Notorious BIG Autopsy 15 years after
http://www.tmz.com/2012/12/07/notorious-b-i-g-autopsy-death-report-christopher-wallace-gunshots-heart-arm-scrotum/
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
SHOLA O'NEIL'S BLOG: Boko Haram: Jonathan is weak - OBJ
SHOLA O'NEIL'S BLOG: Boko Haram: Jonathan is weak - OBJ: Ex-President defends Odi invasion Akinyemi advocates conference It was meant to be a lecture in honour of a distinguished pastor ...
Boko Haram: Jonathan is weak - OBJ
Ex-President defends Odi invasion
Akinyemi advocates conference
It was meant to be a lecture in honour of a distinguished pastor celebrating his 40th anniversary on the pulpit. But the forum turned out to be more; it became a podium for a blistering criticism of the Jonathan administration.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo lashed out at the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration for what he called its slow handling of the Boko Haram insurgency.
He also accused the administration and that of his successor, the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, of being soft on corruption.
Boko Haram’s gunmen have killed thousands of people in the North, especially in Borno and Yobe states – the epicentre of their activities.
Many schools have been burnt down. Many churches have been attacked by suicide bombers as the sect intensifies its violent activities.
Obasanjo, who was instrumental to the enthronement of the late Yar’Adua and Jonathan, said the sect’s activities would have been nipped in the bud had drastic steps been taken at the initial stage of Boko Haram’s insurgency – as he did in 1999 when he deployed troops in Odi community, Bayelsa State.
He spoke in Warri as the moderator of a public lecture by former External Affairs Minister Prof Bolaji Akinyemi in honour of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, who is marking his 40th anniversary as a pastor.
The former president accused his successors of allowing the Boko Haram scourge to become a national security problem.
He said: “My fear is that when you have a sore and you don’t attend to it early enough, it festers and becomes very bad. Don’t leave a problem that can be bad unattended.”
Reflecting on the crisis at Odi, Obasanjo said:
“I attended to a problem that I saw; I sent soldiers. They were killed, 19 of them (were) decapitated. If I had allowed that to continue, I would not have the authority to send security anywhere again. I attended to it.
“If you say you do not want a strong leader, who can have all the characteristics of a leader, including the fear of God, then, you have a weak leader and the rest of the problem is yours,” he added.
In his reaction to comments on rising corruption by public office holders in Akinyemi’s paper, Obasanjo blamed the weakened anti-corruption fight on his successor.
“At one time, they said the fear of (Mallam Nuhu) Ribadu, former Chairman of the Economic and Economic Crimes Commission (EFCC), is the beginning of wisdom. Then, what happened to Ribadu? And there was no longer any wisdom,” he added.
He hinted that the faltering fight against corruption had made it impossible to recover an outstanding $1billion from the cash stolen by the late General Sani Abacha and his family.
Obasanjo and Akinyemi expressed divergent views on the convocation of a national conference as the way forward for the nation’s unity and peace.
The professor of International Relations and Diplomacy suggested the convocation of a national conference to allow all interest groups the opportunity to express their views on national issues.
He said: “The Nigerian elite, political, economic and religious, must get together and fashion out a grand consensus. Let me make it clear that I am not advocating a consensus to loot the national treasury – that is already taking place.
“For us to have a consensus, we should have a national conference to air our views and grievances. At the end of the day, we should be able to agree (on the way forward).”
But Obasanjo faulted the call, saying: “We have been on this conference forever.”
“We can never get all Nigerians to a room and say let’s have a conference; we will still get representatives and when you finish, there will still be those who will not be satisfied. I may not be satisfied, and if I am not satisfied, should I not be able to vent my feeling and say I am not satisfied? If I can vent my feelings and say I am not satisfied, then I am now satisfied.”
The two eminent Nigerians also disagreed on the application of Federal Character, which Akinyemi said, “dispenses with experience and emphasises the turn-by-turn syndrome, irrespective of experience or qualification”.
He lamented that choices of vice-chancellors, bishops, judges and others are now subject to federal character, adding: “Just last week, there was an episode, disgraceful by all account, that took place within the judiciary. “
But Obasanjo said: “There is nothing intrinsically wrong in federal character, if we have decided that we really want to weave this country together.
“The problem is how it is applied because if you are looking for Federal character with merit, you will get it anywhere in Nigeria.”
There was however a consensus on leadership. Both men expressed the need for a strong leadership that will build the Nigeria dreamt of by the founding fathers.
courtesy www.thenationonlineng.net
Akinyemi advocates conference
It was meant to be a lecture in honour of a distinguished pastor celebrating his 40th anniversary on the pulpit. But the forum turned out to be more; it became a podium for a blistering criticism of the Jonathan administration.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo lashed out at the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration for what he called its slow handling of the Boko Haram insurgency.
He also accused the administration and that of his successor, the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, of being soft on corruption.
Boko Haram’s gunmen have killed thousands of people in the North, especially in Borno and Yobe states – the epicentre of their activities.
Many schools have been burnt down. Many churches have been attacked by suicide bombers as the sect intensifies its violent activities.
Obasanjo, who was instrumental to the enthronement of the late Yar’Adua and Jonathan, said the sect’s activities would have been nipped in the bud had drastic steps been taken at the initial stage of Boko Haram’s insurgency – as he did in 1999 when he deployed troops in Odi community, Bayelsa State.
He spoke in Warri as the moderator of a public lecture by former External Affairs Minister Prof Bolaji Akinyemi in honour of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, who is marking his 40th anniversary as a pastor.
The former president accused his successors of allowing the Boko Haram scourge to become a national security problem.
He said: “My fear is that when you have a sore and you don’t attend to it early enough, it festers and becomes very bad. Don’t leave a problem that can be bad unattended.”
Reflecting on the crisis at Odi, Obasanjo said:
“I attended to a problem that I saw; I sent soldiers. They were killed, 19 of them (were) decapitated. If I had allowed that to continue, I would not have the authority to send security anywhere again. I attended to it.
“If you say you do not want a strong leader, who can have all the characteristics of a leader, including the fear of God, then, you have a weak leader and the rest of the problem is yours,” he added.
In his reaction to comments on rising corruption by public office holders in Akinyemi’s paper, Obasanjo blamed the weakened anti-corruption fight on his successor.
“At one time, they said the fear of (Mallam Nuhu) Ribadu, former Chairman of the Economic and Economic Crimes Commission (EFCC), is the beginning of wisdom. Then, what happened to Ribadu? And there was no longer any wisdom,” he added.
He hinted that the faltering fight against corruption had made it impossible to recover an outstanding $1billion from the cash stolen by the late General Sani Abacha and his family.
Obasanjo and Akinyemi expressed divergent views on the convocation of a national conference as the way forward for the nation’s unity and peace.
The professor of International Relations and Diplomacy suggested the convocation of a national conference to allow all interest groups the opportunity to express their views on national issues.
He said: “The Nigerian elite, political, economic and religious, must get together and fashion out a grand consensus. Let me make it clear that I am not advocating a consensus to loot the national treasury – that is already taking place.
“For us to have a consensus, we should have a national conference to air our views and grievances. At the end of the day, we should be able to agree (on the way forward).”
But Obasanjo faulted the call, saying: “We have been on this conference forever.”
“We can never get all Nigerians to a room and say let’s have a conference; we will still get representatives and when you finish, there will still be those who will not be satisfied. I may not be satisfied, and if I am not satisfied, should I not be able to vent my feeling and say I am not satisfied? If I can vent my feelings and say I am not satisfied, then I am now satisfied.”
