₦airaland Forum

These are known facts that affect xtianity in no way, no way at all.

Different strokes for different folks,

@Joagbaje

I personally admire your zeal and conviction, knowing that, it would be hard therefore to engage in an argument with you. You are not going to be convinced and so accept, you are not going to understand and so leave it alone, and you are not going to reason with Catholics (one which is me) and thus even make any effort to be speaking from the same page with them, that is how futile this venture is going to be.

I however understand that being a member of CE, you would have a good idea of what personal encounter entails.

I'm going to be very brief. I was born a Catholic, grew up a nominal Catholic, just going to church every Sunday and observing the various activities of Catholicism (even when as a child in the junior secondary school I had had encounters). I was converted to a personal union with Christ by non-catholic neighbors just after my secondary school. I became troubled with the issue of praying to God and then asking the saints (among them Mary) for intercession from my union with them. To say the truth, I prayed fervently about it, and I still pray and my testimonies only shows that there is nothing wrong with it (I would share them here if asked) I'm a member of the Catholic Charismatic renewal and I've always prayed like a pentecostal, but I still ask for intercession from the saints.

If asking for intercession from the triumphant Church in heaven does not work, no Catholic would waste his time, afterall no one is stopping them from praying to God without asking for intercession, its a matter of choice and conviction of which faith is a vital part.

Shalom.

Jonathan assures on C130 crash victims’ entitlements
By Agency reporter
Thursday, 11 Nov 2010

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday assured families of the September 26, 1992 C130 plane crash that the Federal Government would soon settle their entitlements.

In a posting on his Facebook page, Jonathan apologised for the delay in the payment of the benefits, saying he had already instructed the Minister of Defence, Adetokunbo Kayode, to ensure the quick settlement of the matter.

He said, “I want to assure the widows and dependants of the victims of the C-130 crash that claimed a generation of mid-level military officers at Ejigbo on the outskirts of Lagos on September 26, 1992 that this administration will do everything in its powers to pay the outstanding gratuity and benefits of their late husbands and fathers.

“I sincerely apologise on behalf of the Federal Government for the unwarranted and unacceptable delay they have faced in getting their dues. I feel your pain and anguish and I have directed the Minister of Defence to as soon as possible ensure that all the entitlements and death benefits due to the widows and children of the deceased are paid.

“Your husbands and fathers paid the supreme price for our nation and it is my intention that under my watch, Nigeria, our beloved country, remembers to return the favour for patriotic and gallant service to our motherland. The labour of our heroes past should never be in vain. May their souls rest in peace. GEJ”

MIDDLE BELTERS ARE NOT NORTHERNERS AND HAVE NEVER BEEN IN THE REAL SENSE OF IT, ALL WE DO IS ESCORT THE NORTH TO EXALTED POSITIONS WITH ALL LOYALTY, LIKE A DOG THAT CATCHES A GAME FOR HIS MASTER. CORE NORTHERNERS SEE MIDDLE BELTERS AS INSTRUMENTS OF POLITICAL DOMINATION, BARGAINING CHIPS AND IT ENDS AT THAT. BUKOLA OR ABUBAKAR, IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL.

MIDDLE BELTERS ARE FAR FROM BEING NORTHERNERS!

In some communities, its viewed as a sign of dullness to be at the corridors of power and not enrich yourself with loots, they would keep reminding you and your of how you got the opportunity and wasted it. Nigeria is more decayed than most of us imagine. The line between good and bad is getting blurred by the day. At home, looting has become the primary aim of occupying a political position and politicking is like investing money, energy, time and emotions just to reap billions of Naira when successful. And their children, they are very proud of their parents and go about flaunting their power and the ill gotten wealth. Thus this phrase is very common among them; "do you know who my dad is?".

Well, there is every possibility that the ones that have lived outside this country, where shame wears no mask can develop some conscience and try to dissociate themselves from the activities of their parents but back at home, even pastors sing their praises (they have money to spend and thus are most times the highest donors), the police men treat them like sacred cows, they are easily spotted among the general populace, their patronages are sought at every slight opportunity, and they are considered heirs to their parents' position of leadership (in essence they are considered the leaders of tomorrow). They see no limit at all and life to them is a bed of roses, how can such people not be proud of their parents? To tell you the truth, most children of corrupt leaders (and most Nigerians for that matter) see it as the right thing to do.

