Rip

okpere sound Delta  .

[b]Okonjo-Iweala meets US investors over Nigerian economy


By Elizabeth Archibong


August 9, 2011 12:25AM


In pursuit of President Goodluck Jonathan’s focus on growing the economy by boosting investment and job creation in the country, the incoming minister of finance and coordinating minister for the economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has held a meeting with top financiers and key global investors.

Though she is yet to resume, sources close to the minister said the meetings, which held in New York and Washington DC, centred on exploring opportunities in different sectors of the Nigerian economy, especially with regard to financing important projects in the country.

Amongst those she has already met are George Soros as well as the heads of two of the biggest investment banks in the US - Citigroup CEO, Vikram Pandit; and CEO of JP Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon.

A source at the meeting said the discussions were both “positive and promising,” adding that the investors are “clearly interested in Nigeria and would invest under the right conditions and environment. But they also expressed concern about some aspects of the country’s financial and economic management.

“In particular, the financiers and investors would like to see a tighter approach to macroeconomic management including a better budgetary process, improvements in the investment climate, and greater transparency and rule of law in the country.”

There will also be follow up meetings in the weeks ahead, to further explore specific ideas and possible projects.

A recent report by Bloomberg said Nigeria’s dollar bond yields are at an all time low in comparison with European stocks because of the country’s low debt stock and “expectations (that) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a managing director at the World Bank, will help spur policy changes to encourage investment when she returns to the Cabinet.”[/b]

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5738300-146/okonjo-iweala_meets_us_investors_over_nigerian.csp

Mercy is one ugly babe,

[b]I stabbed bank manager to death for provoking me – Debtor’s brother-in-law


By Eniola Akinkuotu

Tuesday, 9 Aug 2011

Kenneth Udeh, the suspected killer of the manager of Spring Bank (now Keystone Bank Limited), Ebute Meta branch, Lagos, Mr. Emeka Ohazuruike, on Monday said he killed the banker because he was rude and provoked him.



He said, “Ohazuruike had been hounding me for the money which my brother-in-law had borrowed from him. The day before the incident, he threatened to involve the police and implicate me if I did not do something about it.



“On that fateful day, we went to buy a copy of a newspaper and were reading it in his (Ohazuruike’s) apartment. Ohazuruike brought up the issue of the money again and an argument ensued.



“In the process, he slapped and pushed me. I got angry, went into my brother-in-law’s flat, and got a knife. When he saw the knife, he tried to wrestle it from me and in the process, I stabbed him.



“I did not plan to kill him but he provoked me and I stabbed him in anger. Ohazuruike is my kinsman; we both hail from the same village, Okija, Anambra State.”



Udeh and his brother-in-law, Onyeka Idemili, were arrested by the Lagos State Police Command in connection with the murder of Ohazuruike.



The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Samuel Jinadu, told journalists that the alleged murder was carried out on Saturday in Satellite Town area of the state.



Jinadu said, “On Saturday, August 6, 2011, about 12:20 pm, Mr. Innocent Ezema of 24 Silver Street, Finiger Estate, Satellite Town, Lagos, came to the Satellite Police Division and reported that while descending the staircase in the compound, he heard a loud noise from one of the apartments.



“Being the caretaker of that particular apartment, he went there to find out what was amiss and on getting closer, he heard somebody screaming, ‘Onyeka has killed me.’ When he forced the door open, he saw Ohazuruike in a pool of blood. Blood was gushing out of his body and Udeh was struggling with him.



“Ezema immediately raised the alarm and this drew people’s attention. As people rushed to the scene, Udeh escaped from the scene. Ohazuruike was rushed to the nearest hospital where he finally gave up the ghost



Jinadu added that the police investigations revealed that before the tragic incident, Ohazuruike and Idemili had been involved in a business transaction, which had gone awry and had been causing friction between them.



He said, “The Police discovered that Ohazuruike gave out a loan of N11m to Idemili, his friend. Prior to that, they had been having series of arguments because Idemili did not want to pay back the money.



“On that fateful day, Idemili and Udeh came into the apartment of the deceased where they read newspapers and discussed. When they discovered that no one was in the compound and Ohazuruike had gone to take his bath, Udeh sneaked in and stabbed the banker in the back with a kitchen knife. This led to Ohazuruike’s death.



“Before anyone could do anything, Udeh and Idemili escaped. Both of them were however arrested at a motor park where they were attempting to board a bus to the east.



“Meanwhile, investigations are still ongoing and they will be charged with conspiracy and murder any moment from now”



Idemili, however, denied complicity in the murder and denied that Udeh acted on his instruction to kill the banker because of the loan.



Idemili said, “Ohazuruike and I were good friends even though we used to argue because of the money, which I wasn’t able to pay back in full. I used the money to import goods from Vietnam and he was aware of this. I had no hand in his murder. In fact, when I was travelling to the east with Udeh, I didn’t know that he had been murdered. I only heard from one of my neighbours that something bad had happened to him and was told not to come home.



“I admit that he borrowed me over N11m but before he died, I had paid him N2m. I feel bad that this kind of thing happened. I did not send Udeh to go and kill him.



PUNCH METRO gathered that Udeh was staying with Idemili at the time of the incident and were Ohazuruike’s next door neighbours.This, it was learnt, gave them easy access to the late banker’s apartment.


[/b]

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2011080918715

234Next's Bizarre Report On Diezani Allison Madueke's Education

Our months-long investigations in Nigeria and the United States, where Mrs Alison-Madueke attended university, showed that the minister actually graduated from Howard University in 1992 when she was already 32 years old.

Under the National Youth Service Corps Act, the one-year compulsory national service is only mandatory for Nigerians who graduate before the age of 30. Given the age at which she graduated, Mrs Alison-Madueke did not need to serve and is eligible for exemption from the programme. She cannot, therefore really be held liable for ducking it.

But it was the minister herself who created the confusion about her NYSC status by lying about when she graduated. In the resumes she personally circulated for several years, in search of jobs and appointments to public offices, Mrs Alison-Madueke claimed she obtained her Bachelor’s in Architecture from Howard in 1987 when she was 27. She also created the impression that she had more post-graduation experience than she actually had.

