Magistrate berates police for arraigning commercial sex worker in towel

A Senior Magistrate, Mr K.O. Ogundare, on Thursday in Lagos berated the police for arraigning nine suspected commercial sex workers dressed indecently, with one of them covering her nakedness with

just a towel.
The nine suspects were charged before an Ojokoro Magistrates' Court in Lagos along with their alleged pimps and customers on four counts of unlawful gathering, causing breach of peace, loitering and prostitution, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
"You should have allowed them dress properly; afterall they were not arrested in their bathroom.
"What if they are not able to perfect their bail condition, will they be remanded in prison like this?" Ogundare queried.
The magistrate directed the prosecutor to ensure that the ladies dress properly before they appear before the court on the next adjourned date.
The accused are Jennifer Osagie, 27; Caroline Omoroge, 28; Mabel Okeagbe, 24; Sharron Udu, 25; Philomena Oko, 26; Ada John, 25; Joyle Ojebulu, 26; Precious Blessing, 25 and Favour Osajomo, 24.
Others are Nurudeen Adetunji, 28; Yemi Abayomi; 30, Femi Ajala, 33; Afeez Obisesan, 26; Waheed Akinkunmi, 28; Akeem Liasu, 27 and Femi Aje, 30.
The prosecutor, Insp. Clara Olagbaiye, told the court the accused comprising nine women and seven men committed the offences on November 11 at Love Hole Hotel, Isuti, Egan/Igando Road, a suburb of Lagos, at 9.50 p.m.
"The sixteen of them gathered unlawfully and conducted themselves in manner likely to cause breach of peace ," she said.
According to the prosecutor, the women were loitering and soliciting for sex, while the men were pimps and some of their customers.
She said the offences contravened sections 44, 142 and 166 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Ogundare, thereafter, granted the sixteen persons N100, 000 bail each, with one surety each in like sum, and adjourned the case till January 7, 2013 for mention. (NAN

Landlord Beats Female Tenant For Bedwetting

A landord has been arrested after bashing his female tenant accusing her of bed bedwetting. The alleged incident which has since become the talk of the suburb occurred on the 17th of November.

It is said that on the dramatic day, Luphahla was going about his errands when he saw a child of the tenant playing outside. The man is alleged to have slapped the three-year-old child for "acting" like her mother. The child ran into her mother's room wailing. This is said to have prompted the woman Ntombizodwa Ncube to demand answers as to the reasons behind the thrashing of her child.

Luphahla would have none of it and told the woman off. She was not going to be pushed away easily and continued pestering the man. Purportedly infuriated by this, Luphahla who was standing outside the woman's room forcibly went in. After a peep around the room, Luphahla spotted watery liquid on the woman's bed.

He got closer to get a sniff and to his shock it was urine. The man went on to accuse Ncube of bedwetting. She compounded the problem by failing to defend herself.

As such, Luphahla is alleged to have dragged her outside the room labelling her a bed wetter. He then kicked her until she fell. By then a crowd made up of mostly kids had already gathered to see the bed wetter.

Taking advantage of the situation, the man went on to savagely kick the woman on the left breast. As the assault raged on, Luphahla is reported to have hit Ncube twice on the leg with a stone.

The woman was later rescued by a neighbour. Luphahla was arrested and remanded in custody to 4 December after failing to pay $100 bail which he had been granted by Western Commonage magistrate, Mr Richard Ramaboea.

Obasanjo’s mosque: The mysteries, mission and his men

When the sharia legal system was launched in 1999, former President Olusegun Obasanjo had described it as Political Sharia which he said would fizzle away.
Having gone into what he claimed to be retirement, President Obasanjo last Friday caused a stir when he gathered Muslim associates of his to raise funds for a mosque project within his presidential library. Will it fizzle away like political sharia?
DRESSED as usual in the Hausa traditional flowing gown, the sight of Atiku Abubakar genuflecting before a seated Olusegun Obasanjo at the Customs conference in Katsina last Wednesday almost wiped away bitter memories of the past power struggle between both men.

Few men would have heard the discussion between both men that day, but the body language of their actions is increasingly becoming clear to many of a surreptitious political shift in the country.
Before making his appearance in Katsina, Obasanjo had been in the Southeast where he put up appearance at the burial ceremonies of the father of one of his former ministers, Mr. Frank Nweke jnr.
Besides the burial service, Obasanjo it was learnt, also made contact with strategic political stakeholders in the Southeast.
Before traveling to the Southeast, the 75 year old former president had last Friday played host to a fund raising for a mosque project in the President Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta.
The exerting journey from the Southwest, to the Southeast and to the North by the former president would come as a surprise to those who received Obasanjo’s retirement from politics last April.
In his resignation notice sent to President Goodluck Jonathan, his one time protégée, the three time Nigeria leader said that his disengagement as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP would allow him devote himself to international duties and also allow him mentor others locally and abroad.
By relieving myself of the responsibility for chairmanship of BOT of PDP, I will have a bit more time to devote to the international demand on me,” Obasanjo had said in a shocking development that caught the nation off guard last April.
He added that his disengagement would also create time for him “to give some attention to mentoring across the board nationally and internationally in those areas that I have acquired some experience, expertise and in which I have something to share.”
The journeys across the country and the reconciliation with former foes, it was learnt are indicative of the desperation of the former president to salvage what is increasingly being felt what is left of a legacy.
The Obasanjo legacy which was at one time believed to be personalized in President Umaru Yar‘adua and after him, in President Goodluck Jonathan, it is now generally believed is in danger.
That danger is reflected in the increasing rift between presidential godfather and godson which came to fore on national television about two weeks ago when President Jonathan openly dismissed Obasanjo’s insinuations of weak leadership.
Jonathan in a national television media chat had rubbished Obasanjo’s application of force in Odi, Bayelsa State in 1999 saying that it was a failure. Before Jonathan went to bed that night penultimate Sunday, Obasanjo was in contact with his Man Friday, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode who the following morning
“With the greatest respect to Mr. President this is factually incorrect,” Fani-Kayode said in a press statement following Jonathan’s television appearance. “He has either forgotten the relevant facts or he has been misinformed.
Whichever way he is mistaken and it is important for those of us that proudly served the Obasanjo administration to respond to him in order to clarify the issues, clear the air and set the record straight for the sake of history and posterity,” Fani-Kayode who served as Obasanjo’s Minister of Culture and before then presidential aide said.
Signs of the rift between the former president and President Jonathan are also reflected in the cantankerous relationship between core elements in the Obasanjo presidency and the Jonathan administration.
Direction of the country
Among them are Fani-Kayode, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu among many others.
Besides, at 75 Obasanjo is alleged to be seriously concerned about the direction of the country.
But even more, the former president is said to be worried about the import of President Jonathan seeking another term in office in 2015 and the import of that on the polity.
Obasanjo it is believed to have assured northern political stakeholders ahead of the 2011 general elections that President Jonathan would exit in 2015 and allow the presidency to return to the north.
However, no sooner than after the last presidential elections the former president it was learnt began to sense plans by President Jonathan to seek a second term in 2015 and allegedly became discomfited over the development.
Whether Obasanjo voiced his objection to the incumbent president is not known, but his action in resigning from the Board of Trustees of the PDP is believed to be his first action to distance himself from the collateral damages that may ensue from whatever plans Jonathan has for a second term.
Known for his nationalistic tendencies, Obasanjo it was learnt, believes that at 75 he still has one last mission to prevent Jonathan from self destruction or destruction of the polity through a second term.
The mosque project was perhaps the first in the unfolding strategy for the Owu born Christian. Remarkably, the event which was supposed to be a solemn religious gathering was largely interpreted as a political strategy forum towards 2015.
The geopolitical spread of guests at the fund raising was equally significant.
None of the governors of the South East and South South geopolitical zones where Jonathan is believed to be counting on for his 2015 aspiration was present.
It was gathered that, Obasanjo decided to construct a mosque within
the premises of the Presidential Library to make the place look international and as well erase the impression that, he hates northerners  and their religion which is  Islam.
An insider at the Obasanjo Hilltop building hinted that, shortly before
the event , Obasanjo held a closed door meeting  with the four northern governors that came; Usman Dakingari of Kebbi, Rabi Kwakwanso of Kano , Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto and the Katsina state governor, Shehu- Shema who  was represented by  his deputy.
Remarkably, all four northern governors are said to have presidential aspirations in 2015.
Construction of the mosque
Besides, some state governments such as Adamawa, Niger , Kaduna , Katsina Zamfara Kogi ,Kwara and  Ogun  states also donated N20 million each  for the construction of the mosque.
Atiku Abubakar who could not attend sent N5 million through his friend Otunba Oyewole Fasawe who ironically fell out with Obasanjo on account of his (Oyewole’s) close association with Atiku at the peak of the troubles between the former president and the former vice-president.
Speaker Aminu Tambuwal of the House of Representatives, Chairman of Dangote group of companies ,Alhaji  Aliko  Dangote, former governor of  Kebbi State , Senator Adamu Aleiro were also present at the mosque fund raising.
Immediate past governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki who is still mourning his father and still has his eyes in the 2015 contest did not miss out and pledged his own N2 million to the Obasanjo mosque.
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi who was in his traditional attire made a personal donation of N5 million.
Addressing the people at the gathering, Obasanjo  who counseled Nigerians to be tolerant and accommodating said  the legacy he is laying with the mosque project is one “that knows no boundaries, religion, gender, age, tribe,race language.”
Concluding, he said: “This legacy must serve the community, and if we are to serve the communities, it must reflect inspite of the odds of the community,” Obasanjo said.