Make your deductions my friend, some people's Christian virtues require them to deny facts and to disbelieve obvious truths. You have a choice, use your head and be sincere about it, you will get the truth.

First pope has nothing to do with your xtain life anyway.

Well, the impression was that though you got the information from somewhere else but the article was yours, you wrote it.

This is just an observation anyway.

I'm tired of all these Catholic this, Catholic that, and blunt disregard of facts.

Well like you said, the issues are secondary and that was why I pointed that out, that is what Catholics have been saying too.

But you would have been objective, more unbiased with the side issues, in that way, everyone would understand you in the same light, disclaimer or not.

Telling the truth in all situations and making good deductions are Christian virtues too.

Shalom.

Enigma, the general idea of your post was understood but,

When will you protestants and Pentecostals become sincere when anything has to do with the Catholic Church?

Please be sincere in your criticisms, this is very biased and lacks substance.

Again what is your motive?

You've just succeeded in making a caricature of the whole thing.

In Nigeria, Happiness is more of an attitude than a reaction, its more of a habit than contentment in the state of things.
Nigerians are a happy people because a close look at our culture shows a people who are jubilant at every slight reason to be, people who take great pleasure in proving to their neighbors that all is well with them, even when its not.

The happiness of the greater populace of Nigerians is consequent upon ignorance, a people who are not aware of what they are being deprived of, a people who know not why they should be unhappy, they are suffering, yes, but they see as a norm. They've never had anything good, thus, they have no vivid idea of how good things can be, they've accepted their situation as a way of life, and in that way of life, happiness is an integral part, a culture.

They hear of US and other advanced world and to them its like a fairy tale. The truth remains that a learned men is unhappy man, an enlightened man is a grumbler and often unsatisfied. An ignorant man is a happy man, "suffering and smiling". Mind you, most people in Nigerian are educated but not learned, we are lettered but not enlightened, thus, a professor would cry for a thief who've stolen his money in the yesteryears to come and steal more, a former minister who dined and wined with great leaders of his time would cry foul when his tribesman is not the president, even when the sitting president is better.

In some societies, where leaders are both educated and learned, where the percentage of the populace are enlightened as they are lettered, there would have been a revolution before now. We would get there some day.

2011: I‘ll emerge PDP consensus candidate –Gusau
From NOAH EBIJE and GARBA MUHAMMAD, Kaduna
Thursday, October 28, 2010
•Gusau
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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Beaming with smiles and self-confidence, the presidential aspirant of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau (retd), said yesterday in Kaduna that he would emerge the party’s standard bearer at the forthcoming presidential primary election.
He said he would implement all the developmental agenda left behind by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

Gusau’s self-assurance came on the heels of a committee set up by some northern elders to come up with a consensus candidate from among the four PDP presidential aspirants from the North to challenge President Goodluck Jonathan at the 2011 polls.

The retired Army General and former national security adviser (NSA) who visited the secretariat of the Kaduna State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) told newsmen that the idea of losing the primary election and the election proper had never crossed his mind, stressing that he was going to win the presidential race.

The immediate past NSA boss promised to address the issue of insecurity in the country as soon as he became president, adding that he had already put in place a blueprint to solve security crises in the country. “I am here in Kaduna to see the governor, to visit the Kaduna State party headquarters and also Kaduna State House of Assembly. I am offering myself to run on the ticket of the PDP as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

I believe I have all the qualities, all the experience, and all the knowledge to give back to this country the good name it has had over many years. I believe I can assemble a team that can help and solve the teeming problems that we have in this country whether it is Niger Delta problem, whether it is kidnapping in the South-east and other parts of Nigeria, whether it is drought and flood in the northern part of Nigeria, whether it is transportation, roads, railways and waterways. I believe we can tackle these and solve them.

“Now there are four of us , four of us have agreed and we have appointed a committee of nine wise men. Those nine wise men are to endorse one; any one of the four of us they say is the presidential candidate who will go and do the primary with anybody who wants to contest on the PDP ticket, and I can assure you that any of us will abide by that agreement.

“I don’t think I am going to lose; I believe I am going to emerge as the winner. I cannot answer for the others. But I can answer for myself. I don’t expect to lose. “The security situation of the country is something very serious which we have a blueprint on how to go about it and I have no time now to spell it out but when the time comes, we will definitely sit down and look at it from ward, from the family level up to the presidency.