Based on that claim by the minister, this newspaper had conducted a comprehensive investigation into her national youth service status, which led us to report that she skipped the one-year programme.

Howard faults Mrs Madueke’s claim

But our investigations in the past months have revealed that Mrs Alison-Madueke actually backdated her graduation date by five years. Responding to a May 24 enquiry from NEXT, Howard, though its official, Kerry-Ann Hamilton said the minister graduated from the university and was awarded a Bachelor of Architecture degree under her maiden name, Diezani K. Agama, on December 8, 1992.

To be sure that the Diezani of Ms. Hamilton’s record is actually the oil minister, our reporter wrote the university again on June 3, providing her maiden as well as her married name. The Howard spokesperson responded same day indicating that Diezani K. Agama and Diezani Alison-Madueke were one and the same person.

She added, “Our alumni database shows an update to married and female in 2010. This database is different from the records database. It is most current. The records database showed what applicants indicate prior to enrolling.” In a telephone interview with our reporter two weeks ago, Ms Hamilton dismissed the suggestion that Mrs Alison-Madueke graduated in 1987 but that the university held on to her certificate till 1992. She said Howard was not in the habit of withholding the certificates of its students who had fulfilled all requirements for graduation. She further explained that the university authorities could not have withheld Mrs Alison-Madueke’s certificate if she had completed her course work for a degree five years earlier, saying the Minister could only have finished her programme and graduated in 1992.

“In the back and forth that we’ve had, I kept checking her records. I did not come across any evidence that her certificate was withheld,” she said.

A narrative of lies

It is not clear what Mrs Alison-Madueke’s motivations were for backdating her year of graduation in her personal records. Mrs Alison-Madueke and her spokespersons would not comment for this story. The minister refused to respond to telephone calls and text messages seeking her comments. When NEXT contacted Malachy Agbo, her spokesperson, he listened patiently to our enquiry and promised to get back with his response. He did not as at the time this newspaper went to press. He also did not answer subsequent calls made to his mobile telephone.

But sources suggested that she could have used it to curry favours in the early years of her life.

“You know when applying for jobs, some employers demand for some years of post-graduation experience. She probably did that to prove she had some years of experience in her early post-graduation life,” a source close to the minister told NEXT.

“By claiming that she graduated earlier than she actually did, the minister has fooled her previous employers, and enjoyed an unfair advantage over those who competed for positions with her,” said an official at the Ministry of Petroleum, who did not want to be named for fear he might be victimised. “What she has done is perjury. It is criminal and such a person is not fit to hold public office.” In her most widely circulated curriculum vitae, which she also provided to senators for her confirmation hearings, Mrs Alison-Madueke claimed she attended Howard University between 1983 and 1987 for a five-year professional degree in architecture, a statement her publicist repeated in a press release after she was reappointed minister early this month.

Post graduation, Mr Agbo claims in the release (find it here http://www.randburg.com/nigeria/diezani-alison-madueke.asp), Mrs Alison-Madueke worked at American Interior Builders Inc. as Project Engineer before joining Furman Construction Management Inc. Rockville, Maryland, as Design Coordinator in 1988. Her CV claims she returned to Howard University as an in-house Project Manager and a member of the Planning and Development team in 1990 and then joined Shell Petroleum as Head, Projects Unit, Estates, Lagos.

Mrs Alison-Madueke’s critics say this career narratives are now in doubt.

“You can’t build something on nothing,” said an official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, who is peeved that President Goodluck Jonathan proceeded to reappoint the minister despite the weighty allegations of corruption hanging on her neck. “Since she lied about her graduation date, she must have lied about her work history as well.” Going by this new revelation that she only made it out of the university in 1992, Mrs Alison-Madueke has barely one-year post-graduation work experience before she was hired as a unit head in Shell.

“This is unbelievable,” a former lawmaker exclaimed in an interview with our reporter. “I am suspicious that her claim that she graduated five years earlier than she actually did, must have misled Shell into giving her that position.” But by the time she became petroleum minister in 2010, Mrs Alison-Madueke momentarily appeared to have grown weary of lying about her graduation date. In the version of her CV she provided to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the minister was silent on when she passed out of Howard, although she stated clearly in the same document that she obtained an MBA from the University of Cambridge in 2003. But the falsehood appears to have continued, as shown by her resume recently circulated by her aides.

A curious sex record

Another bizarre aspect of Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s record with Howard was that the university believed she was male until she applied for a change of status sometime in 2010.

When we first contacted her in May, Ms Hamilton explained that Mrs Alison-Madueke enrolled into the University as a male, saying the minister “is a male according to our records.”

In a subsequent correspondence, the Howard University spokesperson further explained, “our alumni database shows an update to married and female in 2010.” “This database,” Ms Hamilton stated, “is different from the records database. It is most current. The records database showed what applicants indicate prior to enrolling.” It is not clear whether Mrs Alison-Madueke deliberately applied to Howard as a male or whether it was the university that jumbled her records. The minister rebuffed an opportunity to state her own side of the story.

Her c[b]onduct is criminal

Some critics say the jumbled dates do not detract from her need to answer questions about her past.

“That is false and fraudulent representation and it is a criminal offence,” said Jiti Ogunye, a Lagos based lawyer.

Mr Ogunye explained that if the minister secured the public offices she has held based on the fraudulent information she provided, she could be prosecuted.

Bamidele Aturu, another lawyer and human rights activist, was unequivocal in condemning Mrs Alison-Madueke’s conduct.

“It is immoral. The person has misled the Senate, has misled the nation. It does not show that the person is a good example to our young people,” Mr Aturu said, while explaining, “Since the information was not made on oath, it cannot be considered an offence before the law.” A series of investigations by NEXT has shown that Mrs Alison-Madueke’s leadership of the petroleum ministry has been characterised by monumental corruption. This involves arbitrary awards of crude lifting contracts to obscure companies, fraudulent assignment of prospective rights in five lucrative oil blocks to two barely established companies and extortion of bribes from marketers. [/b]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CCQQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nairaland.com%2Fnigeria%2Ftopic-729480.0.html&ei=i8RATvXzOIqVswazhJz2Bw&usg=AFQjCNHOXAh0O8PONpjiwOa1Z0gELWZ2gg&sig2=VOvFDWnkjNgSIkLUUBVLkQ

mercy johnson,

The man who built a car

By Adeola Adeyemo


A[b]ugust 6, 2011 11:56PM


When Sunday Okpere was seven, he made toy cars using empty milk cans, short ropes and small twigs, which he happily dragged around the streets in his hometown in Edo State; while at the same time nursing the dream of building a real car.

