₦airaland Forum

According to Ibrahim, Okpara was the last client she intended to have before travelling to her village.

She said she had hoped to use the stolen money to start another business and foreclose her prostitution job and settle down to marry.

A Nigerian woman has fled the country to Winnipeg, Canada, to help her daughters escape Female Genital Mutilation.

According to CBC.ca , the woman’s father-in-law had insisted that the woman’s first daughter must undergo FGM when she was just a few months old. That procedure almost led to the death of the baby.

To avoid the same from happening to her other children, the woman who is currently pregnant with triplets sought refuge outside the shores of the country.

CBC quoted a lawyer, Bashir Khan, who assisted the woman in obtaining a refugee status in Canada as saying, the woman was forced into vehicle and driven to a rural area where she couldn’t bear to stay and watch while her first daughter was forcibly mutilated.

FGM, also known as female circumcision, involves removing all or part of the clitoris as well as, often, the labia to make young girls appear “more virginal.”

In the case of the woman’s first daughter, “they cut off too much of her clitoris, and she nearly died from the infection,” said Khan.

When she became pregnant with triplets – all female – the woman was told she could have the procedure done on the babies when they were born or abort them, Khan added.

Instead, she fled Nigeria, and arrived in Canada in November 2015, when she was 29 weeks pregnant.

“It was pretty hard for her to get refugee status,” said Khan.

She was assigned Khan as a lawyer by legal aid, who assembled the documents for her refugee status claim.

But in January, Khan uncovered a letter alleging the woman was involved in FGM and thereby aggravated assault on her first daughter.

“The minister’s consul – that is the minister of citizenship and immigration here in Winnipeg — wrote a scathing four-page letter calling my client a bad mother and saying my client should not be able to make a refugee claim,” said Khan. “Statistics tell us that ministerial interventions in the last few years have skyrocketed in the past few years.”

Khan said there was no evidence that that had taken place.

“That was something that sat uncomfortably with me, my client and the board member who heard the case,” he said.

Khan called the statements disturbing and traumatising for his client.

“This is a horrible cultural practice. The purpose of FGM is to discourage sexual promiscuity and to promote chastity,” said Khan. “Parents subject their daughters to FGM based on the social belief that a young woman who refuses to undergo this will have difficulty in labour or will be unfaithful to her husband.”

He said she was in a state of shock when he explained to her what was happening.
“She was just horrified,” he said. “It was a disturbing and uncomfortable moment. The room got really cold.”

Since then, the woman was granted refugee status.

According to Khan, the woman is currently doing well in Canada and hopes to raise her three daughters there.

lalasticlala

The police at the Lion Building Division, Lagos Island, western Nigeria, have arrested a suspected car thief, Mathias Isa, 28, in Kogi State with the Toyota Camry 2007 Model car he allegedly stole from the Marina car park on Lagos Island.

The police alleged that the incident occurred on 27 November, 2015 when the owner of the car, Mr. Olatunde Idris Ibikunle drove the car with registration number AAA 146 AP and parked it a Marina car park after which he dropped the car key with the security guard at the park.

Police said as soon as the car owner left the park to buy something nearby, the suspect approached the security guard with the car key and lied to him that he was the driver to the Toyota car owner and that the owner called him on phone and asked him to drive out the car to pick him along Marina street.
The security guard, according to the police, believed him and handed the car key over to him.

The suspect drove the car out of the park and headed straight to his village in Ayingba area of Kogi State to look for a buyer for it.

Nemesis caught up with the suspect when he was arrested by the police in Kogi State while driving the car around to look for a buyer.

During interrogation, according to investigation, the suspect allegedly confessed to the police that he stole the car from a car park in Lagos to sell and use the proceeds to solve his family problems.

Following his alleged confession, the police in Kogi State sent a signal to the Lagos State Police Command about the incident and the DPO in charge of Lion Building Division, Lagos Island, CSP Anthonia Tamaruno, despatched a team led by Corporal Gboyega Oyeniyi to Kogi State to bring the suspect and the stolen car back to Lagos.

After investigation, the suspect was arraigned before a Tinubu Magistrates’ court, Lagos on a one-count charge of felony to wit, stealing.

The offence is punishable under section 285 (10) of the criminal laws of Lagos State, 2011.

The accused however pleaded not guilty to the alleged crime, and Chief Magistrate Mrs. K. B. Ayeye admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N500, 000 with two surties in like sum.

Ayeye adjourned the case till 2 February, 2016 for mention while the defendant was taken to Ikoyi prison, Lagos, pending when he will fulfill his bail conditions.

lalasticlala

By EMMA AMAIZE , THERESA UGBOBU & NATH ONAJOKE

OWA-OYIBU — HIS Royal Majesty, Emmanuel Onyeike Efeizomor II, the Obi of Owa Kingdom in Ika North East Local Government Area, Delta State and Vice Chairman of the Delta State Council of Traditional Rulers has had many near death tragedies in his 77-year sojourn on the planet earth. The former sub-editor at the Edo State government- owned The Observer Newspaper, boxer and footballer wanted to be a freedom fighter after his secondary education and was preparing to travel abroad to pursue his mission when his people commandeered him as it were to take over the throne of his fathers.

In this interview with Niger Delta Voice at his palace, the monarch, who carried the current governor of the state, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, a native of Owa Aliero community when he was a child and watched him grow up who he is today, spoke on the vicissitudes of life, why people refer to Owa as the land of peace and prosperity and many more.

What is a journalist, footballer and boxer doing on the throne of Owa kingdom?

(Long laughter) Well, as it were, I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to sit here, serving my people, learning from others and being part of people, which eventually is part of the government.

There is a festival that joins the entire Ika-speaking and Bini-speaking people together, how do you people celebrate it?

When we talk about festival, we talk about Igue festival and New Yam festival, these two festivals are very material to the life of Ika people and at the same time, it is important in the life of Edo people. However, I will be more specific about Ika people, the Igue festival, which looks like the celebration of a new year is more constant and has to do with unity concerning Ika people and so with the Binis too.

We use the Igue festival to cleanse the community, bring a sense of belonging and oneness. Many people look at it as being inclined towards rituals, I will say no because whether you use something to illustrate it, like killing goats and other animals, that is not the essence, the essence is belief in companionship and it is a symbol of bringing the people together. It is bringing the spirit of conviviality among the people and again sense of respect between the old and young.

The new yam festival is the one we thank God and our ancestors for seeing us all through the year to celebrate harvest, to celebrate the efforts of planting, sowing and reaping. Briefly, these are the objectives of the two ceremonies, there are still others relating to other circumstances and other events, but these two remain most prominent.

We understand there is a deity, Aja, which every Christian and traditionalist worship in Owa, why is this so?

It is not true; we do not compel people to worship any deity in Owa.

You talked about cleansing the land of evil spirits, was there a prevalence of evil in the land at the time?

No, the position is that wherever you live, people die, people fall sick, some of these natural things are the things that every year we hold the festival to ward off the incoming problems and celebrate our survival.

Historically, Owa is famous as a land of prosperity, how did this come about, is the community still prosperous?

So, it is, it has to do with the establishment of the kingdom, we have it from our history that when there was a problem in Benin kingdom and the then Oba of Benin approached the Obi of Ute kingdom to send military reinforcement. The founder of Owa returned from the war to find out that his father had passed on, but the question was who should take over as successor from his father. They informed him that his younger brother, Okpu had taken over the throne and naturally, two kings do not reign in one community, but using his military experience, he did not want to levy war or ask his brother to step down.

He instructed the removal of some basic instruments in the shrine; it was in the course of that that he took away the medicine for productivity. He also took the medicine for prosperity and other vital materials. He placed it on the head of one of the runners and propounded the doctrine of where the elephant faces, that is the road. They now moved and by the time they got to a particular spot, that material which the runner carried on his head dropped at a particular spot (pointed a forest from his palace).

