₦airaland Forum

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Threat to Bola Tinubu’s Life is Real
Monday, 30 March 2009 14:37 Joe Igbokwe  E-mail | Print | PDF 
If anybody is still in doubt whether there is a real threat to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Life, We suggest that the person should remove the kid gloves [b]now, change his thinking and believe that nobody is flying a kite. With all the emphasis in our command, and with all the energy at our disposal, we want to alert Nigerians and the World that the threat to get Asiwaju out of the way to pay way for votes robbers, leeches and reprobates, is real. We are raising this alarm so that the Nation the Law Enforcement Agencies will pay attention. We crying out from the mountain top so that security personnel’s will be proactive and not reactive. We are doing what we are doing to prevent what happened to Chief M.K.O Abiola and Chief Bola Ige of the blessed memory.

Before the killers brought these two illustrious sons of Nigeria down, there were warning signals of the dangers ahead but nobody took them very serious. They would have thought that we have sufficiently gone beyond political assassinations to settle political scores. They had thought that Nigeria has considerable number of decent men and women who would not have allowed such a heinous crime to happen. But it happened. They worked tiressly for the good of Nigeria and when the need was greatest to reward them Nigeria looked the other way.


Now, let me take you back to history. Cast your mind back to the years of the locusts and balance the balances. If Chief MKO Abiola was not killed, it would have been extremely difficult if not impossible to sustain the annulment of June 12 1993 Presidential elections. If Chief Bola Ige was not killed in December 2001, it would have been impossible for the criminals in PDP to steal any vote in the South West Nigeria. Chief Bola Ige had given notice to President Obasanjo that he will resign as the Attorney General of the Federation in order to go home to campaign for his party, but the nest of killers had other plans. The rest is now history.

2011 is around the corner and these Laggards are it again. Lacking in integrity and honour, deficit in creativity and the power of critical thinking, intellectually weak to bow to the power of superior argument, mentally retarded to engage their opponents one on one, man to man, face to face, they resort to violence to settle scores.

Ask the disgraced governors of Edo and Ondo States they will tell you that Tinubu was the one that removed them and not Governors Oshimnole and Mimiko. Ask Engr. Segun Oni of Ekiti State he will tell you that Dr. Fayemi is no match if not the Asiwaju of Lagos. Ask Governor Oyinlola of Osun State who has been given him sleepless nights since the electoral travesty of 2007, he will point to the last man standing, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and not Engr Rauf Aregbesola. Ask Governors Akala and Gbenga Daniel of Oyo and Ogun States, they will tell you that the fear of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the beginning of wisdom and not Ladoja, Ajimobi or Amosun and Soyinka.

In Lagos the opposition tells you that Tinubu decides who must be anything in his house. Even beyond the South West, Tinubu’s image looms large and command huge respect and admiration, as well as opprobrium from those who do not like his politics.

The People’s Democratic Party, PDP sees Chief Tinubu as the greatest obstacle between them and 2011.

When Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu says every vote must count, it sends jitters to PDP Shenanigans who believe in grabbing power without responsibility. When Asiwaju insists that polling booths are where the winners will be decided and not in the Tribunals and Appeal Courts, the contractors and supporters of any governments lose sleep. When Asiwaju says candidates must tell us their backgrounds and their antecedents before seeking any office, the charlatans and imbeciles go green. When Asiwaju says a million Obasanjos cannot conquer and loot Lagos, the rapacious greedy lots calls for his head.

You can see how Bola Ahmed Tinubu has successfully become a cog in the wheel of their progress. You can now see how he has through dint of hardwork and commitment to rule of law become the scourge of votes’ robbers. You can see how riggers now live in morbid fear of the last of the titans.[/b]We repeat once again that we are raising this very important issue again so that our security agencies will be proactive and not reactive. We are placing this issue again to the public domain once again so that Nigerians will contribute to the movement to save Asiwaju precious life. We are shouting from the roof top so that the world will hear us and pay attention. We are doing what we are doing so that the nest of killers of anything that is good in Nigeria will search their conscience. We know also that a silent revolution is going on in Nigeria today and more especially in the South West and we know that those who seek wealth without work will stop at nothing to put it to a halt.

If the nest of killers is having a field day in Nigeria through killing, maiming and outright murder, it is because we caused it. We are nothing in this world if we are not a slave to a cause – a cause for justice and freedom for our people

Let us therefore insist in one voice, in unison, in one accord, in amity, in concord that Asiwaju must live. Yes, Asiwaju must live.


Joe Igbokwe

Lagos AC Public Secretary

http://www.saharareporters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2252:threat-to-bola-tinubus-life-is-real&catid=116:sr-readers-letters&Itemid=393

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Banished
Community banishes 50-yr-old man
•Accuses him of rape, ritual murder, incest
• Angry youths find 3 graves in his house
From CHUKS ONUOHA, Aba
Wednesday, April 1, 2009



More Stories on This Section
[b]A 50 year –old herbalist ritualist, occultist and fraudster in Amangwu, Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia state , who was stripped and paraded naked for raping an under -aged hawking girl in a primary school building, has been banished and his House burnt down, when three fresh graves were discovered inside one of his secret rooms, by angry youths .
The suspect, Mr Okechukwu Okereke Nwapara was caught naked by Asaga Youths , having carnal knowledge of the under-aged hawker called Mercy, young enough to be his grand daughter, whom he must have charmed or lured into one of the class rooms in the school, in the hot afternoon of Wednesday, January 21, 2009.

