₦airaland Forum

For his inability to pay back N200 borrowed from his landlady in 2013, a young carpenter has met with untimely death.

27-year-old man, Michael Abodurin, was recently stabbed to death by hoodlums believed to be under the payroll of his landlady, Idowu Adenekan, in the Oworonsoki area of Lagos.

Before he died, a bottle was smashed on his head after which he was stabbed with a pair of scissors in the chest.

Residents who spoke to Punch Newspapers disclosed that the incident happened on last Saturday around 11pm.

I had just returned from work that day when I met them arguing over N200. I was told that Abodurin’s friend had owed the landlady the money since last year and he had not visited the house since then.

But he came on a visit that Saturday and when the landlady saw him, she demanded her money, which the man said he did not have. She insisted on collecting the money from him despite interventions from the people around.

When everybody saw that she would not let the matter rest, Abodurin offered to pay the money, but she refused. Her aged father also gave her the money, but she refused. At least three people offered to pay the money, but she insisted that the debtor must pay her.”

Another resident, Chigozie Odinaka, said as the argument continued, some hoodlums invited by Adenekan started to make trouble with the unidentified friend.

Odinaka, who described the landlady as a troublesome woman whom they all feared in the neighbourhood, said in the ensuing scuffle, Abodurin was hit on the head with a bottle.

“As the fight degenerated, Adenekan was struck with a bottle in the head. As he was going to report at the police station, one of the hoodlums went after him and stabbed him in the chest with a scissors, which led to his death,” he added.

The landlady and a suspect, who allegedly stabbed the deceased, were taken into custody as some aggrieved friends of the deceased threatened to burn down the house.

Toke Makinwa and her husband, Maje Ayida, stepped out in style yesterday for the Harvard Business School dinner in Lagos. Toke stunned in an April by Kunbi crop top and skirt.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has blamed the Boko Haram insurgency ravaging some parts of northern Nigeria on the Niger Delta amnesty programme, even as he described the programme as a failure.

The ex-president also stated that President Goodluck Jonathan administration’s approach to curbing the activities of the Niger Delta militants “had taken the form of throwing money at the problem, particularly stuffing the pockets and bank of the militants’ leadership with obscene cash in reckless and unsustainable manner”.
These views were expressed by Mr. Obasanjo in his controversial autobiography, My Watch, a three-volume memoir, which was launched in Lagos Tuesday.

According to the outspoken former president, the way and manner in which the militants were enriched by the federal government fuelled the Boko Haram insurgents.
“The idea is that ‘what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander’. After that (Niger Delta amnesty programme) is accomplished, I suppose the Movement for Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) in the South-East will make their own demand, which of necessity must be heeded. And finally, Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) in the South-West will not be left out”, he stated.
Obasanjo also lashed out at his successor, late President Umaru Yar’Adua and the present administration on security under their watch, stressing that it was one of the things that “got me worried”.
Commenting on President Jonathan’s response to the abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, Obasanjo said “the one incident that overtly and graphically exposed the ineptitude, ineffectiveness, inefficiency, carelessness, cluelessness, callousness, insensitivity and selfishness of Goodluck Jonathan was the abduction of about 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno State by Boko Haram.
“The reaction and attitude of our president and his household was that of non-belief, to the extent that 18 days passed before he grudgingly conceded to accept the reality of the abduction. If serious action had been taken within 48 hours, the story could have been different. Seventy-two hours was, for me, too late. After all, there would have been logistics required for moving almost 390 girls through the bush and small settlements by the Boko Haram”.

In the third volume of the book entitled ‘Now and Then’, Obasanjo described President Jonathan as a failure to the country.
He said: “After watching, reaching out to, studying, talking to and listening to the president himself and the people around him, I came, sadly, to a number of conclusions that mark Jonathan out as a man of adequate intelligence to run the affairs of Nigeria but lacking in broad vision, knowledge, confidence, understanding, concentration, capacity, sense of security, courage, moral and ethical principles, character and passion to move the nation forward on a fast trajectory”.

The former president also decried what he described as the selfish interest of Mr. Jonathan, saying he places his personal interest far above both national and party interests.

Referring to the 2011 general elections, the former PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman claimed that heavy financial prices were paid to Lagos and Ondo states’ opposition to secure votes for President Jonathan against the interest of the PDP at the state levels.
“I had watched Jonathan and stood close to him in picking the national chairman of the party and chairman of board of trustees that succeeded me. What I saw and heard from him disgusted me to no end. Where Jonathan’s interests are concerned, there can be no decorum. Everything can be ‘rofo rofo’ and no party or national interests matter”.
He, however, restated his “unrepentant optimism” that Nigeria will once again remain united and regain its lost glory.

