station came into being after the National Broadcasting Commission issued licence to owners of the station, St. Ives Communications, to operate a specialised radio station focused on women and family in Ogun and Lagos states.

The brains behind the gender-sensitive station, who is also the Chief Medical Director of St. Ives Specialist Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Tunde Okewale; and the Managing Director of WFM 91.7, a veteran broadcast journalist, Toun Okewale-Sonaiya, said the women-focused radio station was poised to deliver on its objectives as helping women be the best in the society.

An American radio technology expert, Dean Gay, has described the niche radio station as one of the best in the world in terms of the broadcast equipment installed at the station.

He said, “I’m not sure if WFM has any competitor in the market. They are completely different in all ramifications. It’s not your normal run-off-the-mill radio station. They have unique programming, unique target audience and a defined market.

“It is the very latest in broadcast technology today. From the microphone to transmitters, to consoles, servers, mast, everything you have here are the very latest in radio broadcast technology and they are all of very high quality. They are the most sought-after equipment in radio broadcast industry today.”

The statement added that the station would start full transmission in December 2015.

Photos From The Terrorist Attack On Radisson Blu Hotel In Mali

   

According to reports, the gunmen have taken about 170 people hostage after jihadist gunmen stormed the Radison Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali.


Hostage situation is under way in the Five star Hotel as reports have it that the gunmen freed some Muslim hostages who could recite portions of the Koran...

See more pictures after the cut

Nigerian Army denies losing 105 officers to Boko Haram

                                                 

              

                                                                            Burati, Chief of Army Staff

Chief of Army staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai has waved aside reports that about 105 soldiers prosecuting the war against Boko Haram terrorists met their untimely death when they failed to return in a bid to annihilate the terrorists in the North East.


The media had been awashed with news that about 100 Nigerian soldiers were missing after Boko Haram attacks in the epicenter of the battle.

But General Buratai in a telephone conversation with Vanguard said, “It is not true that our soldiers are missing. The soldiers went on a mission for the Nigerian nation and they have since returned and joined their Battalions”.

The confident Chief of Army Staff said that insinuation is a figment of imagination of the authors of the story.

Media reports had indicated that the Army may have lost about 150 of its men to an attack by Boko Haram insurgents in Gudunbali, Borno State.
It was claimed that the terrorists attacked at Gudunbali in Borno State, on Wednesday and as a result the 157 Battalion of the Nigerian Army could not account for at least, 105 soldiers including their commanding officer.

According an online media, the terrorists also captured a T-72 tank as well as several artillery weapons from the unit.
“Gudunbali was attacked this morning and some weapons were captured from the battalion. Two officers and 105 soldiers are still missing”.

The terrorists captured a T-72 tank from the unit and some artillery weapons were also captured. The commanding Officer (CO) of the battalion is yet to be seen but no one has been confirmed dead yet,” the source added.

Another source however said the T-72 tank was recovered after a prolonged fight with Boko Haram insurgents. The gunner and tank commander were injured in the process, he said.

Also reportedly captured by the insurgents were eight vehicles, a truck loaded with 60,000 rounds of AA ammunition and three artillery pieces.
Similarly, soldiers of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) stationed at Baga, Borno State also recently came under attack. The attack occurred in Geringiwa at about four kilometers to the headquarters of MNJTF, PREMIUM TIMES has also been told.

According to a source, the military has been unable to completely clear the insurgents from Baga and nearby towns due to inadequate equipment.
Boko Haram carried out a series of mass killings in Baga between January 3 and January 7, 2015, after the army headquarters there was sacked by the insurgents.

Although the military later liberated the town, soldiers stationed in the area have come under constant attacks from the insurgents.
.
The attacks on the military came on the heels of the suicide attacks on Yola and Kano respectively.

How Sweet - Police Make Dinner for Kids After Their Mother is Rushed to Hospital

                

You know what this world needs right now? More people like these guys.
They’re policemen working in the Eindhoven area of the Netherlands.

They attended a family home along with paramedics after reports of a woman in trouble.

Russia signs deal to build Egypt’s first nuclear power plant

                                                Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russian state corporation, Rosatom and the Egyptian government signed a deal on Thursday to build Egypt’s first nuclear power plant in a deal estimated at 20 billion dollars.


“With this signing we have taken the first step to fulfilling Egypt’s dream of peaceful nuclear power,” Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi said at the signing ceremony.

The facility is planned to be built over 12 years in the north-western Egyptian region of El Dabaa and consist of four reactors, each capable of producing 1,200 megawatts of power.

The surveying work for the construction is expected to begin in December and Russia will begin training Egyptian nuclear workers for the facility in 2016.

Previously, Russia helped Iran construct its first civilian nuclear power plant, near the south-western city of Bushehr.

Russia turned over operational control of that plant in 2013 and clinched a deal 2014 to build an additional two reactors at the facility.

End of the road for LAUTECH robbery, rape suspects

                                             •Some of the suspected criminals and recovered goods

When students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso stormed major roads in the city to protest continued robbery attacks on their female hostel and raping the helpless ladies, they did not in their wildest dreams think that the said robbers could be among them.

The attacks attracted reactions from different groups and even the Oyo State House of Assembly. One of the groups,Women Against Rape, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Exploitation (WARSHE) condemned the serial cases of rape, sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence on students of the institution.The group described the lawless and inhuman acts as “brutal, r eckless use of male power and violation of rights of innocents girls.”

In a statement signed by its Programme Officer, Titilope Olanrewaju, the group stated, “It is based on this that WARSHE thereby considers this latest act of the LAUTECH rapists as highly barbaric, inhuman and despicable, particularly in this day and age, when the global community through several international conventions and treaties such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, is united against sexual violence and other forms of assault against women. It is sad that this is happening now.

“WARSHE, therefore, calls on relevant authorities, particularly the Oyo State Government, the local governments which superintend over Ogbomoso and its environs, and security agencies to rise up to live up to their responsibility and stem the activities of this nefarious group and help secure the lives and dignity of these female students. They also need to stem the dehumanization of the male students who are being forced to rape their colleagues…”

In unison, the women “say No to violation of young women who implicitly trusted the community to protect them when they choose to attend LAUTECH .

Also, in the House of Assembly, lawmaker, Mrs. Bimbo Olawunmi Oladeji who represents Ogbomoso North brought the matter before the House and called on the Legislators to do something urgent about the security situation in Ogbomoso. She said, “There is general insecurity in Ogbomoso. In recent times,there have been cases of armed robbery attacks and harassment of LAUTECH students. I will urge the house to look into the issue.

“Owing to all these comments, the state Police Command recorded a breakthrough as they arrested three suspects who were alleged to have been involved in the ungodly act. While parading the suspects alongside other suspects, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Leye Oyebade said, “ a 400L male student of the Department of Transport, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso who belonged to a notorious criminal gang nicknamed ‘Three Mopols’ was arrested on 3rd November, 2015 in his criminal hideout by the special anti robbery squad in Oyo/Ogbomoso. “

The gang, according to him, was responsible for breaking into students hostels,stealing valuable property and sometimes raping their female colleagues. But through a diligent and intelligence led policing strategy coupled with collaboration of our strategic partners in the institution,one Kayode Oluwaseyi ‘m’ was arrested.

