Immediate past President, Goodluck Jonathan, has commended USA presidential election candidate, Hillary Clinton, for conceding defeat to her rival, Donald Trump.Trump had yesterday emerged the winner of the fiercely contested US Presidential election.

In a statement, the former President, congratulated Trump and wished the American people well in the choice of the Republican as President.

Jonathan said, “I congratulate America’s choice, President-elect Donald J. Trump, and I also salute Hillary Clinton for conceding. Having taking this route myself, I know it takes great self sacrifice and shows her strength of character. I am very encouraged by Mr. Trump’s words in his victory speech where he said “It is time for us to come together”. This is true not only for America, it is also true for the world at large.

“Finally, I must say that the conduct of the American people during the election was most commendable, as they agreed to disagree and now they are agreeing to unite. They have my best wishes as they carry out this process and may God bless their efforts.”

Source: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/11/10/jonathan-commends-clinton-for-conceding-defeat-says-she-showed-great-character/

The Islamic state militant group ISIS has released a footage showing 2 Uzbek ISIS child soldiers as they stood in readiness to execute four men over spying charges in Jazirah, Iraq. More photos after the cut.

[img]https://1.bp..com/-oVJmkqUwlMs/WCRuCj2zXjI/AAAAAAAK6kI/pcIHTXStN3Ik3yfCJGs-EaiVj7ewRRk1wCLcB/s400/d.png[/img]

Source: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/11/10/isis-child-soldiers-execute-4-men-accused-of-spying-in-iraq-photos/

The Presidency has finally moved to curb the violence between Fulani herdsmen and farmers across Nigeria.

The Nation reports that the federal government has set up a technical committee to find solutions to the reoccurring clashes between the two factions.The committee, which was launched in Abuja on Tuesday, November 8 by the minister of interior Gen. Abdulraham Dambazau (rtd), has two weeks to come up with its findings.The committee is headed by the Director-General of the Institute of Peace, Conflict and Resolution, Prof. Osita Osita.Dambazzau said the committee was raised to fashion out ways to address “this conflict that is fast becoming a clog in our efforts toward achieving a harmonious relationship among the citizenry as well as to our economic development moves.”It would also “Situate the Niger-Benue generally and Nigeria in particular as areas of conflict between pastoralists and sedentary farmers; identify regional and local laws and regulations that impact on the conflict and lastly, outline tentative strategies to deal with the conflict vis-a-vis the methodology for open stakeholders forum.”

The Nation reports that Prof. Osita said peace in Nigeria is not negotiable “because it is in the atmosphere of peace that government can deliver the dividends of democracy.”

Meanwhile, suspected herdsmen armed with firearms attacked a community in Abia state, leaving scores of the indigenes critically wounded.

The attack occurred at Ndi Okereke Abam in Ovukwu autonomous community in Arochukwu local government area.

This was confirmed by ACP Ogbonnaya Nta, the police spokesman, on Monday, November 7,

Source: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/11/08/good-news-presidency-takes-big-step-to-stop-fulani-herdsmen-attacks/

Men have been known to act differently on their feelings then women do. They communicate, feel and react in a way that can be hard for us girls to understand. But I’ll let you in on a little secret – pay attention to his actions rather than his words. Yes, when he says “I love you”, he means it…but his actions really show you it’s true. It may seem odd but your better half communicates with you through his actions and not his words.

Afterall, actions really do speak louder than words, so keep a look out for these 10 messages of love as

1. He smiles when he thinks of you

I wish so badly that every woman could always see when her man is thinking of her. Some women are lucky enough to see it happen often; that golden smile quickly flashes across his face and you know without out a doubt how much he loves you. It’s such a tender moment and unconscious action that says more than words could.

2. He talks about you to his mom

When your man wants to figure out the perfect way to propose to you or what to buy you for your anniversary, what better person to go to than his sweet mother? That choice to talk sweetly about you to his mom is an incredible act of love.

3. He pampers you

Men who are in love will want to give the world. He might not say it that way, but his little actions that pamper you tell you just as much. He’ll want to make sure your helmet is buckled tight before riding off, or that your yogurt isn’t about to expire. He might shower you with surprises and flowers. A man who cares about you will act like you are precious and deserves the very best.

4. He remembers the memories

Ever wonder why he’ll suddenly bring up your dorky high school pictures or get all nostalgic about a seemingly random ice cream parlor? These little actions of remembering the past show you how sentimental he is about your love. It’s sweet, even if it seems random.

5. He let it go

Chances are that your man has dated or was in a relationship with another woman before you. They came into his life and they had a good (or maybe a bad) run of things before they left. His action to let it go shows you how much he loves you. Your partner decided to let that person leave his life, because you have truly stolen his heart.

6. He keeps you close

You could both be in different sections of a store or at some social gathering, but no matter where you are, your darling keeps you close. Maybe he’ll sweetly grab your hand, or end up playing with your hair. While he won’t admit it with words, he loves having you around. He feels protective of you and wants you near him. Remind him with a flirty wink across the room to let him know you love him too.

7. He lets you dress him up

If he lets you choose an entire outfit for him, then you have a keeper. Most men couldn’t care less about all that stuff, but he knows you do. So he lets you dress him from head to toe. That action speaks volumes about how he feels about you.

8. He gives you advice

A man who can have an open conversation with you about what his opinion is and how you should handle a situation shows a deliberate act of love. Putting in the effort to not only listen but to counsel you shows he is really trying. Choosing to help you out by offering his help is one of the loudest actions of love a man can make.

9. He defends you

In every way possible, a man will protect his treasure. You are that treasure, and he will seek to defend and protect what he values most.

10. He’s proud to call you his

His affection for you is no secret. Everyone knows you guys are officially together, but he wants to make sure. He’ll do this by bragging about your accomplishments, sliding you into his conversations, choosing to spend time with you whenever he can and other little actions. He will want the whole world to know he’s proud to call you his.

Remember to look for those little actions he does do just to see you smile. They may be little, but they are there

Source: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/11/08/10-actions-a-real-man-will-do-for-the-woman-he-loves/

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton holds a modest lead over Republican Donald Trump in the latest Washington Post-ABC Tracking Poll released on Sunday.

This is as General Overseer of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet Temitope Joshua, yesterday predicted that the next President of the United States will be a woman.

In a Post-ABC poll released two days before, Clinton had led Trump by 47 per cent to 44 per cent.

Clinton had an advantage in affirmative support, the poll said, with 55 per cent of backers saying they are mainly supporting her, compared with 43 per cent of Trump voters.

More Trump voters say they “mainly oppose Clinton”.

As early voting winds down, a spike in Latino turnout across the country appears to be giving Clinton an edge in battleground states.

The final polls are trickling in and Clinton is retaining a modest lead nationally.

Similarly, 44 per cent of likely voters support Clinton and 40 per cent back Trump, according to a new NBC News/WSJ national poll released on Sunday.

Clinton holds big leads with women and minority voters, while men, white voters and senior citizens buttress Trump’s support.

The Democratic candidate is also doing better with those who have already cast their ballots, but the Republican candidate holds a lead among voters who plan to do so on election day.

Americans will vote for a new president on Tuesday but about 37 million voters have already chosen who they want to rule the country in early voting.

The new poll came alongside a brief moment of drama in the final days of campaigning

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in the U.S. reports that both Clinton and Trump have concentrated their attention to battleground states that are the determinants of who wins the election.

States like Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia have the power to swing the election but so far, neither Trump nor Clinton has a significant lead in these crucial states.

Florida has 29 Electoral College and if Clinton wins, Trump would have to win almost all every other swing state to be elected president.

Ohio has 18 Electoral College votes and Trump needs to win Ohio if he is to have any chance.

North Carolina has 15 and Obama won the state in 2008 but lost to Republican in 2012, but polls are split on how the state would fall.

Virginia has 13 Electoral College votes and it had voted 10 consecutive Republican presidents before Obama won it in 2008 and 2012, but polls show that it is leaning towards Clinton.

Arizona has 11 Electoral College votes and Trump needs to win it if he is to claim the White House.

