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(Xinhua) -- A former South Korean provincial governor was sentenced Friday to three and a half years in jail over his alleged sexual abuse of his former secretary.
The Seoul High Court overturned the acquittal of An Hee-jung, former governor of South Chungcheong province, by a lower court, finding An guilty of sexually molesting his former female secretary and abusing his authority.
Right after the ruling, An was put in prison. An, seen in the past as one of the powerful presidential hopefuls in the liberal bloc, was condemned by the high court to three and a half years in prison.
The 54-year-old was indicted in April last year for allegedly forcing his former secretary to make love with him using his authority multiple times from July 2017 to February 2018.
An claimed that he had consentual sexual relations with her. The lower court found An not guilty citing lack of evidence.


source:https://www.dailymonitor.ng/ex-s-korean-governor-sentenced-to-3-5-years-in-jail-on-sex-abuse-scandal/

(Reuters) – Venezuela’s socialist leader Nicolas Maduro accused U.S. President Donald Trump of ordering his assassination while his main global backer Russia called on Wednesday for mediation in a standoff deepening geopolitical splits.

The fight to control Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves, has intensified with new U.S. sanctions and legal moves that may bring the arrest of opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido.

In an interview with Moscow’s RIA news agency, Maduro, 56, facing the biggest challenge to his rule since replacing Hugo Chavez six years ago, said Trump had ordered neighboring Colombia to murder him.

Donald Trump has without doubt given an order to kill me and has told the government of Colombia and the Colombian mafia to kill me,” Maduro said, reprising a constant accusation of his and Chavez’s over the years.

Bogota and Washington have routinely denied that, while foes say Maduro uses such accusations as a smokescreen when in trouble.

However, speculation of military action against him was fueled this week when Trump adviser John Bolton carried a notepad with the words “5,000 troops to Colombia”.

In an early morning tweet, Trump warned U.S. citizens against traveling to Venezuela, given the unrest.

Russia, which like China has loaned and invested billions of dollars in OPEC member Venezuela, called on Guaido to drop his demand for a snap election and instead accept mediation.

However, given the failure of previous rounds of dialogue, including one led by the Vatican, opponents are suspicious, believing Maduro uses them to quell protests and buy time.

Venezuela’s Supreme Court has imposed a travel ban on Guaido and frozen his bank accounts in apparent retaliation for oil sanctions imposed by the United States that are expected to severely hit an already collapsing economy

GLOBAL STANDOFF
The United States is Venezuela’s largest crude importer, ahead of India and China, but the new measures limit transactions between U.S. companies and state oil company PDVSA.

Oil prices held steady on Wednesday, as Venezuela supply concerns were offset by the bleak global economic outlook. PDVSA bonds could be excluded from key indexes, also impacting sovereign paper, Bank of America Merill Lynch (BAML) said.

Guaido, the eldest of six children from a working-class family who emerged from virtual anonymity as a political activist, is recognized as president by the United States and most Western Hemisphere nations.

The 35-year-old opposition lawmaker, who is president of the National Assembly, says Maduro fraudulently won a second term last year and is offering an amnesty to military officials.

Maduro, who accuses Guaido of staging a U.S.-directed coup against him, still has the support of the top military brass, and is unlikely to back down unless that changes.

In the RIA interview, Maduro reiterated he was ready for talks with the opposition, but rejected calls for a snap election as blackmail.

“I won legitimately,” he said. “If the imperialists want a new election, let them wait until 2025.”

With the crisis deepening a showdown between Washington and Moscow across various global flashpoints, Maduro also expressed “pleasure and gratitude” for Putin’s help.

Sources have told Reuters private military contractors who do secret missions for Moscow were in Venezuela.

A former union leader, bus driver and foreign minister, Maduro has overseen a shrinking economy and the migration of 3 million Venezuelans fleeing shortages and hyperinflation.

Guaido called for concentrations on Wednesday and a mass march at the weekend. More than 40 people have died so far in and around the protests that began a week ago, the U.N. human rights office said. Hundreds have also been arrested, including children.

“DEFEND THE FATHERLAND”
Government supporters have also attended large rallies led by Maduro allies, while the president visited military bases including overseeing live-fire exercises in recent days.

He ordered the creation of 50,000 popular defense units, community groups charged with the “integral defense of the fatherland.”