They settled there and his immediate younger brother, Ozomo, he was Odogwu, he asked him to move a slight distance as a buffer. He settled there, the point at stake now is that the pot that dropped there is what he took from the real source of the family shrine. What was passed on to us about what transpired was that where that the pot settled down, that is the strength of Owa people and at the same time, the prayers said there cover the entire Owa land. Every area you call Owa, peace and prosperity reign in that place.

There is the story that you slept with a snake in the same room for several days without it harming you in your childhood, was it an ancestral guide, can you tell us what happened?

(Laughs) I must say frankly, I will not say categorically that it came to protect me or that it forgot to harm me. However, I have seen that what God has put together, they say no man should put asunder, if God has destined that I will be king of Owa, I will be that and no arrow fashioned against me will prosper. I think right from birth, this kind of protection has been coming in different forms.

I have to thank my God because I have encountered this kind of circumstance repeatedly but at every stage, I overcome. It was a miracle to me, it was very surprising, it was very shocking, I thank God, each time I think about it, I cannot just imagine, it tells me I should be more humane, I should be more responsible, always give thanks to God and do justice to all manner of people. How God did that for me and why He did it, I do not know.

You have not told the story yet, when exactly did this happen, how did you finally come to see the snake, for how many days was the snake there with you and you said there were other circumstances, we are all ears?

(long laughter again) Well, it is not everything that happens to man that you want to expose. Perhaps, if you begin to do a lot of in-depth explanation, if there are forces working against your interest, you might be reminding them that they have not done enough homework to be able to get at you adversely, that force can be reinvigorated, but simply put it was the first experience.

I was then a houseboy living with a headmaster, late Mr. G.N.C Diai at Owa-Aliero community, I was in charge of animals like fowls, dogs, goats in the family and I was very friendly with these animals. Even till today, if I enter your premises and I find a dog, merely looking at the dog and whispering in a peculiar way, the dog will like it and start playing with me.

I can play with a dog and make it to go to sleep, the same thing I do with goats, the fowls were about three when they were handed over to me and in no time, it went to 100, the whole place was filled- up and they multiplied. We had a cage where he we put the hens and cocks and just by the boys quarters, we have places that we keep wood to prevent rain from falling on them.

At a point, the place was actually congested but I was not expecting any danger, I had a bed made up of palm fronds and bamboo, you cut it as if you are making a fence, put it on the floor with grass in between as foam and a mat on top of it. There was no electricity at the time and you rely on the stars to have light, one particular day, my master held a get together of teachers in the school compound, they had a gas lamp that you pump those days, music was on and they were dancing.

I didn’t know when I raised alarm
I was listening to music and watching them, suddenly but close by, the fowls would make some disturbing noise and I wondered why they were making noise incessantly, so I came very close to watch. I sat by the side of the house to find out what was happening. Unexpectedly, I saw a shadow moving by the side of the wall and the thing was crawling, a light flashed and I saw it moving like a snake, I watched closely but still do not know what I saw, I was confused and did not even know when I raised the alarm. I shouted: see snake seriously; they jumped out from where they were dancing.

Mr. Diai and others asked me where is it, where is it, I said I saw it there, they showed bravado, searched the place, the thing went underground, they did not see it. They went back to continue with their party, the man gave me a very serious knock on the head saying that I was a crook and that I was disturbing their enjoyment. I felt very sad and still went back to the place. Then, I saw the thing again, I could not bear it, I called another houseboy from another master and he raised alarm much more than I did.

They ran out again and felt that this time around, let them look for it. They were using a long stick to poke everywhere to see whether it would come out until one of the teachers saw it, it was by the edge of the wall, and it had put its head up. He threw his stick away and ran and as he was running, he was raising alarm. It was only then that they began to feel that there was sense in what I was saying. Finally, they brought a torch and started looking for it.

The whole school, community, came to see the snake
Diai himself not too sure of what they were saying fired his dane gun in that direction, it was in the course of that the snake was hit and it moved out from that place, there was reflection as it crawled away and they saw it and shouted. They rushed back for cutlass, wood and he loaded the gun again. He fired again the bullet did not hit the snake properly, it was not even acting as something that was shot at, but it moved towards the pit.

It took considerable efforts before they were able to hit the snake on the head, so that was when the speed slowed down and in the course of that, they killed the snake. They pulled it out, it was very long and heaped the woods fetch by the pupils for teachers in their quarters on the snake and set it on fire with kerosene. It burned all night. In the morning, teachers not staying in the quarters came to see it, the pupils not campus came to see and then the community came to see it.

It was after that Diai said I should no longer be sleeping in that place. He gave me one room in the main house. You can see when the snake came, it did not attack me, and it went to eat fowl, egg and all that, so why should I not thank God.


What is the name of the snake?

It was a black snake, I did not ask anybody the name because of the fear, but it was very big black snake. In fact, the whole of the stomach down was already red and the back of it was red to almost the neck.

We learned the snake slept in the same room with you about three to five days, is this true?

You know before a snake can shed its skin, it takes not less than four days to do that and if the snake shed the skin that we found there, definitely, it had spent more than four days. Therefore, it was just a companion.

What lesson did this incident actually teach you about life?

What I will say is that if your hands are clean, God will always be by your side, which is my first reaction. That is why I try to be extremely tolerant so that whatever people do to you, give them a second chance, third chance, fourth chance, they may change.

What is the strangest thing that has ever happened to you in life?

I do not want to say about the strangest thing that has ever happened to me in life because I have just given you one example. One thing happened; I do not know whether to call it strange or not, when I was a pupil in 1953 not quite long I lost my father, I was in a primary school at Sapele. I entered a vehicle at the Agbor Park; they put me in an old vehicle that has first class and second-class compartments with the backside separated with wood. When I arrived to board the vehicle, second class was already full, so I sat at the back. I put my load down with my box, sat on it and the vehicle left the Agbor Park and we drove straight through Sakponba road, but we got to Agbonta, the lorry lost its front tire and eventually faced the direction of a big tree, pushed it down and the backside separated.

It killed a woman in the process in the direction and all the loads in the vehicle shattered, people were crying, but there was something strange to me. I found myself on the other side of the road sitting in the same position I was in the lorry with my two legs on my box. While people were running about, I could not imagine what actually happened, I was just sitting down until one man came and I asked what I was doing there. I told him I was inside the lorry that fell down. He shouted “what, and you were inside that vehicle?” I said yes. He asked me who i was. I said I am the son of the late Obi of Owa.

He asked me, “are you the son of Uwaya?” I said yes, Uwaya was my mother. He said my mother has a relationship with their family, what they did was that they got another vehicle, put me there, sent me back to Sapele and sent a delegation to my mother to tell her what happened and that I came out unhurt. My mother did not believe the message, she boarded vehicle and came the next day to Sapele.
When I got to Sapele, I did not tell the people I was staying with (Ugbaja family) what happened.

Therefore, when my mother told them, they said well, he came back but he did not tell anybody. When I came back from school, my mother asked me why I did not tell them what happened, I said I did not how to tell the story because they might call me a witch if I told them. When I looked back to it, it is still very miraculous to me.

lalasticlala

By Marie-Therese Nanlong

Jos— A 25-year-old man, Sohnan Sunday, of Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State, has confessed to killing his wife’s lover, one Garba Vondung, who he said impregnated his wife twice and aborted both pregnancies.

When the suspect was paraded by the Plateau State Police command in Jos for culpable homicide yesterday, he said he killed Vondung in self-defense when he met the deceased and his wife, Chanchit Sohnan “making love in her room.”

Narrating the incident, Sunday said: “I have three children with my wife, but she was going out with Garba. I asked him to stay away from my wife but he refused. To my knowledge, she had aborted twice for him.

‘Family supported her’
“I reported the illicit affair to my wife’s family, but they told me I should understand that she is an orphan who needed assistance. My wife left me since May last year to her father’s house, but I was going there to see her.