Currently, Clinton’s electoral vote total is at 268 when all the states that are solidly or leaning in her direction are added up against Trump’s 204.

That leaves six remaining battleground contests worth a total of 66 electoral votes in Arizona, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and the second congressional district in and around Omaha, Nebraska. (NAN)

Source: http://nigerianewsonline.com.ng/us-election-clinton-narrowly-leads-trump-ahead-voting-tuesday/

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), on Monday disclosed that Nigeria required about N3 trillion to address the massive road infrastructure deficit in the country.

COREN President, Mr Kasim Ali, stated this in Abuja at the Public Hearing organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Works.



The hearing was on the repeal of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency Act 2002 and on Federal Roads Authority Bill, 2016 and National Roads Fund Establishment Bill.

Ali, who expressed support for the bills, said that the current institutional framework for the management and funding of roads in Nigeria was outdated, inappropriate and needed to be reformed.

He stressed the need for sustainable funding mechanism of road projects in the country for improved autonomy in road management.

He said: “Establishment of the National Roads Fund will be repository for revenues accruing from road-user related charges for financing, development, rehabilitation and maintenance.

“Other activities related to the provision of national roads will promote an effective road management system in Nigeria.”

In his presentation, Minister of Works, Lands and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, lauded the bills’ initiative.

The minister called for consolidation of the five legislative frameworks regulating the road sectors into one, stressing that multiple laws and regulatory agencies would discourage investors.

He argued that the proposed legislation would help in improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria by eliminating various bottlenecks that could hamper private sector investment.

Fashola insisted on the need for upward review of the sanctions that will serve as deterrent to violators of regulations, adding that such sanction should be cheaper to comply with than cheaper to violate.

He also emphasised the need for national consensus on policies and programmes.

He advised politicians to desist from making political statements that could scare investors, especially threats of revoking concession agreements if their political parties were voted into power.

Mr Jonathan Juma, Acting Director- General, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), in his submission said that two billion dollars was required by Federal Government to kick-start massive rehabilitation of roads.

He said that the rehabilitation would be across the country as a prelude to the introduction of user charges, including toll gates.

Juma called for injection of funds either through capital market, pension fund or international sources for road sector development, since a viable means of repayment had been identified.

He said that this would ensure adequate funding of the road sector infrastructure.

He explained that introduction of the user charges would generate 250,000 jobs annually in the construction and allied sector and 10,000 jobs in e-ticketing and IT support infrastructure.

In his remarks, Sen. Kabiru Gaya, Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, chided Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) for failing to remit the five per cent pump price levy to government.

The five per cent, according to him, is worth N771 billion, which should have accrued since 2007 to government coffer as provided by the FERMA Act.

“The sum of N536 billion accrued from Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), N174 billion from AGO were to be shared on the basis of 60 per cent to Federal Road Maintenance Agency and 40 per cent to state governments for road maintenance.’’

Gaya, who expressed support for the passage of the bills, said that Lagos-Ibadan Expressway needed N150 billion to be completed while Abuja-Kano road required N130 billion to be completed.

According to him, this warrants the need for private sector funding.

“The fund which is expected to be sourced from capital market, inject the sum of N300 billion, is expected to be generated yearly from user charges through commuter contributions and other charges for road maintenance.”

On his part, Mr Kyari Bukar, Chairman, Board of Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), who put the value of Nigerian road assets at N4.57 trillion, said that about N500 billion was spent yearly on operating cost.

He also decried that 10 hours man-hour loss estimated at N1.02 trillion was incurred yearly due to the poor conditions of Nigerian roads.

Earlier, Chairman of House Committee on Works, Rep. Toby Okechukwu, urged stakeholders to make informed inputs that would enable the house to come out with an implementable law.

He added that such law would assist the nation in putting its road network in shape.

The Speaker of the house, Mr Yakubu Dogara, who declared the hearing open, said that the bills were long overdue‎ and expressed the determination of the house in enacting laws that would stand the test of time.

Dogara, who was represented by the Deputy Leader of the House, Rep. Buba Jibrin, noted that a road fund was imperative in view of the deplorable nature of federal roads.

Source: http://nigerianewsonline.com.ng/nigeria-needs-n3trn-to-fix-roads-coren/

The Plateau State Police Command on Monday raised serious concerns over the sudden resurgence of some crimes, especially car theft.

This was contained in a press statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Command, ASP Mathias Tyopev Terna, made available to journalists in Jos.



The statement advised car owners in the State to take minimum security measures in safeguarding their vehicles by getting for themselves pedal locks, steering locks among others, in addition to the tracking devices being used by some people.

It reads, “We advise that whenever an occasion is to take place in any area within the state, the organisers should endeavour to inform the DPO of any area for wither security coverage or advice.”

“We also wish to inform members of the public that the activities of these thieves popularly known as ‘one chance’ who normally operate with their cars close to banks or other government offices is also on the increase”, the statement added.

“Members of the public are equally advised to report suspicious strange faces within their society to the station nearest to them, these people may be Boko Haram members or criminals running away for the North-East onslaught”, the statement advised.

“While our officers and men are up and doing to make sure that the situation is curtailed and the crimes nip in the bud, we plead with members of the public to be extra vigilant and guide against boarding vehicles outside designated motor parks.

“We therefore plead with members of the public to help us to serve them better by adhering to our well intended advice”.

Source: http://nigerianewsonline.com.ng/police-decries-resurgence-of-car-theft-in-jos/

Boko Haram insurgents have killed Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Abu Ali, who recaptured the Baga town of Borno state from the Islamist sect in 2015.

This was revealed on Saturday, November 5 by Sani Usman, army spokesman, who said Ali was killed in an encounter with the insurgents late on Friday, November 4.
Ali led one of the army’s fiercest-ever battles with Boko Haram in February 2015 that led to recapturing of Baga.

The statement by Usman on Saturday read: “Yesterday at about 10.00pm suspected Boko Haram terrorists attacked a 119 Battalion Nigerian Army location at Mallam Fatori, northern Borno State. The troops fought gallantly and repelled the attack, killing 14 Boko Haram terrorists.

[img]https://i.onthe.io/vllkyt5lu6f1edik9.1fd128e1.jpg[/img]
Some dead Boko Haram insurgents after Friday night fight

[img]https://i.onthe.io/vllkyt4rr8krqllj3.e97c2269.jpg[/img]
More Boko Haram insurgents killed

[img]https://i.onthe.io/vllkyt4ja4mhm47ju.3f5a8ca6.jpg[/img]
Some weapons seized from the dead insurgents

“So far, the troops have recovered 1 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), 7 AK-47 rifles and a large quantity of ammunition. Mopping up and exploitation are ongoing.”
Meanwhile, barely three weeks after 21 Chibok girls were released by Boko Haram, another Chibok girl has been rescued. She was rescued by Nigerian troops in Pulka, Gwoza area.

This was also disclosed by the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman.

See more Photos: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/11/05/breaking-boko-haram-kills-top-army-commander-four-others/

The Federal Government has paid 81 months pension arrears which were incurred from 33 per cent pension increment, but left 87 months outstanding.

The money was paid to Police, Customs, Immigration, Prisons and civil service pensioners.
A detailed breakdown of paid pension arrears and outstanding months were made available to journalists in Abuja, when the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, chaired by Senator Emmanuel Paulker, visited the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate for its oversight functions.

According to the documents, three months of 33 per cent increment were paid to Police Pension Department, leaving outstanding of 39 months to Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department which had all its 42 months arrears paid off.

The Parastatals Pension Department had its 12 months arrears paid leaving 30 months outstanding.

The Civil Service Pension Department was paid 24 months leaving 18 months outstanding.
Similarly, the 33 per cent pension payment came as a fall out of the upward review of the minimum wage to N18,000 in 2010.

Source: http://nigerianewstoday.com.ng/fg-pays-81-months-pension-arrears/

The Nigeria-based insurgents have pledged allegiance to ISIS in March 2015. Later, the leadership of the ISIS named Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who was formerly the spokesman for Boko Haram to replace Abubakar Shekau as the leader of the sect.

Check out the letters that was published on The Interview below:
FROM: shekau@iswap.org.ng
TO: contact@isisweb.com

SUBJECT: HELP!!!