The President and founder of the Living Faith Church worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, has described his wife as a God-sent to him. According to City People Group, speaking during the ongoing Shiloh, Bishop Oyedepo said, “My partner of 38 years, joined as husband and wife for 32 years now. For 32 years, she has not caused me one problem, I’ve had no domestic concern ever!” Oyedepo has also described the current turbulent times and religious extremism the world is facing,
as a sign of the end time.

He made this declaration during the opening service of his ministry’s annual Shiloh event, which started on Tuesday, based his statement on Biblical truths, which, according to him, are rifer more than ever before, alluding to the negative effect of ISIS in the Middle-East. In a message, entitled, “Heralding the era of Heaven on Earth,” the 60-year old preacher said, “We are in the end time; it is trying time for the world, and triumph for the church. It is a day of reproach and shame for the world.”

FORGET whatever lame excuses they are still putting up, the five eastern states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo are now in the firm grip of kidnappers. And with their brazen and brutal reign, travelling to the villages have become a taboo for most wealthy and well known sons and daughters from that part of the country. The only exceptions are perhaps those with enough money to pay to ‘special security.’

The Igbos, by the way, enjoy journeying to their villages, especially during festive periods. One is to spend time with their kith and kin who they sometimes see only once in a year. And two, to sleep in their superlative country homes which they rarely savour their comfort and confines, in spite of all the millions they gladly spend on them. The reason, unfortunately, is the emergence of kidnappers who seem to have become uncontrollable and unmanageable for the policemen and soldiers.

A prominent Anambra son recently lamented that he just completed his country home, but because of these enemies of progress has not been able to sleep there. Not even for one day! Apostle Anselm Madubuko, the General Overseer of Revival Assembly Church in Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos had this to say about the ugly trend: “The government should do something about it because it is their responsibility. They should do whatever they have to do to stop it. They have to crack down on it. It used to happen in South Africa, but the government cracked down on it and it stopped. Our government should also stop it here. It is their responsibility.”

Also embittered by the actions of the kidnappers, respected columnist and public commentator, Okey Ndibe, lamented that: “The Igbo have never faced a more serious challenge than the current blight of kidnappers…Igbo land is beleaguered, dangerous close to becoming a no-go area.”

Lending his own voice, Prince Emeka Obasi, the publisher of Business Hallmark and one-time Commissioner of Information in Abia State summed it up as ‘horrible.’ Adding, “But we are planning to do something more fundamental about it. The whole thing boils down to lack of empowerment. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that under deprived conditions, human beings cannibalise each other and that is what is happening in the east. They are resorting to cannibalism in the absence of gainful employment. Again, once a government does not insist on principles, you have problems.”

The leader of Obigbo, a socio-cultural group, Chief Charles Ahize, described it as condemnable and unwelcome. “It’s not a good thing, it’s condemnable and unwelcome and all of us should join hands to see that it is eradicated.” Tracing the genesis, another Igbo son who does not want his name mentioned revealed that it originated from the South South. “The truth of the matter is that our people didn’t start this thing. The South South did. And they started by kidnapping the white guys that work for the oil companies and demanding ransom. When the white people became wiser and more security-conscious, they shifted to their black brothers and sisters. One of their biggest catch then was the wife of billionaire oil baron, Chief Lulu Briggs.

“It was from there that our brother inherited it. Don’t forget, the proximity of Rivers State to Abia and Enugu also helped. Above all, you know our people, whatever they move into, they either mess up or do it better than those that were there before them. Our people simply bastardized it.

“And that is why in places like Abia today, nearly everybody is now into it and they have prices for different categories of people. The whole thing is now becoming so annoying. If they kidnap an okada rider, they take N5,000. If they kidnap a ‘store owner’, they demand for N20,000 and above and if they get hold of a rich businessman, top politician or well known government official, the stake moves to a million naira and above.

“In fact, of all the places currently under siege, Aba and Nnewi are the worst hit. Most likely because of the quantum of business activities that go on there. Unfortunately, that of Nnewi was triggered off by some motorcycle dealers who were in competition. Out of envy, one caused the other to be kidnapped and subsequently fleeced of millions of naira. But can you believe that even as we speak, the law enforcement agencies who the matter was reported to have refused to do anything. Especially because they were compromised.”