“One day in December last year, I went to the house to beg her to return to my house and I met my wife and her lover making love. Immediately they saw me, the man stood up and took a knife in the room but I overpowered him, collected the knife and stabbed him.

“When my wife saw him bleeding, she raised alarm and neighbours came with sticks and started beating me. I managed to run away and reported the matter at the Police Station in Langtang, but they referred me to Wase where I was arrested.”

Paraded alongside Sohnan by the State Commissioner of Police, Adekunle Oladunjoye, were one Ishaya Mafwahai of Mbar village in Bokkos Local Government Area, who allegedly poisoned his four years old son; and 21-year-old Salome Samuel of Shonong village in Riyom Local Government, who threw her new born baby through a window.

While Mafwahai said he was “hypnotized,” Salome said she did not kill her baby but gave birth to a dead child and had to dispose of the corpse in that manner.

lalasticlala

A Lagos pastor, Rev. Dr. Oluwafemi Iroh, has lost N11 million to suspected fraudsters in Lagos State, western Nigeria.

The suspects told Iroh that they were suppliers of petroleum product and want him to be involved in the business.

The incident happened at Borokiri Plaza in Jakande Estate where Iroh’s office is located.

One of the suspects, Benjamin Kayode, has been arrested and charged before Isolo Magistrates’ court with obtaining under false pretence and stealing under the Criminal Code.

Kayode’s accomplice identified as Abraham Lot is now at large.

According to the police, Kayode and Lot allegedly lured Iroh into petrol supply business with a promise that Iroh would make a huge profit from it.

They assured him of prompt supply and reduced the price of the product as dealers in business who knew where to get the product at cheaper price.

Unsuspecting Iroh believed them and gave them the money and waited in vain for the supply of the product.

Iroh waited in vain after Kayode and Lot collected the money and bolted away.

Iroh went to the police at Ejigbo division and reported the fraud and the police trailed the suspects and eventually arrested Kayode.

P.M.NEWS gathered at the station, Kayode told the police that he had shared the money and as such there was no money to refund to Iroh.

Kayode was charged to court with the alleged offence bu he pleaded not guilty.
The presiding Magistrate, Mrs A. O. Adedayo granted Kayode bail in the sum of N1m with two sureties in like sum.

Kayode was remanded in prison custody pending when he will perfect his bail condition.

The matter was adjourned till 18 January 2016.

lalasticlala

By Gabriel Olawale
WHEN 26-year-old Chineye Nwafor travelled to India for a limb-correction surgery, she had no idea it was going to be a journey of no return. She was brought back dead.

An encounter with Mrs Joy Nwafor, mother of the deceased, at the entrance of the India High Commission in Lagos, threw light on the untimely death of the young graduate. Joy, 54, who told Sunday Vanguard that she accompanied her daughter on the trip, cried foul over the circumstances leading to the death.
Accompanied by sympathisers demanding justice through a peaceful protest at the High Commission, the bereaved mother put the blame at the doorsteps of the Fortis Hospital, India, where the surgery was carried out.

Displaying placards, the protesters were undeterred by heavily armed policemen manning the gates of the Commission. They alleged that Chineye’s death was a case of negligence and repeatedly demanded justice and release of the autopsy result from the hospital.
Narrating her story, Joy, from Dunukofia Local Government, Anambra State, said it all began last year just after her daughter obtained her first degree.

“Chineye had just graduated from University of Abuja and was preparing for her NYSC but the family decided that rather than just sit at home before her call-up, she should utilise the period to correct her deformed right limb which had been shortened as a result of a fall experienced in 2001,” She told Sunday Vanguard.
“Following the fall in which she broke her femur (thigh bone), she had a surgery which involved the insertion of k-nail (iron) to support the bone. The iron eventually broke and another surgery was necessitated to remove the pieces and also correct the shortened limb that was causing her a lot of pain.”

The bereaved mother went on: “The prayer of every mother is to train her child and, in turn, the child takes care of her when she’s old. That was not to be in my case as I watched my little Chineye, who had graduated only a month ago, die in my arms owing to the negligence of doctors at Fortis Hospital, New Delhi, India.
“After the surgery, Chineye was upset. She raised fears over the surgery, claiming that one Dr Gupta, the senior consultant, had removed only one of the two pieces of the previously broken iron in her limb as opposed to earlier agreement that the two pieces would be removed before conducting the limb lengthening surgery.

However, despite her complaints, the doctor assured her that everything would be fine.”
Joy revealed that after her discharge, it was noticed that the lengthening screw was stiff. They complained immediately, but were informed that the doctors were looking for the right size of iron for her height.
“After three days she was forced to go to the hospital. She walked in to the dressing room, but while they were changing the screw she gasped for breath and suddenly lost consciousness on the dressing table and was wheeled into the emergency room,” she narrated.

“Less than an hour after she was wheeled into emergency, I was informed that my daughter was dead. I was shocked; I could not believe my ears. I felt the world had come to an end, even in my state of shock, all that the hospital could do was demand additional payment as cost of trying to revive Chineye.

“When I walked into the room where she laid, I discovered they had already stuffed her nostrils with cotton wool while her body was still very warm. I immediately begged and cried helplessly that they should try to revive her but they heartlessly told me that there was nothing they could do, that she had died and had planned to convey her to the mortuary at the time.

“As a result of my insistence, the movement to the mortuary was delayed for two hours during which they blatantly refused to administer any procedure to revive her. Dr Raul later told me my daughter died of severe heart attack.”

Pointing out the first instance that convinced her that her daughter died of medical negligence, the mother recalled that on the first day she was wheeled into the theatre, the surgery was rescheduled because the iron was not the right size for her height even though she had done several physical consultations with the surgeon, Dr Raul.

“Second, a review of her medical records showed that no blood thinning medication was prescribed which is necessary for this kind of surgery. Third, even after the surgery, the doctors were still looking for the right size of iron. Fourth, only one piece of the previously broken iron was removed.

“Since her death, Fortis Hospital New Delhi has issued several conflicting statements on the cause of her death which only confirms my fears that Chineye was murdered and they have refused to release the autopsy result. They still claim to be investigating the cause of death.

Meanwhile, they told us that it will only take two weeks for the autopsy result to be out.
“I have been crying since October 29, 2015. My heart bleeds and I know Chineye’s soul seeks justice. I speak as a mother who deserves to know the cause of her daughter’s death. I need the support of every Nigerian in this fight against this murderous act, injustice, oppression and wickedness. I am helpless but I believe that, with God on my side and with the support of Nigerians and the international community, the killers of my daughter will not escape justice.”

Fortis Hospital reacts

Reacting to the development through e-mail, the Second Secretary (Cons.), Office of the High Commission of India in Lagos, Mr. Jagdeep Kapoor, sympathized with the deceased’s family and assured proper investigation by the Indian authorities.
“First of all, we would like to extend, through your newspaper, our deepest condolences to the family on the passing away of Ms. Chineye Nwafor. We are in touch with the Indian authorities on the issue and hope to get a response soon. In the meantime, we have approached the hospital and their reply is as follows:

“Miss. Nwafor came to us for Limb Lengthening procedure, on September 28, 2015, which was done successfully. On October 7, 2015, Ms. Nwafor called Dr. Rahul Kaul to assess the progress. Despite our strict policy of doctors not visiting a patient’s place, Dr. Rahul Kaul made a special exception for Ms. Nwafor and visited her residence on the same day to alleviate her anxiety. Dr. Rahul Kaul examined the post procedure dressing and explained medications as advised already by the hospital.