DATE: Sept 2, 2016

To whose it may consign

I don’t know how is doing me in dis Sambisa. Suffering too much, help, we needed food – dose infidels hav close boarder & air forcis is distubin 2 much

S

*
FROM: shekau@iswap.org.ng

TO: contact@isisweb.com

SUBJECT: Fwd: HELP!!!

DATE: Sept 3, 2016

I resending dis pls chek ur male

>>To whose it may consign

>>I don’t know how is doing me in dis Sambisa. Suffering too much, help, we needed food – dose infidels hav close boarder & air forcis is distubin 2 much

S

*

FROM: shekau@iswap.org.ng

TO: contact@isisweb.com

SUBJECT: Fwd: Fwd: HELP!!! PLS CHEK MALE!!

DATE: Sept 3, 2016

Do u coping me? We ar dying here!

>> I resending dis pls chek ur male

>>To whose it may consign

>>I don’t know how is doing me in dis Sambisa. Suffering too much, help, we needed food – dose infidels hav close boarder & air forcis is distubin 2 much

S

*

FROM: shekau@iswap.org.ng

TO: contact@isisweb.com

SUBJECT: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: HELP!!!

DATE: Sept 5, 2016

?

>> Do u coping me? We ar dying here!

>> I resending dis pls chek ur male

>>To whose it may consign

>>I don’t know how is doing me in dis Sambisa. Suffering too much, help, we needed food – dose infidels hav close boarder & air forcis is distubin 2 much

S

*
FROM: shekau@iswap.org.ng

TO: contact@isisweb.com

SUBJECT: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: HELP!!!

DATE: Sept 7, 2016

Dont evn boarder 2 repli again. We r no mor pledgen alijanc 2 u. May USA n Obama wip u out wit bomb

>>> ?

>> Do u coping me? We ar dying here!

>> I resending dis pls chek ur male

>>To whose it may consign

>>I don’t know how doin is me in dis Sambisa. Suffering too much, help, we needed food – dose infidels hav close boarder & air forcis is distubin 2 much

S

*

FROM: contact@isisweb.com

TO: shekau@iswap.org.ng

SUBJECT: Re: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: HELP!!!

DATE: Sept 13, 2016

This is to acknowledge receipt of your email. We apologize for the delayed response. Our servers were hacked by a group of Infidel Hackers. Our back-up Helpdesk will reply shortly.

FROM: contact@isisweb.com

TO: shekau@iswap.org.ng

SUBJECT: Re: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: HELP!!!

DATE: Sept 13, 2016

Dear Mr Shekau, we have just been notified that you are no longer recognized as the official representative of ISWAP. To carry on this conversation, you will need to supply documentary evidence in the form of an Appeal, disproving this allegation.

All Appeals must be accompanied by a bank draft of $1,000,000 only, or its equivalent in Bitcoins, or high-grade crude oil.

Please note that our verdicts on submitted Appeals are final, and cannot be questioned.

*

FROM: shekau@iswap.org.ng

TO: contact@isisweb.com

SUBJECT: Re: Re: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: HELP!!!

DATE: Sept 13, 2016

Ur Papa na b*st*d. Shegeh ubanka!

FROM: shekau@iswap.org.ng

TO: bbc; reuters; ap; saharaR; Wikileaks; TheCable;

CC:

SUBJECT: NEW VIDEO !

DATE: Sept 14, 2016

Pls c attach. New v ideo where am sayn no retreet no sorenda. Pls tel army ppl dt dey kil 8 shekau but dey we nevA kil numba 9 becuase afta 9 no mor again

*

FROM: shekau@iswap.org.ng

TO: technical@isisweb.com

SUBJECT: URRRRRGEENNNTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

DATE: Sept 14, 2016
Pls help URGENNNTTTTTT!!!!!!!

Even if u we not asist wit logesstic or moni, pls asist to saved awa lyf

Aw do I recoil Email? I attach wrongly. I ATTACH SEXY TAPE AND FILM OF STRATEGIY MEETN INSTED OF ‘NO RETREET NO SORENDA’ VIDEO.

PLS ASIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*

FROM: Marilyn.O@dss.gov.ng

TO: shekau@iswap.org.ng

CC: NG Army; NG AirForce; NG Police; FBI; DSS; NIA; Mi6

SUBJECT: Re: NEW VIDEO !

DATE: Sept 20, 2016

Dear Mr ‘9-Lives’ Shekau,

Thank you for the very useful email. We welcome you to take a look out of your tent window. You’re welcome.

See you in hell.

MO

Source: http://nigerianewstoday.com.ng/leaked-abubakar-shekau-begging-for-help-in-tragic-emails/

The prosecutor alleges that the three major administrative officers of Nigeria’s apex court colluded to divert more than N2.2 billion in funds meant for the Supreme Court.

Nigeria’s Attorney General, Abubakar Malami, has filed fraud charges against the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Saleh Gambo, the Assistant Director of Finance, Rilwanu Lawal, and the Deputy Director (Finance Department), Sharif Abdulrahman.
The prosecutor alleges that the three major administrative officers of Nigeria’s apex court colluded to divert more than N2.2 billion in funds meant for the Supreme Court. The three accused officers have also been named in a series of attempts to bribe Supreme Court justices. Investigators allege that the accused men sometimes collected bribes on behalf of justices assigned to politically prominent cases.

The court officials are yet to be formally arraigned in court, but SaharaReporters learned that the charges were filed yesterday in Abuja. Our sources at the Ministry of Justice disclosed that the formal charges did not indicate any roles played by the three accused judicial officers in the ongoing probe of Supreme Court justices allegedly involved in acts of corruption.

Last month, agents of the Department of State Services (DSS), which is Nigeria’s secret police, raided the homes of several judges, including two Supreme Court justices. The DSS alleged that huge sums of foreign and local currencies were discovered and seized from the homes of the judges. Investigators believe the cash came from bribes the judges received in order to subvert the cause of justice.

Since the much-publicized raids and arrests, the investigators have not been able to arraign the judges for any particular offense. A source at the Attorney General’s office told our correspondent that the failure to arraign the judges arose from what he called shoddy investigation by DSS agents. The source added that President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to take over the cases and to carry out more thorough investigations of the accused judges.

Source: http://nigerianewstoday.com.ng/nigeria-files-n2-2billion-fraud-charges-against-supreme-courts-chief-registrar-two-others/

A former special assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on new media, Reno Omokri has once again slammed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over the arrest of Reuben Abati, his former principal’s spokesman.

Omokri wondered why Amaechi was appointed a minister despite allegations leveled against him.
He wondered why the minister of transportation was allowed to walk scott-free after he allegedly stole N235m, while Abati, who only got N50m, was in jail.

“Reuben Abati allegedly got ₦50 million from Dasuki and goes to jail. Rotimi Amaechi admittedly spends $500k (₦235 million at today’s rate) on a one day dinner for Soyinka and becomes a minister! Welcome to the new Nigeria!” He said via a tweet on his Twitter timeline.

In a post on his social media handle, he said, “With all due respect, Kemi Adeosun cannot be able to pullout the economic magic that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will pullout.

“For example, the President took about six months to set a cabinet after which he replaced Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala with Kemi Adeosun who has a bachelor degree in economics from the University of East London. I schooled in London and I know that the University is not a really well ranked university.

