David Adeleke, Nigerian Afropop singer better known as Davido, has received multiple certifications from Sony Music West Africa (SMWA), after three of his projects hit platinum benchmark.

The award-winning singer was presented with a plaque in recognition of the success recorded by his songs. The ‘OBO’ crooner was honoured with a platinum certification for ‘A Good Time,’ his 2019 hit album.

In the same vein, ‘Risky,’ a single off the album featuring Popcaan, Jamaican dance-hall act, was also honoured for going double platinum.

‘Blow My Mind,’ the singer’s hit single featuring Chris Brown, American singer, also snagged a platinum recognition.

Platinum certification is used to recognise an album that has sold 1 million copies or a single that has sold 2 million copies

SMWA took to his social media page on Tuesday to share a video of the singer receiving the award, while congratulating him.

“A platinum album, a double platinum single and a platinum single,”the presenter was heard saying.

This was followed by a short post on Twitter which reads: “Starting the week with multiple certifications #AGoodTime #BlowMyMind #Risky Congratulations@davido.”

Starting the week with multiple certifications #AGoodTime #BlowMyMind #Risky ?

Congratulations @davido ? pic.twitter.com/hD8YmqTUem

—Sony Music West Africa (@SonyMusic_WA) February 11, 2020

Davido also retweeted the post to his numerous fan — many of whom have since taken to the comment section to congratulate the singer.

The latest feat further stretches what has been an amazing music career for the singer which has seen him won several awards as well as amassed huge international presence.

It comes a few weeks after the singer teased ‘2020 Letter to You,’ his first project for the new year.‘Blow My Mind,’ the singer’s hit single featuring Chris Brown, American singer, also snagged a platinum recognition.

Platinum certification is used to recognise an album that has sold 1 million copies or a single that has sold 2 million copies

SMWA took to his social media page on Tuesday to share a video of the singer receiving the award, while congratulating him.

“A platinum album, a double platinum single and a platinum single,”the presenter was heard saying.

This was followed by a short post on Twitter which reads: “Starting the week with multiple certifications #AGoodTime #BlowMyMind #Risky Congratulations@davido.”

Starting the week with multiple certifications #AGoodTime #BlowMyMind #Risky ?

Congratulations @davido ? pic.twitter.com/hD8YmqTUem

—Sony Music West Africa (@SonyMusic_WA) February 11, 2020

Davido also retweeted the post to his numerous fan — many of whom have since taken to the comment section to congratulate the singer.

The latest feat further stretches what has been an amazing music career for the singer which has seen him won several awards as well as amassed huge international presence.

It comes a few weeks after the singer teased ‘2020 Letter to You,’ his first project for the new year.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1581428093/davido-hits-platinum-with-good-time-album

The Chinese government has sent an official guide on treating coronavirus to the Nigerian authorities as death toll in the Chinese mainland reached 908 on Monday.

The Chinese embassy in Nigeria confirmed that the official guide on coronavirus was shared with Nigeria and other countries through “an official channel with documents including Lab Test Procedure, Epidemic Update and Risk Assessment, Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol, Management of close contacts, Surveillance and Epidemiological Investigation.”

According to a statement on coronavirus sent by the Chinese embassy, the National Health Commission in China had received a total of 40,171 confirmed cases, while 3,281 patients had been cured and discharged from hospital.

The statement reads, “Official Guide Documents on preventing and controlling the novel coronavirus pneumonia have been provided by China National Health Commission to its counterpart in Nigeria and other countries through official channel.

“Documents include Lab Test Procedure, Epidemic Update & Risk Assessment, Diagnosis and treatment protocol, Management of Close Contacts, Surveillance and Epidemiological Investigation.

“As of February 9, the National Health Commission had received 40,171 reports of confirmed cases and 908 deaths on the Chinese mainland and in all, 3,281 patients had been cured and discharged from hospital. There still remained 23,589 suspected cases. So far, 187,518 are now under medical observation, who have been identified as having had close contacts with infected patients.”

LASEMA monitors coronavirus, Lassa fever

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency says it is closely monitoring outbreak of hemorrhagic fevers to prevent an epidemic in the state.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1581405090/health-china-sends-corona-virus-treatment-guide

Suspected Boko Haram on Sunday killed no fewer than 30 people, majorly late travellers in a Borno village.

Villagers said the victims arrived at the military checkpoint leading into Maiduguri after the 5pm closure of the gate and had no choice but to sleep in Auno, the neighbouring village on the Maiduguri-Damaturu Highway.

The villagers, while narrating their ordeal in the hands of the terrorist group on Sunday night to the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, said many persons were abducted.

They lamented that 18 vehicles comprising trailers, buses and cars were burnt by the insurgents who laid siege to the village at about 9.50 pm on Sunday.

The villagers, who were still in shock when the governor visited them on Monday morning, said women and children were loaded into three buses and driven away.

The villagers lamented that most of those that were attacked were those that could not get into Maiduguri on Sunday as the gate to the town was shut against them having failed to arrive before the 5pm deadline.

One of the villagers, who spoke to journalists in confidence, said, “It is so sad as the Boko Haram seems to have targeted the people knowing that many would have to sleep in Auno as the gate to Maiduguri would have been shut against them by 5pm.”

The governor, who was visibly shaken when he saw the charred bodies of the victims of the attack, requested the military authorities to dismantle the Auno gate from its present position and move it further away from the village so that it would be more difficult for the insurgents to gain access into the village.

He said the Borno State Government would assist those whose vehicles were destroyed in the attack as well as those whose goods were burnt alongside the vehicles transporting foodstuff and other wares to Maiduguri.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1581409763/tragedy-boko-haram-kills-travellers-military-closes

The Spiritual Adviser to President Donald Trump of United States, Pastor Paula White, has caused some stir within the US public sphere with her new firebrand prayers, linked to the Founder and General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles, Dr Daniel Kolawole Olukoya.

White was said to be freely dishing out her new firebrand prayers as campaigns for the US presidential election billed for this year heats up.

The source of the prayers, according to the Washington Post, was linked to MFM as revealed by a Professor of Theological Studies at Concordia University, André Gagné.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1580457987/trump-spiritual-adviser-adopts-mfm-prayers

A 37-year-old man, Francis Yusuf Kyamang, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his wife’s niece. The convict, of SS Quarters, Jikwoyi, Abuja, was convicted under the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPPA) which is applicable within the Federal Capital Territory.

A statement from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) indicated that the victim, a 17-year-old Secondary School leaver, was brought to Abuja by the wife of the convict to temporarily assist in taking care of her baby having recently gained admission to one of the Universities in Kaduna.

“In her testimony, the victim said on the fateful day, she dropped her niece in school, got back home and met her uncle (the convict) at home which she found to be strange. “Her uncle (the convict), asked her series of questions regarding her NECO exams which she answered and he further went ahead to ask if she had a boyfriend in the village.

“The victim said she does but they are just friends and the uncle asked if she was still a virgin and she confirmed to him she was. Next, he grabbed her, unzipped her dress and forcefully penetrated her vagina,” the statement read in part.

