₦airaland Forum

Inside a sparsely furnished room in Lagos, two dark skinned men rose from their seats, shook hands and embraced each other – a sign that two warring factions have sheathed their swords. About a dozen other men in the room looked on, wry smiles on their faces.
The two men, Abiodun Muslim and Samuel Babatunde, represent the two parties in Idasho, an Ibeju-Lekki community, who have been at daggers drawn due to the ongoing Lekki Free Trade Zone in the area.In the peace undertaking signed at the office of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) in Lagos, both parties agreed to maintain peace and order in Idasho villages.
They also agreed to announce to the entire communities that “none should henceforth take any step of violence against another.”

Mr. Muslim, the community representative in Lekki Free Trade Zone, had been barred from the community after inhabitants accused him of selling out.

The Lekki Free Trade Zone is an ambitious project launched in 2004 by the Lagos State government. Covering about 17,000 hectares, it is expected to accommodate over 100,000 population upon completion.

However, the host communities have been at war with one another and with the government over claims of “selling out” by their representatives as well as land grabbing by the state.
“They denied me that I should not come to the community, that they will kill me,” said Mr. Muslim, who has been the communities’ eyes and ear at the board instituted by the state government.But Mr. Babatunde said that Mr. Muslim ceased to be the community representative at the board of the project after he refused to “listen to us.”
“He was our agent to the government, representing us there, and we asked him to say no, that we don’t want to give our lands,” Mr. Babatunde, a retired police officer, said.

“We don’t want him again because we don’t have any agreement with Lekki Free Trade Zone, since they refused to pay us any compensation,” he added.

Two years after the project was launched, Bola Tinubu, then Lagos State governor, approached nine communities in Ibeju-Lekki, informing them of his intention to use part of their farm lands.

The communities’ elders said they disagreed after it dawned on them that the project would consume their entire farm lands.

However, in 2007, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Lagos State government and the nine host communities – Idasho, Idotun, Ilege, Imobido, Itoke, Okunraiye, Ilekuru, Tiye, and Imagbon-Segun.

The other signatories include the Ibeju-Lekki local council and Lekki Worldwide Investment Limited, a joint venture involving the Lagos State government and the Chinese Investment Consortium regarding the establishment, financing and management of the Lekki Free Trade Zone project.

According to the MOU, the government is expected to pay compensation for “all genuine claims” made by members of the affected villages and communities.

Within the first five years of the project, the state government and the Chinese firm invested over N3 billion, claiming a substantial chunk of the lands in Tiye, Ilege, and Imobidu.

While some of the villagers say they received peanuts as compensation for the over 5,000 hectares of their land acquired for the project; others say they got nothing from the state.

The compensation ranged from N20,000 to N100,000, according to Mr. Muslim.

“They paid for crops, not for land. They were farm lands. They didn’t acquire the communities, they acquired the farm lands,” said Mr. Muslim, who insisted that he had not been bribed by the state.

“If they said they have not got anything, that’s not true. What they are saying is that they got peanuts,” he added.

The CDHR, who had intervened in the villagers’ dispute, said that the state government had, under the guise of making peace, moved into the community with armed police officers.

“We have tried to meet disputed parties, it is very disappointing that the Lagos State government is not making any intervention,” said Buna Isiak, CDHR’s Chairman.

“The government has used the excuse of peace making to move in with force with hundreds of armed police men,” Mr. Isiak added.

The government, however, insisted that its presence in the community is to ensure that it has “no reason to keep boiling.”

“It is as a result of an imminent breach of peace occasioned by the disagreement among the people there,” Lateef Ibirogba, Commissioner for Information, told Nigerian Telegraph.

As soon as there is peace, and people are ready to live in harmony, nobody is taking their community from them,” Mr. Ibirogba added.

Mr. Ibirogba insisted that the community people were “properly” compensated.

“I don’t understand what they mean by poor compensation,” said Mr. Ibirogba, responding to claims that N20,000 was paid as compensation.

“Was there a compensation? Yes,” he said. “Was there a process of compensation before compensation was arrived at? Yes. Because government cannot just come and say I want to give N1. There must have been a discussion before we got to that level.”

Lawmakers, on Monday, held a public forum as part of efforts to legislate that human trafficking offences in the country will attract a ten-year jail term, while parents or guardians who give out minors without verifying their destination will be criminally liable.

This was disclosed by the chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on human rights, Beni Lar, at the joint public hearing on the bill for an act to repel the trafficking in persons prohibition law and enforcement administration in Abuja.

In her presentation, Beni Lar said, “The bill provides stiffer penalties as fines alone are no longer options for persons convicted of trafficking — they must serve a minimum of ten years sentence, in addition to fines. This bill will also strengthen the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) as it will no longer have to rely solely on government for funding.”

The bill, according to Lar, will provide greater integration of counter trafficking strategies by including a wide range of state security agencies and civil society organisations.

“The bill will also seek to broaden the definition of trafficking by including activities such as the procurement or recruitment of any person for organ trafficking,” she added.

Earlier, while declaring the public hearing open, the senate president, David Mark, who was represented by the senate minority whip, Abu Ibrahim, said that NAPTIP has made giant strides in combating human trafficking since its establishment ten years ago.

“I urge NAPTIP to focus on awareness, rescue and protection in the fight against human trafficking. Traffickers have devised new methods of evading arrest so I am urging the public hearing to take into account these emerging trends,” he said.

Also the chairman, senate committee on judiciary, human rights and legal matters, Umaru Dahiru, said that the bill seeks to update the act, to provide stiffer penalties to counter trafficking in persons.