His arrest and subsequent confession led to the arrest of two criminal receivers – Adeyemi Samuel Taiwo and Adeyemi Samson Kehinde who received some of the stolen items. When a search was conducted in the house of Kayode Oluwaseyi, a HP laptop computer belonging to one of his victims and a toy gun used for robbery operations were recovered. Kayode Oluwaseyi also confessed to have burgled several houses and carried out many robbery operations in the Ogbomoso area

Robberyoperations

When asked what led him into that shameful act, the suspect confessed that it was true he was involved in the constant raids but tried to exonerate his accomplices saying they were not among the gang but that they always bought the stolen goods from him.Also paraded was another alleged notorious criminal who had been responsible for the spate of robberies in the Ajebamidele/Atogun area, Otu and its environs.

The CP said, “ On 1st October, 2015 at about 9pm, one Ibe Ayando resident of Budo Jagun via Otu was attacked by a three man gang of armed robbers when he was riding his motorcycle along the Ajebamidele/Atogun Road. He was dispossessed of his Bajaj motorcycle by the hoodlums who also inflicted severe machete cuts on him for which he received medical attention. The report prompted the Police to swing into action hunting for the culprits.The arrest of Demo Sabi, the gang leader and his confessional statement led to the arrest of two other members of the gang.

He added further that Police-Public partnership in crime prevention and management yielded fruits when an alleged robber was arrested after robbing his victim, Azeez Saheed of his Haojue Suzuki motorcycle on 5th November,2015.

“The victim was returning from his farm at Abu village via Akinmorin, via Oyo on the fateful day when he was attacked by his assailant who had barricaded the road with logs. Though fatally injured with a broken Coca-Cola bottle, the victim raised an alarm which eventually led to the arrest of the fleeing suspect.

The snatched motorcycle with reg No. QV 853 LUY was later recovered from the suspect. The police also hinted thatfor some time now, a criminal gang had been robbing people of their valuables, causing wanton destruction of property, breaking into shops at markets, maiming innocent people and causing breakdown of law and order at Beere, Mapo and Born Foto areas of Ibadan.

“Through our robust intelligent network and the collaboration of our strategic partners, operatives of the special anti robbery squad, Ibadan, located the criminal hideout of the hoodlums. In a well-coordinated operation that lasted for some hours, four of the robbery suspects were rounded up when planning to carry out one of their deadly operations.

Items allegedly recovered from the suspects include, a toy gun, seven assorted laptops, thirty four assorted phones, one Olympic camera, one LG TV, one LG Plasma TV, three stabilisers, one GOTV decoder, six different Laptop batteries, and the sum of N126,100.

58 quotable quotes of Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan @ 58

Ex-President Jonathan casting his vote in the March 28, 2015 Presidential election.

Fifty-eight years ago, former President Goodluck Jonathan was born in Otueke, a predominantly fishing community, presently in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

 He lost to General Muhammadu Buhari, but called him shortly to concede defeat and congratulate him.

On that fateful Wednesday of November 20, 1957, baby Jonathan was born into the family of Mr. Lawrence Jonathan. His mother is Mrs Eunice.

Rising from what he (Jonathan) has always described as a journey from ‘grass to grace,’ the son of canoe makers, rose from a Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State to becoming Nigeria’s President, the highest office in the country.

Jonathan, who held sway as the country’s No. 1 citizen for 60 months/24days (5 May 2010 – 29 May 2015) is many things to many people.

For instance, recently, Jonathan who led the Commonwealth international observers team to monitor the Tanzanian general election held on October 25, 2015, was described as ‘a hero of free and fair election in Africa,’ having contributed largely to the successful conduct of the election which was declared peaceful, free, fair and credible by international observers.

Basking in the euphoria of the high respect they have for Jonathan, particularly for making that unusual and unprecedented sacrifice to concede defeat to his opponent, General Muhammadu Buhari (now President), The Daily News of Tanzania, in an editorial before the election, titled, ‘Salutary lessons for Tanzania from Nigeria’s latest elections,’ paid glowing tributes to Jonathan.

The newspaper commended him for taking his defeat in the last presidential election “in all magnanimity,” stressing that, “Jonathan may very well have averted bloodshed that is characteristic of incumbent leaders who cling in power tooth and nail, fang and claw! What lesson is there in this for us in Tanzania, pray?”

The paper maintained: “It is generally admitted that the election in Nigeria was unprecedentedly free, fair and transparent, whereby the opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, won the Presidency. What is more remarkable is that the incumbent president who sought re-election, Goodluck Jonathan, … most graciously accepted the results promptly!

“Oh, I don’t know beyond the fact that Tanzania could tragically do worse if it fails to dedicatedly take a leaf out of Nigeria’s newest book on elections!”

Similarly, the Guardian of Tanzania, in its own editorial entitled, ‘High profile figures among observers will add credibility to poll process, results’, poured encomiums on the former Nigerian president, describing him as a democrat who has pointed the way forward for the rest of Africa.

The Guardian further wrote that “Jonathan’s voluntary handover of power to the opposition wrote a new chapter for Nigeria’s democracy, given the fact that it is rare for sitting presidents in Africa to hand over powers to winning opposition parties.”

Against this backdrop, Vanguard captures 58 quotable quotes of Ex-President Jonathan as he clocks 58.

Quote 1

The stronger the boat of (democracy), the more it is able to meet the challenges of its voyage and deliver on its promise to citizens.

Quote 2
The air of freedom we breathe today is the result of the sacrifices of thousands of pro-democracy activists, human rights campaigners and others who organised as civil society.

Quote 3
My political ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.

Quote 4
No minister will be allowed to go on a mission of endless search for solutions.

Quote 5
In the comfort of our offices, let us not forget that majority of our people live below the poverty line.

Quote 6

Terrorism has no conscience and spares no one.

Quote 7
Any society or country that closes the vital valves of its democratic space cannot develop at a reasonable pace

Quote 8

Where there is no opportunity for one man one vote, there will be no accountability and no responsibility.

Quote 9

Democracy is a journey that every nation mindful of advancing the liberty of its citizens must undertake.

Quote 10

Nobody’s political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian.

Quote 11
Our votes must count! One man, one vote! One woman, one vote! One youth, one vote!

Quote 12
Nobody should rig for me. I am assuring Nigerians that though I am contesting, nobody must manipulate votes in my favour. Our votes must count.

Quote 13
I congratulate the candidates of the other political parties. I regard them not as opponents but as partners.

Quote 14

In presenting myself for service, I make no pretense that I have a magic wand that will solve all of Nigeria’s problems or that I am the most intelligent Nigerian.

Quote 15
I have come to launch a campaign of ideas, not one of calumny. I have come to preach love, not hate. I have come to break you away from divisive tendencies of the past which have slowed our drive to true nationhood. I have no enemies to fight. You are all my friends and we share a common destiny.

Quote 16

Democracy calls for sacrifice and tolerance an open ear and a strong voice.

Quote 17
For the PDP family, the contest for party offices does not produce winners and losers.