ENCOMIUM Weekly investigations revealed that it was because no action was taken against the suspect in the above case that emboldened others to also delve into the dirty business. Now, the combination of greed and unemployment has worsened the whole thing. In fact, for the perpetrators of the obnoxious act right now, no place is exempted, including places of worship. In fact, even men of God are no longer safe. Only on Thursday, June 24, 2010, Rev. Fr. Justin Ikpongat, the Vice Chancellor of Veritas University, Obehie, Abia State, was kidnapped, forcing Archbishop John Onaiyekan of the Catholic Diocese of Abuja to cry for his release. Months before, Mrs. Stella Odimegwu, wife of Eze Festus Odimegwu, the former MD/CEO of Nigerian Breweries, was also kidnapped at the Catholic Church in Asaa Obirinelem, Imo State.

Before her, star actors, Pete Edochie and Nkem Owoh got entangled in their nets in Anambra and Enugu respectively. Other professionals, including children, have also fallen victims. One of them, Azubuike Orakwe, a Lagos-based businessman was kidnapped in Alaoji, Abia State on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. He had gone to the East to attend the burial of Chief Jerome Udoji, whose son, Oscar, is a good friend of his. Wanting to use one stone to kill two birds, he decided to see his sister and her family in Rivers State. It was on his way to Anambra that he was taken hostage.

Recounting how it all happened, he said his Dodge jeep was flagged down by some supposed military men in camouflage. Suspecting no foul play, he had pulled over, but was shockingly pulled out and marched into a bus tucked almost inside the bush. With more people in their net, they were driven to a desolate house in Ukwa Ngwa (also in Abia) where negotiations commenced. To quote him now: “The boys, I don’t know their number, paraded some of the most sophisticated arms and ammunition that I have seen in my life. And from morning till night, they did nothing but go out, capture more people, bring them to the house, smoke weed, rape women and eat.

Imo State governor and presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress Rochas Okorocha has promised to ensure the naira becomes valuable again if voted as the flag bearer of the APC and eventually wins the 2015 presidential election.

“Vote for me and I assure that Nigerian Naira will be equal to the dollar,” Okorocha promised at the national convention of the APC, where the flag bearer of the party will be chosen.
“When I say to Nigerians, I will make education free, Nigerians will believe me because I have done it before.
“I am a child of poor parentage. I hate poverty and what it brings. Today, destiny has brought to your shoulder to change the fate of this nation, you must do it well, not on the basis of sentiment,” he said.

Lol awoof dey purge belle. Three policemen were, yesterday, sentenced to two years imprisonment by Magistrate A. Demi-Ajayi of an Ebute-Metta Magistrate’s Court, sitting at Oyingbo, Lagos, over negligence, which resulted in the stealing of their AK-47.

The convicts are Sergeant Felix Okwa, 47; Corporal Ogu Romanus, 46, and Constable Sunday Okoh, 34. Apart from being jailed for two years, they will also serve a six-month community service after completing their jail term.

The three cops who were attached to Ishashi Police Division of Lagos State Police Command, were said to be on patrol on December 12 at 11.30p.m., when they received a call from an unknown guest, named Kezzy, who invited them for supper at Regional Hotel, also in Ishashi, claiming he wanted to reward them for a job they did for him.

The unknown guest was said to have fed them with food laced with drugs, after which they slept off and their weapons, three AK-47 rifles and 90 live ammunition were stolen.

The hotel manager reported the matter at the Ishashi Police Station after which the unconscious policemen were arrested and later charged to court.

The cops were first arraigned on January 19, 2011, on a two count charge bordering on conspiracy and stealing.

A new entrant to the Senate race on Peoples Democratic Party platform, Gershom Bassey, on Tuesday defeated incumbent senator, Bassey Otu, to pick the party’s ticket for Cross River South Senatorial District.

Mr. Bassey, who is Chairman, Cross River Water Board, defeated Mr. Otu at the rescheduled senate primary in the district.
He polled 135 against Otu’s 99 votes while Ekpo Okon, a former State Chairman of the party, got 76 votes.
The primary was rescheduled from December 7 to 9, by John Okon, PDP Chairman in the state, due to rowdiness and security concerns at the venue.

Announcing the result in Calabar, Alimi Abdulrazaq, Chairman of the electoral panel, described the process as peaceful and transparent.
“Following the announcement of this result, I hereby declare Gershom Bassey duly elected for Cross River Southern Senatorial District election in 2015”, he said.

In his reaction, Mr. Otu said: “I will not comment on the outcome of the election. You will hear from me later”.
Also reacting to the outcome, Mr. Okon said the contest was free and fair, adding that it was the beauty of democracy.
NAN reports that the winner of the primary was not at the venue at the time the results were announced.
Earlier, the Deputy Governor of Cross River, Efiok Cobham, said the congress of December 7 was rescheduled to Dec. 9 due to some challenges.

