₦airaland Forum

Dr. Dimitri Yusrokov Slamini of the Russian Institute for Medical Science in Novosibirsk and his team of researchers have discovered what they claim to be a new vaccine which could prevent early symptoms and even cure humans from homosexuality, if treated at a young age.
Russian scientists developed the so-called «antidote» based on a 1959 scientific research published under the title “Organizing action of prenatally administered testosterone propionate on the tissues mediating mating behavior in the female guinea pig” by Charles H. Phoenix, an american researcher. The study concluded that “INAH [part of the hypothalamus] is dimorphic with sexual orientation, at least in men, and suggests that sexual orientation has a biological substrate”.

Iran, China and Saudi Arabia have been the first countries to show interest in the new discovery.
«Xenoestrogen are a type of estrogen mimickers found in synthetic or natural chemical compounds. Synthetic xenoestrogens such as PCB’s, BPA and phthalates have been also been found to have estrogenic effects on living organisms and to disrupt the endocrine system» explains Dr. Yuri Krutchev, who took part in the experiment. «Injecting specific quantities of testosterone helps to unset this artificial biological unbalance which occurs mostly in part because of environmental pollution and an excess of estrogen mimickers in our modern environment» he adds.

The new discovery has attracted much criticism from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organizations around the Globe, yet a few country leaders have outspokenly showed support and interest for the research. Iran, China and Saudi Arabia have been the first countries to show interest in the new discovery.

American and European researchers have expressed much skepticism upon receiving the news.

http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/russian-scientists-discover-cure-to-homosexuality/

Jakarta | A catholic priest from the island of Java in Indonesia who has woken up from a 17 month long coma has converted himself to Islam after the man claims Allah spoke to him and showed him “the beauty of the heavens”.
The 87-year old priest from Spain has lived and preached on the island for more then 43 years and is fluent in Javanese and various dialects of the different ethnic groups of the island and is a well known and respected figure amongst all religious groups of the area.

The man who has suffered a cardiac arrest while helping local volunteers to fix the roof of his own church and fell an incredible two stories high has managed to survive and come out of his coma, in brittle shape, yet a changed man.
“I know nothing of Islam. Never once have I read the Quran but God spoke to me and asked me to follow him to the heavens and the Holy light shone through my entire being and behold the golden gates of heaven appeared before me and God told me his name and it was Allah” told the newly convert to a journalist of the Kalimantan Press.
The man who miraculously suffers no spinal injury should be able to walk soon, admits the physician who took care of him at South Jakarta’s Metropolitan Medical Centre. “This must be the strongest 80-year old I have ever seen. His bones should be smashed to pieces” ponders Jim Won May, who has practiced medecine for over twenty years. 

His conversion to Islam took most of his church followers by surprise, but interestingly enough, already half of his christian followers have showed interest in converting to Islam. “If Allah is the true God, I don’t want to be misled in the wrong direction on judgement day. I trust Father Eduardo. We all believe in him” explains one of his followers.

The priest who is still under medical attention has already ordered the construction of a new mosque and his followers are already hard at work to find the funds necessary for the task. “We owe it to Father Eduardo for all he has done for us” comments one of the devotees of the old catholic church, that is now for sale.

http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/catholic-priest-wakes-up-from-coma-after-17-months-converts-to-islam/

Jonathan using extreme measures to destroy Nigeria — APC



The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, in this interview, says the party’s presidential ticket is not zoned to any particular section of the country.

Newly Elected National Chairman of APC Odigie-Oyegun at APC National Convention in Abuja.

While reacting to President Goodluck Jonathan’s boast of capturing Rivers and Edo states, he describes it as a huge joke, asserting that the APC will rather snatch more PDP states in the 2015 general elections.



He states that Chief Tom Ikimi attaches so much influence he does not possess to himself, saying that the exit of the former APC leader was good riddance to bad rubbish.

There is this fear among APC members that the issue of the party’s presidential candidate might tear the part apart. Do you also nurse such fear?

People always signal, at every stage of our development, that there will be rancour. There may be disagreement but we will always overcome it. We have survived all the predictions so far, so none that is coming afresh will come to pass.

We have insisted we are going to have a level-playing field, we are going to provide all aspirants with equal opportunity, there is no anointed candidate to the best of my knowledge.

We are issuing a code of conduct that will ensure that the run up to the primaries will be rancour free in terms of personal attacks. People will say why they are the best but they must not say why somebody else should not get it, just tell us what you have for the party and for the nation.

We are trying to have as wide an electorate as possible given the fact that our convention hold in one venue. Even though we would all have preferred direct primaries, it is so cumbersome, so expensive that we thought that, for now, the best thing to do, as our constitution provides and expand the electorate is to have primaries in one single venue and whoever comes out of that process becomes the person behind whom the entire party will unite.

The PDP seems to have zeroed on President Goodluck Jonathan as its consensus candidate. Why can’t the APC have a consensus candidate?

We don’t believe in forced consensus. If tomorrow all our presidential aspirants come to me and say, ‘Mr National Chairman, we have all agreed that, out of four of us, this man is the preferred candidate, we will support him’, we will gladly accept.

As at today, all those who have indicated interest in one form or the other in the presidency of the APC, each and every one of them is capable of beating whoever the PDP presents.
They (PDP) said they have settled on President Jonathan, but all those who have indicated interest on our side can beat Jonathan. So we will have no problem if the candidates themselves decide that one of them can go. But barring that, we are going to proceed and do that democratic thing which is a free and fair primaries.

A former chieftain of the party, Chief Tom Ikimi, accused the APC leadership of imposing you and many other officials, saying it was part of the undemocratic actions by your party. What is your take on that?

The claim really is getting to be such as a bad joke. He has said what he wants to say, I do not know that at any stage, in any party he was of such overriding influence that he cooked the food for everybody else to eat. But again to put it very modest, it is an over exaggeration of his role in the party.

Yes, the ACN then chose him as the leader of their team and the entire group made him the Chairman of the process; after the leaders of the various parties had agreed to come together, they just needed somebody to chairman the negotiation.

So if that means he cooked the food, let him enjoy the accolade he is giving himself. I won’t want to deprive him of that personal crowning of himself.

What concerns us now is the future. No party wants to lose any body, but people who are not ideologically attuned to where the APC stands think it is best for the party that such people go where they are at home. That is where Ikimi belongs.

We won’t miss such people. Just like we lose some, we are gaining some. A few days ago, I was in Lokoja to welcome seven sitting members of the House of Assembly into the APC. That is addition that is immediately relevant, so that is the kind of quality addition that APC is getting all over the place and we are expecting more.

President Jonathan recently boasted that the PDP will capture Rivers and Edo in 2015 and 2016?
What do you expect the President to say, that he is going to lose Edo and Rivers? We are also going to win many places because we have the list of the areas we are going to win, even Bayelsa. But you should know that winning Edo and Rivers is totally out of the question because we have very strong governors in those two states.

Edo of course has been APC, there have been one or two skirmishes here and that is all. APC is solidly on ground with a governor that is doing very well.

For the Rivers governor to have survived the onslaught including major ones by security agencies with full backing of Aso Rock, for him to strived, for him not to have lost control of his Assembly, just tells you that he has something a little bit more than the ordinary.

He is firmly in control of the politics of Rivers State. So anybody using the totality of the federal might and you cannot unseat him, with all the array of special policemen, array of ministers energized, yet he survived and you are saying that you are going to win that state from him when you cannot get more than five members of the House, that is a huge joke.

The PDP will lose more states to the APC in the forthcoming elections.

Exit of former governors of Kano and Borno States, Shakarau and Sheriff, respectively.
We lost former Sokoto governor, Bafarawa, we got (incumbent) Wamakko, do you think it is a plus or minus?. We lost Bafarawa who was just a party chieftain; we got a sitting governor with the totality of the House of Assembly with other concomitant benefits; so what are we saying?