“If I become the president, you will see the improvement of security in this country.” Gusau stated.

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is not a church but a group within the Catholic Church. If your guy is not a member, you can persuade him to join, in that way, you two would work on the same spiritual plane.

Goodluck.

@pinklady4o
I was faced with the same problem too. The girl I really love with all my heart and who loves me as much was refused marriage to me by her parents because I was a Catholic. I advice you to start attending catholic functions, open your mind so as to be able to give a fair appraisal of whether you would be able to function well spiritually in the catholic church or not. If you discover that you can't, better call it quit or make him understand and ask him to take you as you are. If on the contrary you feel you can function well, then go ahead with it.

If you eventually become a catholic, i advice you join the Catholic charismatic renewal immediately, that would help you alot.

I wish you good luck.

Jonathan sweeps S’West PDP
By CHIDI OBINECHE
Friday, October 22, 2010
•Jonathan
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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Ahead of the presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the South-west geo-political zone may have opted to throw its support behind President Goodluck Jonathan.

Daily Sun investigations show that majority of the political associations within the party are rooting for Jonathan. In Lagos State, for instance which had at various times in the last eleven and a half years been controlled by former vice president, and presidential aspirant, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, there is a seeming settled consensus backing for Jonathan.

Although the state party executive (exco) was installed and still controlled by imprisoned former chairman of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) Chief Olabode George, its sympathy for Jonathan’s aspiration is barely disguised. George and the exco had initial issues against Jonathan over alleged indifference to his plight. The government’s new disposition has ensured maximum comfort for him at his Kirikiri prisons, unfettered access by his relations, friends and coterie of political associates, as well as security and alleged promise of bail and state pardon.

Although, George and the exco’s support for Jonathan is still fluid, attempts by the national leadership of the party to dissolve it came to naught with the propaganda that the arrow head of the push, Chief Dapo Sarumi was a core Atiku man, with ancillary links to former Lagos State governor and Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Sarumi had moved for a fusion of all the groups within the party for a collegiate composition of the exco.
Jonathan intervened in the brewing cauldron when he addressed all the stakeholders in the party a few months ago and promised far-reaching reforms.

About five major groups are in the welter of the struggle to control the party. They are Global Mandate led by former Minister of Works, Senator Oluseye Ogunlewe, and Ambassador (Dr) Tunji Sule, Lagos State Forum, LSF led by Senator Wahab Dosunmu and Mrs Dupe Sasore, the Harmony group led by Dr. Yomi Finnih; the new movement led by Chief Dapo Sarumi, and the establishment led by Chief Bode George.

The crème de la crème of Lagos PDP politicians belong to these five groups; except for the longest serving former chairman of the party, Alhaji Muhammed Ashorobi, and Gen. Tajudeen Olanrewaju (rtd), who broke away to form a movement backing the presidential aspiration of former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd).
Atiku, Gen Aliyu Gusau, and Governor Bukola Saraki are yet to have a strong foothold in the party in the state.
In Ogun, home state of Obasanjo, while the tussle for the governorship seat of the state in 2011 mimmers between him and Governor Gbenga Daniel, it has not affected their sympathy and support for Jonathan.

Obasanjo has positioned Gen Tunji Olurin (rtd) who he drafted to Ekiti State as sole administrator after the declaration of state of emergency in 2006, as the new governor, with his daughter Senator Iyabo Obasanjo as deputy. This arrangement is at cross-purposes with Daniel’s position who prefers Gboyega Isiaka, although they are united in Yewa/Awori division producing the next governor.
Daniel has rallied the Ijebu division, which controls more than 50 per cent of Ogun electorate against the former president’s candidate. The Yoruba unity forum, which meets every two months at the late Obafemi Awolowo’s Ikenne home has unsuccessfully interfaced in the rift.

Oyo State Governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala, has partially clobbered most of the groups opposed to Jonathan in the state into line. Presently, there is confusion over the allegiance of the group belonging to the immediate past governor, Chief Rasheed Ladoja, owing to a sustained romance with Atiku over the years. Akala’s firm control of the affairs of the party in the state and his support for Jonathan have all the indices of a full swing for the president’s aspiration.
In Ondo State, ex-governor Olusegun Agagu is working at full blast for the party’s support for Jonathan with very minimal opposition. The same scenario applies to Ekiti state PDP which though has lost power to the rival ACN, has created deep structures for Jonathan’s presidential aspiration.