When Daily Sun visited Amangwu, the place which formerly housed the 50 year old rapist and his family, the graves of those he would have killed innocently and buried, his shrine and other occult materials therein had been turned into rubbles .

Nwapara had been caught by the youths, stripped naked, given the beating of his life and paraded round the entire Community. Fresh discovery of three graves in one of his secret rooms was what angered the youths to set his house ablaze.
Speaking to Daily Sun on the matter, President General of Amangwu Development Union, Arochukwu, Mazi Chukwuma Adibe who disclosed this said that Okechukwus father , late Mazi Okereke Nwapara hails from Nde Aso Family, Ezi Abonkwu in Asaga while his mother, late Mgbeke Ukwuenu hails from EziEzi Ukwuenu-Ada in Amangwu Arochukwu.

“It was on that note that Okechukwu came to stay in Amangwu, his maternal home when his native home could not absorb him on his return from Uwalakande in Cross River State.”
Adibe who was was in company of the Chairman of the Union, Christopher Inyama, Secretary General, Ogbonnaya Inyama and the treasurer, Mazi Okwudiri Ukwuenu said that Nwapara has become a terror to the Community since he migrated from his village , Ndi Aso Family, Ezi Abonkwu in Asaga to Amangwu in Arochukwu.

On his return from Cross River state, he sought asylum from his maternal kinsmen and was granted one as the Igbo custom since his native Village could not accommodate him. Nobody from his maternal home knew the reason why his Village rejected him until he started living with us. He came into Amangwu in the early 1970s and immediately he came in, he started different types of lives styles which did not go down well with his maternal people.

It was then that his maternal uncles discovered that he has no meaningful source of livelihood besides fraud, occultism and stealing. He claimed that he is a herbalist and money lender while his main stock in trade is robbery and keeping of stolen goods. He has been associated with crimes and other vices such as robbery, ritual killing, rape, incest and defrauding unsuspecting citizens of their money and valuables.
On November 20, 1994,Amangwu petitioned the Divisional Police Headquarters, Arochukwu, listing all the crimes which he was committing and telling the police to ask him to go back to his village.

Among the allegations they leveled against him were that of fraud in which he rendered one Mathias poor, stealing to which he wriggled out and his accomplice was jailed and he died in jail, having sex with one Lucy Ukwuenu and her daughter Ngozi, which is considered abomination in Amangwu Village.
He was also accused of bringing strange people to the village who don’t come out during the day but parade the village with him at night harassing and embarrassing people.[/b]“We therefore appeal to the DPO to come to our aid and save the village from the menace of Mr Okechukwu Ukwuenu and his gang”, the petition read.

However, the recent incident which led to his banishment happened on Wednesday, January 21 2009, (Nkwo market day) at about 12 noon. Okechukwu charmed and was raping a teenage girl, Mercy Uwakwe who hails from Nde Ndu in Ihechiowa in Arochukwu but was living with her sister who is married to an Asaga indigene.

The incident took place in Atani Primary school, Arochukwu, located in remote and deserted part of Atani Village. Luck however ran out on him when he was caught pants down with the girl by the youths of Asaga who stripped him naked and gave him the beating of his life.

As the youths rained beatings on him in his naked state, the one time terror of the entire Amangwu Community and beyond was reported to have cried out thus : “Dike ana” meaning that a powerful man has been embarrased.

The Asaga youths however constituted themselves into a court of competent jurisdiction and resolved that part of the condition for setting him free was to parade him stag- naked through Asaga Village to Amangwu the following morning being 22 of January, 2009, to destroy all his charms and the [b]diabolical shrine in his house at Amangwu, to lead and guide him through swearing an oat at the shrine of Ugwudike , a very powerful deity in Asaga and to lead and guide him through swearing another oath at the “Arunsi Nde-ndu” in Ihechiowa clan, the home of the teenage girl he violated.

The crowd, formed by people of diverse thoughts and reasoning, gathered to execute judgement on a man they regard as a terror to their Community on Saturday, January 24, 2009. After due interrogation, the Community at Ogo-Amangwu resolved that Okechukwu has no genuine means of livelihood, has remained a questionable dubious character, is an occultist, a ritualist, and that he is the one who is responsible for the death and mysterious disappearance of his maternal kit and kin in Amangwu, one that has severally buried many of his relations who died mysteriously without the knowledge of the Community as is obtainable in Arochukwu society.

Also the “Nkoro Umu -ivere Amangwu” which for four years was missing was found in his shrine and the confessional statement he made that he has a hand in the death of several Amangwu natives was the height of wickedness.[/b]He was known to have been throwing open challenges to servants of God who were sent to pastor churches in the community. For instance, he once challenged the Pastor of Christ Ascension Church in the area and was making mockery of him while the man of God was in the pulpit preaching. He claimed to posses powers that can enable him do anything, even more than the pastors.
“It was when Pastor Felix Ogugua was sent that he stopped coming to church, probably because that one has more power than him.”