It went further that all the victim’s efforts to scream and alert neighbours were abortive as the convict used a cloth to cover her mouth.

“After raping her, he later flogged her and locked her up in the house. The medical report also showed that she was limping and her hymen had been tampered with. “He was arrested that same day, 13th September, 2018 by operatives of the NAPTIP while the case was filed on 11th December, 2018 after the completion of investigation.

“The convict was arraigned on the 28th of February, 2019 at the FCT High Court Jabi- Court 32 under Justice Hassan Babangida with charge number CR/70/18, under the VAPP Act 2015,” the statement added.

At the conclusion of the trial, the judge gave the judgement on January 15 and passed the sentence on January 28.

NAPTIP said the development came on the heel of the conviction of four human traffickers by a Federal High Court siting in Enugu for trafficking of minors for labour exploitation and other hazardous activities.

The DG of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli, commended the judges, while further warning human traffickers and rapists in the country of the agency’s resolve to go tougher on them in 2020.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1580393486/man-bags-life-imprisonment-for-raping-wife

The Imo State Police Command has invited one Chief Ken Egwuasi for questioning over the killing of the Imo North senatorial candidate, Ndubuisi Emenike, on Sunday by an operative of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Sydney Oguzoro.

The NSCDC officer was attached to Egwuasi, who accompanied Emenike to a function in the Isiala Mbano Local Government Area where the NSCDC officer shot him dead.

The police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, told one of our correspondents on Wednesday that the command had invited Egwuasi for questioning over the incident.

He said the command was not leaving any stone unturned in unravelling the circumstances that led to the killing of the politician.

Ikeokwu said the state Commissioner of Police, Olaniyi Fafowora, had mandated the investigating department to ensure that all those culpable in the killing were made to face justice.

He said, “Yes, I can confirm to you that we have invited one Chief Ken Egwuasi for questioning over the killing of Ndubuisi Emenike on Sunday in the Isiala Mbano LGA.


“The NSCDC officer who fired the gunshot that killed the politician was attached to Chief Ken Egwuasi who followed the deceased to the venue where the incident took place.

“We have invited him and his statement has been taken. The CP mandated the investigating department to ensure that the circumstances that led to the killing of the politician are unravelled. We are not leaving anything to chance. The NSCDC officer is in our custody and the investigation continues.”

Meanwhile, the state NSCDC Commandant, Mr Raji Ibrahim, has sympathised with the people of the state over Emenike’s death.

The commandant told the people to be calm and go about their civic responsibilities, adding that the corps would not leave any stone unturned in the investigation into the matter.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1580375755/police-quiz-nscdc-boss-over-imo-senatorial

[img]https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/04190817/NSCDC-jpg[/img]

Osun State Fire Service has linked fire that razed an uncompleted female hostel in South Campus of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State on Wednesday to bush burning in Jere Area, where the campus is located.

The Fire Service said the raging fire from bush burning spread to the premises of the polytechnic late Wednesday and razed parts of a storey building said to be a female hostel.

Although no life was lost, the Service put estimated worth of the properties lost to the incident at over N10 million.

The Fire Service said the raging fire from bush burning spread to the premises of the polytechnic late Wednesday and razed parts of a storey building said to be a female hostel.

Although no life was lost, the Service put estimated worth of the properties lost to the incident at over N10 million.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1580384062/bush-burning-cause-ede-poly-fire-says

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has shut down Chinese-owned Panda Supermarket in the Jabi area of Abuja as part of measures to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.

The FCCPC said in a series of tweets that it had confiscated some frozen food items illegally imported from China.

The pictures of some of the frozen food items posted on Twitter showed that they had expiry dates of 2089 which further aroused suspicion that they were not certified by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.


The agency said in a series of tweets, “The FCCPC inspected Panda Supermarket, Jabi, on credible reports that it discriminated and had a concealed area for Asian nationals. The allegation was confirmed. Seafood and animal products imported illegally from China were discovered.

“The store was closed for cautionary reasons considering the Coronavirus. Products with expired and irregular shelf life were also discovered at Panda. Regulatory activities to remove all such products from the supermarket continue.”

The Federal Government had earlier in the week assured Nigerians of its readiness to strengthen surveillance at five international airports in the country to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, said the government would also set up inter-multisectoral committee to scale up surveillance and vigilance.

“The risk of importation is possible in all countries. However, the ministry wishes to assure all Nigerians that the capacity to detect, access and respond to this and other public health challenges are put in place,” he had said.

The minister said that in addition, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control had set up coronavirus group and was ready to activate its incident system for coronavirus if any case emerged in Nigeria.

First identified by Chinese researchers with the pathogen behind a mysterious illness that had sickened 59 people in Wuhan, Hubei in 2019, a city of 11 million in central China, coronavirus is a group of viruses common among animals but now confirmed that it could also infect humans.

The large family of viruses can cause diseases ranging from common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome otherwise known as SARS.

The disease has spread to Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, as authorities of that country confirmed 1,975 cases of the new coronavirus, while death toll from the virus rose to 56.

It had also spread to the US, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Australia, France and Canada.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1580303378/coronavirus-shuts-down-chinese-supermarket-abuja

Seven airlines have announced that they are halting or reducing flights to China as the country struggles to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

The airlines are Air France, British Airways, United Airlines, Lion Air, Finnair, Cathay Pacific and Urals Airlines

Air France suspended its three weekly flights to Wuhan on January 24, but as of Wednesday morning said it was maintaining its 23 weekly flights to Beijing and Shanghai.

British Airways, which flies daily from London's Heathrow airport to Shanghai and Beijing, said it had suspended all its flights to and from mainland China.

Indonesia's Lion Air Group, Southeast Asia's biggest carrier by fleet size, is halting all its flights to and from China owing to the deadly coronavirus, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

READ ALSO: Insecurity worsening, we must act now, National Assembly warns

Hong Kong-based carrier, Cathay Pacific, said it would progressively reduce capacity by 50 per cent or more on its routes to mainland China from Thursday through to the end of March, adding that the reduction concerns both Cathay Pacific and its Cathay Dragon subsidiary.

Also, Finnair said that the suspension of group travel from China was leading it to suspend some flights beginning February 5 through most of March.

US carrier United Airlines said it would trim its service to China from the United States in light of a big drop in demand following a call by US health officials to avoid non-essential travel to the country.

Russia's Urals Airlines, which had already suspended flights to several destinations in China, also announced on Wednesday that it was cutting some services to Europe popular with Chinese tourists, including Paris and Rome, because of the outbreak.

China has advised its citizens to postpone trips abroad and cancelled overseas group tours, while several countries have urged their citizens to avoid travel to China if possible.

The coronavirus epidemic has killed 132 people, infected nearly 6,000, and spread to some 15 countries.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1580293613/coronavirus-air-france-british-airways-five-others

The Police have arrested a 19-year-old housewife, Rabi Shamsudden, for allegedly stabbing her husband, Shamsudden Salisu to death at Danjanku Tasha, Malumfashi Local Government Area (LGA) of Katsina State.


Katsina State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Gambo Isah, said he gathered from Salisu’s neighbours who were witnesses that: “At about 4am on Monday, Rabi, stabbed her husband with a knife.