Perhaps, the only weak link is Osun State PDP, where the governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola has sympathy for Babangida. But his closeness to Obasanjo has created the enablement for a keen appraisal and comparative evaluation of Jonathan and Babangida. Daily Sun learnt that the lot falls on Jonathan, especially as the majority of the party stalwarts are already working for some of the pro-Jonathan’s presidential groups.

Chairman, Publicity and Media Committee of the Goodluck/Sambo Campaign Committee in Lagos, Chief Willie Akinlude disclosed that Atiku’s short stint in the ACN cost him most of his supporters in Lagos and the South-West.
“When he left for ACN before the 2007 elections, most of his supporters and associates especially in the Primrose circle and Patriotic Front, PF, did not go with him, and have since found other allies.”

Undergraduate to die by hanging for killing friend
From TIMOTHY OLA, Maiduguri
Friday, October 22, 2010
•
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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A Maiduguri High Court has sentenced an undergraduate, Ahmed Abatcha, to death by hanging for killing his friend, Bashir Alhaji Busami.
He was said to have stabbed his friend after which he ran over him with the deceased’s Mercedes Benz car.

Abatcha, who claimed to be a sociology student of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), was arraigned on a two-count charge of culpable homicide and robbery punishable by death under section 221 and 298 of the Penal Code. He was said to have committed the offence on September 10, 2007.

The deceased father, who reported the matter at the G.R.A Police Station in Maiduguri, said his son, Busami travelled with his friend, Abatcha on the fateful day he met his untimely death in a very suspicious manner, adding that the family was troubled following Busami’s disappearance for six days. Subsequently, Abatcha was picked up by the police for questioning; an effort which the police claimed led into further investigation on the fate of Busami.

“But the police maintained that Abatcha could not give satisfactory explanation on the whereabouts of his friend when he was questioned. They said it was later discovered that he hit his friend, Busami on the head with spanner and cutlass after he had sedated him.” Wife of the deceased, Hadiza Bashir, also told the court during the trial that her late husband and his friend ate together. She said the two friends went out thereafter, noting that it was the last time she saw her husband. She added that Abatcha later came to their house without any satisfactory explanation on the where abouts of her husband.

Police also told the court that the wrist watch and shoes of the deceased were found with Abatcha at the time of his arrest. Also testifying, a witness, from Yobe State where the crime was reportedly committed, said he reported to the police when he saw a corpse in a farmland. The witness, a vice principal of a junior secondary school at DogonKuka village in Damagun Local Government Area of Yobe State, disclosed that he saw the corpse of the deceased on his way to his farm.

In his statement to the police, Abatcha admitted to have killed his friend. “I was heading towards Kano via Yobe and on my way to Potiskum town at a place called Damagun, Bashir woke up from the side effect of influence of the drug and I gave him water to drink but he could not. I then became guilty and in the state of confusion, I stopped.

“When Bashir opened the door of the vehicle and fell on the ground, he got up and started running into the bush, I followed him and stabbed him with a sharp knife I was holding in my hand and he removed the knife and wanted to attack me. He fell down and I quickly snatched the knife from him because he was weak. I then brought the car and ran over him.” He also confessed to be a member of a cult based in Lagos.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Pindar Haruna Ngadda said the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Abatcha actually killed his friend Busami. She, therefore, sentenced him to death by hanging on the first count charge and life imprisonment on the second count charge.

Blatter blasts Adamu, Temarii, others
By Our reporter
Friday, October 22 , 2010
Blatter
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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FIFA’s President, Joseph Blatter, has lambasted Dr Amos Adamu and other members of its executive committee provisionally suspended after examining their cases in relation to the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups.

The FIFA Ethics Committee, under the chairmanship of Claudio Sulser, decided on Wednesday to provisionally suspend, with immediate effect, the members of its Executive Committee, Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii, from participating in any football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) and Blatter is unhappy that the affected individuals dragged the name of the world football governing body to the mud.

“FIFA not a corrupt organization,” Blatter said.
“There may be a few bad eggs but we must bring back the credibility. In our society, there are many devils and even in football’s inner circles, there are devils as well but we will do what millions of football fans around the world want to see and that is flushing out these devils,” he said.