Mr. Cobham urged the delegates to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner during and after voting.
The election was conducted under tight security as men of the civil defence corps and the Nigeria Police provided security during the election. (NAN)

After an evening of inspiration and glitz, the governor of Lagos, governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, hosted the winners, hosts and organisers of Africa's biggest youth event, The Future Awards Africa. The event held a day after the 2014 awards, on Monday 8 December at the State House, Alausa, Lagos.

"I am glad when I see young people achieving remarkable things, this is the 9th year and it keeps getting better" he said about the awards. “People look for heroes when they are also heroes."

Guests at the meet included Adebola Williams, co-convener of the prestigious The Future Awards Africa; Singer, Waje, Iyanya, Osas Ighodalo, Bolanle Olukanni and a few others.

Tiwa Savage continues to capture the hearts of her devoted male fans despite being married, check on why Mrs Tbillz has managed to stay so desirable

MAVIN records first lady, Tiwa Savage is one performer men can't seem to get enough of. Her intense vocal ability and performance apart, Tiwa Savage is a master in 'her game'.

Born in Lagos Tiwa has an impressive CV where she holds a degree in Business administration from the University of Kent, she later enrolled at Berklee College of Music graduating with a degree in professional music at the age of 27. Tiwa Savage participated in the UK edition of The X Factor in 2006 making it to the final 24. She got signed by Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2009.

The energetic performer got married to her then manager, Tbillz but despite being married still attract scores of men who love her to no limits. From her svelte figure, her energetic sexiness whilst performing, her endearing personality, gorgeous smile revealing a set of pearly whites, her skintone and the list goes on, men go on and on about the beauty and brains that is Tiwa Savage.
Comments like, "Tiwa Savage has sexy toned thighs and gorgeous legs that makes me just love her eternally"- Joshua Olajide
"Tiwa Savage is a wonderful entertainer, she is naturally beautiful, her skin tone is just perfect, she is proportionate; nothing is too large or small, she has one of the best butt around here as well, she is perfect" - Samson Kukogho and the comments go on.
We have to agree that Tiwa is effortlessly pretty and endearing and sweet, she has an unbelievable energy too and we love that she delivers and owns her forte.

Tiwa who worked at The Royal Bank of Scotland did backup vocals for George Michael at the age of 16, and lent vocals to other musicians such as Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Blu Cantrell, Emma Bunton, Kelly Clarkson, Andrea Bocelli, and Ms. Dynamite, among others.
She has also performed on stage with Sting, 50 Cent, The Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Robbie Williams and Destiny's Child, to name a few.

The purpose for this particular post is pretty simple - was gisting with someone about the massive influx of people into the capital city on a daily basis... And thanks to this site here, i was able to get my hands on some photos that make Abuja the most beautiful, and it truly shows why people enter the town everyday.... Enjoy the breathtaking pics, and tell me if you think Abuja truly deserves that title....

Dammy Krane real name Oyindamola Johnson Emmanuel is a year older today December 10, 2014 as he turns 22.
He received a custom made gold and diamond 'Amin' necklace from Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh's boyfriend; Malivelihood. Luxury jewelry designer Malivelihood is popular for dashing out expensive gifts to celebrities.

The 'Amin' singer who is signed on to 2Face Idibia's Hypertek Digital /960 Music has released popular songs my dear, ligali, Xteristics and others. Dammy Krane shares the same birthday with 2Face and Annie Idibia's daughter Isabella.

We think Yemi Alade takes after her beautiful mother, do you agree that they have a striking resemblance or not? Share your thoughts below.

This TV presenter dressed like this to the South South Music Awards which held in Benin this past Sunday. Lol..

Despite being defeated at the Oyo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries, former governor of Oyo State, Adebayo Alao-Akala, seem determined to return to the Oyo Government House as he has defected to the Labour Party (LP) where he has reportedly been offered the party’s governorship ticket.

Daily Independent reports that a leader of LP in Oke-Ogun area of the state had told other gubernatorial aspirants, including Sharafadeen Alli, Nurudeen Akinyo, Kazeem Adedeji and Olu Abiala, to allow Alao-Akala get the ticket because of his war chest.

It was gathered that the leader simply told the contestants that they could not muster the financial resources to fight election battles, urging them to give way to the former governor. This led to the Islamic faithful among them immediately jostling for the running-mate position.

It has been reported that some of the leaders of the party who are sympathetic to Alao-Akala’s course, at an enlarged meeting of stakeholders in Ibadan, said the reason behind their call for him to quit PDP is basically because of the insincerity and injustice in the party.

Speaking on behalf of Akala in a press statement, his media aide, Abraham Ojo, informed that: “ thousands of supporters of the former governor today storm the Bodija residence to deliberate on the way forward after the injustice meted to him by the PDP.

“After series of meetings and discussion, they all decided to leave the PDP and move to an alternative party, which is Labour Party,” he pointed out.