NAFDAC destroys N20m stockfish in Aba

Aba (Abia) – The NAFDAC on Friday destroyed stockfish worth N20 million in Aba, Abia.
Mr Emeka Onwuasoanya, the agency’s Assistant Chief Regulatory Officer at the Aba Special Zone, said in Aba that the stockfish was mopped up from two containers.
Onwuasoanya said the 500 bags of stockfish were discovered to be spoilt following their exposure to rain while in transit.
He said the inspection was done with the cooperation of the importer, adding that the loss would have been avoided but for some lapses.
Onwuasoanya, however, commended the importer for giving the agency the required support during the inspection.
“It is true the company lost huge sum of money, but the destruction was inevitable to avoid being consumed by unsuspecting buyers,’’ he said.
Mrs Emmanuela Okorie, the Managing Director of KC Nnodim and Sons Ltd., the importer of the goods, said the stockfish, imported from Norway, got bad through leakage of containers while on the sea.
“We imported the goods from Norway and during off-loading, we discovered that most of them were damaged,’’ she said.
She said the problem was normal in such business, but the loss in the present transaction was enormous.
Okorie said she lost 90 per cent of the goods with the money borrowed from banks, adding that there was no insurance cover to recover the amount.
She said most insurance companies shied away from the business because of the carelessness of shipping companies.
“I really felt bad, particularly in this very one, where I lost 90 per cent of the goods to water leakages,’’ she said. (NAN)

Ojukwu’s will: Bianca gets lion’s share

Enugu – The will of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, was on Friday presented to the family with his widow, Bianca, getting the lion’s share.

Late Ojukwu and wife, Bianca

The presentation by the Chief Registrar of the Enugu High Court, Mr Dennis Ekoh, was witnessed by Bianca, Mr Val Nwosu, Ojukwu’s first cousin, and Mr Mike Ejemba.
In the will, the late Ojukwu identified one Tenny Haman as one of his children.
Ojukwu listed the children as Tenny Haman, Chukwuemeka Jnr, Mmegha, Okigbo, Ebele, Chineme, Afam and Nwachukwu.
The Ikemba gave the Casabianca Lodge at No. 7, Forest Crescent, GRA, Enugu, two property at Jabi and Kuje in the FCT as well as all his money and personal effects to his widow.
He also said that Bianca should replace him as the trustee in the family company, Ojukwu Transport Ltd, while also giving her two plots of land in his village at Nnewi.
He, however, added that if she re-married, the land should be taken away from her.
The first son, Emeka Jnr., got the family house at Nnewi, while the newly mentioned daughter, Tenny Haman, got the Jubilee Hotel located in Zaria, Kaduna State.
The Biafran warlord also shared other landed property in the village among all his children.
Ojukwu listed the trustees and executors of the will to include Bianca, Emeka Jnr and Mr James Chukwuneme.
Reacting to the will, Bianca, who is Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, expressed satisfaction with its contents.
“It was a fair will. This time round, he did not disappoint us,’’ she said.
The ambassador, however, expressed shock at the disclosure of a new daughter in the family, whom she said had never been mentioned by her husband.
None of the children was present at the presentation of the will. (NAN)

Reps Threaten To Order Okonjo-Iweala’s Arrest

House of Representatives, yesterday, threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, over her refusal to honour invitations from its Committee on Pensions.
Members of the committee also want the Finance Minister to explain her role in the take-over of Police Pension Fund and non-payment of pensions to retired officers and men of the Nigerian Police Force.

Chairman of the Committee on Pension, Ibrahim Kamba, read the decision of the committee after waiting for the minister for several hours without any apology for non-appearance.

He noted that it was obvious that the minister was not ready to appear to explain why the ministry took over Police Pension office without regard to Pension Reform Act.
He said: “We have been inviting the Minister of Finance over the problems of police pension. She has been holding the police pension and several police pensioners have died due to non-payment despite the fact that the National Assembly appropriated money in the 2012 fiscal year.
“Following her refusal, the committee is going to issue a warrant of arrest against the minister if she fails to attend the next meeting.
“We are going to give her a last opportunity. She has no right to neglect the summons of the committee. Many former IGs have not been paid. Sunday Ehindero and Sunday Adewusi and DIG Akeredolu have not been listed due to the take-over by the minister.
“We want to make the reason for our action clear to Nigerians. We hate playing with peoples lives. We have received some petitions from the police that many police pensioners are not paid.”

Jonathan Set To Impose Anenih On PDP As BoT Chairman

Anthony Anenih

By SaharaReporters, New York

President Goodluck Jonathan may have made up his mind to impose the reclusive former Minister of Works, Chief Tony Anenih, on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT).
Anenih, who was on Monday summoned by the House of Representatives over the sum of N2.3 billion that was purportedly disbursed for an abandoned road project in Nassarawa State in 2006, was at the Presidential Villa on Thursday morning where he had a closed-door meeting with the President.
The meeting, it was gathered, involved discussions about how to make sure that Anenih, who was known as “Mr. Fix-It” before his political profile began to diminish, becomes the next chairman of the BoT, a position from which former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, resigned in April this year.  In 2007, Obasanjo outmaneuvered Anenih to bag the influential job.
Apart from Anenih, others in the race are a former National Chairman of the party, Dr. Ahmadu Ali; a former Chairman of Board of Trustees of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, Chief Harry Akande; and a former President of the Senate, Senator Ken Nnamani.
A presidency source said President Jonathan settled for Anenih, who suffered a huge defeat in Edo, his home state, when Mr. Adams Oshiomhole defeated the candidate of the PDP, Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (retd.) last June to retain the governorship.
While some of the members of the board are said to favour either Ali, Mr. Jonathan is said to be insisting on Anenih, convinced that he needs someone with the clout to counter the growing characterization of his regime as non-performing.
Jonathan is said to be deeply unhappy about the recent comment of Obasanjo, his political benefactor who has criticised him on many occasions for poor performance.
“Anenih is seen as the right person that can speak for the President and probably look at the likes of Obasanjo in the face,” said the presidential source.
Apart from this, it is also the calculation in the presidential villa that whoever occupies the office of the BoT chairman will be important in determining Jonathan’s second term ambition.
Anenih played an important role in persuading the governors to support Jonathan to run for office in 2011.   The governors had insisted that the party must stick to its zoning formula following the death President Umaru Yar’Adua.
At the PDP headquarters, the governors said it was wrong for Jonathan to run when the North was yet to finish its eight years in office.
After the intervention of many members of the party, the governors and the party decided to allow Jonathan to run, with the understanding that he would only complete Yar’Adua’s projected eight year tenure, which will expire in 2015.
The members of the BoT are meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday night, where the election will take place.
One of the tricks used by Obasanjo to side-track Anenih from becoming BoT chairman in 2007 was to change the rules so that only persons who had been president were qualified to contest.
Under that rule, which has yet to be changed, none of those currently vying for the position is qualified to contest.

I Use Cocaine To Lubricate My Private Parts-Girl Tells Police

A 19-year old Zimbabwean girl, famous for claiming that well-known businessman, Themba Hlongwane was having sex with his (Themba's) employees, has been nabbed on allegations of selling the illicit cocaine drug.

Olga Carlos Joao Barcar subsequently appeared in court, facing a charge of dealing in dangerous drugs after 10g of illicit drug was found stashed in her shoes. She is said to have acknowledged possessing the sustance, claiming that she uses it to lubricate her privates.

The teenager was yanked before Harare magistrate Tendai Mahwe, who remanded her out of custody till December 6 for trial on US$200 bail, coupled with strict conditions. She was ordered to surrender her passport and present herself twice a week to the CID drugs section until the matter is finalised.

It is the State's case that on 23 November at around 6pm, detectives from the CID drugs section received information to the effect that Olga was selling cocaine. The detectives reportedly launched a manhunt and located Olga at Chester Court along Fife Avenue and took her to her home in Mabelreign.