After hearing Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii, the Ethics Committee considered that a provisional suspension was required, while the investigation continues, taking into account the gravity of the case and the likelihood that a breach of the FIFA Statutes, the FIFA Code of Ethics and the FIFA Disciplinary Code has been committed.

Furthermore, the Ethics Committee examined the cases of four officials – Slim Aloulou, Amadou Diakite, Ahongalu Fusimalohi and Ismael Bhamjee – also in relation to an alleged breach of the FIFA Statutes, the FIFA Code of Ethics and the FIFA Disciplinary Code linked to the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups.

The committee also decided to suspend the four officials provisionally from participating in any football-related activity. FIFA will meet again in mid-November to take a final decision.

Abuja bombing: Okah gave orders to militants - Prosecutors
From Our reporter
Friday, October 22, 2010
•Okah, right
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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South African prosecutors said yesterday that Henry Okah gave orders to buy the cars used in the October 1 Abuja bombings and rig them with explosives. Okah, the alleged leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) was arrested in Johannesburg on October 2, the day after the twin car bomb blasts, which killed 12 people near the Eagle Square.

“The accused gave instructions to purchase the cars used and load their boots with dynamite,” prosecutor Shaun Abrahams said at Okah’s bail hearing in Johannesburg, reading from an affidavit by the South African police’s lead investigator in the case.

Abrahams said Chima Orlu, the man the Federal Government believe supervised the attacks, contacted Okah by SMS immediately before the blasts and about two hours after.

Orlu, who is wanted in Nigeria, “acted on the instruction of the accused,” Abrahams said. He did not give details of Okah’s alleged exchanges with Orlu, saying the contents are still being investigated. Abrahams also said Okah was in contact by email with some of the nine people arrested in Nigeria after the blasts, and received a forwarded message from one of them that said, “Done, tell them to leave now”, at 4:25 pm, about five and a half hours after the bombings.

According to the affidavit, the explosions took place under the supervision of Chima Orlu, who is said to have acted on the instructions of Mr Okah. Mr Orlu’s telephone records show that he had been in contact with Mr Okah on numerous occasions leading up to October 1. Mr Okah is said to have sent text messages to Mr Orlu on 30 September 2010 at 12h 38:11pm, and on October 1 at 6h 02:39am, 7h 40: 20am, 7h 41:22am and at 7h 41:35 am. Mr Zeeman’s statement stressed that “of greater significance is that Mr Orlu sent an SMS to Mr Okah at precisely 10h 58:59 am on 1 October, 13h 13:01am and 13h 29:59pm on the same day.”

“There are also witness statements which implicate the accused as having been the mastermind behind the attacks,” Abrahams said. He was speaking a day after the magistrate in the case told the prosecution the evidence it had presented in the week-long bail hearing was “vague”.

Whenever topics like this come up somebody is ever ready to dive into the archives and bring up incidences of more than 200 years past.

Institutions of between 2000 to 500yrs old cannot be free of scandals, open your mind.

Some Churches are not even up to 20yrs old and full of scandals.

The past is gone, and if it is the only defense you have, then it would always be there for you to shield yourself with anytime a finger points at you.

Loosen up.

A little leaven leavens the lump.

26'For wicked men are found among My people,
They watch like fowlers lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch men.
27'Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
28'They are fat, they are sleek,
They also excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
29'Shall I not punish these people?' declares the LORD,
'On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?'
30"An appalling and horrible thing
Has happened in the land:
31The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule on their own authority;
And My people love it so!
But what will you do at the end of it?

- Jeremiah 5:26-31

26'For wicked men are found among My people,
They watch like fowlers lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch men.

27'Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.

28'They are fat, they are sleek,
They also excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.

29'Shall I not punish these people?' declares the LORD,
'On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?'

30"An appalling and horrible thing
Has happened in the land:

31The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule on their own authority;
And My people love it so!
But what will you do at the end of it?

- Jeremiah 5:26-31

@Dereloaded

I put it to you that your reactions is not just because of this topic, you are simply a Catholic Church hater, period.

Now a Bishop in Brazil allegedly excommunicated some people because they committed an abortion to save a child's life and suddenly the Catholic Church is Mormonism? The Catholic Church is as bad as can be imagined to you for this singular reason.

