Star Musician, Shakira is Expecting Barcelona Football Club Star, Pique's Baby

Colombian pop star Shakira, 35, confirmed yesterday Wednesday September 19th that she and her Spanish football player boyfriend, Gerard Pique, 25, are expecting their first child
"As some of you may know, Gerard and I are very happy awaiting the arrival of our first baby!" Shakira said in a statement on her website. "At this time, we have decided to give priority to this unique moment in our lives and postpone all the promotional activities planned over the next few days."

PHOTO: Is Rihanna A Lesbian?

Super star Rihanna is caught on camera grabbing a female partners boobs with her eyes shut? What could this mean?

Riots and $1.3 million Damages as Girl's 16th Birthday Facebook Invitation Turns Viral

Rioting in a sleepy Dutch town after a Facebook party invitation went viral led to 34 arrests, dozens of injured and a bill for damages, which insurers said Saturday could top a million euros.

After a night of violence when police officers were pelted with stones, bottles, tubs of flowers and even bicycles, local officials lined up to denounce those responsible and promise they would be brought to justice.

The estimate of "at least" a million euros ($1.3 million) by the Dutch Association of Insurers (Verbond van Verzekeraars) was part of the fall-out from Friday night's clashes in the northern town of Haren.

Insurers "would do everything" to ensure the guilty parties contributed to covering the cost of the wreckage, echoing earlier remarks by the justice minister, the association said, Dutch news agency ANP reported.

Their association backed a statement released earlier by Dutch Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten.

"This cannot be tolerated," said the minister.

"The authors of these acts will be judged, punished and should pay for the damage done," he added, ANP reported.

Local police chief Oscar Drots, speaking at a news conference aired on public television, said all 34 people arrested would be charged with public disturbance.

Officers had also taken photos of the clashes, he added, which left open the possibility of further arrests.

"An innocent call on Facebook to party led to riots, destruction, looting, fires and injuries in the centre of the town," Haren mayor Rob Bats said at the same press conference.

The unrest had meant that 500 police officers had to be called to the scene, he added.

Twenty-nine people, including three officers, were injured during the clashes, but no one was seriously hurt, according to Dutch news reports.

Police had been on high alert after the birthday girl posted a message inviting friends to her 16th birthday party on Friday -- but forgot to mark it as a private event. That prompted more than 20,000 replies.

Several websites quickly sprang up dedicated to the party, with one publishing the girl's address and adding, "By all means bring some friends!"

Local officials said between 3,000 and 5,000 people had turned up in the small town, which is home to only 18,000 residents.

Officials had prepared for trouble by blocking access to the girl's street, banning alcohol consumption near her home and having the teenager herself quit the premises.

But riot police had to intervene when a couple of hundred drunken youths tried to get into the street.

After pelting the police with missiles as they tried to force their way into the street, groups of rioters moved on to the centre of the town where they wrecked cars, fencing, street lamps and signs.

Some of the party-goers wore T-shirts bearing the words "Project X Haren," an allusion to the 2012 US teen film "Project X" -- about a suburban birthday party that gets out of control after an invitation goes viral.

Previous "Project X" parties have run riot in different parts of the world including Germany, Australia and especially the United States, where teens wrecked an unoccupied Texas home, causing damage of up to $100,000.

Boko Haram: Yobe State Imposes Curfew, Conducts Door to Search

Soldiers of the task force in Nigeria’s Yobe state have conducted door-to-door searches in Damaturu, capital of Yobe and Potiskum, following repeated and bloody attacks by elements of the Boko Haram. The authorities have also imposed a dusk to dawn curfew on the towns.

Yobe state police commissioner Patrick Egbuniwe said the curfews Saturday affected the cities of Damaturu and Potiskum, both frequent targets by the sect known as Boko Haram.
Egbuniwe said he didn’t know when the curfew would be lifted, as the military hopes to flush out Boko Haram gunmen living in neighborhoods in the two cities.

Boko Haram has waged a bloody fight against Nigeria’s central government and has been blamed for killing more than 680 people this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.
Officials have blamed the sect for an attack Thursday night on a pediatric hospital in Maiduguri that killed an intern.

Nigerian Army Commissions Dog Center

The Nigerian Army has stepped up its efforts to curb the series of terrorist attacks in the country, with the commissioning of a dog center in Ipaja area of Lagos state.

The dogs are to assist officers in explosives and narcotics detection, tracking and guard duties.

And to ensure the effective use of the acquired dogs, 40 officers and soldiers of the Nigerian army have been trained on dog handling techniques in some of the best canine institutes in the world.

While another batch of 25 are currently undergoing training in the United States.

Australian Catholic Church Admits 620 Children were Sexually Abused

The Catholic Church in one Australian state has revealed that at least 620 children have been abused by its clergy since the 1930s, sparking a fresh call Saturday for an independent inquiry.
The Catholic Church in Victoria revealed the number in a submission to a state parliamentary hearing on Friday but said the instances of abuse reported had fallen dramatically from the “appalling” numbers of the 1960s and 1970s.
“It is shameful and shocking that this abuse, with its dramatic impact on those who were abused and their families, was committed by Catholic priests, religious and church workers,” Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart said.
The full submission was not released publicly but the church said most of the 620 claims it had upheld over the last 16 years related to incidents 30 to 80 years ago, with very few related to abuse that has taken place since 1990.
Hart said the church had taken steps to redress the issue, including a programme implemented in the 1990s involving an independent investigation, an ongoing programme of counselling and support, and compensation.
“This submission shows how the church of today is committed to facing up to the truth and to not disguising, diminishing or avoiding the actions of those who have betrayed a sacred trust,” he said.
But victims’ supporters say the number of children abused was likely much higher than that confirmed by the church in its own inquiries.
President of the Law Institute of Victoria, Michael Holcroft, said there was a need for more independent investigations.
“Obviously there’s a public perception that the church investigating the church is Caesar judging Caesar and I think that the community is now looking for somebody external, someone independent to get to the bottom of what’s obviously been a big problem for a long, long time,” he told the ABC.
The Victorian state government announced the inquiry into the handling of child abuse cases by religious and non-government bodies after the suicides of dozens of people abused by clergy.
Last year Pope Benedict XVI told Australian bishops that their work had been made more difficult by the clerical sex abuse scandal which has rocked the church as he exhorted them to “repair the errors of the past with honesty”.
The pontiff met victims of abuse when he travelled to Sydney in 2008.

Otedola, Dantata Lead the pack of Nigeria's Worst Bank Debtors Blacklisted By CBN

With a humongous loan portfolio of $1.2 billion, Femi Otedola, President Goodluck Jonathan’s business friend is the biggest danger to Nigeria’s banking system. And the Central bank of Nigeria has warned banks to steer clear of him and his business. He is toxic, the CBN seemed to say in a statement.
The $1.2 billion(N192 billion) is owed by Otedola’s Zenon Petroleum & Gas Ltd, with the debt passed on to Asset Management Company of Nigeria, set up to mop up toxic debts from the bank’s books.
The Central Bank has also barred the nation’s top two airlines from receiving any additional loans over their massive outstanding debts. Two state governments, Cross Rivers and Zamfara are also in the black book.
Arik Air Ltd., the nation’s top carrier which indefinitely halted its domestic flights Thursday claiming that the nation’s aviation minister wanted to destroy the company for her personal profit, owes the state-run Asset Management Corp. of Nigeria more than $534 million, according to information released by the Central Bank.

Aero Contractors Co. of Nigeria Ltd., the airline of choice for many of the foreign oil companies working in Nigeria, owes more than $203 million to the state-run company, according to the Central Bank.
Ugo A. Okoroafor, the Central Bank spokesman, told The Associated Press on Friday any bank that gave companies or individuals on the list loans would face serious fines from the government. While acknowledging the struggles of the airline industry, the spokesman said the bank could not allow massive debts to pile up on the nation’s banks and threaten the financial market.
“Adverse consequences exist for people who take part in such unhealthy acts,” Okoroafor said.
Simon Tumba, a spokesman for Aero Contractors, declined to immediately comment Friday. Arik Air spokesman Adebanji Ola said the airline “was not in receipt of that particular” order by the Central Bank and declined to comment further.