Party leaders at the meetings included Jacob Adetoro, Adigun Irawo, Braimoh Yusuf, past commissioners, local government chairmen, among others. They held that, “there is no basis for them to remain in PDP basically because the party has refused to toe the line of truth; everybody in the state knows that Alao-Akala and his supporters are strong pillars that hold the party and if a genuine delegate congress is conducted, Akala will always win.”

Yesterday, Google released the list of most watched music videos in Nigeria on YouTube. Unsurprisingly Davido's smash hit 'Aye' was the top of the list.

The list of course was made up of the usual suspects, The Mavins, Tiwa Savage, Patoranking, Flavour, Dr. Sid and others. Surprisingly Nicki Minaj also makes it on the list for her music video 'Anaconda'.
Oddly star boy Wizkid doesn't make it on the list. None of his videos for 2014, 'Ginger' with L.A.X, 'Show You The Money', 'Bombay' featuring Phyno, and 'In My Bed' are on the list.

This likely a reflection of the year which Wizkid has had. The pop star has had a dip in form best highlighted by the mixed reviews his second album got.

The complete list of YouTube's most watched music videos in Nigeria is below;

Davido – Aye (Official Video)
MAVINS – DOROBUCCI ft Don Jazzy, Tiwa Savage, Dr SID, D’Prince, Reekado Banks, Korede Bello, Di’Ja
Nicki Minaj – Anaconda
Tiwa Savage – Wanted [Official Video]
Flavour – Ikwokrikwo [Official Video]
Dr SID – SURULERE ft Don Jazzy (Official Video)
Yemi Alade – Johnny
Davido ft Mafikizolo – “Tchelete (Goodlife)” (Official Video)
P Square – Taste the Money (Testimony) [Official Video]
Patoranking – Girlie ‘O’ Remix [Official Video] ft. Tiwa Savage

On Tuesday, December 9, a commercial bus driver fainted after getting into an altercation with officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) in the Idi-Iroko area of Lagos.

According to eyewitnesses, the incident happened around 9.30 am, and the LASTMA officials supposedly seized and confiscated the phones of passersby who attempted to film the scuffle.

A witness, who spoke under the veil of anonymity, revealed that the bus driver, after hitting a Toyota Highlander, attempted to drive away. But the owner of the affected vehicle sped to overtake and block his vehicle, to prevent him from escaping.

The eyewitness said: “I learnt the bus driver brushed the car and he did not stop. So, the car owner drove ahead and blocked him. He called the attention of the LASTMA officials who came to arrest him, which led to a free-for-all.”

Another witness revealed to Punch that the driver was beaten up by some agents of LASTMA. He said: “They did not wear any uniform, but we know they work with LASTMA. They beat up the man and he fainted.”

As people tried to revive the fainted driver, some of the passenger were said to have started crying “profusely”.

“Some of the women were crying profusely because they thought he had died. He laid there on the main road, almost lifeless. It was after much effort that he came round and he was made to sit on a pavement for some time.”

The head of the Anthony office of LASTMA reportedly came out and asked the LASTMA official, who had taken over the vehicle, to release the driver to go his way.

As the All Progressives Congress (APC) holds its presidential primary election today, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said President Goodluck Jonathan is ready to engage whoever emerged from the election.

The ruling party, however, mocked the APC, boasting that even if the opposition fielded two presidential candidates, Jonathan would defeat them.

Speaking at a pre-national convention press briefing, chairman of the publicity committee for the national convention, Olisa Metuh, declared that today’s convention will elect President Jonathan as sole candidate of the party in consonance with the Electoral Act and the party’s constitution.

Metuh disclosed that 3073 delegates will vote at the convention billed to hold in Abuja.

The spokesman said once the emergence of its candidate, his party would task the opposition to issue based campaigns, based on manifesto and ideology.

“We don’t expect that the campaigns will be based on lies and name calling but on Ideas”, he said.

“We have a very good product to sell to Nigerians. President Goodluck Jonathan will win the 2015 presidential poll based on his popularity. We are today sending notice to the opposition party, the APC to expect a crushing defeat at the poll.

“In view of our confidence, preparedness and the popularity of our candidate, we declare and urge the APC to put forward its two frontline aspirants in one pot, namely: Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and Alhaji Atiku as joint presidential candidates with their collective credentials and followership to face our president, Goodluck Jonathan.

“For us in the PDP, we are certain that with the grassroot support and love we enjoy from Nigerians across board, President Goodluck jonathan will secure an emphatic victory against any presidential candidate of the APC or all the candidates put together as one.