Today, Mr Okpere drives a red and black car, which he named ‘Rock Auto,' around the streets of Lagos; a car which he designed and coupled from start to finish with locally-sourced materials.

Despite the death of his father and the attendant financial and emotional setback to the family, Mr Okpere said "making a car" was something he knew he wanted to do at a young age when he discovered his creative spirit.

"When I was a young boy, I used to make car with cans," said Mr Okpere, 35, who relocated with his family from Lagos to Edo State in the late 70's.

"All my friends in my neighbourhood will gather around me and say I should make for them. From cars, I started making guns.Anything I was interested in, I tried to make on my own."

"In secondary school, my teacher in school asked me what I wanted to be in future and I said I want to be an engineer," he said.

Return to Lagos

Armed with his dream, Mr Okpere returned to Lagos in 1990. He recalled how difficult it was then, struggling to help his mother and schooling. He could not further his education after completing secondary school due to financial difficulties, but this did not deter his dream. His interest in cars led him to an automobile workshop in Oyadiran Estate, Sabo, Yaba, where he trained for seven years as an auto mechanic.

He garnered so much skills there that his employer didn't want him to leave.

"My boss didn't want me to leave him. He kept me for some time and was paying me but later I had to leave to find my own life," he said.He worked for a while with a petroleum company in Ikoyi where he was responsible for maintaining all the cars used by the company. While there, he got some experience working on ships, as his Italian boss taught him a couple of things, he said.

Today, he works with Tag 4 Armour Nigeria, a company that sells and services armoured vehicles for police, banks and individuals. For Mr Okpere, every work experience he's had was a foundation block for achieving his dream.

In July 2010, he started putting pieces of his car together, a journey which took him six months to complete.

"I did a lot of research on the Internet before I came up with the engine design and parts that I used. I had to work hard.

"I saved my salary for many months. I think a lot, I don't drink; I don't go to beer parlour. You can't see me there. How can I achieve my own dreams? That was my focus then. I said to myself, I want to build a car, how can I go about it?"

Copying the master

According to Mr Okpere, many people mocked him when he started building his car. Some called him a mad man, many laughed at him.But the story of Henry Ford was one thing that greatly inspired him.

"When I read the story of Henry Ford, I saw that his lifestyle was similar to my own. At the age of 12 years, he started helping his father and going for apprenticeship on how to design engine models. I thought that if he can do it, I can do it."

The process of building the car came with a lot of challenges that threatened to discourage him at certain points, he said, but he kept his ground.

"I made a lot of mistakes," he recalled. "I spent a lot of time and money on the windscreen.

"The first one I got didn't work, it got damaged. The second one, the same thing. Until I got the third one, then I succeeded. You have to keep trying. It's not when it doesn't work then you think you have failed. You must try again."

Another trying moment came when he wanted to test-drive the car. This he had to do alone. After driving it around for a while, he wanted to see the performance at a ‘C' bend on Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, a place he said accidents occur quite often. "I wanted to see the balance of the car so I entered the bend with speed, thinking it was going to shift, but the car was fine.

"Then I started laughing out loud; people were just looking at me. I gave God the glory immediately."

Today, Mr Okpere is so proud of his car, a V6 four stroke engine, that he would be happy to let any engineer test-drive it. For him, safety was his priority when designing the car which is why he built it with strong iron pillars which cannot compress in such a way that it would injure the occupants in case of any accident.

He is grateful to God who has been with him all the way and encourages young people to pursue their dreams regardless of where they come from.

"I grew up in the street. I was a street boy. God picked me out of the street and he crowned me with his glory."
[/b]

http://www.talkofnaija.com/News/newsdetailsone.aspx?NewsId=205A84B0-83BC-4F7E-96EA-700B7CC54C86

Igbo criminal the ikas are not igbo and will never be one. ewu go and hang!fishing is an honest job when you compare it to drug trafficking,selling your kidney in Malaysia or being a 419 etc you named it,the igbos are always there.lol why can't my igbo cousins take a joke?always serious about everything.

Lol fighting over ika people who are not igbos and will never be one. instead of worrying about ika,why can't you guys worried about issues affecting igboland like the osu culture,cannibalism,child trafficking etc. i heard 70 percent members of Mend are igbos. Ika are more bini than igbo!

All this human eater are so annoying lol.

,

Lol

HuMmmmm

Igbo kwenu.

[b][b]

600,000 persons live with HIV/AIDS in Benue

On August 5, 2011 · In News


BY PETER DURU

MAKURDI – The Benue State Commissioner for Health and Social Services, Dr. Oduen Abunku, has disclosed that over 600,000 persons are currently living with the dreaded HIV/AIDS in the state.

Abunku lamented that skyrocketing figure had left the state on the top of chart of available statistics of the most endemic states in the federation.

The Commissioner, who spoke at the joint Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signing ceremony between the Benue State Government, the NKST Health Services and the Nigeria Indigenous Capacity Building Project, regretted that HIV/AIDS infestation in the state was destroying and eroding the state’s capacity in the food and agriculture.

He said: “In Nigeria, Benue State has for many years topped the chart of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS with over 600,000 persons living with the virus in the state.

“The virus is destroying our farms, schools and churches and that is why we will continue to partner organisations who are providing services to the infected and affected in the state.”

He called on all development partners in the current war against the virus in the state to redouble their efforts at curbing the prevalence of the virus in the state.

In his remarks, Governor Gabriel Suswam, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Dr. David Salifu, said his administration would continue to partner relevant agencies and international partners to ensure that the scourge of AIDS in the state was effectively checked.