Quote 18
I believe in the politics of give and take.

Quote 19
Separation of power is not separation of government.

Quote 20
We are all Nigerians and I will be a President to all. This is the new dawn we crave

Quote 21
Our unity is firm, our purpose strong, our determination unshakable.

Quote 22
Being a Nigerian is a blessing (and) a great responsibility.

Quote 23
We have a duty to be loyal to our country.

Quote 24
If God did not will it we will not be Nigerians.

Quote 25
Our founding fathers… did not dream of a country where neighbours and friends would exchange bullets in place of handshakes.

Quote 26
I prefer to see the silver lining in the dark cloud rather than the dark cloud in the silver lining.

Quote 27
We may not have overcome our challenges, but neither have our challenges overcome us.

Quote 28
We are not sworn enemies… We are neighbours who sometimes offend each other, but can always sit down to talk over our differences.

Quote 29
Over-dependence on oil has put an unpleasant bracket in our national economic freedom.

Quote 30
Economic diplomacy does not need to be a zero-sum game where the gain of partner automatically translates to the loss of the other.

Quote 31
Peace and security are the barest irreducible conditions for social and economic development.

Quote 32
I am loyal to Nigeria’s economy. I don’t have accounts or property abroad. All my children live and school in Nigeria.

Quote 33
The time of lamentation is over. This is the era of transformation. This is the time for action.

Quote 34
Cynicism and scepticism will not help our journey to greatness. Let us all believe in a new Nigeria.

Quote 35

The goal of achieving positive macroeconomic stability is no end in itself.

Quote 36

I have no intention to inflict pain on Nigerians. To save Nigeria, we must all be prepared to make sacrifices.

Quote 37
While we may not have landed a spaceship on the moon or developed nuclear technology, our inventors and innovators have made globally acknowledged contributions

Quote 38

Transformation in my view simply means taking what you have and making the best of it and in so doing produce results that can bring about a paradigm shift.

Quote 39
I want to assure Nigerians that crude oil is not our ‘Black Gold.’ The real ‘Black Gold’ of Nigeria are her people and they can grow in value from gold to diamond via education.

Quote 40

We must quickly move away from partisan battlegrounds and find the national common ground.

Quote 41
Let me put you on notice: the assignment of offices is not an allocation of privileges.

Quote 42
Nigeria is a nation of resilient people. We will never yield to the forces of darkness. Nigeria will never ever, disintegrate.

Quote 43
The quality of governance is as good as the quality of the civil service.

Quote 44
The best advertisement for good governance is its positive expressions of happiness in the lives of the governed.

Quote 43
In my early days in school, I had no shoes, no school bags. I carried my books in my hands but never despaired; no car to take me to school, but I never despaired. There were days I had only one meal but I never despaired. I walked miles and crossed rivers to school every day, but I never despaired. Didn’t have power, didn’t have generators, studied with lanterns, but I never despaired. In spite of these, I finished secondary school attended the University of Port Harcourt and now hold a doctorate degree.

Quote 44
I was not born rich and in my youth, I never imagined that I would be where I am today, but not once did I ever give up.

Quote 45
As the most populous black nation on earth it seems our manifest destiny is to champion the cause of African emancipation and integration.

Quote 46
African renaissance remains an unfinished business, but the work that remains should not stop us from focusing on new priorities and challenges.

Quote 47
I am happy that the black man has put the shame of dispossession behind him and is moving on.

Quote 48
The dark patches in the Niger Delta will give way to light.

Quote 49
On the football field, nobody cares who scores for Nigeria. You can be a Musa or a Moses; you can be a Christopher or a Mustapha, nobody cares.

Quote 50

We have a duty to stand firm against those who threaten the sovereign integrity of the Nigerian state. Our will is strong, because our faith lies in the indivisibility of Nigeria.

Quote 51
Nigerians are peace-loving people; these sad events perpetrated by those who do not wish our nation well have not changed the essential character of our people.

Quote 52
No matter what it takes, we will win this war against terror.

Quote 53
Africa must declare an end to the era of self-inflicted wars and conflicts.

Quote 54
Africa must turn its begging bowls into baskets of prosperity and opportunity.

Quote 55
It is the supreme task of this generation to give hope to the hopeless strength to the weak and protection to the defenseless.

Quote 56
We must develop a democratic culture in which the will of the people will be treated as sacred and be immune to subversion by anti-democratic elements.

Quote 57
As we strive to advance our democratic development, there will be times when our will shall be tested, our patience provoked and our belief questioned.

Quote 58
The beauty of democracy is that its practice is never final and always has room for improvement no matter how old a democratic society may be. Where we falter we must not fall. When we are weak, we
must not surrender.

I killed my boss for Xmas money – Guard

Yesterday, reported how a daredevil security man connived with his friends to murder a 25-year-old final year Civil Engineering student of the Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Imo State, Mr. Innocent Ndukwe.
A security guard, who was recently arrested by the Imo State Police Command for allegedly stabbing his boss to death and stealing his belongings, said he committed the dastardly act because he wanted to celebrate Christmas lavishly.

Punch reports that the guard, David Kwaguru, and two of his friends Friday Ayuba and Francis Amos, made away with the deceased’s Nissan Pathfinder with number plate, KRD109AD, two plasma TV sets, one home theatre and other valuables.

Confessing to the crime, the security guard said that the rationale behind their evil act was that they needed money to celebrate Christmas next month.
He said,
“Since oga Ndukwe had the money (because of his wealthy parents) and expensive household electronics, we decided to kill him, put the devices inside his vehicle and drive to Plateau State where we come from.
“We waited and monitored him. And when he went into the toilet, we broke the door open, tied his hands and legs and started stabbing him all over his body. We stabbed him several times in the neck and abdomen so that he would die quickly. After killing him, we drove off in the jeep only to be nabbed by the police at West End Road in Owerri.”

Also speaking, an accomplice, Ayuba, said that it was Amos that first struck the victim in the neck while he stabbed the student in the stomach.
He said,
“It was Kwagwuru who told us about the student. Since we are all from the same state, we decided to run back to Plateau after the crime, and not to return to the South-East ever again. We also planned to sell the vehicle and other valuables and share the loot.”
While parading the suspects, the CP said the police control room got a call on the incident and policemen raced to the crime scene.

He said, “As a result, the assailants who tried to escape were subsequently apprehended along West-End old Nekede road, Owerri.”
He said that the deceased was found in a pool of blood in a toilet at his residence when policemen arrived.

AY set for next movie

• AY and former Miss Jamaica, Rebecca Silvera

Having made a huge fortune from his debut movie, 30 Days in Atlanta, popular comedian, Ayo Makun, aka AY, appears set for another feature film.

With a title teaser that reads ‘A trip to Jamaica’, there are indications the comedian intends to continue the Akpo’s adventure as a sequel to his last effort.

Although the comedian is yet to reveal full details of the movie, he uploaded a photograph of himself and former Miss Jamaica, Rebecca Silvera on social media with the caption: “My Name is Akpos, see what I caught in the Jamaican Waters!!! Who is ready for Another AY’s Movie:A trip to Jamaica!!!.”