The neighbours said they heard Salisu shouting and calling for help and they rushed to the house, but could not gain entrance as the front door was locked.

“Some of his neighbours decided to access the compound by climbing over the wall and they met the deceased crawling out of his room with knife tucked in his stomach. They said that everywhere was stained with blood.”

Isah, said that Salisu was confirmed dead at the Malumfashi General Hospital moments after he was rushed there: “Rabi was promptly arrested while the police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the urgly incident
https://www.nairapark.com/news/1580200982/wife-stabs-husband-death-katsina

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Monday convicted Maryam Sanda of the murder of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello.

Delivering judgment, Justice Yusuf Halilu, held that there was circumstantial evidence coupled with her testimony and statement to the police that she "fatally" stabbed her husband dead in Abuja on November 19, 2017.

Her deceased husband has been variously reported as a son or nephew of a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Haliru Bello.

Sanda, the mother of two, her mother and her other relatives broke down in tears immediately the judge pronounced her guilt.


Her mother who was occupying a back seat sped out of the court as she wept.

Sanda herself, while crying rushed out of the courtroom which was next to the dock.

But the judge ordered that she should be brought back to the courtroom.

In the middle of the confusion, the defence lawyer attempted to make a plea for allocutus (plea for mercy), but the judge said he needed to rise for the courtroom to restored to normalcy.

The judge said he would return to deliver the sentence after some minutes.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1580125408/court-convicts-maryam-sanda-who-killed-husband

Police in Russia have discovered a newborn baby dead in a washing machine.


Russian authorities said in an official report that the mother of the newborn Nadezhda Z, is facing a murder investigation after the baby was found dead.

Nadezhda Z, a 31-year-old hairdresser, gave birth to her fourth child prematurely during the night.



Her husband Denis called the ambulance in the morning after seeing his wife covered in blood, inside their home in the Talitsa, Sverdlovsk region.

A police source confirmed the baby had been put into the washing machine, and a murder investigation has been launched.

The mother, who is currently in hospital, said her baby was stillborn.

She is facing charges over the murder of her newborn child which under article 106 of the Russian Criminal Code, could lead to up to five years in jail.

Nadezhda who is well known in her town as a popular hairdresser was described by friends as a ‘good mother’.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1580126653/police-discover-dead-baby-washing-machine

There was tragedy on Sunday as an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps shot and killed the 2019 senatorial candidate of the Action Alliance in Imo North senatorial district, Ndubuisi Emenike.

The incident took place around 5pm during a victory party for the All Progressives Congress candidate at the rerun in the Okigwe North Federal Constituency held on Saturday.

The APC candidate, Miriam Onuoha, was returned elected by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The tragedy occurred at the APC’s candidate house at Umunachi in the Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of the state.

Our correspondent gathered that the NSCDC officer was attached to the AA senatorial candidate and had escorted him to the victory party.

He was shooting into the air and mistakenly shot his boss which brought the victory party to an abrupt end, our correspondent was told by an eyewitness.

The state police spokesperson, Orlando Ikeokwu, told our correspondent that the politician died.

“The NSCDC officer who killed the politician has been arrested,” he added

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1580111967/nscdc-officer-shoots-candidate-apc-victory-party

A former Commissioner for Agriculture in Kogi State, Mr Zachaeus Atte, has been sent to correctional centre for 19 years over fraud.

A statement from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, which was signed by its spokesperson, Rasheedat Okoduwa, said the commission secured the verdict at the Kogi State High Court sitting in Okene, Kogi State after Atte was convicted on corruption charges.

The statement read, “The convict, who is to serve a total of 19 years jail term, was sentenced to five years imprisonment each on counts one and three without an option of fine, for collecting the sum of N11,937,000 and N8,873,766 respectively, being money meant for the raising and distribution of Oil Palm Sprouted Nuts Seedlings to cocoa farmers in Kogi State but did not raise nor distribute same.

“This is an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 (ICPC Act). He was also sentenced on count two to five years imprisonment without an option of fine for receiving the sum of N350,000, being amount earmarked to defray the transportation costs of the farmers during the cocoa seedlings distribution exercise but failed to do so. This is also an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the ICPC Act.”

The commission added that the former commissioner was also sentenced by the trial judge, Justice J.J Majebi, to one-year imprisonment each on counts eight to 11 for spending from the sum of N2,849,953, being amount earmarked for the purchase of office equipment, adding that the offence was contrary to and punishable under section 22(5) of the ICPC Act.

“While reading his judgment, the trial judge justified the conviction of the defendant by noting that the ICPC legal team comprising the late Suberu Enebere, Okey Iwuagu, and Peace Arocha had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt,” the commission noted.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579953131/former-kogi-commissioner-jailed-years-over-fraud

A 26-year-old man, identified simply as Cisse, has lost his life after jumping into a well to retrieve his phone at his shop located at No 7 Olanrewaju Street, Mohan bus stop in the Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State.

The phone was said to be worth N3,000.

PUNCN Metro gathered that Cisse was sitting on the edge of the well when his phone fell into it, but in a bid to retrieve the phone, he jumped into the well but never came out alive.


According to a post on Instablog9ja, an eyewitness, Yinka, while trying to rescue the victim, informed the Lagos State Fire Service, whose personnel were mobilised to the scene.

Cisse’s corpse was brought out during the rescue operation.

Footage attached to the post showed firefighters and residents partaking in the rescue.

The residents were also heard lamenting the circumstances that led to Cisse’s death when his remains were brought out from the well.

Reacting to the post, commentators blamed Cisse for his death, claiming that other methods could have been explored to retrieve the phone instead of plunging into the well.

Nancy Oparaocha, through her Instagram handle, tz_nanaofficial, blamed Cisse for taking such a risk.

Through his handle, cheemahamaychee007014, he wrote, “…it’s so painful 2 lose contacts including those f clients, associ8s etc...Besides, his action was a knee-jerk 1 knowing how important d fone was 2 him…”

Confirming the incident, the acting General Manager, Lagos State Fire Service, Margaret Adeseye, said Cisse’s corpse was recovered and handed over to the Olosan Police Division.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579855081/man-jumps-into-well-retrieve-phone-drowns

A Turkish prosecutor called for a sentence of up to 18 years for a delivery man who spat on a customer’s pizza before handing it over, local media reported Thursday.

The incident — which happened in 2017 in the central city of Eskisehir — was captured by a security camera in the customer’s apartment block, according to news agency DHA.

The footage showed the delivery man, identified as Burak S., spitting on the pizza and recording the moment on his mobile phone. His motive was unknown.

The defendant has already been fined 4,000 lira (600 euros) for endangering a customer’s health, and prosecutors are now seeking a lengthy prison sentence for “poisoning food”, DHA reported.

The owner of the apartment building alerted the customer after watching the security footage, prompting the criminal complaint.

Even by Turkey’s often tough judicial standards, the requested sentence is heavy, given that “membership of an armed terrorist organisation” carries a sentence of up to 15 years.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579777866/delivery-man-risks-years-for-spitting-pizza

A 24-year-old man, simply identified as Tochukwu, has reportedly stabbed his 23-year-old neighbour, Solomon, to death over a cell phone.