The two eminent Nigerians also disagreed on the application of Federal Character, which Akinyemi said, “dispenses with experience and emphasises the turn-by-turn syndrome, irrespective of experience or qualification”.
He lamented that choices of vice-chancellors, bishops, judges and others are now subject to federal character, adding: “Just last week, there was an episode, disgraceful by all account, that took place within the judiciary. “
But Obasanjo said: “There is nothing intrinsically wrong in federal character, if we have decided that we really want to weave this country together.
“The problem is how it is applied because if you are looking for Federal character with merit, you will get it anywhere in Nigeria.”
There was however a consensus on leadership. Both men expressed the need for a strong leadership that will build the Nigeria dreamt of by the founding fathers.
courtesy www.thenationonlineng.net
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Monday, 10 September 2012
Ghanaians oppose contract for 'corrupt' Nigerian Company
New Housing Deal Stinks
A Nigerian businessman at the head of the repackaged $200 million housing project, a replacement for the ill-fated STX Korea initiative, is at the centre of a litany of corruption-related cases in a number of states in the northern and southern parts of the oil-rich country.
Snecou Group of Companies has been contracted by the Ghana Government to construct 4000 houses at the outrage cost of $200million, and a Parliamentary approval has been sought, even though the company has a dodgy background.
Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, E.T. Mensah laid the documents in Parliament last Friday.
A top-notch policy advocacy grouping, Imani Ghana, made the disclosure over the weekend in a statement raising objection to the deal, especially against the backdrop of the shadowy background of the chairman of the Snecou Group of Companies, Prince Nicholas Uwachukwu.
The Snecou chairman reportedly used four of his companies to loot $40 million belonging to the northern state of Nasarawa, Imani cautioned Ghanaians, especially the authorities.
Besides the shadowy integrity of the Nigerian group of companies, the unit cost of the houses, according to Imani, was exorbitant and therefore not in the economic interest of the country.
“Clearly, the average cost of a unit ($77,000) is exorbitant in this scheme of things. In cost terms, the deal is worse than the STX one,” Imani stated. The advocacy grouping pointed out that while it supported ventures which were in the interest of the nation, it stood for “the judicious use of public resources, and a greater commitment to due diligence on the part of public purse holders”.
While referring to the Order Paper already laid before the current session of Parliament, Imani pointed out that “it should not have advanced from committee level in the first place much less laid before the full House.”
According to Imani, the report of the Joint Committee on Finance and Works & Housing which referred to a Supplier’s Credit Agreement between the Government of Ghana and the corruption-enveloped Snecou Group of Companies, as well as details of the project, was the same instrument used to design the ill-fated STX deal.
By the terms of the deal, Imani explained, Snecou would raise $77.3 million for the construction of 1000 houses for the police and military as government settled the emanating debt.
Imani pointed out that “in October 2010, the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of the Republic of Nigeria indicted the Chairman of Snecou, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, of using four of his companies to loot $40 million of public funds belonging to the State of Nasarawa. The 171-count charge (charge sheet – FHC/LF/CR/8/2010) preferred against Prince Ukachukwu in the Federal High Court in Lafia contains several references to Snecou. The EFCC accused Snecou and its Chairman of collecting huge sums of money from the state for various projects and failing to execute. In total, $80 million of embezzled funds were evidenced in the report.”
In another southern state of Bayelsa, the group of companies has been cited in a number of multi-million dollar abandoned projects. “Similar concerns have been raised about Snecou in connection with billions of Naira in construction contracts in Bayelsa state. In one case, Snecou won a contract to build a hospital valued at $120 million in the state. After huge payments had been made to the company, the project was finally abandoned,” Imani posited.
The advocacy grouping, in view of the foregone, counselled that the report, now before Parliament, be returned to the committee for the appropriate diligence to be conducted into the background and track record of Snecou and its chairman, Prince Ukachukwu.
Turning to a Buyer’s Credit Agreement between the Republic of Ghana and Italconstruct Limited, a local real estate company, for the supply of 4000 houses at a cost of $200 million, the terms of the offer did not improve on the one made by STX, according to Imani.
“At $50,000 base cost per unit, it is likely that the final price per unit will hit $60,000 or more. This is considerably above the ministry’s own threshold of $10,000 for affordable housing in Ghana.”
Imani pointed out that Italconstruct offered two-bedroom houses for sale on its website at just a little above $25,000 and therefore wondered why “the company should be quoting more than $50,000 per unit for a large-scale project whose capital costs are being fully underwritten by the state”.
DAILY GUIDE has been reliably informed that the affordable houses initiated by the Kufuor-administration had been sold out. An anonymous person told DAILY GUIDE that “when I went to the Works and Housing Ministry to make an enquiry, a notice was pasted to that effect.”
A Nigerian businessman at the head of the repackaged $200 million housing project, a replacement for the ill-fated STX Korea initiative, is at the centre of a litany of corruption-related cases in a number of states in the northern and southern parts of the oil-rich country.
Snecou Group of Companies has been contracted by the Ghana Government to construct 4000 houses at the outrage cost of $200million, and a Parliamentary approval has been sought, even though the company has a dodgy background.
Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, E.T. Mensah laid the documents in Parliament last Friday.
A top-notch policy advocacy grouping, Imani Ghana, made the disclosure over the weekend in a statement raising objection to the deal, especially against the backdrop of the shadowy background of the chairman of the Snecou Group of Companies, Prince Nicholas Uwachukwu.
The Snecou chairman reportedly used four of his companies to loot $40 million belonging to the northern state of Nasarawa, Imani cautioned Ghanaians, especially the authorities.
Besides the shadowy integrity of the Nigerian group of companies, the unit cost of the houses, according to Imani, was exorbitant and therefore not in the economic interest of the country.
“Clearly, the average cost of a unit ($77,000) is exorbitant in this scheme of things. In cost terms, the deal is worse than the STX one,” Imani stated. The advocacy grouping pointed out that while it supported ventures which were in the interest of the nation, it stood for “the judicious use of public resources, and a greater commitment to due diligence on the part of public purse holders”.
While referring to the Order Paper already laid before the current session of Parliament, Imani pointed out that “it should not have advanced from committee level in the first place much less laid before the full House.”
According to Imani, the report of the Joint Committee on Finance and Works & Housing which referred to a Supplier’s Credit Agreement between the Government of Ghana and the corruption-enveloped Snecou Group of Companies, as well as details of the project, was the same instrument used to design the ill-fated STX deal.
By the terms of the deal, Imani explained, Snecou would raise $77.3 million for the construction of 1000 houses for the police and military as government settled the emanating debt.
Imani pointed out that “in October 2010, the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of the Republic of Nigeria indicted the Chairman of Snecou, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, of using four of his companies to loot $40 million of public funds belonging to the State of Nasarawa. The 171-count charge (charge sheet – FHC/LF/CR/8/2010) preferred against Prince Ukachukwu in the Federal High Court in Lafia contains several references to Snecou. The EFCC accused Snecou and its Chairman of collecting huge sums of money from the state for various projects and failing to execute. In total, $80 million of embezzled funds were evidenced in the report.”
In another southern state of Bayelsa, the group of companies has been cited in a number of multi-million dollar abandoned projects. “Similar concerns have been raised about Snecou in connection with billions of Naira in construction contracts in Bayelsa state. In one case, Snecou won a contract to build a hospital valued at $120 million in the state. After huge payments had been made to the company, the project was finally abandoned,” Imani posited.
The advocacy grouping, in view of the foregone, counselled that the report, now before Parliament, be returned to the committee for the appropriate diligence to be conducted into the background and track record of Snecou and its chairman, Prince Ukachukwu.