A versatile entertainer, AY who is also a radio and TV presenter, writer, director and MC, hails from Ondo State. Although popular for his annual A.Y Live Show, he ventured into movie business with30 Days in Atlanta, a test run which made history as the highest grossing film in Nigerian cinemas.

Rivers: House Denies Sitting At 6:00am To Approve Loan For Wike

The Rivers State House of Assembly has denied allegation by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that it sat as early as 6:00 am to approve N10 billion loan request for Governor Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike.

The APC had in a statement issued on Wednesday by its publicity secretary, Chris Finebone, alleged that the House of Assembly had convened at the Assembly complex by 6.00am and approved the sum of N10 billion loan for the governor and also considered another N22 billion loan from an undisclosed bank.

Policeman killed, many injured as robbers raid bank in Ogun

A gang of armed robbers in a Commando style, raided a bank in Agbara, Ogun State yesterday morning.

A policeman was killed and many people were injured.

Sources said other people were also shot dead, but it could not be confirmed last night.

There are also various accounts of how the robbers stormed the area.

The gang, believed to comprise about 20 members – some of them women, others in hoods – in one of the accounts, stormed the industrial estate, which houses about 10 branches of banks on motor bikes and a Camry car hijacked a few minutes earlier from the owner.

Soludo faults TSA implementation, forex restrictions

… Says forex policy regime inconsistent with the objectives of creating jobs, growing income, reducing poverty
By Jonah Nwokpoku & Prince Okafor
Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Professor Charles Soludo has faulted the implementation of the Treasury Single Account, TSA by the Federal Government as well as the policy regime of foreign exchange restrictions of the CBN.

Horrific Crash Claims 32 Lives In South Africa

                          
A collision between a bus and a car has killed 32 people in Osizweni, KwaZulu, South Africa today. According to reports, 32 people have died and four others were injured. Paramedics are however still on the scene treating victims. The cause of accident is still unknown.

South Africa is notorious for road carnages, which claim more than 1,000 lives per month, causing huge social and economic losses.

Road crashes cost South Africa 300 billion rand (about 21 billion U.S. dollars) per annum in direct and indirect costs, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Abia guber: Otti appeals against tribunal judgement

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the April general elections in Abia, Dr. Alex Otti, has filed a notice of appeal against the judgment of the trial tribunal which sat in Umuahia and handled his petition.

Speaking on the development in Umuahia with newsmen, Otti’s counsel, Mr Oracle Nwala, said that the notice of appeal was filed at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Abia state capital on Wednesday.

According to Nwala, Otti took the measure after consulting with leaders of his party as well as major stakeholders and a cross-section of the people of the state freely gave him during the election.

He said, “The people of the state needed to be consulted before the next step is taken by my client as you all know that the people massively voted for him during the governorship election.”

He further expressed the hope that the Court of Appeal would grant Otti’s prayer to be declared the winner of the poll, “Considering the judgment of lower tribunal, which upheld the cancellation of the results of the election in three local government areas.”

Nwala said, “Otti has implicit confidence in the ability of the judiciary to assuage the yearning desire for justice by the people of Abia, who voted for him to bring positive change and transform their lives.”

Otti appealed against the judgment, urging the Appeal Court to remove the figures recorded in favour of the cancelled local government areas and declare him the winner.

It will be recalled that the three-member tribunal, headed by Hon. Justice Usman Bwala, while delivering their judgment said that the petitioner failed to prove that the elections were not held at Obingwa, Osisioma and Isiala Ngwa North council areas.

Justice Bwala said that the panel has searched through the electoral act and did not find any where the returning officer is empowered to cancel the result of an election and therefore upheld the reversal of the cancellation of the election in the three council areas.

The panel chairman noted that the petitioner took part in the supplementary election and is now asking the tribunal to jettison the supplementary election result and use the main election to declare him the winner, “You cannot probate and reprobate in an election.”

Court Dissolves Six-Year Marriage Over Fornication, Pride

                       

An Ile-Ife Customary Court on Thursday dissolved the six-year old marriage between Sunday Adelakun and his wife Rasidat over fornication and pride.

The husband, had on November 2, urged the court to dissolve the union for alleged fornication, uncooperative attitude, pride and constant fighting.

Father Xmas Grotto Beauty Pageant For Girls Aged 9 - 15 Years..

                         

Father Xmas Grotto Beauty Pageant For

Girls Aged 9 - 15 Years..

Scholarship Award To Winner Teen Beauty Pageant. Game Shows And Lots More.


DATE: FATHER XMAS GROTTO

:: DEC 12 -20TH

TEEN BEAUTY PAGEANT / DANCE COMPETITION

:: DEC 20TH


TIME : 12 NOON - DAWN.

VENUE: KIDZ FUN WORLD, NATIONAL WAR MUSEUM UMUAHIA

FATHER XMAS GROTTO TICKET @ N500

Fuel Scarcity - Free Petrol: Kachiukwu Orders DPR to Distribute Hoarded Fuel Free To Nigerians

                              
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachiukwu yesterday ordered the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, to sell off for free, the petroleum products of any fuel station that is caught hoarding petrol during this period of fuel scarcity. He gave the order after a working visit to some retail outlets in Abuja.

A cougar confesses: Men of my age don’t do It well for me!

Ubong, just turned 63 and a grandmother recalled a recent date she had with a man ‘her age’. A merry widow in the real sense of the word, she’s a fairly successful real estate agent and spent a fortune looking after herself – and the results are spectacular. Against her better judgement, she’d decided to go to the movies with him when he kept raving about a Nollywood film he was involved with. “Shuffling self-consciously in his seat beside me at the cinema, I sensed that this my date, was about to make his first move: said Ubong,”

“He went for the old’:fashioned romantic option and gently took my hand in his and gave me a squeeze. But rather than making my heart melt, the gesture made me cringe.

“Staring ahead at the scream, all I could think was: ‘How soon can I extract my hand from his without appearing rude? I waited a few seconds, subtly slipped my hand out of his grasp and edged myself away from him. At 66, Ovie was a few years older than me. We’d been introduced by a mutual friend who thought we would be a good match. Ovie was a wealthy, highly successful, intelligent, divorced chap who’s invested in several profitable ventures. He owned homes here and abroad and is supposed to tick every box going on a date with me. In the flesh, however, it was another story. He was

scruffy with a scratchy-looking grey beard that made him look horribly unkempt. He also suffered from a bad back, which gave him an old man’s gait. The thought of being intimate with him repulsed me. If he looked so unappealing in his clothes, what on earth would he look like naked?

“I tried to push aside mental images of grey chest hair, a sweaty bald patch and a flabby stomach. There was no way I could ever sleep with this man.

Not tonight. Not ever! In fact, if they were like this, I doubted whether I

could ever sleep with any man my own age. Experience had shown I was better off with toyboys, so why have a swing to the other end of the age scale?

A few months ago, before my 63rd birthday, my friends made it known they

were fed up with my escapades with toyboys. I was urged to try a man my age. One of the more unpleasant accusations was that my adventures with younger men had turned me into ‘shop soiled goods’, and that this would deter any ‘nice’ man. According to this friend, my actions meant I faced a sad and lonely old age. Try man my age.