Fight was said to have ensued between the two when the victim tried to retrieve his phone allegedly stolen by Tochukwu.

Sources said late Solomon had used another handset to contact his missing handset, which rang where Tochukwu allegedly hid it within the compound.

It was gathered that their parents were not at home when the incident happenedWitnesses said while the deceased was insisting that Tochukwu handed his phone back to him, the latter drew a kitchen knife from his pocket and stabbed him with it on the chest.

One of the witnesses who spoke to Daily Trust said, “Solo summoned courage and pursued Tochukwu despite blood dripping from his chest before he ran out of strength and slumped.

“Realizing that Solo was dead, Tochukwu, before fleeing the scene, threw the knife into a nearby gutter.

“However, angry youths within Sani Giwa road, Sabon Gari, Kano, where the incident occurred, chased and caught him and handed him over to the police.”

He added that moments after the incident, police arrived the scene and conveyed the corpse to an undisclosed hospital.

The spokesman of the police in the state, DSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, could not be reached for comment as calls and text messages to his line were not answered as at the time of filing this story.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579775811/man-stabs-neighbour-death-over-phone

Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin has convicted a local herb seller, a herbalist, a student and four others for trafficking, selling, buying and being in possession of human parts for money rituals.

The offences were committed in March 2017 in Ilorin.

The convicts were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, trafficking in and possession of 11 human skulls, 11 lower jaw bones, a bunch of hair and 29 pieces of bones taken from various burial grounds in Ilorin.

Delivering the judgment, which lasted for about three hours on Wednesday, the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Durosinlorun Kawu, described the activities of the convicts as despicable and shameful, and sentenced the first defendant, Azeez Yakubu, to 15 years’ imprisonment and N100,000 fine for each of the three counts.

The other convicts, Aishat Yinusa, Lukman Saka, AbdulGaniyu Bamidele, Ahmed Yahaya, Saliu Ayinde and Abdurasak Babamale, were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment each and N100,000 fine on each of the two counts they were convicted on.

Justice Kawu stated that the prison terms would include the period already spent in custody, adding that the convicts were free to appeal the judgment.

The judge had earlier rejected the claim by the convicts that they were tortured by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Abuja, to extract the information contained in their written statements, describing it as unreasonable and inconsistent, while also affirming that the evidence found on the convicts were not animal parts as claimed, but those of human beings.

The Head of Pathology Department, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Dr Kazeem Ibrahim, was invited and he confirmed that the items were human parts.

The first witness in the case, Sergeant Mohammed Kamaldeen, of the Homicide Department, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department of the state police command had testified that on October 5, 2018, a case of criminal conspiracy and selling of human parts was transferred from the Adewole Police Division to his office.

He added that the first accused person, Yakubu, was arrested with 11 human skulls, bones and human hair, and brought to the station for investigation, adding that he recorded the exhibits as well as obtained the statement of the accused.

Kamaldeen said the exhibits were sent to the UITH for examination to determine if they were genuine human parts.

According to him, the items were received by the hospital and after a thorough examination, they were confirmed by Ibrahim to be human parts.

The second prosecution witness, Matthew Omotosho, informed the court that he was part of the team that arrested the first convict.

He stated, “When we got to his residence, Yakubu was not at home. So, his house was surrounded by the police. Due to intelligence gathering, we learnt that he was at Anifowose; we moved there and he was arrested. We brought him to his house at Oke-Are.

“He confessed to the heinous crime and took us to where those skulls and other human parts were kept in the ceiling of his house. They were all brought out.”

A member of a vigilante group, Fatai Adedoyin, who also testified, said he knew Yakubu very well and that he was part of those who retrieved the human parts from the ceiling of his house.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579766592/woman-herbalist-others-convicted-dealing-human-parts

The United States President, Donald Trump, is set to add Nigeria and six others to a new list of countries on America’s visa restriction.

The new restrictions will apply to travellers and immigrants from Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania.

As of today, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen are on the list, while in the case of Venezuela, political office holders are barred from entering the US.



Nigerians won’t be entitled to some visa –Report

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Nigerians will not be barred from entering the country, but will not be issued with certain types of visas.

It said the Trump administration planned to roll out its expanded travel restrictions on Monday, marking the third anniversary of the initial travel ban Trump signed on his seventh day in office, sparking controversy at the beginning of his term.

Unlike the initial travel ban list of 2017, not all the new countries have a majority Muslim population.

Several of them, however, have had relatively higher rates of their citizens overstaying visas in the US, according to the Demographic and Health Survey data.

The report reads in part, “The Trump administration plans to add seven countries to a group of nations subject to travel restrictions, including Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, along with others in Africa and Asia, according to administration officials who have seen the list.

“The new restrictions would apply to travellers and immigrants from Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania. The countries wouldn’t necessarily face blanket bans on travel to the US, but could have restrictions placed on specific types of visas, such as business or visitor visas, administration officials said.”

Another US newspaper, the New York Post wrote, “They (new countries) could also be barred from entering the diversity visa lottery, which doles out green cards to people in countries with low levels of immigration to the US as part of a programme that Trump has sought to end.”

Although the list is not officially out, Trump gave a hint while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that it would be done “very shortly.”

Trump was quoted as telling the session, “We are adding a couple of countries to it. We have to be safe. Our country has to be safe.”

The new restrictions, expected to be announced on Monday, next week, will coincide with the third anniversary of the first list Trump signed into law after assuming the US’ Presidency.

Attempts to stop the policy through the US federal courts succeeded twice before a third ruling gave legal backing to it in June 2018.

We have yet to be officially informed –FG

However, the spokesman, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ferdinand Nwonye, said he could not comment on the issue, adding that Nigeria had not been officially informed by the US government about the visa restriction.

Why US is extending visa restriction to Nigeria –Ex-diplomat

But commenting on the development on Wednesday, a retired Director of Trade and Investment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Rasheed Akinkuolie, attributed the visa restriction to fear of Iranian attacks on American interests by Iranian sympathisers in the country.

He noted that Nigeria might have been placed on the restriction list on account of its large Shi’ites population, noting that America was simply trying to protect itself.

Akinkuolie said, “There is a large Shi’ites population in Nigeria and there is a problem between the US and Iran over the killing of the commander of the Quds forces, Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

“So, now retaliation is expected from all angles; from Hezbollah and from all the countries where you have Shi’ites populations that Iran may wish to use to strike America. Of course, you have this problem between Shi’ites in Nigeria and the government over the detention of their leader, El-Zakzaky.”

The retired director observed that the US might have been perturbed by the protests that trailed Soleimani’s killing in northern cities, including the burning of an American flag by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria members in Abuja.

He added, “There have been demonstrations in many northern cities and even in Abuja over the killing of Soleimani and they even burnt US flags. That is a signal. Remember a Nigerian, Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attempted to bomb an American plane on behalf of Al-Qaeda.

“There was also the son of a Chief Justice of Nigeria who left for Syria with his two wives to join ISIS. So, America is being careful so they don’t get the surprise of 9/11 attack.”