To this end the entire Amangwu village decided that Okechukwu Okereke Nwapara, aka, Ukwuenu and his household were banished for life from the Community with effect from January 24, 2009. Amangwu Development Union by that decision directed her youth wing to escort him with his house hold to pack their belonging out of the village as the youths would lead him out to “Onu-Ogoezenwakpakoro junction.
But there was a twist of event when the youths who led him to his house to pack his things and leave the community stumbled on three fresh graves in one of his rooms that was locked.

They had earlier asked him to open the room and he objected to it and as they forced it open, they saw these three fresh graves and wanted him to explain the people he had buried there. His inability to give good answer to the youths angered them and they set the house ablaze.

The banishment is a potent signal to evil men in the land and a lesson to others to flee from evil.
In a petition they wrote to the Inspector General of police, Louis Edet House Abuja, through their Lawyer, Brrister A.C. Chioma, dated February 23, 2009, the people of Amangwu appealed to the IG to use his good office to ensure prompt arrest of Okechukwu Okereke Nwapara and his subsequent prosecution for his criminal activities and waste of lives for ritual purpose and others.

“Even though he has been expelled from Amangwu village, the blood of the Innocent is crying out for justice. His arrest will further the course of justice and prevent the commission of more crimes”, the petition read.

Okiro orders Ebonyi to withdraw militia from Nigercem   
Written by DENNIS AGBO     
Tuesday, 31 March 2009 

ABAKALIKI—THE Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mike Okiro has ordered the immediate removal of the militias stationed at the premises of the Nigerian Cement Company Plc (Nigercem) Nkalagu factory by officials of Ebonyi State Government.
The directive was given in Abakaliki, weekend, at a  meeting of the Police high command with representatives of  Ebonyi State Government and the core investor in Nigercem, the Eastern Bulkcem Company, Port Harcourt.

The directive followed the conclusion of police investigations into the crisis presently rocking the premier cement manufacturing company. The Inspector-General of Police, had in December last year ordered full scale investigation into the illegal occupation of the premises of the Nigerian Cement Company Plc, Nkalagu Ebonyi State by militias.

His directive was sequel to a petition by the Board of Directors of Eastern Bulkcem Company Ltd,  Port Harcourt, the core investors.

In the petition, the core investors had alleged that on July 31, 2008, hoodlums allegedly sponsored by the Ebonyi state government invaded the premises of Nigercem and forcefully occupied the factory. They had sought the IGP’s intervention in the matter. The company was sold to the core investors in October 2002 by the governments of the South-East states.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/content/view/32355/45/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/31/gingrich-replacing-palin_n_181469.html

WASHINGTON — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is out, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is in as keynote speaker at a Republican dinner this spring.

[b]Palin, the party's 2008 nominee for vice president, had been slated to address the annual Senate-House Dinner in Washington on June 8. The dinner, sponsored by the House and Senate Republican campaign committees, is one of the GOP's biggest fundraisers.

Palin will be replaced by Gingrich. Both are popular figures with the party's base.

A spokesman for the Senate GOP committee, Brian Walsh, said Palin's team informed the campaign committees that her responsibilities in Alaska prevented her from committing to the speech until the end of the legislative session.

"We completely understand and respect Governor Palin's focus on her official state business; however, there is obviously an enormous amount of planning that goes into this annual event. For that reason, we invited and are honored to have former Speaker Newt Gingrich join us as our speaker," Walsh said in an e-mail.

A spokeswoman for Palin denied that she had ever confirmed her role as a speaker, even though the NRSC and the NRCC issued a joint press release two weeks ago trumpeting her appearance.

"Enthusiasm during a scheduling meeting among SarahPAC members to discuss events that we thought the governor should consider attending was misinterpreted as a confirmation of attendance," Palin spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton said in an e-mail.

A GOP official trashed Palin to Fox News and insisted that her camp wasn't telling the truth. "She was a disaster," the source said. "We had confirmation."

Palin catapulted to fame last year as Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate and is widely believed to be eyeing a presidential bid in 2012. The leadership committee is intended to help serve as a vehicle for Palin's political activities.[/b]Asked about possible miscommunications between the leadership committee and the governor's office, Stapleton said: "We are always working hard to make sure the bright line exists between official and unofficial business as we respond to thousands of requests for Governor Palin's time."

tour; arrives London for G20 summit
By Edekyn Ilofuan - 01.04.2009

UNITED States president, Barack Obama, will visit Nigeria on Friday as part of his five-nation tour which will last eight days.


The 47-year-old who was elected the first black president of the US is expected to arrive Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power at about 3.45pm on Friday, according to White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs.


Obama, who arrived London on Tuesday with an entorage numbering over 500 to attend the G20 summit is also due to visit four other countries, including Turkey and France.


A White House press released made available to Nigerian Tribune indicated that Obama will hold a meeting with his Nigerian counterpart, President President Yar A’dua at the State House shortly after his arrival.


Top on the agenda of their proposed meeting are global economic crisis and bilateral relations, with emphasis on trade. They are also to discuss the continued unrest in Darfur and by extention the Niger Delta.


Obama accompanied by his wife, Michelle, will depart for the United States Information Centre, Lagos, where the he will commission a new library complex dedicated to the legendary Martin Luther King Jr. He is also expected to visit the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akinolu.


The released added that Obama and his wife will be honoured with chieftaincy titles by the Oba.


Before leaving for Lagos, the US first lady, according to the release, will visit an unnamed motherless home in Abuja, which islikely to be named after her. She is particularly known to have high regard for moral values in the family. She once said White House staff should not make her children’s bed, claiming her children must continue to make their beds as was the case before they moved into the White House.