A thorough search was conducted in her bedroom and cream substance suspected to be cocaine was found stashed in her shoes. She allegedly admitted that the powder belonged to her and that she uses it to lubricate her privates. The girl was taken to the police station where the substance was found to be worth US$800 and weighed 10 grams.

The court heard that preliminary tests were done in her presence and proved that the substance was cocaine and it was sent to the forensic lab

Mum Charged With Murder Of Her Two Children Gets Two Life Terms

Castle Rock, Colorado mom Kelli Murphy was sentenced to two life terms after being charged with the murders of her nine-year-old Liam and six-year-old Madigan, the Examiner reports.

Kelli was reportedly involved in a nasty custody battle with her husband Eric and smothered the two children with pillows to prevent losing the case. The two were supposedly due for a court hearing the day of the murder.
She was considered after her lawyers unsuccessfully argued that she had ingested sleeping pills and vodka, especially after toxicology reports turned up nothing. It took the jury a little over an hour to deliver the verdict.
Eric’s family released a statement upon learning Kelli’s sentence. “This is a sad day for us. We would have preferred celebrating Liam’s 11th birthday today. Instead, we would just like to offer our sincere thanks to everyone involved in this case. Although nothing can make up for the loss of Liam and Madigan or fill the void that is left by their absence, we are thankful that this chapter is now over and we look to God to help lighten our hearts.”

Police Arrest Man For Masturbating In Public

A repeat public masturbator in Seattle was arrested Wednesday while pleasuring himself in an alley, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.
The unidentified 35-year-old suspect was sitting on a staircase with his pants down and "in the throes of self-flagellation," a Columbia City neighborhood police spokesman told the publication. But he wouldn't stop, telling cops that he was "almost finished."
Authorities arrested and jailed the man for indecent exposure. Earlier in the day, police were notified that the man had been walking around the neighborhood yelling at and grabbing people.
Public masturbation seems to be coming to every town these days.
In September, a man masturbating on women in three separate subway attacks in New York City got off on probation and avoided jail time. In Louisiana in April, a prominent Christian pastor was convicted of obscenity after he masturbated at a public park near a children's playground last year.

11-Year-Old Girl Gang-Raped By 20 Men: Lawyer Claims It Was Her Fault

A Texas defense attorney used some controversial words to describe an 11-year-old girl allegedly gang raped by 20 men and teenaged boys.
During wrap-up testimony on Tuesday, Steve Taylor, who represents Jared Len Cruse on charges that he joined in the repeated rape and sexual assault of the now-13-year-old girl during a 3-month span in 2010, likened her to a spider who lured the suspects. He said she was "the reason" that the encounters happened, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The Houston Chronicle reported Taylor's exchange with former Cleveland Police Sgt. Chad Langdon, who was on the witness stand:
"Like the spider and the fly. Wasn't she saying, 'Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly?'" Taylor asked.
"I wouldn't call her a spider," Langdon replied. "I'd say she was just an 11-year-old girl."
"I hope nothing like this ever happens to your two teenage sons," Taylor snapped back.
The metaphor didn't help however, as Cruse was found guilty of aggravated sex assault today, ABC News reports.
In the courtroom on Tuesday, the unidentified victim reportedly said "yes sir" when asked if she had been a "willing participant" in the acts, but Langdon testified that she can't legally give consent for a sexual encounter due to her age.
Testimony in the case of 20-year-old Cruse wrapped up in Liberty in one day, after he declined to testify. He's already serving a an eight-year sentence on unrelated convictions for aggravated robbery and assault.
The emotional case began after Cruse, Eric McGowen and more than a dozen other men allegedly recorded themselves having sex with the victim.
Two adults, 22-year-old Isaiah Ross and Marcus Porchia, 28, were slapped with 15-year prison terms earlier this year. The six juveniles who pleaded guilty in the case received suspended seven-year prison terms. McGowen received a sentence of 99 years. Most of the defendants -- many of whom have individual trials -- face charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Cruse was found guilty of aggravated sex assault today, ABC News reports.

Nigerian Basketballer Shot Dead In USA

Reports say former Nigerian basketball player Chinedu Onyeuku has been shot dead after ‘trying to rob home in Texas with an accomplice’.
It was gathered that the former D’Tigers of Nigeria player, was shot dead in a botched burglary in Texas before Thanksgiving.
Onyeuku, 29, was trying to break into a home in Plano on 21 November and was shot and killed by the homeowner, Police say. Onyeuku had played for the Nigerian team that qualified for this summer’s Olympic Games in London.
According to the Dallas News, Onyeuku and another person allegedly tried to break into a residence on Rio Grande Street in Plano, Texas the night of 21 November.
The homeowner told Plano police that he saw ‘multiple people’ approaching the house. The two apparently entered the residence by breaking a glass patio door. The homeowner shot Onyeuku, killing him instantly. His accomplice ran away without injury. Police are still trying to track the second burglar.
No one inside the home was injured in the burglary. Upon their arrival, EMT workers pronounced him dead at the scene. It is unclear why Onyeuku and his companion were trying to burglarize the residence.
The Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, posted a statement, saying that the 29-year-old athlete played basketball for the team that qualified for the London 2012 Olympics. However, Onyeuku was not on the Olympic roster and did not actually compete.
The statement reads: “His passion for playing with D’Tigers was deep-seated and he will be greatly missed. The federation joins his family and team mates to mourn a departed son, father, husband and great patriot.”
According to online sports records, Onyeuku was born in the Nigerian capital of Lagos in 1983. He moved to the United States at the age of six.
He played college basketball at Illinois State University and then went semi-pro for awhile, playing for the Arlington Bulldogs, in the American Basketball Association. In 2009, he was invited to play for the D’Tigers of Nigeria. It also said that Onyeuku lived in Omaha, Nebraska.

Shekau, Boko Haram leader so unrepentant!

Amidst some confusing signals about a peace overture to the Nigerian government, wanted leader of Nigeria’s Boko Haram appears to be pursuing his Jihad relentlessly.
His latest move was to express

Shekau, Boko Haram leader: new video

solidarity with global Islamist fighters, saying the US and Britain “should witness that we are with our mujahideen brothers,” in a video posted Thursday, SITE monitoring group said.According to SITE, a US-based organisation, Abubakar Shekau gave the speech in Arabic in a 39-minute video posted to jihadist forums. It was not clear when it was recorded.
“The world should witness, and America, Britain, Nigeria and other crusaders, meaning America and Britain, should witness, and the Jews of Israel who are killing the Muslims in Palestine should witness… that we are with our mujahideen brothers in the cause of Allah everywhere,” a translation by SITE said.
Boko Haram has been widely seen as a domestically focused extremist group, targeting symbols of Nigerian authority as well as churches, among other targets in its insurgency that has killed hundreds in Africa’s most populous nation.
But the video makes particular reference to global events, with Shekau saluting fighters in the Maghreb region of northern Africa, “the Islamic state in Mali,” Somalia, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and “our brothers and sheikhs in usurped Palestine.”
“O Britain, America, Israel and Nigeria: Don’t think that jihad stops with the death of imams,” Shekau says, according to SITE. “Because imams are individuals. Jihad started now, jihad started now, O enemies of Allah.”
Violence linked to Boko Haram’s insurgency has left some 3,000 people dead in northern and central Nigeria since 2009, including killings by the security forces.
The group has claimed to be fighting for the creation of an Islamic state in Nigeria, whose 160 million population is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.
However, its demands have repeatedly shifted and it is believed to include different factions with varying aims, in addition to criminal gangs and imitators who carry out violence under the guise of the group.
Shekau and two other Nigerian extremists have been labeled “global terrorists” by the US government. Shekau and 18 other Boko haram leaders have been declared wanted by the Nigerian army authorities, with rewards of between N50m and N10m offered for information that could lead to their capture.

Man kills wife for rejecting sex demand

A man, Musa Yusuf, who allegedly killed his wife for refusing to submit to his sexual demand, has been remanded at the Federal Prison, Ilorin.
An Ilorin Magistrates’ Court on Thursday remanded the accused for allegedly committing the offence on Nov. 17 on a farm.
The accused was arraigned on a one count charge of culpable homicide, punishable under Section 221 of the Penal Code.
The brother of the deceased, Sanni Suleiman, told the court that the woman took food to her husband on the farm but did not return home.
Suleiman said when a search party was organised, her corpse was found on her husband’s farm with mark of violence on her face. The body, he said, was concealed under weeds.
The prosecutor Zachaeus Funsho, told the court that the accused “callously clubbed his wife to death and flew into thin air” before he was arrested by the police.
He objected to bail for the accused because the alleged offence “is not ordinarily bailable”.
He urged the court to remand the accused in prison custody, pending the outcome of investigation.
In her ruling, Magistrate Mariam Ahmed ordered the accused remanded in Federal Prison, Ilorin, and adjourned the case to 13 December for further mention.