In his message, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, assured that the National Assembly will expedite passage of the bill to strengthen NAPTIP in the fight against human trafficking.

The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan has been appointed by the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to champion Online Child Protection.

The appointment means that Mrs Jonathan will work towards creating a safe environment for children while they are on the internet and also push for reforms across the globe.

Speaking on the appointment, The Secretary-General of the ITU, Hamadoun Toure said Dame Patience Jonathan was chosen because of her interest in the activities of children and young people.

“Under her guidance, the Government of Nigeria is now taking extensive steps to ensure a safer online environment for children. ITU is looking forward to collaborating even more closely with Nigeria to build a better future for our children.”

Mrs. Jonathan who is also President of the African First Ladies Peace Mission, in her remarks pledged to “join hands with ITU to secure the children of the world from the dangers of cybercrime”.

The ITU will establish a regional Cybersecurity Centre in Africa to facilitate collaboration on fighting cyber threats at various levels, focused on protecting the African Child.

In view of this, the Organisation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC) to set up a Regional Cybersecurity Centre in the country.

The Child Online Protection (COP) initiative was launched in 2008 to identify risks and vulnerabilities of children in cyberspace, create awareness, develop practical tools to help minimize risks and share knowledge and experience.

Despite receiving more than N13 billion in salaries, allowances and benefits that clearly positions members of the Nigerian Senate as the world’s best paid lawmakers, at least 35 serving senators have not listed a single Bill in their name since taking office in 2011, an investigation by The Nigerian Telegraph has shown.

Between 2011 and June 2013, each senator drew about N400 million in salaries, allowances, and self-allocated bonuses, according to details of lawmakers’ allowances, as well as listed earnings for federal lawmakers stipulated by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

For the 35 members, the sum for two years totals N13.2 billion, and N41 billion for all 109 members.

But while a majority of the lawmakers have made fair efforts at delivering in their primary lawmaking duties, sponsoring at least one Bill between June 2011 and June 2013, 35 of them have posted not one.

In that duration, 74 senators, an impressive figure relative to past years, sponsored and followed through with a minimum of at least one legislation apiece. A few presented more than a dozen Bills, with the Senate Majority Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba(PDP, Cross River), sponsoring the highest number, 25.

Other Senators, each with a minimum of 10 Bills are Ben Ayade (PDP Cross Rivers state) – 18 Bills; Ita Enang, (PDP Akwa Ibom) – 13 Bills; Dominic Obende, (ACN Edo) – 12 Bills; Smart Adeyemi, (PDP Kogi) – 11 Bills; and Ifeanyi Okowa, (PDP Delta) – 11 Bills.

At the bottom of the ranking are two states – Zamfara and Borno – with none of their Senators presenting a single Bill in two years.

The figures, provided by the Senate’s Business and Rules committee, which catalogues each member’s legislative activities from Bills, motions to petitions, appear a fresh justification for Nigerians’ perennial concern about how much their representatives at the National Assembly actually deliver to justify their huge annual earnings.

Each Senator, according to RMAFC, is entitled to N8.2 million annually or N683,000 monthly as salaries. This salaries are exclusive of allowances such as estacodes, cars and furniture.

But the comprehensive compensation runs far higher into several millions per quarter of a year, as the legislators also approve what they call “running cost” to themselves. For “running cost”, each senator currently draws N45 million quarterly – about N180 million annually, in addition to the “meagre” salary.

Lawmakers, weary of the public’s outrage over their pay, are often quick to cite the few hundreds of thousands monthly as nothing exceptional or deserving of the aggressive attention they receive.

But despite the huge pay, quite little has been delivered on legislation since 2011, according to the Business and Rules committee.

In all, 342 Bills have been presented to the Senate within the period; many of them, however, are non-member Bills sent either by the executive, for example, budget bills; or forwarded by the House of Representatives for concurrence.

Of that number, only 28 bills have been fully passed by the Senate. Again, out of that of number, 20 are executive-sponsored. So, effectively, senators have only delivered fully on eight bills after drawing over N41 billion in earnings since 2011.

The Senate reversed its vote to remove from the constitution a clause allowing a girl to be considered “of age” once married, after former Zamfara State governor, Ahmed Yerima, who once married a 13 year old, argued that the move was against Islam.

The stipulation in Section 29 of the Constitution was seen by majority of the lawmakers as a protection for underage marriages, and the Senate’s constitution review committee suggested that it be erased.

As stated in the constitution, the controversial section however sets out to define an acceptable age for a Nigerian wishing to renounce his or her citizenship.

The law says such a person must be at least 18 years, or if married, be considered of age. The Senate committee proposed the second part be deleted.

Indeed, lawmakers overwhelmingly backed the move on Tuesday during the Senate’s vote on 32 amended clauses.

But while voting progressed, Yerima drew the attention of the Senate to the section and asked that it be restored through a second vote.

“Islam says once a woman is married, she is of age,” argued Yerima, whose marriage to an under-age girl sparked commendation in 2011.

Senate President David Mark rejected the call.

The brief exchange almost overshadowed the Senate’s extensive vote that covered several key areas of the constitution.

Former governor of Gombe State, Danjuma Goje, also a senator, who supported Yerima’s call, counseled his colleagues that the change will “make no difference”.

Mark said as a member of the constitution review committee, Yerima should have called for the alteration at the committee level.

The Senate president however agreed to another vote, saying he acted since the matter was sensitive as it has to do with religion.