Turning to a Buyer’s Credit Agreement between the Republic of Ghana and Italconstruct Limited, a local real estate company, for the supply of 4000 houses at a cost of $200 million, the terms of the offer did not improve on the one made by STX, according to Imani.
“At $50,000 base cost per unit, it is likely that the final price per unit will hit $60,000 or more. This is considerably above the ministry’s own threshold of $10,000 for affordable housing in Ghana.”
Imani pointed out that Italconstruct offered two-bedroom houses for sale on its website at just a little above $25,000 and therefore wondered why “the company should be quoting more than $50,000 per unit for a large-scale project whose capital costs are being fully underwritten by the state”.
DAILY GUIDE has been reliably informed that the affordable houses initiated by the Kufuor-administration had been sold out. An anonymous person told DAILY GUIDE that “when I went to the Works and Housing Ministry to make an enquiry, a notice was pasted to that effect.”
POLITICS: PDP'S 'PLOT' TO CRIPPLE FASHOLA, OSHIOMHOLE, OTHER ACN GOVTS REVEALED
PDP plans to strangulate ACN states financially - Lai Mohammed
The Action Congress of Nigeria has exposed the callous and evil plot of the People's Democratic Party to arrest development and progress in all ACN states by manipulating banks, including the apex bank, the capital market, financial institutions and regulatory authorities to withdraw financial support to all ACN states through a sustained campaign of blackmail , calumny and arm twisting.
In a statement issued in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed the party said it can authoritatively reveal that the first phase of this plot is for the PDP to make available to the Honourable Ministers of Finance and National Planning and Director General of the Debt Management office false representation of the debt profiles of ACN states accompanied by wild and unsubstantiated allegations financial recklessness and improprieties against ACN states for deliberation at the next meeting of the Federal Executive Council.
According to the party the Federal Government will then enlist the support of the Central Bank Governor who will table the contrived damning indictment before the Bankers Committee who in turn will unsuspectingly withdraw their financial support from all ACN states.
But the People's Democratic Party led Federal Government will not stop at this. It will thereafter manipulate its appointees at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other relevant regulatory authorities to block the ACN states access to the capital market even as the same Federal Government itself had resorted to the same Capital Market to fund its own deficit budget, the party elaborated.
The party recalled that the People's Democratic Party when it had no answer to Lagos State's unprecedented developmental successes under the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu employed this same devious plot and would have succeeded in arresting the phenomenal success of that administration but for the financial ingenuity and resourcefulness of the former governor.
The recent unrelenting and sustained smear campaign against the ACN governors by the do nothing People's Democratic Party is nothing but a prelude to this grand conspiracy to financially cripple all ACN states . Rather than emulate the giant strides of the ACN states especially in the areas of security, youth employment, infrastructural development etc, and make life more meaningful and bearable for the millions of citizens under its watch the People's Democratic Party has true to character resorted to this evil plan to stunt the growth of the ACN states and condemn the people of these states to a life of misery, poverty, chaos and hardship as is the norm in almost all PDP led states, the party noted.
The People's Democratic Party led Federal Government is advised however to immediately retrace its steps otherwise it will face a people's revolt and anger the like of which it has never witnessed as the the citizens of all ACN led states will rise in with one voice to resist with all means at their disposal any attempt by the clueless PDP led federal government to truncate the unprecedented era of peace , progress and development currently being enjoyed in these states after the locust years of the PDP.
The Action Congress of Nigeria has exposed the callous and evil plot of the People's Democratic Party to arrest development and progress in all ACN states by manipulating banks, including the apex bank, the capital market, financial institutions and regulatory authorities to withdraw financial support to all ACN states through a sustained campaign of blackmail , calumny and arm twisting.
In a statement issued in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed the party said it can authoritatively reveal that the first phase of this plot is for the PDP to make available to the Honourable Ministers of Finance and National Planning and Director General of the Debt Management office false representation of the debt profiles of ACN states accompanied by wild and unsubstantiated allegations financial recklessness and improprieties against ACN states for deliberation at the next meeting of the Federal Executive Council.
According to the party the Federal Government will then enlist the support of the Central Bank Governor who will table the contrived damning indictment before the Bankers Committee who in turn will unsuspectingly withdraw their financial support from all ACN states.
But the People's Democratic Party led Federal Government will not stop at this. It will thereafter manipulate its appointees at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other relevant regulatory authorities to block the ACN states access to the capital market even as the same Federal Government itself had resorted to the same Capital Market to fund its own deficit budget, the party elaborated.
The party recalled that the People's Democratic Party when it had no answer to Lagos State's unprecedented developmental successes under the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu employed this same devious plot and would have succeeded in arresting the phenomenal success of that administration but for the financial ingenuity and resourcefulness of the former governor.
The recent unrelenting and sustained smear campaign against the ACN governors by the do nothing People's Democratic Party is nothing but a prelude to this grand conspiracy to financially cripple all ACN states . Rather than emulate the giant strides of the ACN states especially in the areas of security, youth employment, infrastructural development etc, and make life more meaningful and bearable for the millions of citizens under its watch the People's Democratic Party has true to character resorted to this evil plan to stunt the growth of the ACN states and condemn the people of these states to a life of misery, poverty, chaos and hardship as is the norm in almost all PDP led states, the party noted.
The People's Democratic Party led Federal Government is advised however to immediately retrace its steps otherwise it will face a people's revolt and anger the like of which it has never witnessed as the the citizens of all ACN led states will rise in with one voice to resist with all means at their disposal any attempt by the clueless PDP led federal government to truncate the unprecedented era of peace , progress and development currently being enjoyed in these states after the locust years of the PDP.
Monday, 3 September 2012
CHELSEA SELLS MEIRELES TO FENERBAHCE
MEIRELES DEPARTS FOR TURKEY
Posted on: Mon 03 Sep 2012
Raul Meireles has today joined Fenerbahçe on a permanent transfer.
The move was completed before the close of the Turkish transfer window later this week.
Meireles joined Chelsea on transfer deadline day last August and made his debut away at Sunderland, assisting a Daniel Sturridge goal with a long through-ball.
The Portuguese international's ability to play in a variety of roles in midfield meant he was regularly deployed by both Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo, starting 37 games last season and coming on in a further eight matches.
He scored six goals including important long-range strikes in Di Matteo's first game in charge at Birmingham in an FA Cup replay, and at home to Benfica that sealed a Champions League quarter-final win when the team was under pressure.
He was a second-half sub during the FA Cup Final victory over Liverpool but missed the Champions League Final due to suspension having played the whole of the semi-final versus Barcelona.
This season, prior to his transfer, the 29-year-old started one match and was a sub on two occasions. In total he made 38+10 appearances.
Chelsea Football Club thanks Raul for the part he played in such an historic and successful year, and wishes him well at his new club.
He joins a Fenerbahçe squad containing former Chelsea winger Miroslav Stoch plus ex-Premier League players Joseph Yobo and Dirk Kuyt.
Culled from www.chelseafc.com
The move was completed before the close of the Turkish transfer window later this week.
Meireles joined Chelsea on transfer deadline day last August and made his debut away at Sunderland, assisting a Daniel Sturridge goal with a long through-ball.
The Portuguese international's ability to play in a variety of roles in midfield meant he was regularly deployed by both Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo, starting 37 games last season and coming on in a further eight matches.
He scored six goals including important long-range strikes in Di Matteo's first game in charge at Birmingham in an FA Cup replay, and at home to Benfica that sealed a Champions League quarter-final win when the team was under pressure.
He was a second-half sub during the FA Cup Final victory over Liverpool but missed the Champions League Final due to suspension having played the whole of the semi-final versus Barcelona.