The son of a Kenyan father rose to become the first African-American president of the US in a keenly contested presidential election which was conducted on 4 November. He was sworn in an historic occasion that was watched by billions of people worldwide.


The world’s First Couple will depart Nigeria for Russia on Saturday. Stories like this are cute ways of making you feel the season of April Fool’s Day.


So, enjoy it while it lasted.

Happy April Fool’s Day

http://www.tribune.com.ng/01042009/news/news16.html

Police nab 4 over abduction of 2 Spaniards

MALACHY UZENDU, Head Editorial, Abuja .


Efforts by four youths, including a youth corps member, Nnamdi Omike, to advance their economic fortunes by 200,000 euro, have hit the rocks as they are now guests to the police, after they abducted two Spaniards.

Others named in the failed abduction saga are Vincent Odi, Timothy Ogechi and Emmanuel Omike.

They were alleged to have lured two Spaniards, Jose Bufi Perez and Alonso Boj Escobedo, to Nigeria for a business deal which later turned sour. Police said they abandoned the business deal and abducted the duo on their arrival at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Emmanuel Ojukwu, in a statement said after abducting the Spaniards, the suspects called the relations of the victims demanding a ransom of 200,000 Euro.

He said the suspects were however rounded up and arrested in the course of collecting the money. They were arrested by a special unit set up by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to deal with kidnap cases.

Meanwhile, the Spaniards have been handed over to the Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria, Angel Losada Fernandez.

The statement quoted Okiro as reiterating the resolve of the police, under his leadership, to deal decisively with kidnapping in the country, saying this was the reason the police engaged a group of kidnappers in a gun duel in Lagos last week, foiling an attempt to kidnap a Lebanese in the process.

He said the war against kidnappers will be sustained with all commitment towards making the country safe for economic growth and development.

Ambassador Fernandez expressed delight over the release of his nationals, applauding the professional display of diligence by the Nigerian Police in rescuing the men without casualty.

He also assured of his country’s sustained bilateral collaboration with Nigeria noting that the country is safe for both human and capital investment.

The two men were allegedly held hostage for two weeks in Orsu LGA, Imo State, but were rescued last Monday.

Pastor arrested for assault

•Pours petrol on Landlady

LUKKEY ABAWURU


POLICE in Lagos yesterday, arrested the General Overseer of Chosen Light of God Church, Okota, Pastor Prince Gil Ogbonna, over an alleged attempt to set her landlady ablaze.

Daily Champion gathered that the landlady Mrs. Florence Egbor, escaped by the hair’s breathe, as the Pastor and some unnamed members of his church, allegedly poured fuel on her and attempted to set her ablaze.

An eyewitness told Daily Champion that trouble started sometime in 2007, when the Pastor allegedly gave a dud cheque to Mrs. Egbor as payment for his house rent.

The witness who pleaded for anonymity, said the deal burst when Pastor Ogbonna planned to sell the landlady’s house after an offer from a commercial bank without the knowledge of the owner.

He said when the landlady got wind of the plan, she quickly consulted her lawyer, who placed a ‘Caveat Emptor’ on the walls, apparently to dissuade potential buyers.

It was at this point that Pastor Ogbonna and his members allegedly erased the warning, on the walls, an act which infuriated the landlady.

Our source said when the landlady and her unidentified friend stormed the place, during a church service, the pastor allegedly commanded his members to set the woman ablaze.

[b]Speaking to Daily Champion at her home, Mrs. Egbor, whose only son died recently, said: "Trouble started when I began to notice that the man was not a Pastor but a 419ner. When he came, he approached me and begged that I should give him my house that after six months, he will park out. I had pity on him and asked him to stay till one year to enable him finish his church as he claimed. But after one year, he refused to pay and refused to park out. I’ve severally called him to quit but he refused. Later he brought a dud cheque of N100,000 and when I went to the bank to cash it, I was embarrassed. A fortnight ago, I learnt he was planning to sell the house to a commercial bank and use the money to travel oversees. I quickly placed a notice to warn people from buying such properties and he erased them. So when I went there to inquire, he poured fuel on me and was searching for a stick of matches before I escaped with my friend."

But the Pastor who spoke at Area C Command, Mushin where he is being detained denied the allegation. He however said, some of his members who were angered by the way Mrs. Egbor behaved, poured water on her. "I was not around when the incident happened but I was meant to understand that they poured her mixture of paint eraser and water and not fuel as she claimed," he said.

However, a senior police officer who led the arrest of the Pastor said the suspect will be charged to court for attempted murder.[/b]

Suspected drug traffickers ingest 488 wraps of cocaine

ANTHONY OMOH


The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested Six persons attempting to traffick 488 wraps of cocaine abroad.

The suspects were nabbed at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (Ikeja, Lagos.

The NDLEA Airport commander, Mr. Victor Cole-Showers said that "the suspects tested positive to drug ingestion during routine screening of passengers. They are still under observation to excrete the drugs but we have commenced investigation into the cases preparatory to prosecution".

He said that five of the suspects were arrested during the outward clearance of KLM flight on March 27, apart from Nmah Anyaogu Oru, a 40 year old Togo resident that was nabbed on March 24.