The list of bad debtors barred from bank loans, also includes other top members of Nigeria’s business elite, who regularly have access to and patronage of top politicians in the oil-rich nation.
Jimoh Ibrahim, who ran carrier Air Nigeria until the company recently collapsed owing staff four months’ pay, owes the state-run company $175 million for loans to his company Nicon Investments Ltd.
The blacklisted companies included those owned by Alhaji Sayyu Dantata, Dr. Wale Babalakin, Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, Mrs Elizabeth Ebi, and former Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji.
The CBN circular titled Prohibition of New Credit Facilities To Debtors of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), said the exposure has to be made as the debtors “failed to repay their loans to banks and had those loans subsequently transferred to AMCON.”
“In the initial instance, this restrictions shall apply to individuals, organisations, companies as well as principal shareholders and directors of companies where the outstanding value of loans purchased by AMCON amounted to N5 billion or above as at the day of purchase, without regard to the actual amount paid by AMCON,” the circular, signed by CBN’s Director, Banking Supervision, Mrs. A. O. Martins, stated.

The breakdown of the bad debts: MRS Holdings Limited, owned by Dantata (N119.98bn); Seawolf Limited (N98.32bn); Arik Air Limited, owned by Arumemi-Ikhide (N85.481bn); NITEL Plc/M-Tel (N71.547bn); and Capital Oil and Gas Limited, owned by Ifeanyi Ubah (N48.014 billion).
Falcon Securities (N162.9bn); Rockson Engineering Limited, also owned by Arumemi-Ikhide (N60.475bn); BGL Securities (N6.44bn); Rahamaniyya Oil & Gas Limited (N46.38bn); Bi-Courtney Limited (N20.214bn); Geometrics Engineering, owned by Bart Nnaji (N19.76bn); Aero Contractors Company, belonging to the family of Olorogun Michael Ibru (N32.579bn); and Tinapa Business Resort (N18.509bn).
Nestoil Limited, owned by Ernest Azudialu (N13.506bn); Dorman Long Engineering (N9.667bn); Ascott Offshore Nig. Ltd, owned by ex-banker, Henry Imasekha and the Berkley Group (N64.728bn); Gitto Constuzioni owned by the late Italian road builder(N11.838bn); and Dansa Foods (N14.880bn) whose directorsaer Sani and Abdul Dangote, brothers of billionaire business magnate, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
“Deposit Money Banks are prohibited from approving or disbursing any new credit facilities to all persons and organisations on this list with effect of the date of this circular, until full liquidation of agreed indebtedness to AMCON,” the circular added.

Commercial banks were also prohibited from granting further credit to Cross River State and Zamfara State owing to the refusal of the Tinapa Business Resort and the accountant general of the Zanfara State Ministry of Finance to pay back their respective loans.
As proof of its determination to ensure compliance, CBN warned that “any DMB that is in breach of these guidelines shall be required to make an immediate provision of 100 per cent of total principal and interest outstanding in the account of the customer and related parties, in addition to whatever regulatory penalties the Central Bank of Nigeria may decide to impose.”

PHOTO: Desperate House Wives Star Eva Longoria Shows off Bum

Eva Longoria shows off her perfectly toned posterior in an arty photograph for the new book Asleep at the Chateau

Horror: 25 Year Old Man Has His leg bitten Off by a TIGER at Bronx zoo after leaping into Den

A man who was viciously mauled by a tiger after leaping into the animal's den at the Bronx Zoo in an apparent suicide attempt this afternoon has had his leg amputated.
The 25-year-old man is in critical condition after being badly mauled by Katharina, an Amur tiger. It is believed she was particularly vicious because she has recently given birth to cubs.
He also had his back bitten, where a fang punctured his lung, and had his body clawed.
The man jumped from an elevated area over two fences to reach the enclosure, police said.
However, earlier reports suggested man was riding the zoo’s monorail when he jumped out of his seat as the train passed over the tiger’s den.
Zoo officials immediately ran into the den and restrained the tiger while the injured man was rescued.
Officials had to capture the tiger before they could tend to the man. Workers used fire extinguishers to scare off the beast and were then instructed the man to roll under a hot wire to safety, Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny said in a statement.
The keepers then called the tiger into its exhibit holding area and secured him there, Breheny said.
He reportedly told his rescuers that he had jumped into the den on purpose because he ‘wanted to die’, reported NBC news.
The incident happened around 3.30pm and the man was treated by EMTs before being taken to Jacobi Medical Center in critical condition.
A witness tweeted, 'Someone jumped the gate at the bronx zoo n got maulled by a tiger now in jacobi ER.#lmfao.' [sic]
Initial reports suggest that the man may be emotionally disturbed. The three-acre habitat at the zoo holds eight tigers.
Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, are the largest of the big cats and can weigh up to 674 pounds.
Although rare, deadly animal attacks in zoos across the country have happened before.
In 1985, Robin Silverman, a  24-year-old zookeeper, was killed when she was attacked by two Siberian tigers at the Bronx Zoo while trying to clean their cage.
On Christmas Day 2007 a man was killed at the San Francisco Zoo, when a 300-pound tiger named Tatiana escaped her cage.
In 1987 an 11-year-old boy was killed by a polar bear at the Prospect Park Zoo after climbing into its enclosure when the zoo was closed.

Study Reveals Men Lie More than Women

Men are more likely to lie than women, a survey has revealed.

The average man tells 3 lies a day – or a whopping 1,092 a year, whereas women in comparison fib just twice a day or 728 times a year, the Daily Express reported.

But a role reversal happens when it comes to hiding new

clothes from a partner, in that situation, 39 percent of women feel the need to lie about their latest wardrobe additions, compared to just 26 percent of men.
Women are also most likely to pretend to be busy to avoid a phone call, 50 percent admit to this opposed to just over a 33.33 percent of men, the research by BMW Financial Services revealed.

But although lying causes a moral dilemma, Karen Pine, Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, says it is an essential trait in mankind.

“We think lying is bad, but actually the ability to deceive others has helped humans survive as a species. Our primitive ancestors had to compete for resources and would have needed to be deceitful to outwit their enemies,” she said.

“Everybody lies, but we have to know when it’s OK to do it and when not. It might be OK to say you like your friend’s new hairdo when you don’t really, because the fib could be good for the friendship. But telling lies to escape from life’s difficulties can cause harm and will have long-term consequences. In some people it could even lead to compulsive behaviour, as one untruth has to be kept going with more lies.
“Who lies? Everyone does it but some people are naturally better at lying than others. Socially skilled people make better liars. Extroverts also tend to lie more often than more introverted people,” she added.

20 Year Old Man in Court For Raping 2 Teenage Sister

A 20-year-old man, Samuel Olamilekan has been arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate’s court for having canal knowledge of two teenagers from one family.

The suspect said to be undergoing a pastoral training in one Cherubim and Serafim Church was said to have had canal knowledge of the little girls without their consent.

The police prosecutor, Inspector Rachael Williams, told the court that Olamilekan had a vision for  the girls that they had unfamiliar spirit (Emere) and asked them  to see him so that he can cast out the spirit from them.  On getting there, Olamilekan  allegedly assaulted the two young girls by beating them with broom and palm tree in order to cast out the unfamiliar spirit in them.

Olamilekan was also accused of obtaining the sum of N4,000 from them on the pretext of using it to buy candle to pray for them in order to cast out the unfamiliar spirit finally.

Williams said that the suspect committed the said offense on  August 25, 2012 at about 10:00pm in the Ikeja area of Lagos.

The defendant whose residential address could not be ascertained as at the time of the arraignment is facing a three-count charge of having canal knowledge, assault and obtaining money.

According to Williams, the offense committed  contravened section 258(2) and 170  and punishable under section 258(2), of the criminal law, vol.44 No. 11, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.

When the charges were read to him, Olamilekan pleaded not guilty and Magistrate Olagbegi Adelabu ordered the defendant to be remanded in prison custody till further hearing.