“Let us elevate the conduct of this election. We will base it on who is best for this country in terms of unity of this nation, who is best to stabilise our public policy, who is best to lead us to prosperity.

“On those three and other issues we will debate whoever is the candidate of APC. We will debate APC candidate on issues of unity, stability and peace of the nation”, he stated.

Toni Payne just shared this emotional piece. She talks about when she lost her cool and got trending in a way she didnt like, about being hated. And sure, she also talks about loving the wrong person. I think we all know who that is. She also sends her apologies to those she clapped back at. Read it below in her words

The Presidency, Tuesday, countered the claim that President Goodluck was desperate for power in 2015.

It said the president had no plans to postpone the 2015 general elections as earlier claimed by the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Reacting to the speculations in Abuja on Tuesday, Senior Special Adviser to President Jonathan on public affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, described the claim as “idiotic”, saying that the achievements of the president would speak for him at the polls come 2015.

The presidential aide flayed the APC over what he tagged their “do-or-die and win at all cost” tendencies.

Okupe insisted that Jonathan had done credibly well to be returned to power in 2015.

Okupe, who spoke at the 2014 Nigerian Pilot/Newsworld Annual Public Lecture and Award, which held at Sheraton Hotels in Abuja Tuesday, frowned at the claim that Jonathan was planing to postpone the election in a bid to stay longer in office.

He further tongue-lashed APC for threatening to form a parallel government should it fail to remove President Jonathan after the 2015 general election.

He said: “I have followed politics for over 30 years; I have never ever beenimage impressed by the Nigerian political elites, never. It’s a personal and self indictment but that is the truth. The struggle for power blind folds them and it is not a national struggle, it is a personal struggle and we are ready to do anything and everything. It is not just the style. I was in NRC; I was in Geneva Convention, anytime we need to fight for a purpose, it is always do or die, me or nobody. And that is why we have not made progress. I am part of and will not exclude myself.

“I feel like-this are my thoughts-political parties should offer alternative platforms for people to consider- this is what I will do for the country, this is my background, you come, you say your own then allow people to choose.

“When people choose, that is the end of it. All politics should end the day you cast your ballots. I contested virtually all the elections, I have won very few, but I have never ever rigged an election for myself or for anybody. I have never done it.

“The Nigerian political class must- well I don’t want to say things that are rhetorical because it doesn’t make sense, but I want to say, must learn great lessons, but it is too late. Maybe the younger generation may have different perspectives. We have not undergone the election itself and people are saying that we will form a parallel government for an election you have not lost.

Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Süper Lig side Bursaspor, Taiye Taiwo has been showing off his personal life recently and this time around it is his beautiful wife.

Despite protest by the Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Mukhtar Shagari, over the composition of delegates list for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship primary election in the state, the election held and a former Ambassador to Morocco, Abdallah Wali, emerged winner.
Mr. Wali got 547 votes, while Abubakar Gada got 193 and Mr. Shagari got 1 vote.
Former Minister of Sports, Yusuf Suleiman, withdrew from the race before the election started.
The result of the election was announced by the chairman of the election panel, U. U. Kumo, early Tuesday.

Mr. Shagari had reportedly ordered his supporters to vacate the Stadium, venue of the election when Mr. Kumo declared the results.
Briefing news men, afterwards, Mr. Shagari described the election as “out-right illegality” and called on the National Secretariat of the party to cancel the primary election.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in his yet-to-be-released three-part memoirs titled My Watch, accused late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adau of deceiving him about how serious his health issues were before he became the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2007.

Obasanjo surprisingly helped Yar’Adua to pick PDP’s ticket but after his election, Yar’Adua frequently fell ill and eventually died in May 2010, paving the way for Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan to become president. However, Obasanjo was accused of installing a terminally ill northerner as president in order to return power to the south through the backdoor in no time.

In a chapter titled “To be or Not to be: Jonathan”, Obasanjo said Yar’Adau gave him the impression that he had overcome his health challenges and did not act responsibly when he eventually became terminally ill, reports online news portal, TheCable.

In portions of the book Obasanjo wrote:

“As can be expected, I was heavily involved in the transition and exit process that saw me leaving office for my successor, Umaru Yar’Adua, as recounted in Chapter Thirty-seven, the ninth chapter of the second volume of this book. The unprepared and unplanned transition from Yar’Adua to Jonathan was a more difficult exercise in some respects. One reason was the ‘cloak and dagger’ manner in which Yar’Adua’s illness was handled."