This season, prior to his transfer, the 29-year-old started one match and was a sub on two occasions. In total he made 38+10 appearances.
Chelsea Football Club thanks Raul for the part he played in such an historic and successful year, and wishes him well at his new club.
He joins a Fenerbahçe squad containing former Chelsea winger Miroslav Stoch plus ex-Premier League players Joseph Yobo and Dirk Kuyt.
Culled from www.chelseafc.com
N24m ROASTED 'CHICKEN COCAINE'
N24m ROASTED 'CHICAINE'
***Man arrested in Lagos with N24m worth of cocaine stuffed in roasted Chicken
Cops confiscate cocaine valued at $150K.
Suspect allegedly told officers he hoped to start business with the drug money.
LAGOS, Nigeria — A man was arrested at the Murtal Mohammed International Airport, Lagos after cops said he arrived toting roasted chicken with an unusual stuffing: $150,000 (about N24million) worth of cocaine.
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency spokesman Mitchell Ofoyeju said Monday that suspect, Vincent Chegini Chinweuwa, arrived at Lagos’ MMA (International) this weekend from Sao Paolo in Brazil.
Ofoyeju said Chinweuwa told investigators he had hoped to start a business in Nigeria with the drug money.
Chinweuwa could not immediately be reached for comment as he remained in custody of the anti-drug agency Monday. Ofoyeju said Chinweuwa had yet to hire a lawyer.
Nigeria is a major transit point for drugs coming from Latin America and going to Europe and the U.S.
***Man arrested in Lagos with N24m worth of cocaine stuffed in roasted Chicken
Cops confiscate cocaine valued at $150K.
Suspect allegedly told officers he hoped to start business with the drug money.
LAGOS, Nigeria — A man was arrested at the Murtal Mohammed International Airport, Lagos after cops said he arrived toting roasted chicken with an unusual stuffing: $150,000 (about N24million) worth of cocaine.
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency spokesman Mitchell Ofoyeju said Monday that suspect, Vincent Chegini Chinweuwa, arrived at Lagos’ MMA (International) this weekend from Sao Paolo in Brazil.
Ofoyeju said Chinweuwa told investigators he had hoped to start a business in Nigeria with the drug money.
Chinweuwa could not immediately be reached for comment as he remained in custody of the anti-drug agency Monday. Ofoyeju said Chinweuwa had yet to hire a lawyer.
Nigeria is a major transit point for drugs coming from Latin America and going to Europe and the U.S.
Saturday, 1 September 2012
Bayelsa News: N200m contract winner commits suicide
INCREDIBLE: Man wins N200m contract then commits suicide
A 34years old man
identified as, Tari , yesterday in Yenagoa committed suicide by drinking a
mixture of insecticide know as Sniper and liquid Bleach few hours after securing
a state Government road contract worth N200million for the construction of the
Egbedi road in Kolokuma/Opokuma area of the state.
Tari,who is an indigene
of Trofani Community in Kolokuma/Opokuma area of the State and a graduate of the
University of Port Harcourt in Rivers State,swallowed the poisonous mixture in
the early hours of Friday and was found writhtling in pains by close
relatives.
SOB gathered
that the incident occurred at the home of the deceased located within the Civil
Servant Estate behind the office complex of the State Scholarship
board.
According to Family
sources,the mother of the deceased,who is identified as a retired Civil Servant
and other family members,were shocked beyond words at the incident. None could
however give reasons for the decision of the deceased to take his
life.
While some family
sources have started ascribing the tragic end to some mysterious powers,others
claimed that the deceased had,in the past few days,been receiving threat calls
on his mobile phone. They claimed the mysterious callers have been threatening
to kill him over an undisclosed deals.
It was further gathered gathered
that the relatives and sympathizers,after discovering the grievous act of the
deceased,rushed him to the Federal Medical Center (FMC) for treatment and
reportedly took him to a Church after his condition deteriorated.
Expectedly, family members were too devastated to speak as they wailed and cursed over the incident.
Speaker of the State Police Command, Mr. Fidelis Odunna, said no official report on the incident had been made at the time he was contacted. He however said operatives of the command would be deployed to investigate
the incident.
NIGER DELTA NEWS: TEMPERS RISE OVER AMNESTY MILLIONS
Ex-Militants, Joseph Evah on collision course over amnesty allowance
...Evah is short-changing us - Ex-militants
…No, am not but I will deal with them - Evah
Former freedom fighters (ex-militants) under the Phase 2 Amnesty Programme, have accused prominent Ijaw leader and National Coordinator of Ijaw Monitoring Group, Comrade Joseph Evah, of shortchanging them in the payment of their monthly amnesty allowances.
The aggrieved former foot soldiers of the accused the Ijaw activist, who they claimed got the contract to handle their disbursement, of fronting for amnesty official in a multimillion fraud in the payment of their monthly allowance.
Speaking under strict condition of anonymity this morning, the ex-militants of former Gberebeha Camp in Lagos, told Nation Evening Express that over 400 of their members from the are being systematically shortchanged by Comrade Evah and the amnesty official.
"Our counterparts under the leadership of Tompolo (Chief Government Ekpemupolo) and others are paid N65,000 per month and their payment is done monthly and regularly. But (Comrade) Evah pays us N55,000 out which we are asked to pay N10,000 to his community as development levy," they lamented.
They further claimed that the Ijaw leader adopt a method of payment that ensures that they are only paid twice in three month, adding, "He keeps the money in his account for weeks and pay the past month towards the end of the preceding month. Thereafter he tells us that we have been paid for the current month."
However, Evah, who spoke with our reporter from Ghana this morning, denied the allegation. He said, "I am not a militant, I never had any camp so how can I be responsible for the payment of militants?"
He further stated that he organizes programme and source sponsorship for programmes which beneficiaries are required to pay "something" for the development of their communities.
"(But) They don’t want to pay community levy; they do not want to contribute. I have told them (that) I am going to deal with them and I will deal with them," Evah vowed.
But his accusers claimed that the scheme is carried out in connivance with members of the Amnesty Office, who forward their petitions back to Evah, who in turn victimizes the authors to serve as deterrent to others.
"We are suffering oppression here; our petition to even the Chairman, Mr. Kingsley Kuku was forwarded to him (Evah) along with telephone numbers. In retaliation, he removed their names from the list and they have not been paid since then. He warned us that similar fates await those who speak out against the deal," our source added.
NIGER DELTA NEWS: IYC WARNS NORTHERN GOVs
PIB: Ijaw youths warn Northern Governors
'Don’t start problems that will overwhelm you'
The umbrella body of Ijaw youths in the Niger Delta, Ijaw Youth Council, has warned the Northern Governors' Forum over its opposition to the Petroleum Industry Bill and call for the review of the sharing formula of oil proceeds.
IYC said the forum's opposition to the PIB as voiced by the Chairman and Governor of Niger State, Dr. Aliyu Babangida, was capable of leading the country to a disaster.
Governor Aliyu stirred controversy recently when he called for a review of the crude oil revenue sharing formula as well as alteration of the PIB, which gives the Minister of Petroleum Resource almost unlimited powers.
However, the President of IYC, Miabiye Kuromiema, cautioned that the statement could unleash fresh violence and unrest and advised the NGF and its parent body, the Nigeria Governors' Forum, to tread with caution.
He said, "We recognise that it is provocative, it is divisive and the forum led by Dr. Aliyu is leading this country to a disaster by such pronouncements. They and even the entire Governors' Forum are pushing this country to a precipice of disaster and I do not think they have the capacity to withstand the disaster that will arise."