 In Kano, Shakarau, a brilliant man, nice man, but we lost him to PDP, but we gained a fantastic Kwankwaso, a former Minister of Defence, a very energized, hard working leader. Soldier go soldier come. Sheriff did not win his senatorial seat, you remember. There is a governor there who is part of the APC, and as he (Sheriff) is going, then going coincided with the cresting of who is Boko Haram supporter and who is not. And immediately he left, the flood gate opened as to who is actually supporting Boko Haram or not. So God took him away just in time. Imagine the embarrassment which we would have suffered if he was still a member of the APC. What we gained is more superior to what we lost.

There is this allegation that the APC intends to frustrate Governor-elect Ayo Fayose’s swearing-in in Ekiti. How true is that?

APC has no plans to stop the swearing-in. It is a plan by the APC to get the judicial system to decide whether we are a country of law and order or not, or whether the laws of the country still mean anything of whether impeachment has almost the same force as a criminal offence, whether it is an indictment because the forms you fill when you are running for any office, they will ask you, ‘have you ever been in prison?’ ‘Have you ever been indicted by any constituted judicial court of law?’ So it is for the judiciary to decide. Stopping him or not is a matter of what the law of the nation says and we have gone to court to seek the interpretation of the laws of the nation. Is he a qualified and fit person to rule a state, to have contested to be governor of Ekiti?


That is the issue. What I even expected the press to emphasize is the very unprecedented happening, the humiliation of the judiciary, thuggery in the sacred chambers of justice. Has this country ever degenerated to that extent? What does it portend for the nation, that somebody who we thought was going to be governor, will lead and Judges have said he physically led, they saw it eye ball to eye ball, a team that will manhandle judicial officers in those sacred chambers? It has never happened in this country before. That is where I expect the media to stand and help the system rebuild. I am waiting anxiously to see the outcome of this because the judiciary in this country is on trial. How will they react, who seriously will they react, will they get cowed again by the power structures of the nation or will they stand up for themselves and say ‘we cannot stand this?’ I was truly traumatized.

‘Why I did not appear for my CON Award’
I personally did not go to receive the National Award of CON because, at that stage, I just could not put myself together to say ‘no, this cannot happen in our country’. I could not just go and be receiving an award where the halls of justice of this country are being so terribly desecrated and there has been no forceful reaction from the Federal Government. The shock was a bit too much for me to go and wear agbada, smiling and shaking the hands of the President. No, I could not do that. I really will urge the media to stand firmly, to ensure that what happened is unravelled and exemplary punished meted out. Otherwise I don’t know who else cannot be slapped, may be the President. We have this habit of gliding over issues and moving on to the next; meanwhile the nation is degenerating, the nation is heading towards the precipice.

‘PDP using religion to tear nation apart’
What do we have today in Nigeria, we have religious politics, ethnic politics, even at federal level we have religious tourism. We have our leaders now who go to Church and prostrate and pastors stand and put their hands on their heads; there is nothing we seem not to do just to get one extra vote. Some of those photographs have been totally embarrassing when the symbol of a whole nation, the symbol of our independence, the symbol of our pride, is there prostrating. The ethnic thing is very loud and clear; if not, why will anybody in his right senses say that APC is Boko Haram party. The party is led by a Christian, in fact a Catholic, one of the conservative of the Christendom. Why will anybody ever dream of calling the party such name and they kept drumming it in. And of course those of you in the media know that there are a few CDs circulating, which portray the most horrific extremes of these terrible Islamist group, and then they link it with politics in Nigeria and link it to the APC. Why would anybody in his right mind do a thing like that? The video said that the South West has been Islamized by jihadists, meanwhile all the Muslim governors in the South West are married to Christian wives. Their children are Christians and then some people stand up to politicize the whole thing. You see, we are reaching to a stage where you ask whether the people doing this are mentally stable, whether they know the cost of the cleavage they are creating in the society. These are people who want power so badly that it does not matter the bitterness, the enmity that they create within the country between ethnic groups and within religious groups. We are now polarized in a way that we have never been in this country. Even in the North, you see the polarization of Christians and Muslims all in the name of politics. In their desperation, they are using extreme measures and we just pity the PDP and we hope the country will just be wise enough to put us in office in February so that we can start addressing this very dangerous forces that have been unleashed on this nation.

‘Jonathan has failed woefully’
You talk of power that has become a cash cow of the PDP, from one leadership of the PDP to the other. We will be stupid to say we are going to continue with a party that has failed us for 16 years now because nothing has changed for the better. Security is down, education is down, health facilities. we are one of the worst places in the face of the earth. More women die here during child birth than in most other places of the world. More children die here than in most other places of the world. Yet it is a country where we have trillionnaires. It is only country where petroleum subsidy has turned another cash cow, it is the only country where a third of our crude oil is being stolen. Peoples pension are being pocketed. People call PDP Pickin Deceive Pickin, to me it is Poverty Developing Party because the only thing they have succeeded in doing all over the nation is bringing misery to the people. Hope is the only thing that keeps all of us alive, nothing else. The suicide rate in this country today would have been hell of a lot more but for the churches that keep promising miracles; so all our wives and children are now members of one funny named church or the other. Because it is the only way to be mentally stable, they are the only people giving people hope, not government. Not hope that they will find jobs tomorrow but that God will intervene. We cannot just continue this way.

It seems the APC has zoned its presidential ticket to the North. Does it mean you don’t have qualified candidates from the South?

I am glad you raised that question. I want to challenge anybody when it was said that our candidate must come from the North. We have interested persons from the southern part of this country, it is even the PDP that has decided where its candidate must come from and barred virtually any other person from anywhere from raising his head to say he wants to be President. But, for us, it is an open field, whoever wants to be President is free to come into the race. In fact, I wish every state can have a presidential aspirant because they help mobilize. The important thing is so long that they all appreciate that, at the end of the day, only one person will be the candidate, they will all unite with that one person that emerges. That is what the APC represents and that is what is going to happen.

You are one of the leaders of South-South Peoples Assembly, SSPA, who fought for a South-South President. Why have you abandoned the idea now?

I am a South-southerner. I was President of the SSPA and, for a long time, we struggled to be of help to this Jonathan’s administration. As a matter of fact, during one of our conferences, somebody came up with a beautiful paper which we adopted and it was titled, “Mr President, Just get it done”. And this came from his own people from the South-South. We know what the problems are and we have the resources to address the issues, so why are we not addressing the issues?

 And the situation has continued to worsen; eventually I had to leave my position as National Chairman of the SSPA. Because you could not get to a point where with all the advice, ideas, where you can sit down with the President to say `we are glad you are the President, you are our son but things are not right please correct them’. We needed to sit down to say, `Look, things are not right, don’t let anybody deceive you’. A situation came when one said, `Well, one is just wasting time. The issue facing our nation today is that we are now saddled with a party and a President who has totally run out of steam, there is no doubt about that, run out of ideas.


Vulgarity of campaigns that is going on today, all sorts of things give us that singular impression of a party that has reached the end of the road, knows that it has reached the end of the road, knows that it has nothing else to offer, knows that it has so much to hide and knows that it is only the retention of power that can make that possible; that it is possible to go to any length what so ever just to retain power. Not to bring hope to the people they are governing but to retain power because that is the only protection that they think they have. This country needs salvaging. We cannot survive another four years under the current environment and sometimes some of their goons will misinterpret that to mean that if APC does not win Nigeria will collapse. That is not true. It is clear we are heading towards anarchy, there is no question about that. Thank God the security forces have woken up now. It is a shame that we are talking about the East West Road after we have our own man in office for six solid years. You make promises but there is no single promise that has been kept. You have to behave to your people when you are in office.