On a second call, Yerima’s lost 60 to 35. However, the winning number was less than the stipulated two thirds -73 for the Senate- required to pass a proposal.

The third edition of the Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL) has been fixed to hold between August 1 and 4, 2013 at the Old Truman Brewery, in Shoreditch, London.

This year’s event is set to see outfits by 100 designers on the runway and over 100 exhibitors spread across Old Truman Brewery’s massive indoor space, once again making AFWL the biggest fashion event across Europe showcasing African and African-inspired fashion.

Princess Fifi Ejindu, the Nigeria-based architect and businesswoman, and Yinka Shonibare MBE, the London-based globally celebrated Nigerian fine artist, are among the patrons for the events.

While commenting on the event, Mrs. Ejindu said, “I believe Africa Fashion Week London is a great platform for African talent and a great opportunity for Africa to showcase the talent that we possess. The era of the hungry African child is long over and it is now time for our culture to be recognised globally.”

The fashion event, which will showcase exclusive African Arts and Fashion is sponsored by leading pan-African women’s bi-monthly New African Woman, L’Oréal’s premium professional haircare range for Afro Caribbean and mixed-race hair textures, Mizani, and Africa’s fastest growing telecommunications company, Globacom Limited.

The exclusive first fundraiser event for the African Arts and Fashion Initiative aims to create start up funds for young designers to assist them in turning their creativity into sustainability.
Set to feature fashion shows, art exhibits, and an exclusive celebration of African arts and fashion, the event will also see awards given out to those who have contributed to the growth of youth and women empowerment in Africa.

“With this event, we intend to raise start-up funds for emerging talent and tuition fees for extremely talented designers, hence in a way we are empowering the youth of Africa. While some have the opportunity and the funds to start their fashion labels, many others have no one to give them an opportunity or the funds they need. We have all the natural resources and all the talent in Africa but we should not leave it just to our leaders to help progress.

“If each of us were to sweep our own doorstep, the world would become a cleaner place. Therefore, this is our way to help emerging talent to a global platform and the funds they need,” Ejindu added
African dignitaries and VIPs expected at the event include the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Edem Duke, who has endorsed the event. Scheduled to give the keynote speeches are the First Lady of Cross River State, Mrs. Obioma Imoke and Ghanaian economist, scientist, political writer and former chairman of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Ghana, Professor Edward Ayensu.

Super Eagles midfielder, Sunday Mba, has been finally cleared by Warri Wolves FC to play in the Nigeria Premier League (NPL).

According to information reaching Nigerian Telegraph, Warri Wolves decided to let go in the interest of the player’s career.

Trouble started for Mba after his brilliant exploits at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) held earlier in the year, with both Warri Wolves and Rangers claiming the player as theirs.

After a series of discussions, the midfielder was allowed to go on loan to Enugu Rangers from Wolves on compassionate grounds but he was only cleared to play in the CAF Champions League.

With the decision, the 24-year-old can now represent Rangers in the local league.

The contract of the Super Eagles midfielder at Wolves is expected to run out in December this year.

Meanwhile, Mba is attracting interest from Europe and may likely move to the continent in the January transfer window.

If he gets a foreign contract, a sharing formula has been put in place by both clubs.

This is an example of the excessive use of military power on civilians. Many people may be shocked at this developing story, but to many, especially the poor, it is a usual dangerous existence associated with life in Aba, the commercial city of Abia State. In this city, with all its commercial success, the presence of government is practically absent.

22-year-old mother of two, Mrs Nkechi Success Osueke, has not set eyes on her husband, Uche, since 14 May 2013, when he left the house to visit a relation at a neighbouring city, Uyo, in Akwa Ibom State. The story is that her husband, on his way home from that trip, was arrested at the military check point at Ohanze, near Aba. According to eye witnesses, Uche was making a phone call to a debtor in the bus as he was coming home, threatening to kill him if he does not pay up. The driver of the bus, on hearing the threat, became apprehensive and decided to submit Uche to the military at Ohanze military check point at Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State.



Uche Success Osueke

Since then, families and friends have made frantic efforts to rescue Uche from the grip of the military officials to no avail. They were not even allowed to set eyes on him. The story says the military have even conducted investigation on the man and found out that he meant no harm. According to the story, they have located the said debtor whom Uche was threatening in other to confirm their relationship.



Children of Uche Osueke

The family of Uche has also submitted a petition to the military base at Asa Road, Aba. Several phone calls have been made by higher military officers from Abuja for the release of Uche, yet his captor, one Captain Isima Nkanan, remains adamant. Information reaching us says that the Captain claims that he released Uche as soon as he discovered that his threat was empty. Nobody knows if Uche is still alive. His young wife, Nkechi, is crying to the world to help rescue her husband, a 30 year man, who just lost his job as a factory worker at Global Paints Aba. Nkechi can be reached on this phone number: 07039070984.

More information says that Captain Isima is a terror in that community. Many young men have died in his hands by torture. The community leave in total fear but cannot complain. One Native Dr. Ozioma, In-law to the missing man’s brother, Evans living close that community can provide more information. He was interviewed in an attached video. He lives at Umuoru village Amaise Umuezigbe autonomous community, Obingwa LGA of Abia State with phone number 08038717119.

There are chances Uche may have died by now.

Uche’s brother’s contacts are: Evans Osueke (Abuja) 08130720836, Chinedu Osueke (Uyo)08039452399.

The Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), over the weekend, said that it is keeping a close watch on more celebrities in Nollywood and the music industry for drug trafficking, abuse and links with drug cartels.