Source: http://nigerianewstoday.com.ng/abati-in-jail-over-n50m-but-amaechi-stole-n235m-and-became-minister-omokri/

The thrills and sights of the Jos 2016 Trade Fair continues, A Blind man named Lawan has chosen to be industrious rather than just walk about begging, he was seen hawking various phone cords/chargers around the Jos Trade Fair Ground currently holding at Jos Polo Field. On a brief introduction he calls himself ‘Lawan Charger’ and said that he resides in Jos, Plateau and has been going about selling charger for 7 years using the aid of his son to walk about and to know what denomination money comes in or goes out, he carefully tied various chargers in groups making it easy to tell the price. He hopes to make enough money to start a shop of his own as he has always been business minded. See More Photos after the cut…

[img]https://2.bp..com/-RuETAhr5saw/WBbdMhG8f6I/AAAAAAAAJu0/ojfzN3hPsYMHR-FfaUY4PE0Zctbsh8MrQCLcB/s400/jos%2Btrade%2Bfair%2B-%2BBlind%2Bman%2Bselling01.JPG[/img]

[img]https://3.bp..com/-bOo7yJ2RZXc/WBbdNTe2gJI/AAAAAAAAJu8/5hbqNVE94sYqCyI8ccKzHMI2a7me6qY8gCLcB/s400/jos%2Btrade%2Bfair%2B-%2BBlind%2Bman%2Bselling02.JPG[/img]

See More Photos: http://nignews.com.ng/see-photos-of-a-blind-man-selling-phone-cords-chargers-in-jos/

ABUJA – Catholic Bishop of Sokoto diocese, Most Revd. Matthew Kukah, has cautioned members of the National Assembly against making laws that could disunite Nigeria.

He gave this warning in Abuja while speaking at the 50th birthday celebration of Senator Osita Izunaso and the 11th anniversary of his Kpakpando Foundation for physically challenged persons.Bishop Kukah said Nigeria has gone through a lot of tough times since the days of independence up to the present day, which has made the country fragile and sensitive, and has positioned the society on the brinks of disintegration.

He described as regrettable the plan by some lawmakers to call for the introduction of sharia law across the country and challenged all Nigerians irrespective of ethnicity, religion or party affiliation to join hands in making national cohesion a day-to-day reality for every citizen.

He said: “This country has gone through so much. We have shed so much blood. We are still going through the problem of Boko Haram. We are still going through the problems of Niger-Delta Avengers; we are still going through the problems of Biafra.

“It saddens me to hear that politicians, again, are filled with the idea of Sharia law.

“I want to call out to the members of the National Assembly. Nigeria does not belong to nobody. It does not belong to Christian. It does not belong to Muslim. It does not belong to APC, or to PDP. It belongs to all of us. Therefore, irrespective of our ethnicity, religion, social status, we all have a role to play in this country. Keeping this country united is paramount.

“The greatest challenge we face as a nation is National Integration. Everywhere you turn, the country is crying for justice and national cohesion.”

Kukah also faulted the structure of the Nigerian state and attributed the faults in the political system to the deficiencies of the constitution.

“I think it is important that we ask how is it that that no constitution can foresee the future? The best a constitution can do is to articulate the dreams and aspirations of the people. Therefore you see in making constitution, there are certain realities and people that are never covered by the constitution.

“If as it is, we are trying to construct a social order that focuses on national beliefs and common citizenship, what really are the critical issues that we must put in order?

“To answer that question we have to talk about the structure of the Nigerian state, and how it has produced so much poverty in the nation.

“We must therefore come to the reality of the kind of political system and structure that we have that produces such massive poverty amidst so much wealth in an environment of this nature, where even those who are able-bodied or have graduated from tertiary institutions cannot find a job.

“Therefore, I make the call, the issue of building our country is too important to be left in the hands of executives alone. Those of you who carry the responsibility of guiding our country, who have been entrusted with that service, must do all that lies within your powers to make national cohesion become a day-today reality for every Nigerian.”

Meanwhile, Senator Osita Izunaso said although he is glad to have reached the milestone of age 50, his will be fulfilled when the House of Representatives passes the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Bill, currently on the floor of the House, which seeks to provide social protection to persons with disabilities and provide safeguards against any discrimination that they may suffer as that bill will bring succour to the physically challenged in the society whom he has consistently empowered on every of his birthday celebrations since 2005.

As part of the celebrations, senator Izunaso presented the key to a brand new Toyota Corolla salon car to a disabled man, Jaja Oparaku, for his selfless service to other disabled persons in Imo state.

Izunaso also gave the keys to a newly-constructed house in Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, to another physically challenged man, Jamilu Adamu., as a free gift.

Over 2,500 other persons with disabilities, drawn across the country, went home with various gift items which include; sewing machines, crutches, automated wheel chairs, grinding machines etc.

Earlier on, Catholic Bishop of Orlu diocese, Emeritus Revd Gregory Ochiagha, applauded the kind gestures of Senator Izunaso expressed towards the physically challenged in the society and called on Nigerians to pray for him and support the Kpakpando Foundation in its good works.

Dignitaries present at the event include; national chairman of All Progressive Congress, APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir, El-Rufai; Speaker of the House fof Represenrtatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara; Governors of Sokoto, Jigawa, Plateau, and Bauchi states: Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Badaru Abubakar, Simon Lalong, and Abubakar Muhammad; Ministers of Transport, Federal Capital Territory, Science and Technology, and Labour and Productivity: Rotimi Amaechi, Muhammed Bello, Ogbonnaya Onu, and Chris Ngige amongst others

Source: http://nignews.com.ng/nigeria-does-not-belong-to-christian-bishop-kukah/

The immediate past governor of Plateau State and the senator representing Plateau north in the national assembly, Jonah Jang has given governor Simon Lalong of the State quite notice to leave government House Rayfield Jos come 2019.

According to Jang, governor Simon Lalong would only spend one tenure in office in view of his poor performances because the people of the state are tired of his blame game and would vote him out of office.He gave the quit notice while speaking at the constituency outreach empowerment programme organised by Hon Istifanus Gyang, the member representing Riyom / Barkin Ladi Federal constituency of Plateau State.

“During my first year in office, I did not travel for once abroad, but as it is in Plateau State today, your governor has travelled abroad so many times all in the name of bringing in investors. Where are the investors?.

“The People of Plateau have decided to vote the PDP in 2019 and would vote out governor Lalong if he decides to contest. The APC government is only maintaining the government house for them awaiting PDP take over in 2019”.he said

He lamented the hardship currently being faced by the people and urged the good people of the State and all PDP members to unite and work towards the victory of the Party come 2019.

Speaking while presenting the materials to 310 beneficiaries, Hon Istifanus Gyang commended the people for given him the mandate to serve,

The federal lawmaker pointed out that the exercise is a direct assault on poverty provided the beneficiaries put the materials to gainful use and in so doing, add value to the economy of their immediate community, the state and the nation at large.

Source: http://nignews.com.ng/plateau-2019-jang-gives-governor-lalong-quit-notice/

The people of Azaka, Iguiye and neighbouring communities around the Ovia River in Edo state were thrown into confusion on Friday night as loud explosion erupted at a facility of the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC) in the area.

It was suspected that a valve station located around a power line was damaged by the explosion.Although what caused the explosion was not clear at the time of this report on Saturday morning, some locals told our reporter that they suspect that it was bombed by militants.

“We saw pieces of gas cylinder and other things that might have been used to blow up the station,” one local said.

Mr. Anthony Odoyibo, a well known farmer in the area, confirmed the report and appealed to Nigerians to give peace a chance.

“We heard a very loud explosion around 10 or or 11pm. Everybody was very afraid. Some people who went there confirmed that it was the pipeline that was blown up,” Odoyibo added.

However, no militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack at the time of this report.

Source: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/10/29/panic-as-militants-blow-up-pipeline-in-edo/

Kaduna State has declared a red alert on a possible outbreak and spread of bird flu.

The virus was reported to have been detected two weeks ago on a small poultry farm in Chikun district of the state, causing fears that there might soon be an outbreak.Dahiru Abdullahi, an official in Kaduna’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Development, told journalists that the incident was reported to appropriate authorities in the country and Bird Flu Desk of the World Bank for quick action.

“This is why we have declared a red alert,” Abdullahi said, adding the affected farm had since been isolated to curtail the virus from spread.

According to the official, local poultry farmers have been sensitized and urged to report any sign of the virus on their farms to the authorities, among other measures being taken by the livestock department of the state.

Early this year, there were outbreaks of the avian influenza in the Plateau and Ebonyi States.

The bird flu, also known as avian flu, is an influenza that spreads among birds and can affect humans.