Anambra State. [b]The suspects are Orji Okereke, 39, Ezimoha Churchill Chidi, 42, Ireke Ogba Eme, 43, Austin Chris Emeka, 38 and Obiwulu David, 35.

Oru, a trader in Lome, Togo ingested 79 wraps of substances that tested positive for cocaine and was to be paid the sum of 3,000 Euros. He blamed his involvement on the economic meltdown which according to him had crippled his business.

Oru, is from Ohafia Local Government of Abia State while Mr. Okereke, a motor spare parts dealer at Nkpo new parts market Onitsha ingested 72 wraps of substances suspected to be cocaine.

He regretted his involvement stating that "I am facing a lot of family problems. They promised to pay me 4,000 Euros. Everything is on me and my business is down because of the economic meltdown. In short I was stranded. I feel empty now. If I am out of this case, I will not mind going to the village to farm". He is from Awgu in Enugu State.

Ezimoha, a trader that sells refrigerators in Ajali, Anambra State ingested 80 wraps for a fee of 3,000 Euros. He blamed himself for being misled by a lady he met at the French Embassy on February 14, 2009.

He said, "I feel very bad, I did not even confide in my wife. Things were bad but I was not doing badly. I met a lady at the French Embassy that told me that I could make 3,000 Euros in few hours. She was the one that linked me with the drug people. On Thursday March 26, 2009 when they brought the drug, I was only able to swallow six wraps because I was vomiting. The following day it took me a whole day to swallow the 80 wraps".

He is from Orumba North Local Government of Anambra State.

Emeka, a textile merchant living in Aba ingested 75 wraps for a fee of 2,000 Euros. He said that he was desperately in need of money to pay his debts. "I incurred heavy loss to the tune of N700,000 and the money was borrowed. I would have loved to be detained as a debtor than to come and suffer this shame". He is married with a child and hails from Ohafia Local Government of Abia State.

Emeka who deals in electronics was to travel to Dusseldorf when he was nabbed for possessing 105 wraps of substances suspected to be cocaine. He inserted eight wraps in his anus and ingested 97 others. The suspect resides in Gambia with his wife and two children.


"I have been having financial difficulties for some time now. I lost my brother in 2006 after a protracted illness. Now my father is very sick. I had wanted to use the 3,000 Euros they promised me to solve some of my problems but I don’t know where to start from here" he lamented. He hails from Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.

David a motor parts dealer was travelling to Dusseldorf, when his journey terminated at the NDLEA office for ingesting 77 wraps of substances suspected to be cocaine. He lives at Isolo and has a shop at Ladipo parts market in Lagos.

"I feel sad and disappointed. I do not know what to do next, I have been praying since I was caught. All I need now is to be free" he said. He hails from Nnewi South Local Government Area [/b]

Cole-showers said that the suspects would soon be charged to court




http://www.champion-newspapers.com/news/article9.htm

419: Chinua-Ogwu, pointblanknews agent, others' trial resumes May 27   
Written by ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH & AUSTIN ANOZIE     
Monday, 30 March 2009 

[b]Suspected fraudsters, Steve Chinua-Ogwu an agent of pointblanknews.com

LAGOS—Magis- trate Badejo Okusanya of the Ikeja Magistrate's Court, Lagos, has adjourned for trial the case involving  two suspected fraudsters, Steve Chinua-Ogwu,  an agent of pointblanknews.com and one Alhaji Rasheed Alayande, who allegedly defrauded Mrs. Oyindamola Amuka, wife of the Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Sam Amuka, of N4 million till May 27.
Chinua-Ogwu and Alayande were answering a four- count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing, extortion and obtaining money by  false pretence.

All parties in the case-the accused persons, their counsel, Mr. Sam Amuka and his wife, Oyindamola and the police


Suspected fraudsters, Steve Chinua-Ogwu an agent of pointblanknews.comprosecution witnesses- were in court yesterday.

When the matter was called, the police prosecutor told the court that virtually all his witnesses were present in court, setting the stage for the trial of the accused persons.

However, he prayed the court to grant him an adjournment to carry out some medical check-up. He also informed the court that the adjournment will allow him prepare his witnesses for a definite trial.

The defence counsel, Mr. Giwa Amu and Mrs. Raji, did not oppose the application for adjournment. Earlier, Magistrate Okusanya had cautioned  Giwa Amu “not to play to the gallery” when he started delving  into the substantive suit, urging him to allow the criminal suit be tried according to the law.

When Chinua-Ogwu and Alayande were arraigned last month, they pleaded not guilty to the charges, while the court imposed some bail conditions on them in ensuring that they did not run away from trial.


Alhaji Rasheed Alayande, suspected fraudsters
The accused persons, according to the charges preferred against them, were alleged to have, with others at large, between January 2007 and December 31, 2007 conspired to obtain money by false pretence from their victims.

The charges further read: “You Steve Chinua ‘m’ , Alhaji Rasheed Alayande ‘m’ and others at large at about 14.30 hrs at the State CID Panti, Yaba, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District did conspired amongst yourself to effect an unlawful purpose to wit: obtaining money under false pretence and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code Cap C. 17, Vol. 11, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.

“That you Steve Chinua ‘m’,  Alhaji Rasheed Alayande ‘m’ and others at large on the same date, time and place in the aforesaid Magisterial District did steal the sum of N4 million, property of one Oyindamola Amuka ‘f’ and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 390 (9) of the Criminal Code Cap C. 17, Vol. 11, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.