Privatisation: Senators Compile Signatures To Arm-twist Jonathan

Senators on Thursday faulted President Goodluck Jonathan for his refusal to implement the Senate’s resolutions on the probe panel report on privatisation in the country.

Although the debate on the floor was on a bill to amend the BPE Act, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, seized the opportunity to reveal what senators were doing behind the scene to get the President to implement the report.

He said he had started, along with Senator Ahmed Lawan and other senators, to collect signatures to force the President to implement the content of the report.

The report recommended the revocation of the privatisation of key public enterprises for non-compliance with due process and the BPE Act.

The highpoint of the recommendations was the call for removal of the current BPE Director General, Ms. Bolanle Onagoruwa, from office for her involvement in the sale of Federal Government’s 5 per cent share of the Eleme Petrochemical Company.

It also urged the criminal investigation of former CEOs of the bureau for their role in the failed privatisation exercise.

Although the report was forwarded to the President for implementation since December 2011, no action had been taken on it.

Chukwumerije said, “As of two weeks ago, with Lawan and others I started collected signatures that if we could collect two thirds or so, we are going to get it here, a motion that gives marching orders to Mr. President to do something about this report or else.

“We are going to that stage in this country. We can’t continue like this with impunity in which they continue looting public funds and nobody is saying anything.

“When it comes to the stage of threatening impeachment, Uche Chukwumerije will do it and move the motion.

“We must pass a resolution calling the attention of Mr. President to the main body of the report.”

Lawan, who chaired the panel that carried out the investigation, noted that the amendment was necessary because the BPE was spending the proceeds of privatisation without recourse to the National Assembly.

He recommended punishment for those who breached the laws, beginning with the implementation of the report.

Facebook Tragedy: Police Begs Cynthia's Family to Come and Claim Her Corpse

Cynthia Osokogu is still lying at the morgue a week after the Lagos State Police Command reportedly informed her family to come for her body.

Following the completion of a postmortem examination on the deceased, who was killed in Lagos by her social media friends on July 22, the command said that her family was yet to show up.

It was gathered that Professor John Obafunwa, Chief pathologist at the State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, had submitted the autopsy report to the police since last Friday, September 14.

Though the report is yet to be made public, it was gathered  from a source at TOS Funerals, a private morgue where the autopsy was done, that she might have died of asphyxia respiratory paralysis, as a result of suffocation.

Cynthia's burial, which was earlier slated for September 8, 2012, was postponed indefinitely after a delay occasioned by the autopsy.

A police source however, absolved the police of any blame that Cynthia's corpse continued to remain at the morgue.

Ngozi Braide, command spokesperson said the police had been "talking with her parents on the need to come and pick her corpse."

"The pathologist has submitted his report since Friday last week, so we are waiting for her parents to come forward for the collection,” she added.

In his reaction, Flt. Lt. Ken Osokogu speaking on behalf of Cynthia's dad, General Frank Osokogu said, "The question of abandonment does not arise in the first place. The police have not called the family in respect to picking the corpse. The case is still at the Magistrate level, magistrate is just a holding court, and cannot try murder. The second hearing has been fixed for 3 October, during which we believe that the case would be transfered to the High Court and afterwards the police can seek for permission to release the corpse for burial. We are not in a haste to bury her as justice must take its full course."

Cynthia Osokogu was killed by friends she met on the social media at the Cosmilla Hotel in Festac Town, Lagos.

A funeral mass has been held for her, while her grave has also reportedly been dug at her hometown in Delta state.

Bakassi Youths Threaten to Supersede Boko Haram

Enraged youths from the Bakassi area of Cross River State continued beating war drums on Tuesday, vowing to surpass the Islamic militant sect, Boko Haram, if the government failed to appeal its ceding.

The Bakassi community is seeking an appeal against the International Court of Justice 2002 ruling that gave Bakassi to neighbouring country, Cameroun. The window for such appeal is 10 years lapsing October 10.

“What is happening now in the northern part of the country is a child’s play because we will ensure justice is given to us,” a youth leader from the area under the aegis of Cross River State Political Network, Michael Nku, said during a protest at the National Assembly.

“We will perpetuate more mayhem than what Boko Haram is presently doing in the north.”

Whether the threats are empty or backed by capacity remains to be seen.

But the federal government has ignored such warnings and dismissed past threats from Bakassi agitators the Ogonis as merely “attention seeking.”

Both areas have declared self governance and the Bakassi youth announced last month the launching of a new radio station and state paraphernalia including coat of arms and anthem.

At least one hostage case has been recorded in the area since the clamour started.

“Bakassi as a people have always been Cross Riverians in particular and Nigerians in general and they speak Efik, bear our names and share in the culture of the Efiks,” Nku said.

“Bakassi is a Local Government in Nigeria and no such entity ever existed in Cameroun.”

The House deputy media committee chairman, Victor Ogene, who received the youths, said the House will take a decision on the matter later.

PHOTO: Jonathan Photo Behind His Office Desk Is Released

President Jonathan Sitting Behind His Office Desk

Thousands of Islamists Protest Anti-Islam Film In Nigeria

As thousands of Shiite Muslims marched across the streets of Zaria, Kaduna State, to protest an anti-Islamic video made by an Israeli-American, their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, condemned President Goodluck Jonathan and other Nigerian leaders saying they are worse than “dogs.”
Vituperations were also poured on Nigerian leaders by the Shiite leader and other protesters during the rally that began at a mosque near the Emir of Zazzau’s palace and terminated at the Zaria Polo Club.
“Even dogs are better than them. Because dogs are loyal to their masters, but Nigerian leaders serve the interests of America to the detriment of the Nigerian people,” Mr. El-Zakzaky told the thousands of protesters.
The Shiite leader said the Nigerian leaders failed to implement people oriented policies because of dictates from the U.S.
“America has stopped them from entering into people oriented project of housing, road and electricity with China and Iran.” the cleric said.
Mr. El-Zakzaky, who leads the 10 million strong Shiite Muslim population in Nigeria, condemned the United States for what he perceived as its role in furthering the anti-Islam movie against the sanctity of Islam.
“The placing of a video clip on the internet that intrudes into the sanctity and personality of the Prophet of Islam was deliberate,” he said.
He claimed that even the September 11, 2001 attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, was perpetrated by America in order to put Islam and Muslims in a bad light.
“America and her cohorts are experimenting the Muslim commitment to Islam as it is not unconnected to bombing of the twin towers which they perpetrated and accused the Muslims of it,” he said.
The protest by the Shiites was held in blatant defiance of police orders.
In the wake of protests across Islamic nations over the controversial movie, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, warned prospective protesters to “stay off the streets of Nigeria” because the nation’s “security agencies will bring to bear the full weight of the law on all law breakers”.
The protesters not only went ahead with the protest, they warned that the country was yet to see the end of it.
“This is just the beginning, as more will be coming,” Mr. El-Zakzaky said.