Source: http://nignews.com.ng/kaduna-declares-red-alert-on-bird-flu/

In another gut wrenching and bizarre revelation by the Child’s Right And Rehabilitation Network(CRARN) a 40year old man, John Friday Akpan from Akwa Ibom State, resident in Calabar the Cross River State capital, is now explaining to the police how he heeded the advice of a herbalist, “Dr.” Okokon and eventually tagged his two children, Elisha Friday Akpan and Esther Friday Akpan as witches and wizards.

An act reminiscent of the nailing of Jesus Christ on the Cross, Friday Akpan subjected his two children aged, 12 and 6 respectively, to harrowing treatment by nailing them to a plank in shape of a cross and locking them up in a dark, thatch hut without food for weeks. He claimed that the children took his money to their “master in the witchcraft coven and therefore deserve no mercy”. He told the police.Following weeks starvation, the two children whose emaciated and dirty physical appearance replicate the gory images of starving children in famine-ravaged Somalia and war-torn Sudan said they survived by water which was supplied to them by one of the man’s kids from another woman.

“Our sister, Peace usually bring us water inside the hut when our father and our mother had gone out”. Esther said.

Their father, the kids said, used to reside in Akpabuyo, Cross River State, Nigeria with the family where he sent them to a private school, Regent Nursery and Primary School, Ikot Nkanda but when their mother died and the man took another wife, Iquo, the story changed.

“My mother (stepmother), said the woman who used to live near our house in Akpabuyo gave us food and she put something (witchcraft spell) in the food and when we ate it we changed to bird at night and took our fathers money to ‘our master’ in the witchcraft world”. Elisha who is a JSS one student of Regent said.

According to the kids, Elisha was alleged to have taken 4,000 Naira while Esther took 2,000 Naira and that angered their father and step-mother who started beating them severely and denying them food “because they said we took their money to our master in the witchcraft coven. This is something I don’t even understand”



Source: http://nignews.com.ng/photos-akwa-ibom-man-accuses-his-children-of-witchcraft-nails-them-on-the-cross-in-calabar/

The Naira has dropped N5 to trade at N460 against the dollar in the black market, NAIJ.com can report this Wednesday, October 26.

This comes against the backdrop of the N455 rate it was on Tuesday, October 25.
Dollar to NairaHowever, Aminu Gwadabe, the president, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria has called for a greater flexibility in the distribution of foreign exchange to their members.
Gwadabe also called for the appointment of one other distributor of the foreign currencies, in addition to Travelex, to ease the challenges faced by some of the association’s members outside Lagos.

He also advised currency hoarders and speculators against hoarding of forex so as to curb market volatility.

NAIJ.com recalls that the Central Bank of Nigeria had two weeks ago, appointed Travelex and FirstBank Nigeria Limited as the only two institutions responsible for the sale of the greenback to BDCs, in its bid to ensure improved dollar supply to the foreign currency traders.

This followed the suspension of 19 other commercial banks from same role as a result of their failure to fully comply with a directive, which required commercial banks that act as agents of international money transfer operators to always sell foreign currency remittances to licensed BDC operators.

Meanwhile, you can check out NAIJ.com’s Bureau De Change ‘market’ here for the best rates on foreign exchange.

Source: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/10/26/just-in-naira-crashes-against-dollar-despite-travelex-weekly-sales-to-bdcs/

A prominent Yoruba group, Afenifere, has joined the growing number of Nigerians demanding for a cabinet shake-up at the national level of government in Nigeria.

The organisation specifically mentioned those indicted in the current corruption scandal rocking the judiciary as some of the cabinet members that should be shown the way out of government.
Though it did not mention Rotimi Amaechi, the country’s transport minister was one of those allegedly indicted by some of the judges recently arrested in a sting operation carried out by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).The DSS also said it found various sums of money, both in local and foreign currencies in the homes of some of the judges raided and arrested.

Afenifere asked Buhari to sack all those that have been indicted of corruption in his government.
The presidency has constantly maintained that anyone who has evidence of corruption against any member of the cabinet should produce same for such a member to be prosecuted and accorded punishment.

The Punch reports that in a communique issued at the end of the monthly meeting of the group in Ondo state under Pa Reuben Fasoranti, and read by the publicity secretary, Yinka Odumakin, the group said: “For the ministers who have been mentioned for attempting to pervert the course of justice , we are asking that such ministers should step aside immediately as ministers of Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“After that, they should go through due process of the law to either ascertain their innocence or not, they should be punished according to the laws of the land.“So we cannot be saying only judges that have accused should be investigated. Ministers too, who have been accused should step aside and face prosecution.”

Afenifere also queried the way the DSS raided the homes of the judges, adding: “Investigating corruption is within the purview of the EFCC, ICPC and the police.”

Source: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/10/26/why-buhari-must-sack-amaechi-others-from-his-cabinet-yoruba-group-reveals/

The Nigerian Senate are set to probe the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS)

The Nigerian Senate has commenced a comprehensive probe of the activities of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) with a view to blocking all sources of revenue leakages.This decision was taken by the Senate committee on customs and excise to look at way to increase revenue generation capacity of the service.

The chairman of the committee, Senator Hope Uzodimma during an oversight visit to the headquarters of the NCS in Abuja said that service should be generating enough revenue to fund the nation’s budget.He expressed dissatisfaction over a report by the ministry of finance which showed that the custom service had generated less than N400 billion in 2016.

“All we are interested in doing is to bring up a robust position that will help the NCS earn more revenue.

“In order to do that effectively we are looking at their current modus operandi with a view to refining how things are done so that more revenue can accrue to the service.

“By the time we look at the operations of some of these ports, we will come back and look at how best to amend and alter the existing Act.

“We want to create a document that will be bold enough to earn the country the kind of revenue we are looking fro from non-oil sector,” he said.

Speaking on the revelation that oil majors were not accessible to the Service for payment of levies, the senator said that those are some of the areas that require enabling laws.“There are some limitations that has not made it possible for Customs to perform the way they should according to their mandate.

“Those are things that we will also look at and remove all obstacles to enable them function effectively,” he said.

Speaking with the Comptroller-General of the Service, Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd), the committee requested the submission of certain relevant document to enhance the probe.

It gave the commission till Friday, October 28, to submit the requested documents and answer all the queries posed.Ali assured the committee of the full cooperation of the service directing his officials to provide the committee with all the information it required.

The minister of finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has criticized the high of corruption in customs and other agencies. She said that government’s efforts of realizing money from such agencies were being vulnerable by high-level corruption.

Adeosun further described some staff of Nigerian Customs Service, as “cohesive crooks hard to break.”

Source: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/10/26/tension-as-nigerian-senate-begins-probe-of-customs/

EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, has denied claims that former Minister of Aviation and spokesperson to former President Goodkuck Jonathan’s campaign Organisation, Femi Fani- Kayode, slumped at their premises yesterday. Speaking with Vanguard, Uwujaren said there was no truth whatsoever in the report

“There is no truth whatsoever in the dubious and attention-seeking alarm that Fani-Kayode slumped and was revived by EFCC medical personnel. There was nothing like that as the said Fani-kayode and Obanikoro sat together and enjoyed their jokes at the first round of checks of inmates in EFCC custody on Monday night”he said.

Source: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/10/25/femi-fani-kayode-did-not-slump-in-our-custody-efcc/

The Indigenous People of Biafra has rejected a new judge assigned to its leader Nnamdi Kanu.

The group in a statement said assignment of Justice Binta Nyako by the chief judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja is an attempt by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to jail its leader.The group also raised concerns over various kinds of relationship between the new judge and President Buhari.Justice Nyako’s appointed as the presiding judge over Kanu’s matter came after the IPOB leader had appeared before three judges who had previously presided over his case.

Kanu was expected to be arraigned before Justice Nyako on Tuesday, November 8.Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor had told earlier told NAIJ.com that the matter was for arraignment and hearing of bail application for his client.

The first judge to handle Kanu’s case was Justice Shuiabu Usman of a Magistrate Court in Wuse zone 2, Abuja.

However, Justice Usman squashed all the charges against Kanu after the prosecutor, the Department of State Services (DSS) filed a motion for lack the court’s jurisdiction to hear the matter.

The case was later filed before a Federal High Court where it was assigned to Justice Adeniyi Ademola.