Similarly, Kuromiema also waved aside the controversy generated by multibillion-naira pipeline surveillance contracts to former warlords, Chief Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo), Tom Ateke, Boyloaf, Asari Tokubor and others.
Revelation about mouthwatering contracts to the ex-militant leaders have led to widespread criticism of President Goodluck Jonathan's policies and cuddling of the repentant warlords.
However, the IYC President said the beneficiaries are eminently qualified to get such juicy contracts, stressing that there was even need for them to earn more.
Meanwhile, Kuromiema expressed the determination of the IYC to actualise the struggle for resource control, stressing that it would achieve the effort through legal and civil means in the Niger Delta.
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
SHOLA O'NEIL'S BLOG: Boko Haram: We Will Retaliate - Niger Delta Milita...
SHOLA O'NEIL'S BLOG: Boko Haram: We Will Retaliate - Niger Delta Milita...: Freedom Fighters (ex-militants) from in the Niger Delta region, under the auspices of Leadership Forum for Peace in the Niger Del...
Boko Haram: We Will Retaliate - Niger Delta Militants
Freedom
Fighters (ex-militants) from in the Niger Delta region, under the auspices of
Leadership Forum for Peace in the Niger Delta, have threatened to carry out
reprisal attacks if the Islamic militant group, Boko Haram, continues with its
attack on churches and Christians in the north.
The
group’s President, ‘General’ Pastor Reuben Wilson, who led top members of the
group while addressing in a press conference in Port Harcourt, also cautioned
northern leaders to call Boko Haram to order.
He
fingered key politicians in the northern geopolitical zones of instigating the
people against their kinsman, President Goodluck Jonathan as part of a grand
plot to discredit his administration and to prevent him from having a second
shot at the highest office.
While
recalling its own pasts, LFPND reminded sponsors of the group and other Islamic
leaders, particularly in the northern parts of the country, that Boko Haram does
not have the monopoly of violence and warned that the region’s warlords could be
forced to launch reprisal attacks.
‘Gen’
Wilson, warned: “Northern leaders should allow Jonathan to serve his full term
in peace and warn their boys because blood is still running in our veins and
they should not take our silence and peace disposition to mean stupidity and
cowardice.”
In
the same vein, the group also advised the National Assembly to drop the threat
to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan over 100 percent implementation of the
2012 budget, saying the president means well for Nigerians.
“He
should be encouraged rather than being pilloried by (members) of a cabal who
have woken up to the realization that power has shifted to the Niger Delta,
where the wealth of this country is being produced.”
Port Harcourt News: Hawkers Protest Ban on Street Trading
Street traders kick over plans to
ban street trading
Street traders in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor Local
Government Area of Rivers State have kicked against plans by the Rivers State
Environmental Sanitation Authority to ban their activities from next Saturday,
September 1.
It would be recalled that the RSESA Chairman, Mr.
Isobo Jack, recently announced that street traders face both imprisonment and
fine if caught flouting the new directives, which come into effect in the next
72 hours.
Jack said the decisions stemmed from the security
implications of the activities of the street traders as well as their
contribution to the filthiness of the Garden City and its
environs.
Consequently, street trading is prohibited from Lagos
Bus stop on the Aba Road to Eleme Junction, as well as within the Old and New
GRA area, Ikwerre Road, Slaughter, Trans Amadi and other parts of the
city.
The RSESA chairman warned that machinery has been put
in place to apprehend and charge defaulters to court, warning that “they face
being sent to jail and payment of fine.’
However, a cross section of the targeted traders on
Aba and Ikwerre roads told our reporter this morning that the government’s
action was “inhuman, unfair and inconsderate.”
Hygenius Onyekachi, a ‘Gala’ sausage hawker said:
“Before they kick us out, what is their plan to give us job? This is the reason
why people are stealing, because those who do not want to be armed robbers and
criminals are being forced from their legitimate source of
livelihood.”
Others who spoke on condition of anonymity warned that Mr. Jack’s
claim that the directive would help curb crime in the city missed the point,
with one saying, “they said destruction of ghettos will reduce crime, has crime
reduced?”
MILITANT BILLIONAIRES - A MUST READ
Militant billionaires
.. TUESDAY'S THE NATION NEWSPAPERS' EDITORIAL
•Ex-warlords are now security chiefs in Nigeria’s oil industry!
THE recent revelation that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is paying about N5.6 billion annually to former leaders of Niger Delta militant groups to secure its pipelines is another unwelcome reminder of the Jonathan administration’s penchant for throwing money at problems instead of solving them.
The American newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, claims that the NNPC has a schedule of regular payments to several ex-militant leaders running into millions of dollars. Government Ekpumopolo, alias “Tompolo,” is paid U.S. $22 million a year; Mujahhid Dokubo-Asari gets about U.S $9 million; Ebikabowei “Boyloaf” Victor Ben and Ateke Tom annually receive $3.8 million each. According to the newspaper, the ex-militant leaders are paid to guard the NNPC’s pipelines which are vital to the evacuation of crude oil for export and the transportation of fuel products across the country.
Several questions immediately come to mind, many touching on the propriety of this arrangement. Is this a formal contractual agreement? If it is, where was the deal signed, and what are its terms? Why was an arrangement involving this amount of expenditure not disclosed to the relevant National Assembly committees overseeing the activities of the NNPC? Why was it kept secret from the Nigerian people? Were these ex-militant leaders not part of the government’s vaunted amnesty programme, on which it will be spending the equivalent of $450 million in 2012?
The lack of transparency surrounding the whole affair is a virtual confirmation of its illegitimacy. Regardless of their nuisance value, neither Ekpumopolo nor Dokubo-Asari or any of the others is a trained security operative with a proven background in oil-facility security. Destroying pipelines and oil facilities is not the same thing as securing them; the demonstrated capacity to throttle the nation’s oil export capacity does not connote the ability to facilitate the unhampered flow of the product. The fact that the theft and illegal refining of petroleum products and attacks on oil facilities have actually increased in recent times is ample testimony to the failure of the ex-militants to justify their payments.
The larger implications of the situation must also be considered, especially given the severe security challenges currently confronting the country. When a government decides to pay huge amounts to individuals who were involved in activities detrimental to the Nigerian state, they are encouraging others to do the same thing. Just as indigenes of the Niger Delta have legitimate grievances over resource control and environmental degradation, other nationalities have their own valid complaints. The Federal Government seems to be saying that organised violence is the best way to attract its attention and its finances.
To make matters worse, these payments do little to resolve the issues that gave rise to the problem of militancy in the first place. The ex-militant warlords may be extremely well-off, but their extreme wealth stands in stark contrast to the overwhelming poverty and despair which assails the south-south as a whole. The millions of dollars the NNPC has chosen to bestow on a few individuals could have been used to accelerate the overall development of the sorely-deprived communities of the region.
The pipeline-security payments constitute yet another of the Federal Government’s opaque dealings with former militant leaders. Earlier this year, it was discovered that contracts for securing the nation’s coastline were given to a company in which one of them had substantial interests. There was no public tender and no short-listing process; the terms of the contract are unknown.
If the Jonathan administration wants to be taken seriously, it must refrain from acquiescing in actions like these which demonstrate such a profound poverty of thinking. Ex-militant leaders have a right to pursue a legitimate living in their country, but that does not mean that they should take part in the corruption that they once claimed to be fighting.
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Delta News: Bizwoman Kidnapped, N.7m snatched
Robbers, Kidnappers Continue Siege
A 51-year-old block moulding company owner was this morning abducted in Effurun, headquarters of Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State in Nigeria.
The victim, identified as Mrs. Pat Fueta, was abducted by gun-wielding men who invaded her company located around an NNPC petrol station on a road leading to the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company.