Oshiomhole’s certificates mere documents, alleges Airhiavbere

All certificates presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to contest the July 14, 2012 governorship election have been described as mere documents.
Gen. Charles Airhiavbere who is challenging Governor Oshiomhole’s election at the State Election Petition Tribunal, made this claim in his evidence to close his case at the Tribunal in an attempt to prove that Governor Oshiomhole was not qualified to contest the election.
Responding to a question from Ken Mozia (SAN), Counsel to the ACN, the PDP candidate disagreed that the documents presented by the first Respondent, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole from Ruskin College, Oxford University from where he bagged a Diploma in Labour Studies and another issued by Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, were not certificates, insisting that they were mere documents.
Cross-examined by Counsel to Oshiomhole, Chief Adeniyi Akintola SAN, Airhianbere denied being forced to retire from the Nigerian Army as a result of his indictment.
“I retired meritoriously from the Nigerian Army after serving for 37 years instead of 35; from boy soldier to officer. I also served as a diplomat for this country in Washington DC. I have never been detained or found wanting thorough out my duties in the Army.”
The Petitioner who agreed to a question by Akintola that he did not win his polling unit or local government at the election, told the Tribunal that although he was not present at the over 2,627 polling units in the State, he relied on what he was told by the party’s agents across the State.
Earlier, there was legal fireworks between the Plaintiff’s Counsel, Chief Efe Akpofure (SAN) and Counsel to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Respondents, Messers Adeniyi Aknitola (SAN), Prince Adetunji Oyeyipo (SAN) and E.R. Emukperhuo on the admissibility of clippings of the Nigerian Tribune of 12th July 2012 and Western Regional Gazette and maps of 1956 as exhibits.
While Chief Akintola, Oyeyipo and Emukperhuo contended that the documents in question must be pleaded and listed, they described the tendering of the documents by the Petitioner as a classical case of the abuse of Court process.
They submitted that under Order 20, Rule 3 of the Federal High Court and under the 4th Schedule of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, such documents must be filed along with the petition and must not just be listed.
“We did not oppose earlier documents sought to be tendered because we knew they were listed and pleaded. But in this case, they left everybody as sea on what national newspaper they were talking about. There are conditions that must be met, but this was not done in this case. The Petitioner cannot hide under any other documents, the pleadings must be complete.
“It is against the rule of pleadings, it’s very inchoate. No map or gazette was listed in the petition, and I therefore urge the Tribunal to reject the documents and throw them out through the window,” Chief Akintola argued.
In his submission, Counsel to the Petitioner, Chief Akpofure, submitted that there was a gross misconception by Counsel to the Respondents in relation to the Court process.
He said the authorities cited by the Respondents’ Counsel were grossly inapplicable to the circumstances of the proceeding before the Tribunal, adding that the case off the Petitioner was that the first Respondent was not qualified academically to contest the election at the time he did.
He therefore asked the Tribunal to admit the documents as exhibits.
In his ruling, the Tribunal Chairman, Justice Muazu Pindiga, said after “considering the submission of Counsel and our attention being drawn to the ruling of the Tribunal and mindful of the Court of Appeal ruling, it is our view that the issue be viewed with caution. We therefore admitted the documents to be tendered as exhibits.”
Further hearing in the petition has been adjourned to next week Wednesday when the Respondents in the petition are expected to open their defence.

Palestine state wins UN recognition

The UN General Assembly on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to recognize Palestine as a non-member state, giving a major diplomatic triumph to President Mahmud Abbas despite fierce opposition from the United States and Israel.
The 193-member assembly voted 138-9 with 41 abstentions for the resolution which enables the Palestinians to join UN agencies and sign international treaties.
The vote was seen by observers as a major defeat for the United States and Israel, as Abbas won what he called a “birth certificate” for a Palestinian state.

A flag waving Palestinian kid after UN vote

Only nine countries voted against, including the United States, Israel and Canada. US allies Britain and Germany were among 41 that abstained, and France led a group of European powers backing the Palestinian bid.
Abbas embraced his foreign minister at the UN headquarters in New York while thousands of Palestinians celebrated with bursts of gunfire and cheers in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
But, underlining the bitter divisions that have stalled the Middle East peace process, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office condemned what it called a “venomous” speech by the Palestinian leader.
The vote lifts the Palestinian Authority from an observer entity to a “non-member observer state” on a par with the Vatican.
Palestine has no vote on the General Assembly but is able to join UN agencies and potentially the International Criminal Court (ICC), a possible avenue to mount legal challenges against Israeli actions.
The Palestinian leadership says, however, that it wants to use the “historic” vote as a launchpad for renewed direct talks with Israel, which have been frozen for more than two years.
Abbas called the resolution “the last chance to save the two-state solution.”
In a 22-minute speech laced with references to Israel’s operation this month to halt rocket fire from Gaza, Abbas said Palestinians would accept “no less than the independence of the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

President Mahmud Abass and Palestine delegation applaud the UN General Assembly decision

He warned, however, that time for an accord is running out, “the rope of patience is shortening and hope is withering.”Major Muslim nations rallied behind Abbas at the assembly.
“No longer can the world turn a blind eye to the long sufferings of the Palestinian people,” said Marty Natalegawa, foreign minister of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority state.
“The flag of Palestine should rise in this assembly next to ours,” added Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, calling for full membership for the Palestinians.
The United States and Israel immediately condemned the vote, which US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called “unfortunate and counterproductive.”
Making a stern assessment to the General Assembly, US ambassador Susan Rice said it was “an obstacle to peace” because it would not lead to a return to direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.
“Today’s grand pronouncements will soon fade. And the Palestinian people will wake up tomorrow and find that little about their lives has changed, save that the prospects of a durable peace have only receded,” she said.
The United States has blocked a Palestinian application for full UN membership — made by Abbas in September 2011 — at the UN Security Council.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu slammed Abbas’ move. “The world watched a defamatory and venomous speech that was full of mendacious propaganda,” it said.
Following Abbas onto the UN stage, Israel’s UN ambassador Ron Prosor said recognizing Palestine “will place further obstacles and preconditions to negotiations and peace” and could even lead to increased violence.
Abbas was warned earlier by UN leader Ban Ki-moon that the Middle East peace process is on “life support” and that both Netanyahu and Abbas must take action to revive talks.
The Palestinian leader did not make any reference to the possibility of joining the International Criminal Court — a major worry for Israel which fears a possible investigation.
But Abbas said the Palestinian Authority would consult with other countries about new steps after its diplomatic status is bolstered.
“We will act responsibly and positively in our next steps, and we will to work to strengthen cooperation with the countries and peoples of the world for the sake of a just peace,” he said.
Diplomats said the vote could give a boost to Abbas who faces a mounting challenge from Hamas after the Israeli offensive on Gaza.
But Britain and Germany, which abstained, believe the Palestinians should have waited until after US President Barack Obama installed his new administration and Israel held elections before making its UN bid.
And the Palestinians still face an uncertain future on the diplomatic stage. Despite their greater access to the UN system, there are divided opinions over whether they will be able to automatically join the ICC.

FG assures on fuel availability at Yuletid

Abuja—Despite the fuel scarcity being experienced in some parts of the country, Federal Government has given assurances that there would be uninterrupted supply of petroleum products during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
A senior aide to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, who spoke with journalists at the Presidential Villa Thursday, said no attempt by some disgruntled elements to frustrate the efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan in reforming the oil and gas sector would succeed.
The official, who sought anonymity because a detailed briefing would be provided next week by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, noted that the government was determined to ensure there was no return of queues in the nation’s petrol stations.
He said: “The government is working round the clock to ensure that people have fuel during the Christmas and New Year period.”
“President Jonathan has ordered the respective agencies to reconcile any problem in the distribution chain that may hinder the availability of the products during the festive season.”

Police Arrest Five Hotel Workers Over Colleague’s Death

Five workers, including the Manager of Treasureland Hotel in Calabar, Cross River State have been arrested by policemen in connection with the death of another employee of the hotel, Mr. Wisdom Edu, sources have said.