“Thereafter, on October 8, 2015 Ms. Nwafor informed Dr. Rahul Kaul that one of the rods placed during the procedure appeared to be jammed. The hospital therefore asked Ms. Nwafor to visit for examination. During the examination, it was noticed that one of the distraction rods installed at the time of the above procedure had got jammed.
“This is commonly seen in such patients and it was decided that the distraction rods shall be replaced. In the procedure room of our hospital, the existing rods were maintained attached to the rings and four new rods were attached to both the rings and firmly fixed.

“After attaching four new rods, the pre-existing rods were removed so that the stability of the frame is not jeopardized at any point. After a while, Ms. Nwafor developed breathlessness and collapsed. We tried to resuscitate her but in spite of the best efforts she could not be revived.

“At the relevant time since the cause of death was unknown, the hospital contacted the police authorities. The police authorities took away the body of Miss Nwafor to carry out autopsy. The cause of death can only be ascertained after perusal of autopsy report which is to be collected by the police. The death summary, dated October 9, 2015, issued by the hospital, states cause of death as ‘Pending Investigation’. The police authorities will share findings of the autopsy directly with the family.”

lalasticlala

Two men who conned a woman out of £1.6m by using a fictional character to contact her on a dating website have been jailed.

The woman thought she was corresponding with a man called Christian Anderson, and she gave him money to fund a supposed business project.

The fake persona was created by Ife Ojo and Olusegun Agbaje, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud.
Ojo was sentenced to 34 months in prison and Agbaje to 32 months.

The victim of the fraud, a woman in her 40s from west London who cannot be named, struck up a correspondence with the fictitious Mr Anderson through Match.com.

She was persuaded to pay money to his "personal assistant" in order to help him complete a project in Benin so that he could come to live with her in the UK.

She then made assorted further payments, ranging from £25,000 for a police fine to thousands of pounds to free up inheritance money left by his mother.

'Seduction kit'
Prosecutor Lesley Bates said the victim had borrowed money from friends and family, believing it would be paid back when Mr Anderson came to live with her.

Ms Bates told Basildon Crown Court: "She [the victim] has since experienced stress, cries, is depressed and unable to trust people."

Police identified Agbaje, 43, from Hornchurch, and, when they raided his home, found him with Ojo, 31, from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

At Ojo's home they found a laptop containing records of the victim's conversation and a "seduction kit" including the poetry book For My Soulmate and a dating manual called The Game.

John Femi-Ola, mitigating for Ojo, said his client was originally from Nigeria and had been introduced to the scam by Agbaje.
Simon Smith, mitigating for Agbaje, said his role was to provide a bank account and "the planning and sophistication of this crime was not his responsibility".

The court heard the victim met somebody pretending to be Mr Anderson in person once, describing him as "a handsome white man".

The Metropolitan Police are still working to identify others involved, including the person who posed as Mr Anderson.

lalasticlala

micheal oche

There are indications that the Federal Government may consider the recall of sacked Universities staff school workers as a solution to end the two- week old strike embarked upon by the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU).

It would be recalled that SSANU had embarked on a strike action since December 24, 2015 alleging that about 2,000 universities staff school workers were affected by a circular from the government to vice chancellors of universities to remove the names of the workers from the government pay roll.

SSANU had argued that the union in 2009 entered into agreement with the Federal Government on the subject matter, adding that removing the names of the workers of the universities staff schools was going contrary to the agreement.

LEADERSHIP, however, gathered that the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, held meeting with the SSANU leadership at an undisclosed hotel in Abuja on Sunday on how to resolve the problem.

A source privy to the meeting, disclosed that the Education minister had indicated the willingness to ensure that the strike was called off, but SSANU insisted that the termination letters to its members should be withdrawn before it could suspend the strike.

It was gathered that the minister had promised to consult with the necessary stakeholders involved in taking decisions on the matter, including the Budget Office and the National Universities Commission (NUC) before giving any concrete answer.

lalasticlala

A 32-year-old robbery suspect, Fashola Adewunmi, has told policemen in Lagos that he and his gang members had killed about 50 victims during various operations. Adewunmi said they had to kill because the victims refused to cooperate.

He added that the gang had also stolen 34 vehicles. The suspect and two of his accomplices, Daniel Kuye (22) and Balogun Mutiu (32) were arrested, at Surulere area of the Lagos metropolis.

He said: “My members and I have killed about 50 people in the course of our robbery operations. Some of these people we killed were those who did not cooperate with us. Rather than allowed them to stand as barrier to our operations and escape, we killed them.”

They were arrested by the operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) while they were attempting to rob at Randle Avenue in Surulere.

The suspects were said to have robbed a hotel at Iju-Ishaga and disposed the guests of their valuables before proceeding to Coker, Mile 12, Ijesha, Aguda, Masha and Randle Av-enue. They were arrested about 3:40a.m. on Wednesday by the policemen who were on patrol.

The suspects were said to have first started their operation at the hotel, where they collected N450,000 from a guest, identified as Banjo. They also took laptops and phones of the hotel guest. They disappeared with Banjo’s car. Police have since recovered the car and money.

Adewunmi added: “I have been arrested. I don’t need to hide anything from the police. All I’m asking for now, is forgiveness. My parents should not see me on television screen because of my crime.”

lalasticlala

John Collins Alabi , a 27-year-old
Nigerian resident in Ghana, has been arrested by the Kotobabi Police for allegedly stabbing his landlord, Paul Goka, to death for stopping him from using the bathroom, reports Modern Ghana.

The deceased who owned the wooden structure apartment where Alabi and 10 other tenants lived in Alajo, a suburb of Accra, the nation's capital, had reportedly the suspect for having his bath in a demolished bathroom after all tenants were warned to use the public shower.

The confrontation led to a serious disagreement which culminated in a fight an Alabi ash into his room an emerged with a knife with which he used to stab Goka in the stomach. Other tenants reportedly rushed the injure man to the 37 Military Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Alabi was arrested shortly after being in hiding for three days.

Confirming the arrest of the suspect, the Nima Divisional Police Commander, ACP Nuhu Jango , said the incident occurred on January 2, 2016, but the suspect was finally arrested around Nima Roundabout on January 5, 2016.

It was also gathered that in the evening of the incident, Alabi had reported to the Kotobabi Police that his landlord had inflicted knife wounds on his fingers and was subsequently given a medical form to go to the hospital for treatment.

But later that day, one Vincent Dzramado went to the station to report Alabi had stabbed his brother, Goka, in the stomach with a knife with the injured man being rushed to the Maamobi Polyclinic for medical attention where he was referred to the 37 Military Hospital for proper medical attention but died on arrival.

The suspect then went into hiding but after a man hunt, he was arrested three days later. The suspect who claimed he had lived in the house for the past one year, told the police that he went into hiding upon hearing the news that the landlord had died.

lalasticlala

“The ringleader of this dastardly act, we learnt is a member of jonathan’s party. The whole plot was contrived to give the impression that the opposition is the one responsible.”

The General Officer Commanding, (GOC) 1 Mechanized Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade has said that, the Nigerian Army has no apology for its recent encounter with members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, popularly known as the Shi’ite sect.

The GOC said that, the Army cannot fold its arms and watch any group or sect threaten the peace and stability of the country.

Addressing newsmen at the headquarters of 1 Division in Kaduna on Wednesday, the GOC said, the Army has no issue with the Shi’ites, saying “they are like any other sect in the land, but as long as they obey the law of the land no problem, but if any group chooses to challenge the authority of the land, it means they do not value the sanctity of life and the constitution of Nigeria.”

The GOC added that the military has no issue with the Islamic sect, pointing out that even some military personnel are Shiites by religious calling, but they respected and obeyed constituted authority, and the military has no issue with them.

According to him, “Army has paid heavily with the blood of its officers and men to protect this country, and so we have no apology any group, either Shiites Islamic sect, Christian sect, even pagan sect that is threatening the peace of the country.

“We don’t have any issue with the Shiites or any sect at all in the land as long as they obey the law of the land. But if any group tends to challenge the constituted authority of the land, it means that such group does not respect the constitution of the land.