Trump’s top advisers include Cold War-era hawks and the Pentagon has refused to rule out military action, although most experts doubt that would happen.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met Guaido’s designated envoy to the United States on Tuesday. Pence said they discussed recent sanctions actions, “highlighting that these deprive Maduro and his cronies access to corrupt income and … preserve the country’s wealth for the people of Venezuela.”

The sanctions are likely to hit daily life hard in Venezuela, where public spending is almost entirely funded by oil. The government is eager to blame Guaido for the measures, which, once they begin to bite, could diminish his popularity.

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab sought a preliminary investigation of Guaido on the basis that he helped foreign countries interfere.

Announcing the investigation, the travel ban and the financial restrictions, Supreme Court President Maikel Moreno, a major Maduro ally, said the measures were to “protect the integrity of the country.”

In a tweet, Bolton warned of “serious consequences for those who attempt to subvert democracy and harm Guaido.”

source:https://www.dailymonitor.ng/venezuelas-president-says-trump-out-to-kill-him/

Boko Haram insurgents attacked two military bases in northeast Nigeria’s Borno state, near the border with Cameroon, injuring six soldiers, two military sources told AFP on Sunday.
Early on Sunday, troops fought off an attack by fighters believed to be from the Abubakar Shekau-led faction of Boko Haram in the town of Pulka, around 90 km (56 miles) southeast of Borno state capital Maiduguri, close to the Cameroon border.
“The terrorists attacked around 1:15 a.m. and soldiers engaged them in a 30-minute fight, forcing them to withdraw,” a military officer said in an account confirmed by another officer.
The fighters’ intention was to attack and loot the town after overrunning the base, said the officer, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Late on Saturday another base in Logomani village near the town of Gamboru was attacked, leading to a fight that left six soldiers injured.
“Troops came under attack by Boko Haram terrorists who came in four gun trucks around 6:30 p.m.,” the second officer told AFP.
“Six soldiers were wounded from bomb fragments,” he said.
ISIS said in a statement that Islamic State West Africa province fighters were responsible for the attack in Logomani, claiming that 30 soldiers were killed and others injured.

source:https://www.dailymonitor.ng/boko-haram-attacks-military-bases-in-borno-injure-six-soldiers/

Justice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court, Lagos has sentenced two former staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Christian Nwosu and Tijani Inda Bashir, to an accumulative 91-year jail term after finding them guilty of their involvement in the laundering of N264.8 million in the build-up to the 2015 general elections.


The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had alleged that the money was proceed of unlawful activities, specifically that it was part of the $115 million largesse doled out by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke to influence the outcome of the election.

They were re-arraigned by the EFCC on an amended nine-count charge on March 7, 2018.

Justice Idris had on January 24, 2019 convicted them, and fixed sentencing to today, January 25, 2019.

In his ruling, Justice Idris held that: “It is the vision of INEC to serve as an independent and effective election management body that is committed to the conduct of a free, fair and credible election for sustainable democracy in Nigeria.

“These convicts, by their conducts, acted in breach of the said objective and vision of INEC.

“Their actions were a disgrace to the institution.

“INEC officials must be made to understand that their conduct must be conducted within the ambit of the Law and that anyone who breached this Law will be dealt with to the fullest.

“It must be understood that leadership and governance are serious matters that should be handed over to and handled by the most patriotic persons, most informed minds and the brightest brains for purposes of accountability, responsibility and the strength of our nation.

“This country must not be allowed to descend into anarchy and despondency.

“This country cannot afford an unhealthy electoral body.

“As we are going into the forthcoming election, INEC must note that this country deserves a credible election and anyone that acts contrary to the Law, must be dealt with decisively.

“In this regard, the country only needs those with indomitable courage, implacable political will to perform their duties.

“Those who play ignoble roles must be identified and removed immediately.

“The penalty prescribed in Section 15(3) and 16 (2b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act under which the defendants were found liable provides for terms of imprisonment and in some instances options of fine or both.

“In the light of the above the court will temper justice to the extent only permitted by the Law itself.

“Again, a strong message must be sent to INEC that the eyes of the world are on them. The entire nation is watching and those who decide to act contrary to their oath of office will be identified; and when they are identified, they will be prosecuted and if found guilty, will be punished”.

The trial judge, thereafter, sentenced Nwosu to seven years imprisonment on counts one, two and nine; and five years imprisonment on counts three and four.