Also, a former Nigerian ambassador to Argentina, Ambassador .Chive Kaave, said it was within America’s diplomatic rights to determine who gets its visas, adding that the Federal Government was free to reciprocate the US action.

“This has happened before, it is not the first time. It is within their diplomatic rights to determine who to give visas to. There is the principle of reciprocity which every country was free to enforce. The matter is complicated, it is not an open and close case,” he said.

Insurgents, killer herdsmen and FG responsible –SMBLF

But the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum blamed the bloodshed by Boko Haram insurgents and killer herdsmen for the visa restrictions.

The forum said the Federal Government’s failure to address the issue was partly responsible for the decision by President Trump.

The SMBLF spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, noted that the development showed that the global community was watching the happenings in the country, adding that the visa ban was America’s way of repudiating the FG’s failures.

We won’t react until the policy is out –Presidency

But the Presidency adopted a wait-and-see response on Wednesday to the alleged bid by Trump, to include Nigeria on the list of nations that US had placed travel restrictions on.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, giving the Presidency’s stance in Abuja, noted that whenever the policy was out, it would first be analysed to fully understand the implications before Nigeria would make its formal position known.

“We have read the news that the Trump administration is planning to add a host of African, Asian and Eastern European countries to its travel restrictions list as reported by the U.S. media.

“We are not going to react to speculations. We urge you to wait for us to see what unfolds under the new policy, its scope, its reach, the implications and its consequences before we react,” Shehu said in a statement on Wednesday to the media.

Nigeria has become seedbed for terrorists –Ohanaeze

An Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said that any security conscious nation would do what the US did.

The National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Prince Uche Achi-Okpaga, who spoke one of our correspondents, said, “Nigeria, no doubt, has become a seed bed for terrorists, insurgents, dare devil herdsmen or whatever nomenclature you may wish to ascribe to them.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579767553/awaits-trump-set-slam-visa-restriction-nigeria

[imghttps://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19073651/President-Trump.jpg[/img]

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has withdrawn the licences of 11 centres selling the e-PIN for registration for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

The centres were found to be charging candidates above the amount of money fixed by JAMB for the sale of examination instruments.

JAMB had fixed the cost of e-PIN for registration for N3,500 and the cost of materials for N500, while N700 was for the computer-based test centres, totalling N4,700.

JAMB Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, who spoke during an interactive session with stakeholders at the headquarters of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Abuja on Tuesday, said the board discovered that some of the centres were selling the e-PIN for as high as N8, 000.

Oloyede said charging above the stipulated N4,700 for the 2020 UTME registration was illegitimate and ”would destroy the nation as it was an act of fraud and corruption.”

Centres whose licences were withdrawn for selling JAMB form at N5,000 included Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, Adamawa and Adazi-Nnukwu ICT/CBT.

Others are New Kings and Queens Bayelsa, for selling at N5,500; Brightfield Secondary School Delta, for selling between N6,000 and N8,000; A-Pagen Consolidated, Port Harcourt, for selling at N5,000; and Influential School, Port Harcourt, for selling at N6,000.

Also sanctioned were Emkenlyn Computers and Nneameka Secondary School, Anambra State.

Oloyede stated, “Prior to 2018, we sold the form for N5,000, but the Federal Government considered so many things and felt it was high. And in 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari decided that the cost should be slashed which brought the cost to N3,500.”

The registrar said the proliferation of tutorial centres was a major concern, stating that most of the centres engaged in fraudulent activities during registration and examination.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579689831/jamb-sanctions-registration-centres-over-extortion

A Dutchman isolated six of his children in a remote farmhouse from birth and beat them to drive out “bad spirits” from the outside world, prosecutors told a court on Tuesday.

Gerrit Jan van D., 67, subjected the youngsters who were found on the farm in the village of Ruinerwold in October to “very serious physical punishment” when he thought they had been made “unclean”.

One child was tied up by his hands and feet as punishment, while another child was forced to spend an entire summer in a doghouse at the farm in northern Drenthe province.


“The children all speak of very serious physical punishment if their father thought there was a ‘bad spirit’ in them. That happened from a very young age, four or five years,” prosecutors said during a procedural hearing in the case.

READ ALSO: Prince Harry arrives Canada, to start royal transition

Prosecutors said the youngest six of the man’s nine children “lived in seclusion from birth, were kept indoors and had to be quiet so that no one would notice that they existed.”

They were not registered with Dutch authorities and had never been to school, they said.

The family was first discovered in October when the oldest son still living on the farm walked into a local bar in a confused state and raised concern about the welfare of his other siblings.

Police raided the farm and arrested Van D. and an Austrian man identified as Joseph B., 58.

– ‘Unclean’ –

Van D. was absent for medical reasons from Tuesday’s hearing.

He is charged with depriving the children of their liberty of 2007 to 2019 and “punching, kicking and denying food and drink” to the six children. He is also charged with sexually abusing two of the older three children.

Joseph B. is also charged with depriving the children of their liberty.

The three oldest children were not allowed to talk about the existence of their brothers and sisters, they said.

Citing diaries kept by the children, prosecutors said they had all spoken of their “conviction that contact with the outside world makes you ‘unclean’ and about ‘bad spirits’ that come into bodies. The father determined when a child had a ‘bad spirit’.

“This child was isolated, had to pray and the other family members were not allowed to have contact with this child, sometimes not even for months.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579626480/father-isolates-tortures-children-drive-out-bad

Imo Governor Hope Uzodinma has raised the alarm over a secret plan by the opposition’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to incite the members of the House of Assembly to initiate impeachment proceedings against him.

The Governor warned PDP members in the state to desist from false propaganda, mischief-making and malice against him or face the wrath of the law.

Uzodinma’s alarm and warning followed some media reports that the Federal Government has failed to make any comment on his alleged $ 12 m (N 4.3 bn) fraud case as well as the travel ban on him.

In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser to him, Oguike Nwachukwu, Uzodinma accused the PDP of sponsoring the media report to incite the publuc and members of the state House of Assembly to impeach him.

“We know the game plan of the PDP because we are aware that they have been secretly inciting Imo State House of Assembly members to think of how to impeach the governor. So they are trying to rake up anything they can, even falsehood, to incite the public,” the statement reads.

The governor disclosed that he had already briefed his lawyers, who he said were studying the publication for appropriate legal action.

He said the media publication, which tried to raise dust about him on old allegations, had been long settled and dismissed as non issues.

The publication had claimed that the Presidency was keeping mum over allegations of non assets declaration, dud cheque and travel ban against the governor.

The statement accused the PDP members in the state of sponsoring the publication “even when they are aware that there is no iota of truth in the allegations”.

The statement added that the allegation was a sheer mischief and malice borne out of frustration because “they know very well that the assets declaration allegation was fallaciously contrived by the disgraced former Chairman of the Presidential Panel on Recovery of Public Properties, Mr. Okoi Obon-Obia which has been thrown out by the court”.

On the issue of the so-called travel ban on him, Uzodimma, clarified that he had travelled twice out of the country and had no impediment according to the demands of his office.