“Even in the military, we have Shiites members, but there is no issue with them because they are law abiding citizens.

“But we have issues with those who creates a State within a State, and our rules of engagement are very clear, that is, when there is threat to a constituted authority, it must be arrested before it goes full blown.

“We know the business of violence but we apply it professionally if the peace of the land is being threatened, so we are appealing to Nigerians who are bent on causing violence stay off,” he said.
The GOC however insisted that the Army remains the guidance of Nigerian democracy, but stated that, an attempt on the Chief of the nation’s Army is akin to an attempt on a sitting president.

Giving an overview of the activities of the division in 2015, the GOC said, “We want to re assure the members of the North West zone that the army will do everything possible as mandated by the constitution of Nigeria to protect our people and to enable the people go about their activities without molestation.”

lalasticlala

One month after losing her husband, the widow of a policeman, Mrs Philomena Asuquo, has committed suicide in Lagos.

The incident occurred at the Police Barracks on Sagamu Road in Ikorodu on New Year’s Eve.

The late Mrs Asuquo, whose late husband, Inspector Uwem Asuquo was yet to be buried, was said to have drunk sniper, an insecticide, out of frustration.

According to her 19-year-old son, Shadrach, who rushed her to the Ikorodu General Hospital, she had been depressed since her husband died last November.

He said he ran into his mother’s room, after perceiving an insecticide’s odour around the living room and found her writhing in pains.

Shadrach told The Nation on telephone that he and his younger brother, Daniel had gone to their aunt’s place to help her clean her new apartment, adding that they found their mother watching television when they returned.

He said she watched them go into the kitchen to take their food, adding that she later went into the kitchen to take her own food and went to her room.

Shadrach said: “She has been depressed since my father died in police custody but she has never attempted suicide.

“That day I and my brother went to my aunt’s place to help her wash the house because she was moving to their house in Ikorodu.

“When we got back, she was sitting in the parlour watching television.
“My brother and I went to the kitchen to take our food. After we had eaten, she went into the kitchen to take her food and went inside her room.
“I went to the toilet; when I got back to the sitting room, I started perceiving the odour of the insecticide.

“Then, I ran into her room and saw her on the floor holding her stomach. Immediately I took her to the hospital where she died.”
The late Inspector Asuquo was attached to the Area ‘C’ Command in Surulere, Lagos Mainland.

His older brother, Peter, said the family was awaiting police directives on his funeral, since he died in service.

“My brother was serving at Orile before the incident that led to his detention. He was involved in accidental discharge; he fled but turned himself in two days later.

“He was healthy and did not show any sign of sickness. But surprisingly, one of my brothers called me that day that I should leave whatever I was doing and come to the station.

“By the time I got there, he has already been taken to a hospital and he was vomiting some things that I cannot explain.

“He died that same day and the police conducted autopsy on him, which showed that he had hypertension and diabetes.

“My brother was not dismissed because his second wife told us that they received alert for the payment of his November and December salaries.

“I just want to beg the police to conclude all processes and pay his pension and other entitlements so that his children (three) as well as his aged father do not suffer unduly,” he said.

When contacted, the state command’s Deputy Public Relations Officer, Aliyu Giwa confirmed Mrs Asuquo’s death.
Giwa declined comment on the bereaved family’s welfare, saying that was an administrative matter.

Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni said the issue had not been brought to his notice, adding that there are laid down procedures for all cases.

lalasticlala

By Luka Binniyat & Mayen Etim

KADUNA—Female members of the Shiite Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, yesterday alleged that soldiers raped their members before killing them, in December clash between the Nigeria Army and the movement.

Addressing a Press Conference in Kaduna yesterday under the banner of Sisters Forum of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, the forum called on the Federal Government to release their leader, sheik Ibrahim Zakzaky, his wife and other members with immediate effect.

The secretary of the forum, Hajiya Aisha Hassan who addressed the press said: “It is now over three weeks since the Nigerian Army launched a brutal attack on members of the, IMN, that killed over one thousand people in Zaria after over 27 hours of indiscriminate shooting and bombing.

“This is not talking about those who have been given mass burial by the Army or even corpses burnt, amongst whom are women and children, some of the women have even been raped before they were killed by the soldiers as confirmed by some survivors who were also tortured after their arrest by the Army.

“The soldiers molested our women and removed their hijab which is a serious violation of Islamic right..

“Although we are aware that it is a deliberate attempt to intimidate and instigate us into mob actions, we will never resort to anything outside the normal legal process of seeking redress. This is evident in the way we acted last year when the same Nigerian Army attacked our members and killed 34 of them including three biological sons of our leader, Sayyid Zakzaky.

“Despite this display of inhumanity and gross violation of fundamental human rights, to which no remorse was shown by the state authorities for what was undoubtedly a war crime against fellow Nigerians, the homes, Islamic centers and graves of the victims have been demolished with graves dug up and desecrated.

“These demonic acts perpetrated by Nigerian Army has not only raised the Army’s human rights abuse records but has also turned a lot of women into widows, children into orphans and has also succeeded in wiping out a lot of families.
“We call for immediate and unconditional release of our revered leader his Eminence Sheikh El-Zakzaky (H), and his wife.

“We call for the release of our husbands and children that are in illegal detention facilities across the northern states.

“Corpses of our members killed by the Army should be released to us with immediate effect for burials according to Islamic rites.
“We call on the government to summon courage and live up to its morality and accept its crime by paying diyyah to all affected families and relations,” it said.

lalasticlala

A female politician in Kajiado county, Kenya, has paid dearly for daring to aspire to become a Senator after her husband descended on her and beat her blue black , leaving her with a black eye and severe bruises, reports Tuko.co.ke.

The woman, Eunice Leshunet , according to the reports, had announced to her family that she would be in the race for the Kajiado Senatorial seat in that country's forthcoming general elections to be held in August, 2017, but that announcement was not a good piece of news for her husband who tried to stop her but on her refusal, he pounced on her and beat her silly.
Eunice Leshunet in good times

Leshunet later took to her Facebook page to post a photo of her battered face with the following words:
“This is the brutality I got from a man I call father to my kids after declaring my candidature for senatorial seat come 2017.”

Currently working with a non-governmental organisation, Leshunet went on to say that the beating from her husband will not deter her from going after her political dream.

"My ideologies will convince the whole world. Am strong and people who cannot dream will not stop me from achieving my dreams. So please watch my space."

lalasticlala

A 19-year-old lady, identified simply as Chiamaka, at the weekend committed suicide for being pregnant. Chiamaka took her life in her residence at No. 17 Nwike Street, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. The lady, who hailed from Ohaozara Local Government Area of the state, was said to have hanged herself after her parents told her that they could not buy her what she had demanded for the Yuletide because they discovered she was pregnant.

A source close to the family said Chiamaka had, after discovering that she was pregnant, informed her boyfriend responsible for the pregnancy and who also lives in the same building but the boy denied being responsible for the pregnancy.

“Chiamaka was not happy that her boyfriend denied her in her trying moment because her parents threatened to sanction her for being pregnant. “The parents were very angry about it because we, the neighbours, always hear when they quarrelled with her because of the pregnancy and she thought the best thing to do was to go to her boyfriend, at least to have a rest of mind.

“But she was disappointed that the boy denied her and I think this might be the reason why she hanged herself,” the source added. When our correspondent visited the house, most of the residents had fled the building for fear of arrest while residents of the street were discussing the incident in groups. When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) George Okafor, said he was yet to receive official report on the matter.

lalasticlala

Ibe Kachikwu (Minister of State for Petroleum)
With his appointment first as Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and later as Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu enjoys President Buhari’s trust to turn around the decayed oil sector.