Why were you unable to settle the crisis that led to the exit of Pastor Ize-Iyamu and others from the party?
At that point, the harm was already done. As a matter of fact, very early in the dispute, I knew the situation was irretrievable because you cannot give condition for settlement and, while the time you gave to effect settlement had not expired, you already had visited the President ahead of the other camp. The President is not there to be used as a bargaining chip, the minute that you have gone to that extent, then there is no sincerity, the game is over. But the party has recovered from that temporary glitch and we have moved on. I hope they are happy where they are because reconciliation should not be at all cost, there are times you stand on what you believe and move on and that is what the party has done in Edo. We are not bothered at all, the APC in Edo, led by Oshiomhole, is marching in the right direction. God is doing everything for us.

There is this rumour about a disagreement between you and Governor Oshiomhole over the choice of candidates in Edo. How true is that?

I have enough trouble in Abuja not to talk of coming here to fight with the governor over nomination. There is nothing like that. I am trying to get my acts together to pick a presidential ticket in Abuja, trying to put the party in fighting shape for the election and it is not to bother myself on who is senatorial candidate here or who is House of Reps candidate. There is absolutely no clash between me and the governor. In any case, I am going to lay down the conditions for primaries and I will urge that every stage the primaries will be free and fair and whosever the people want, that person will become the candidate. The people, the party must be given total freedom to make a choice. Let those interested go round the field, let them stop dropping names, let them go and do their work. And at the end of the day, the party will state its preference. In any case, this is all name-dropping. I am sure the governor has not come out to tell anybody about his preferred candidate because in politics there are no secrets.

http://www.nigerianeye.com/2014/10/jonathan-using-extreme-measures-to.html?m=1

There was pandemonium at the National Campaign Office of the Peoples Democratic Party, Maitama, Abuja on Thursday as politicians suspected to be loyalists of the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, beat his suspected opponents.


Wike is among those aspiring to be the governorship candidate of the party in Rivers State in 2015.

The thugs, who were in their tens, used dangerous weapons, such as stick, bottles and stones to scare away members of the party from the state from gaining entrance into the building, where members of the National Integration Committee, South-South zone, were meeting.

The meeting was aimed at settling grievances among members of the ruling party in the zone and Thursday was allotted to hear the grievances of those aggrieved in Rivers State.

But only Wike and his supporters were allowed to enter the venue of the meeting.

Many opponents of the minister, who came to present petitions to the Senator Iya Abubakar-led committee were beaten up by the thugs.

Those beaten included a legal practitioner, Mr. Tabotamuno Dick; a former Commissioner for Water Resources under former Governor Peter Odili, Mr. Lolo Ibieneye; Prof. Israel Owate, Dr. Sowaribi Tolofari, Mr. Sara Egbe and Chief Bekinbo Sobrekon.

Some journalists were also harassed while others had either their cameras damaged or their tape recorders seized.

Dick, who is a legal adviser to the Network for Defence of Democracy and Good Governance, suffered an injury near his left eye as a result of the beating.

While the thugs were beating him, policemen attached to the venue of the meeting refused to intervene, as one of them said they were handicapped because of the personalities involved.

However, the policemen joined the thugs to chase away rival politicians who were said not to be members of Wike’s Grassroots Democratic Initiatives.

Dick, who spoke with our correspondent after the incident, said, “I came to defend the petition we sent to the committee, but see what happened here today.

“I have been beaten by thugs and these thugs were joined by the policemen attached to someone who wants to be a governor of my state. We shall wait to see.”

Ibineneye also said that he was shoved and beaten, but warned that the PDP in the state would soon explode, adding that what happened in Abuja would have been a child’s play if the meeting had held in the state.

He said that out of 22 people who brought petitions to the committee, only four people were allowed inside.

Another aggrieved member, who was also harassed and sent out through the gate of the building, Sarigbe insisted that there was no way another Ikwerre person would succeed the current governor of the state, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

Sarigbe, who is from Aku Local Government Area of the state, said, “They are violating the party’s constitution in the state because the party recognises zoning of offices in the state and everywhere.

“I’m a foundation member of the party in the state. These people went through the back door and brought a two-man executive. Since these two men came, they have been violating the party’s constitution. The party should listen to us or the party would fail in the state.”

Wike, after the meeting, insisted that there was peace in the state PDP.

“There is peace in the party in the state,” he said in a brief interview after the meeting.

Some of the protesters later went to the national headquarters of the party, where they were addressed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh.

While addressing them, Metuh assured them that the party leadership would not allow the imposition of candidates on members in any state of the federation.

The PDP spokesman maintained that the party members would be given the opportunity to elect and nominate aspirants of their choice who would eventually become the party’s candidate for elections in 2015.
http://www.nigerianeye.com/2014/10/pandemonium-in-pdp-national-campaign.html?m=1

So?

Post it here.

How much?

The first World Day Against the Death Penalty took place in 2003. This event was launched by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, which gathers international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), bar associations, unions and local governments from all over the world. Established by organisations who participated in the first international Congress against the death penalty (Strasbourg, 2001), the Coalition aims to encourage the establishment of national coalitions, the organisation of common initiatives and the coordination of international lobbying efforts to sensitise states that still maintain the death penalty.

This year's World Day focuses on the progress made in the past 10 years and on challenges ahead. The last decade has seen a large increase in the number of countries that have officially abolished the death penalty or eliminated the use of the death penalty in practice:
•    141 countries are abolitionist in law or in practice;
•    97 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes;
•    36 countries have abolished the death penalty in practice;
•    8 countries have abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.

According to Amnesty International, 21 countries recorded executions in 2011, compared to 31 countries 10 years ago. Even the USA, one of the worst offenders in the use of the death penalty, has shown progress as individual states have abolished or limited the death penalty. Many other countries have also abolished the death penalty in the past decade, including: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Bhutan, Burundi, Cook Islands, Gabon, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Mexico, the Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Togo, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

However, further work needs to be done to build on the progress made, according to the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty:

•    Promote national legislation abolishing the death penalty.
•    Increase ratifications of the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. 
•    Support international standards calling for the abolition or restricted use of the death penalty.
•    Support adoption of the 2012 UN General Assembly Resolution on a moratorium: in December 2012, the UN General Assembly will vote on a fourth resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

Source: World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
Are you for or against death penalty, what are your reasons?

With a net worth of $150 Million, Nigeria's Bishop David Oyedepo, who is the founder of the Living Faith World Outreach Ministry, is the world’s richest pastor, according to US wesbite, richestlifestyle.com.

The publication describes him as “a prosperous pastor who owns private jets and homes in the US and the UK.”

Check out the full top 10 list:


10. Joseph Prince – Net worth: $5 Million (Singapore)

8. Chris Okotie – Net worth: $10 Million (Nigeria)

8. Matthew Ashimolowo – Net worth: $10 Million (Nigeria)

7. T.B. Joshua – Net worth: $15 Million (Nigeria)

6. T. D. Jakes – Net worth: $18 Million (United States)

5. Billy Graham – Net worth: $25 Million (United States)

4. Creflo Dollar – Net worth: $27 Million (United States)

3. Benny Hinn – Net worth: $42 Million (United States)

2. Chris Oyakhilome – Net worth: $50 Million (Nigeria)

1. David Oyedepo – Net worth: $150 Million (Nigeria)

http://www.nigerianeye.com/2014/10/david-oyedepo-named-worlds-richest.html?m=1

South African authorities have confiscated yet another US$5.7 million arms money from Nigeria, nearly three weeks.after seizing $9.3 million in cash transported by two Nigerians and an Israeli for arms purchase, South Africa-based City Express reported Monday.

As with the first deal, South Africa’s Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority seized the $5.7 million (about N952 million) for allegedly being the proceeds of illegal transactions, the paper said.

The news came more than two weeks after two Nigerians and an Israeli national were arrested in South Africa after they attempted to smuggle US$9.3 million apparently meant for buying arms for the Nigerian intelligence service.