Suswam, who disclosed that at the inception of his administration, the state had only one HIV/AIDS treatment centre, however, noted that his administration had established 20 more centres for the benefit of the infected.

The governor urged the people of the state to put aside their socio-political differences and join forces against the virus in the state, adding: “We must put aside our socio-political differences and stand up against the virus, so that our people will be able to lead a normal live.”[/b]

how many people are left in Benue?

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/08/600000-persons-live-with-hivaids-in-benue/

An official of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Onipede Olusegun, was on Tuesday in Lagos arraigned for allegedly raping a four-year-old girl.

Olusegun, 54,  is facing trial before a Surulere Magistrates’ Court on a one count charge of having unlawful carnal knowledge of a four-year-old girl.

The police prosecutor, Onime Idowu, told the court that the accused on July 26, at No. 8 Tawose Street, Onipanu, Lagos, had unlawful carnal knowledge of the girl, daughter of his co-tenant.

Idowu said the accused deceitfully invited his victim into his room and asked her to put off her underwear before committing the act.

She said the incident was exposed when the parents of the girl were looking for her and her elder brother saw her naked in the accused room through a key hole.

According to her, the offence contravened Section 218 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Magistrate E. O Daodu granted him bail in the sum of N250,000 with two “responsible” sureties in like sum, and adjourned the case till August 24 for further hearing.

http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/article/lastma-official-trial-raping-4-year-old

[b]

Gang rape at OAU as students flee


Female pre-degree students reportedly run away from their hostels at the outskirts of the town following an attack by unidentified youths

Article | August 2, 2011 - 6:57am | By Emmanuel Chidiogo



Scores of female students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, who are undergoing pre-degree programme, have fled their hostels at Moro Village, on the outskirt of the ancient town, following alleged case of gang raping by locals.

The students live in private hostels in the village, due to the university's non-residential policy on the pre-degree programme. It was gathered that the alleged rapists had on July 27 swooped on the students and raped an unspecified number of them who were also robbed of their belongings.

Consequently, most of the students fled the hostels, some five kilometres to the university's main campus at Ile-Ife.

Some parents had in the past expressed serious concern at the nondescript nature of the hostels, with no good security arrangements, while some of the rooms were virtually without good doors.

The parents were said to have complained that the students were paired in rooms that were not fit for human habitation in spite of the very high fees the university authority charges on each student for the nine-month programme.

Biodun Olanrewaju, the Public Relations Officer of the university, who confirmed the incident, said the number of affected students had yet to be ascertained.

He said that as soon as the incident occurred, a detachment of security men from the main campus was deployed in the area to keep vigil and provide security for the students.

Olanrewaju explained that the Moro hostels were not owned by the university, but were rented through private arrangements in collaboration with the parents of the students.

“It is true that we operate a pre-degree programme at Moro, but it is non-residential,” he said. “Parents made private arrangements for the accommodation of their children. We are touched by the unfortunate incident, and we identify with the students. The onus is, however, on the police to maintain security of lives and property in the area. The university authority provides security at the study centre. However, this does not go beyond the centre, as there is no way of taking care of the students at Moro.’’

Olanrewaju appealed to landlords in the area, especially those of them whose properties are providing hostel accommodation for the students, to be more security conscious.   

A different story

However, one of the female landlords, who did not want her name published, said that what actually occurred was not a case of rape, but robbery attacks on the students.

“A group of robbers came to the area on Wednesday night to rob the students of their belongings, but the local security men raised alarm and they fled,’’ she said.

She said the armed robbers neither hurt nor raped the students during the operation, stressing that the hoodlums even dropped some stolen items while fleeing the scene. “Items recovered from the robbers include 11 GSM handsets and some cash, [and] all the items have since been released to the owners,’’ she said.

Some residents of the village, who described the incident as very worrisome, said that all the female occupants of the buildings where the incident occurred had abandoned their rooms.

The affected students were not available for comments, while the buildings have locked.

The Area Divisional Police Officer at Ipetumodu, who declined to mention his name, said that some of the students had in the past sought for adequate security at the hostels.

He said that although no case of rape was reported to the police, investigation would be carried out to ascertain what actually happened.
 
In his reaction, Dr Ademola Adisa of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the university, urged government to ensure strict enforcement of the law on rape to effectively check the menace.

He said that if the judiciary could be firm in applying the law by punishing the culprits, the crime would be put under control.

Adisa noted with regret that cases of rape were so rampant in the society these days, especially among the youth, because of the indecent mode of dressing by most ladies.

He appealed to parents to always educate their children on how to dress decently and morally, and closely monitor their movements, especially at night.

Olumide Taiwo, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, said the command was still expecting an official report on the case from its men in the area.
[/b]

http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/article/gang-rape-oau-students-flee

[b]Makarfi lists Northern region’s woes

On August 1, 2011 · In News
,


By Emeka Mamah
Former Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has identified high illiteracy, poverty levels and the heterogeneity as some of the causes of incessant ethno-religious conflicts in the North. He said, however, that the government had the capacity to contain such mayhem by simply earning the confidence of the electorate.

Makarfi said that while the South-East and the South-West can be said to be largely made up of Igbo and Yoruba, respectively, none of the three regions that make up the North can pass the test of homogeneity in the real sense of it. He added that although this was what made the region unique in the past, the differences in religion and tribe have now become its albatross.

Makarfi spoke at the presentation of a book, Clash of Identities: State, Society and Ethno-Religious Conflicts in Northern Nigeria, written by Dr. Hussaini Abdu in Abuja, weekend.

He said: “Though crises are a part of human nature, our experience in Kaduna has taught us that government has a singular leading role to play in reducing their frequency, averting them where possible, blunting their ferocity when they inadvertently happen as well as rapidly containing them and returning situations to a state of normalcy.

“This can be done by simply, but importantly, earning the confidence of the people.’’

Makarfi, however, regretted that the situation in the north is being exacerbated by politicians, who promote the differences in the people’s religion and ethnicity, “unfortunately, in their quest for political power.’’