Inda-Bashir was sentenced to seven years on counts one and two; five years on counts three and four; seven years on counts five, six and seven; eight years on count eight; and seven years on count nine.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

The Court also ordered Nwosu to forfeit to the Federal Government of Nigeria a landed property at Okpanaman in Delta State valued N5 million, another landed property at Okpanaman, Delta State valued at N20 million, and the sum of N5 million raised in favour of the EFCC.

Inda-Bashir was ordered to forfeit to the Federal Government of Nigeria a four-bedroom flat located at 6, Umeh Street, Wise 2, Abuja.
source:https://www.dailymonitor.ng/diezani-n264-8m-bribe-two-inec-staff-bag-91-years-jail-term-2/

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - The robots at the Enjoy Budapest Cafe can do it all - they can serve up food and drink, tell jokes, dance with the kids or just hang out for a chat with customers.
The cafe, opened by IT company E-Szoftverfejlesztő in the Hungarian capital, is staffed by a whole team of robots that aim to help familiarize the public with the technological revolution in automation and artificial intelligence.
The robot waiters follow fixed paths to deliver food and drink orders to customers, who are asked to keep out of the robots’ way.
Others serve up entertainment, such as Pepper, a “receptionist” robot that can hold a conversation and also dance with customers.
Developed by Japanese company Softbank, Pepper needed to be modified to be able to hear customers in the noisy environment of a cafe, owner Tibor Csizmadia says.
From online reviews customers appear to be charmed by Pepper’s antics and were forgiving of the laborious service style of her ‘waiter’ colleagues.
Despite fears that increasing automation and artificial intelligence will take away employment from humans, Enjoy Budapest Cafe’s robots aren’t putting anyone out of a job yet.
“We actually employ twice as many people as before, because to operate 16 to 20 robots from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. we need to have IT specialists in the background,” Csizmadia says.

source:https://www.dailymonitor.ng/robots-serves-customers-food-drink-tell-jokes-and-dance/

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria’s main opposition party has suspended its presidential election campaign for 72 hours in protest at the suspension of the country’s most senior judge by President Muhammadu Buhari, it said on Saturday.
The president on Friday said he had suspended chief justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen who has been asked to appear before a tribunal over allegations of breaching asset-declaration rules.
Onnoghen has not responded to the charges and his lawyers say the tribunal does not have the authority to try him.
“In the first instance, we are suspending our campaign for 72 hours. It is our hope that President Buhari will listen to the voice of all lovers of democracy the world over and restore democracy in Nigeria immediately and without qualifications,” the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said in a statement.

source:https://www.dailymonitor.ng/apc-suspends-campaign-protest-suspension-of-onnoghen/

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African prosecutors on Thursday provisionally withdrew corruption charges against Duduzane Zuma, the son of former president Jacob Zuma.

Duduzane Zuma faced charges of corruption and conspiracy to commit corruption related to his dealings with the Guptas, a trio of Indian-born brothers who are accused of using their relationship with former president Zuma to win state contracts.

Zuma appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Johannesburg court where state prosecutors withdrew the case pending further evidence. The Guptas and Zumas deny wrongdoing.
source:https://www.dailymonitor.ng/south-africa-withdraws-corruption-charges-against-zumas-son/

President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has ordered a ban on sports betting in the East African country, a minister has disclosed
State Minister of Finance David Bahati, was quoted by the privately-run Daily Monitor portal as confirming that no new licenses will be issued for the betting companies and that old licenses will not be renewed upon expiration.
“We have received a directive from President [Yoweri] Museveni to stop licensing sports betting, gaming and gambling companies. The president has now directed the board which has been regulating them,” Mr Bahati is quoted to have said.
He cited the negative impact of betting on the youth as the main motive behind the presidential directive. “From now onwards, no new companies are going to be licensed. Those which are already registered, no renewal of licences when they expire,” he added.
The Minister was speaking to a church congregation in the western town of Kabale. He insinuated that the prayers of church leaders who oppose betting had been anwsered and they now had cause to celebrate.
Sports betting continues to gain a stranglehold across most parts of Africa. Young people are usually seen camped at centers especially placing bets on football games in the English Premier League and other top football leagues.
Betting bodies are usually regulated by law and operate under national gaming bodies that license them. The specific case of football betting continues to raise concerns because its main patrons are young people.

source:https://www.dailymonitor.ng/president-of-uganda-orders-a-ban-on-sports-betting/