She was whisked away in Toyota Camry salon car driven by a member of the gang.
A police source at the nearby Ekpan Police Station said the incident was reported by the victim's brother.
Meanwhile, a middle-aged man was robbed by gunmen along Okere Road, by Robert Road junction, at about 1pm this Thursday.
It was gathered that the victim was dispossessed of N700,000 cash.
The incident occurred barely 20 minutes after the victim, a middle-aged man of Ijaw extraction, cashed a cheque at local branch of UBA located around Okumagba Avenue, by Total petrol station.
A reliable source close to the victim said he was accosted by the gunmen, who trailed the okada on which he rode in a car.
"Two men got out of the car and pointed a gun each to either sides of his body. They ordered him to surrender the bag containing the cash, if he valued his life."
Expectedly, both incidents sent shock waves down the spines of residents who had thought the activities of hoodlums have been brought under control.
A 51-year-old block moulding company owner was this morning abducted in Effurun, headquarters of Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State in Nigeria.
The victim, identified as Mrs. Pat Fueta, was abducted by gun-wielding men who invaded her company located around an NNPC petrol station on a road leading to the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company.
She was whisked away in Toyota Camry salon car driven by a member of the gang.
A police source at the nearby Ekpan Police Station said the incident was reported by the victim's brother.
Meanwhile, a middle-aged man was robbed by gunmen along Okere Road, by Robert Road junction, at about 1pm this Thursday.
It was gathered that the victim was dispossessed of N700,000 cash.
The incident occurred barely 20 minutes after the victim, a middle-aged man of Ijaw extraction, cashed a cheque at local branch of UBA located around Okumagba Avenue, by Total petrol station.
A reliable source close to the victim said he was accosted by the gunmen, who trailed the okada on which he rode in a car.
"Two men got out of the car and pointed a gun each to either sides of his body. They ordered him to surrender the bag containing the cash, if he valued his life."
Expectedly, both incidents sent shock waves down the spines of residents who had thought the activities of hoodlums have been brought under control.
Women Protest Against Anti-abortion Oath
Ogbakiri women protest against antiabortion oath
…Say age long vow making them give birth like ‘animals'
Women of Ogbakiri Community in Emohua Local Government of Rivers State have call on government and women right defenders in the state to rescue them from the bondage of a traditional oath that forbids abortion by the community’s women.
.
They blamed the oath for unwanted babies in the community, adding that it is making them “reproduce like animals”.
The women made the call during a protest on Tuesday and called for the reversal of the agelong oath.
Sources say abortion is regarded as sacrilege and a crime against the spirit of the land.
“Any woman born and married in Ogbakiri must respect the tradition and those who violated it die in the process of aborting their babies. No right thinking woman in Ogbakiri in this present generation can dare the gods,” an octogenarian in the community said.
However, the women said the protest was aimed at drawing the attention of government and human right organizations to their plights and to save them from the dangers inherent in the tradition.
Comfort Woji said: “We are no longer comfortable with the tradition that is why we decided to protest against it. We are human beings the law should not be greater than our lives. Most of us have more children than we can control because we are afraid of abortion.
“If as a housewife I have agree with my husband that I will not have any other baby again and mistakenly pregnancy comes I should be the one to decided if I am to keep it or abort it, no one should force me to do what I don’t intend to do,” she added.
Speaking in the same vein, Josephine Onu, said: “I am not saying I want to abort my babies, but such decision is personal and such personal right should be respected. I think NGOs in the state and Rivers State should come into this matter and rescue us from this law.”
But Chiyere Amadi said the fight to loose women from the bondage is for the sake of their daughters, saying, “For many years now we are in bondage, we are doing this to save our daughters in future we don’t want them to suffer what we are suffering today.”
Friday, 24 August 2012
PORT HARCOURT NEWS: Pirates Pick Up N.1B Ransom
N100million ransom’ paid for oil workers' release
Bini Suntek with Ambo's 3 children
There are indications that a ransom of about N100million was paid to secure the release of four foreign workers of Sea Truck Groups, who were abducted from a work vessel, Jascon 33 off the Coast of Bonny Island in Rivers State, on August 4.
Unconfirmed reports indicated that equivalent of about N100million was paid in various hard currencies as ransom to secure freedom for the Malaysian, a Thai, an Iranian and Indonesian.
Muhammad Khairun Aseh, Chairman of United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) Youth public complaints bureau, who partook in negotiating the release, said the kidnappers refused to discuss with Nigerian official and held the negotiation under strict condition of secrecy with family members or their representatives.
Nation Evening Express gathered that family members were forced to cave into the demands of the gang when the Nigerian Navy, NNS Pathfinder, which lost two ratings in the August 4 attack, could not unravel the hideout of the criminals.
It was reliably gathered that the release of the expatriates were conveyed to their families and management of STG by the kidnappers.
Revelation about the communication between the criminals and the family affirmed suspicion that ransom was indeed paid to secure freedom for the embattled foreigners.
Bibi Suntek, wife of the Malaysian victim identified as George Lipih Ambo, confirmed negotiations with the pirates. She told a Malaysian news agency that she and her family were told not to discuss details about the case and if her family had received any demands for ransom payment
Similarly, the UMNO chief also kept sealed lips on how much ransom, if any, was paid.
He said: “George's family approached me for help. Before George was released, we requested to speak to him on the phone. He seemed to be in good spirits. Arrangements are being made for George to return home to Malaysia this weekend, pending approval from the Nigerian authorities,” Muhammad Khairun said.
George Lipih Ambo, a technician, and others were flown to a Lagos hospital, where it was confirmed that he was not suffering from malaria even though he was bitten by mosquitoes during his captivity.
Bibi Suntek said she and her family, including her three sons, were grateful that her husband was safe and unharmed, adding, “My husband called me this (Thursday) morning and said he is unharmed,”
She said there are arrangements for George’s return to Kuala Lumpur, adding, “I will fly to KL to meet him.”
....COURTESY NATION EVENING EXPRESS
Thursday, 23 August 2012
Port Harcourt News: Four expatriate oil workers freed
Oil workers regain freedom
The oil workers, who were abducted aboard Jascon 33, a merchant vessel owned by Netherlands-based Sea Trucks Group, were released last night.
Two naval ratings were killed and two others wounded when they tried to repel the August 4 attack that led to their abduction.
However, Nation Evening Express reports that the Malaysian, Iranian Indonesian and Thai were received by STG official in the early hours of today, nearly three weeks after they were snatched on August 4.
Associate Press report also quoted the company's spokeswoman, Corrie van Kessel of the Sea Trucks Group, as saying the men were in good health when they were released. She said the men received medical checkups after their release and were safe.
"It looks as if it's all OK," van Kessel said. "We've informed their families and the local consulates."
It also was unclear how the men were released. Van Kessel declined to say whether a ransom had been paid for their freedom. While kidnappings in the delta routinely involve violence, most hostages are released a few weeks later unharmed after their employers pay a ransom.
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
INSANITY: MAN 'TRIED TO RAPE' CO-PASSENGER IN A US FLIGHT
Man 'tried to rape' woman on US flight
A passenger on a US domestic flight dozed off wearing headphones and awoke to find the hands of the stranger seated next to her inside her blouse and shorts, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.
In a criminal complaint, the US attorney for New Jersey charged Bawer Aksal with sexual abuse.
Prosecutors said Askal, a Turkish national with U.S. citizenship, was sitting in the middle seat on United Airlines Flight 306 from Phoenix to Newark, New Jersey, on Monday night when he abused the woman, who was sitting in the window seat.