The men landed at Lanseria International Airport, Johannesburg, on September 5 in a private jet from Abuja with the money stashed in three suitcases.

At the time, the South Africa Revenue Service, SARS, said customs officers became suspicious when the passengers’ luggage were unloaded and put through the scanners.

The National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, in South Africa said there was an invoice for helicopters and armaments intended to be used in Nigeria.

Two black plastic suitcases, filled with 90 blocks each containing US$100,000 in notes, with combination locks, were seized, as well as two pieces of hand luggage also containing US currency, according to City Press.

The Israeli national, Eyal Mesika, had the combination to open the locks.

Under South African laws, a person entering or leaving the country is expected to carry cash not exceeding US$2,300, or the equivalent in foreign currency notes.

The news of the first transaction sparked anger in Nigeria after it emerged the private jet involved belonged to the head of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Ayo Ortisejafor.

Mr. Oritsejafor, a close ally of President Goodluck Jonathan, said the plane had been leased to a third party and he could not be blamed for its schedules.

The Nigerian government later admitted it was behind the arms deal, claiming it acted out of desperation for arms to defeat extremist sect, Boko Haram.

An investigation planned by the Senate into the transaction has yet to begin while the House of Representatives threw out a motion seeking a probe.

The South African newspaper, City Press, said documents in its possession show that the first consignment was personally signed off by the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, who issued the end-user certificate for the transaction.

An entire “shopping list” was supplied with the certificate, which included everything from helicopters to unmanned aircraft, rockets and ammunition, it said.

The latest transaction, according to the paper, was between Cerberus Risk Solutions, an arms broker in Cape Town, and Societe D’Equipments Internationaux, said to be a Nigerian company based in Abuja.

The paper said the deal fell apart after Cerberus which had earlier received from Nigeria R60 million (N1.02 billion) in its  account at Standard Bank, tried to repay the money as it it could not resolve its registration formalities with the South African authorities.

“Cerberus was previously registered as a broker with the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), but the registration expired in May this year,” City Press said.

“The marketing and contracting permits also expired at the same time. The company has since applied for re-registration, but the application lay in the NCACC’s mailbox for more than two months.

“Sources told Rapport that Cerberus apparently tried to pay the money back to the Nigerian company, after which the bank became suspicious,” the paper reported.

The paper added that while the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit subsequently obtained a court order in the South Gauteng High Court to seize the money, the NPA spokesperson Nathi Mncube, said there were no indications the two transactions were related.

“However, both are now the subject of a criminal investigation and all possible information and connections are being investigated,” Mr. Mncube was quoted as saying.
http://saharareporters.com/2014/10/06/south-africa-busts-another-secret-nigeria-arms-deal-seizes-57-million

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has revealed how he made his money and also built a house for his mother at the age of 15.

Atiku, who is one of the presidential aspirants in the All Progressives Congress, in his new book titled ‘My Life’, which he authored, said he bought a mud house for her mother in Ganye, Adamawa State.



He gave the explanation under chapter six of the book, entitled ‘Making Money’.

He said he recognised very early in life that he had a good nose for business and this made him to apply for and obtained a Federal Housing loan.

The loan, he said, which amounted to N31,000, was the equivalent of his salary for five years as a customs officer.

He said, “I was granted a plot of land by the Gongola State Government at Yola Government Reserved Area. I hired a foreman and began building my first house.

“With close personal supervision, the bungalow was completed on time and to my taste. I rented it out immediately.

“The rent I collected in advance on the house was substantial enough for me to purchase a second plot. I built my second house and rented it out.

“I continued to plow back the rent into the building of new houses and within a few years, I had built eight houses in choice areas of Yola. I also built a new house for my mother and rebuilt the old mud house I bought for her in Ganye when I was a 15-year-old student.”

The former Vice President said property investment could be rewarding, because, according to him, returns on it could also be high depending on the location.

Kaduna, for instance, he added, was a good place to invest in property before the emergence of Abuja.

He explained that he built his first house in Kaduna with the rent he made from other property and that later, he bought six more plots and built residential houses and rented them out to individuals and institutions.

Atiku also added that of all the businesses into which he would venture, he listed what he described as a small oil services company as the most successful and most lucrative.

http://www.nigerianeye.com/2014/10/revealed-how-i-made-my-money-fathered.html?m=1

Do or die.

The Tikker watch asks a set of questions about a wearer's medical history
Their age is subtracted from the results to get the estimated death date
Countdown then begins shown in years, days, hours, minutes and seconds
Creator claims it will help people make the most of the time they have left 
If you're worried about what your lifestyle may be doing to your health, then a new - albeit very morbid gadget - gadget claims to help.

A Swedish inventor has designed a watch that apparently calculates a person's life expectancy - and even counts down to the time they will die.

Dubbed the 'death watch', the Tikker apparently calculates a person's life expectancy - and even counts down to the time they will die. The top row of the watch's digital display shows years, months and days, while the second row counts down hours, minutes and seconds.The bottom row shows the local time
WATCH OUT: Tikker is the death watch which counts down your life
But far from being morbid, Mr Colting calls it 'The Happiness Watch' and claims it has been designed to help people make the most of their life and cherish the time they have left.

To set up Tikker, the wearer fills out a questionnaire by entering information about their medical history, including allergies or illnesses.

They are also asked whether they drink or smoke and if there are any instances of cancer, diabetes and other diseases in their family.

Wearers are additionally asked about how much exercise they do, as well as how much they weigh before receiving a score.

Their age is deducted from the results to predict a death date and the Tikker - which also works as a regular watch - begins the countdown. 

Now, after a crowdfunding campaign, the gadget is available to buy online £49.99. 

Despite the original target being $25,000, a total of $98,665 was eventually raised.  

'Imagine someone told you that you only had one year left to live. How would that change your life? 

Far from being morbid, Tikker's Swedish inventor, Frank Colting, calls it 'The Happiness Watch' and claims it has been designed to help people make the most of their life and cherish the time they have left
'For all of us, life comes with a best-before date,' said Mr Colting, who came up with the idea when his grandfather passed away.

'While death is non-negotiable, life isn't. All we have to do is learn how to cherish the time and the life that we have been given; seize the day and follow our hearts.' 

HOW DOES  WATCH PREDICT DEATH?

To set up Tikker, the wearer fills out a questionnaire by entering information about their medical history, including allergies or illnesses.

They are also asked whether they drink or smoke and if there are any instances of cancer, diabetes and other diseases in their family.

Wearers are additionally asked about how much exercise they do, as well as how much they weigh before receiving a score.

Their age is deducted from the results to predict a death date and the Tikker begins the countdown.

The top row of the watch's digital display shows years, months and days, while the second row counts down hours, minutes and seconds. 

The bottom row shows the local time.

'From years to seconds it presents time ever moving, never standing still, and our lives dwindling

towards the final rest,' said Cotling.

'The occurrence of death is no surprise to anyone, but in our modern society we rarely talk about it. 

'I think that if we were more aware of our own expiration I'm sure we'd make better choices while we are alive.' 

Sarah Kabunga, buyer at Firebox.com, said: 'We all know that time waits for no man.

'The Death Watch lets you know down to the last second exactly how not to waste it by simply completing a questionnaire based on your general health and lifestyle.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2776230/How-long-YOU-got-left-live-New-Death-Watch-claims-calculate-life-expectancy-based-lifestyle-counts-death.html

General Sani Abatcha.

Bigcake: So what do think could be the role of the Isreali who accompanied them? I know Isrealis to be major arms dealers mostly in the black market.

That money was jointly stolen by GEJ and Oritsejafor. Israelis are criminals that can do anything for money.

Ask him.

The Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, has tabled before the National Judicial Council ahead of the council’s meeting scheduled for Thursday, a petition accusing the state’s Governor-elect, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, and the police of complicity in the attack on judges and court workers in the state last week.

