₦airaland Forum

Like every other Nollywood actress, Shan George has had her fair share of scandals. She has been accused of going into marriage and coming out of it over three times, dating younger men and decorating her body with countless tattoos. What’s true and what’ s not? In this interview, the half caste actress shares her painful story with Showtime Celebrity. This is Shan George beyond the scandals.

You have some reservations about the kind of questions journalists ask you during interviews?

Well, people always want to know more about my personal life, my relationships and all those stuff that the soft-sell magazines like to exaggerate. I just think that serious publications should be interested in asking relevant questions.

So, if you were the one interviewing yourself, what would be your first question?

I would ask myself how long it actually took me to get to where I am today; the challenges along the way and how I’ve been able to overcome them. It took me about 15 years to get to this point. However, one major challenge I have always faced as an actress has to do with not being at home all the time and playing roles in movies that are opposed to my character.

Shan George

Let’s assume you were born in a Christian home and you imbibe what you were taught from when you were a kid. All of a sudden, because of your profession, you are called to be a Buddhist or a mermaid. You are talking about being something you have never experienced. I have never seen a mermaid or transformed into a mermaid before, but I’ve acted as one. You have to try and figure out how they talk, walk, smile and so on.

Another challenge is when you go to the extent of interpreting whatever role you’re given to play in movies. People who watch the movie tend to associate you with that character. I’ll never forget an experience I had at Alade market, in Lagos, a few years ago. I went there to buy some things like every other person, but suddenly, some people started throwing rotten tomatoes at me.

Many others were calling me unprintable names; a loose woman, husband snatcher. All because I played such roles in movies. I’m not like that in real life. I remember I acted a prostitute in the movie, Outcast. After the film was released into the market, I got a call from a guy based in Italy who told me that he just watched the movie, and he thought I was really hot. He said he would want to enjoy such a gesture like the guys in the movies any time he storms Nigeria.

There are so many other challenges. You are seen playing roles where you are really rich with several big cars and houses at your disposal. People assume you’re like that in real life, but it’s not always true. Everywhere you go, people expect you to settle ‘agberos’ and drop something, but it doesn’t work like that. That is the reason some practitioners tend to spend money they don’t have just to meet the expectations of their fans.

Have you ever lost a sense of identity because of the different roles you play in movies?

Acting is a job. As soon as I’m done with interpreting my role, I become myself again. I have never had the experience of being confused about my own identity. I know that many of my colleagues actually get cut off from reality; they want to be like what people expect them to be or spend the kind of money people expect them to spend. And so, they have to do one or two things that they ordinarily wouldn’t have done.But you can’t really get to know someone by watching that person on the screen.

So, what’s the real Shan George like?

I think everyone should know that Shan George is an ordinary person who was born and brought up in the village, grew up like every other village girl and I was privileged to be part of the movie industry at a time I found myself in it. I have been favoured by God in the industry. When you talk about a typical village life, I have experienced it and when you talk about living in a castle, I have also enjoyed the privilege.

To be candid, the most interesting life is the village life. In the village, there are no fences, no gates, and no walls in between houses. We collectively go to the same farm, and fetch water from the same stream. It was a communal existence. I still travel home once in a while to identify with my roots. I am from Ediba in Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State.

What was growing up like?

It was quite enjoyable. It’s just that I wish I knew my father. I’m the only child of my mother, and my father was a whiteman. My mum is a very wonderful person, but I guess there is always going to be that part of me that keeps wondering who my father is. I tried several years to trace his whereabouts to no avail. While in search of him, I once travelled to where he used to work then, Turner’s Asbestos in Enugu.

The company consulted their files and brought out his old address in Manchester. Consequently, I travelled to Manchester in search of the man that fathered me. But my mission was not accomplished. I even had to cross-check phone books and called about 100 phone numbers, all in the bid to trace his whereabouts. One question I asked each time I called any of the numbers was whether any member of his family ever visited Africa or Nigeria in particular. I gave up hope of meeting my father at the age of 35.

What is your take on Nollywood today?

I always tell people not to try to compare Hollywood toNollywood. It is like comparing an old man to a baby. Nigeria itself is a young country and Nollywood is much younger, and so the extent at which we have grown is quite far. Right now, we are growing rapidly and producing movies that are shown abroad. We are doing advanced movies but the only place we are lacking today is in the area of distribution. We have very good movies but we don’t have people to distribute them. I know a lot of people who went to school to study Marketing and they are not practising their profession. The industry has grown rapidly but the marketing aspect of the business still needs a boost.