The Agency’s Head of Public Affairs, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the move became necessary following its investigation into the activities of controversial actress and singer, Tonto Dikeh, for possible consumption of hard drugs.

Tonto Dikeh had on June 28, 2013, posted photographs of a wrap of hemp and grains of the weed formed into the letters, ‘Happy birthday POKO.’

She also posted a photograph of herself with the inscription, “Mi smoke ganja mi smoke weed while my haterz smoke ma gossip.”


Tonto Dikeh had posted photographs of a wrap of hemp and grains of the weed
“Nollywood stars have been prosecuted for drug-related offences and we are beaming our searchlight on more celebrities with regard to drug trafficking and abuse,” he said.

“The arrest and conviction of Nollywood stars, Hassanat Akinwande, popularly known as Wunmi, and Tochi Uche have clearly shown that some members in the sector are vulnerable and susceptible to manipulation by drug cartels.

“We have a responsibility to investigate and identify anyone involved in drug trafficking and use. We are deeply concerned, when such personalities are linked with drugs because of their large number of fans.”

Ofoyeju said the implication of having celebrities dealing in hard drugs was that their fans might view them as role models worth emulating.

“This will not be treated with kid gloves. It is counterproductive to the country’s drug abuse prevention campaign. Any breach of the NDLEA Act will not be condoned,” he said.

The NDLEA spokesman said sniffer dogs had been instrumental to major drug seizures in the country.

“The heroin hidden inside woollen rug carpets imported from Pakistan was detected by the sniffer dogs. The dogs help to detect drugs that ordinarily are difficult to uncover, using normal search techniques,” he said.

He further said the agency had not recorded any drug seizure on private jets, adding, “We are taking measures to ensure that drug trafficking cartels do not use such jets.”

NDLEA, which said it would investigate Dikeh, had hinted that the actress and singer risked a minimum of 15 years in jail for allegedly encouraging the consumption of hemp.

She, however, denied using the weed, saying the photos were photoshopped.

Founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Frederick Fasheun, has urged Hamza Al-Mustapha to forgive his long detention.

The Court of Appeal, sitting in Lagos, on July 12, discharged and acquitted Al-Mustapha of the murder of Kudirat Abiola. Kudirat was the wife of them claimed winner of the annulled 1993 presidential elections, Moshood Abiola.

Al-Mustapha, a former Chief Security Officer to late military dictator, Sani Abacha, was sentenced to death on January 30 for conspiracy and murder of Kudirat Abiola, who was shot in Lagos on June 4, 1996.

The Appeal Court judgment overruled the Lagos High Court’s judgment which sentenced him to death by hanging.

“I am vindicated; I knew Al- Mustapha neither ordered, nor had a hand in the killing of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola; and that was why I stood by him,” said Fasehun. “I commend the judgment by the Court of Appeal. I salute the courage which it displayed in the face of daunting politics and powerful interests who wanted Al-Mustapha hanged by all means.

People used to tell me they could not understand why I would be going to court in support of an officer who served in a regime that detained me for almost three years. But, I told them that I had lived my entire life based on the principle of justice. And I would still protest injustice being done to even my worst enemy.”

According to him, the judgment has given way for healing to begin throughout the country as it closes the chapter on an ugly era in the history of Nigeria.

“Al-Mustapha and his family must find it in their hearts to forgive collectively,” he said.

Fasheun, however, recommended that based on the appeal judgment, the National Judicial Council (NJC) should review the judgment last year and impose sanction if necessary.

“It beats the imagination that all the prosecution witnesses confessed in open court that they had been forced to lie against Al-Mustapha, and yet he was sentenced to death,” he added.

The Kogi State Government owes its pensioners N9.8 billion in accumulated pension and gratuities.

Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) in Kogi, Abdullahi Onu, who made this known in Lokoja on Friday, noted that available statistics at the state’s Pension Board and the union’s secretariat revealed that local council pensioners were also being owed N5.8 billion.

“While some have died from preventable illnesses and other forms of death, many of those living are finding it difficult to cope with family demands and life generally,’’ he said.

Onu said the state government pensioners were being owed N4.8 billion as at September 2011, while the bill for local government pensioners stood at N2.9 billion then. “The debt profile has, however, risen astronomically since then to N9.8 billion and N5.8 billion respectively,’’ he said.

He said civil servants, who retired from 2011 to date in the state, were being paid with the old rates without consideration for salary relativity and the new minimum wage.

“This caused the accumulated arrears to rise significantly,’’ he said.

Onu expressed regrets that in spite of several appeals, the state was yet to harmonise the monthly pensions.

“This is the only state in the North-Central geo-political zone that has not harmonised monthly pensions of pensioners since 2004,” he said.

Speaking on the pensioners’ recent visit to traditional rulers in the three senatorial districts of the state, Onu said they went to seek “royal intervention’’.

“It was done in the effort to make government look into our plight and keep its obligation to the senior citizens,” he said. “As traditional rulers and custodians of our tradition and culture, we are of the hope that government will respect and listen to them.”

Onu said 70 per cent of the state’s traditional rulers, with the exception of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Ado Ibrahim, whom he described as “a private sector retiree”, were pensioners.

On the judgement of a Lokoja High Court quashing the decision by government to constitute pension boards, the union leader said: “Government ran foul of the law when it saddled non-stakeholders with the responsibility of managing pension matters.

We are not really against the appointments, but we are against posting politicians to the two boards, against the law. We hope the governor, who is a product of due process, will accept the judgement and post the appointees to other boards.”