“While I could easily disregard the vitriolic views of my friends, some of whom I suspected were merely jealous or prudish, I did feel it would be sensible to put my experience in perspective by dating some older men. Surely they

had charms and allure of their own? And so it was I decided to date this

ageing industrialist. We had dinner at his palatial residence, and yes, it was

easy to converse with a man who ‘had’ the same things as me. Yet, as the

conversation steered predictably down the safe avenues of favourite holiday spots and people he’d worked with, my mind wandered back to those playful exchanges I’d enjoyed with one of my favourite younger chaps, during our wonderful sexy afternoons.

“Aged 32, I teased him endlessly about political figures he had no clue about.

But he was confident about his toned body and what to do with it. Was I being too fussy? Had my flings with younger men led me to set the bar unrealistically high? Let’s face it, a paunchy man fast approaching his 70th birthday will not compare favourably with a 32-year-old stud. But let’s turn the table. If I was frumpy, over weight, with unkempt grey hair and dressed in sensible shoes and polyester slacks, would Evie have asked me out in the first place? No! So why on earth should I settle for an out-of-condition old

codger like him just because society deems it appropriate for me? Especially

not when I still feel vibrant and youthful enough to attract the hot young thirty-somethings of this world?

“Since Evie, I’ve crossed paths with other older men and I’ve discovered how world-weary and bitter they can be, desperate to off-load their emotional baggage on any female who would listen. One top civil servant in his 50s stifled me with his tales of woe. “I divorced my wife after only four years of marriage and haven’t found a replacement since then. And that was 18 years ago,” he whined. Yawn. “My longest relationship was barely two years.

Why is that? Why am I so hopeless when it comes to women? What is it about me? Am I not attractive?” No, you’re not, I wanted to bark. Because you whinge and whine the whole time.

“Another date launched into a tirade against his former wife, claiming she was a terrible woman who’d had affairs and abandoned their children. Then he started on his subsequent partner – she was a selfish gold-digging alcoholic apparently. I’ve got my own gripes about exes, but I wouldn’t dream of bad- mouthing them to a virtual stranger.

“Let’s face it, to days middle-aged men are clueless about most things. They’re not great on grooming, mistakenly taking their lead from the young. I mean, designer stubble can look sexy on a cute 30-year-old, but it makes a 62-year- old look like a dishevelled pensioner. On the other hand, mature women these days are all too aware of the importance of taking care of the face, hair and body, and of dressing well in order to hold the interest of the opposite sex. Why don’t older men think the same rules also apply to them?

“And it isn’t just about appearance. Older men don’t seem to know how to conduct themselves around women. They hail from the era when ‘men were men.’ They were the provider, the defender. They made the moves, they called the shots. But that doesn’t wash in a modem society filled with strong, independent women. The balance of power has shifted and this seems to confuse a lot of 55-plus men, even the successful ones. They don’t know whether they should pay for dinner, or whether it’s OK to compliment you on your legs.

“Men in their 30s neither know nor care about ‘rules’. Used to the notion of equality between the sexes, they are more spontaneous and natural. If they think you look sexy, they tell you. If they disagree with you, they tell you.

And a lot of them are financially independent not the gold-diggers they’re often painted to be. A few months back, I entered an enjoyable part-time relationship with a man who lives outside the state. Every few weeks, he comes to Lagos to see me his ‘naughty secret.’ At 37, he’s no youngster, but he’s still almost two decades younger than me. I see him as a sort of compromise. He is neither young enough to be my grandson nor old enough to look like my father. It will end at some point, probably when his wife finds out, but for now this arrangement will do me very nicely, thank you!”

By Bunmi Sofola

I’m not a thief, and not afraid to face trial, ex-NSA, Sambo Dasuki, tells Nigerians

The immediate past National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, has said he is not a thief as being speculated by President Muhammdu Buhari and his aides.

The former NSA also accused Mr. Buhari of being desperate to hang some former public and military officers who risked their lives to serve the country.


In a statement Wednesday, Mr. Dasuki, a retired colonel, described the way the Presidency was feeding the public with allegations against his person and other yet-to-be-named public officers as “theatrical.”

President Buhari had on Tuesday received the interim report of the investigative committee on arms procurement with an order for the arrest of all indicted persons in the arms scam.
The information was contained in a statement by the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

According to Mr. Adesina, the committee which was inaugurated on August 31 is yet to complete its work.

He, however, noted that the interim report has unearthed several illicit and fraudulent financial transactions.

“As part of the findings, the committee has analysed interventions from some organisations that provided funds to the Office of the National Security Adviser, Defence Headquarters, Army Headquarters, Naval Headquarters and Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, both in local and foreign currencies,’’ the report stated.

It stated that so far the total extra budgetary interventions collated by the committee was N643.8 billion while the foreign currency component was $2.2 billion.

But Mr. Dasuki debunked the allegations, saying the Presidency quoted absurd findings in a bid to draw public sympathy.

“For undiscerning Nigerians, they may tend to assume that the allegations were true and pronounce the former NSA guilty as charged,” Mr. Dasuki said.

The former NSA said the statement by the presidential spokesperson and former President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, was nothing short of propaganda aimed at casting aspersion on his person.

“To set the records straight, Nigerians should appreciate that the AVM Jon Ode-led panel did not invite the ex-NSA under any guise before arriving at its ambiguous findings.

“At least, fairness demands that the panel ought to hear from Dasuki instead of its recourse to hasty conclusions.

“If the panel had been more patient and painstaking, it would have been availed of all relevant documents on some of the jaundiced findings.”

As if acting a script, Mr. Dasuki said the Presidency alleged that the panel accused him of awarding fictitious contracts between March 2012 and March 2015.

But contrary to the claim, Mr. Dasuki said he was not the NSA in March 2012 and could not have awarded any contract during the period.

According to him, the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, appointed him NSA on June 22, 2012.

He explained that all contracts and accruing payments were made based on the approval of Mr. Jonathan, adding that due process and military procurement regulations were followed in all the transactions.

“Nigerians should note that all the services generated the types of equipment needed, sourced suppliers most times and after consideration by the Office of the NSA, the President will approve application for payment,” said Mr. Dasuki.

“For sensitive sectors (military/security), there was no room for awarding fictitious contracts. The conclusions of the panel were presumptive, baseless and lacked diligence.

“There were no fictitious contracts; contract sums were not diverted and the relevant services in writing acknowledged delivery of equipment. For all procurement, the Nigerian Army, the Air Force and the Nigerian Navy have their contractors.”

While awaiting judicial process on the allegations, he argued that it was proper to make some references to show that the presidency was just desperate to hang some former public and military officers who served the nation at the risk of their lives.

He said it was laughable for the panel to assume that four Alpha jets and 12 helicopters were not delivered to the country.

He cited a memo from the immediate past Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Adesola Amosu, with reference number NAF/905/D/CAS, dated November 28, 2014, in which the Nigeria Air Force acknowledged receipt of Alpha jets and the helicopters.