On the so-called dud cheque allegation, the statement added that it was a non issue which had long been dismissed by the courts and had nothing to do with the governor.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579524141/pdp-secretly-inciting-imo-lawmakers-impeach-uzodinma

[imghttps://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Hope-Uzodinma-4.jpg[/img]

Many residents of Gombe State have yet to fully understand why the feet of a 14- year -old Almajiri boy, Nafiu Usman, were burnt in an oven by a bakery manager, Idris Abubakar, at Bajoga in the Funakaye Local Government Area of Gombe State.

Usman, who is from Tafawa Balewa, Bauchi State, came to Bajoga in search of Quranic education, but what he got were burnt feet. The pain he must have felt as his feet were forcefully inserted in a burning oven could best be imagined. Nafiu’s feet were burnt on December 10 for allegedly stealing bread from a bakery. Although the incident occurred on December 10, he did not receive treatment for the wounds until January 9 at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe. A nurse confirmed to our correspondent that by the time the boy was brought to the hospital, his feet were already infected.

Investigation by our correspondent showed that Usman had been undergoing treatment in the traditional way before he was moved to the General Hospital in Bajoga and eventually referred to the FTH.

Asked his mission in the bakery, Usman told our correspondent that he went there because he was thirsty and wanted to drink some water. He said, “On our way from the farm where we went to pick beans, we decided to stop at the bakery to drink some water. The manager of the bakery accused us of stealing N80 worth of bread. He snatched our beans and searched us, but he didn’t find any loaf of bread.

“We were asked to call our mallam (Islamic teacher), but we couldn’t find him. So I was detained by the manager (Idris Abubakar) who is also the son of the owner of the bakery.

“The owner of the bakery wasn’t around at the time of the incident. Abubakar put my feet inside burning charcoal. After sometime, he brought me out and offered me some water before putting my feet in the oven again. I was beaten with iron. When my colleagues returned and saw that I couldn’t walk, they had to look for a wheelbarrow to carry me.”

The bakery has been shut down by the Gombe State Government, which ordered a proper investigation of the incident. Reacting, Governor Inuwa Yahaya described the incident as dehumanising and unjustifiable.

The governor, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Ismaila Misilli, said it was unacceptable for anyone to inflict such a high degree of pain on a fellow human being for whatever reason.

The statement maintained that Yahaya had ordered the relevant state agencies to follow up on the matter and ensure that the perpetrator of the dastardly act faces the full wrath of the law to serve as deterrent.

It also stated that the state government would pay Usman’s hospital bills, while givin the assurance that his administration would continue to protect the lives of all citizens of the state and to ensure their rights were upheld at all times.

READ ALSO: SERAP wasting time on N37bn renovation suit –Senate

Yahaya charged the people of the state to always report criminal activities to the Police rather than take the law into their hands.

Islamic teacher, Yisa Idris, who owns the school Usman attended, said he was not at home when his pupils were sent to call him. Claiming that he had been operating the ‘Tsangaya’ Almajiri school for over 20 years, he added that his wards were forbidden to beg for either food or alms.

“I was away and didn’t know what was happening until I saw the children trying to get a wheelbarrow. Then I asked what the wheelbarrow was meant for and they told me Nafiu (Usman) had his feet burnt at the bakery. Immediately, we went there together and later opted for traditional medicine. It was when a police officer insisted that the case must be reported to the authorities that it ended up in court.

“The suspect was granted bail for claiming he had a medical condition. The judge mandated the owner of the bakery to take responsibility for Nafiu’s medical bills. Quite honestly, I don’t allow my students to go begging fo food. I feed them instead. On Thursdays and Fridays, when we don’t have anything to do, I make sure we stay together to pray, instead of roaming about. I have been running the ‘Tsangaya’ for over 20 years and I have never got any complaint about any one of them.”

The nurse in charge of Usman’s case, Abdulrasaq Musa, told our correspondent that the boy was referred to the teaching hospital in Gombe from the General Hospital in Bajoga on January 9, 2020.

He said, “The patient had a bilateral infected wound on the soles of his feet. We have invited a surgical team to handle his case. He has been admitted to the paediatric surgical ward for proper management by the paediatric surgeons.”

The nurse added that the boy’s wounds had already been infected before he was referred to the teaching hospital. But on receiving him at the hospital, the casualty officer had invited the surgical team to make an assessment of his case.

A resident of Bajoga, Usman Idris, attested to young Usman’s good character, saying, “I know him (Nafiu) very well. No one has ever accused him of stealing or whatsoever.”

The Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisation in Gombe, Mohammed Wayas, described the incident as barbaric.

Wayas said, “I was at the Custodial Centre in Bajoga, where I had a discussion with the suspect who put the boy’s feet in burning coal. I asked him if it was true that he was mentally ill and he replied that he was physically and mentally sound. In fact, he confessed that he was a serving corps member.

“Already the case has been taken to court. We will see that justice is done to the poor boy. We will follow the case to a logical conclusion. The young Nafiu did not steal. They just claimed he stole.”

The Commissioner for Justice and the Attorney General of Gombe State, Zubair Umar, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said he was aware of the case. “All I can say is that the matter is now in court, but I want to assure the entire people of the state that we (government) will prosecute that case well. We will make sure that whoever is found guilty is appropriately punished.”

A social analyst, Dr Oladimeji Lawal, in another interview with our correspondent, pointed out that Islam as a religion places premium on education. He noted that Islam insists on the need for parents to educate their wards.

He said, “Education is one fundamental thing that a Muslim owes his or her ward. When we say education, it is not limited to Islamic education, but any form of education that one can acquire in life. Islam encourages it.

“However, how we go about acquiring education is more of a cultural thing. The manner or process by which one can acquire education is not specified. If it is a formal setting where people come to teach and go, that is fine. If you have other means by which learning can be carried out without having to go to any place, that is also okay.”

Lawal added that the Almajiri system seemed to have derived from the Islamic Educational system. “Mark the word ‘seems’, because overtime people who propagated Islam were businessmen and women who moved from one place to the other.

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“In the olden days, people were not so involved in worldly things. They were dedicated to spiritual activities and so, they moved from place to place. Those who wanted their children to acquire Islamic education chose to take them to these clerics, who had the knowledge and time to do the teaching. In some cases, these children did not only come to learn, but they also lived with their teachers.

“Along the line, people without the means to take care of their children abandoned their responsibilities. So, in a nutshell, it is wrong to mix acquisition of Islamic education with the Almajiri system.

“The concept of Almajiri is often viewed in a derogatory sense. It is usually tagged with begging. So it is not the same as acquiring Islamic education, people now use it to abandon their responsibilities to their children.

The Gombe State Police Command, in a press statement issued by the Deputy Public Relations Officer, Yusuf Balami, said the command was on top of the situation. The statement said, “Arrest was made, the case was properly investigated and the suspect arraigned at the Chief Magistrate court 2, Bajoga. The command will like to assure the general public that the police will continue to discharge their constitutional duties.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579508785/how-bakery-owner-roasted-almajiri-feet-recover

Britain’s Prince Harry expressed “great sadness” on Sunday at the way he and his wife Meghan had to give up their royal titles as part of separation settlement with the Queen.