Nineteen-year-old Edu, a native of Adadama in Abi Local Government Area of the state, was found dead in the hotel swimming pool on November 9, 2012.
Sources at the hotel said he drowned after close of work, but the family of the deceased alleged that he was killed.
The family said he had complained before the incident that he was no longer comfortable working in the hotel.
A family member, Mr. Icha Mbotor, wondered why the management of the hotel opted to take Edu’s corpse to a mortuary, instead of contacting them first.
Mbotor said Edu was wearing a wristwatch but with his shirt and shoes removed while his jeans trousers and boxers were still on his body.
He added that it was strange that Edu’s stomach was flat, yet the boy drowned in a “shallow” swimming pool.
Mbotor said, “On getting to the mortuary, we discovered that what we saw on the picture were real. The hotel workers claimed that he was our observation, it was noticed that he was killed and thrown into the pool.
“Our suspicion is that he was killed. If he had gone to swim, there should not have been cuts on his head and his hands folded.
He was killed and thrown into the pool. He had complained the week before he died that he was no longer comfortable working there.
“The fact that they did not deem it necessary to contact the family of the deceased is suspicious and we strongly feel that the management have something to hide and given the standard of the hotel, there should be security officers around.”
But the Manager of the hotel, Mr. Mendie Udoh, described what happened as a natural death, adding that the police were still investigating to know exactly what led to the death of the worker.
He said, “The incident is just a natural death. Police are still investigating it. I may not know the cause but police have gone for autopsy.”
Udoh said he had seen Edu the previous night and sought to know why he was still around when he ought to have gone home.
“When I saw him in the night, I asked him why he was still around and he said his friend was celebrating his birthday and that he was invited to use the host’s laptop to play music at the occasion. There was no incident of fight, the event ended about 2am.”
When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. John Umoh, said investigations were ongoing.
The PPRO also did not disclose the number of arrest made though he said that some persons were invited to make statement on the matter.

A Girl Made Me Bad- Iyanya Mbuk

Iyanya Mbuk, the sensational artiste no doubt, is smiling to the bank with his Kukere’s hit track.

His song which has become a national anthem has made him a big boy but when it comes to relationship, the handsome dude is found wanting the reason being that he once got his heart broken when his best friend married off his girlfriend.
In his words "I have been heartbroken by a Calabar girl before, it’s one of the most painful things that ever happened to me.
She made me bad actually. She gave me the idea that you don’t need to be so nice.
The most painful part is that she married my friend. So I live with that stuff everyday.
I still love Calabar girls, I respect them; they are sweet kind and very cool. I am not particular about tribe but that act is still fresh in my memory.’’

PDP: Cult or political party?

The National Executive Committee (NEC), of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is finalizing arrangement to set up a Reconciliation Committee that would tour the whole country to soothe strained nerves among the party members and bring back members that left its fold. RAZAQ BAMIDELE, in this report examines the obstacles the committee is likely to encounter going by the reports that some PDP governors are bent on frustrating the reconciliation efforts.
Background
When Alhaji Bamanga Tukur assumed office as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he promised to reconcile all the aggrieved members of the party to ensure peace and harmony within the party. In addition to that, he also promised to bring back to its fold, aggrieved members that left the party in annoyance with the aim of building a very big and stronger party. He hoped to achieve success where his predecessors failed as the committee the party currently under his leadership is planning to set up is not the first of its kind that had been set up in the past which had yielded no fruitful result.
Barrier to successful reconciliation
Daily Sun gathered authoritatively that past efforts at reconciling the aggrieved members and bringing in those who left the party in annoyance were in vain due to what observers belief is PDP Governors’ resolve to hold the party by the jugular with a view to having it in their pockets.” By doing so, they intend to frustrate any member considered to be so powerful and popular that can challenge and whittle down their power.
Even as the National Working Committee (NWC), under Bamanga Tukur also plans to embark on a nationwide reconciliation efforts, some state governors and party chieftains are said to be prepared to resist the move with a view to frustrating the committee and preventing it from achieving its goal.
A member of the NWC, who spoke with Daily Sun on condition of anonymity complained that “it is unfortunate that some of our governors are constituting obstacles towards reconciliation that can open up political space in their states by blocking all efforts to bring back members that had left the party.”
A source close to the NWC complained that “the case of Abia State is worrisome,” explaining that “even the State Governor, Theodore Orji, who himself decamped from the Progressive People Alliance (PPA), on which platform he was made governor even while in custody, protested the planned re-admittance of his  former boss, Orji Uzor Kalu into the PDP!”
It would be recalled that last week, Theodore Orji led a delegation to Abuja to protest the planned re-admittance of former governor Orji Uzor Kalu back to the PDP.
Daily Sun gathered that some of the antics of the governors to block notable personalities into the party is that they so pocket the party in their various states that nobody gets registered without their consent. The party, at state level is therefore being run like a cult contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution that guarantee freedom of association.
Freedom of association
While commenting on the development, a chieftain of the PDP and former Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Lekan Balogun frowned at attempts by some governors to narrow the political space describing such as “anti-democracy and against constitutional provision.”
Senator Balogun, who spoke with Daily Sun on phone said “it doesn’t make sense to deny anybody right of association,” stating that “the choice to associate should be personal and nobody is qualify to define it for me.”
While asserting that the cultist antics of the governors would not augur well for the PDP, Chief Balogun cited the case of Orji Uzor Kalu as an example saying “as a popular politician who has followership, his people can bring luck to the party and make it stronger and more formidable.”
In party affairs, Balogun continues, “you don’t need to be my friend to be in the same party with me,” adding that “it is not a criterion to like somebody’s face before you allow him into your party as political party is supposed to be an all inclusive one.”
The Ibadan Oyo State based politician then frowned at what he termed “arbitrary use of power by the governors,” warning that “if not curbed can constitute great danger to the party in 2015.”
Former Governor of Ekiti State and National Vice Chairman of the PDP for South-West, Mr. Olusegun Oni, however denied that some governors are frustrating reconciliation and blocking re-admittance of former members, saying it is the media that has been speculating what is not nearer to the reality on ground.
According to him, all members of the PDP, the governors inclusive “are working towards expansion of the party with a view to making it stronger, much more acceptable  and more formidable.”
He however admitted that “in every human organization, there is always conflict and conflict resolution,” just as he admitted that “the party may not admit aspirants who might want to pocket the party so that the results of the primaries would be known even before the exercise is conducted.”
Oni further advised that “former members, who want to come back should do so in a manner that would not offend those they are coming to meet in the party,” saying “what we desire in the party is peace across all the levels of the party.”
The South-West PDP leader also asserted that “Bamanga Tukur is fully in charge of the party,” insinuating that “only those who would not want to work with us towards the direction of peace and thereby cause unnecessary tension may have problem being with us.”
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Olisa Metu also comes in defense of the governors saying “they are strongly in support of the reconciliation efforts of the PDP.”
In a telephone conversation with Daily Sun, the party spokesman said generalization of the blockade allegation is unfair saying such a blanket accusation is unacceptable.
However, he agreed that there was a design to prevent some former members from coming back to the party. When asked to explain, Metu said any unrepentant member, who has penchant for causing confusion and confrontation.
Though he agrees that there are constitutional provisions for freedom of association, he quickly added that his party also has its own constitution that contains some rules that guide its affairs and operations.
While expressing confidence that the PDP will continue to wax stronger and win election in Nigeria, the party’s image maker informed that “we are not afraid of any opposition,” saying “we even like a virile opposition with which we can engage in intellectual discourse.”
He sees nothing strange or frightening in having a virile opposition which he said “will come out to tell the people its own programme with a view to seeking votes for mandate.”
According to him, with the reformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan administration, PDP will continue to win elections in Nigeria.
Virile opposition
With the suspected cracks in the PDP occasioned by the governors over bearing attitude, political analysts are of the belief that, were it to be in a clime where there is virile opposition, they would have cashed in to send the PDP packing in 2015.
Though the National Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria (AC N), Alhaji Lai Muhammed, declined to “meddle in the PDP internal affairs,” he volunteered that “no political party would close its door against new members.”
He however clarified that “inspite of that, we have to be weary of who to admit,” predicting however, that “PDP days are numbered.”