Kachikwu, it seems, has since been recording some degrees in the sector. First, all the refineries are back on stream, with the Kaduna refinery already in production in December 2015. The Warri refinery is expected to start production hopefully in the next few days, while the Port Harcourt refinery will start operating in the next two weeks. The refineries are expected to generate, at least, 10 million litres of petrol daily when in operation. Apart from this, the minister noted that resumption of oil prospects in the Chad basin would soon resume in earnest.

Furthermore, from Friday January 1, 2016, petrol had started selling for N86 per litre at the stations belonging to the NNPC, and N86.50 per litre at filling stations of major and independent oil marketers. These are positive steps even as the price of oil in the international market continues to fall.

Muhammadu Bello (Federal Capital Territory)
Over time, the policies and programmes of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) seem to have been neglected or distorted to suit the administration in power. As such, the development of relevant infrastructure and programmes has been stalled substantially. Areas where projects are meant for the lower cadre of society are diverted to other personal means.

On a recent visit by the FCT minister, Mallam Muhammadu Bello to indigenes of the Garki village, they appealed to him to revisit the resettlement and compensation exercise. It was carried out by the FCDA officials and considered the option of integration of the original inhabitants. The Magajin Garki, Joel Yazegbe, who spoke on their behalf, noted that the 2005 exercise was not conclusive and urged him to consider reintegration other than relocation.
Recently, the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS) has been perforated with miscreants in its system. This needed to be nipped in the bud before it gets out of proportion. The minister should be quick to address the situation.

Besides, infrastructures in the FCT are getting obsolete, which the federal government must swiftly fix. For instance, many drainages in the city have broken down and either needed to be repaired or totally replaced with effective and modern ones. Besides, the management of solid wastes has been worrisome and they are never promptly evacuated, making them an eyesore in the ever growing city.

Also, the minister must ensure that the Satellite Towns Development Agency must be committed to providing infrastructure to the satellite towns to reduce tension in the city. For instance, if the satellite towns are provided adequate roads, electricity and potable water, residents are not likely to throng the city for residence, and the high cost of rents would drastically fall.

Abubakar Malami (Justice)
The judicial system in the country has it fair share of knocks as many people think it has been compromised. Worried about accusations of the system, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed at a recent swearing in of 30 judges appointed for the Federal High Court judges in Abuja, demanded the public to submit names of any corrupt judge for disciplinary action.

“Anybody who has evidence of corruption against any judge should submit same to the National Judicial Commission (NJC) so as to remove such judge from the bench,” he said. According to him, some judges and judicial staff might be complicit in corrupt practices. “I wish to address the vexed issue of judicial corruption. This is because allegations about corrupt judicial officers and staff now make headline news on a more frequent basis,” he said

The Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami needs to worry about the situation in view of the anti-corruption war waged by the Buhari administration. With a corrupt judiciary, such war would be fruitless. This is also to mean that the anti-graft agencies, especially the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), must be strengthened. Both institutions have been accused of not prosecuting or jailing looters of the economy.
Though, the present administration has begun to prosecute high-flyer corrupt personalities, many Nigerians believe that it must cut across all sectors regardless of those involved.

When the BringBackOurGirls campaign movement visited the minister, he mentioned that the federal government would discard the plea bargain idea on looted funds. “I cannot imagine someone who had been responsible for monumental deaths of our citizens going scot-free arising from plea bargain as a policy,” Malami pointed out.
According to him, it has never been the policy of the government to make compromises on terrorism and financial crimes and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation will never tolerate such.

But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) called on the Buhari government to also probe some of its ministers for corruption rather than concentrate only on officials of past administrations.
In a communiqué at the end of its meeting in Abuja last Tuesday, the secretary, Body of PDP National Vice Chairmen, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, the party supported the anti-corruption drive of President Buhari, but demanded that serving ministers who were alleged to have engaged in corrupt practices before their appointment be investigated by the administration. That is the challenge before the administration and the minister of justice.

lalasticlala

Chris Ngige (Labour and Employment)
During his campaign tour, President Buhari hammered the issue of unemployment in the country. This is because over the years, the country’s unemployment had increased considerably. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the unemployment rate in 2015 rose from 7.5 per cent in the 1st quarter to a disturbing 9.90 per cent in the 3rd quarter.

During the 2016 budget presentation, the president gave a ray of hope at reducing joblessness. According to him, this would be done with the recruitment of 500,000 teachers for public schools. He said it would be a partnership with the state and local governments where graduates and NCE holders would be engaged.

Buhari also said the federal government would partner with state and local governments to provide financial training and loans to market women, traders and artisans through their cooperative societies, which is an important platform to create jobs and provide opportunities for entrepreneurs. Also, the federal government has said it would provide N5000 for unemployed youth in the country.
Remarkably reducing unemployment will be a tough turf for Dr Ngige; it has been a monster to contain.

Kemi Adeosun (Finance)
The introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) by the Buhari administration is a bold step to check inflow and outflow of funds from government coffers. Also the government has further extended the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) to all government establishments.

Besides, the government had ordered the constant Continuous Audit Process (CAP) by which it hopes to check personnel costs.
According to President Buhari in his speech to the National Assembly while presenting the 2016 budget, the government’s “commitment to a lean and cost-effective government remains a priority, and the initiatives we are introducing will signal a fundamental change in how government spends public revenue.”

Also, he noted that government was enhancing the utilization of the Integrated Financial Management Information Systems (GIFMIS) to improve financial management. On wastages, he explained that the “recently established Efficiency Unit is working across MDAs to identify and eliminate wasteful spending, duplication and other inefficiencies.”

The proper implementation and checks of these financial policies rest on the ability of the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, to harness them. The financial sector in Nigeria is believed to have been bastardised and fiscal procedures neglected. So many loopholes have been identified in the sector during the various investigations into the spending activities of the past regime.
It is now upon Mrs Adeosun to put things right and restore the confidence of Nigerians to the sector.

Adamu Adamu (Education)
The decay in the education sector over the years leaves more to be desired and the responsibility to clean it up is on Adamu Adamu, an accountant who is better known as a columnist, critic and public commentator. For years, Adamu took various administrations to the cleaners. Now, many Nigerians are keenly observing how Adamu will match what had been criticisms by him even on education with action.

Infrastructural development in the educational sector is abysmal in all ramifications, while discipline and quality have been on the lowest for many years.
Adamu is expected to make the education sector, especially the public institutions, functional. The performances of secondary school students in the Senior Secondary School examinations have been consistently poor. For example, for the May/June 2015 results, out of 1,593,442 candidates only 616,370 candidates passed with credits in five subjects and above, including English Language and mathematics.

In 2014, 529,425 candidates obtained five credits in English and Mathematics, while in 2013,639,760 candidates achieved that feat.
At the tertiary level, Nigerian universities have been left far behind in research, academic quality and infrastructure, even in Africa. For instance, the best ranked tertiary institution in Nigeria is not within the first 20.

This year, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration will be quite busy fulfilling the change mantra of the All Progressives Party. With the economy down, and every other vital sector virtually in sixes and sevens, the ministers the president had appointed have a job on their hand to either make or mar the Buhari presidency. Daily Trust on Sunday presents ministers that will shape the policies and programmes of the administration this year

Babatunde Fashola (Power, Works & Housing)
The Muhammed Buhari administration has never strayed from the fact that there is need for speedy infrastructural development in the country. And it is upon Fashola that the burden rests. If he fails, the administration fails. The president has utmost confidence in the former governor of Lagos State that a “three-in-one” ministry was placed upon him. And invariably he has no choice but to deliver in all aspects.
Power is one sector that has been problematic in the country, and despite the resources invested in it and the unbundling of the former Power Holding Company of Nigeria, the problem of inadequate electricity supply has persisted.

There will be no excuses as the Power minister must forge ahead to provide Nigerians with adequate electricity. Besides, Fashola should check the activities of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), which, over the years, has been bedevilled by controversies and seemed to have compromised its mandate.