“The illness of a President cannot be regarded as private. His health has implications for the security and wellbeing of the nation. For the president and those around him to have attempted strenuously to keep the fact of the severity of his illness from public smacks of ignorance of the enormity of what the job entails and the level of provinciality of their understanding, attitude, and approach. “I remember that in 1978 or 1979 Chief Awolowo visited me while I was military head of state and shared with me how he would always stay at home to attend to the work at hand and only make a private visit to the UK once a year for health reasons if he became president of Nigeria. I made it clear to the chief that once he became president of Nigeria, he could have no private visit to anywhere as such. “Wherever he would be, he would be on duty, and the totality of his life would be public. I jokingly added that the only privacy he might lay claim to would be when he was at home with Mama Chief H.I.D., and that even then his security staff would be on twenty-four-hour duty.”

Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro has approved the recommendations of the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Prisons Service, Dr Peter E Ekpendu, for the immediate removal and suspension of the following officers pending the outcome of Investigation on the jail Break at Medium Security Prison, Minna.

They are Comptroller of Prisons, Niger state Command-Musa Maiyaki; Officer-in-Charge, Medium Security Prison Minna- ACP Mohammed Buena.

Also affected are all other officers on duty on 6th December, 2014 when the jail break happened.

Meanwhile, C-G Ekpendu, has also ordered the immediate transfer of 55 officers and men of the zonal and state headquarters Minna to Medium Security Prison Minna and Old Prison Minna to beef up security in the two Prisons.

A widow, Mrs Helen Okoro, and a mother of two, has had a first hand taste of what a man under the influence of drugs can do as she and her two children, a 15-year-old boy named Godwin and Blessing, a 19-year-old SSS 2 student of Ojoku Senior High School, Tolu, Olodi-Apapa, Lagos, were almost butchered to death by an 'Igbo' (Indian Hemp) smoking neighbour who not only stabbed her son but descended on her and her daughter.

The man who is a notorious thug in the Ajegunle area of Lagos State, known as Babalawo, according to the Leadership Newspaper, had got into a quarell with the woman's son and stabbed him in the fight that ensued and when Okoro tried to intervene and told him to kill her instead of her son, Babalawo had no hesitation in carrying out her wishes.
He was said to have dashed into his room and came out brandishing a broken bottle with which he stabbed her severally on the chest, breast and hand. Not done, he went after the woman's daughter and also dealt her some stab wounds.

Narrating her ordeal at the Femi Hospital, Tolu, Apapa, where she is receiving treatment with Blessing, Okoro said she thought the man only wanted to frighten or intimidate her so that she would run away to safety but Babalawo had had other plans as he made good his threats.
"We live at Adidas street, Tolu, at the shores of Tolu-Tin Can lagoon. Last year, Babalawo had a problem with my son, Godwin, who is just 15-years-old. One day, Godwin was carrying sand for somebody and Babalawo saw him, picked up a bottle and attempted to break my son’s head with it but he was able to escape and ran away from him.
When I heard about the incident, I confronted him but instead of making peace, he threatened to kill me and my children. So since then, we have avoided him. What led to the problem on November 14th, 2014, was that I found a pair of slippers in the dustbin and wanted to use it to make a fire.

Babalawo saw the slippers with Godwin and challenged him. My son told him they belonged to his mother because I brought it from the dustbin.
The wicked and shameless man broke a bottle and gave my son a hot pursuit. When he apprehended him, he stabbed him in the head. People were begging the man to leave the little boy alone but to no avail.
When I returned home, I was faced with that situation. When I inquired why he should stab my son, he threatened to kill me. He wore the necklace I gave my son, so I removed it from his neck after he struggled with me to retain it.
To my greatest surprise, he went into his room and picked up a bottle and after smashing it, stabbed me close to my breast. I screamed that the man had killed me and as he wanted to stab me in the face, I blocked the bottle with my hand.
I screamed for help but nobody was there to come to my rescue.

The man also wanted to stab me in the face, but I quickly used my hand to block it, that was why the broken bottle cut me in the hand.
There was blood all over my body. I thought I was going to die. I could not bear the pains so I cried like a baby.
I was screaming and rolling in the pool of my blood until somebody called my daughter, Blessing, who rushed back home. On seeing me, she cried, thinking that the man had killed me.

The man is a known Indian hemp seller and smoker in the area. He knew I had nobody to run to. He knew I’m from a very poor family. He believed he would kill me and members of my family and nothing will happen. From what has happened so far, if this man kills me and members of my family the police will not do anything."
Mrs Okoro also says the police are not helping her get justice as they seem to take sides with Babalawo.

Joel Adesina was an 'Ambitious' and 'hard-working' teenager who was talented enough to play professionally in the topflight of the English football league.