“That you Steve Chinua ‘m’,  Alhaji Rasheed Alayande ‘m’ and others now at large on the same date, time and place in the aforesaid Magisterial District did with intent to extort money from one Oyindamola Amuka ‘f’ cause a publication of defamatory matter on pointblanknews website, dated Sunday, December 21, 2008 and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 376 of the Criminal Code Cap. C.17, Vol. 11, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria.”[/b]

http://www.vanguardngr.com/content/view/31827/42/
 

Yar’Adua’s son-in-law may emerge as CBN gov
From Taiwo Adisa and Femi Olukunle - 01.04.2009

BAUCHI State governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda has emerged tops on the list of possible successors to the seat of the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which will become vacant in May.


Incumbent CBN governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo is set to complete his first term of five years in May but government sources have insisted that the tenure of the Anambra-born university teacher will not be renewed.


It was gathered that government insiders have been tinkering with options of Soludo’s possible successors since the beginning of the year.


In recent weeks, some names have been coming up strongly and these include the Chief Economic adviser to the President, Dr. Tanimu Yakubu, former Minister of Finance, Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, immediate past Minister of Finance, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman and the incumbent Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Aderemi Babalola.


While different forces in the power loop have continued to push for the respective names, it was gathered that a think-tank had recently emerged, with strong recommendation for the Bauchi State governor.


Besides retiring as a banker before he served as Minister of Aviation in the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, Yuguda recently married one of the daughters of President Umaru Yar’Adua.


The Bauchi State governor is also said to be leading a pressure group which claims to have the ears of the President and is said to be pushing for a clean sweep of some top federal appointments by the North.


The governor was said to have hosted a meeting of his group two weeks ago in Abuja, where it was further firmed up that the North must insist on getting the CBN governor this time.


Though some sources had claimed that the Yuguda option could portray the President as unduly favouring his son-in-law, it was further argued that the governor, being a banker, is eminently qualified for the job.


Other positions the North is angling to take include the Head of Service of the Federation, as Ms Ama Pepple is soon to retire, while the position of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) is also open, as Mr. Mike Okiro is due for retirement.


It was however gathered that Yar’Adua was willing to pacify the South with one of the appointments, before yielding to the request of the Yuguda think-tank on retaining most of the slots in the North.


One of the factors said to be working in favour of Yuguda is the recent representation said to have been made to the President after a meeting of Northern leaders at the Arewa House, Kaduna, where it was further concluded that Soludo must not be made to remain in the saddle beyond May, this year.


His sin, according to sources, was the decision that apparently emasculated the North from the banking system during the consolidation exercise of 2005.


Besides, it was gathered that the President was still dilly-dallying on whether he would release Tanimu as his Chief Economic Adviser or retain the man in that seat, while he picks his son-in-law for the CBN top job.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/01042009/news/news1.html

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Audit reveals 207,199 unqualified teachers in primary schools
By Victor Sam, Abuja
Published: Tuesday, 31 Mar 2009
A personnel audit carried out by the Universal Basic Education Commission in 2006 to ascertain the total number of qualified teachers in the nation’s primary schools has revealed that there are about 207,199 unqualified teachers in primary schools.

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Photo file
Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu

The audit showed that there were about 534,794 teachers in the system, but only 246,985 possessed the minimum qualification of a National Certificate of Education required by law to teach in the sector.

However, the audit also revealed that there were over 80,610 teachers with doctorate, masters, and bachelor’s degrees teaching in the nation’s primary schools.

While the UBE Act stipulates a minimum of NCE qualification for primary school teachers, many states, in contravention of the law, still employ teachers with Senior School Certificate, Teachers Grade Two (Referred), Teachers Grade Two, Ordinary National Diploma, and Diploma of Education qualifications, according to the report.

The document, which was exclusively obtained by our correspondent on Monday in Abuja, showed that out of a total teacher stock of 534,794, only 246,985 were NCE graduates.

According to the document, about 129,397 teachers were Grade Two teachers; 33,316, SSCE; 19,499, TC 2 (Referred); 16,015, Dip. In Education; and, 8,972, OND.

Kano State had the highest number of unqualified teachers with 19,689 staff; Kaduna, 14,210; Niger, 12,573; Taraba, 11,565; Bauchi, 10,111; Adamawa,10,041; Katsina, 9,380; Plateau, 8,292; and, Borno, 7,539.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2009033142475

20 women jailed for obscenity
By Agency reporter
Published: Tuesday, 31 Mar 2009
An Abuja Upper Area Court, on Monday, sentenced 20 ladies to two weeks’ imprisonment each for obscenity and constituting public nuisance.

The Police Prosecutor, Mr. Mohammed Garba, told the court that Jennifer Jonathan, Queen Andy, Vera Andy, Margaret Idibia, Tina Odey, and Yemi Taiwo committed the offence along Gimbiya Street, Area 11, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria also reported Gamba as informing the court that Blessing John, Aneke Oluchi, Rose Ubi, Bright John, Binta Bashir, Keffi Ofume, Joy Lewa, Esther John, Rose Sunday, Juliana Benard, Happiness Paul and Charity Ogwu also committed the offence.

All the accused pleaded ‘guilty’ to the charge.