But on assumption of trial, Kanu, even before taking his plea, in an objection said he lacked confidence in the court.

After Kanu’s statement, Justice Ademola hands off the matter.

He also returned the case file to the chief judge of the Federal High Court Ibrahim Auta and the matter was later reassigned to Justice John Tsoho of the same court.But after an alleged conflicting ruling giving on the issue of secret trial in favour of the DSS, Kanu in a petition asked the NJC to investigate Justice Tsoho.

He also filed an application asking the judge to disqualify himself from the matter. Finally, on September, 26, Justice Tsoho budged to Kanu’s application, he disqualified himself from the matter.

The IPOB leader is facing a three-count charge of treasonable felony among others leveled against him by the Department of State Services.

Below is the full statement by IPOB:

The indigenous people of Biafra IPOB worldwide and the directorate of State DOS raises alarm over the assignment of the new trial judge for Nnamdi Kanu case by the chief judge of the federal republic of Nigeria.The appointment of Justice Hajiya Binta F.M Nyako as the trial judge for mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case was masterminded by the government of the president Muhammadu Buhari.

The appointment came after the harassment and the intimidation of the judges who were working tirelessly to address the country’s injustice perpetrated by the government of the day in Nigeria.

It was observed that the trial judge justice HAJIYA BINTA F.M NYAKO was born on 14th day of May1959, she is a sister to the president of Nigeria Gen Muhammadu Buhari, her state of origin is KATSINA STATE and her local government is RIMI. She became a judge on the 28 day of July 2000 and married to one man in Taraba state.The government of the contraption called Nigeria assigned her to make sure she jail mazi Nnamdi Kanu who committed no crime against anybody in Nigeria but we want to ask if the new trial judge Binta Nyako will jail people who did not commit any crime against the people.

Again, the new trial judge Binta Nyako Hajiya was mandated to the leader of the indigenous people of Biafra mazi Nnamdi Kanu on that he is saying the truth concerning the restoration of God’s nation Biafra.BINTA would have been one of the arrested judges over the $2m she allegedly took from JIDE OMOKORE to grant scandalous bail to the oil magnate who stole over $6b from Nigeria on the 8 day of July 2016, but was spared on one condition (WHICH IS TO JAIL NNAMDI KANU).
We are calling on international community and other wonderful men and women across the globe to mount their watch on the new trial judge assigned to be handling the case concerning the leader of the indigenous people of Biafra IPOB.

Furthermore, we want to let the world understand that she have started by using the same date the ECOWAS court fixed their own date 8th of November 2016 as the day she fix for the case for the worldwide leader of the indigenous people of Biafra mazi Nnamdi Kanu in federal high court Abuja.Nevertheless, we also observed that the BBC correspondent in Nigeria is from Daura that is why they don’t air Biafra news because he fills that his brother Gen. Muhammadu Buhari will be reduced by the indigenous people of Biafra IPOB worldwide.

In line with this, the indigenous people of Biafra IPOB worldwide believes that there is no amount of blackmail, propaganda and intimidation that can stop the agitation for the Biafra process which God Almighty (Chukwu Okike Abiama) has ordained.

Commrade Emma Powerful

Media and publicity secretary for IPOB

Source: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/10/25/just-in-for-the-3rd-time-nnamdi-kanu-rejects-judge-over-his-case/

Blackmail is another weapon Nigerians deploy to flaunt their innocence whenever they are at the threshold of being nailed on any issue. Most times, the manner Nigerians resort to blackmail stands logic on its head, twist morality and offend laws of the land.

Although, several Justices in Nigeria are under investigation, but the case of the two embattled Supreme Court Justices John Iyang Okoro and Sylvester Ngwuta’s whom the DSS raided, arrested and detained for alleged judicial corruption has assumed an asinine twist.Conspiratorially, the duo rushed out in public domain to hear allegations of attempts to corrupt them by former Rivers State governor and Transport Minister, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi.

They mindlessly lashed out at Amaechi whom they accused of providing the grounds for their persecution for refusal to tinker with some governorship elections petitions before the apex court. They funnily want Nigerians to believe the refusal to be negatively influenced by one person forecloses the chances of accepting the same request from another person.

Justice Okoro started it all. Precisely, on October 17, 2016, he claimed in a letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, (CJN) Justice Mahmud Mohammed that he rejected the offer of Amaechi to influence Justices to alter verdicts on the governorship tussle in favour of APC in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Abia states. The Justice expressed strong conviction that his present travails may not be unconnected with his snubbing of Amaechi’s request to tamper with the verdicts. And that he made a verbal report to the CJN on February 1, 2016, about Amaechi’s visit to his official residence.

“In that report, I told you, my Lord that Mr. Amaechi said the President of Nigeria and the All Progressives Congress mandated him to inform me that they must win their election appeals in Rivers State, Akwa Ibom and Abia states at all costs,” he enthused.

Less than 48 hours after Justice Okoro’s publicized allegations on Amaechi, another embattled colleague also under the heat of DSS over judicial corruption mouthed the same allegation. What separated the two were the states involved- only Rivers and Ekiti states guber disputes.

Justice Ngwuta’s allegations were contained in a letter dated October 18, 2016, also addressed to the CJN. Lamenting his several unfriendly encounters with Amaechi, the Justice reeled out series of mind-boggling issues, including alleged threats he received from Amaechi.

Interestingly, whatever problem the accused Justices have with the DSS is strictly their burden to resolve. But the hasty roping of Amaechi into their dilemma with the DSS based on such hazy recollections and projection of the abnormal belittles their status as Justices of the apex court.

By the submissions, it is quite discernible the judges have advertised issues intended to raise a podium to rubbish and blackmail Amaechi; except that they are poorly scripted in timing and factuality.

First, from the files of the DSS and the EFCC, at least 15 judges at various layers of the Judiciary are under investigation currently for alleged judicial corruption. The submission of Justices Okoro and Ngwuta in the letter to the CJN is forcing a baseless impression that the remaining 13 judges too could have possibly turned down Amaechi’s overtures to influence verdicts in their courts and thus, his invocation of “harassment” from security agents? It cannot be true.

And let’s hypothetically agree that President Buhari is an interested party in any of the governorships disputes in the mentioned states, under litigation at the Supreme Court, but everyone knows it’s impossible for him to delegate Amaechi to influence any judge at his behest.

Ideally, he would rather parley with the CJN directly expressing his interest in the cases and it ends it all. But if he cannot condescend to the level of the CJN, the alternatives are clear and Amaechi is not in this reckoning by any stretch of imagination.

To further water the impression of the DSS’s arrest and detention of the Justices as vendetta for their refusal to compromise justice, the wailing Justices speak as if the Director-General of the DSS or the Chairman of EFCC take directives from Amaechi, so with his snap of the fingers to settle a personal grievance, the security agents rushed after the accused Judges.

But the Justices, especially those on the Bench of the Supreme Court are the final destination in the interpretation of Laws of Nigeria. Like the River State APC Chairman, Chief Davies Ibiamu Ikanya averred in a public statement, the Justices should know better that the giver and taker of bribes commit criminal offences under the Corrupt Practices And Other Related Offence Act 2000.

These learned Justices had the opportunity to brighten Nigeria’s perception of Buhari’s anti-graft war by publicly clipping the wings of Amaechi who sought to adulterate their verdicts with bribes. But they reneged; waited for months to be accused of judicial corruption before they remembered their uprightness or vow not to desecrate their sacred oath of office. These are tales far from the truth.

Additionally, a very senior Judge like Justice Ngwuta as disclosed in his distorted epistle to the CJN was threatened by a politician like Amaechi who came to his house and said ‘we shall see’ several times,” and he kept mum?

It is conceivable that a Supreme Court Judge would bury obvious threats to his life and would not even document it with the National Judicial Council (NJC), but merely inform the CJN verbally. Is he saying the NJC forbids members of the Bench from taking legal actions against violators of their rights or when their lives are threatened?

It brings the matter to the doorstep of another realm of reasoning. Almost all the raided, arrested and detained judges are alleging innocence and judicial persecution by the Presidency. They have also qualified the raids of their houses, arrest and detention as illegal and unconstitutional. It implies the DSS and its principals have infringed on their fundamental human rights as Nigerians.