“It brings me great sadness that it has come to this,” Harry said in his first remarks on Saturday’s historic agreement, made during a public address and posted on the couple’s Instagram account.

“Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible,” he told supporters of his Africa-based charity for youngsters with HIV at an event in London.

The settlement stripped Harry and Meghan of public funding and required them to repay £2.4 million ($3.1 million) of taxpayer’s money spent on renovating their Frogmore Cottage home near Windsor Castle.

Harry was also forced to give up the military titles and patronages he was awarded after serving two tours in Afghanistan with the British Army.

But Harry said he felt “utmost respect” for Queen Elizabeth II.


“It has been our privilege to serve you, and we will continue to lead a life of service.”

“I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander in chief, and I am incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family, for the support they have shown Meghan and me over the last few months.”

He also hinted at some trepidation at starting a new life away from his royal home. He and Meghan will spend some time in Canada before deciding whether to move to the United States or another country.

“We are taking a leap of faith — thank you for giving me the courage to take this next step,” he said.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579507126/prince-harry-expresses-great-sadness-royal-split

A 55-year-old commercial bus driver has been found dead in a hotel at Ibusa, Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State, after allegedly having sex with a single mother of three.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that the deceased was accompanied by a lady into a hotel along Ibusa bypass, close to the Ibusa Police Divisional Headquarters.

A source said the deceased had consumed some energy drinks before checking in into the hotel with the woman in the late hours of Wednesday.

“The man might have died as a result of exhaustion. They checked in around 7pm but the woman sneaked out of the room and informed one of the hotel workers that all was not well with her partner.

“She had escaped before the worker discovered that the man had died. After the news filtered in the town, the police swung into action and she was apprehended the following day,” a source revealed.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, who confirmed the incident on Friday, said investigation was ongoing.

She said, “It is true. A body was found in a hotel and a lady suspect has been arrested. She is under investigation to ascertain the cause of the death.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579356250/year-old-driver-dies-delta-hotel-after

An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti has sentenced four men to seven years’ imprisonment each for stealing and burglary without option of fine.

The convicts are Owoeye Ojo, Agbetuyi Taiwo, Adeniyi Busayo and Lasisi Friday.

They were found guilty of breaking into a shop belonging to one Mrs Iyabo Ige around 2am and 5am on August 26, 2017 at Enu Odi, Odo-Ado in Ado-Ekiti and carting away packs of noodles, cigarettes, milk and packs of battery.

Justice Bamidele Omotosho in his judgment on Thursday, found them guilty of the offence of burglary and stealing based on their confessional statement and witness accounts during the trial.

The court did not give them an option of fine.

The judge, however, “did not find them guilty of conspiracy which they were also charged with.”

Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Mr Wale Fapohunda, who is the state Commissioner for Justice, said the convicts broke into a shop and carted away the items.

Fapohunda said that the offences contravened Sections 413 and 516 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Ekiti, 2012.

READ ALSO: Motorcyclist killed as LASTMA official, driver struggle for steering wheel

He called three witnesses and tendered exhibits including pictures, statements of the convicts and the stolen items.

Defence Counsel, Mr Yinka Opaleye and Adekunle Ojo, who called only one witness, pleaded for leniency, praying the court to tamper justice with mercy.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579355834/four-jailed-seven-years-for-stealing-noodles

sweetonugbu:
If it's in Nigeria she will go scot free, and she will accuse the man's relatives of being witches and wizard.

Hmmn

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife were rushed from a Paris theatre late Friday after protesters tried to burst in and disrupt the performance.

Riot police were out in force as dozens of people staged a demonstration outside the theatre where Macron and Brigitte were watching “The Fly”.

About 30 protesters tried to enter the building housing the renowned Bouffes du Nord theatre after some people in the audience tweeted the presence of France’s first couple, presidential staff said.


The pair “were secured” for several minutes and later returned to their seats to finish watching the play, they said.

Police said they prevented the protesters from getting into the theatre in the 10th district of Paris, which lies several kilometres from the president’s Elysee Palace’s residence.

The Macrons, who occasionally slip out to enjoy dinner or play in the French capital, finally left the theatre under police escort.

“All together, general strike,” protesters shouted during the stand-off with riot police that lasted around an hour.

The demonstration took place on the 44th day of a crippling strike against the Macron government’s proposed pension reforms.

Though it is now easing, the strike has snarled train and metro traffic and caused misery for millions of commuters in Paris especially.

Macron’s staff were defiant after Friday’s events.

“The president will continue to attend plays as he is used to doing. He will watch out to defend creative freedom to ensure it is not undermined by violent political acts,” a Macron aide said.

Making few public appearances for weeks, Macron last mixed with the crowds when he visited the northern city of Amiens in November before his retirement reforms were announced.

The overhaul aims to forge a single pensions system from the country’s 42 separate regimes, which offer early retirement and other benefits to public-sector workers as well as lawyers, physical therapists and even Paris Opera employees.

Critics say it will effectively force millions of people to work longer for a smaller pension.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579354555/macron-wife-rushed-from-paris-theatre-during

A South Carolina woman was Thursday sentenced to 25 years in jail after she admitted poisoning her husband by putting eye drops in his drinking water.

In a plea deal, Lana Sue Clayton, 53, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Steven Clayton, 64, at their home in Clover, near Charlotte, CBS-affiliate WBTV reported.

She was accused of poisoning her husband by lacing his drinking water with eye drops between July 19 and 21, 2018.


Her husband was initially thought to have died of natural causes but an autopsy toxicology report showed poisonous levels of tetrahydrozoline, which is found in eye drops.

“The coroner found a level of tetrahydrozoline in his system and that’s when we opened the case because that was very unusual for us,” York County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Trent Faris said, according to WBTV.

Prosecutors said in 2016 she also shot her husband in back of the head with a crossbow, ABC-affiliate WSOC-TV reported.

At the time the incident was put down as an accident.

Speaking at her sentencing, she admitted poisoning her husband but claimed he had abused her

“I did impulsively put the Visine in Stephen’s drink and I did it with the intent to make him sick and uncomfortable. I was upset about the abuse and just wanted him to leave me alone,” Clayton, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, told the court, WBTV video showed.

“I never thought it would kill him.”

Clayton, a former Veterans Affairs Department nurse, said she got the idea of using eye drops, which are tasteless, colorless and odorless, from watching movies but thought they would cause diarrhea.

Prosecutors however said she killed her husband for money, throwing his cell phone in a lake so he could not call for help and and burning his will afterwards.

“She fooled one of the most brilliant men I’ve ever known in my life,” Steven Clayton’s sister Rosemarie Clayton-Leslie told ABC’s Good Morning America.

“My brother died a horrific death. I think my brother was screaming for his life.”

Clayton was arrested in August 2018 and charged with murder.

“Of the many homicide cases I’ve handled, this one probably takes the cake as far as being bizarre,” South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Paul Burch said.

While it is unusual, it is not the first time eye drops have featured in a homicide case.