A copy of the September 26, 2014 petition addressed to the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police of which was also attached to a covering letter sent to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, as the Chairman of the NJC, was exclusively obtained by Punch Newspaper from a police source in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday.

The covering letter sent to the Chief Judge was learnt to have been dated September 29.

Justice Daramola, in his petition to both the NJC and the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, accused Fayose of leading a large number of thugs, who disrupted court proceedings, beat up judges and court workers and also tore court records.

He also accused the policemen and other law enforcement agents deployed within and outside the court premises of “looking on completely uninterested and unconcerned” while the attacks by the thugs on the court workers and users lasted.

The Chief Judge justified the closure of the courts in the state after the mayhem, an action which he said was to avert “looming danger within the premises of the High Court of Ekiti State” after the police officers “posted to guard and protect the integrity of the court and its personnel have failed us and left us at the mercy of political hoodlums”.

It was also learnt on Tuesday that Fayose had through, his lawyers, sent a separate petition to the NJC, alleging that the Justices of the Governorship Election Tribunal, sitting in Ado-Ekiti High Court headquarters had received bribe.

Fayose alleged that the panel members had been bribed by Governor Kayode Fayemi and the All Progressives Congress to rule against him on September 25, when the court proceedings were disrupted by thugs allegedly loyal to him.

Fayose led thugs to court

But the Chief Judge, in the petitions both entitled, ‘Ekiti State Judiciary under siege of political thugs,’ chronicled the invasion of the court premises in Ado-Ekiti, by thugs between September 22 and September 24.

The petition read in part, “Now on Thursday, the 25th day of September, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, the governor-elect, again led thousands of people and thugs into the premises of the High Court beating and maiming members of staff.

“The thugs invaded my court where I was to deliver a judgment in a land matter, tore the record books, beat court officials and vandalized the furniture in Court No. 1.

“The political thugs descended on Hon. Justice J. A Adeyeye, the presiding judge in Court No. 3 beat and dragged him on the ground. The judge’s suit was also torn into shreds. I could not gain entrance into the premises of the court and had to hurriedly turn back on being alerted that I was the prime target of the hooligans.”

Justice Daramola said the attack on the court on September 25 was preceded by a similar siege on the court premises on September 22, when thugs allegedly loyal to Fayose disrupted court proceedings apparently to avert the delivery of a ruling which they suspected could go against the governor-elect.

The plaintiffs in the suit are challenging Fayose’s eligibility to contest the governorship election.

The CJ said he was at the Supreme Court in Abuja attending the special court session marking the commencement of the new legal year and the conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria on some lawyers when the violence first broke out on Monday, September 22.

A copy of the petition reads in part, “On Monday 22nd day of September, while I was attending the Supreme Court Special sitting in Abuja, I was called on phone that thugs loyal to Mr. Ayodele Fayose have invaded the headquarters of the judiciary of Ekiti State where Hon. Justice I.O Ogunyemi was deliver a ruling on the matter instituted against him.

“The thugs beat workers black and blue while the presiding judge and lawyers had to run for their lives. They smashed windows and furniture. Meanwhile, the policemen deployed within and without the premises in large number were looking on completely uninterested and unconcerned while these thugs were on prowl beating and maiming workers and court users.

“The thugs went on searching for the judge who ran into hiding. It took your (the Commissioner of Police) personal intervention when you were duly informed on phone to rush to the scene of the mayhem within the court premises to rescue the said judge and took him out into safety.”

According to him, from the events which followed that of September 22, it appears that the whole episode of violence was pre-planned.

His petition further read, “The above in the main was just the beginning of what would appear to be a pre-planned long siege and onslaughts on the court and its personnel.

“The political hoodlums showed again in large numbers on Tuesday, 23rd and Wednesday 24th of September, 2014 on the spurious ground that they came to listen to the ruling which they did not allow the presiding judge in Court No. 6 to deliver on Monday, September 22, 2014. No such ruling was slated for hearing since the thugs invaded the premises of the court on Monday.”

The Chief Judge said all entreaties to the police and law enforcement agencies to intervene in the mayhem yielded no positive response.

He stated, “It is needless to reiterate here that while the mayhem and attack on judges and staff and property of the court was in progress, scores of policemen and SSS (State Security Service) operatives posted to protect lives and property within the court premises looked on and watched without taking any step to save the situation.

“All entreaties to officers and men of Ekiti State Command to protect the court as an important institution of state yielded no positive response.”
http://www.nigerianeye.com/2014/10/ayo-fayose-led-thugs-to-beat-judges-in.html?m=1

President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, yesterday for the first time spoke on the controversial $9.3m cash allegedly smuggled into South Africa by two Nigerians and an Israeli using his private jet. The money which has been confiscated by a South African court was meant for the purchase of arms for the Nigerian Intelligence Services.

 This is just as the #BringBackOurGirls# campaign group, has said it will soon drag the CAN president and the Federal Government to court over the money.

Following the use of his aircraft to convey the money which was not declared in South Africa until immigration officials discovered it, the CAN president was linked to the arms deal with critics condemning his role in the arms deal.

Explaining his own side of the story yesterday, at an emergency meeting of the expanded National Executive Council, NEC, of CAN in Abuja, Pastor Oritsejafor denied any involvement or knowledge of the deal to buy arms in South Africa, noting that enemies of Christians were fuelling the division of CAN.

He said: “The media has been awash in the past few days about an unfortunate incident involving the movement of funds from Nigeria to South Africa. In the unfortunate news reports, attempts have been made to link me directly with the transaction. So far I have refrained from making any direct public statement pending the time that I would have briefed the leaders of the church and explained my position on the issues to them.

“I believe that the primary institution that I owe any explanation to is the church. Permit me to thank everyone who stood by me these past days by ways of prayers, as well as strongly defending me even though I have not undertaken any public defence of myself.

“I am particularly appreciative of the valuable support of the Catholic Church in refuting a distorted news item by mischievous elements in the media. I wish to assure you that I will not do anything to tarnish the image of Jesus Christ or compromise the divine standard of the Church.

The aircraft is mine — CAN president

“At the risk of being seen to be defending myself, I wish to confirm to the distinguished leaders of the church that the Bombardier Challenger 601 aircraft in question is mine.

“The aircraft was presented to me as a gift by members of our congregation and ministry partners world wide at the 40th anniversary of my call into the ministry. May I be permitted to stress that the aircraft was not given to me by the President of Nigeria, neither was it a settlement for any political favour or patronage.

“With the benefit of hindsight, the President of the country was a guest in our church during the anniversary celebration when the Jet was presented to me and this has been construed to imply that it was a gift from the President of the country.

“The President of Nigeria has nothing to do with the gift of the aircraft. By the way, I still wonder why all those saying this, still cannot come out to show proof so that the matter can be put to rest once and for all. Let me say that this might be an issue of the court in the near future.

“In order to ameliorate the cost of maintenance of the aircraft, I sought and got permit to allow the aircraft fly in and out of Nigeria.

“Based on this, I leased the aircraft on August 2, 2014 to a company to run it. It was the leasee that entered into an agreement with the people who carried out the transfer of funds. Having leased the aircraft to the Green Coast Produce Company Limited, any transaction undertaken with the aircraft can no longer be attached to me.

War against the Church
“In as much as I am shocked and distressed by the incident, I wish to appeal to Christians in Nigeria to remember that a war has been waged against the Nigerian Church. This war is being fought on many fronts and this unfortunate incident is another dimension in the assault against the Church.

“It is clear that those who manipulated this conspiracy desire to create a schism in the Church. The media hype and the deliberate distortion of information that followed it confirmed that forces that desperately desire to cause division and disunity in the Church are at work. Even the devil knows that a house that is divided cannot stand.