He added: “Religious and ethnic inclinations are beginning to dwarf service and development and the capacity to deliver them. This is what usually heightens tension. Sometimes, the scope of crises widens because Nigerians are highly mobile. You find Nigerians from all parts of the country in any part of the country.”[/b]

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/08/makarfi-lists-northern-regions-woes/

[b]Villagers discover suspected kidnappers' den in Ogun State


By Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji



August 1, 2011 02:04PM


A shocking discovery of what appears to be a den of kidnappers was made at the weekend in a village in Ogun State, with a number of decomposing mutilated bodies strewn across the spot.
A visit by NEXT to the site, in company of a local vigilante group who uncovered the site, near Labiade-Akaso village in Onipepeye Community, along Abeokuta-Owode-Sagamu expressway, revealed the bodies of some suspected victims of the killers, including the mutilated body of a baby.


However, as at the time of this report, a suspected member of the gang, allegedly caught inside a Jeep car near the spot, had been arrested and was being detained at Owode Police Station, while police sources informed that the suspect would be transferred to the police headquarters at Eleweran, Abeokuta for further interrogation.
Narrating how the den was uncovered, a leader of the vigilante group in Obafemi Owode Local Government, Sakiru Ewuoso said they received information from villagers about the suspicious movement of the suspect.


Mr Ewuoso said in view of this, the group accosted the suspect, who informed them that his car had a fault and that he needed some water for the radiator. He said his volunteers then provided the suspect with water, which he poured in the car's radiator and drove off.


However, because of their suspicion, he said his group decided to wait a while and went into hiding after the man left. The waiting paid off as, a few hours later, the suspect returned to the scene in the company of other suspected members of the gang and was freshly confronted by the vigilante group.
Mr Ewuoso said the suspects, on sighting the vigilante group, opened fire on them but they overpowered the suspects, leading to the arrest of one of them and confiscation of the Jeep car, while the others fled.


"In our search for those fleeing, we decided to comb the bush around the area, where we noticed a footpath, which eventually led them to the den, where numbers of corpses were discovered," he said. "The police was immediately alerted and they did not waste time in following us to the den, where they themselves saw the gory stage of some decomposed bodies. We had since handed over the arrested suspect to the police at Owode Police Station, along with the Jeep Car."
The traditional ruler of Owode-Egba, whose jurisdiction covers the community affected, Kolawole Aremu Sowemimo expressed shock over the development, recalling that information about the discovery was brought to his notice by the vigilante group.


"Following the information when the vigilante group came to my palace, I immediately alerted the local government authority and the police. So the police authority in conjunction with the vigilante group swung into action leading to the apprehension of one of the suspects," Mr Sowemimo said.

Fear in the village


He, however, appealed to his subjects to remain calm, saying all hands were on deck to get to the root of the matter.
"I don't want things like this in my domain, and I am also calling on all my subjects to always report any suspicious movement and unfamiliar faces," he said.
A resident of Labiade-Akaso village, Musiliu Osho said the situation was worrisome and village children might be forced to stop schooling because of the fear they might be kidnapped by suspected ritualists.


"Our children can now no longer go to schools on their own, except we take them there and return them," he said in Yoruba. "We have to stop them from going to school for fear of these ritualists. We are appealing to the state government to come to our aid."
The spokesperson of the State Police Command, Muyiwa Adejobi, equally confirmed the discovery as well as the arrest of a suspect, adding that investigation into the matter was in full course.


"The Commissioner of Police, Nicholas Nkemdene has ordered the transfer of the suspect to Eleweran Police Headquarters, while investigations have commenced in earnest," he said. "If the suspect is found wanting, he would not be spared while collaborators would also face the wrath of the law."


Back

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5736518-146/villagers_discover_suspected_kidnappers_den_in.csp[/b]

Enugu state is the best in igboland.

seanet02:

As usual, na my ibo brothers.

airmark:

Igbo students on rampage!!!

igbo.

Upper Iweka
Anambra crime headquarters
•Where robbers, ‘blood-sucking demons’ and fake policemen reign
From ALOYSIUS ATTAH (princemmy@yahoo.com)
Sunday, July 31, 2011


Photo: Sun News Publishing


More Stories on This Section
[b]
Sample 1
Ndidi Anyiam is a young girl staying with her elder brother, Donatus, a trader at the Onitsha Bridge Head drug market. After three years of battling to secure admission into the university, she got tired of staying at home and opted to assist her brother in his shop at the Bridge Head.

One Friday morning, she set out to go to the market. On crossing the other side of the road at the Upper Iweka NITEL bus stop to board a bus plying the Uga Bridge Head route, she was approached by a nice-looking young man who asked her the direction to locate Nwaziki Street in Awada. Coincidentally, it was on the same street she resides. But the attempt to assist this ‘harmless’ young man was her greatest undoing.

All Ndidi could remember two days later was that she found herself in Asaba, the Delta State capital. She could not explain how she was hypnotized, she went to her brother’s shop and collected N80,000 being the cost of two cartons of Procold tablets her brother just sold that morning. Ndidi went ahead and borrowed N120,000 from different sources inside the market, lied to them that it was her brother that sent her and subsequently went back to Asaba to hand over the money to the fraudsters. It was when she came back to look for more money that the brother, who had gone to the Abuja park to send goods to a customer, accosted her and demanded to know where she kept the money inside the drawer. She never gave a satisfactory answer. It was after the brother slapped her that the ‘scale’ fell off her eyes and she started crying.

Sample 2
Sister Mmesoma is a nun in the congregation of Immaculate Heart Sisters. She was transferred from their convent in Awo-Omama, Imo State, to the Nkpor Convent to take charge of the provision store and canteen serving the mission hospital. On a particular day, she went to the Ogbaru Main Market, popularly known as the Relief Market in Onitsha, to buy goods. On approaching the foot of the flyover at Upper Iweka, there was a traffic snarl. So, she and the driver joined the queue. Because the car air conditioner was faulty, the windows  were wound down. Suddenly two young men appeared by the window and shouted: “Give us that bag.” Out of fear arising from different tales she had heard about Upper Iweka, she handed over the bag containing the sum of N210,000 to the boys even before the driver could tell her not to since the boys were a regular nuisance that harass people without guns within the area.