In December 2019 a North Carolina man was charged with murdering his wife using eye drops, WSOC said.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579262227/woman-jailed-for-killing-husband-with-eye

A former banker, Seye Onigbinde, has been arrested by men of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly defrauding 354 Nigerians to the tune of over N500m in illegal foreign exchange deals.

PUNCH Metro gathered that Onigbinde, who operates under the business name, Blueprint Business and Consulting, convinced over 354 Nigerians to invest in his foreign exchange business after successfully helping the first set of investors to make returns on their investments.

Onigbinde, while conducting the business, gave his office address as No. 13 Hughes Street, Alagomeji, Yaba, Lagos, but was operating from his place of residence on No. 7 Eyiowuawi Street, in the Pedro area of Shomolu, Lagos.

It was learnt that the initial investors were also responsible for convincing a significant number of the victims whose money had yet to be recovered.

Onigbinde, who had been operating without the requisite licence, was said to have promised his investors extraordinary profits, but when the investment went bad, he allegedly made attempts to abscond with the victims’ money.

He, however, was tracked and arrested by detectives led by the Area Commander, Area ‘F’, ACP Akinbayo Olasoji, through his yet-to-be-identified wife, who had threatened to run to America with their only child when she discovered the husband’s illegal dealings.

Detectives had tracked his wife’s phone number after several petitions from his victims.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said Onigbinde had been arrested, adding that he had been charged with the crime.

He said, “The command is investigating an alleged case of fraud, cheating, money laundering, obtaining of N574,251,261,01 by false pretences through a Ponzi scheme by Tosin Onigbinde and three others, Adeyanju Tijani, Olumuyiwa Adebayo and Adewemimo Onigbinde.

“Investigation so far has revealed that Tosin Onigbinde collected a total sum of N574,251,261,01, from 354 individuals, from which he claimed to have paid principal and interest to the tune of N482,311.350,89, leaving an outstanding sum of N233,454,755,76.

“He collected this money from these individuals with a promise of extraordinary gains to those willing to invest in the scheme/investment, which he claimed was built on lucrative trading in forex trading, Bitcoin and shares purchase from four international brokers.

“This get-rich-quick scheme attracted gullible and greedy investors, who received the expected high returns, as he simply paid these investors who received the expected high returns, as Seye Onigbinde paid them from later investors. The more investors his scheme attracted, he created a business and used agents to find more and more investors.

“Investigation is ongoing and the Area ‘F’ of the command arraigned him in court and got a remand order for 21 days to enable other members of the public, whose names featured in the scheme, to approach the Human Rights Unit of the Area ‘F’ Command before final arraignment at the Lagos State High Court after the DPP advice.”

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579246375/former-banker-defrauds-354-nigerians-over-n500m

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has said that dialogue with the world was “possible” despite high tensions with the United States, stressing that Tehran was working daily “to prevent military confrontation or war”.

Iran attacked the US military in Iraq on January 8 with missiles to retaliate against Washington’s targeted killing of a key Iranian general five days earlier in Baghdad, at a time when both are also locked in a bitter dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme.

“The government is working daily to prevent military confrontation or war,” President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech, adding that “for me, this is a daily concern”.

The latest surge in tension has prompted calls for de-escalation from an international community that fears a wider conflagration in the Middle East, where the US has multiple allies and bases and Iran has proxies, especially in Iraq and Lebanon.

On Wednesday, Rouhani had said Iran’s missile launches against Iraqi bases used by the US armed forces had provided “compensation” for the death of General Qasem Soleimani, the architect of Iran’s Middle East military strategy.

In his speech on Thursday, Rouhani said that the Iranian retaliation, which caused significant material damage but no casualties according to the US military, had strengthened Iranian deterrence against the “threats” of President Donald Trump.

Rouhani, a moderate on his country’s political spectrum, also defended the policy of openness to the world that he has pursued since his first election in 2013, and which has come under fire from Iran’s ultra-conservatives.

He also defended the 2015 international agreement designed to limit Iran’s nuclear programme which has been in tatters since Trump unilaterally pulled out of it in 2018.

Rouhani said that with the nuclear deal “we have proven in practice that it is possible for us to interact with the world”.

“Of course, it’s difficult,” he acknowledged.

“They tell us: there are people you should not trust,” he said, referring to the rhetoric of Iranian ultra-conservatives about Europe and the United States.

“It’s true,” the Iranian president said, adding that “if there were trustworthy people… it would be simple and easy” while also referring to Trump as “an unpredictable man”.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579175333/iran-president-wants-dialogue-working-prevent-war

A pastor, John Abiodun, and a university lecturer, Dr Lanre Olu-Adeyemi, have appeared before the Ondo State High Court, Akure, for allegedly spreading fake news about the founder of a church, the Promised Land Prophetic Ministry, Akure, Pastor Gbenga Akinbiyi.

Abiodun and Olu-Adeyemi were said to be members of the church before things fell apart between them and the founder.

The defendants were alleged to be spreading fake news on the social media that the church and its founder, Akinbiyi, as well as other members allegedly buried a placenta and a newborn baby in the altar.

The defendants were said to have petitioned the police on the allegation, but in the course of investigation, a team of policemen reportedly went into the church and dug up the altar but found nothing buried there.

The defendants were arraigned on seven counts bordering on conspiracy, publication of fake news, perjury, impersonation and threatening violence.

The charges read in part, “That you, John Abiodun and Lanre Olu-Adeyemi, on or about January 13, 2019, around 9am at Akure in the Akure Judicial Division, conspired together to publish life-threatening and inciting stories about one Ajidahun Emmanuel Jeminiyi, which is punishable under Section 59 of the Criminal Code, Cap 37, Vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State, 2006.

“That you, John Abiodun and Lanre Olu-Adeyemi, on or about January 13, 2019, around 9am in Akure, in the Akure Judicial Division, did publish on different WhatsApp platforms falsehood against Ajidahun Jeminiyi, punishable under Section 117 of the Criminal Code, Cap 37, Vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State, 2006.

“That you, John Abiodun, on or about June 24, 2019, around 1pm at the High Court Registry, Akure, deposed to an affidavit of oath against one Pastor Gbenga Akinbiyi and the Promised Land Prophetic Ministry, knowing that the depositions were false. This is punishable under Section 484 of the Criminal Code, Cap 37, Vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State.

“That you, John Abiodun, on or about January 13, 2019, in Akure, through various social media platforms with a mobile number 09061720016 under the user name, Fausat Seekers, threatened to deal with one Ajidahun Jeminiyi and his family, which amounts to threatening violence and is punishable under Section 86 of the criminal Code, Cap 37, Vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State 2006.”

The prosecutor, Bose Tunde-Alarape, informed the court that it had been difficult to serve the second defendant, Olu-Adeyemi, with the notice on motion.

Justice Olabode Adegbehingbe urged the counsel and all parties involved in the matter to make the process of service and appearance in court prompt and of importance.

Justice Adegbehingbe ordered that the second defendant be properly served with the court order and adjourned the case till January 30 and February 3, 18, 24 and 26, 2020, for the hearing.

https://www.nairapark.com/news/1579160881/pastor-lecturer-arrested-for-spreading-fake-news

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