In a country where lip-service is the standard, a football team preparing inadequately for a match should not come as a shock. News of teams in the Nigerian Premier League getting to their away venues a night before their matches, having travelled in congested buses for upwards of 10 hours, have become common in recent times.

So when Enugu Rangers were preparing for their match against Recreativo de Libolo, there was no apparent change in the way things were done as they prepared as they normally prepared. They trained at 7.30am every day prior to meeting the Angolan team, and the morning training normally ended at about 11.30. Then the players, all with their individual cars, drove to their homes to resume the afternoon training at 3.30pm and end about 6pm.

That is the normal routine under Coach Okey Emordi – one of the foremost Nigerian coaches whose resume includes winning the CAF Champions League with Enyimba in 2004.

Nigerian Telegraph’s investigations show that there were no video sessions to talk about their opponents, as is standard when preparing for such a fixture. There was also no exclusive training regimen to prepare to combat the strengths of the Angolan team. The result was that on match day, the Angolan team got a deserved draw which they had planned for.

A former Super Eagles defender, Ajibade Babalade, who is part of the technical crew of Nigeria Professional Football League side, 3SC, agreed that coaches need to step up their game in the country.

“We are trying our best and you cannot say that the quality of the league has not improved,” Babalade told the Nigeria Telegraph.

When it was put to him that all the improvement in the league has led to all Nigerian teams crashing out of the Caf Champions League, he said: “We all saw what happened to English teams in Europe. We all know that football supremacy is seasonal and our time will soon come.”

Jonathan Akpoborie was well known for banging in the goals in the German Bundesliga and he said football in Nigeria needs to be regulated from the bottom up. “You cannot give what you do not have,” Akpoborire told the Nigeria Telegraph. “I have gone round some match venues and seen players train in this country and the level is abysmal. We will not achieve anything with what is on ground.

I am not surprised to see the level we are still at in 2013 as the administrators continue to do the wrong things. We need to moderate the league and that assumes that the coaches and players must be fed the right things – from food to knowledge.”

Nigerian Telegraph can reveal that Enugu Rangers did not monitor what their players ate, when they slept and how they slept or who they slept with.

A country that has produced the likes of Adokie Ameisimaka, Segun Odegbami, Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Finidi George and the rest that have gone on from this shores to excel in Europe, has no business accommodating this kind of decay in its football development, experts have said.

Rangers have been expelled from the CAF Confederations Cup for fielding an ineligible player.

Super Eagles midfielder, John Mikel Obi, has aroused the interest of Monaco of France.

Mikel signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea last year but his place has been tenuous since Jose Mourinho re-signed with Chelsea. The Nigerian, currently on extended holiday because of his participation with Nigeria at the FIFA Confederations Cup, has spoken about moving on if he cannot be guaranteed a place in the team.

Chelsea have a plethora of players in the midfield position which includes: Michael Essien, Ramires, Juan Mata, Oscar, Oriol Romeu and they have bought in Marco Van Ginkel, who has also been promised reasonable playing time.

Mikel played 22 league games for Chelsea last season and helped the Blues win the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa Cup in the last 16 months.

Though he was brought to the club by Mourinho, the Portuguese tactician has not reached out to him like he has done to Ramires and the Spanish duo of Mata and Fernando Torres.

“I have a four-year contract with Chelsea, but you know, in football you can never guess, one day you are here, the next day you might leave,” said Mikel last week.

Monaco are the third club that have shown interest in the midfielder, who shone like a million stars in Brazil. The other clubs are from Turkey – Galatasaray and Trabzonspor.

Mikel is valued at between $15 million and $20 million.

Abdul Abiola, son of late Kudirat Abiola, on Friday decried the Court of Appeal judgment in Lagos which discharged and acquitted Hamza Al-Mustapha, charged with murder of Kudirat.

“I missed my mum as much as a little boy,” he said. “This judgment is like a stab in my heart. As a grown-up, I am no longer bitter, but the problem is that this might continue to happen to other people. This is an injustice in our system and I pray that our leaders should do the right thing.”

Other reactions

Also reacting, Yinka Odumakin, spokesperson of Save Nigeria Group (SNG), described the judgment as a blow to criminal justice in Nigeria.

“After Al-Mustapha was duly convicted by a lower court, it is so painful that he has been acquitted,” he said.

The state Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisation, Ehi Omokhuale, also described the judgment as unfortunate.

Arewa hails judgment

However, the President, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Yerima Shettima, hailed the judgment, saying it has renewed his hope and faith in Nigeria.

“We thank God for the victory as it demonstrates that there is hope in Nigeria,” he said. “This judgment shows that evil will not continue to reign in Nigeria.’’

The man

Al-Mustapha was the Chief Security Officer of General Sani Abacha, military head of state from November 1993 to June 1998. After Abacha’s death, he was arrested and tried for murder and attempted murder.

On 30 January 2012, a Lagos High Court sitting at Igbosere convicted him over the murder of Kudirat Abiola, the wife of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Moshood Abiola.

He was sentenced on January 30 to death by hanging.

Al-Mustapha was trained as an intelligence operative in the Nigerian Army. He was involved in at least two investigations of coup attempts. His reported conduct of interrogations brought him to the attention of Abacha, who subsequently appointed him his Aide-de-Camp when he was Chief of Army (August 1985 – August 1990).

Al-Mustapha was appointed Chief Security Officer to the Head of State with a Special Strike Force Unit during Abacha’s military regime (17 November 1993 – 8 June 1998).

He reportedly wielded immense influence as most people saw him as the closest advisor of Abacha.