On October 21, 2014, he said NAF also confirmed the receipt of F-7 N1 aircraft combination of 250kg bombs and accessories at $2,894,000 with the cost of freight at $1,200,000 as well as receipt of 2xTri Shield 36DG Tactical radars.

In another letter of December 1, 2014, signed by L.S. Alao (on behalf of the Chief of Air Staff), the Air Force said it received five containerized fuel storage and dispensing units with equipment.

He also noted that the Nigerian Army wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, to acknowledge the delivery of 14 armoured tanks.

In a December 13, 2014 memo, he indicated that the Brigade of Guards thanked ONSA for releasing N30m for RCA, Operation allowance for Troops on Op Urban Sweep II for third and fourth quarters of 2014.

He further indicated that his office installed CCT cameras at the Brigade Headquarters, two backscatter bomb detection vans and other equipment.

On November 26, 2014, the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, sought approval of the award of one pair of uniform (in the interim) for the Armed Forces at N165, 375 to El-Jahab Mubarak Nigeria and N330, 750,000, for two pairs.

“These are some of the acknowledgment letters submitted to me by the end-users (the services). It is not for me to go and find out whether the equipment were delivered or not. I am not the one keeping the inventories, Mr. Dasuki stated.

“To show that I have nothing to hide, I submitted a comprehensive list of all requests for procurement by the services, the items bought and those equipment being awaited to His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, long before I left office. If there were issues, I should have been questioned.

“I was just the clearing house, I did not award contracts to my company or proxies. There was no contract awarded or equipment bought without approval from the then President and Commander-In-Chief. I am not a thief or treasury looter as being portrayed.

“In order not to endanger the nation’s security, there are many salient issues and contracts which I cannot put in public domain. I am ready for trial on all these allegations in order to prove to Nigerians that I did nothing untoward in office. We will certainly meet in court.

“I have a lot to tell Nigerians but in the interim, they should not believe some of the allegations as the gospel truths. The good thing is that some of the key actors in the present administration were parts of the past process being viciously challenged.

“As for my tenure as the nation’s NSA, I acted in the interest of the nation and with utmost fear of God. I did not use the office for any self-serving agenda. I occupied the Office of the National Security Adviser at a difficult moment in Nigerian history when terrorism was at its peak and I am leaving posterity to judge me accordingly.”

Nothing Will Make Me Join Five Star Music Says Presh

                    

Former member of the defunct KC Presh music duo, Presh, has been trying hard to bounce back into the music industry after a long hiatus. He released few singles, which got people dancing in clubs.
But he has not been able to pull much weights like his former group member, K Cee, who is now a lead act of Five Star Music, owned by his brother, Emeka Okonkwo, fondly called E-Money.
In a recent interview with Ebony Life TV, the singer disclosed that he is in good terms with K cee but will never accept the offer of joining Five Star Music.

Presh expressed that when he plans to leave Eric Manny’s label, he would like to float his own label.

“Actually no, I won’t. Not because I have anything against them, no. Because if I leave Eric Manny, it’s Presh, I’m going to float mine, so I won’t,” he said when asked if he can be tempted to join KCee at Five Star.

Paris terror plot mastermind 'is dead

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The mastermind behind the Paris massacre, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, is dead, according to two senior intelligence officials. According to Washington Post ,the 27-year-old Belgian jihadi leader is said to have been killed by French commandos when a flat was raided in the early hours of this morning. More than 100 armed officers stormed a flat in Saint-Denis believing Abaaoud was inside with six other terrorists.

                        

Security sources said earlier today it prevented a new ISIS double terror attack on Paris.

Eyewitnesses said a blonde female suicide bomber who blew herself up during a raid by French police screamed 'Help me, help me' moments before detonating a device as snipers opened fire. This afternoon police were seen removing two bodies from the apartment.

Man Kills Woman During Rough S*x Session

      

A “freaky s*x” session between two young people ended in tragedy in Tampa city, Florida, USA.

Tyrone Fields, 21, and Christina Meagher, 18, were having consensual sex in a hotel room two days after they met, when the incident occurred. According to Fields, the young woman had asked him to put a gun to her head as a part of ‘role-play scenario’ during rough sex.

Christina Meagher, 18, died from a single gunshot wound to her head when she asked Tyrone Fields to hold a gun to her head

But in the heat of the moment the man accidentally pulled the trigger of his 9mm handgun and shot her. During interrogation Fields admitted that he removed the magazine but forgot to remove one single bullet from the chamber.

Early in the morning he called 911 to report he had shot the woman in the head. Minutes later paramedics rushed Christina to a local hospital, where she unfortunately died. An autopsy revealed that the 18-year-old was shot at close range behind her left ear.

Fields has been arrested and charged with manslaughter. He is currently in prison, where he is being held on $30,000 bond. The case is under investigation.

Source: NY Daily news

Prophet Engage Women In Marathon S*x For Deliverance

Okezie, a resident at 6 Olowo-Okere street Idimu, is faced with a two-count charge before a magistrate court in Ejigbo.

In August 2015, the father of four was first brought to the court for allegedly defrauding a 27-year old Philomena Ajil to the tune of N550,000.

It was also gathered that the “man-of-God” allegedly took Philomena to a hotel in Ikotun area where he engaged her in sex for days.

According to PM News, the sex romp lasted for several days before the victim realized it was a scam. However, the prophet was granted bail by the presiding Magistrate, Mrs J.O.E Adeyemi.

In another case, Okezie was arrested and charged to the same court for allegedly defrauding a 26-year old woman, Amarachi Dike to the tune of N1m.

He also indulged her in marathon sex in a hotel under the guise of giving her spiritual empowerment.

The victim, Amarachi, narrated in court how she fell into Okezie’s trap while returning from church service in Festac.

She said Okozie and two of his “gang members” accosted her while on her way home from service.

According to Amarachi, they pretended to be taxi operators plying from Festac to Apo junction near mile 2 area.

                           

Okezie allegedly used this golf car to pretend as a taxi driver. A victim said she became unconscious just as she got in. Photo: PM News

While in the car, she lost her consciousness and they took her to Ikotun. On awakening they allegedly began to engage her in certain business deals.

They said they would supply her some goods, which mysteriously turned out to deliverance prayers.

Amarachi narrated that Okozie who acted as a prophet forced her to drink a substance,which made her comply then on with all his orders.

The victim said that under the spell, she borrowed money from her relations and was sending to Okezie.

She noted that he would have endless sexual intercourse with her, and explain that they were sessions of liberation from the devil’s bondage.

It was only when those she borrowed money from started putting pressure on her, that she realised Okezie hypnotised and duped her.

The case was reported to the police and the “fake prophet”was arrested and charged to court.

A Golf car with registration number AAA 821 BE which Okezie used to lure women into his fraudulent activity, was recovered by the police. It was tendered as exhibit before the court by the police.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges laid against him, claiming that all the allegations were false.

Mr A.A. Fashola, the presiding magistrate, granted Okezie bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum.

The matter was adjourned till Wednesday, December 2, and the embattled prophet was remanded in prison pending when he perfects his bail.