“As Christians, we need unity in the Church now more than ever. We are witnessing inhuman attacks by religious extremists against Christians in the northern part of the country while Christian infrastructure is being destroyed in hundreds.

“If we permit the enemy to divide us, our chances of corporate survival shall be severely threatened.
“Distinguished leaders of the Church, please permit me to state clearly before God and before all of you here present today, I am not a party to the movement of $9.3 million from Nigeria to South Africa to purchase arms and ammunition. I am not part of the deal. I know nothing about it.

“Let me make a passionate appeal to our heads of blocks, heads of denominations and Christian leaders at different levels and spheres of influence to please use your good offices to caution and control your subordinates and followers from making public statements that will further polarise the Church and strengthen the arms of the enemies of the church.

“If I offend you or you offend me, instead of talking to media, let us talk to each other within the house of God.”
http://www.nigerianeye.com/2014/09/pastor-ayo-oritsejafor-opens-up-on-93m.html?m=1

How much?

Thats not cheap

theo07: 2.8m

You said cheap

theo07: 2.8m

How much?

Which area in Kano? Be specific pls.

A nightmarish scene played out in far away South Africa a couple of weeks ago when, on September 5, 2014, a jet owned by Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), was caught at Lanseria, South Africa stashed with $9.3 million undeclared cash and invoices from two companies, Tier One and the ESD International Group Ltd (ESD) of Cyprus, for armaments and a helicopter. This questionable misadventure promptly got the official endorsement of the government of President Goodluck Jonathan which announced that the money was purportedly meant for the purchase of arms for the Nigerian forces through the black market!

This incident, and the government's sordid claim, marked the latest stage of the nation's crisis of disrespect of rule of law and cover-ups that have heightened Nigeria's poor reputation beyond its borders. How can the government possibly justify its claim that it was procuring and intending to pour about $9.3 million worth of unmarked weapons and military equipment into a very volatile, unstable and crisis-ridden zone of the country where Boko Haram had confiscated military equipment and used them to kill our soldiers and civilians? And how does the government justify that it hired a private jet belonging to the CAN president or his company, to procure equipment to combat a group they say is an Islamic sect bent on islamising Nigeria?


 Since the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor's influence and sordid privileges have soared- they were even together on a pilgrimage last year- but no one really expect that the pact of association will extend to glaring act of disrespect for rule of law. Some may consider this not to be a big issue, however it is.

The Nigerian government said it had made available to the South African government indisputable documentary proof that the intended purpose for the stashed cash was legitimate. But information from South Africa seem to contract Nigeria's claims. In fact, the erudite Guardian newspaper columnist Sonala Olumhense succinctly pointed this out in his piece "Cash For Arms, And Other Tales", that "Anyone looking for further proof those documents were manufactured should consider that, according to the National Prosecuting Authority, “The agreement between Tier One and ESD was concluded only on September 8, three days after the money was seized at Lanseria.”


 The import of this information is that those documents must have been rigged out of a printer on board the luxury jet because Tier One is unknown to South Africa’s National Conventional Arms Control Committee and was not authorized to enter into any agreements regarding the sale and/or rental of the kinds of equipment Nigeria claimed to seek. The South African authorities, who may have placed the arms-buyers from Nigeria in separate rooms and grilled them individually, also stated that “their explanations were flawed and riddled with discrepancies" One of those discrepancies and queries has to be this: Why would Nigeria have been seeking to buy from Tier One in South Africa, which was going to buy from ESD in Cyprus; doesn’t Oritsejafor’s jet fly to Cyprus?

To call the incident shocking and a national embarrassment will therefore be an understatement, but that the President's spin doctors immediately sprung into action to verbally launder it is indeed scandalous. Perhaps it will take the full weight of our judicial system to demand that the Nigerian Government uphold the rule of law, along with the general outrage of ordinary Nigerians to goad the National Assembly into reluctantly accepting their responsibilities to put Nigerian interest ahead of narrow and shortsighted partisan politics.


It is time once and for all that our federal politicians take full responsibility for a wholly unacceptable pattern of disrespecting the rule of law, myriad of sleazes and cover ups. If they do not hold an honest and open inquiry on this incident, their silence will reaffirm to the world that we condone this scandal and would irreparably harm the reputation (whatever is left of it) of this potentially great country. Our government simply can not continue to make critical decisions that affect us all with stakes that are too high for us and our future generations to bear.

As numerous media reports have noted, could the flagrant contravention of the South African law and other laws governing the movement of cash and the purchase of arms and ammunition prove that the intended transaction was illegal and is possibly intended to smuggle arms to Nigeria to continue to equip terrorists in the North, pirates and militants in the Niger Delta and other forms of insurgence in Nigeria? After all, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor sits on the board of the company, Eagle Air Nigeria, that leased his luxury jet that discreetly flew into Lanseria, a private airport north of Johannesburg.


That a decision was made by the Federal Government to procure arms through the black market on a jet owned by Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor may be shocking, what is indeed worse is the strong message that the Federal Government is sending out that the works, utterances and actions of the CAN president, however incriminating, enjoy the express endorsement and political cover of the presidency, even as the CAN headquarters evolves into a more diffused arena for religious intolerance.

When the founding fathers of CAN met on August 27, 1976 at the Catholic secretariat, Lagos to create the organisation, they envisioned an organisation that would represent a platform for all Christians to promote cooperation among Christians, interfaith harmony and safeguard the welfare of all Nigerians. However on the impetus of a single man, the lofty ideals of the founding leaders have mutated into a mandate to pursue selfish interests, spread fear and engage in wall-to-wall hate mongering, particularly those spread through the use of modern multimedia.

And no one seems to be doing a better job for the CAN than the fire-brand and CAN's poster boy Pastor Bosun Emmanuel, who, in his latest 1-hr long schizophrenic and brain numbing ranting before a packed Redeemed Christian Church of God audience during the period of the last National Conference, spewed out factual confusion mixed with spiritual shortsightedness- all to the admiration and applause of his hapless audience. Inept and ignorant, Pastor Bosun Emmanuel (he claims he had returned from Germany in 2006 where he served the Redeemed Christian Church of God as the National Co-ordinator, to "serve the information needs of the church" because "the church in Nigeria lacks information" set off in his hate speech by first quoting the Wikipedia on a fictitious "Abuja Declaration 1989" drawn up by the Islam in Africa Organisation (IAO) to islamise Nigeria. While Pastor Bosun Emmanuel goes around the country spouting the hate-filled propaganda, his foot-soldiers have proliferated the internet with the hate speech.


A quick check on WIkipedia will reveal that this fictitious declaration was a regurgitated lie from an online anti-islam propaganda archive, and had been deleted by Wikipedia as a junk material. The editing history on WIkipedia of the primary source of Pastor Emmanuel shows that the referenced page, before it was binned by Wikipedia was put up at the time of his talk. The obvious question to ask is this: could this have been a coincidence, or neatly arranged to lend some credence to his brainwashing sessions?

But the pastor's ranting went beyond the sport of usual Muslim-bashing. He directly accused His Eminence Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar IV, the Sultan of Sokoto and spiritual leader of the Nigerian Muslims of actively championing anti Christian agenda on behalf of the Muslim community. Yet in contrast to the CAN president, the Sultan is a highly respected voice not only for tolerance, respect and justice for all Nigerians, but for peace and reconciliation between Nigerian Muslims and Christians specifically. The Sultan's record and public esteem attest to the fallacy and alarmist suggestions of Pastor Bosun Emmanuel claims. More egregiously, Pastor Bosun Emmanuel omitted the inconvenient fact that Cardinal Onaiyekan and the Sultan of Sokoto were even considered for the Nobel Peace prize award.

Typically, Pastor Bosun Emmanuel told his audience that he had only come to give them information, and whatever they did with the information was their business. This is exactly how these hybrid Christians and zealots put on the fire and then they leave it to burn.