The woman, whose name is being withheld by prosecutors because of the nature of the charges, told authorities she woke up to find the man had one of his hands inside her shirt touching her breasts and the other in her shorts molesting her, according to the complaint. Aksal, 48, was breathing heavily and repeatedly asked the woman to kiss him, it says.
The woman demanded the man get off her, according to the complaint, slammed down the armrest between them and reported the incident to flight personnel.
A passenger in the aisle seat, noticing the commotion, offered to help the woman, prosecutors said, and accompanied her to the back of the plane to alert the flight crew. The aisle passenger later told authorities that he had seen the woman, who appeared to be asleep and not moving, and saw the man's arm under a jacket the woman had draped across her legs.
Aksal was detained on board and was taken into custody by federal authorities at Newark Liberty International Airport, a spokeswoman for the US attorney's office said. He admitted to law enforcement officers in Newark that he had touched the woman but insisted she had forced his hand into her shorts, prosecutors said.
The sex abuse charge carries a potential sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine upon conviction.
...Courtesy: www.telegraph.co.uk
Kuku blasts Niger Delta Govs
The Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs and Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Committee, Mr Kingsley Kuku, has challenged governors and chairmen of states and local government councils on the Niger Delta on the development of the region.
Kuku said elected officials in the region are not helping to improving the lots of their people despite the increase in their monthly allocations.
Kuku said that as a result of the amnesty programme, oil production has improved, rising from about 700,000 to about 2.7million barrels per day which in turn has increased the allocations of the governments of the Niger Delta by about seven billion naira monthly.
Despite this huge earnings accruing to them, Kuku lamented that they are not empowering their people.
The Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs and Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Committee, Mr Kingsley Kuku, has challenged governors and chairmen of states and local government councils on the Niger Delta on the development of the region.
Kuku said elected officials in the region are not helping to improving the lots of their people despite the increase in their monthly allocations.
Kuku said that as a result of the amnesty programme, oil production has improved, rising from about 700,000 to about 2.7million barrels per day which in turn has increased the allocations of the governments of the Niger Delta by about seven billion naira monthly.
Despite this huge earnings accruing to them, Kuku lamented that they are not empowering their people.
The Presidential Adviser who spoke in Port Harcourt when he had a meeting with Ogoni Youth Council (OYC) said that it is regrettable that instead of executing projects for the people, the politicians are busy jostling for second term in office “and because of that they do not tell the governors the truth for fear of losing their bids to come back to office.”
He also said that “this is the only time the governors can empower their people because beyond amnesty programme, what happens? Or must we gazette every Niger Delta youth as ex-militants?”
Kuku wondered why the four council chairmen in Ogoni land are not training their youths on environmental remediation so that they could key into the cleanup of the area as contained in the United Nations on Environment Programme (UNEP) report.
The presidential amnesty committee chairman who said that the meeting with the Ogoni youths was the first of the series of meetings he would hold with people of all ethnic nationalities in Niger Delta also urged the people to wake up and begin to talk to the governors and local government chairmen in the region “because we are getting more money and so let us use it to help our people.”
Earlier, OYC in communiqué signed by Comrade Marvin Yorbana, President and four others, dissociated themselves from “any call for secession” and condemned in strong terms the delayed implementation of the UNEP report on Ogoni.
They also demanded to be included in the amnesty programme as well as “an immediate training programme for the development of skills in oil spill cleanup and response techniques preparatory to the remediation exercise of devastated lands of Ogoni.”
NIGER DELTA NEWS - Ex-militants protest in Abuja this morning
NIGER DELTA NEWS - Ex-militant protest in Abuja this morning
Former armed militants from the Niger Delta region this morning took over the Eagle Square, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory in continuation of their protest for inclusion in the Federal Government’s amnesty programme.
The aggrieved youths had staged similar protests in Warri and Benin City, Delta and Edo states respectively.
Information available to Nation Evening Express indicated that over 1,000 youths sneaked into Abuja in the early hours of today and swooped on the Eagle Square at about 5am.
A leader of the group, ‘General’ Para Ekiye, confirmed the report in a telephone chat with our reporter. He said the action became necessary following the refusal of the Kingsley Kuku-led Amnesty Office to include his members in the list of beneficiaries of the gesture.
He said: “We moved in around 5am and we took over the Eagle Square to continue our protest because we want our members to be included in the amnesty having submitted our arms and ammunition to the Federal Government in line with the amnesty offer.”
However, Ekiye later told our reporter at about 8:49am that security officials, including the Commissioner of Police in the FCT, the State Security Services (SSS) and leaders of the Lagos and Abuja chapters of the Ijaw Youth Council, have waded into the matter.
“They appealed to us that the government would listen to us and right now we have been taken to the Glory Land (Ijaw Guest House) and we are awaiting further deliberations on the matter.”
Mr. Daniel Alabrah, Head of media unit of the amnesty programme, confirmed the protest in a telephone interview shortly afterwards.
Alabrah, who refused to comment, stated that it was not unconnected with the clamour for inclusion in the 3rd phase of the amnesty programme.
He reiterated the stance of the Presidential Adviser to the President, Kingsley Kuku, on the issue, stressing that the fates of the agitators rest solely in the hands of President Jonathan
Port Harcourt News - Gunmen Kill 2
Rampaging gunmen kill 2, wound others in Mile 1
At least two persons were
shot dead and several others wounded when four heavily armed men stormed a bar
along Ikwerre Road in Mile 1, late on Tuesday evening.
 |
| A robbery victim |
It was gathered that the
gunmen, whose mission was yet unknown at the time of this report, opened fire on
revelers at bar located at No. 49 Ikwerre Road.
One of victims, whose
identity was yet unknown at the time of this report, was shortly severally and
his remains were badly mutilated by the impact of the bullets which were pumped
into him severally at close range.
Eyewitness account of the
incident indicated that the armed men stormed the scene in a Mitsubishi L300
bus.
“Two of the men came down
carrying AK-47 rifles with two extra magazines attached. Two of them were
strolling along the road with their guns, ostensibly on the looking out for
policemen.
“The other two went
straight to the bar and opened fire on their victims. One of those killed was
shot severally and his body was damaged,” the source, who asked not to be named,
stated.
 |
| Gov Amaechi |
It was gathered that
another victim, simply identified as Ambrose, was also killed, even though the
firepower of the marauders were aimed at the yet unnamed victim. Another victim
sustained serious gunshot wound was rushed to nearby Teme Memorial Medical
Centre, Mile 1.
The incident, which
occurred at about 8pm on Tuesday, led to panic in the area as businesses quickly
shut their doors and scampered for safety.
Another source ruled out
armed robbery as the motive for the incident, as the gunmen reportedly left the
bar, which also has a gaming section and billiard/snooker tables, without
taking anything.
Monday, 20 August 2012
SYPHILIS SCARE IN HOLLYWOOD
Porn Shutdown Over Syphilis Outbreak
.....from Huffington Post
A cluster of syphilis diagnoses threatens to temporarily shut down the porn industry in Southern California.
Adult Production Health & Safety Services, a resource for actors in the adult film industry, first sounded the alarm Thursday in a blog post about "recent unsubstantiated rumors of a syphilis incident among adult performers." Because of the rumors, APHSS opened up their semi-annual syphilis testing immediately instead holding off until the original September date.
The Los Angeles County Public Health Department confirmed the small cluster of positive syphilis tests to the Los Angeles Times the next day. Peter Kerndt, director of the county’s Sexually Transmitted Disease programs, told the Times that the department had received at least five cases in the last week, and are working to pinpoint the original source.
“Whenever there is a cluster like that it may be the tip of the iceberg,” Kerndt said to the Times. “It is a concern. It is a serious health risk to workers in this industry.”