But they are unprepared to explain to Nigerians what is restraining them from challenging DSS action in court, if they are convinced of their innocence. Or are they implying that laws governing the NJC also forbid Judges from seeking legal redress over personal injuries or infringements on them by individuals, government institutions or the government itself?

These Justices should go back to their factory of doubtful tales and bark out something more convincing to Nigerians. For now, their rehearsed fables with the glaring intent of blackmailing Amaechi nay the FGN to inspire public sympathy has failed to impress anyone and hit the rocks.

Source: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/10/25/bribery-allegation-in-defence-of-amaechi-morality-common-sense/

British Airways caused a blunder this week when they shared an ad from rival Virgin Atlantic Airways.
The Facebook post read: “There’sever been a better time to visit London. Book today with Virgin Atlantic.”
But someone at British Airways liked the ad so much they accidentally clicked the share button and posted it on their own page..
The high-flying types at Virgin were quick to jump on the case.



They replied: “Thanks British Airways! So kind of you to share! #somethingweagreeon #flyvirginatlantic.” The post was swiftly removed but not before plenty of people had spotted it and commented.

Source: http://nignews.com.ng/omg-see-how-british-airways-caused-blunder-by-posting-virgins-ad-on-their-facebook-page/

Freedom for the 21 Chibok girls released last week by Boko Haram was as dramatic as their seizure by the group over two years ago.
Nothing on Wednesday, October 12, the eve of their release, suggested to them that the freedom they had longed and prayed for was around the corner.

Their abductors simply woke them up early in the morning and got them lined up ,according to a report yesterday by the CNN quoting a parent of one of the girls.Then, the terrorists began to read out the names of the girls one by one.

What followed was the news that they would be returning home to their loved ones.Just like that.

The parent, who asked not to be named for safety concerns, also said that during their time with Boko Haram, the girls were forced to build their own basic shelter, using plastic bags for roofing.

One of the Chibok schoolgirls, who refused to marry a Boko Haram fighter, was told she would be killed. Her abductors had a change of heart and commuted her sentence to 100 lashes.

President Muhammadu Buhari formally received the freed girls and their parents at the State House, Abuja on Wednesday with a pledge that the federal government would assume full responsibility for their personal,educational and professional goals and ambitions in life.

“These dear daughters of ours have seen the worst that the world has to offer. It is now time for them to experience the best that the world can do for them,” he said.

Source: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/10/22/revealed-how-boko-haram-broke-news-of-release-to-chibok-girls/

The IMN has called for the release of its detained leader, Sheikh Zakzaky, his wife, and other members of IMN incarcerated in various detention centers across the country.

The Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) has described the alleged ban placed on them by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state as akin to banning their faith or stopping them from practicing Islamic religion the way they understand it.The groups also known as the Shiites movement in Nigeria blasted Governor El-rufai for contradicting himself regarding the ban it imposed on them, Daily Post reports.The group challenged the official Gazette, No.21, which declared the IMN an unlawful society on the ground that they threaten public order in the state.

It faulted the gazette, querying if IMN has ever been taken to a court of law and convicted of being a threat to public order before.“On the contrary, his predecessor, Lt. Col Jafaru Isa, once issued a commendation to Sheikh Zakzaky, describing him as an ‘Ambassador of peace’ in the state,” the group said.

“Elrufai’s twisted imagination seeks to mischievously label IMN as violent. This is contrary to evidence anywhere anytime. Only recently, a report by a crisis monitoring group, listed 18 new armed groups that sprang up in Nigeria in the last 17 months, with many of them involved in the killings and kidnap in Kaduna. Not only was IMN not listed, but Governor Elrufai has not turned his attention to those by banning them.

“The group described on its activities as nothing but the portrayal of Kaduna state government as intolerant of religious minorities.”

It said if allowed to stand unchallenged by the good people of Kaduna state, it will lead to a ban on other religious minorities, especially Christians and the Muslims following the Sufi order.IMN also accused the governor of cunningly hiding behind the findings and recommendations of Justice Muhammad Garba Judicial Commission of Inquiry to the Zaria massacre, which he promised after receiving the report.

It said: “If the Governor is sincere enough in the peaceful coexistence of Kaduna state, why won’t he as well prosecute the Army officers indicted by the Commission for the mass murder of at least 347 people and dumping them in mass grave secretly in the middle of the night?

“IMN rightly believes, Governor Elrufai wants to cover up his complicity in the murder of over a thousand innocent souls in Zaria. We are not distracted by his antics. We are already seeking redress in the court and will pursue the case to its logical conclusion.”

The group resolved to continue to demand the unconditional release of its detained leader, Sheikh Zakzaky, his wife, and other members of IMN incarcerated in various detention centers.

Meanwhile, Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has said that the state government only declared the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and not the Shi’ite.

According to Leadership, spokesman of the governor, Mr. Samuel Aruwan who spoke to Journalists in Kaduna on Thursday, October 20, categorically stated that Shi’itism “as a religious body is not ban, but we only ban IMN.”

The government disclosed that it “did not and cannot ban any religion, but it has a duty to declare unlawful any group that threatens peace and security.”

Source: http://nignews.com.ng/religious-ban-shiites-challenge-gov-el-rufai/

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has given an insight into how he became the number two citizen of Nigeria, though he was not a politician, in the midst of the intrigues and build up to the 2015 general elections.

Osinbajo’s explanation came Wednesday night against the backdrop of the controversy trailing how he has nominated and his eventual emergence as the Vice President.A portion of a recently-launched book by Professor John Paden on Buhari, titled “Muhammadu Buhari: Challenges of Leadership,” claimed that Osinbajo emerged as Vice President despite pressure against it by a national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Paden stated that the former Lagos State governor had wanted the Vice President’s role for himself and not Osinbajo.
The Professor had noted that “With Buhari coming from the North-West geopolitical zone, the Vice-Presidency had been ceded to the South-West geopolitical zone.

But other reports on the issue indicated that Osinbajo was solely nominated by Tinubu.

Speaking at a dinner organised in honour of over 200 graduates and beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programmes at the Presidential Villa, Wednesday night, Prof Osinbajo gave an indication that he was not in the reckoning ab initio.

His word, “I was in a group of young men and women and one of them asked the question how did I become Vice President, I was never a politician or anything like that.

“So I tried to explain it is quite simple that someone somewhere has to recommend you. Somebody somewhere has to give you a helping hand, whether to be a Vice President or to be an aircraft pilot or to be an engineer, somebody somewhere has to give you an opportunity.

“And I think that all of you that are here today are the beneficiaries of the opportunities that you have somehow received. And this is why this event is so important. I think that it is one way we have to remind ourselves that we are bound as individuals to give opportunities to everyone,” he said.

Vice Presiden Osinbajo declared that a brighter future awaits Niger Delta ex-agitators on the successful completion of their training as pilots, automobile and electric transformer technicians among other educational and vocational skills in Nigeria and foreign universities.

The Vice president who congratulated the graduands urged them to refrain from blowing up the oil pipelines in the Niger Delta considering the negative effect on the economy of the nation now and in the future.

He noted that government had by the Programme gave them an opportunity to harness their God’s given potentials, urging them not to hesitate to also transfer the skill they have acquired to others.

He said: “The fact that you did so well is a tremendous opportunity for other people.

“We all have the responsibility to ensure that the future of the country is one that is secure. That cannot happen under the atmosphere of conflict.

“There is no point blowing up pipelines. If they are blown, who are the losers at the end of the day, all of us? Even the upcoming ones.

“This is a programme for giving the young people an opportunity to succeed. That’s the reason why we are doing the various vocational training all over the country.

“The future is here and your time has come. Just looking at you guys, I just know that the future is bright. I see you becoming the great people that God has made.

Source: http://nigerianewstoday.com.ng/osinbajo-how-i-became-vice-president/

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has declared that any cow confiscated under the State Grazing Regulation Law will be slaughtered and shared to the people as part of the “Stomach Infrastructure” policy of his administration.