By CHIMA TITUS NWOKOJI
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has released about $11 million (circa N1.072 billion) to Savannah Bank of Nigeria (SBN), to facilitate its return to the Nigerian financial market. The corporation, in its 2011 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, said it released N450 million to the bank in 2009 plus a balance of N460 million.
It explained that another N162 million belonging to the bank had also been released in 2011. Savannah Bank had its operating licence revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on February 15, 2002 over alleged grave financial condition, which culminated in the total erosion of its capital base and inability to meet statutory obligations to customers and other stakeholders. The bank was also alleged to have failed to comply with other obligations specified by the CBN.
However, following a spirited legal battle by directors of the bank, the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja and presided over by Justice U. M. Abba’aji, on February 5, 2009, ordered that the licence be reinstated to the bank. The Court of Appeal proceeded to prescribe six months within which SBN should capitalize, a deadline that expired in July 2009, without the bank being able to meet the financial requirements to resume operation.
Since then, the Nigerian business community has been looking up to the directors of Savannah Bank to raise a statutory N25 billion needed to operate as a national deposit money bank. Given the constraints that the directors of Savannah Bank are having, raising the minimum capitalization to enable the bank resume business, some observers are of the view that the bank may enter the market as a regional bank, which means that they will need to raise additional N9 billion to add to the N1billion from NDIC to make up the N10 billion needed to operate as a regional bank.
At a recent workshop in Jigawa State, Director, Insurance and Surveillance Department of the NDIC, Mr. Zaccheaous Anete, while assuring depositors of defunct Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria (SGBN) Limited, of safety of their deposits as the bank begins operation soon, said Savannah Bank would follow suit. According to him: “Very soon, Savannah will follow the same process that SGBN followed. The owners have been making frantic efforts, working together with CBN and NDIC to make sure they are back to the system.
“There are a lot of things we do in terms of supervision and resolution that may not be made known to the public. But I want to assure you that depositors in those banks will not lose their money. It is just a matter of time,” he affirmed. For any depositor, Anete said NDIC stands ready to pay. This is because the money the corporation uses is not the money from the assets of the liquidated banks. “The money we are using to pay depositors is the premium contributed by banks into a deposit insurance fund. That money is there but we cannot go against the law.
We are a law abiding institution.” It would be recalled that as part of the strategic plan to re-launch the Savannah Bank brand into the competitive banking market in Nigeria, top management of the bank in December 2011 held a three-day strategy session facilitated by its financial advisers, PriceWater Coopers (PWC) Global network at its Abuja head office annex. Leading the strategy session, Mr. Steve Burke of PWC South Africa and Mr. Ken Igbokwe of Nigeria office, were assertively confident in their presentations that Savannah Bank’s re-entry, given all the efforts and available information, will excel in the core service area being planned.
The NDIC report indicated that the cumulative recovery of assets of closed banks in liquidation had reached about N22.236 billion in 2011 – representing a 2 per cent increase compared to about N21.756 billion recovery made in 2010. A total sum of N13.48 million ($85,558) had also been recovered from closed microfinance banks as at December, 2011, the report shows. While appraising the corporation’s activities in the period under review, Managing Director/Chief Executive, NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, said the commission commenced payment of insured deposits to the depositors of Triumph and Fortune Banks) which were closed in 2006.
He stated that about N26 million ($165,027) out of N804.35 million ($5.1 million) had been paid to 656 depositors of Fortune Bank in-liquidation while about N1.6 million ($10,155) out of N45.36 million ($287,908) had been paid to 35 depositors of Triumph Bank in-liquidation as at December 2011. According to the NDIC boss: “The NDIC had in the last one year recorded notable achievements in the protection of depositors and promotion of safe, sound and stable banking system in Nigeria.” Ibrahim said: “It is heartwarming to indicate that during the year under review, 3 additional banks in-liquidation, namely: Co-operative and Commerce Bank, Commercial Trust Bank and Ivory Merchant Bank, had declared a final dividend of 100 percent of total deposits.
With that development, 14 of the 34 liquidated banks, prior to 2006, had declared a final dividend of 100 per cent of total deposits, indicating that all their depositors would fully recover their deposits trapped in the banks.” Meanwhile the corporation enhanced the pace of debt recovery as well as payment of uninsured deposits by appointing a number of debt recovery agents and offering for purchase 13 eligible bank assets with total book value of 3.85 billion naira ($24.4 million) to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to boost recovery and facilitate payment last year.

Savannah Bank gets NDIC’s $11m support to resume operations

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has released about $11 million (circa N1.072 billion) to Savannah Bank of Nigeria (SBN), to facilitate its return to the Nigerian financial market. The corporation, in its 2011 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, said it released N450 million to the bank in 2009 plus a balance of N460 million.
It explained that another N162 million belonging to the bank had also been released in 2011. Savannah Bank had its operating licence revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on February 15, 2002 over alleged grave financial condition, which culminated in the total erosion of its capital base and inability to meet statutory obligations to customers and other stakeholders. The bank was also alleged to have failed to comply with other obligations specified by the CBN.
However, following a spirited legal battle by directors of the bank, the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja and presided over by Justice U. M. Abba’aji, on February 5, 2009, ordered that the licence be reinstated to the bank. The Court of Appeal proceeded to prescribe six months within which SBN should capitalize, a deadline that expired in July 2009, without the bank being able to meet the financial requirements to resume operation.
Since then, the Nigerian business community has been looking up to the directors of Savannah Bank to raise a statutory N25 billion needed to operate as a national deposit money bank. Given the constraints that the directors of Savannah Bank are having, raising the minimum capitalization to enable the bank resume business, some observers are of the view that the bank may enter the market as a regional bank, which means that they will need to raise additional N9 billion to add to the N1billion from NDIC to make up the N10 billion needed to operate as a regional bank.
At a recent workshop in Jigawa State, Director, Insurance and Surveillance Department of the NDIC, Mr. Zaccheaous Anete, while assuring depositors of defunct Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria (SGBN) Limited, of safety of their deposits as the bank begins operation soon, said Savannah Bank would follow suit. According to him: “Very soon, Savannah will follow the same process that SGBN followed. The owners have been making frantic efforts, working together with CBN and NDIC to make sure they are back to the system.
“There are a lot of things we do in terms of supervision and resolution that may not be made known to the public. But I want to assure you that depositors in those banks will not lose their money. It is just a matter of time,” he affirmed. For any depositor, Anete said NDIC stands ready to pay. This is because the money the corporation uses is not the money from the assets of the liquidated banks. “The money we are using to pay depositors is the premium contributed by banks into a deposit insurance fund. That money is there but we cannot go against the law.
We are a law abiding institution.” It would be recalled that as part of the strategic plan to re-launch the Savannah Bank brand into the competitive banking market in Nigeria, top management of the bank in December 2011 held a three-day strategy session facilitated by its financial advisers, PriceWater Coopers (PWC) Global network at its Abuja head office annex. Leading the strategy session, Mr. Steve Burke of PWC South Africa and Mr. Ken Igbokwe of Nigeria office, were assertively confident in their presentations that Savannah Bank’s re-entry, given all the efforts and available information, will excel in the core service area being planned.
The NDIC report indicated that the cumulative recovery of assets of closed banks in liquidation had reached about N22.236 billion in 2011 – representing a 2 per cent increase compared to about N21.756 billion recovery made in 2010. A total sum of N13.48 million ($85,558) had also been recovered from closed microfinance banks as at December, 2011, the report shows. While appraising the corporation’s activities in the period under review, Managing Director/Chief Executive, NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, said the commission commenced payment of insured deposits to the depositors of Triumph and Fortune Banks) which were closed in 2006.
He stated that about N26 million ($165,027) out of N804.35 million ($5.1 million) had been paid to 656 depositors of Fortune Bank in-liquidation while about N1.6 million ($10,155) out of N45.36 million ($287,908) had been paid to 35 depositors of Triumph Bank in-liquidation as at December 2011. According to the NDIC boss: “The NDIC had in the last one year recorded notable achievements in the protection of depositors and promotion of safe, sound and stable banking system in Nigeria.” Ibrahim said: “It is heartwarming to indicate that during the year under review, 3 additional banks in-liquidation, namely: Co-operative and Commerce Bank, Commercial Trust Bank and Ivory Merchant Bank, had declared a final dividend of 100 percent of total deposits.
With that development, 14 of the 34 liquidated banks, prior to 2006, had declared a final dividend of 100 per cent of total deposits, indicating that all their depositors would fully recover their deposits trapped in the banks.” Meanwhile the corporation enhanced the pace of debt recovery as well as payment of uninsured deposits by appointing a number of debt recovery agents and offering for purchase 13 eligible bank assets with total book value of 3.85 billion naira ($24.4 million) to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to boost recovery and facilitate payment last year.

Anambra hockey team turns begger

•Sends SOS to Gov Obi

It was, indeed, a different stroke for a different folk at the ongoing 18th  National Sports Festival, tagged: EKO 2012 as some states have enough facilites to boost their morale, while other are finding things tough. Daily Sunsports observed yesterday that some states are having a swell time, going into their events  with high spirit, while others are demoralised for lacking essential equipment.
The Anambra State female hockey team was literally turned to running from pillar to post in search of equipment to play its matches. The team which lost 1-0 to Kadunna State yesterday afternoon had to borrow and rent kits from Team Delta to enable it honour the game against Kaduna.
They rented goal keeper’s kit and 8 hockey sticks from Delta at the rate of N15,000 per day. Anambra State women hockey team’s Captain, Chizoba Obako , lamented that the state Commissioner for Sports, Dr. Aroh,  had shown apathy to their plight; a fact that has affected the entire team psycologically. Obako cried that it was a humiliating experience and  a big shame that athletes from Anambra had to resort to begging and renting eqiupment and kits  on their own to represent their state.
The captain pointed out that that the pathetic situation had adversely affected their abilty to win   matches as witnessed in the game against Kaduna. According to Obako, the players and the goal keeper could not train with the borrowed kits before they were called in for the game. The team collectively called on the Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi to wade into the matter and rescue them from their plight.