I advise you to examine yourself sincerely, what exactly do you have against the Catholic Church because this definitely is not it. Open your mind, state them here sincerely.

The time has come that those who attack the Church think of themselves to be righteous! Protestants, Pentecostals, Freemasons, Illuminati s, Atheists, Ogbonis, just name them.
The simple truth is that if the Mother Church were like the world, the world would have loved her. But its only that which is not planted by God that can be uprooted.

@Nopuqeater,

What you posted above did not answer any of my questions directly. I requested for a direct and explicit answer to each of the questions but I guess you've declined for reasons best known to you. I had expected you to in your usual manner to quote each point and write about it. Though in as much as your disinclination to give a reply was unexpected, its not surprising.

Now I know better.

Shalom.

Diary, weapons receipt at Okah home
2010-10-14 22:17
Related Links

* Okah's bail withdrawn
* NPA can charge Okah with terrorism
* Nigerian militant in SA court
* Security

Johannesburg - South African prosecutors said on Thursday that authorities had seized diaries vowing a "fight to the end" and a quotation for rocket-propelled grenades from the home of a Nigerian man accused of involvement in deadly car bomb attacks in his homeland.

The news came at a bail hearing for Henry Okah, who was arrested in Johannesburg on October 2 and is being held on terror charges in connection with the bombings that killed at least 12 people in Nigeria's capital during a celebration to mark 50 years of independence.

The hearing was adjourned until Friday.

Okah's lawyers say he denies any involvement in the attacks and say he is not a member of the militant group that claimed responsibility - the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND.

The diary entries, read in court, discuss guerilla fighters, training discipline, the use of explosives, boats and night vision. In an entry dated September 19 2010, Okah wrote:

"God is with us. We will fight to the end," - 11 days before the attacks.

Prosecutors said they also found in Okah's home a September 3 invoice from a Chinese company not registered to deal in arms in South Africa showing the price of rocket launchers, rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades, guns and heavy artillery.

Mastermind

Nigeria's attorney general Mohammed Bello Adoke sent a written affidavit pleading for the magistrate not to release Okah, calling him the mastermind of the militant group and charging he is engaged in warfare and "economic sabotage" against Nigeria.

Okah, who has lived in South Africa for the past year, denies any involvement with MEND though he is widely believed to have been a former leader of the movement that has destroyed oil pipelines, kidnapped petroleum company workers and fought government troops since 2006.

The group accuses Nigeria's government of doing nothing to end poverty in the delta even as the nation receives billions of dollars from oil found in the delta region.

Nigeria is a major oil supplier to the United States.

"I was arrested after the bomb attack to appease Nigerian officials who had placed significant pressure on South African authorities to arrest me," Okah said in an affidavit presented by his lawyer.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan's reaction to the bombings has "resulted in a serious embarrassment," he said.
Unauthorised telephone interview

The Johannesburg Magistrate's Court heard on Thursday that Henry Okah had an unauthorised telephone interview with a television network while awaiting his bail application in prison.

"The accused had an interview with Al-Jazeera television network without authorisation from the police," State prosecutor Shaun Abrahams told the court.

This was one of the grounds the State would use to try and convince Magistrate Hein Louw to refuse the 45-year-old former Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) leader his bail.

A military uniform, data from computers and letters confiscated from Okah's home in Mondeor, south of Johannesburg, in the early hours of September 13, were also presented as evidence during the bail application.

In his affidavit, Okah denied any involvement in the October 1 dual car bombing that claimed 12 lives in Nigeria's capital Abuja.

"I am innocent and I challenge the State to give evidence linking me to the crime," his attorney Rudi Krause read from the 32-page document.

He was arrested in Johannesburg a day after the attacks, after being identified as being "the master mind behind the bombings".

Sympathised

MEND claimed responsibility for the attacks, but denied Okah had been involved.

Referring to e-mails sent to warn Nigerian authorities about the attacks, Okah said he was in South Africa at the time. He said the e-mails had come from the west African country.

A former marine engineer, Okah said although he sympathised with the struggle of the poor in the oil-rich Nigeria, he had never involved himself in any violence.

He faces charges of engaging in terrorist activities, conspiracy to engage in terrorist activity, and delivering, placing and detonating an explosive device.

He currently holds permanent residency in South Africa and earns a living through his security company.