Of course the "information" he gave the audience included a strong plea, repeated so often in his speech, that the audience vote for President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 because "he is a man ordained by God" for a specific purpose in Nigeria! During the just concluded National Conference this same mercurial personality, Pastor Bosun Emmanuel, a CAN delegate from the South-West representative of CAN, a member of the Religious Committee and Interfaith Committee at the conference, told a gathering made up of some Christian leaders that Boko Haram group was a premeditated plan by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to destabilise the country, with a follow up of Islamisation of Nigeria.

Yet, the OIC is an organisation that has 57 member countries, 56 of which are also member states of the United Nations. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), an international financial institution founded by the OIC has been contributing to economic development in its member countries, among which are Cameroon, Cote d’ Ivore, Benin, Mozambique, Uganda, to mention a few. All these countries have substantial Christian populations, albeit peace-loving and tolerant Christians. The deliberate misinformation parroted by Pastor Bosun Emmanuel would have been an entertainingly outrageous gaffe if not for its dangerous effects. The insane claim that an organisation like the OIC is using a terrorist group which by all accounts has killed, directly and indirectly, more Muslims, to Islamise Nigeria makes clear that he is a dangerous loose canon and a religious gunslinger in the employment of CAN.

In Nigeria it is not illegal to daydream or to present controversial opinions or materials which are subjectively offensive. However, it is individuals like pastor Bosun Emmanuel that are most dangerous in any society. They act as hate theologians and infuse in people the notion that hating others is necessary for their salvation. No matter how intelligent a person is, everything he knows if from around him. Through propaganda war, it is possible to fashion an organic robot, and an hitherto intelligent person is made to become averse to the mention of certain words and hate others through the fear. Fear of survival can create many things and it is in this business of creating fears, that some make billions.


What the Nigerian law should prohibit are publications and speeches that are hateful and incite to hate. What these mercurial and bizarre personalities are doing through the legitimacy of a body like CAN is marketing their credo of hate to the unsuspecting public and creating fear of a mythical rapacious Islam bent on forcefully bringing everyone into its fold.
By Disu Kumor
http://www.nigerianeye.com/2014/09/can-and-cash-for-arms-total-disgrace.html?m=1

Muhammad.

In this interview, Australian negotiator, who has been working closely with the leadership of the Boko Haram sect, pleads with the group to seize the window provided by the death of Shekau to end the destructive cycle of insurgency in parts of Nigeria, free captured Chubok girls and return to normal life.

Excerpts:


A senior member of the European Parliament, Franz Obermayr, alleged that the opposition party in Nigeria could be sponsoring Boko Haram by channeling European Parliament financial aid to Boko Haram in the North East of Nigeria. Do you have any such evidence?

I have never heard any political party mentioned by any Boko Haram leader as funding or being associated with Boko Haram.

The Boko Haram commanders have only mentioned individuals like former Governor Sheriff. I heard Sheriff was APC and now PDP but that is irrelevant to me.

I have never mentioned political parties in my discussions with Boko Haram. The names of individual sponsors were given by Boko Haram leaders, not their political party association.

What sort of sponsorship has been mentioned by Boko Haram that they have received?

Former governor Sheriff was specifically mentioned many times. Specifically for example, Sheriff was mentioned as sponsoring trips of the boys to the Lesser Hajj. There, the boys are “reorientated”.
In effect they are recruited to Boko Haram. When they return to Nigeria the recruits are then taken off for further reorientation by which they mean teaching and for training. Some of the training took place in Mali by Tuareg leaders but now more training is conducted locally.

Could mere funding for Lesser Hajj by the assumed sponsors have manifested in the high level of sophistication that the sect has assumed today?

Funds are provided to purchase weapons. This is sometimes transferred through the Central Bank of Nigeria to a person in Cairo who provides the weapons and also provides military uniforms.

At other times vehicles are purchased in Benin for example and driven into Nigeria where they are sold for cash. They do not mind taking a loss on the sale price as by this method they can obtain cash in Nigeria without a direct link to the sponsor.

This person in Cairo, is he an Egyptian? Why are you not able to disclose his identity to the security agents for necessary action?
No, he is Nigerian. He is a Kanuri who has fought with Boko Haram and now associates with a network of jihadists. I have given all his details to the DG-SSS.

What sort of vehicles do they purchase?
VW Golf was mentioned as a favourite. They can sell these very easily in Nigeria. They do keep some to use for suicide bombing. Some time ago they told me one sponsor pledged six Hilux vehicles for the suicide bombers.

You have heard that a “fake” Shekau was killed last week in Kondunga. Do you believe what the military is claiming that the man killed was Shekau or possibly a “fake” Shekau?

I continue to believe that Shekau was killed on or about June 19, 2013 when we were deeply engaged in peace discussions. I have had so many senior commanders tell me that Shekau is dead. It was several weeks after that a Shekau video appeared on YouTube. When I viewed that video with JAS leaders they immediately said, “That boy.

We have used him before.” They were totally dismissive of any claim that Shekau was still alive. They referred to the person in the video as the “fake Shekau”. Some months later one of the senior commanders told me the name of the fake Shekau was Abdul Mutallif. The commander who named him was the one who wrote the script that the fake Shekau reads from in the videos.

But I have heard they have used more than one fake Shekau. In July this year I was told the fake Shekau is Isa Damasaka. Earlier in June they referred to him as Bashir.

We had been in communication with him over the release of the Chibok girls. Isa Damasaka is one of the names the military has released when identifying the man killed at Kondunga last week. He has also been identified as Bashir Mohammed so I am confident this man is indeed the fake Shekau.
However, I do not know if Abdul Mutallif is another name he used or there is another fake Shekau named Abdul Mutallif who may still be alive. I have no doubt we will know soon so we await a new video by another fake Shekau.

The man who was captured at Kondunga last week was a great source of information about Boko Haram sponsors. He was captured alive. The military are too quick to execute captured Boko Haram leaders. This man could have revealed so much about Boko Haram and its sponsors that may have brought a quick end to the terrorism.

There are some reports that many Boko Haram fighters have surrendered in recent days. You want to say something on this?

This is an indication that Boko Haram commanders now understand that they have been fooled. They have followed a “fake” Shekau. Boko Haram fighters have died following a fake Shekau and fake teaching.

The political sponsors have led these boys to believe that they are purifying Islam, purging the country of corruption by slaughtering people. In fact the political sponsors of Boko Haram are corrupt politicians seeking power and more wealth. The sponsors epitomise all that the Boko Haram fighters are seeking to eliminate from Nigeria.

So what is next for Boko Haram?
The death of the fake Shekau shows how the fighters have been duped and totally misled by the sponsors.

The fighters and commanders would be wise to take this opportunity to reach out to the government for a peace dialogue.

If they do not believe they can have a peace dialogue without being captured and executed the alternative message I have for the commanders is this: Your sponsors will use you and sacrifice you so they can gain power. Set the captive girls free and walk away from Boko Haram while you still have the opportunity.

http://www.nigerianeye.com/2014/09/australian-negotiator-davis-sends.html?m=1

Australian ne-gotiator, Stephen Davis yesterday gave some details of how top Nigerians have been channeling huge sums of money to bankroll the activities of the Boko Haram sect.

The influential Nigerians, whose names were however not revealed, were said to have created a strong network which assisted them to wire a large sum of money via the Central Bank of Nigeria to an agent in Egypt. The agent, he said, purchases the arms and military uniforms for the insurgents.



Apart from the Cairo agent buying arms directly for the sect, vehicles and some materials are sometimes moved to Benin Republic where some are sold to raise cash while some are moved to them for their operations in Nigeria.

These details were given by Dr. Stephen Davis in a recent interview, Davis said: “Funds are provided to purchase weapons. This is sometimes transferred through the Central Bank of Nigeria to a person in Cairo who provides the weapons and also provides military uniforms.