Anxious family members and friends of Hamza Al-Mustapha, on Friday, besieged the gates of the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prisons, Apapa, Lagos, in anticipation of his release, following his discharge and acquittal by the Court of Appeal on Friday.

The jubilant crowd could barely hide their pleasure at the news of the release of the former chief security officer, after 15 years in detention.

His immediate younger brother, Hadi Al-Mustapha, said that he was overwhelmed by the judgment of the Court of Appeal; adding that he could barely utter any word when he heard the decision of the court, but to thank Allah.

A factional leader of the O’odua Peoples Congress, Fredrick Fasheun, who was also at the prison, said that Nigeria was beginning to witness a new dawn in the Judiciary, with this development.

“To God be the glory, being incarcerated for 14 to 15 years is no joke,” he said. “So when a person regains his freedom from such, we then give all praises and glory to God. So, we thank the Nigerian people, the government and the three God-directed judges; they did well. We are beginning to have some respect for our judiciary, especially the three judges, who have shown that there is still hope for the voiceless and the average Nigerian.”

Nuru Magani, Publicity Secretary, Arewa Youth Foundation said: “The Arewa Forum is overwhelmed with today’s proceedings. It is beyond our imagination, we never thought that the Nigerian judiciary could be so meticulous. Today’s judgment by the court, presided over by Justice Amina Augie, has shown that this case is beyond politics or any group’s interest.

Nigeria has reached a stage where the importation of electricity metres should be discouraged and local producers encouraged, an indigenous metre manufacturer, Kola Bolagun, said on Wednesday.

Bolagun, the Chief Executive Officer of MOMAS Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company in Lagos, said that low patronage was stifling the growth of local industries.

“Indigenous manufacturers do not get enough patronage from government ministries and that is why our economy is not growing,” he said.

According to him, the revolution in telecommunications can be sustained in Nigeria through indigenous innovations.

“The story of poor patronage is still the same in metre manufacturing where foreign firms are better patronised and recognised by government agencies,” he said. “I can confidently say that we local manufacturers of meters can meet our supply needs.”

Balogun said that employment opportunities would triple if local manufacturers got more support from government at all levels; adding that the local content policy of government would not succeed if home-made innovations were not adequately utilised.

“I can tell you that our company has 100 per cent local content in the manufacture of metres,” he said. “In our company alone, we have a production capacity of 500,000 to one million metres a month. Even all our operations and the production processes are managed by Nigerians.”

Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, claims the Spanish club’s Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo wants to remain at the Santiago Bernabeu until retirement.

The 28-year-old’s future has been the subject of intense speculation this summer, with rumours of a return to erstwhile club Manchester United continuing to persist just four years after his world-record £80 million move to the Spanish capital.

The Portuguese international recently admitted that he misses the English Premier League, further heightening suspicions that he would seek a route back to Old Trafford where he won eight major honours in six seasons with the Premier League club, including the Champions League in 2008.

However, Perez has taken a bold step to clarify Ronaldo’s future and foresees him following in the footsteps of former Real Madrid star Zinedine Zidane by choosing to see out his playing days with Los Merengues.

“He is the one who wants to retire at Real Madrid and Real Madrid wants that to happen too, like Zidane and so many other players,” the 66-year-old Spaniard said in an interview with AS.

Ronaldo has just two years remaining on his contract with Los Blancos and caused a stir when he took to twitter last month to deny he was in talks with the club over a new deal, posting: “All the news about my renewal with Real Madrid are false.”

But Perez insisted negotiations had not taken place because the forward has been on holiday and says he is absolutely certain the Portuguese will remain a Real Madrid player for the rest of his playing career.

He said: “There have been no negotiations because he is on vacation. I’m absolutely sure that Cristiano will retire in Madrid, because he wants to retire here. Just like Zidane did.”

The four clubs that were involved in the two games that produced an incredible 146 goals last Sunday in Bauchi have all been suspended indefinitely by the Nigeria Football Federation.

Yola-based Police Machine annihilated Bubayaro FC from Gombe 67-0, while Jos-based Plateau United Feeders, whitewashed Akurba FC from Nasarawa 79-0 in a series of playoff games expected to decide who would qualify to play in the Nationwide League Division 3.

Going into the last round of games at the Bauchi centre last Sunday, Police Machine and Plateau United Feeders were level on points, and goal difference was expected to determine who would grab the centre’s sole available ticket to the Nationwide League.

To avoid any form of match-fixing, the last round of matches were played simultaneously at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium and the Games Village pitch. And after 45 minutes of action, both Plateau United Feeders and Police Machine were ahead of their respective opponents 6-0.

As if scoring a collective 12 goals against their opponents in the opening 45 minutes wasn’t enough, both Plateau United Feeders and Police Machine went gung-ho in the second halves, recording a mind-boggling 134 goals.

Chairman of the NFF Organising Committee, Mike Umeh, who also serves as the NFF’s 1st Vice President, was alarmed when informed and promptly directed that the four teams at the centre of the scandal be grounded, pending further sanctions on all involved.

“It is unacceptable. This is a scandal of huge proportions. The four teams involved are suspended immediately and indefinitely, pending further sanctions. We will investigate this matter thoroughly and get to the bottom of it,” Umeh said on Tuesday.

NFF’s Director of Competitions, Mohammed Sanusi assured that the Organising Committee would mete out severe sanctions on all persons and institutions indicted by the investigation.

“For now, that centre is suspended. The teams involved, their players and officials, match officials, coordinator and anyone found to have played some role in this despicable matter would be severely dealt with,” Sanusi said.