The singer was detained by police in Paris after a woman filed a complaint accusing him of raping her at his hotel.
According to huffpost, Singer Chris Brown, who was detained Monday by police in Paris after a woman accused him of rape, is planning to sue the woman, according to his attorney Raphael Chiche.
Shortly after Brown, 29, was released Tuesday night without charges from the prosecutor’s office, Chiche announced that he was preparing to sue the woman for making the claims against the singer.
“Chris Brown is free. No lawsuits were filed against him,” Chiche tweeted. “He vigorously challenges the charges against him. A complaint for slanderous denunciation will be filed tomorrow with the public prosecutor of Paris.”
Brown and two others were placed in police custody on Monday on suspicion of aggravated rape and a drug offense after a woman filed a complaint with Parisian police accusing the group of raping her at the singer’s hotel, according to The New York Times.
The Paris prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press that Brown and his group were released from custody and authorized to leave the country while the investigation was ongoing.
In a statement to Entertainment Tonight, Chiche confirmed that the prosecutor had not sued Brown but noted that Brown was still under investigation.
“The charges against Chris Brown have not been dropped and investigations are still going on, but Chris Brown has not been sued by prosecution,” Chiche said.
Later Tuesday, Chiche confirmed that he was “preparing” to file a complaint against Brown’s accuser.
I’m preparing the complaint #ChrisBrown will file against her accuser
https:///4bxd0p2uik
— Raphael Chiche (@rchicheavocat) January 23, 2019

French celebrity news magazine Closer was the first to report Brown’s detention.
According to the magazine, Brown’s accuser told police that she was raped at his suite in the Mandarin Oriental hotel on the night of Jan. 15. She said she met the singer and his friends earlier that evening at a nightclub near the Champs-Élysées.
The Associated Press confirmed the details of the woman’s report, citing an unnamed police official.
Brown maintained his innocence in an Instagram caption shared with a photo that reads, “This bitch lyin’.”
Brown is no stranger to allegations of violence.
In one high-profile incident in 2009, Brown attacked pop star Rihanna, his girlfriend at the time, in his car, leaving her face bruised and swollen. Brown was sentenced to five years of probation for the assault.
Then in 2017, Brown’s ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran filed a temporary domestic violence restraining order against the singer. In court documents, Tran alleged that Brown pushed her down the stairs, punched her in the stomach and threatened to shoot her. She also said Brown told others he was going to kill her.
Last July, Brown was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida, on a felony battery warrant from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. The charge was linked to an incident in April 2017 in which Brown allegedly punched a photographer who took a photo of him.
Source :https://www.dailymonitor.ng/chris-brown-plans-to-sue-rape-accuser/

Six Nigerian soldiers were killed and 14 injured when Boko Haram militants raided Kamuya, security and hospital sources said on Saturday, January 19.
Militants attacked an army position on Thursday in Kamuya, a village in the northeastern Borno state, near the home of Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai’s mother, the sources said.
“We lost six soldiers in the fight and 14 others sustained various degrees of injuries,” an army officer said.
“The terrorists also suffered heavy losses,” the officer added without giving figures.
A medic at the hospital in nearby Damaturu confirmed that the bodies of six soldiers were taken to the morgue on Friday.
Militants captured four military vehicles and destroyed two others, said the military source who asked not to be identified because he was not authorised to speak about the incident.
Security sources told AFP on Friday that troops had fought off the militants who failed to overrun the post.
The attack began at about 5pm (1600 GMT) and lasted for around three hours, with the gunmen meeting “stiff resistance from the soldiers,” civilian militia leader Mustapha Karimbe said from the town of Biu, around 30 km (18 miles) from Kamuya.
“The soldiers stood their ground and fought the terrorists for close to three hours and forced them to flee,” a military officer in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, told AFP.
Kamuya was hit twice by Boko Haram in December 2015, not long after Buratai was appointed Chief of Army Staff.
It is unclear which Boko Haram faction was behind the attack, although Islamic State West Africa province is known to operate in the area.