Senate Joins House of Reps On Impeachment Threat Against Jonathan

The Senate, basking from a successful engagement with the presidency over the controversial 5000 naira note, has warned it will no longer tolerate President Goodluck Jonathan snubbing its resolutions; the ‘snubbing’, the senators said, could earn the president an impeachment.
A Senator from Abia state, Uche Chukwumerije, said he was prepared to launch impeachment proceedings against the president if he continued to brush aside the National Assembly resolutions, a remark that drew no rebuke from the Senate leadership.
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided on Thursday, urged Mr. Jonathan to muster the political will to implement several of the Senate’s abandoned resolutions.
“We believe it is an opportunity for Mr. President to go and look for the resolutions of the senate,” Mr. Ekweremadu said. “If a very fat buttock is sitting on it, I think the president should use his executive powers and push them out and get the report and begin to implement them.”
The remark came amid an impeachment threat standing against the president from the House of Representatives over the implementation of the 2012 budget.
The House says its decision to initiate impeachment proceedings remains. They say the decision to impeach the president will be clear after its appraisal of the current level of budget implementation next week.
Senators debating an amendment bill on the establishment of the Bureau of Public Enterprise, BPE, on Thursday, recalled a resolution seeking the sack of the Director General of the bureau, Bola Onagoruwa, which has not been effected by the president.
Mrs. Onagoruwa has remained in office despite an indictment nearly a year ago by a Senate committee investigating abuses in the privatization of the Federal Government assets.
Senators tied the disregard to the latest position of the Information minister, Labaran Maku, on the outcome of Tuesday’s National Assembly resolution on the contentious 5000 naira introduction.
The minister was quoted as saying the decision was not binding on the president, a well known retort often provided by officials in dismissing unfavorable resolutions of the legislature.
The Lawmakers have rejected the argument by government officials that a resolution of the National Assembly is merely advisory.
Mr. Maku’s remark turned out a blot that portrayed the government’s information management process, and how inadequately officials are informed of key government decisions.
While Mr. Maku gave his remark, the president had met with the leadership of the National Assembly where he reportedly assured that his decision on the currency restructuring can be reversed.
“Obviously, the minister said what he was asked to say because the very night he made those comments, the president met with the leadership of the national Assembly where certain agreements were reached,” said the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Zakari Mohammed. “Maybe the rain had stopped and he thought it was still raining.”
Mr. Ekweremadu, said the senate did not need Mr. Maku to remind it of the executive’s penchant for dismissing its resolutions.
“Anybody who is ignoring the resolutions of this senate is doing so at the expense of good governance and we cannot encourage such things,” Mr. Ekweremadu said.
Mr. Chukwumerije said further breaches will put the president up for an impeachment calls.
“We recommended sanctions against key officials of the BPE but the president hasn’t done anything about it,” Mr. Chukwumerije said. “It will get to a point of threatening him with impeachment. I will move the motion.”
The comments did not appear outrageous to a chamber that has consistently accused the president of shelving its resolutions.
In passing similar concerns, the House of Reps on Wednesday announced it was withdrawing its recognition of Arunma Oteh as the Director General of the Security and Exchange Commission after criticizing the president for failing to sack Ms. Oteh following her indictment by its (House) investigations.

Driver to Hang For Killing Lecturer

A Lagos High Court Judge, Joseph Oyewole, Thursday, sentenced a driver to death by hanging for the murder of a lecturer.
The driver, Kehinde Olude, was accused of murdering R.A. Adisa, a senior lecturer at the Federal College of Education, Okene, Kogi state, in November 2000; after he dispossessed him of his new Honda car.
“The only punishment for murder is the death penalty,” said Mr. Oyewole, while reading out his judgment.
“Accordingly, the sentence of the court upon you, Kehinde Olude, is that you be hanged by the neck until you be dead and may the Lord have mercy on your soul.”

In his submission to the court, Luqman Sanusi, who led the prosecution, stated that the deceased, who could not drive, sought Mr. Olude’s help to drive his new vehicle to Okene.
He was murdered en route their destination, at Alafon village, along the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.

After committing the murder, Mr. Olude, a driver at the Institute of Management and Technology, Ketu, sold the car, with the help of a friend, and used the proceeds to start processing a trip abroad.
Among the five witnesses called by the prosecution was Mr. Olude’s father, whose testimony the judge said “were not subjected to cross-examination by the defence.”
‘guilty as charged’
In his ruling, the judge stated that the facts before him showed that the deceased had purchased the fairly used car in Lagos and engaged Mr. Olude, whom he had a ‘cordial’ relationship with to drive him to Okene.
However, when the defendant drove into the deceased’s father’s residence at Okene; the old man, abreast of his son’s financial capability, ordered that the “unlicensed car” be taken out of his home, according to the judge.
The judge also noted that the deceased’s friends and relations who testified before the court never referred to him as late.
But “the accused person, in the witness box, had no inhibition in referring to him as deceased indicating knowledge of the unfortunate situation of the said gentleman.”
“I hold that there is sufficient evidence before the court to unequivocally ground the inference that the defendant murdered the deceased, Mr. R.A. Adisa,” Mr. Oyewole said.

2 Boko Haram Commanders Killed, 8 Members Arrested

Nigerian soldiers in the special anti-terrorist force in Maiduguri, Borno State said Thursday they killed two senior commanders of Islamist sect Boko Haram in a shootout.
Eight suspected Islamists were also arrested in a separate incident, a spokesman of a special military unit, Lieuteant Colonel Sagir Musa, said.
“We killed two top commanders of Boko Haram in a shootout outside the city on their way to Damaturu (capital of neighbouring Yobe state) where they planned to attack some military and civilian targets,” he told AFP.
“We recovered a car, five mobile phones and weapons from the terrorists,” he said.
“Eight Boko Haram terrorists are now in our custody from raids we carried out in some parts of the city,” Musa said.
The suspects were allegedly brought in from other states for planned attacks in the city, the hotbed of the sect’s activities.
Musa said the shootout on Wednesday on the outskirts of the city followed intelligence information that the commanders were planning attacks on military and civilian targets in Yobe state where the sect had previously carried out deadly attacks.
Soldiers on Monday said they shot dead a suspected media spokesman for Boko Haram and another high-ranking member outside Kano, Nigeria’s largest city in the north.
Troops involved in the operation said one of those killed was suspected to have been the Boko Haram spokesman who has used the alias Abul Qaqa.
A second man, believed to be the “field commander” for Kogi and Kaduna states as well as the capital Abuja, was also shot and later died from his wounds.

President Jonathan Orders Suspension Of Proposed N5000 Naira Note

President Goodluck Jonathan has agreed to reverse his administration’s plan to introduce the N5000 note.

This was disclosed on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati.

The currency restructuring recently announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would have seen the unveiling of the N5000 note as the highest naira denomination while lower currencies – N5, N10 and N20 – were to be converted to coins.

Weeks of public outrage criticizing the policy culminated in the Senate and the House of Representatives, approving separate resolutions on Tuesday, demanding that the plan be suspended.

Mr Abati, responding to inquiries, said “the introduction is being suspended for now to enable the CBN do more enlightenment on the issue.”

He said President Jonathan has directed that the implementation of the new N5000 note be suspended for now.

“This is to enable the apex bank to do more in terms of enabling Nigerians understand why it proposed it in the first place,” he said.

“For now, the full implementation is on hold,” he added

Gov. Amaechi Stops Salaries Of Striking Lecturers

Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of oil-rich Rivers State,South-South Nigeria,today directed the Ministry of Finance to stop further payment of the salaries of lecturers who are not reporting for work to teach the students in Rivers State University of Science Technology ,RSUST,Port Harcourt.
The Governor gave the directive after getting a briefing from the Governing Council of the University on the strike action embarked upon by Lecturers under the aegis of Academic Staff Union of Universities,ASUU,protesting the appointment of Professor Barineme Fakae,as the Vice-Chancellor.
Amaechi reiterated that the appointment of Prof. Fakae is non-negotiable and a foregone conclusion because as Visitor he passed through the due process required by Law in the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor.
He lashed at the University lecturers for abandoning their primary responsibilities of teaching and conducting research for politics about who becomes the Vice-Chancellor.
Meanwhile,the management of RSUST,have started its second semester examination for students despite the strike by the lecturers.
ASUU nationwide also embarked on a symbolic one day strike in other universities in solidarity with the striking RSUST teachers.
But Governor Amaechi, rather than bow to their demands, asked the teachers to challenge his action in the court of law.

How a Banker Stole N23 Billion Depositors Fund.

A Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, yesterday heard how a former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Bank PHB Plc, Mr Ugo Anyanwu, authorised the transfer of N23billion of depositors’ funds to some accounts without their owners’ approval.

An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigator, Mr David Ikpe, said the beneficiaries of the transferred sums did not follow the due banking process of applying for a loan.

Anyanwu is standing trial before Justice Lateefah Okunnu, along with a former Managing Director of BankPHB, Mr Francis Atuche and his wife, Elizabeth.

The EFCC brought a 27-count charge bothering on alleged conspiracy to commit felony and stealing against them. It said they allegedly stole the bank’s N25.7 billion between November 2007 and April 2008. They denied the charges.

According to the agency, the three conspired with one another to steal from the bank various sums of money, which were fraudulently described as loans to various companies, including Future View Securities, Extra Oil Limited, Resolution Trust and Investment Limited, Petosan Oil and Gas and Tradjek Nigeria Limited.