Fashola has also been made to be conscious that many roads are in a bad state across the country, just as provision of houses is in deficit. According to data, Nigeria will require about N56 trillion to close up the country’s 17 million housing units deficit. These are issues that are to be addressed, and promptly too. In the interim, the federal government has slated, in the 2016 budget, N433.4 billion to the Works, Power and Housing sectors as capital estimates.

Audu Ogbeh (Agriculture & Rural Development)
On assumption of office as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh said attention would be shifted to research and marketing to boost production.
Ogbeh believed the measure, when fully on stream, would help reduce food imports. With emphasis on non-oil sector, the federal government had said it would focus on agriculture.

In fact, President Buhari had, during his election campaigns, dwell on alternative to oil, a position he still emphasized while presenting the 2016 budget. In this regard, he has the onerous task of nurturing this sector for the needed impact in the country. This could be an uphill task. As Ogbeh tackles his assignment, Nigerians are waiting for a defined policy on agriculture from the Buhari administration that would be cardinal in achieving the agricultural turnaround.

Kayode Fayemi (Solid Minerals)
Together with agriculture, the solid mineral sector is another area where the federal government is focusing on to make an impact on the country’s economy. In fact, the sector is one that is expected to form the pivot of revenue generation and job creation. Fayemi, a former governor of Ekiti State, has to really push for the realisation of the administration’s policies and programmes in this sector.

Nigeria is blessed with numerous mineral resources, with claims that every one of the 36 states has varieties of precious stones and industrial minerals. Accordingly, opportunities exist for the exploitation of natural gas, bitumen, limestone, coal, tin, columbite, gold, silver, lead-zinc, gypsum, glass sands, clays, asbestos, graphite and iron ore, among others.

The minister has promised to ensure that the full potentials of Nigeria’s solid minerals sector are truly realized, stressing that the president passionately yearns for the development of the sector.
Fashola maintained that the administration would ensure that the country’s enormous wealth of solid minerals would be harnessed and deployed in the interest of national development.

One area of the sector is key: the revitalization of the moribund mining and geo-sciences institutions in the country. These are cardinal in the sustainability of what would be achieved in the sector. The minister, indeed, has an onerous task to bring the sector from its comatose state to a functional level.

The violent conflict orchestrated by the radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram, in the north- eastern region of Nigeria claimed no fewer than 3,120 lives in 2015. This huge death toll does not include the number of soldiers, armed militants, insurgents and terrorists who lost their lives in the combat during the year under review. On the average, Nigeria lost an estimated 255 persons per month.

The peak was 2,107 in January resulting from the Baga Massacre where 2,000 persons were reportedly killed in one day. So far, the conflict, which has been raging for about six years, has left several towns and villages destroyed and millions persons including men, women and children have fled their homes.

A recent Displacement Tracking Matrix conducted by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) showed that so far, the conflict has displaced a total of 2,151,979 who are currently living in 42 camps across 13 states of Nigeria.

The camps are located in Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara states. In addition, there are at least seven IDP camps in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. Official statistics obtained from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) shows that 86 per cent of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) across the federation are from the North-East region while the remaining 14 per cent are from other states.

Sunday Telegraph gathered that 52 per cent of the IDPs are female while 48 per cent are male. Out of these, only 10 per cent are living in the IDP camps while the rest are living amongst friends and relatives in the different host communities they fled to but are still accessing assistance from the government through NEMA.

Sunday Telegraph also learnt that as at the end of December 2015, about 20 camps had been disbanded in Yola, Adamawa State as the Nigerian Armed Forces reclaimed several towns and villages and the IDPs began to return to their original homes. Most of them would be starting life all over again because they fled without carrying anything except the clothing on them and they returned to meet the ruins of their homes.

The National Emergency Management Agency said that it has been working in the conflict zone right from the onset, when the security challenge in the North- East began to escalate and the state of emergency was declared by the Federal Government.

NEMA’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ezekiel Manzo, said the agency has been working with the military in creating humanitarian cells for delivery of basic supplies to the affected persons in their communities.

According to Manzo, the situation continued to escalate as more communities were displaced, forcing the people to flee to distant locations, some even across the borders into the neighbouring Republics of Cameroun, Chad and Niger. “The humanitarian intervention by NEMA under the emergency was to provide basic supports of livelihood to the IDPs.

Under this phase, the interventions were aimed at meeting the basic needs of the people such as foods, shelter and clothing. There is also the aspect of health, which is equally very important under this phase.

The agency has been doing everything possible by rallying medical supports that included supplies of drugs and medical consumables for treatment of the sick and the most vulnerable including the aged, children and pregnant women. “The Federal Government’s humanitarian intervention in the North East is a child of necessity to support the distressed victims of insurgency.

The survival and comfort of the victims have always been the focus of the supports. For more than two years now, NEMA has continued to maintain active presence in the provision of supports to the IDPs in the North East. The agency has deployed its officers on special humanitarian assignments in the management of camps with officials of the State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) in Yola, Maiduguri and Damaturu where many IDPs are presently taking temporary shelters,” he said.

The agency, Manzo further disclosed, has been able to meet up with the challenges by expanding its responses and rallying the cooperation of the stakeholders. The agency, he explained, adopted a number of strategies suitable for addressing evolving challenges in the course of caring for the IDPs. “For instance, in Borno State, which has the largest number of the IDPs, the agency had to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the state government to clearly define the roles of the state and NEMA in the management of the affected persons. Another major challenge was the best channel to reach many of the IDPs that are living in the host communities.

However, with the supports of the states government, civil society organisations and faith based organizations, special avenues have been created for regular distribution of supports of relief items that are delivered by NEMA to them in designated locations.

“Besides, the agency has also been very proactive by going the extra miles of providing supports to the IDPs in the informal camps immediately after being informed and a rapid assessment is carried out on their locations.

These informal camps are discovered to exist in many communities and the agency has been doing everything possible in assisting the IDPs found to be living together in those camps,” Manzo said.

However, NEMA had to contend with serious challenges such as identifying the real IDPs from ghost refugees; infiltration of the camps by terrorists and high port tariffs in the clearing of some relief material sent by international donor agencies. Sunday Telegraph gathered that some of these items are currently lying fallow at the sea ports of Lagos.

The agency also had to bear the added burden of thousands of Nigerians who had earlier fled to the neighbouring countries but were forced to return home after a period of sojourn as refugees in those countries. “NEMA received about 20, 000 from the Republic of Niger through Geidam, Yobe State and facilitated their movements back home to their various states.

Between July and December, the agency received more than 18, 000 from the Republic of Cameroun through Sahuda border post in Mubi, Adamawa State and moved them to the IDPs camps in Yola and Fufore where some have already been transported back to their locations both within the state and Borno. Those in the camps are being catered for by officers of the agency that are presently supporting them along with the other IDPs,” Manzo said.

lalasticlala

A former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki; a former Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda; a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bello Haliru Mohammed, a former Governor of Sokoto, Attahiru Bafarawa and a few others are currently undergoing trial for alleged money laundering and fraud.

In his New Year message to the nation, the president vowed to vigorously continue with the crackdown on corruption during his tenure.

“Our crackdown on corruption will continue to be vigorously undertaken,” he said.
“I urge the courts to support our efforts and help in the recovery of stolen funds by speedily concluding trials and showing that impunity no longer has a place in our country.”

Mr. Buhari noted that there is much work to do in other areas, adding that he had charged all his ministers and other appointees to ensure that Nigerians experience positive changes in their lives in 2016.

“We must reduce our country’s reliance on oil. We must diversify our economy. And we must do all we can to promote job creation,” he said.

While welcoming Nigerians to the New Year, Mr. Buhari said he would continue with the change already began by his administration.

He said he was aware that Nigerians had experienced a number of hardships over the past months and that living in the State House, his official quarters, had not alienated him from their daily sufferings.