With reporting from AFP

source :https://www.dailymonitor.ng/six-nigeria-soldiers-killed-in-boko-haram-raid-in-kamuya/

Nigerians are earnestly waiting to vote for the general election Next month. Daily Monitor Nigeria has carried out an investigation on the condition of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) card readers. Sources from the commission, who spoke to us, have expressed worry over the poor condition of the card readers which will be used for the general election.
A source in the commission told us that many of the card readers have broken down. Some components of the machines are missing. They are malfunctioning. He said that the card readers are left to rot and wear away and will surely malfunction on Election day.
According to source in the commission, card readers could malfunction because of many reasons. Expert says even dirty could cause a card reader to malfunction. This calls to mind the situation of thousand of card readers abandoned at different locations in INEC offices through the federation. In a situation whereby the card readers are covered with dust and dirty, there is obvious believe that they will disappoint at the election. Poor maintenance culture is a problem which affects almost every sphere of Nigerian public institutions. Little wonder this INEC card readers have been abandoned. They do not enjoy proper maintenance in line with the specification of the manufacturers.
Manufacturer of INEC Card reader stipulates that it should be regularly cleaned and maintained for proper functioning of the card reader. The maintenance of card reader ensures optimum performance and output.
Besides dirty, humid environment causes malfunction of card readers. While majority of problem that arises from card readers can be resolved with proper repair and maintenance, this is not the case with the INEC card readers which are kept to rot and wear away.
In just month to the election, the card readers are covered with web, dirty, rot and dust at INEC offices .Their parts and components are missing. The careless attitude towards the card readers would directly affect their output and function at the Election day.
The end result is the rejection of PVC and failure to authenticate voters for the election. A situation, where voters who has trooped out to vote would be frustrated by a malfunctioning card reader is an ill wind that brows no one any good .
Source told DAILY MONITOR NIGERIA, that PVC will be rejected; there will be readers’ error, repeated insert/swipes and high failure rate in the use of the card readers. There will be massive disenfranchisement of voters on the day of election.
Be that as it may, the battery of the card readers has broken down since the last election. There is the fear that the acid from batteries have destroyed vital parts and component of the card reader machine. Source in INEC told our correspondent that the INEC card reader lack proper maintenance and that if care is not taken, the faulty machine would be taken to polling booths in that condition. He said; “As I speak with you now, the card readers are in ugly condition. The card reader was abandoned since 2015 election. It is in our office now covered with dust and cobweb. The use of the card readers cannot be assured in terms of its proper function. I am afraid, it will fail”
Another source in the commission who identified himself as an Engineer, but does not want to be named said “The card readers lack maintenance. The public do not know that the machine may disappoint on election day. The batteries, parts, components are faulty. If you abandon your phone without using it for 3 years, how do you expect it to work well again? He queried . And if you abandon your television or Generator for some years, how are you sure that it will work again. The commission is not doing enough to salvage the situation, he concluded.
In the forth coming election, billion of naira has been approved for INEC for the conduct of the election. As expectation builds on INEC, it is to be seen how such Billions will be used for proper conduct of the election.And in a situation whereby the card readers are not in good shape for the election, one wonder the use of the money approved for the 2019 general election.
Used in voting during the 2015 election, the INEC card reader is a portable electronic voting authentication device configured to read only the permanent voter cards (PVs) issued by Independent National Electoral Commission. According to Wikipedia, the card reader was designed specifically for the accreditation process authentication of eligible voters. This card reader is placed into a device which displays the voters’ details. The voter places their thumb on the device and their identity is confirmed.
By Blessing John, Daily monitor Reporter , www.dailymonitor.ng

source https://www.dailymonitor.ng/inec-card-readers-in-bad-condition-may-disappoint-on-election-day-exclusive-by-blessing-john/

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A surgeon has gone on trial accused of killing a woman by secretly putting cocaine underneath his foreskin before she gave him MouthAction.
Dr Andreas David Niederbichler, 42, has gone on trial in the city of Magdeburg, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
He is accused of killing a 38-year-old hairdresser, named only as Yvonne M.
The victim became extremely short of breath after performing MouthAction and collapsed,mirror UK repots .
An autopsy showed that she had died from a cocaine overdose.
According to Yvonne’s friends, she had a long-running affair with the German surgeon and trusted him blindly.
One friend said: “Yvonne wanted to leave her husband for Niederbichler. He was like Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey to her.”
Niederbichler faces multiple charges including causing grievous bodily harm, leading to death.
He is also accused of putting cocaine under his foreskin before having vaginal, anal and MouthAction with several other women.
Prosecutors say that he also secretly put cocaine in glasses of champagne before giving it to his bed partners.
Chief prosecutor Eva Vogel said the surgeon wanted to make the women more compliant to his sexual requests.
She said: “He administered the cocaine to freely carry on further sex practices.”
Another of his sexual partners twice crashed her car after unknowingly taking cocaine during sex sessions, while another woman lost consciousness completely and has since suffered from nervous twitches.
Niederbichler has not yet commented on the allegations in court, while his lawyer, Olaf Schroeder, said only that the death of Yvonne M had been “unwanted”.
The surgeon was the head physician at the Ameos Clinic for Plastic, Aesthetic and Hand Surgery in the town of Halberstadt in Saxony-Anhalt.
Before that he was head physician for plastic, aesthetic and hand surgery at the Dessau Municipal Hospital.
The trial continues

source https://www.dailymonitor.ng/doctor-killed-girlfriend-many-women-by-sprinkling-poison-on-penis-before-sex/

Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base in remote northeast Nigeria, setting fire to shelters for those made homeless by the conflict, military and humanitarian sources told AFP on Tuesday, January 15.
The attack in Rann, some 175 km (110 miles) northeast of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, began late on Monday afternoon and forced civilians to flee.
It followed a pattern by the Islamic State West Africa Province faction of Boko Haram that has called into question government claims the group is virtually defeated.
A similar attempt was made to take over a military base in Magumeri, 50 km northwest of Maiduguri, on Sunday, a local community leader said.
A military source in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, said the attack began at about 5:20 p.m. (1620 GMT) on Monday.
“The terrorists took over a military position in Rann following heavy fighting,” he said on condition of anonymity.
Nigerian government forces fled during the attack, Reuters reported security sources as saying.
According to Reuters’ sources, residents of the town also fled and the militants set buildings on fire.
Poor visibility because of seasonal Harmattan winds hampered the deployment of air force jets, and troops were forced to withdraw, he added.
Rann has been repeatedly attacked in the nine-year conflict. The town currently hosts some 35,000 internally displaced people, according to the International Organization for Migration.
On December 6, Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base in Rann, but it was unclear which faction they belonged to. After an hour’s heavy fighting, the militants were pushed out with aerial support, one security source told AFP.
Camps torched
“The terrorists went about setting fire to camps and shelters of IDPs. Most people have fled the town into the bush but we have no details of casualties at the moment.”
An aid worker in Maiduguri added: “We have been in touch with some aid workers in Rann, who said the town had been taken by ISWA and camps were being burned.
“They had to flee towards Bulale on the Cameroon side of the border. The details are sketchy.”
Split in Boko Haram factions
Boko Haram split into two factions in mid-2016 over ideological differences. One is led by Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi and largely focuses on attacking military and government targets, while the other, led by Abubakar Shekau, is notorious for suicide bombings and indiscriminate killings of civilians.
Shekau has pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, but ISIS central gave its formal backing to the Barnawi faction, which is known as Islamic State West Africa province.
ISWA has lately intensified its armed campaign, launching a number of major assaults on military targets in Borno and neighboring Yobe state amid signs of a takeover by more hardline leaders.
There have been dozens of attacks on military bases since July, most of which have been blamed on ISWA, or claimed by ISIS as ISWA attacks.
Nigerian Army returns to Baga
On January 10, Nigerian troops returned to the strategic town of Baga on the shores of Lake Chad, after Boko Haram attacks forced tens of thousands to flee.
Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province of Boko Haram attacked three military bases in and around Baga late last month.
The United Nations has said more than 30,000 people had since sought refuge in the garrison town of Monguno and the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, as the military prepared to conduct operations in the area.
Some buildings, including the homes of local politicians, chiefs and community leaders, were burnt down in Baga and neighboring Doron Baga.
Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman, Director of Army public relations later said in a statement published on Facebook that special forces had begun clearance operations on December 28.
“[t]he Special Forces lost one officer and a soldier, while 5 other soldiers sustained injuries,” in Baga, Usman said.
He said that troops were “consolidating and clearing vestiges of the terrorists” in Borno state, with “special emphasis on the Lake Chad region.”
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said in December 2015 that Boko Haram were “technically defeated” after a sustained counter-insurgency.
source:https://www.dailymonitor.ng/boko-haram-militants-overrun-rann-near-nigeria-border-with-cameroon/