This is Upper Iweka, the unofficial crime headquarters of Anambra State. Upper Iweka literary possesses different faces - the good, the bad, the ugly. These true life encounters are just samples from the action thriller churned out daily from the hot spot of Onitsha.
Upper Iweka is a big spectacle in contradiction and absurdities. Though it derived its name from the popular Iweka Road, named after a monarch (now late) from Obosi in Idemili North Local Government of the state. Upper Iweka is simply the upper part of the Iweka road but because of its vantage location, it is the heart of Onitsha.

It is the connection point for many travellers as it serves as a point of arrival and departure for various travellers within the city or those in transit. Because of its central location connecting the Onitsha-Enugu expressway, Asaba Bridge Head expressway as well as Onitsha-Owerri expressway, many cannot do without Upper Iweka, although it is often dreaded like a plague due to the chilly stories and happenings within the area.

When popular musician Ibealoke Chukwukeziri (aka Apama Boy) released an album in 2001 titled: Ihe na-eme na Upper Iweka (things dey happen for Upper Iweka) it was a hit. The Achi, Oji River-born artiste demonstrated in song the activities of illegal tax collectors, who extort money from individuals in the name of tax rates until they met their perfect match in the person of Chief Perricomo Okoye, whom they carried shoulder high to their office to perfect their extortionist tendencies but were surprised that they couldn’t bring him down despite all efforts. Ichie Perrycomo, using his own African magical powers, taunted them all through, commanded and collected outrageous items from them before he set them free.

Today, the tax collectors may have fizzled out of Upper Iweka but the activities in the area can make for another block buster movie. In June this year, Upper Iweka was in the news again as 20 corpses were reportedly found in a tunnel while a criminal was being pursued. Although official sources say the figures reported in the media were inflated, our reporter spent some days in the area and came up with several discoveries that would make the activities of those days under the Ojuelegba bridge in Lagos look like child’s play.

Upper Iweka is the place where two men can engage in an open fight totally naked with passers-by watching. There, Okada riders and others passing by, when pressed by nature, will simply unzip, pull down their trousers and begin to defecate in the gutter while others pass and look the other way.

In this place, it is every man for himself as no one cares what happens to the other. Everybody seems to be always in a hurry here. It is also a dumping ground for ritualistic activities, an area where one confronts in the early hours of the day gory pictures of beheaded ladies or butchered men whose vital body parts may be missing.

Fake policemen on the prowl
There used to be a police station at Upper Iweka opposite the NITEL office. The place was formerly a beehive of activities as the police then were accused of massive arrests of innocent people. It was during the MASSOB uprising some years ago that some hoodlums capitalized on the situation and burnt the station down.

Since then, the Anambra State police command has not rebuilt it, although there is another police station nearby at Okpoko layout. While policemen in uniform mount checkpoints around the flyover and the Lagos park axis, Sunday Sun revealed that fake policemen also harass and extort money from individuals. They operate around the NITEL area, Aba Park axis, Micmerah Park, Ogbaru Relief Market as well as Old Asaba/TRACAS Park. Their style of operation is usually to flash their identity cards at an already fidgeting trader and then search and collect any valuables in the person’s bag unless the person is ready to settle.

Narrating his frequent encounter with this group of ‘policemen’ to Sunday Sun, Justus Ijeoma, who is head of the publicity desk of a human rights group in Anambra, said: “There was a day one of them flashed his identity card and wanted to search my bag. I resisted and he called another man on the other side of the road, who he addressed as Inspector. The so-called Inspector flashed his own identity and I quickly grabbed it, only to discover that the man was a police constable. I called the Area Commander on the phone and he told me to hold the man and await the arrival of his men. Unfortunately for them, the press crew of a private television station was passing by and one of the reporters recognized me. They filmed the encounter and took all of us to the station where it was discovered that the constable was working hand-in-hand with the fake police officer. The man was sanctioned appropriately.”

Our reporter also observed that many traders in Onitsha become victims of these fake policemen and other real policemen in plain clothes, who harass people within the area with phrases like “wetin you carry?”; “from where to where?”; “where is your helmet?”; “when you reach station, you will explain further”; “where is the receipt for this goat?” among other such gimmicks.
Speaking on the development, the new Onitsha Area Commander, AC Larry Osita, said the command was poised to discipline any errant officer as he had zero tolerance for corruption.

Emergency toll collectors
In 2009, The Federal Government awarded the contract for rehabilitation of the Onitsha-Enugu dual carriageway. Although the pace of work has been at a snail speed, with concerned residents lamenting the situation, there are however other individuals “praying” daily that the work should be abandoned completely. They are the emergency toll collectors reaping bountifully at Upper Iweka. Since the construction company excavated large sand, which blocked the gutters in between, it has become practically impossible for pedestrians, motorcyclists and vehicle owners to cross over to the other side of the lane without assistance.

This became an employment opportunity to many jobless youths who capitalized on the situation to erect wooden crossover ‘bridges.’ The toll fee is N10 per crossing for pedestrians and ‘Okada’ riders while vehicle owners pay N50. Between the Ogbaru market, down flyover, TRACAS to MCC bus stop, this reporter counted 15 of such illegal tolls/crossings and all the operators are busy from morning till night. Some of the points are manned by red-eyed Indian hemp addicts, who are ready to “die” with any uncooperative user. One of the operators who identified himself as Tobias said he makes an average of N3000 daily from his toll point.
In the evening, the business becomes more spectacular as wheelbarrow pushers convert them into emergency flyovers. They put their barrows between the gutter for people to step on to the other side, also for a fee.

Centre of mysterious accidents
Upper Iweka is also the place where the highest number of road crashes is recorded yearly in Onitsha. It is estimated that accidents occur on the average of two per day in the area. Some attributed it to the presence of “blood-sucking demons” in the area while others say it is the result of the chaotic nature of the area and the concentration of human and vehicular traffic. Most of the vehicles often involved in crashes are heavy-duty trucks and people wonder how such vehicles crash at the point of destination at Onitsha after covering long distances from Maiduguri and other parts of the North.