Testifying at the trial yesterday, Ikpe said Anyanwu gave the instructions to other bank officials to make the transfers, using his position as CFO, adding that the transactions were “not normal.”

His investigations, he said, revealed that some officers who were asked to make the transfers “raised eyebrows.”

He said a bank official, Ifetayo Obi, complained that “she never had the customer’s instruction to transfer these funds.”

The witness said an official asked to make a transfer had written on the instruction document: ‘Customer Instruction Outstanding.’

“The conceptualisation and utility of the transfers were not normal. The beneficial owners ought to have applied and approval given. It was the impunity that characterised the banking sector in the past which brought us here,” Ikpe said.

According to him, the owner of one of the companies to which funds were transferred, Peter Ololo, expressed “shock” when his name was published as being indebted to Bank PHB.

“Ololo said he did not authorise the transfers. The transfers were made without the knowledge of the owner of the account,” the witness said, adding that Ololo was confronted as to why the accounts were debited.

Ikpe, however, admitted that no particular unit of shares was traced to Anyanwu’s account, and that the phone numbers and signatures on the transfer documents were not all of defendant’s.

He also said Anyanwu was not on the committee charged with granting loans, but insisted: “As the Chief Financial Officer, his role in authorising the payments is clear.”

“The third defendant (Anyanwu) authorised the transfer of the N23billion,” he said.

“That the third defendant ordered this transfer is not in doubt. I did not see these transactions as done in the normal course of banking transaction. I disagree that it was a normal transaction.”

Ikpe also admitted that he did not find any query in respect of the transfers Anyanwu authorised.

EFCC in the charge said the defendants allegedly converted N25.7 billion to their personal use to acquire hundreds of millions of units of shares, including 140,625,000 units of Bank PHB shares on behalf of Guesstrade Services.

They also allegedly used over N1 billion, fraudulently described as a loan from the bank and converted it to their own personal use by using it to buy 112,500,000 units of BankPHB shares on behalf of Sebtron Trading.

Other companies involved in the alleged multi-billion naira fraud are: Montrax Investico, Claremount Asset Management Limited, Arabian Probity Management, Clearville Business Support, Commercial Trading and Services Limited, Trenton Trade Limited, Stamford Global Concept Limited, Felimon Enterprises, Ghzali Yakubu Investment Limited and AFCO Associates Limited.

Reverend King Moved To Kastina Prisons For Causing Tension In Kaduna Prisons

For organising prayer sessions for devotees and causing undue tension at Kaduna Prisons, condemned  founder  of Christian Praying Assembly, Rev. Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, popularly known as Rev. King, has been transferred to  Kastina Prison.
Although prison authorities in Kaduna, Northcentral  Nigeria, have not officially revealed his whereabouts,  prison revealed that he was moved to Katsina Prison because a large number of his church  members including notable politicians, always visit him in Kaduna for prayers, which became a source of  concern to the prison authorities.
King, who was sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of  a female member of his church, has appealed  against the conviction and is awaiting  judgement. But  while he remains in prison, his devotees and some  influential members of his church have been working hard to ensure that his death sentence was reversed.
One of the sources, who did not want his name mentioned, said: “The man is just too influential among his  adherents. We see different people, both high and low class, visit  him for prayers.”
According to the source, when the prison authorities became uncomfortable with how his devotees visit him for  prayers, causing tension in the prison, they decided to move him far north to an unknown prison where nobody  can see him.
Efforts to get official information on his whereabouts at the time of filing this story were futile as all  the senior personnel declined to talk on any matter regarding him, saying his case is still pending in court.
Rev. King was sentenced to death by hanging in 2007 by Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Ikeja High Court on a  5-count charge of murder.
The bearded General Overseer of Christian Praying Assembly (CPA) at Canal View Street, Ajao Estate was  convicted for setting fire on seven members of his church whom he accused of fornication.
One of them, Ann King, died as a result of injuries sustained in the fire.
During the trial, witnesses, who were mostly his church members, narrated how  Reverend King turned them to  sex toys. The principal witness in the matter, Kelechi King, in her gory account told the court how she had  aborted four pregnancies for the self-acclaimed ‘god’.
She also revealed how Reverend King made her denounce her family and how she served him as his maid,  attending to him naked.
On the incident that led to the death of  Ann, almost all the prosecution witnesses corroborated the fact  that Rev. King actually set them on fire by pouring fuel on them.
They also told the court that on the said date, Rev. King gathered them together in his house following  allegations that they were committing fornication in his house, an allegation they all denied.
Another prosecution witness, Olisa Chiejina, told the court then how the accused operated a “Lord Army”, an  outfit he said Rev. King uses to intimidate and harass members of his church.
After his conviction, Reverend King was taken to the Kirikiri Prisons where he was put on death row.
His lawyers, however, immediately filed an appeal to forestall his execution. The appeal is still pending.   While awaiting his appeal, he was accused of having sexual intercourse with female guests even in prison. The  allegation subsequently led to his transfer to Kuje Prisons in Abuja before he was moved to Kaduna Prisons  again.

N5000 Note: House Of Reps Set to Pass A Resolution For the Sack Of Sanusi

Information has leaked to the media through a source close to the activity within the top officers of the House of Representatives indicating that the tension between the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN] Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and the members of the House of Representatives may have reached breaking point.

It is gathered the lower chamber of the national assembly [NASS] may have begun private discussions on passing a resolution for the removal of the CBN Governor. This is according to a principal officer within the House of Representatives.

A leader of the lower chamber of the NASS who spoke to our correspondent under the condition of anonymity disclosed that the legislators were “very happy” with the antics of the CBN Governor. “He has continually embarrassed the government of Nigeria”, said the legislator who added that a compilation of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s breaches against the tenets of his office has begun. “The grounds of removal are many, he committed too many blunders”.

The latest exchange between the CBN governor and the legislators over the introduction of N5,000 notes may have aggravated the already tense relationship between the two.

Details remain sketchy.

Stay tuned

PHOTO: A US Agent caught apparently Urinating Right In the Full View of President Obama

This Photo became an Internet Sensation after it was released but the US Agent says he was looking out for potenial threats against Obama.

Police discover another arms cache in Anambra, Arrest Kingpin

The Anambra State Police command yesterday discovered another private armoury this time at Umuihefula, Umuaku village in Uli, Ihiala Local Government Area. This is barely two weeks after a combined team of Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) operatives in state and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP’s) Special Task Force on heinous crimes recorded a major breakthrough in the fight against kidnappers and armed robbers.

Yesterday’s operation which was carried out by the same SARS under the leadership James Nwafor (SP), saw the policemen arresting one of the kingpins, Emeka Ezekude in whose custody was the arms and ammunition. However, another suspect whose name was given as Sunday Nwachukwu from Ezumeri Oraifite in Ekwusigo Local Government Area was said to be on the run.

A combined team of SARS on a tip-off was said to have cordoned off the home of the suspect, Emeka Ezekude, where two AK47 rifles, one type 06 rifle, one rocket grenade, 27 AK47 magazines, three rocket propellers, 770 rounds of 7.62 mm live ammunition and nine chains used to lock up kidnap victims were recovered. Greenwich News gathered that Ezekude’s arrest was made possible due to information supplied by his relations.

The rifles allegedly owned by Sunday Nwachukwu were kept in the custody of Emeka, who allegedly escaped when the police arrived but was later arrested as he went to one of the new generation banks to withdraw money possibly to enable him to escape. The arms and ammunition, according to the police, were like the Oraifite incident, recovered from two giant plastic drums buried in the hideout of the suspect at Uli.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Ralphael Uzoigwe, confirmed the arrest. He said effort was being made to track down Sunday from Ezumeri-Oraifite in Ekwusigo Local Government Area. Also commenting, a senior Police officer who spoke in confidence told newsmen that God has indeed come to the rescue of the command and taken control of affairs.

He said, “You know, it is the duty of the Commissioner of Police, Ballah Nasarawa or the PPRO to say these things, even the SARS commander who led operations is not allowed to talk by the CP on such issues. But the truth is that the command made another inroad today (yesterday) by discovering another arms cache in this state at Uli.