Don’t you think piracy is the reason for this shortcoming?

Let us be realistic, there are even American movies that are being pirated. Piracy is something I believe cannot function where you have a big community in dire need of it. It’s just like when you want to release a movie for over 150 million people and you only printed about 20, 000 copies. Don’t you think that people living in remote areas would want to watch the same movie?

It is natural that pirates will help them get as many copies of the film as they require by any means. For example, I once travelled to Kano and saw a movie that was just released into the market, I was tempted to buy it. The funny thing was that the movie was recorded in a plain CD and they used a marker to write the name of the movie. I concluded that these sellers didn’t see the original CD for people to buy. I believe if the original products are readily available, the menace of piracy will reduce drastically.

Which do you prefer, being behind the camera or in front of it?

I produced my first movie in 1998 while I was in my final year in the University of Lagos. I studied Mass Communication and I have been writing and producing since then till now. There are different feelings actually. Standing in front of the camera, you are something else; while working behind the camera, you are being yourself. And aside being yourself, working behind the camera involves a lot of work because you have to organise everybody, everything and you are like the head of the family. I love producing more than acting because producing gives me the opportunity to have a platform for new actors. It also gives me the opportunity to write my own story and get it across to the audience.

What’s your advice for those who want to get into the movie industry?

The first advice I will give you is to acquire good education. Education is the foundation upon which you are going to build your future. Secondly, be committed; work hard and be ready to give it your best shot. You never can tell, one thing can just take you to the top. And as a person, you have to agree that you want to do this job and also agree to grow gradually so that you will not get frustrated along the line.

Would you like to address some of the scandals that have trailed your acting career over the years?

It is really crazy. A lot of these things are not true. For example, I have two grown up sons. Anytime people see me pose for shots with younger men, they conclude that as old as I am, I like young boys and that’s not true at all. It is very depressing sometimes. You need the grace of God to hear things about yourself that are not true and still be strong and get going.

Have there been times when you nearly broke down because of what people were saying about you?

It happened many years ago when I was still a toddler in the industry. I remember driving some years back and I saw vendors selling a particular magazine with my photograph and a caption that read: “Even Pastors love my boobs.” That day was so sad for me. I couldn’t even believe that I was the one they were writing about.

What about the multiple marriage scandals; is there any truth to them?

There was a time someone called to congratulate me on my new marriage. I was shocked. My first marriage was when I was 16, and I don’t count that because I was a child and I had no say in the matter. The ideal thing is that as an adult, you meet someone you like and you get married to him. What happens most times is that I act a movie where I get married, the pictures go viral online and everyone says I am married again.

And I am amazed because I wonder, people who read this, don’t they calculate the years? I married once and my two kids are for my first husband. I read on some blogs that I had a child out of wedlock and I have been hiding it. But I wonder if I got married at the age of 16, at what age did I have that child? I was so young when I walked out of my first marriage to pursue my education. Later on, as an adult, I got married again, but we aren’t really together anymore. Marriage can be complicated.

What was it like being married at such a young age?

Being married at the age of 16 was just like a child still living with her parents. It was more like an obligation. I don’t really want to talk about it because of my children.

What is your relationship status now?

I have someone who is very nice and important to me. So, I guess you can call that a romantic relationship. I have always known this guy and he has been there for me.

Would you like to get married again?

Of course, I would.

How do you manage to look so good at 43?

Because the job is very stressful, I don’t really add much weight. But because I’m slim doesn’t mean that I’m fit. I can be very lazy about exercise. However, I am very careful about what I eat; that’s why am not very fat.

What are your sons like?

My first son is an Economist; he is still in the UK and has refused to come back home. My second son actually is into music. He read Music Engineering and Production in London and now, he is in Nigeria trying to pursue a career in music.

What is it with you and tattoos?

Tattoos are a way for me to express myself. People wear clothes, fix their hair or nails; but for me, I love tattoos, that’s who I am. I have just two permanent tattoos, but sometimes I wear artificial tattoos depending on my mood.

Apart from movies what else are you interested in?