Garba told the court that the accused were arrested for parading themselves on the street almost nude, so as to attract the patronage of men in their prostitution business.

He said, “The accused were indecently dressed and, thereby, causing embarrassment to the people in the neighbourhood. Also, they call men passing by to come and have sex with them.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200903314155946

6 arrested for ingesting 488 wraps of cocaine
31.03.2009

OFFICERS of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, last week arrested six suspected drug traffickers for allegedly ingesting 488 wraps of substances suspected to be cocaine.


All the suspects were caught attempting to traffic illicit drugs to various destinations in Europe.


Apart from Nmah Oru, 40, who was nabbed on March 24, other suspects were caught during the outward clearance of KLM flight on Friday.


The names of the five suspects are Orji Okereke, 39; Ezimoha Chidi, 42; Ireke Eme, 43; Chris Emeka, 38 and Obiwulu David, 35.


The NDLEA Airport Commander, Mr. Victor Cole-Showers, on Monday said “the suspects tested positive to drug ingestion during routine screening of passengers. “They are still under observation to excrete the drugs but we have commenced investigation into the cases preparatory to prosecution.”


Four of the drug suspects were resident in Nigeria while Nmah and Chris lived in Togo and Gambia respectively.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/31032009/news/news16.html

WHO: Serious Outbreak of Meningitis Hits Nigeria
03.30.2009


World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that  a ``serious'' outbreak of meningitis has hit the northern part of Nigeria.
A statement issued by WHO, a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday said that, ``some 17,500 cases had been registered and 960 people had already died of the  disease''.
The statement said that although the states most affected were Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara States, ``the epidemic has also hit other  states in northern part of the country hard.''
It also stated that vaccination campaigns were underway, with the support of UNICEF and other NGOs .
According to the statement, the UN health agency is supporting the Nigerian Health Ministry's efforts to boost disease surveillance, with technical experts on  ground since last month.
Along with its partners, the statement said WHO had released 2.3 million doses of vaccines to Nigeria. It, however, noted that, ``nearly 13 million doses were stockpiled for 2009, but more are needed for this meningitis season which will run from January through June''.
Meanwhile, WHO has also reported an outbreak of the disease in Niger Republic with 4,513 cases and 169 deaths.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=139539

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U.S. deports 1,359 Nigerians within 7 years


The U.S. has deported no fewer than 1,359 Nigerians from 2003 to date.


Nigeria's Consul-General in New York, Malam Ibrahim Auwalu, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York on Monday, said that, "the Nigerians were sent home for various immigration violations and criminal convictions.''


Auwalu also said that some of them were repatriated for drug-related offences, while some others had either completed their prison terms or had allegedly committed credit card fraud and theft.


He said that the deportations were at the expense of the U.S. government, which conveyed the deportees in chartered flights to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, in Lagos.


The consul-general, however, disclosed that some Nigerians were also, on a daily basis, sent back home from various U.S. airports for not possessing valid travel documents or could not give tangible reason for their stay in the U.S.


http://nigeriaworld.com/cgi-bin/axs/ax.pl?http://odili.net/news/source/2009/mar/30/35.html

Detainee dies minutes into freedom


ABIODUN ADELAJA, Abuja

Police have commenced investigations into the sudden death of 25-year-old Chukwuma Ugochukwu, moments after he was freed on bail from the custody of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja, Lagos State.

The investigation which was ordered by a deputy inspector-general of police was sequel to a petition to the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions by the deceased’s father, Mr Sylvanus Ugochukwu. He had alleged that his now-deceased son was tortured to death by the operatives of SARS, in Lagos State, in March last year over an offence he did not commit.

The late Chukwuma, the father narrated, was sent from the family home in Ihiala, Anambra State, to Lagos last year to fetch his ailing younger brother when he was arrested around the Maryland Bus Stop area over alleged an alleged robbery some weeks earlier in Ikeja.

He further said that efforts by the Ugochukwu family to get the deceased released to them or charged to court proved abortive until his health deteriorated.

Mr. Ugochukwu, however lamented that after spending three weeks in detention during which he was subjected to torture and all manner of inhuman treatment by the police, Chukwuma was granted bail but he died about five minutes later.

"Sometime in March 2008 I sent the deceased from Ihiala in Anambra State to Lagos to see and possibly bring back the younger brother who was sick at the time

"Before he left for Lagos he received a call from a girl who pretended to be a friend. The said girl asked (Chukwuma) to tell her when he will be coming to Lagos. The (young man) who was already due in Lagos in a few days’ time, on my instructions, informed the girl that he was coming to Lagos.

"On the appointed day, the girl asked the deceased to stop at the Maryland Bus Stop so that she could pick him up from there.

"The deceased obliged and waited at Maryland on arrival. The deceased waited to see the girl but was surprised to be arrested by the police and taken to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja.

"At the police station, the deceased was informed by one Mr Kayode, a policeman, that he was a robbery suspect. According to the policeman, a stolen phone was used in calling deceased’s sister few minutes after the robbery incident in Lagos. The deceased and the sister reside at Ihiala in Anambra State and were at Ihiala at the time of the alleged robbery.

"All the explanation of the deceased that he knew nothing about the alleged robbery fell on deaf ears. The intervention of the deceased’s cousin and a legal practitioner did not save the deceased as the police had insisted that the deceased must make available his sister who had received the call from the stolen phone.