My brother, God is beginning to intervene in this state and I pray it continues.” He, however, refused to give details of the latest recovery, urging the newsmen to wait for the appropriate authorities to do so.

On September 3, 2012 when Ifedike (Ofeakwu) was arrested at his home in Ifite Oraifite, the Police recovered from his underground armoury 27 AK47 riffles, one K2 rifle, two type-06 rifles, one GPMG, one rocket launcher, 17 rockets, six pump action guns, three Dane guns, one Berretta pistol and 13 rocket grenades.

They also recovered from Ifedike who allegedly confessed having introduced kidnapping in the South-East 12,800 rounds of Ak47 live ammunition, 530 rounds of LAR ammunition, 95 rounds of GPMG live ammunition, 1, 000 rounds of K2 live ammunition and 143 magazines, totaling 14, 425 rounds of live ammunition, just as they recovered nine chains they used to lock victims.

Two Policemen, Others Arrested in Connection with Lagos Robberies

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested two policemen as well as two others in connection with the robberies in the state on September 9, 2012 which left at least three policemen killed.

Greenwich News learnt that the policemen arrested are currently being detained at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad at the command headquarters.

A reliable police source, who craved anonymity, said the suspects were arrested over the weekend.

The robberies which took place in various parts of the state such as Ojodu, Gbagada, Agege, Anthony, Ikeja and Surulere, were said to have been successful due to the connivance of the policemen

The source said, “If you recall, the robbers operated with such expertise that it easily became suspicious that some security agents may have aided them.

“Investigations are ongoing but we have reason to believe that the robbers who operated on the said date do not all belong to the same gang.”

The other two suspects arrested, Rasheed Sulaimon and Kazeem Enifolabi, however said they did not belong to the gang but knew about the robbery operations.

Sulaimon said, “Last Monday, my friend Yemi, told me that he carried out robbery operations in various parts of the state. He said he and his gang killed many policemen and although I didn’t go with him, he gave me N3,000 recharge card.”

When asked how many the robbers were in number as well as their modus operandi, he said, “The robbers were about 10 and a woman was among them. Sometimes they use soldier’s or other uniforms to operate.”

The spokesperson for the state police command, Ngozi Braide, said investigations were ongoing. She however did not say how the suspects were arrested. Braide also did not confirm if policemen were among those arrested.

She said, “On September 12, 2012, at about 10pm, based on a tip-off received by SARS, policemen swung into action where Sulaimon was arrested at Dopemu area and he led detectives to one Kazeem Enifolabi also known as Oshomo at Oshodi. Both confessed to know the members of the gang of armed robbers that operated in the state where many people were killed.

“The prime suspects fled to Benin Republic and Kwara State to escape arrest. Sulaimon took SARS detectives to Wahabi Street, Agege, where the gang member’s vehicle, a Honda Civic, along with two AK-47 rifles and four magazines were hidden inside it.”

Braide said the robbers were able to escape because the police did not want to engage them in a shoot-out which would have caused the death of innocent bystanders.

Hackers Attack Defence Headquarters, Nigerian Navy Website

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Uluseyi Petinrin, said some unknown persons have gained unlawful access to the computer systems of Defence Headquarters and that of the Nigerian Navy.
The CDS represented by the Chief of Research and Development, Major General M. K Amao made the remarks during the ‘world cyber security conference’ yesterday in Abuja.

He said there was daily increase in high profile hacking incidences against major corporations and institutions around the world and that the nature of attacks has taken the form of infiltration of systems or confidential information being compromised or stolen.

“Here in Nigeria, our defence and security institutions have not been left out. My defence headquarters’ website for example, was hacked not too long ago. One of the services, the navy also had its website hacked. We are also aware of similar experiences with other security agencies in the country.

“Furthermore, the threat posed by the Boko Haram sect through online reports of their activities needs to be effectively checked. So far, we have achieved successes in the deployment of Information Communication Technology (ICT), surveillance and tracking equipments to locate criminal elements in our society and perpetrators of the Boko Haram menace. However further successes would be achieved if we apply cyber technology and space researches to tackle the country’s contemporary security challenges,” the CDS said.

He said criminals have attacked cloud-based servers in a global fraud campaign affecting at least 60 banks worldwide and stealing billions of dollars. He said cyber attacks may however standout  as a stumbling block or threat to the actualization of the Nigeria’s ‘cashless policy’ except if concrete measures are put in place to counter such attacks. The hackers used sophisticated techniques including automation and targeted high-value bank accounts.

World First Ever Uterus Transplant Takes Place

The Medical Team That Performed The Surgery

Doctors have performed the world's first mother-to-daughter uterus transplants, scientists revealed today.
Specialists from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden said two women, who are both in their thirties, received wombs from their mothers in surgical procedures on September 15 and 16, with no complications.
The university said one recipient had her uterus removed many years ago due to cervical cancer while the other was born without a uterus.
When the complete uterus is removed from the donor it is placed on ice while it is prepared for implantation. It may take between 20-40 minutes after the uterus has been placed in the recipient before new blood vessels begin to function. After the birth of a child the transplanted uterus is removed so that the recipient can stop taking anti-rejection drugs.
Team leader Professor Mats Brannstrom said both women ‘are doing fine but are tired after surgery. The donating mothers are up and walking and will be discharged from the hospital within a few days.’
Turkish doctors last year said they performed the first successful uterus transplant, giving a womb from a deceased donor to a young woman.
The success of these transplants could give hope of having children to thousands of women who were born without a uterus or lost it at a young age through cervical cancer.
It is estimated around 15 per cent of women are infertile for various reasons.
However whether or not these two women, who have not been named, will be able to have children is not yet certain as Braennstroem explained that they would have to wait one year before undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) with their own frozen embryos.
Successful pregnancies have occurred in transplanted uteri in animals, including mice and large animals but, as yet not in primates.
Nevertheless, the scientists at the University of Goteborg are hopeful they have a 'good chance' of their patients having children.
Prof Brannstrom said: 'Today, most types of infertility are treated with in vitro fertilization, hormonal stimulation, or sperm injection, and in Sweden, several thousand children are born annually with the assistance of these techniques.
'The lack of a uterus is one of the last types of infertility that we are unable to treat. Uterine transplantation has the potential to address this major clinical problem.'
Women go through the menopause around the age of 50 when their ovaries stop producing eggs. However, their womb remain viable. Britain's oldest mother, Patricia Rashbrook, gave birth to a son via a caesarean at the age of 62 after using donor eggs.
The Regional Ethics Committee in Gothenburg gave the green light to the procedure earlier this year. A total of ten uterus transplants will be carried out.

LASU Students Protest Fees Hike

First year students of  the Lagos State University (LASU), Main campus in Ojo on Tuesday,  protested against the school management over the high school fees.

The protesting students were reported to have abandoned one of their examination to register their grievances.

Local media reported that the students were reacting to the rumour making the rounds on the campus that the management had no intention to effect a cut in  tuition as promised during their admission into the school.

The Lagos State government, as part of moves to douse the rising tension caused by the  increase in the tuition of  LASU students, earlier said the proposed fees would only be paid by incoming students that would be admitted into the school in years to come.

The student were  however, directed to pay  N193,750 for Arts/Education;  N223,750 for Social and Management Sciences; N248,750 for Law while those in Communication/Transport, Sciences, Engineering and College of Medicine paid  N238,750, N258,750, N298,750 and N348,750 respectively as against old fees which ranges between N25,000 and N62,500.

Man Rapes 8 Children

The eight kids raped by one man.

The police in Ipaja-Ayobo area of Lagos State, southwest Nigeria have arrested a man who allegedly defiled  eight children. He is now being detained, awaiting arraignment in court.
The suspect, Mr. Temitope Alo was arrested on Saturday at Koloba area of Ayobo after the children allegedly  confessed that he had raped them.