APHSS has since called for a temporary moratorium on adult film production until all performers get tested for syphilis, and the non-profit AIDS Healthcare Foundation is also expected to hold a news conference Monday morning in response to the possible outbreak. The organization is expected to say that the current system of frequent testing and self-policing doesn't do enough to prevent STD outbreaks, reports ABC-7.
AHF is an advocacy group known for leading the charge to collect 371,000 signatures for a ballot measure mandating condom use in porn films. Come November, LA county voters will decide whether or not film permits should be tied to the use of condoms during sex scenes.
Statewide among the general population, syphilis rates are on the rise, according to a report from the California Department of Public Health. Syphilis infection rates jumped by 18 percent from 2010 to 2011, and there was also a five percent increase in chlamydia and 1.5 percent increase in gonorrhea cases.
Syphilis is a bacterial STD that initially manifests itself in sores or sometimes presents no symptoms. If the infection isn't treated immediately, people who have syphilis can go on to suffer rashes and lesions, hair loss and flu-like symptoms like muscle aches, fevers, sore throats and fatigue. Without treatment, syphilis could last for years and go on to damage internal organs and cause stillbirths. If caught early, the infection is easily treated with antibiotics such as penicillin.
The best way to prevent contracting syphilis is to refrain from having sex with an infected person. Condoms can decrease the risk, but only if the affected areas are covered by the latex, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
UPDATE: At least one performer has tested positive for syphilis, said Joanne Cachapero, a spokeswoman for the Free Speech Coalition. The person's sexual partners are all being notified, reports the Associated Press.
Because of the possible outbreak, FSC has released a statement calling for a temporary moratorium on all adult film production. It's not clear how long the moratorium will be, especially considering that syphilis has a long incubation period and tests can't determine whether or not someone is contagious.
FSC explains the syphilis tests in more detail:
A negative test does NOT mean the performer is approved to work. It is important to note that this test has a large window period -- as much as 90 days -- and therefore cannot be relied upon to diagnose an acute (recent) syphilis infection. More importantly, a person with an acute infection can be contagious and still test negative. We cannot rely on these tests alone to determine a performer’s availability to work. This test only provides our doctors a baseline from which to base further testing or treatment options.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding syphilis testing, FSC is calling for all adult film workers to come forward and receive a prophylactic shot of antibiotics. Once the shot is administered, the performers can return to work in 10 days.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation emphasized the same need for a pause in production in a press conference earlier Monday.
Mark McGrath of AHF brought up the possibility that the infection came from European porn shoots, reports KTLA.
"There's strong evidence to indicate that syphilis has started in Europe from European shoots and now has come over to the United States, exposing our community, exposing our citizens," said McGrath.
The film production moratorium won't affect LA-based Vivid Entertainment immediately. "Our next production is scheduled for mid-September," said founder and CEO Steven Hirsch to the Huffington Post. "We'll make a decision based on events at that time."
This isn't the first time that the porn industry in Southern California has undergone self-administered moratoriums. AP has more on porn's previous public health scares:
In 2011, major porn producers stopped filming for nearly a week after an adult film performer tested positive for HIV, which causes AIDS. The Free Speech Coalition said the case was later determined to have been a false report.
In late 2010, porn actor Derrick Burts was diagnosed as HIV-positive, and his case was confirmed, briefly halting production.
In 2004, at least five performers tested positive for HIV, prompting another brief self-imposed moratorium.
.....from Huffington Post
A cluster of syphilis diagnoses threatens to temporarily shut down the porn industry in Southern California.
Adult Production Health & Safety Services, a resource for actors in the adult film industry, first sounded the alarm Thursday in a blog post about "recent unsubstantiated rumors of a syphilis incident among adult performers." Because of the rumors, APHSS opened up their semi-annual syphilis testing immediately instead holding off until the original September date.
The Los Angeles County Public Health Department confirmed the small cluster of positive syphilis tests to the Los Angeles Times the next day. Peter Kerndt, director of the county’s Sexually Transmitted Disease programs, told the Times that the department had received at least five cases in the last week, and are working to pinpoint the original source.
“Whenever there is a cluster like that it may be the tip of the iceberg,” Kerndt said to the Times. “It is a concern. It is a serious health risk to workers in this industry.”
APHSS has since called for a temporary moratorium on adult film production until all performers get tested for syphilis, and the non-profit AIDS Healthcare Foundation is also expected to hold a news conference Monday morning in response to the possible outbreak. The organization is expected to say that the current system of frequent testing and self-policing doesn't do enough to prevent STD outbreaks, reports ABC-7.
AHF is an advocacy group known for leading the charge to collect 371,000 signatures for a ballot measure mandating condom use in porn films. Come November, LA county voters will decide whether or not film permits should be tied to the use of condoms during sex scenes.
Statewide among the general population, syphilis rates are on the rise, according to a report from the California Department of Public Health. Syphilis infection rates jumped by 18 percent from 2010 to 2011, and there was also a five percent increase in chlamydia and 1.5 percent increase in gonorrhea cases.
Syphilis is a bacterial STD that initially manifests itself in sores or sometimes presents no symptoms. If the infection isn't treated immediately, people who have syphilis can go on to suffer rashes and lesions, hair loss and flu-like symptoms like muscle aches, fevers, sore throats and fatigue. Without treatment, syphilis could last for years and go on to damage internal organs and cause stillbirths. If caught early, the infection is easily treated with antibiotics such as penicillin.
The best way to prevent contracting syphilis is to refrain from having sex with an infected person. Condoms can decrease the risk, but only if the affected areas are covered by the latex, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
UPDATE: At least one performer has tested positive for syphilis, said Joanne Cachapero, a spokeswoman for the Free Speech Coalition. The person's sexual partners are all being notified, reports the Associated Press.
Because of the possible outbreak, FSC has released a statement calling for a temporary moratorium on all adult film production. It's not clear how long the moratorium will be, especially considering that syphilis has a long incubation period and tests can't determine whether or not someone is contagious.
FSC explains the syphilis tests in more detail:
A negative test does NOT mean the performer is approved to work. It is important to note that this test has a large window period -- as much as 90 days -- and therefore cannot be relied upon to diagnose an acute (recent) syphilis infection. More importantly, a person with an acute infection can be contagious and still test negative. We cannot rely on these tests alone to determine a performer’s availability to work. This test only provides our doctors a baseline from which to base further testing or treatment options.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding syphilis testing, FSC is calling for all adult film workers to come forward and receive a prophylactic shot of antibiotics. Once the shot is administered, the performers can return to work in 10 days.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation emphasized the same need for a pause in production in a press conference earlier Monday.
Mark McGrath of AHF brought up the possibility that the infection came from European porn shoots, reports KTLA.
"There's strong evidence to indicate that syphilis has started in Europe from European shoots and now has come over to the United States, exposing our community, exposing our citizens," said McGrath.
The film production moratorium won't affect LA-based Vivid Entertainment immediately. "Our next production is scheduled for mid-September," said founder and CEO Steven Hirsch to the Huffington Post. "We'll make a decision based on events at that time."
This isn't the first time that the porn industry in Southern California has undergone self-administered moratoriums. AP has more on porn's previous public health scares:
In 2011, major porn producers stopped filming for nearly a week after an adult film performer tested positive for HIV, which causes AIDS. The Free Speech Coalition said the case was later determined to have been a false report.
In late 2010, porn actor Derrick Burts was diagnosed as HIV-positive, and his case was confirmed, briefly halting production.
In 2004, at least five performers tested positive for HIV, prompting another brief self-imposed moratorium.