For more than 13 years, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of Nigeria and now presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, kept away from the United States.
Once, the US even turned down his request for a visa.
But on Thursday, he landed in Washington DC for talks with some American officials on his campaign in Nigeria. His visit, said to have been facilitated by his former boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo and other lobbyists, threw up questions as to why he had avoided America in the first place.
What is known is that nine years ago, there was a US Senate Committee report detailing money laundering activities against him, including being a recipient of a bribe by Siemens.
The Committee known as the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations was chaired by Senator Carl Levin.
The probe was motivated by US government concern about corruption in the Third World and its corrosive effects on the development of honest government, democratic principles, and the rule of law.
“It is also blamed for distorting markets, deterring investment, deepening poverty, undermining international aid efforts, and fostering crime. Some have drawn connections between corruption, failed states, and terrorism. Corruption also continues to be a massive problem. The World Bank has estimated that $1 trillion in bribes alone exchange hands worldwide each year,” the committee noted in its bulky report.
Abubakar was not the only foreign Politically Exposed Person(PEP) probed by the committee. He had company in Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, now the 48-year-old son of Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mbasogo, the President of Equatorial Guinea (EG), late President of Gabon, Omar Bongo and three Angolan PEP accounts, involving an Angolan arms dealer, an Angolan government official, and a small Angolan private bank.
The committee submitted its report on 4 February 2010, three years after Abubakar left office as Nigeria’s vice president.
The report unveiled violations of US laws by Abubakar and his fourth wife, Jennifer Douglas. It also included revelations about Siemens bribe paid into one of the accounts, and it possibly provided the basis for Abubakar being barred from entering the United States, since then.
This Report examines how politically powerful foreign officials, their relatives, and close associates – referred to in international agreements as Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) – have used the services of U.S. professionals and financial institutions to bring large amounts of suspect funds into the United States to advance their interests. Using four case histories, this Report shows how some PEPs have used U.S. lawyers, real estate and escrow agents, lobbyists, bankers, and even university officials, to circumvent U.S. anti-money laundering and anti- corruption safeguards. This Report also offers recommendations to stop the abuses.
Here is a summary of the report:
Abubakar Case History.
From 2000 to 2008, Jennifer Douglas, a U.S. citizen and the fourth wife of Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and former candidate for President of Nigeria, helped her husband bring over $40 million in suspect funds into the United States through wire transfers sent by offshore corporations to U.S. bank accounts.
In a 2008 civil complaint, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Ms. Douglas received over $2 million in bribe payments in 2001 and 2002, from Siemens AG, a major German corporation.
While Ms. Douglas denies wrongdoing, Siemens has already pleaded guilty to U.S. criminal charges and settled civil charges related to bribery and told the Subcommittee that it sent the payments to one of her U.S. accounts.
In 2007, Mr. Abubakar was the subject of corruption allegations in Nigeria related to the Petroleum Technology Development Fund.
Of the $40 million in suspect funds, $25 million was wire transferred by offshore corporations into more than 30 U.S. bank accounts opened by Ms. Douglas, primarily by Guernsey Trust Company Nigeria Ltd., LetsGo Ltd. Inc., and Sima Holding Ltd.
The U.S. banks maintaining those accounts were, at times, unaware of her PEP status, and they allowed multiple, large offshore wire transfers into her accounts. As each bank began to question the offshore wire transfers, Ms. Douglas indicated that all of the funds came from her husband and professed little familiarity with the offshore corporations actually sending her money.
When one bank closed her account due to the offshore wire transfers, her lawyer helped convince other banks to provide a new account. In addition, two of the offshore corporations wire transferred about $14 million over five years to American University in Washington, D.C., to pay for consulting services related to the development of a Nigerian university founded by Mr. Abubakar.
American University accepted the wire transfers without asking about the identity of the offshore corporations or the source of their funds, because under current law, the University had no legal obligation to inquire.
Executive Summary
Combating corruption is a key U.S. value and goal, due to its corrosive effects on the rule of law, economic development, and democratic principles. In 2001, the Patriot Act made the acceptance of foreign corruption proceeds a U.S. money laundering offence for the first time, and required banks to apply enhanced scrutiny to private banking accounts opened for senior foreign political figures, their relatives, and close associates. In 2003, the United States supported the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, now ratified by over 140 countries. Also in 2003, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) formed an investigative group dedicated to combating foreign corruption by PEPs. In 2004, President Bush issued Presidential Proclamation 7750 denying U.S. visas to foreign officials involved with corruption, and Congress later enacted supporting legislation. A 2009 study sponsored by the World Bank analyzed PEP controls worldwide and recommended stronger measures to reduce corruption.
The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Subcommittee) initiated this investigation to learn how U.S. laws apply to PEPs utilizing the domestic financial system, and examine how foreign senior political figures, their relatives, and close associates may be circumventing or undermining anti-money laundering (AML) and PEP controls to bring funds that may be the product of foreign corruption into the United States. It is the latest in a series of Subcommittee hearings examining foreign corruption and its U.S. aiders and abettors.
During the course of its investigation, the Subcommittee staff conducted over 100 interviews, including interviews of lawyers, real estate agents, escrow agents, lobbyists, bankers, university professionals, and government officials. The Subcommittee issued over 50 subpoenas and reviewed millions of pages of documents, including bank records, correspondence, contracts, emails, property records, flight records, news articles, and court pleadings. In addition, the Subcommittee consulted with foreign officials, international organisations, financial regulators, and experts in anti-money laundering and anti-corruption efforts.
In addition, there was the case of Congressman William Jefferson who was jailed for accepting a bribe from a would-be Nigerian investor, Lori Mody, who was wearing a wire.
Jefferson told the investor that he would need to give then Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar $500,000 “as a motivating factor” to make sure the company obtained contracts for iGate and Mody’s company in Nigeria.
The case put Atiku in bad spotlight, with his mansion in Potomac, Maryland searched by the FBI in 2005. But there was nothing incriminating found in the house.
About 12 years after the raid, Atiku sold the property.
NAN
source:https://www.dailymonitor.ng/why-atiku-avoided-america-for-13-years/