The eight victims, whose ages range from eight to 15 years were brought to the Lagos State Ministry of Women  Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, WAPA yesterday by the Vice Chairman, Ipaja-Ayobo Local Council Development  Area, LCDA, Alhaja Falilat Ajijola to enable the state government to take over the case.
The victim said he works for a newspaper company (name withheld) in Lagos and allegedly lured the children to  his apartment where he defiled them and threatened to kill them if they reported the matter.
Tests conducted on the eight children at the Ayobo-Ipaja Primary Health Centre, PHC, showed that the children  had been defiled.
A top official of the WAPA Ministry told journalists that the ministry had been handling rape cases but they had  never recorded a case where a man serially raped eight children.
The news of the rape caused a stir at the WAPA ministry as the staff rained curses on the alleged rapist.
According to the Ayobo-Ipaja LCDA Vice Chairman, Ajijola, last week a case of rape was reported to the  Neighbourhood Watch office at the council but when enquiries were made, the traditional ruler of Koloba was  said to have denied that such a thing happened in his area.
She said a few days later, the former council chairman of Ayobo-Ipaja, Bisi Yusuf reported that the incident  actually happened and that further investigation traced the rape case to the culprit, who was promptly  arrested.
Ajijola added that the traditional ruler, Chief Babayanju, later opened up and admitted that the story was  true, while eight children came forward to report that they were allegedly raped by Alo.
The vice chairman said the children were taken to the PHC in the area where tests were conducted on them and  it was confirmed that the children had been defiled.
Two children of a community leader in the area were among the victims.
Chairman, Ayobo-Ipaja LCDA, Alhaji Shakiru Adisa Yusuf said he was shocked when he heard the story, adding  that such a person is worse than an animal.
“I was shocked because I am also a parent. Why must he go after innocent children? Such people should not  live in this community,” he said, adding that the council would pursue the case to ensure that justice was  done.
“We will collect the tests conducted on the children and hand them over to the state government. We will  pursue the case to a logical conclusion. This man has brought disgrace to this community,” he said.
Acting Director, Child Development, WAPA Ministry, Mrs Mosunmola Dada said the issue was disgusting, adding  that such a man must be a paedophile and vowed that the government would ensure that he was prosecuted.
“We have evidences against him. The Ayobo-Ipaja LCDA has a medical report on this case. We will monitor and  follow up this case,” she said.
The suspect, in his statement at the Ayobo Police Station, was said to have admitted that he raped some  children, but that he only raped four and not eight.
Reporters could not get to him as he was in custody of the police, while the Divisional Police Officer, DPO of  the station was not around for comments.
One of the victims, an eight years old girl (name withheld) revealed that the suspect told them to help  him arrange newspapers in his apartment, adding that, “after that, he told us to go into the next room.
“He asked us to remove our panties and I asked him what he wanted to do to us. He laid me on the bed and  defiled me four times. He covered our mouths with white handkerchief and threatened to kill us if we report,”  she said.
Another victim, a 12 years old girl (name withheld) alleged that the suspect “licked my private part. He  called me and my friend in. He asked me to bring N100 fufu for him, which I brought. While I was waiting for  the money with my friend, he asked my friend whether she could keep a secret.
“He asked me to pull off my panties but I did not answer and he forced me and licked my private part while he  slept with my friend and defiled her too. He gave us N50. I told my friend that I will tell my mummy, but he  threatened to kill us if we told  anybody.”

Gunmen Kill Borno State Commissioner For Justice

Gunmen have killed the justice commissioner for Borno state, the hotbed of an Islamist insurgency, and an ex-prisons chief in another area, government and police sources said Tuesday.

“We received the report of the death of the commissioner of justice, Zannah Malam Gana,” a government official said on condition of anonymity of the attack in the town of Bama in northeastern Nigeria late Monday.

“He was shot dead by some gunmen in his house around 8:45 pm last night.”

A police source said a former national prisons chief was also shot dead in Bauchi state in Nigeria’s north.

“The former comptroller-general of prisons is dead,” the senior police officer said. “He died from the wounds he sustained in the attack last night.”

While it was not immediately clear who was behind the killings, they occurred after security forces on Monday shot dead two suspected high-ranking members of Islamist extremist group Boko Haram.

Boko Haram is blamed for more than 1,400 deaths in northern and central Nigeria as part of its insurgency.

Police Parades Suspected Killers Of Policemen and Others In Lagos

The Lagos State Police Command on Tuesday paraded two suspects, Rasheed Suleiman and Kazeem Enifolabi, believed to members of a robbery gang that carried out a bloody attack in Lagos a little over a week ago.

The suspects, who were paraded at the headquarters of the state police command in Ikeja, Lagos, were said to have given the police tips on how to arrest members of the gang that carried out the attack on Sunday, September 9, 2012 that led to the deaths of three policemen and four others.

The attack across some parts of the metropolis began around 10.45a.m when robbers riding in two jeeps seized currencies from money changers at Ifako-Gbagada.

The jeeps, driven by two women, according to witnesses, moved to Anthony, Oshodi, Agege and Ikeja, with the robbers shooting and killing some policemen and civilians.

The attack angered the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, who said at an event in Lagos the following day that policemen in the state were sleeping.

Addressing journalists at the parade, the spokesperson for the state police command, Ms. Ngozi Braide, said they were arrested based on information received by the Special Anti-robbery Squad in Ikeja, led by Mr. Abba Kyari, Superintendent of Police.

She said the squad arrested a suspect, Rasheed Suleiman, in Dopemu area of Lagos State and he led the police to a suspected accomplice, Kazeem Enifolabi, at Oshodi.

Braide also said the police had recovered two AK47 rifles and four magazines inside them as well as a vehicle believed to have been used in the operation at Wahabi Street, Akerele, Agege, Lagos.

The two suspects, however, denied participating in the robbery.

Suleiman, who described himself as a phone thief, said it was Kazeem who informed him about the operation.

He stated that he was given N3000 by the robbers to keep quiet on the operation.

House Orders CBN to Withhold N5000 note Introduction, Condemns Oteh's Reinstatement

The House of Representatives in a unanimous resolution on Tuesady, ordered the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) to hold on the proposed introduction of the N5000 note.
The lawmakers in their first session after a long recess ordered the apex bank to withhold the planned release of the N5,000 pending the outcome of the investigation of the House Committee on Banking and Finance.

The House resolved that the committee will investigate the planned introduction of the N5,000 note and redesigning of the N10, N20 and N50 into coins.

The resolution followed a motion moved by the minority leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, who called on the National Assembly to ‘urgently’ reform the CBN Act to curtail the expenditure of the apex bank which is carried out without any appropriation by the lawmakers.

Mr Gbajabiamila said the CBN is proceeding with the policy due to the Act establishing the institution which allows the bank to expend money without the National Assembly’s appropriation.
The members also resolved that the reinstatement of Aruma Oteh as the Director General of the Security and Exchanges Commission (SEC) is illegal following the recommendation of the House of Representatives adhoc committee which investigated the near collapse of the capital market.

The Committee had called for the removal of Ms Oteh noting that she is unqualified to serve as the head of the SEC.

The Federal Government had in July recalled Ms Oteh, who was sent on compulsory leave in June by the board of SEC in the wake of an investigation into the near-collapse of the capital market launched by the House of Representatives.

Following Oteh’s suspension, the commission’s board had  engaged the services of Price Water Coopers Limited, a famous audit firm to examine the records of the commission’s transaction covering the SEC project 50 which Oteh had supervised.

Birthday: Nigerian Top Musician 2Face Turns 37

Innocent Ujah Idibia better known as 2Face today, Tuesday, September 18 clocks 37. The ‘African pride’ was born in Jos, Plateau State in 1975. Little did the Idoma, Benue State artiste know he would be this great when he formed the defunct R&B/hip hop group ‘Plantashun Boyz’ with Blackface and Face, who later joined them when they (2Face and Blackface) met Face in Lagos.

2Face attended Mount Saint Gabriel’s Secondary School, Makurdi, Benue State. He then proceeded to the Institute of Management & Technology, Enugu (IMT), where he met Blackface, for a pre-National Diploma course.
Blackface, for a pre-National Diploma course in Business Administration and Management. Unfortunately, 2Face didn’t graduate, but that didn’t stop him from achieving success in his music career.