Further confirming the suspension of the teams was secretary of the Nigerian Nationwide League, Emmanuel Adesanya, who disclosed to Nigerian Telegraph that the teams, along with a number of other officials from the Bauchi centre, have all been summoned to the secretariat of the NFF in Abuja.

“The results from the zone have been annulled and all four teams have been suspended,” he said. “We are inviting the representatives of the four teams to Abuja, along with the referees, the FA secretary in charge of the centre, and the board member that was on ground.”

The board member Adesanya was referring to is Tanko Maiyaki, who had earlier, on Monday, announced the cancellation of all results from the centre.

“All have been summoned to Abuja by the NFF so that this issue will be cleared once and for all in the interest of football in Nigeria,” added Adesanya.

In addition to his musical career and being a dad, Kanye West will on July 14 launch his clothing line “KANYE CAPSULE COLLECTION” for men.

Kanye will be partnering with a French brand, APC to achieve this dream. He confirmed this via his Instagram page.

The new men’s Capsule Collection will be made up of Jeans, T-shirts and hoodies.

The musician and his girlfriend Kim Kardashian recently welcomed their baby girl, North West and Kanye has since then dedicated his time to being a good dad.

Shakira has won a $100m suit filed by her ex-boyfriend, Anthonio de la Rua concerning an oral agreement they both had in 2011.

According to de la Rua, he filed the case to claim what is rightfully his and required that the pop star’s accounts and property be frozen.

The court sitting in Geneva dismissed de la Rua’s claim that he was entitled to any participation in Shakira’s past, current or future business, brand or assets including future income, her attorney Ezequiel Camerini said.

Furthermore, the singer and her ex signed a pre-nuptial type of agreement applicable to unmarried couples in which they stated their wish to conserve separately the totality of their past, current and future assets.

Camerini said that the affidavit given by Shakira in no way indicated that both parties did have any form of agreement nor agreed to go into partnership.

To support her story, a court filing later in the year from Shakira’s camp, will include a detailed mail from her ex-boyfriend in 2011 in which he said, “I am not a partner of your company, you are the sole (owner) of them all.”

Chibuike Ibe jumped nimbly aboard the large bus that was just rolling to a stop at Oshodi, managing to precariously balance a tray of beef rolls in one hand and hang on for dear life to the doors as passengers struggled to alight from the bus. He is nine years old, and the time was few minutes shy of 10pm.

Reacting to the queries of a couple of incredulous passengers on the Mile 2 bound bus, the youngster retorted: “Even my junior brother dey sell for Cele (bus stop on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway)”, and proceeded to hawk his wares at the top of his voice while striding the length of the 50-seater bus.

“Look at how such a small boy is selling things by this time of the night that he should be in bed, what kind of parents will send such young children out to the streets to sell? What will he even sell?” asked a Shola Akanbi, a passenger aboard the bus.

Not all passengers, however, shared Ms. Akanbi’s concerns, as the wad of cash that Chibuike clutched in his dirty hands showed sufficient proof that business was good.

As the massive population of Lagos State continues to swell considerably, the activities of child hawkers have continued to increase, despite the efforts made by the state government’s at curtailing this development.

What the government did

Concerned with the trend, the state government have rolled out series of sensitisation programmes in the last few years and warned that parents whose children were caught in the streets, especially during school hours, would be issued a ‘yellow card’ for first offenders, and a ‘red card’ for repeat offences.

The state’s deputy governor, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, has constantly instructed law enforcement agents to sweep the streets and apprehend defaulters, specially targeting the arrest and prosecution of parents whose children were caught.

“Education and proper upbringing of our children is the only way to eradicate poverty,” she said. “The law forbids the use of under-aged children for domestic labour, negligence and maltreatment on the part of parents and guardians as it negates the tenets of the Child Rights law. The Lagos State Government, through the various agencies of government, will ensure the survival, development and protection of all the children in the state, the laws will be enforced to the letter in order to ensure that all the rights of our children are protected.

Parents, scared of finding themselves on the wrong side of the law, reign in their children during day. However, the child hawkers simply come out at night, when law enforcement officials are scarce. And their numbers have continued to swell considerably.

Spots like Oshodi, Ojuelegba, Obalende, Cele bus stop, and Mile 2 are their favourite haunts due to the high number of commuters that pass through these places, and their bustling night life.

‘We make money to support’

Another child hawker at Oshodi, who gave her name as Toun, said she had to make sure that she sold out her oranges before going home, often as late as midnight. She gave her age as 14, but looked 10.

“Our house no far, so if I finish this one, I will go and take more from my mother who is peeling them there,” she said, while expertly balancing a tray of oranges on her head and darting in between the buses at Oshodi. “Why my mama say make we help am sell na to support am.”

Not all of them, however, are trading to supplement family incomes; some, like 16-year-old immigrant Sherrif Adebisi, have no family to take care of them, and simply have to live off the streets.

“Before I used to beg (for alms), but one Good Samaritan gave me N5000 and I started with pure (sachet) water business before I went into the soft drinks that I am doing (selling) now,” he said.

Bad economy

Oluyemisi Wada, founder of Haven for the Nigerian Child Foundation, an Lagos-based NGO that rehabilitates street children, is not comfortable with the government’s efforts so far, and also blames parents for contributing to the increasing population of street children across the metropolis.....

Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi has not been paid since this year’s Nations Cup victory, a BBC report has said.

Keshi, who led Nigeria to her third Africa Cup of Nations title in South Africa, has yet to receive any money from the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) for the past five months.

Responding to the issue, Musa Amadu, the NFF Secretary General, said that there was no need for an alarm as the situation was under control.