The governor who disclosed this on Thursday in Ado Ekiti during the inauguration of Ekiti Grazing Enforcement Marshals (EGEM) said herdsmen caught grazing their cattle beyond the 6.00 pm risks six months jail while their animals will be confiscated.Fayose explained that the setting up of the EGEM force was a further step to nip the killing of innocent people and destruction of their means of livelihood by armed herdsmen in the bud.

The EGEM men thrilled the audience with their parade while local hunters also performed at the ceremony. Some of the marshals displayed placards some of which read “No To Terrorism By Herdsmen”, Fayose Is Working, Ekiti Is Moving”, among others.

Fayose who were an olive green long sleeve shirt with a camouflage fez cap to match explained that the marshals are not to carry arms and therefore would collaborate with security agencies empowered by law to carry arms to tackle armed cattle rearers.

He said: ‎”We have a right to life and to survive and holding things for our survival especially peasant farmers, whose means of livelihood are taken away by cattle feeding on their crops.‎ If the gains of peasant farmers are taken away in a jiffy, that is condemnable.‎

“We will bring to a permanent end, the situation whereby some people take away the means of livelihood of others.

“On August 29, 2016, the Anti-Grazing Bill was passed by the House of Assembly and the bill was signed into law by me on August 30.‎ Some people go as far as grazing in the night when farmers are no longer at their farms.‎

“Any cattle found grazing after the time stipulated by the law will be confiscated by the government.Such cattle will be sold or killed on the spot ‎and shared to people as part of our Stomach Infrastructure programme,” he said.

The governor had Wednesday last week personally stopped open grazing along Afao Road and supervised the “arrest” of a cow on his way to commissioning projects in Ikole Ekiti.

Fayose contended that 10, 000 cattle could not compensate for the life of the human being lost to a conflict between herdsmen and local farmers.

While frowning at cattle rustling by some people, Fayose added that the law was in the interest of cattle rearers too, as their operations would be streamlined.

The governor added that the phone numbers of the marshals would be made public and warned the marshals against going beyond their mandate.

“This is not an opportunity to harass or intimidate innocent people. You are to enforce the law and not to break it. Anybody found going beyond his bounds would be dealt with accordingly,” he stressed.
In her opening remarks, the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Modupe Alade, said the law had helped in curbing incessant attacks on local farmers by herdsmen and feasting on crops by cattle.
The Chairman, Hunters Association, Ikole Local Government, Joseph Osasona, commended Fayose for the initiative.

Osasona recalle‎d that it was the prompt intervention of the governor in Oke Ako-Ekiti early in the year when some armed herdsmen attacked the people, that sent a strong signal to lawbreakers to stay away from the state.

He noted that it was inhuman for anybody to jeopardise the lives and means of livelihood of others because he wants to rear cattle.

Source: http://nignews.com.ng/cows-we-seize-from-fulani-herdsmen-to-be-used-for-stomach-infrastructure-fayose/

The Senate on Thursday warned of imminent plane crashes in the country if the aviation industry was not fixed immediately.

The alert followed a motion tagged “Disturbing Development in the Nigerian Aviation Industry” by Sen. Dino Melaye.Contributing to the motion, the Minority Leader, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, said that the fear of plane crashes was real as airlines could no longer access foreign exchange to service their aircrafts.

He said that some operators may resort to cutting corners as a result of their inability to access foreign exchange, thereby endangering the lives of air travellers.
Akpabio added that many airlines in the country were bankrupt “and dead’’, stressing that other operators had either withdrawn or relocated to neighbouring countries.

“These problems are caused by policies of government. Monetary policies of government have not allowed the airlines to operate.

“Section 14(2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended says that government must ensure the security and welfare of the people.

“We are likely to have a spectre of crashes because most airlines cannot access foreign exchange to service their aircrafts,” he noted.

Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, said that withdrawal of airlines from Nigeria’s aviation industry was a bad omen which may lead to massive job losses.

“A situation whereby airlines cannot send back their money to their home countries is a disaster. Competition becomes less and the few left will charge as they want.

“It is embarrassing that airlines have to go and refuel in Ghana,” he said.

After the debate, the senate resolved to assist the Federal Government in its planned intervention in the current challenges in aviation sector with a view to saving the travellers.

The upper legislative chamber also urged the government to ensure that all operators who would benefit from the intervention would not increase fares arbitrarily.

The lawmakers urged the Federal Government to prevail and insist that airlines used the Naira as the official currency in all transactions in the industry.

Source: http://nignews.com.ng/plane-crashes-imminent-senate-warns/

OPEC’s proposed deal to cut production has “put a floor” under the oil price at around $50 a barrel, Reuters reports
International benchmark Brent crude dropped to a little above $52 from nearly two per cent gain of $52.67 last night.

West Texas Intermediate, hit a year-high of close to $52 at one point last night and was holding above $51 a barrel this morning.Optimism is growing for future trading, too, BMI Research says it sees “significant potential for an upwards break in Brent towards $60 per barrel”.

BMI Research argues this is down to “bullish technical drivers and supportive conditions in the broader financial markets”.

In addition to ongoing speculation that OPEC will also confirm its tentative supply deal when it meets formally next month, markets are buoyed by official data showing raw crude stockpiles in the US has fallen for the sixth time in seven weeks.

Source: http://nignews.com.ng/crude-oil-price-gears-towards-60-per-barrel/

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday restated his administration’s commitment at ensuring all the kidnapped Chibok girls are released.
The president stated this when he played host to 21 of the girls who were freed last week by the Boko Haram after over two years since they were abducted by the terror group.
Mr. Buhari, who indicated that about 197 of the Chibok girls could still be in Boko Haram’s custody, also congratulated the parents and family of the released girls.
Read the president’s full statement below:
My dear children. This is a happy moment for me and for all Nigerians. I welcome you back to freedom. It is a moment your parents, the nation and the International Community have been eagerly waiting for, since your abduction on April 14, 2014.We must from the onset, thank Almighty God for this day that 21 of the Chibok girls have again breathed the air of freedom and are reunited with their parents. We are equally prayerful, that God in his infinite mercies and benevolence, will see to it that the girls remaining in captivity will be freed and returned to us soonest.
All Nigerians recall, sadly the night of 14th April 2014, 276 young female Nigerian students were abducted from the Government Secondary School in Chibok Borno State by the Boko Haram.
Fortunately, 57 of the kidnapped school girls were able to escape, leaving 219 in captivity. One of the abducted girls, Amina Ali was found in May 2016. And today we are here celebrating the freedom and return of another 21 girls that regained freedom on Thursday 13th October. We are equally as hopeful as we are praying, that the remaining girls will be freed and returned to us without further delay.The release of these 21 girls followed a series of negotiations between Government and the Boko Haram group, brokered by our friends both local and International. Since this Administration assumed office, we have been working towards the safe release of the girls. The Nigerian DSS, military and other security agencies have spared no effort to secure our girls. These 21 girls are the manifestation of our doggedness and commitments to the release and return of the Chibok girls.
While joining their parents to rejoice and praise the Almighty, we shall redouble efforts to ensure that we fulfill our pledge of bringing the remaining girls back home. Already, the credible first step has been taken and Government will sustain the effort until all the remaining girls return safely
These 21 girls will be given adequate and comprehensive medical, nutritional and psychological care and support. The Federal Government will rehabilitate them, and ensure that their reintegration back to the society is done as quickly as possible.
Aside from rescuing them, we are assuming the responsibility for their personal, educational and professional goals and ambitions in life. Obviously, it is not late for the girls to go back to school and continue the pursuit of their studies.
These dear daughters of ours have seen the worst that the world has to offer. It is now time for them to experience the best that the world can do for them. The Government and all Nigerians must encourage them to achieve their desired ambitions.
The Federal Government appreciates the patience and understanding of the parents of all the abducted Chibok girls. We equally thank Nigerians and the International Community for their support and prayers, and for never losing confidence in our ability to secure the safe release of our girls.
Once again, I congratulate the 21 released girls, their parents, the Chibok Community the security agencies and all Nigerians on this day of delight and rejoicing.

Source: http://nigerianewsnow.com.ng/2016/10/19/what-buhari-told-freed-chibok-girls-parents/