When contacted on the telephone, the Onitsha Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Mr Ben Akunne, declined comment on the development but demanded an official letter before he could respond.

Headquarters of hooliganism/brigandage
Apart from regular touting by motor park and garage workers, Upper Iweka is also the headquarters of hooliganism and brigandage. Pick pockets, handset and handbag snatching are rampant. Armed robbery incidents occur mainly in the early hours of the day and in the evening. A car dealer, Onuorah Oodo, narrated how he lost his valuables to armed robbers at Upper Iweka while returning from Lome, Togo, where he sources cars for his clients. This practice takes place in various forms by various faceless groups, who have the raw nerve to demand and grab money and other valuables from their hapless victims. However, there are two identifiable groups whose activities leave much to be desired. They are the Anambra State Traffic Agents (ASTA) operatives and the Task Force known as Ndi Mpiawa azu (the lacerators, back breakers or the cane masters).
The ASTA operatives appear in green trousers and yellow shirts while the Mpiawa azu group is known by its traditional ox blood fez cap on which is inscribed Anambra State Task Force. They usually wield long canes.
Although the ASTA operatives have their head office at the Bridge Head section while the Mpiawa azu is located at the Onitsha-Owerri road bypass, both groups have unofficially relocated their head office to Upper Iweka because of the lucrative nature of their business in the area. The two outfits were created by a former Commissioner for Transport and Special duties in the state to ease traffic, check the excesses of commercial bus drivers on major roads in Onitsha as well as to clear the streets of the excesses of street traders.

Sunday Sun findings however revealed that the major preoccupation of the two groups is extortion and brutality. The ASTA operatives impound and forcibly remove vehicle number plates, tow such vehicles to their offices and extort the driver. They apprehend those driving against the traffic yet they flout the same rules themselves while on duty. The cane beaters (mpiawa azu) collect money openly from drivers while any hesitation results in continuous flogging and breaking of vehicle mirrors.

Their boss is popularly known as IKO and is alleged to operate a very lucrative transport business with a fleet of vehicles while they don’t remit the accurate revenue accruing to the government. When Sunday Sun contacted him on phone for comments on the allegations, his response was: “What is your business in this matter? Did government tell you that their money is missing? If I like, I can procure 100 buses monthly for my business. If you had come physically to ask me this stupid question, I wouldn’t have talked to you. Rather I would have told my boys to beat you up.”

This reporter witnessed recently how a pregnant woman fell off a commercial motorcycle that was knocked down by a commercial bus being pursued by the group at Upper Iweka. She died soon after.

Rent a bench to pass the night
At the Lagos Park section of Upper Iweka is another big story. Many street urchins and barrow pushers that are homeless find refuge in the area. While some of them sleep on top of their barrows at night, others that cannot afford the luxury rent wooden benches for N40 and sleep in the open space. Bench renting is another lucrative business in the area[/b]

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2011/july/31/newsbreak-31-07-2011-001.html

[b]Oil war!
10 chiefs, others die awaiting justice
•Ijaw communities warn Mobil over 13-year spillage
From MURPHY GANAGANA, Abuja
Sunday, July 31, 2011


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It has been a long-drawn out battle confined to the realm of the courts. And the bone of contention is the settlement of communal claims in the sum of N980 million and N450 million demanded by the Odimodi Federated Communities and Forcados community respectively.

The two communities in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State are making the claims over alleged damage to fishing creeks, lakes, ponds, mangrove swamps, farm lands and economic trees by a major oil spill on January 12, 1998 at the Idoho platform of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU).

For more than 13 years they have awaited justice in a case they ironically initiated as plaintiffs. But the communities say their patience has been stretched to its limits, and are, therefore, no longer willing to watch helplessly as scores of their leaders at the frontline of the legal battle die one after the other. At least 15 of such persons, among them 10 traditional title holders, have reportedly died while the legal tussle dragged on, eliciting feelings that their action might turn out to be a befuddling steeple chase after all.

Apparently consumed by fear of the unknown, youths of the communities have begun to beat drums of war in preparation for an onslaught on oil facilities within their area.

“We are tired of waiting endlessly for a case which we took to the law court since 2001. We have been in court for this long period in peaceful pursuit of our legitimate rights over an oil spill that occurred 13 years ago. Apart from our chiefs that have died within this period, do you know how many lives have been lost in our communities due to hunger and deprivation from damages caused by the spill to our sources of livelihood? Enough is enough.

“We have been silent all this time because we don’t want our brother, President Goodluck Jonathan to be grappling with too many problems, especially with the Boko Haram in the North, and another Niger Delta uprising. But it seems our position has been taken for granted. Mobil is not bothered because they do not have an operational base in our area. But when we turn on the heat, they will surely feel it,” a youth leader, Boboye Angafa, told Sunday Sun on the telephone.

He said inhabitants of the affected communities, including men and women, youths and the old, would soon embark on a peaceful protest to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and other oil companies operating within the Escravos/Forcados axis, as a measure of their desire to resolve the matter amicably. “But we shall be left with no other option than to disrupt oil operations if nothing tangible comes out of our desire for peace.”

Reason: “In continuation of hearing in the case before the Federal High Court in Benin, our lawyer made moves through an application to explore an out of court settlement, which the presiding Judge granted and adjourned the case to July 19. That was on June 21, 2011. But when our lawyer wrote Mobil, the company replied that it was not our prerogative to seek settlement; that they would want the case to continue. And I ask: Continue for how long? Till eternity, when all of us are dead? he queried with a feat of anger.

WAR FORETOLD
Investigation revealed that prior to the legal battle between Mobil and the aggrieved communities over payment of communal damages, concern had been raised within top government and security circles on the possibility of a conflagration if the issue was not amicably resolved. This was more so as the communities had earlier in a display of transferred aggression shut down the multi-million naira Forcados Terminal operated by Shell, in protest over their omission by Mobil while paying a N20,000 compensation to individual claimants for damage to fishing nets due to the 1998 Idoho oil spill.
The company eventually paid a total sum of N50million to 5000 omitted individuals of Odimodi, Ogulagha, Okibou, and Okibou Zion communities, all in Delta State. But the bone of contention remained a demand for payment of a cumulative sum of N1.43billion by the Odimodi and Forcados communities as communal damages to their sources of livelihood, including fishing creeks, ponds and farmlands, among others.