Traffic Law: Fashola nabs police officer riding okada

By OLUWOLE FAROTIMI
The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola yesterday arrested a police officer, identified as Ebahan Johnson, who violated the new traffic law by riding his 100 CC commercial motorcycle popularly called Okada on the Agege Motor Road, Ikeja. The governor accosted the police officer on the expressway during an inspection tour of ongoing projects in the Lagos-West Senatorial District of the state, while riding a red Bajaj motorcycle.
The officer who resisted arrest earlier, succumbed when he realised that he was accosted by the governor, who had warned that Okada should not ply the express road with a motorcycle with such capacity and without helmet. Fashola on the arrest said: “There is no one that is above the law. If anyone cannot submit itself to the law of the state, then that person should please leave the state.” He warned that the state government would not condone violation of the road traffic law of the state, which was signed into law to bring sanity back to road transportation.
He said: “There is no society where laws are not broken, but the state government will increase its enforcement for residents to comply with. And as we move on the road and we see any one violating the law, we will stop and arrest them.” On the officer, the governor stated that the officer would be handed over to the Commissioner of Police, Umar Mankko for proper prosecution.
“I am sure he would be prosecuted,” Fashola stated. Meanwhile, hundreds of traders of Katangowa, Agbado-Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area, (LCDA),urged the state government to halt its plan to relocate the market for the construction of the new Lagos State Digital Village presently located in Ikeja Area of Lagos.

Kissing Your Wife In Public In Dubai Can Land You In Jail

When you are in a foreign land, respect their idiosyncrasies and of course their law. How many Nigerians for instance know that you can go to jail for one month if you pucker up to your wife in a restaurant in Dubai? Yeah, that’s right.


So, imagine what will happen if you are caught pants down with a member of the opposite sex in a public place. You are asking for it.


A British woman and Irish man recently accused of engaging in intimate activities in a Dubai taxi have now been sent to jail for three months after which they will be deported.


Rebecca Blake and Conor McRedmond both denied charges of "breach of honour with consent" and committing "an indecent act in a taxi" when they appeared in court last month. They also pleaded guilty to a third charge related to consumption of alcohol in public.


"The court sentenced them to jail for three months and deportation in addition to a fine of 3000 dirhams (R7300) each," their lawyer Shaker al-Shammary said.


Granted that United Arab Emirates is the most liberal of the seven-member UAE federation; granted it wants to be seen as a tourist haven and throws its doors open to all and sundry; still, the country frowns on acts that fly in the face of their Muslim identity.

So, brothers and sisters, be careful.

Banker’s stepmother ruined my son’s marriage – Akolade’s father

Akolade and Titilayo
| credits: File copy

Mudashiru Arowolo, father of 31-year-old Akolade Arowolo, who allegedly killed his banker-wife, Titilayo, lamented before an Ikeja High Court that Titilayo’s stepmother, Adetoun Oyakhire, caused bitter enmity between the couple.

Mudashiru, a trader who testified as the first defence witness on Thursday, said Adetoun’s undue interference led to a series of quarrels by the couple.

Mudashiru, while being led in evidence by the defence lawyer, Olanrewaju Ajanaku, said though the couple always engaged in heated arguments, he had neither seen nor heard that Akolade physically assaulted Titilayo.

He said, “He was never a violent man. They became married on October 4, 2008 after she (Titilayo) got pregnant for my son. They only courted for barely two and half months before the wedding.

“But they were always having quarrels. The first of such quarrels known to me was when Titilayo requested for N500,000 to buy baby things but Akolade insisted on giving her N100,000.

“But, I was shocked when Titilayo gave birth and Adetoun was requesting for the placenta of the baby. Both of them quarrelled on this and when the medical doctor used his discretion and gave the placenta to Akolade, Titilayo chose to return to her parents’ home when she was discharged from hospital.”

He told the court that Adetoun also took Titilayo to a hospital sometimes in December 2010 and made her have an abortion without Akolade’s consent.

He said, “It was discovered that Titilayo was emaciating and when we sought to know what was happening she said she had an abortion on the instruction of her stepmother.

“She said she also did family planning in which her womb was tied. She broke down and told me it was as if she was hypnotised because she doesn’t know why she always obey all her (Adetoun’s) orders.”

Mudashiru added that he was surprised when he learnt that Titilayo was found dead in his son’s residence.

He said, “Titilayo was always in the habit of leaving the house in anger whenever he and his husband had quarrels. He packed out of my son’s house in January 2011.

“She refused to return when I didn’t go to beg her parents as I used to do in time past. I was shocked to find her dead in his house on June 24, 2011.”

Mudashiru faulted earlier claims by the pathologist that the deceased had over 76 stab wounds, saying, “There might be manipulations.  I saw her corpse on the bed after we forced the door open and when I looked at her, I observed three wounds on her body.”

He described his daughter-in-law as a violent lady, adding that he had overheard her saying to her husband, “I will kill you and I will kill myself too.”

Mudashiru, while being cross-examined by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs. Olabisi Ogungbesan, admitted that he made statement at the State Criminal Investigation Department that he “didn’t know why Akolade decided to kill his wife.”

Ogungbesan tendered the copy of the statement and it was marked by the court as exhibit B1.

However, while being re-examined, Mudashiru said he made the statement because the “Investigating Police Officer asked him to write it like that.”

Mudashiru also denied knowledge that Akolade was suspended at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Gbagada, for wife battering and womanising.

After Mudashiru concluded his testimony, Justice Lateefa Okunnu, adjourned till December 4 for continuation of defence.

Buhari loses 40-year-old daugther to sickle cell

Zulai

Zulai, the first daughter of former  Head of State and a former presidential candidate, Maj-Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), is dead.

She died on  Thursday evening after delivering a baby in Nasara Hospital,Marafa Estate in Kaduna.

Nigerians only got to know the 40-year-old lady after her death.

Zulaiha, who was  born on December 5, 1972, studied at the Department of Economics Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

She left behind Amira, Moh’d and the two-day-old  baby girl.

The former Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nasir el-rufai, said, “May the soul of Zulaihatu, the eldest daughter of General Muhammadu Buhari, rest in perfect peace.”

The spokesman for the Congress for Progressive Change, Rotimi Fashakin, described the death as sad.

Delta Tourism Commissioner, Mofe Damijo And Acting Tourism GM Accused Of Embezzling N50 Million

Delta State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Richard Mofe Damijo (popularly called RMD) and the acting General Manager of the state’s Tourism Board, Philo Nkem Ajufo, have allegedly embezzled N50 million belonging to the ministry.

Several sources in Delta State, including two employees of the Culture Ministry, told our reporter that a former commissioner in the Ministry had requested N50 million to organize the “Delta State Expo 2007.” However, the state government was unable to release the funds that particular year to sponsor the yearly event.

By some bizarre twist, the funds were finally released to the ministry’s tourism account in May, 2012. “As soon as the money arrived, the commissioner said that the ministry could no longer hold the event since six years had elapsed,” said a source within the ministry. “The Honorable Commissioners also argued that Deltans would have forgotten about the event – and therefore the money should not be used for the purpose it was released.”


However, our reporter obtained documents from the Delta State Ministry of Finance stipulating that the N50 million must be spent on the event for which the Culture Ministry applied for it. The warrant was signed by one P.O. Evuojapha on behalf of the Commissioner of Finance. The warrant indicated that N35 million of the funds was to go to the Tourism Board.

Our sources disclosed that Mr. Damijo, a former popular Nollywood actor turned politician, connived to issue a check of N35 million in the name of Ms. Ajufo who reportedly deposited the sum into her First Bank private account number 3006131619. “Mrs. Ajufo and RMD then shared the money,” one of our sources asserted.

Another government source told SaharaReporters, “It is very obvious that the manner the check was issued in the name of the board GM instead of in the name of the board was fraudulent. It portrays an element of fraud.”

Several of our sources depicted Ms. Ajufo as somebody versed in the art of warming up to top politicians in the state and getting her way.

Two sources said Ms. Ajufo used her share of the looted funds to start off a twin duplex building located at No.6 Dunkwu Crescent in Asaba, the state capital. The building is behind Junior Staff quarters and near a Redeemed Christian Church. One source said Ms. Ajufo had started the project in June, 2012.

A source close to Ms. Ajufo told SaharaReporters that the head of the tourism board had denied receiving any of the embezzled funds. “She accused Mr. Mofe Damijo of carting away the whole sum of N50 million even when her account was used to commit the fraud,” said the source.

Meanwhile, Ms. Ajufo’s staff have reportedly lost all patience with her manner of running the board. “The acting GM is very, very corrupt,” said a staffer. “As we talk, apart from her official car, the Tourism Board cannot boast of a single functional car. All the board’s cars are grounded. And in this era of technology, there is no single working computer apart from one in her office – which she doesn’t use. Her office is entitled to N1 million subventions every month, but as soon as the money comes the commissioner and the GM share most of it. The left over is never properly used by the GM.”