While at IMT, 2Face did some jingles for GB Fan Club aired on Enugu State Broadcasting Services (ESBS). The name ’2Face’ was coined in 1996. The name came about because he aimed at differentiating his personal life with his business life.

He has released some smash hit songs in which ‘African Queen’ has been the biggest. He is the CEO of Hypertek Entertainment which has Dammy Krane as its artiste. 2Face is known for helping young talents grow in the industry. He has featured in many songs of up and coming artistes.

He is happily married to Nollywood actress, Annie Macaulay who has a daughter for him. He has five other child from other relationships.

Serena and Venus Williams To Visit Nigeria

As part of a planned African tour, international tennis champions, newly crowned US Open champion Serena Williams and sister, Venus Serena, are scheduled to visit Lagos on October 30.
hile in Lagos, the dynamic tennis sister will inspire, motivate and mentor young Nigerians through a tennis clinic and an exhibition match which will also be their first in Africa.

Programme coordinator Tunji Adeyinka said Venus and Serena’s story of passion, determination, hard work and self-belief serve to boost the morale of athletes and business people alike.

The event is scheduled to take place at the Lagos Tennis Club in Onikan from October 30th to November 2nd.

As well as her Flushing Meadows triumph, Serena won her fifth Wimbledon title and first Olympic singles gold in London.

JTF Kills "Top Man" Of The Boko Haram Sect

The Joint Task Force in Kano yesterday said it killed a “media man”of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Lidda’awati wal-Jihad or Boko Haram sect in a shootout during an early morning operation in the state.

The military also said it captured two “field commanders” of the group.
Lt Ikedichi Iweha, the spokesperson of the taskforce, disclosed that the sect member killed was involved with the publicity apparatus of the sect.

“The man we have killed today is connected with their media activities,” he said.

Iweha said security agents had commenced investigations with a view to uncovering the actual identity and name of the said member.

The military said two top Boko Haram commanders were also arrested during the operation “The two men are field commanders of the terrorist group. We are making efforts to get their identities; the process could take a long time.”

Nollywood Actor, Bestwood Chukwuemeka Sentenced to 3 Months In Prison For Having Gay Sex

A 28-year old actor, Bestwood Chukwuemeka was on Monday sentenced to three-month imprisonment by a Karu Senior Magistrates’ Court, Abuja, for having sexual intercourse with another man through the anus.
The convict, who resides at Gidan Mangoro, had pleaded guilty to having engaged in homosexual acts.
“I am guilty of the charge against me. I  was under the influence of alcohol and I want the court to temper justice with mercy’’, he said. The police prosecutor, Mohammed Umar, had told the court that the convict committed the offence in August when the complainant was sleeping in his bed.

Homosexual acts, the prosecutor said, was contrary to Section 284 of the Penal Code. The prosecutor said since Mr. Chukwuemeka had pleaded guilty to the crime he initially denied, the court should try him summarily. The Senior Magistrate, Nafisatu Buba, sentenced him to three-month imprisonment without an option of fine.

“This would serve as warning to other youths who hide under the influence of alcohol to commit crimes,’’ she said.

When he was first arraigned in early September, Mr. Chukwuemeka pleaded not guilty, saying, “I came back drunk from the night club and thought I was sleeping on the same bed with my girl-friend and I started romancing her.”
At that hearing, Mrs Buba, had ruled that alcohol should not be seen as an excuse for committing the offence, but then granted the accused bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum, with one of the sureties being a civil servant on Grade Level 09. However, when the case was heard Monday, the actor suddenly pleaded guilty, and Mrs Buba summarily tried him, sentencing him to three-month imprisonment. Homosexuality and Lesbi are seriously frowned at in Nigeria.

In November, the Nigerian Senate passed a strict law banning same-sex marriage and public display of affection by gays in Nigeria. The bill – Same Sex Marriage (prohibition) bill 2011 – prescribes 14-year jail terms for convicted gays in Nigeria.

“Persons who entered into a same sex marriage contract or civil union commits an offence and are each liable on conviction to a term of 14 years imprisonment,” the new law said.

It added, “Any person, who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organization, or directly or indirectly makes public show of same-sex amorous relationships in Nigeria commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a term of 10-year imprisonment.”

10 Die as JTF, Gunmen Clash

Not less than ten people were feared killed Sunday night when some houses were razed down during clashes between troops of the Joint Task Force (JTF) and some gunmen in Gwange area of Maiduguri.
Greenwich News gathered that series of gunshot rented the air shortly after an explosion in the area around 8:30pm on Sunday night.

A resident of the troubled area who does not want to be named said “a bomb suspected to have been planted exploded around past 8pm and injured two JTF men who are on patrol.”

According to him, soon after the explosion, gunshots rented the air but the JTF after repelling the attack quickly cordoned off the area, adding that the exchange of gun duel between the JTF and the attackers led to the killing of some people, while several houses were also razed down.

“I cannot tell whether those killed were innocent people or the houses which were set ablaze belongs to the attacker, but all I saw with my eyes was that some corpses were littered on the streets on Monday morning.’’ He added.

A hospital attendant at the State Specialists Hospital who does not want his name mentioned told newsmen that that he saw two patrol vehicles of the JTF with some corpses around the gate of the hospital, adding that each of the vehicles carried five dead bodies yesterday morning.

In another incident on Sunday evening gunmen shot and injured a Business man and a top stakeholders of ANPP in Yobe state, Alhaji Mustapha Sheriff Mashidimami.

Witnesses said the incident happen at about 8:45pm when the gunmen invaded the house of the politician in Damboa road.

The spokesman of the JTF, Lt. Col Sagir Musa could not be reached on his phone as at the time of filing this report due to the poor communication problem presently being experienced in Maiduguri.

Gay Prophet At War With Catholic Church In Enugu

The Holy book clearly stated that as part of signs of end time, Kingdoms would fight against Kingdoms, Nations would rise against its neighbours. Such is the case of a self-acclaimed prophet in Edem community, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State as he has threatened to blow up the catechist of a Catholic church for allegedly causing obstruction to his prospective members.

The ‘unholy war’ ensued between the clerics when Prophet Ekene observed that business was no longer as bountiful as usual in his church.
After much inquires, he confirmed that the catechist of St. Dominic’s Catholic church, Mr. Joseph Ugwu, acting on instructions by the parish priest Rev. Fr. Patrick Ujah, had passed a strict warning to the congregation to desist from visiting his prayer house or bear the consequences.

A reliable source in the know, stated that the Catechists warning didn’t go down well with the prophet as the there was a drastic effect on the number his members.

Regardless of the “mind-blowing testimonies” from those who visited him, the Prophet lost a huge bunch of his members.
In order to tactically restore his lost glory, the prophet allegedly applied some Catholic doctrines in his prayer. The sign of the cross and the rosary was also said in every gathering.

“However, the style of his vision brought confusion among people, enthralled rancour, and mutual suspicion. People began to see their brothers as the source of their problems, while some who visited the prophet insisted that the names of their enemies should be revealed to them,” confirmed the source.

All attempts by the Parish Priest, to make Prophet Ekene get authority from the Catholic secretariat in Nsukka and recognition letter from his home parish to boost his authenticity proved abortive.

Consequently, the priest forbade Catholics from visiting the prophet or risk excommunication. Unable to bottle his anger and pains over adverse effect of the order on his church, the prophet sent emissaries to the catechist to stay out of his way. But the Catechist remained unperturbed, however, the prophet personally confronted him with severe warning and threat to bomb his entire household if he doesn’t to steer. He was also said to have threatened to become ruthless to any obstacle on his way.

However, nemesis caught up with the fake prophet when the youths of the community caught and arrested him for allegedly defiling little boys in the community. He was humilated and taken to the Igwe’s palace. The Prophet later confessed to the homosexual act after two of his victims recounted their experiences before the counsel of the elders. He was at the verge of being lynched by the angry youth but for the timely intervention of the traditional ruler who handed him over to the police.

Some sources claimed that the prophet was granted bail and he immediatly fled the community, but the Police Public Relations Officer in Nsukka, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, maintained he is yet to be informed about such development.