He said, “I am aware that Nigerians have experienced a number of significant hardships over the past months. Living in the State House has not alienated me from your daily sufferings.

“I am aware of the lengthy queues at fuel stations and of the difficulties businesses have faced in acquiring foreign exchange. These challenges are only temporary; we are working to make things better.

“When I presented myself to you as a presidential candidate and asked you to vote for me, I wanted to be a leader who keeps his promises. I wanted to be a leader who restores the people’s hope in those elected to serve them. I wanted to be a leader who initiates positive and enduring CHANGE.

“I am still totally committed to being that kind of leader. Unforeseen circumstances and other distractions notwithstanding, I shall still do my utmost best to keep every promise I made to Nigerians during my election campaign.”

Mr. Buhari said in the past seven months since it was inaugurated, his administration had focused on laying the right foundation for the change Nigerians voted for during the presidential election.
“Nigerians will in due course begin to enjoy the fruits of all our ongoing work,” he assured.

“The effective and efficient implementation of our 2016 budget proposals will address many of the socio-economic issues that are of current concern to our people.”

The president said one area in which Nigerians, especially those in the northeast, had already begun to experience major change was in the war on terror.

He commended the Armed Forces for significantly curtailing the insurgency which had ravaged the region over the past few years.

He added, “However, there is still a lot of work to be done in the area of security. Our Armed Forces will maintain, consolidate and build on their successes in the war against Boko Haram and violent extremism.
“This government will not consider the matter concluded until the terrorists have been completely routed and normalcy restored to all parts of the country that have been adversely affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.”

Mr. Buhari said his administration will remain strong and unshaken, while reposing confidence in God to help it deliver on its promises.

lalasticlala

Kunle Falayi

Three months after a tragic incident left 12-year-old Mary Udoh and her three siblings (aged nine, seven and 12 months) motherless, and almost made them orphans, life has been a downward spiral of torment for the children.

Saturday PUNCH tracked down the children three months after their mother, Comfort and father, Sunday, were shot by a police corporal, Musefiu Aremu of the Isheri Oshun Police Division, Ijegun, Lagos, and learnt that a lot has changed for the worse in the lives of the children.

Speaking with difficulties through a yet-to-heal jaw wound he sustained during the tragic incident, Sunday told our correspondent that after witnessing the traumatic incident, Mary, who is his oldest child, has been having seizures, which doctors have diagnosed as induced by the traumatic incident she witnessed.

Recollecting the events of that tragic day, Sunday, a tricycle (Keke) rider, said he was on his way back from church with his wife and four children in his tricycle when he was stopped by Aremu, who demanded N2,000 as bribe.

Sunday said he explained to the policeman he did not have money to pay him.
During an ensuing argument, Aremu cocked his rifle and shot directly at Sunday, who had insisted he did nothing wrong. The bullet passed through his arm and tore his jaw to shreds. But that wasn’t the worst.

Saturday PUNCH learnt that as the bullet exited his jaw, it hit Comfort on one side of the head and exited on the other side, killing her immediately.
All these happened in the presence of the couple’s four children.
“As I fell from my tricycle, I did not really know what had happened until my children started screaming and shouting that their mother was dying.

“I rushed to my wife even though I was bleeding heavily from my arm and jaw. I held her head and realised there was nothing anybody could do for her at that point.
“I ran towards the policeman who shot us and he had joined his friends. They said if I came closer they would shoot me again. They jumped into their van and sped off.”

The events of that day seemed to have become too traumatic for Mary, whom Sunday said has been finding it difficult to express herself apart from the seizures, which the shock triggered.
Doctors said she would require specialised care and therapy so that the problem does not become permanent, an issue that has thrown the father into additional turmoil.

“I have incurred a lot of debts and I don’t know how to go about the treatment for my daughter at the moment. Her convulsion is a serious concern for me right now. I am helpless and still receiving treatment. I still cannot use my right arm, which was hit by the bullet.
“I have not been able to eat anything because my jaw has not completely healed. I struggle to swallow food.”

Saturday PUNCH learnt that the corpse of Sunday’s wife still lies in the Mainland Hospital mortuary in Yaba, Lagos three months after the incident.
He told our correspondent that even though the police had told him to come for it anytime he is ready; he is not yet strong enough to start the burial arrangement.

‘My wife’s family thought I was dead’

When our correspondent spoke with him, Sunday said he had just travelled to Akwa Ibom to see his wife’s family.
“They were shocked when they saw me. They said the news they got was that I died the day after my wife died. They really felt so sorry for me,” he said.

Taking care of himself and his four children has been a daily battle for Sunday, who said he had to resort to employing a maid to take care of the children in his absence with the meagre money he and his children survive on.
He also explained that there are no other family members who could take his children in because they have their own burdens as well.

“My little baby cries more than usual now in the middle of the night. Sometimes, I don’t know what to do. Anytime he senses that the mother is not around, the cry starts again. He was still breast feeding when my wife was killed. All I can do is feed her with pap only anytime I suspect he is hungry,” he said.

“I don’t want my children and me to be a burden to anybody, that was why I had to take them from my elder sister who took them in temporarily. I don’t have a choice than to rely on the maid who comes around to take care of them when I am not at home.
“Apart from my oldest child who is no longer like she was before now, the other children have not shown any other obvious signs of how the trauma has affected them apart from the fact that they miss their mother.”

Gloomy Yuletide

The Yuletide season has been particularly difficult for Sunday and his children. He explained that this is the first time the children had a taste of the difficult life they have been thrust into.
Sunday said, “For instance, my wife would normally take them to the hairdresser’s to make beautiful hair for them during Christmas. She would buy them beautiful clothes. She was the kind of woman, who would gladly do these things if I did not have enough money. For the 13 years we were married, my wife never had any problem with sharing my burden.

“My children were expecting all these things during this festive period. But how can I do these things with all the difficulties I am passing through? It is a festive period for some people, for me, it is a period of mourning.”

Police scholarship for deceased’s children

Two weeks ago, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, signed a letter offering Sunday’s children scholarship as part of the Nigeria Police’s Scholarship Scheme.
But Sunday said there are other promises the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, and the IGP had made to him verbally, which he would like to see in writing.

He said Owoseni called him to his office to sympathise on his loss and the police IG also called him on the phone over the incident.
“They promised some monetary compensation, befitting burial for my wife and accommodation for us. I would like these to be put in writing so that if there is a change in authority, I would have something to present. The balance of the cost of my treatment, which I had to borrow money for has not been paid for,” he said.

It would be recalled that on September 16, 2015, Sunday had reported to the Area Commander of Idimu, Lagos soaked in his own blood after the incident, which took place around 9.30pm.

The area commander detained the DPO of the Isheri Oshun Division along with the men on patrol when the trigger-happy police corporal (Aremu) killed Comfort.
Aremu, who has since been summarily discharged from the police force, is currently being tried before an Ebute-Metta Chief Magistrate’s Court in Lagos.

A’ Ibom, company to the rescue

Meanwhile, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, has donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Udom family while a construction Firm, Nigerpet Structures also donated the sum of N2m as part of its corporate social responsibility.

Presenting the state government’s package in Uyo, the governor, who was represented by the Special Assistant on Legal Services, Mr. Andem Andem, said that the life of every Akwa Ibom person wherever they may be means more to his administration and that he would always ensure their well-being.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the Managing Director of Nigerpet, Mr. Terry Follet, made the presentation at the headquarters of the company, saying the money was to aid the survival of the bereaved family after the loss of Comfort.
Sunday, who was full of thanks to the company and the Akwa Ibom State Government, also appreciated the Human Rights Activist, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumaki, who took up his case.

It was learnt that Sunday would appear before committee of the House of Representatives later in January in connection with an inquiry into the incident that claimed the life of his wife.
According to Sunday, Okei-Odumakin had approached both the Lagos State House of Assembly and the House of Representatives, demanding justice on his case.

lalasticlala