According to his affidavit, police and the Army raided his house twice. These searches, one on September 13 and another on October 2, were illegal and didn't find any incriminating evidence.

Okah recounted how he and his family were made to stand outside their house while police seized their cellphones and computers. He also questioned the logic behind his arrest on September 13 and subsequent release.

Politically motivated

"If I were a dangerous terrorist, why then would police release me after their unlawful arrest?"

He claimed he was being persecuted due to his close ties with MEND, and that his arrest was politically motivated.

The Nigerian government could sentence him to death if he were to be extradited and found guilty of the crime.

Earlier the prosecution obtained a certificate from the National Director of Public Prosecutions giving it the go-ahead to charge Okah.

Throughout the day the document had been an issue of contention as the defence and the prosecution argued over its necessity before the bail application could start.

Magistrate Louw found the State failed to provide a certificate at the start of prosecution. Eventually the State managed to obtain the document and avoided the case being struck off the roll.

This could have put Okah at risk being re-arrested after the court ordered his release, the State said.

Okah was arrested in Angola three years ago and transferred to Nigerian custody. He was released as part of an amnesty programme offered to militants in the Niger Delta, the heart of Nigeria's oil industry.

His bail application continues on Friday.

kalahari.net

@segyemaro

Its not all about quarrel but instead of just making a flat write-off of Rev. Frs qualification to give marriage counselings, you should have at least stated why you think they are not qualified. My observation is that most people approach topics with predetermined and biased opinions with even trying to analyze.
Yes, Rev. Frs are not married but does that alone disqualify them from giving marriage counseling? What of experiences in the course of carrying out their duties? what of the extensive training they went through before becoming Rev.Frs? Does a doctor have to suffer from a particular ailment before he can prescribe solutions?
I encourage some of you to drop your prejudices and look at the organization of the Catholic Church on particular matter before you make you conclusions. When everyone comes here and blurt his own stereotyped information fed into him, no one would learn anything new, all we would succeed in doing is just airing rigid views and arguing, with no one ready to understand or even get informed with the fact.

Shallom.

18, um, its normal. Carry go,

@Nopuqueter

I know all these in the Quran already. What I expected from you is to either explicitly affirm what @Niyi claimed or refute it in the same manner. That is:

1. Do you as a muslim believe that Jesus was nailed to the cross?

2. That he went through all the tributions and was at the end pierced at the side, shedding water and blood?

3. He was thought to be dead but was in a swoon and thus was laid in a sepulcher?

4. Was adequately attended to?

5. Recovered (as against resurrection) on the third day and migrated to Kashmir where he lived a normal life, died and was buried in Srinagar.

This is a Muslim's viewpoints, are they yours too?
If yes prove by explaining them point by point.
If no then refute them point by point.

I await your response.

@Pimpu and Niyi53,

What you want to have us blive is that Christ, contrary to the Quran and in line with the Bible was actually betrayed, tried, and nailed to the cross, went through all the tribulations, was pierced at the side with a sword at the instance of which water and blood gushed out. But, while the Quran attested that he was bodily ascended into heaven, from where he would come again to the joy of rightious men and the doom of sinners, you and your likes believe that he migrated to kashmir where he lived a normal life and died at a ripe age.

Interesting.

"It may, therefore, be accepted as beyond controversy that Jesus did not die upon the cross. He was in a swoon when his body was taken down from the cross. He was lovingly tended and cared for and healing ointments and herbs were applied to his wounds from which he recovered sufficiently by the third day to be able to leave the sepuchre. Thereafter, he met his disciples on different occasions (there is a good deal of confusion with regard to this in the Gospel account) always taking precaution lest his presence among them and, therefore, his escape from death, should become known to his enemies. Having fully established testimony to his not having died upon the cross he resolved, under Divine Command, to leave Palestine and to journey through the lands where the lost tribes of Israel then dwelt so that he could carry the Divine message to them.

THUS Jesus completed his mission, died a natural death and was buried in Srinagar, Kashmir. Guided by Divine revelation and subsequent research, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement, located his tomb in the Khanyar Street of the city of Srinagar where it can still be visited. This discovery has dispelled any doubts as to the fact that Jesus did not die on the cross and has removed all uncertainty which had enshrouded the Life of Jesus for many centuries. May God rest his soul in peace and have mercy on him!"

@Niyi, does the Quran support this?