A similar case was heard in the Ejigbo Magistrates’ court on Thursday, November 5. The case involved one Pastor Emmanuel Okwedimbu who allegedly obtained N1.4 million under false pretence from one Amobi Charles.

PHOTOS: Mob ties,beats and burns down church of pastor who made congregation eat snakes, grass..

         
On Sunday November 15th,an angry mob invaded the church of controversial South African pastor, Penuel Mnguni, of the End Time Disciples Ministries .They had him and one of his associates tied up and beaten.His church was also burnt to ashes in Mmakaunyane Village in the North Western part of South Africa.
Penuel had been in hiding for sometime after South African vigilante group, the Economic Freedom Fighters, burnt his church at Soshanguve in Tshwane. He then relocated inside a bush in Mmakaunyane community but was nabbed.

The pastor has come under fire forgiving his congregation fuel to drink, snakes to eat as well as feeding them grass. He is also known to sit on their backs or stomp on them.

        
Resident Johanna Baloyi said the pastor and his congregation were not allowed in their area.

“How can a person eat a rat and claim it tastes like chocolate? That’s evil!”

        

          

           

Official Rascals LASTMA officials caught on video brutalising driver

                                 
Despite warnings by the Lagos State government to men of the state Traffic Management Authorities, LASTMA, they still seem to go about their jobs unprofessionally, brutalising motorists and road users in the process.

One such incident was recorded on Monday, November 16, at the Berger Bus Stop, where a bus had a punctured tyre and the hapless driver pulled up with the aim of changing it.

Jealousy Wife stabs husband to death after she found another woman's photo on his phone

An Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, woman has been arrested and charged to court for allegedly stabbing her husband to deathafter she found the photograph of another woman on his mobile phone, reports Emirate247.

Though the woman told the court she did not intend to kill her husband, claiming she was only threatening him, she has been charged for murder after it was established that she stabbed him in the chest with a kitchen knife.

The cause of the deadly disagreement came when the woman found another woman’s picture on his mobile phone and the husband confessed to that she was his second wife.

“She told the judge that she went mad and threatened him with a kitchen knife. She said the couple then pushed each other and the knife pierced into his chest by accident,” the Arabic language daily, Al Khaleej reports

Woman bathes husband with hot water over breakfast

Last Thursday morning at Gbagidi, Ijanikin area of Lagos State, a housewife known as IyaDeborah, reportedly emptied a bowl of hot water on her husband, identified as Ajagadi.

Iya Deborah had complained bitterly after her husband gave her N700, out of the N800 he had, to prepare yam and sauce breakfast for the family. She bought the yam, but emptied the boiling water on her husband, who was fiddling with his phone in the sitting room, waiting for his meal.

The couple have been married for eight years, has four children, including a six-month-old baby.

A neighbour said: “I was in front of the compound when I heard the victim screaming and his wife running out of the compound as if the devil was chasing her. Neighbours who were still in the compound ran into their apartment only to see him in pains.

“When we asked him what happened, he said his wife poured hot water on him. We bought raw eggs and honey which we poured on the burns, before taking him to the hospital.”

Vanguard learned that angry neighbours later caught Iya Deborah, and dragged her to the hospital.

When Vanguard visited the victim at Ademola Hospital, he was still writhing in pains from burns and blisters on his chest, face, right hand, and lap.

‘It’s the devil’

A nurse told Vanguard, on the condition of anonymity: “When the wife of the victim came to the hospital, she kept saying that she did it because the money her husband gave to her was too little.

She alleged that he has been cheating on her with other women and keeps complaining that there was no money, but keeps spending on his lovers.

Feeling a lot more remorseful, Iya Deborah, who is currently undergoing interrogation at Ijanikin Police Divisional Headquarters, said: “I don’t know what came over me; it is the devil’s handiwork.”

Vanguard gathered that the suspect once attacked a neigh-bour in their former compound with hot groundnut oil.

Driver steals company vehicle over N25,000 salary deduction

A 27-year-old company driver, Godwin Eneche, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly stealing a Hilux van which belongs to the company he works for, Cerendry Solutions.

Eneche, however, told PUNCH Metro that he took the vehicle from the company which is located on Victoria Island and drove it to Kaduna State after the company deducted N25,000 from his monthly salary which he considered as improper.

The suspect said a reckless driver had hit the vehicle and the company management had said he was responsible for the damage.

According to the police, the case of conspiracy and stealing was reported by one of the executives of the company, Mrs. Salamat, to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja.

Our correspondent learnt that the suspect took the van to the Maraba Rido area of Kaduna and was allegedly looking for buyers when the SARS team went after him.

It was gathered that Godwin was arrested on Monday, November 2, while the vehicle had also been recovered.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro, Eneche said after the deduction of his salary which he considered as unjust, he had no option but to take the vehicle to his friends in Kaduna State to sell it.

The suspect added that one of his prospective buyers, identified as Alhaji, had offered to pay N800, 000 for the van before the police arrested him.

He said, “After finishing my secondary school education, I got a job as a driver with Cerendry Solutions on Victoria Island. I have worked with them for a number of years.

“In June 2015, I had an accident. It was not my fault. A reckless driver had brushed the vehicle and it needed repairs. My supervisor, who was also there, said the man should not pay for the damage, and he left.

“But when I returned to the office, they deducted money from my salary. My supervisor did not plead with the management on my behalf. They deducted about N25, 500. I felt cheated.

“So, I escaped with the Hilux in October. I then took it to my family house in Abuja, and told my uncle what had happened. He was afraid. So I moved on to Kaduna. I was in the Maraba Rido area. I was using the vehicle to convey tomatoes and pepper. I was also looking for buyers.

“One of the prospective buyers was one Alhaji, who wanted to buy the van for N800,000. That was on October 29. But I was arrested on October 30. I was arrested in Kaduna and driven to Lagos. But if I secure my release, I will not go back to crime. This is my first time of being arrested by the police.”

The state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said the case was under investigation, adding that the command would ensure that criminals were dealt with by the police.

Cultism: Eight Secondary School Students Arrested During Black Scorpion Initiation

Eight secondary school students have been arrested by the police in Sagamu area of Ogun State in with the assistance of members of a vigilance group .

According to a statement released to the Nigerian Tribune by the command’s police public relations officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, the students arrested were supposed members of the black scorpion cultist group.

The students were arrested while trying to initiate one Ayoola Ahmed, a student of Remo Divisional High School, Kara, Sagamu.

The arrested black scorpion students were Sodik Suleiman (16), Seyi Okebiyi (15), Olaide Sodik (15), Dare Sodiya (16), Ogunfuwa Samson (17), Adegba Michael (18), Usman Adams (17) and Isa Suleiman (18).

Siasia, U-23 Team Escape Plane Crash

Nigeria’s Olympic team escaped a plane crash on their way to Gam

bia for final preparation ahead African U-23 Championship. The U-23 team tagged Dream Team VI chose Gambia for their training camp after visa issues halted the trip to Morocco.

Nigeria’s Olympic team escaped a plane crash on their way to Gambia for final preparation ahead African U-23 Championship. The U-23 team tagged Dream Team VI chose Gambia for their training camp after visa issues halted the trip to Morocco.