A source who was on the GM’s entourage to the Akwaba Festival in Lagos last October told SaharaReporters that Ms. Ajufo embezzled some funds meant to secure an exhibition stand at the festival. “The GM collected N500, 000 from the government to procure an exhibition stand for Delta State at the Akwaba Festival held in Lagos in October, 2012. Instead, she pocked the sum of N300, 000 and went for an ordinary table stand which cost her N200, 000 only. She is the most corrupt of all the GMs we have ever worked with in that board. She runs fraudulent deals with the commissioner and they have both amassed wealth for themselves to the detriment of the people of Delta State.”

When a reporter sent a text to Ms. Ajufo, the embattled GM wrote back, “Please, speak with the Honorable Commissioner for Culture and Tourism. Thank you.”
Contacted by phone, Mr. Damijo denied all the allegations, insisting that no such money was released to his ministry at any time. “That matter is a dead matter,” he said. “There was no N50 million released to my ministry.” I run the Ministry with people, the Permanent Secretary and other directors.” 

source: saharareporters

VIDEO: EME ft. Banky W, Wizkid, Skales, Niyola, ShayDee – Change

This is the 7th video off the #EMEAlbum.. the "Empire Mates State of Mind". Released in 2012, the album has churned out hit song after hit song, and epic video after epic video. Directed by Clarence Peters, the video features each member of EME speaking their minds, and it also features footage from some of the incidents that occurred in Nigeria in 2012. The video for "Change" sets the tone for the much larger and more in-depth Documentary "#Dream4Naija" which was directed by Ray McNally of MTA, and funded by IRI and USAID. The documentary (which will be aired on TV Stations across Africa and online on youtube) also seeks to inspire young Nigerians and Africans to get involved and be a part of the change they seek.

Hope you are inspired by watching the clip. Change is inevitable. Be a part of the change, or get changed yourself.

DOWNLOAD VIDEO TO MOBILE

World Premiere: LYNXXX – Eziokwu ft. Ikechukwu, iLLBliss & Phyno

“After a successful run with the commercial hit single ‘Fine Lady’ with the video heading to a million views in just over 8 weeks, Lynxxx is ready to show the world his other side with this Igbo Street Anthem titled Eziokwu which features Industry eastern Heavyweights Ikechukwu, IllBliss and Phyno-fino

The Sarz produced single shows all artists exhibiting lyrical word play at its best and highlights Lynxxx in a totally unexpected element from his usual commercial sound.

The video is about to be shot and should be out in a few weeks. Lynxxx is just getting started.”

Download Here

Messi, C Ronaldo & Iniesta nominated for 2012 Fifa Ballon d'Or

FIFA has revealed the names of the three players who remain in the race to win the World Footballer of the Year award 2012. They are Andres Iniesta (Spain, FC Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Read Madrid)

The winner will be revealed at the FIFA Ballon d’Or gala as part of a televised show at the Zurich Kongresshaus on 7 January 2013. Who do you think should win this year?

Nigerian In UK Rapes 11-Year-Old Girl For 3 Hours Inside Bush

An 18-year-old is to appear in court charged with the rapë of an 11-year-old girl who he attacked on Friday, November 23 at around 4.30pm in Enfield, north London, as she walked home from school.

She was dragged into nearby Jubilee Park and rapëd in an ordeal that police said could have lasted as long as three hours.

The girl, who was wearing her school uniform returned home at around 8pm and was taken to hospital.

She had to undergo surgery for injuries sustained in the attack.

Detective Inspector Simon Ellershaw said it was "a horrific and unusual attack of a defenceless schoolgirl".

She had been making her way home along her usual route, one of Enfield's busiest shortcuts, at the beginning of the Friday afternoon rush hour when she was grabbed.

Police have appealed for witnesses and Det Insp Ellershaw said: "Given the significant and unaccounted for amount of time between the incident and the victim's arrival home, we are particularly keen to speak to anyone who may have seen her possibly appearing confused or disheveled following her ordeal.

All calls will be treated in the utmost confidence."

Opemipo Jaji, 18, has been charged with rape and attempted rape and will appear at Enfield Magistrates' Court later.

Witnesses or anyone with information that could help police is asked to call the incident room on 0208 345 4326 or Crime-stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Traffic Law: Fashola Arrests Police Officer Riding Okada

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola yesterday arrested a police officer, identified as Ebahan Johnson, who violated the new traffic law by riding his 100 CC commercial motorcycle popularly called Okada on the Agege Motor Road, Ikeja.
The governor accosted the police officer on the expressway during an inspection tour of ongoing projects in the Lagos-West Senatorial District of the state, while riding a red Bajaj motorcycle.
The officer who resisted arrest earlier, succumbed when he realised that he was accosted by the governor, who had warned that Okada should not ply the express road with a motorcycle with such capacity and without helmet. Fashola on the arrest said: “There is no one that is above the law. If anyone cannot submit itself to the law of the state, then that person should please leave the state.” He warned that the state government would not condone violation of the road traffic law of the state, which was signed into law to bring sanity back to road transportation.
He said: “There is no society where laws are not broken, but the state government will increase its enforcement for residents to comply with. And as we move on the road and we see any one violating the law, we will stop and arrest them.” On the officer, the governor stated that the officer would be handed over to the Commissioner of Police, Umar Mankko for proper prosecution.
“I am sure he would be prosecuted,” Fashola stated. Meanwhile, hundreds of traders of Katangowa, Agbado-Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area, (LCDA),urged the state government to halt its plan to relocate the market for the construction of the new Lagos State Digital Village presently located in Ikeja Area of Lagos.

Man Jailed For 7 Years For Having Sex With Daughter

An Oredo Magistrate Court in Benin yesterday sentenced a 47-year-old man, Godwin Allu, to seven years imprisonment with hard labour for having sex with his daughter.
The accused who pleaded guilty to the one-count charge of having unlawful carnal knowledge of his 12-year-old daughter, Blessing, was said to have committed an offense punishable under Section 218 of the Criminal Code Cap. 48 Vol. II of the defunct Bendel State of Nigeria, 1976 as applicable in Edo State.
Prosecuting counsel, Miss. Loretta Asaka, told the court that on November 20, 2012, one Mrs. Verlaine Enemaku reported the case at the charge room of the Central Juvenile Welfare Centre of the Nigeria Police in Benin, after being told by the Headmistress of Obaseki Primary School, Benin, that blood stains were discovered on the victim’s uniform.
The complainant said upon interrogation, the victim told the head mistress that her father had sex with her three times on different occasions. It was gathered that the victim, who was admitted and treated at the Benin Central Hospital was later discharged and taken to an orphanage.
Delivering judgment in the case, Chief Magistrate Peter Asemota, who expressed gladness that the accused voluntarily pleaded guilty to the crime, pronounced him guilty as charged.
Asemota, who observed that cases of sexual offenses were on the increase in her jurisdiction, said it was necessary for the court to join other stakeholders in taking a serious stand against the vice.
“For this reason, the convict must be put out of circulation for sometime so that he would not be able to continue with his bestial activities,” the magistrate said.
The court thereafter sentenced the accused to seven years imprisonment with hard labour and no option of fine.

6 Suspects Arraigned, Remanded In Prison

Six accused persons including a 60-year old community leader alleged to have masterminded the killing of three NNPC officials trying to repair vandalised oil pipeline at Arepo, Ogun State, were this morning arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos.
The two prosecuting police officers, ACP Friday Ibadin with ASP Justin Enang in a seven-count criminal charge number FHC/L/366c/12, alleged that the six accused persons, in Inerepamu Ijebu Joel, 25; John Aye Isaiah, 28; Ineye Okposa, 40; Jimi Gunugunu, 22; Saheed Olisa Mudasiru, 25 and the community leader, Oluwole Posibi Reuben, 60 on 5 September, 2012 at Arepo near Ikorodu, Lagos State, conspired to commit felony, to wit, tampering with oil pipeline. It was further alleged that the accused persons and others now at large on the same date, time and place maliciously damaged NNPC pipeline for the transportation of refined oil without lawful authority or appropriate licence.
They were also accused of the unlawful killing of Engineer O.A.U Agbaku, Ernest Ngene and Ikechukwu Ikenem by shooting them with pump action gun.
The prosecuting counsel stated that the offence allegedly committed by the six accused persons are contrary to and punishable under Section 3 (b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap. N17, Laws of the Federation,  2004. The offences are punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code, Cap.C. 38, Laws of the Federation, 2012.
After their arraignment, the prosecuting counsel, ACP Ibadin asked the court for adjournment to allow the accused persons get in touch with their counsel since they had no legal representation.
The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, granted the request and adjourned till 18 December, 2012. He ordered that the accused persons be remanded in prison custody until the next adjourned date.