“Between the federation and the coaching crew, we don’t have a problem. Obligations to the coaching crew are always settled, and we have the understanding of the coaching crew in this regard.
“We’ve been working together with Stephen Keshi since November 2011 and he knows the peculiar situation [financial problems] of how things are with the federation.

“We try as much as possible to pay our obligations, likewise the coach, and we’ve had a very good working relationship.

“I know the coach will not bring to the fore any such matters,” he added.

Keshi has indeed made no official complaint to that effect.

According to the report, the NFF also owes assistant coach, Daniel Amokachi and goalkeeper trainer, Ike Shorunmu, and have promised to pay, although the Federation said they will have to be patient.

Nigeria take on Ivory Coast this weekend in a first-round, first leg African Nations Championship qualifier.

American footballer of Nigerian descent, Nnamdi Asomugha, has secretly married American actress Kerry Washington.

31-year-old Asomugha is a dedicated activist and philanthropist and has participated in the Clinton Global initiative since 2009.

The sportsman is a three time pro bowler currently playing for the 49ers.

This is 36-year-old Washington’s first marriage.

Washington, who is the star of series ‘Scandal, has also starred in many movies including: The Dead Girl, Save the Last Dance, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Little Man, For Colored Girls and Peeples .

The inventor of the computer mouse, Doug Engelbart, has died aged 88.

Doug Engelbart was born on 30 January 1925 in Portland, Oregon, to a radio repairman father and a housewife mother.

He studied electrical engineering at Oregon State University and served as a radar technician during World War II.

Engelbart developed the tool in the 1960s as a wooden shell covering two metal wheels, patenting it long before the mouse’s widespread use.

He did not make much money from the mouse because its patent ran out in 1987, before the device became widely used.

His interest in how computers could be used to aid human cognition eventually led him to Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and then his own laboratory, the Augmentation Research Center.

He also worked on early incarnations of email, word processing and video teleconferences at a California research institute.

Engelbart’s ideas were way ahead of their time in an era when computers took up entire rooms and data was fed into the hulking machines on punch cards.

Engelbart had considered other designs for his most famous invention, including a device that could be fixed underneath a table and operated by the knee.

He was said to have been driven by the belief that computers could be used to augment human intellect.

At a now legendary presentation that became known as the “mother of all demos” in San Francisco in 1968, he made the first public demonstration of the mouse.

Engelbart was awarded the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT prize in 1997 and the National Medal of Technology for “creating the foundations of personal computing” in 2000.

Since 2005, he had been a fellow at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.

smartchoice: its not compulsory to serve

The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) has called on the management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to stop mixing males and females in the National Youth Service Scheme physical exercise at orientation camps as it violates Islamic tenets and offends the sensibilities of Muslims.

This JNI Secretary General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar, said this at the end of a peace and unity conference for Muslim scholars in Kaduna State.

Abubakar called on the NYSC to respect the decency and chastity of female corps members during physical exercises and other activities at the orientation camps, and provide alternative camps for female Muslim corps members.

JNI also noted that the refusal of the federal government to institute a judicial process of inquiry or prosecute those arrested or accused of perpetrating violence in the country is an indication of a leadership that is not sensitive to the plight of the people, adding that the attacks and displacement of Muslims in Borno, Taraba and Plateau states have continued unabated as a result of government’s inaction.

The statement accused the federal government and the affected state governments of showing indifference and nonchalant attitude towards settling and rehabilitating displaced Muslim communities in Tafawa Balewa, Bauchi State and Zonkwa, Kaduna state.

The statement further accused the government and the media of playing double standards in ascribing terrorism to Islam.

It also blamed the media for exonerating other religions from such criminality, adding that Muslims are being marginalised in almost all strategic government establishments, organisations and institutions in the country.

The Kano State High Court on Monday sentenced two people to death by hanging for murdering a businessman in 2005.

The duo were convicted on a two-count charge of conspiracy and murder.
The convicts were arraigned before the court in 2007 for hitting one Sule Adamu on the head with a stick before cutting his throat with a knife.

The prosecution team, led by Senior State Counsel Bashir Sale, told the court that the offences were punishable under Sections 221(b) and 97(1) of the Penal Code.

Sale presented six witnesses during the trial and also tendered the knife that was used to commit the crime as exhibit.

Justice Nuhu Galadanci ordered that the two convicts be hanged by the neck.

The verdict was delivered after recent criticism from the Nigerian Catholic bishops, which was contained in a statement signed by Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of Jos, against the execution of four convicts in Edo State.

Kaigama described the executions as a clear departure from modernity to savagery, adding that they believe that other actions aimed at reforming criminals would do better good to the society than capital punishment.

Amnesty International had earlier called on the Federal Government to stop the execution of five men sentenced to death by hanging in Edo State. A Federal High Court in Benin had rejected a lawsuit filed in October 2012 against three execution warrants and another two warrants in May 2013, the warrants were later signed by the State Governor, Adams Oshiomole.

Lucy Freeman, the Deputy Director for Africa at Amnesty International described the court’s decision as a major setback for justice and human rights in Africa.

The organisation opposes death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime, or the individual’s guilt or innocence, referring to it as a violation of the right to life, cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
According to Amnesty International’s Death Sentences and Execution 2012 report, there have been no executions in the country since 2006. It said 56 people were sentenced to death last year while approximately 1000 people are presently on death row in the country.

SniperInADiaper: Its not easy to see another day or another hour... just because the calendar switches to a new month today doesnt make the new day tomorrow any less special.