“At other times vehicles are purchased in Benin for example and driven into Nigeria where they are sold for cash. They do not mind taking a loss on the sale price as by this method they can obtain cash in Nigeria without a direct link to the sponsor,” the negotiator explained.

Asked to explain whether the Egyptian Boko Haram agent is a foreigner or a Nigerian, Davis said he is a Nigerian of Kanuri extraction with strong connections with Boko Haram and a network of jihadists.

The Australian pointed out that the man in question was not strange to the Nigerian security agencies as his details were already with the Director of State Security Service.

Davis also revealed that the sect’s favourite brand of vehicles is the Volkswagen Golf, which were easily sold off in Nigeria and others used for suicide missions in Nigeria.

On the allegation by a member of European Parliament that the opposition in Nigeria funneled foreign aid to insurgents, Davis said that the sect did not mention any particular party as its sponsor to him.

http://www.nigerianeye.com/2014/09/australian-negotiator-stephen-davis.html?m=1

A 21-year-old woman has paid $20,000 to surgically add a third breast in a desperate bid to become a reality TV star.

Jasmine Tridevil was rejected by 50 doctors before she found a willing surgeon who would perform the procedure which violates ethical codes, she claims.

Now, she has hired a camera crew to follow her around Tampa, Florida, documenting the 'struggles' she faces as a three-breasted woman.

The massage therapist, who recently celebrated her 21st birthday, said she has been disowned by her mother and sister, who ran out the room in disgust when she told them.

'My mum ran out of the door. She won't talk to me. She won't let my sister talk to me,' Tridevil said.

 'My dad… he really isn't happy. He is kind of ashamed of me but he accepted it.'

However, Tridevil insists she has no regrets as she prepares to send pilot episodes of her self-produced reality show titled Jasmine's Jugs to MTV.

'My whole dream is to get this show on MTV,' she told Real Radio 104.1.

'I'm dumping every penny I have into this. If this doesn't work, I'm through.'

Despite scheduling interviews, creating a fan page, and hiring a film crew, Tridevil insists she did not undergo surgery to become famous.

'I got it because I wanted to make myself unattractive to men,' she claims. 'Because I don't want to date anymore.'

The new look is reminiscent of the alluring three-breasted prostitute who parades around semi-topless in the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Total Recall.

The bizarre character prompted one of the most famous movie quotes to date, as a man declares: 'Baby, you make me wish I had three hands!'
http://aitonline.tv/post-florida_woman_surgically_adds_third_breast_in_bid_to_become_reality_tv_star

The issue is that Jonathan's eligibility to contest again is still under question mark? By arm twisting and banning everybody else from contesting onvthr platform of PDP leaves aspirants with only one choice- the courts. All they are waiting is for the President to declare his intention. I predict tough legal battle ahead. The cases involving Peter Obi, Boni Haruna etc are there as reference

The Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria has said the Federal Government is not doing enough to contain the activities of the extremist Boko Haram sect in the North East zone.
The bishops therefore challenged the administration to step up its strategies in the region to safeguard the lives of the people.
In a communiqué issued after its meeting on Thursday in Warri, Delta State, the Conference lamented the increasing carnage in the region and urged the government to act decisively.
The document, sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Friday, was signed by its President, Ignatius Kaigama, and Secretary, William Avenya.
The Conference said the situation in the North-East region was creating a heightened sense of unrest and siege for the country.
“As Nigeria bleeds and burns, we Bishops are really alarmed at the scale of human, material destruction, and the disruption of village and community life with increased levels of hatred and potentials for more conflicts in the nation,” the group said.
“While Muslims are sometimes targets of these destructive attacks, Christians, churches and non-Muslims in general are the principal targets for extermination, expropriation and expulsion by the Boko Haram insurgents, the perpetrators of all these destructions.
“We believe that we still have governments at federal and state levels whose primary duty it is to preserve and protect the life of every Nigerian irrespective of tribe, religion, social class or tradition. Our government must do more than it is currently doing to safeguard our lives and defend our nation.
“It must do more than it is currently doing to fight off and disarm these actual destroyers of Nigerians and Nigeria. It must do more than it is currently doing to prevent segments of our nation from drifting into anarchy and mutual self-destruction and bring criminals to justice.”
The Conference urged Nigerians to be alert to the grave danger facing “all of us and our nation from within and without.”
It noted that the issue was not about who becomes president or governor or senator after the 2015 general elections.
“The issue is about the life and security of every one of us who loves his or her life and really cares about our living together in peace as noble Nigerians,” it said.
It added, “We urge therefore that we all support and encourage every positive effort by the current government to protect every Nigerian and defend the integrity and unity of Nigeria. Let us equally take lawful measures locally to prevent the destruction of fellow Nigerians and to ward off Nigeria’s destroyers.

”https://www.premiumtimesng.com/headlines/168385-nigerian-govt-not-doing-enough-to-contain-boko-haram-catholic-bishops.html#sthash.zGfUKaLH.dpbs

The son of Nigeria’s first Republic Prime Minister, Dr. Abdul-Jhalil Tafawa-Balewa, has said he will contest the 2015 presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Tafawa-Balewa condemned plot by the national leadership of the party to demoralize other presidential aspirants by adopting President Goodluck Jonathan as the sole presidential candidate of the party.


He was responding to the adoption of Jonathan by the party’s National Executive Committee at its meeting in Abuja on Thursday.

With the adoption, the party said it expected all members of the party including those nursing presidential ambition to drop it and queue behind the President.

But Tafawa-Balewa said he would not be intimidated with such decision.

He said in a statement on Sunday that such endorsement was undemocratic.

He said, “I’m not intimidated by the decision of the PDP governors and the party to support the second term aspiration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

“What type of democracy do we have? Is the PDP a communist party? Where is the place of internal democracy?”

He said the greater majority of Nigerians had been yearning for a leadership capable of fulfilling their high expectations and aspirations.

He asked Nigerians to listen to facts and that they should not be carried away with the party’s decision.

“What Nigerians need and where they want the country to be in future are paramount issues. We need to put our ideas before the people and allow them to decide,” he added.

Promising to make Nigeria an industrialized country, Tafawa-Balewa said his a7dministration would ensure zero unemployment, better education, maximum security and increased power supply.

“Nigeria needs to move from Third World to First world” he said.

On financial muscle to withstand the pressure of a presidential contest, he insisted that good Nigerians would support him fully.

http://www.nigerianeye.com/2014/09/ill-battle-jonathan-for-pdp-ticket.html?m=1

Nigerian troops might have scored a strategic victory in the current battle against terrorists operating in the North East on September. During a desperate attempt to capture Konduga in their delusion to eventually marching on and capturing Maiduguri, the man who had been mimicking Late Abubakar Shekau in recent videos might have been finally killed.

According to senior military and intelligence sources, "it is getting more certain that the terrorists' commander who has been mimicking Shekau in those videos is the one killed in Konduga on September 17, 2014."
 
The PRNigeria sources said the suspected demise of the Boko Haram leader is responsible for the scattering of the sect members in different independent locations in the neighbouring countries, especially in Cameroon noticed in recent days.
 
The security sources did not deny the suspicion but cautioned that "the process of confirming that the dead body we have is the same as that character who has been posing as Shekau is ongoing. He is definitely a prominent terrorist commander. I don't want to say anything about this yet please."
 
Another high ranking military source insisted that the resemblance is too striking to be a coincidence. They cited his facial marks, beards and teeth apart from the recovery by the Nigerian troops of some of the Armoured Vehicles and Hilux jeeps that had featured in previous videos of the prime suspect.
 
The officers assured that the Defence Headquarters will soon address the nation after full investigation of their latest discovery
http://saharareporters.com/2014/09/21/shekau-finally-dead-prnigeria