Goal reports that the team could leave Ghana on Sunday evening depending on any new flight arrangements by the Nigeria Football Federation.

The Africa U-23 Cup of Nations will be played in Senegal from November 28 to December 12. Nigeria are drawn in Group B at the U23 Nations Cup along with Egypt, Mali and Algeria.

The top two teams will advance to the knockout stage of the competition with the best three teams qualifying automatically for Rio 2016.

Four years ago, Nigeria failed in Morocco to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

Enya: I don't need to flaunt to sell the music

HOW DOES Enya do it? As Ireland’s most successful solo artist her ethereal, almost hypnotising music is instantly recognisable but if you passed her in the street you probably would not have a clue who she was.


Anti-fame, publicity-shy and fond of taking years out between albums, the 54-year-old singer songwriter has sold more than 80 million records worldwide without doing any concerts, a phenomenon labelled Enyanomics.

Defined as the inexplicable growth in sales of an artist in inverse relation to how much exposure they have, it is how Enya has rocked since she urged us all to sail away in her 1988 hit Orinoco Flow.

Yet with album sales in terminal decline thanks to downloading and piracy, and record companies pushing live performances more than ever, could Enya’s first “gig” be just a whisper away with her latest album Dark Sky Island? As ever, the Celtic queen is keeping her cards close to her chest.

“It’s much easier to talk about touring now that stage productions are massive.

"Today we can have an orchestra but in 1988 it wasn’t really seen as practical, especially for a debut album. I don’t know.

"The album has just happened so there’s a lot to think about. I’m just going along with it. I almost quite like not knowing what’s coming next.”

Enya has just returned from New York, where she was introduced to the Metropolitan Opera’s pioneering “live” series when her performance was simultaneously beamed into cinemas around the world.

“That was an idea that has been strongly put forward, so we’ll see,” she says.

One gets the impression that whatever happens, Enya will have the final say, with the help of the couple she describes as her “musical family”, producer and manager Nicky Ryan and his lyricist wife Roma.

Having managed Enya’s real musical family in Clannad, the group including three of her siblings, it was Nicky who persuaded the then 20-year-old to go solo in a move that prompted an “it’s the Ryans or us” showdown with her parents and a falling out with her siblings that dragged on for years.

Asked whether she still sees her family in County Donegal, Enya is characteristically guarded, although she chuckles at the notion of being forced into anything against her will.

“You make it sound very dramatic, like I was kidnapped or something!”

The truth is she craved independence. Having trained as a classical pianist, Enya toyed with the idea of becoming an opera singer before “surprising” herself by agreeing to join Clannad.

“I was very strong in that regard. Anything that I thought of, any step I had to take had to be my own step.

"Every decision is my decision and that comes from being at boarding school at 11 years of age.

“When you’re in a big family, your older brothers and sisters make all the decisions. Then suddenly I found myself at school, hearing my own voice saying ‘What would you like to do?’ So I got very used to that.”

Born Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin in 1961, the sixth of nine children, “Enya Brennan” proudly tells me her grandmother was “the first female drummer in Ireland” and recalls having mixed feelings about her stage debut as Red Riding Hood when she was three years old.

“I loved it but it was odd being out front. You’re looking up at the stage and all of a sudden you’re looking down at the audience at such a young age.”

Solo singing competitions were “a part of life” in the Gaelic-speaking village of Gweedore, where her father ran the Irish folk music venue Leo’s Tavern and her mother taught music at the local school. “There’s this lovely story about Dad,” she says, in a rare moment of candour.

“He played a lot of beautiful Irish ballads combined with the big band sound, like Glenn Miller but he was self-taught. One day he tried to write music.

“He said, ‘Daughter, I sharpened my pencil, took out a manuscript and I sat there all day and I didn’t write anything, but I feel that that’s come through your work’.

He has lived my success and loves the fact he passed on his passion for music.” Read more EXPRESS

PHOTO: Aunt tortures toddler to coma for defecating

A housewife, Grace Monday,has been arrested in Lagos for allegedly torturing her three-year-old niece, Miracle Peter, to a coma.
Monday allegedly flogged the victim for several hours at their home in the Ireodun, Agege area of Lagos State and subsequently slammed her head against a wall causing the toddler to faint.

Punch reports that Monday had been married for seven years without a child and had travelled to Kaduna sometime in July, 2015, to get the victim from her elder brother.
It was learnt that the toddler was always messing up the house with excrement and after verbal correction did not work, the suspect resorted to beating her.

On the day the toddler was beaten to a coma, she was rushed to a private hospital and was later referred to a general hospital in the state for intensive care.

Monday’s neighbour, Adijat Fatai, said she had warned her on several occasions to stop flogging the victim.
She said,
“Miracle (Peter) always defecated all over the house. I called Grace and advised her to be patient with the little girl because it could be that God was using the girl to test her patience.
“Sometime in October, I saw her cleaning the child up after she had defecated; she was beating her as well. I warned her three different times to stop flogging her because it was getting excessive. She didn’t listen to me and I immediately suspected she was under a spell.
“I told her husband to caution her but he told me Miracle’s father instructed them to beat her till she stopped purging. I left them and went inside my room. It was the following morning she came to call me that the girl had fainted.”
PUNCH Metro gathered that the landlord, Fatai Alimi, reported the matter at the Isokoko Police Division.
He alleged that Monday had inflicted several injuries on the body of the victim, adding that she slammed Peter’s head against the wall.

“We rushed her to a private hospital and I had to borrow money for her to be admitted and treated because the hospital management said we must deposit some money. She spent three days at the hospital. When they could no longer handle it, they referred her to a general hospital,” he added.
Alimi, who said Peter was placed on oxygen, added that she was incapacitated by the torture.
But a friend of the suspect, Alice Abuye, claimed that Monday did not slam her niece’s head against the wall.
Abuye, who claimed to be a confidante of the suspect, said she (Monday) had called her to express her frustration with Peter’s incessant defecation.
“Grace (Monday) loves little children. Unfortunately, she had been married for seven years without any issue. She said I should release my child to her so she could train her till she got her own but I refused. I told her to go to her village and get her relative’s child.

“On the night preceding the incident, she called me that the girl had started defecating again. After beating her, Miracle (Peter) told her if she confessed the reason for her misbehaviour, some spiritual forces would punish her. Grace and her husband prayed till 3am after hearing that.
“Around 8am, she woke up and saw that Miracle was still sleeping. She woke her up to give her a bath. She was about leaving the house when she saw the girl had hit her head against the wall. Grace did not touch her.”
But the Divisional Police Officer, Isokoko Police Division, Badmos Dolapo, said she was in tears after seeing the victim.

“In all my years in the police force, I have never cried. But seeing the damage that had been done to this child, I could not hold back tears; I wept like a baby. She had been brutalised. We will not leave any stone unturned in this case,” she said.
The Lagos State Office of the Public Defender had taken custody of the victim.
The Public Relations Officer of the OPD, Adeoba Adeniji-Adele, who spoke for the Director of the agency, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, said the victim could no longer walk.
He said the agency was awaiting the doctor’s report on the case.