"The police continued torturing the deceased with lethal weapons in order to extract confessional statements from him. As a result of the beatings the deceased sustained several injuries.

"That on March 12 the deceased’s cousin who is a policeman and lawyer went to SARS and the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) in charge of the case brought out the deceased. Seeing that the deceased’s health had deteriorated, the cousin requested the IPO to allow the deceased to seek medical attention but the IPO refused.

"On March 14, when the deceased’s sister arrived in Lagos from Ihiala, the deceased was brought in a state of coma with bruises and blood all over his body. The police procured a woman who administered substances suspected to be drip.

"The deceased’s cousin protested the way the police treated the deceased. It was then the police reluctantly granted him bail to enable him seek medical attention. The suspect, Ugochukwu, however died on his way to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) at Ikeja, a distance of about five minutes from the SARS office," he narrated.

Ugochukwu also told the stunned members of the Hon CID Maduabum-led Committee on Public Petitions that the police were still in possession of the N8, 000 and a GSM handset belonging to the deceased.

When the case came up for hearing over the weekend, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Marvel Akpoyibo, who had accompanied DIG Onovo admitted that although the records in his possession indicated that Chukwuma was detained over a robbery, he had been granted bail. He denied knowledge of Chukwuma’s death.

At this juncture, Hon Maduabum drew a nexus between Chukwuma’s sudden death barely five minutes after being granted bail and the serial torture he was subjected to in the hands of the police.

"Nobody is on trial here. We are concerned that human life is involved here. Today it is Mr Ugochukwu who has petitioned over the murder of his son. We do not pray for it to be our lot, but tomorrow it could be the DIG or you on this side asking for justice," Maduabum stated in an emotion-laden tone.


Apparently moved by the sentiments expressed by the federal lawmaker, DIG Onovo promptly directed investigation into the matter to unravel the level of police complicity in the death of Chukwuma Ugochukwu.

How Ogbulafor embezzled PDP funds, bought mansion for N700 million -Nnaji


Vincent Ogbulafor
A former National auditor of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Ray Nnaji, has disclosed how the party’s national chairman, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor embezzled nomination fees of some PDP candidates when he (Ogbulafor) was the party’s national secretary.

Nnaji, who accused Ogbulafor concealing the actual value of his newly bought Abuja mansion, claimed Ogbulafor paid N700 million for the controversial mansion but sliced the value to N400 million to douse public outrage.

In a petition to the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), which was exclusively obtained by Pointblanknews.com, Nnaji, who was Ogbulafor‘s colleague in party’s defunct Working Committee, said the report of a committee headed by a Trustee of the party, Chief Tony Anenih, actually indicted Ogbulafor for graft thereby making him ineligible to hold any PDP office let alone that of the national chairman.

“At the end of their (Anenih’s panel) investigation, it was discovered that Prince Vincent Ogbulafor embezzled the nomination of some candidates for the primary election of that year (2003), of which Late Alhaji Inua Labaran, then National Organising Secretary, confirmed that some monies were paid Prince Ogbulafor through him for remittance into the party account, but Ogbulafor failed to do so,” complained Nnaji in the petition.

It was Ogbulafor’s admittance of pilfering party funds, wrote Nnaji that led to him offering in the presence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and other PDP officers, to resign as party secretary. Ogbulafor also agreed to return the said monies to PDP coffers, but never did, wrote Nnaji.

According to Nnaji, the Anenih panel, which had as members the present deputy governor of Plateau State, Mrs. Pauline Tallen, among others, of all the serving members of the PDP National Working Committee at the time, only six officers including himself, National Woman Leader, Mrs. Josephine Anenih, National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Venatius Ikem and National Youth Leader, Alhaji Bibi Farouk, were exonerated.

Also exonerated of financial misdeeds by the Anenih committee, said Nnaji, were the National Financial Secretary, Mr. Toye Olafintoye, and the deputy National Secretary, Mr. Akpabio.

Nnaji expressed shock that the same Ogbulafor would, three years later, metamorphose into the national chairman of the same party whose finances he had tampered with simply because no screening was done before Ogbulafor’s emergence.

Not satisfied with the proceeds of his maneuvers with party funds, said Nnaji, Ogbulafor had the penchant for conniving with a certain lady supplier of diesel for the party secretariat’s generator set, to inflate the cost of the fuel, in addition to the several fronts he allegedly used to secure juicy contracts from the PDP secretariat.

Nnaji warned the party on the dangers on Ogbulafor’s continued stay in office as national chairman, particularly as he (Ogbulafor) have yet to disown his indictment by a report of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for allegedly misappropriating over N104 million.

Nnaji, who requested the enforcement of Article 12.80 (a,b) of the PDP Constitution which deals with party discipline, said the controversy generated by Ogbulafor’s purchase of a N700 million mansion “but said to have demanded of a receipt for N400 million with the name of a proxy…has (raised) serious questions on the highest standards of morality” expected of the occupier of the seat of PDP national chairman.

“It is highly imperative that you intervene immediately by invoking Section 12.80 (a) and other relevant provisions of the party’s constitution in order to bring an immediate end to his (Ogbulafor’s) tenure to save our great party from total collapse, advised the party’s former national officer, adding, “the earlier Prince Vincent Ogbulafor is removed as PDP national chairman, the better for all of us.”


http://pointblanknews.com/os1607.html