Emerging developments appear to give credence to the fact that the authorities in Delta State may have correctly gazed at the crystal ball when it urged Mobil 11 years ago to resolve the issues at stake with the communities. In a letter dated October 10, 1999, with reference TF/MA/C/76/25 and addressed to the Chairman/MD, Mobil, Lagos, the Directorate of Petroleum/Mineral Resources and Related Matters in the office of the Executive Governor of Delta State, stressed the need for the oil firm to urgently address the complaints of the Odimodi Federated Communities.

Part of the letter reads: “Briefly summarized, the community is requesting the sum of N980 million being compensation for general and aggravated damages experienced by the community arising from the Idoho platform oil spillage of January, 1998.The communities acknowledge that they have been paid their individual claims and that you sent two cheques totalling N5,809,500 through the Chairman, Burutu Local Government sometime early in the year (1999). They alleged that the cheques were returned to you on grounds of being insufficient compensation and are demanding the payment of the sum of N980,000.000 as per evaluation undertaken.

“In line with the present stand of government to pursue all communities/oil company rifts through dialogue, His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Delta State, has directed that you urgently look into the issues raised in the letter from the community, especially as they are taking umbrage for your inaction at SPDC. Apart from this situation being unhealthy, there is no doubt that it offends the principle of independence of each of you as corporate bodies – SPDC cannot be vicariously held liable for the actions or inaction of Mobil. Accordingly, it would be appreciated if you could mandate an officer of sufficient seniority to open dialogue with the communities, with officials of this directorate moderating on the side of Government.” The letter was signed by I.E. Agbeyeke (Executive Secretary), for the Special Adviser to the Governor on Petroleum Matters.

Nine months later, precisely on July 12, 2000, the Izon National Security Council (INSEC) also wrote a letter to Mobil’s Chairman/MD on the same issue, pointedly warning on the dangers of allowing the impasse to linger. In the letter, which was signed by Prince K. Pereotubo and Chief Thompson Brisibe, President and Secretary General respectively, the council appealed to Mobil to submit itself to the arbitration of the Delta State governor if it “does not want any further situation to erupt out of this issue.”

The letter reads in part: “About the subject matter under reference, we wish to seize this opportunity to tell you that we are conversant with all the details and your lapses with the issue at stake. We want to warn that the silence of the youths in the Odimodi communities should not be taken too much for granted. The outburst of the youths in the Niger Delta region and their spate of violence, particularly those in and around oil producing communities, could be very devastating and should be deterred by all means, That the youths in Odimodi Federated Communities are silent about this issue is as a result of the appeals made to them by the Executive Governor of Delta State for whom they have a lot of regard and respect to exercise restraint. The question of threat is, therefore, out of context.”

Evidently, INSEC’s position was in reaction to Mobil’s response via a letter dated June 19, 2000, to an earlier correspondence from the office of the state governor on the issue. In affirming the dire consequences of Mobil’s failure to resolve the matter amicably, the Izon Council noted that it was erroneous for the oil firm to assume that it was supportive of the Odimodi Federated Communities with the use of threat.

“We wish to emphasize that the Izon National Security Council is concerned primarily to see that there is peace in all ramifications in the Niger Delta region, particularly in the Ijaw-speaking areas. To this end, we try as much as possible to do a proper investigation of any issue that might spark a problem in the Niger Delta,” the council clarified in the letter, copies of which were sent to the Special Adviser to the President on Petroleum Matters and the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) among others.

However, Mobil appears unruffled regardless of the drums of war sounding louder by the day in the Forcados and Escravos creeks of the Delta, as the company has expressed its resolve to cling to the law courts in the arbitration process. Contacted on the rising tension in the aggrieved communities over the dispute, a spokesman of the firm, Mr. Okordion Ozemoya, demanded for a questionnaire via electronic mail, which was promptly sent and acknowledged by him. But a day after, he responded by telephone and expressed Mobil’s indisposition to comment on the issue since the matter was in court, declaring that, “it is our official position.”

How the raging oil war would end in a matter of days, weeks or years remains to be seen, but a spokesman for the communities, Chief Elex Pukor, said a thick cloud of uncertainty hangs over the air. “We are increasingly getting frustrated with Mobil’s attitude towards this matter and there is pent-up anger everywhere. Imagine our leaders like Chiefs Bekenawei, Olukpa, Ingo, Samuel and Second are all dead in the course of this legal battle for compensation. Among several others who have also passed away seeking justice are Ogini, Musa, Ofoyena, Ebiarede, Boro, Seikorowei and Ikiere. All these persons except one are titled chiefs. In the circumstances, how do you want people to feel happy? It is very provocative,” Pukor, who was the chairman of Odimodi community when the spillage occurred in 1998, asserted in an interview.[/b]

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/july/31/national-31-07-2011-03.html

[b]

Ijaw counsel Jonathan on amnesty for Boko Haram

On July 31, 2011 · In News
,
The Ijaw Youth  Council (IYC), Western Zone, comprising Delta, Edo and Ondo states, has warned President Goodluck Jonathan against bowing to pressure to grant amnesty to member of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

In a communiqué at the end of  a zonal congress meeting at Arogbo, Ondo State, endorsed by Comrades Preye Okaba, Friday Atigbi and Oweikeye Endoro, Chairman, Secretary and Information Officer, respectively, the IYC decried comparisons of the Islamic sect to Niger Delta combatants.

“Congress condemns the activities of Boko Haram in strong terms and holds that there is no basis for comparison, as some have done, of the Muslim group with Niger Delta combatants fighting against the criminal neglect of the region by the Nigerian government that feeds fat from its resources”, the statement noted.

“Should the Federal Government kowtow to calls for amnesty for Boko Haram, the funds accruing from the Niger Delta oil should never be contemplated to facilitate such amnesty programme”.[/b]

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/07/ijaw-counsel-jonathan-on-amnesty-for-boko-haram/