A man convicted of rape after a police probe into a human trafficking operation in Sharjah has been cleared at court.
The Egyptian was handed a three-year prison term last August after being found guilty of a sex attack on a maid in the emirate,The National Egypt reports.
A sting operation led by Sharjah Police found that the victim was subsequently sold for sex by an Indonesian woman for Dh1,000.
The woman was jailed for life for human trafficking offences, while the Bangladeshi man who bought the victim was given a six-year prison term on charges of human trafficking, rape, physical assault, confinement and forcing the victim into prostitution.
The ages of the victim and the defendants in the case were not disclosed in court records.
The Indonesian maid had alleged that the Egyptian defendant had also forced her to have sex with him.
Court records stated that she worked as a domestic helper in Dubai before leaving her employment and being forced into prostitution in Sharjah.
At the court of appeal, the Egyptian man's rape conviction was overturned.
The Bangladeshi defendant had his sentence reduced to four years following an appeal.
The Indonesian woman fronting the human trafficking plot also appealed against her life term, but the sentence was upheld.


source.https://www.dailymonitor.ng/man-wrongly-send-to-prison-for-rape-cleared/

A Tanzanian priest has been arrested over the gang rape of a woman in Nyeri. He will remain in police custody as detectives conduct investigation.
A Nyeri court on Tuesday ordered Joseph Karuga Muraguri to be detained until when he will take plea.
Nuru Abdullahi, the case investigating officer, requested the court to grant detectives five days to conclude investigation into the case.
He said the woman was gang-raped at Ruring’u estate in the outskirts of Nyeri town on January 12.
Mr Abdullahi told the court that he believed the priest was connected to the crime and termed the case “sensitive”.
Nyeri Resident Magistrate Maisi Chesang allowed police to hold the suspect for two days.
The case will continue and the court will determine whether to release the suspect on bond.
source:https://www.dailymonitor.ng/priest-arrested-in-gang-rape-case/

NBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin said on Thursday the big takeaway from former Trump transition team leader Chris Christie seemed to be that the president was running out of friends in a cabinet filled with backstabbers, Rawstory reports .
“It does look like the president might not have any friends left when you read this book and see some of his inner circle,” Mohyeldin said, reading an excerpt from Christie’s book. “It’s really just down to his family that are loyal to him in a very strong way.’
“Everyone seems to have a target on their back when it comes to Chris Christie, except for Donald Trump himself,” agreed MSNBC analyst and former CIA agent Ned Price, who went on to say the president has no one to blame but himself for his legal problems.
“We’ve heard Donald Trump in recent days say the buck doesn’t stop with him, it stops with everybody, in his own words, but of course we know that not to be the case,” Price said. “It wasn’t Jared Kushner or anyone else, for example, who made the final decision to hire Michael Flynn as his national security adviser even after President Obama warned him against it.” He added that Trump had also signed off on Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, and George Papadopoulos, all of who pled guilty to charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller.
“Chris Christie says something interesting, that the president’s team is comprised in part of convicted and unconvicted felons,” Price went on. “I think the big question [is] those who have committed crimes who have yet to face justice.”
source :https://www.dailymonitor.ng/trumps-cabinet-is-full-of-backstabbers/

The popularity of Buhari and Atiku will be tested next month