As reported on Daily Mail, he was stabbed in the stomach during a late-night row on Friday night last week in Bethnal Green, East London after Joel and his friends were ambushed while taking a walk and were chased into a housing estate where he was stabbed.
He was rushed to the hospital where he died three hours later into Saturday morning.
An 18 year-old suspect was arrested but later released with no further action to be taken.
Neighbours and manager of the teenager’s football team described him a gentle young boy who never stayed out late as he was mostly seen returning home in his football kits

Joel as a winger was ‘’as good as gold'' and talented enough to play professionally,’ his coach at Bardag FC Yellows, Ricky Downes said.
‘’To say that myself and the club are devastated is an understatement, we are absolutely in bits.
‘’Joel was a wonderful young lad who had the world at his feet.
‘’He was a very talented footballer and had ambitions of playing professionally. I think he had a future in the sport and could have played for a living.
‘’He was a very talented footballer and had ambitions of playing professionally. I think he had a future in the sport and could have played for a living.
‘’There was something about Joel that touched me and his death is totally unexpected. He never gave me any inkling that he was involved in gangs or anything like that.
‘’He was cheeky, bubbly, and a thoroughly likeable young man,’’ 55 year-old Mr Downes added.

Police report has it that Joel and his friends were walking, possibly home, when they were confronted by a group in a parked car; they were chased by the group into a housing estate where neighbours say they heard ‘screaming and shouting’. Joel was cornered and stabbed.

Two police officers, Sunday Ibrahim and Zakari Abdulahi, have been dragged to the Senior Magistrates' Court in Karu, the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, for allegedly conniving with one Saidu Abdul to steal a car belonging to a fellow police officer,John Yiltie, at the City Gate Police Barracks, Abuja.

The owner of the car, Yiltie, said he had parked the vehicle, an Honda Academy, at the premises of the African Church in Durumi, a suburb of the city on 8 June, 2014, only to discover it had been stolen when he returned to pick it.
He narrated that he promptly reported the matter to Garki Police Station from where the matter was later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, FCT Command, for further action.

The bubble, however, bust on the suspects when the police commenced investigation into the matter. The first set of suspects who were arrested include Luke Musa, Niyi Adedeji and Peter Aku.

They were traced through a BlackBerry chat and other phone conversations. In the course of investigation, Sunday Ibrahim, a police officer who was recently transferred from Kaduna Command to FCT Command, was named as an accomplice.
While being interrogated by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, (SARS) in Abuja, the policeman allegedly confessed that he did not steal the car but merely escorted the prime suspect, Saidu Ibrahim, with the car to Kaduna. At Kaduna, he continued, the car was sold for N250,000 as against the original price of N1.3 million.

When John Yiltie gave witness in court, the prime suspect changed his initial plea of not guilty and pleaded guilty to the charge. He pleaded for mercy and forgiveness. The Magistrate, Hadiza Rabiu Shagari, in the light of the prime suspect’s plea, summarily tried and convicted him of the offence. She sentenced him to one month imprisonment or a fine of N3,000.
Meanwhile, the stolen car has been recovered and returned to the owner on bond while the two police officers were remanded in prison custody till the next adjourned date.

Two police officers, Sunday Ibrahim and Zakari Abdulahi, have been dragged to the Senior Magistrates' Court in Karu, the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, for allegedly conniving with one Saidu Abdul to steal a car belonging to a fellow police officer,John Yiltie, at the City Gate Police Barracks, Abuja.

The owner of the car, Yiltie, said he had parked the vehicle, an Honda Academy, at the premises of the African Church in Durumi, a suburb of the city on 8 June, 2014, only to discover it had been stolen when he returned to pick it.
He narrated that he promptly reported the matter to Garki Police Station from where the matter was later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, FCT Command, for further action.

The bubble, however, bust on the suspects when the police commenced investigation into the matter. The first set of suspects who were arrested include Luke Musa, Niyi Adedeji and Peter Aku.

They were traced through a BlackBerry chat and other phone conversations. In the course of investigation, Sunday Ibrahim, a police officer who was recently transferred from Kaduna Command to FCT Command, was named as an accomplice.
While being interrogated by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, (SARS) in Abuja, the policeman allegedly confessed that he did not steal the car but merely escorted the prime suspect, Saidu Ibrahim, with the car to Kaduna. At Kaduna, he continued, the car was sold for N250,000 as against the original price of N1.3 million.

When John Yiltie gave witness in court, the prime suspect changed his initial plea of not guilty and pleaded guilty to the charge. He pleaded for mercy and forgiveness. The Magistrate, Hadiza Rabiu Shagari, in the light of the prime suspect’s plea, summarily tried and convicted him of the offence. She sentenced him to one month imprisonment or a fine of N3,000.
Meanwhile, the stolen car has been recovered and returned to the owner on bond while the two police officers were remanded in prison custody till the next adjourned date.