I used to own a boutique but am not fashionable. I don’t know how to sew, but I can draw and create designs. I have passion for putting smiles on the faces of people around me. I would love to be in a place where everybody is cared for. Not one person having all that others will worship. I am working on the release of my new movie, “Finding Good luck.” I am hoping to release it on DVD. It is in the cinemas already and this is a movie that has got to do with the image of the Nigeria Police and how people generally relate with the average policeman and how it should be at the end of the day. I hope the movie will better the lives of some people.

In this shocking but all-too-familiar tale of domestic violence, Onyemma, a 29-year-old businessman, told this reporter how his uncle became a dummy house help in his own house at the hands of a nagging and brutal housewife. He says his uncle, Mr Gideon, has been stripped of his self-confidence as a man and his marriage has become a living nightmare.

Mr Gideon’s story

A few years after their marriage, Gideon was like a little god to his wife but things took a different turn when he lost his job with a paint company. His wife suddenly became the bread winner, calling the shots in the house.

In his words, “The once happy home changed to something else when my uncle lost his driving job in the 90’s. The wife became a terror in the house. She would send him on errands, demand that he perform menial chores like fetching water, sweeping the house, etc. My uncle was doing it because he thought he was helping his wife, but little did he know that was the beginning of his trauma. Anytime he fails to carry out these home chores, he now gets the beating of his life. He has been stripped of his self confidence and dignity as a man.

“This humiliation was so much to the extent that the elders of my kindred summoned her to know why she was treating their brother in that manner. But the intervention of the kindred did not yield any result as the wife had turned her husband into her property, manipulating him at will.

“As family members, we rarely visit my uncle in his house because we have found out that their relationship is dotted with incessant assaults and the silly attitude of a domineering wife. All manner of interventions for a loving relationship have proved abortive. So, if you ask him, he would not hesitate to tell you that men are mostly the victims of domestic violence. That is if his wife does not hear him say so, because he will get another beating of his life.”


The lustful father who slept with his daughter

Mrs. Janet, a 40 year-old trader who is also a mother of two, is always ready to tell the story of her husband who threw caution to the wind and slept with their only daughter, putting her in the family way against tradition.

But she would always have herself to blame as she narrated that her prolonged absence from home created the gap that not only ruined her marriage but destroyed what was left of her daughter’s life.

“I was not always around. At a time when my daughter needed motherly care and advice, I was not around. At the time she had her first menstrual period, my husband was at home with her and gave her the necessary care. But it turned out to be a sordid experience as the man took advantage of his growing daughter.

He began to sleep with her afterwards, telling her if he didn’t do that, the menstrual blood would continue. That continued without my knowledge until I discovered the girl was ill. I got the shock of my life when I was told my daughter was pregnant. More devastating was the fact that her father had been sleeping with her,” she lamented.

According to her, the husband initially denied responsibility. But after the intervention of their village head, he confessed to the crime. “He was interrogated by the police, but he denied. Our king intervened and also interrogated him and he later confessed to the crime,” she stated.

On the punishment meted out to him, Janet said as is customary in the African culture, he was banished by the king from the community. “He has been banished from the village, leaving me to take care of the 13 children,” she said.

Lamenting how she has been taking care of the children, she said the punishment should also have included taking care of the 13 children she has from the marriage. “It has been very excruciating, a more severe punishment should have been given to him to take care of the children rather than leaving me all alone to care for the 13 children. Although the man was not really doing anything serious before the incident, he supported from the little pension he collected from his former employer,” she disclosed.

Temismith: Now dat have decided to stop eating foreign rice. Dats gud. Just hope it wont be flooded with stones and rat sheet.

OCTAVO: Here's the pic
[img]http://img1.nairaland.com/attachments/1196038_Techno_L3_png8e7fa2d7c8e760a6fcc6e235b20fc7a5[/img]

pimp_lucious :
I suggest instead of just commenting or reading this post and go to sleep afterward we visit the public complaint commission webby found here: http://www.publiccomplaints-ng.org/ and lodge a complaint. Just click on "sunmit your complaint" tab at the top of the webby.

Yes. that's it, my 2cent. Pls contribute urs.

stephenponti: PHCN steals in bread day light

Kingsley OGBITI: For
real
a
chief
involved
in
this
act.
WHAOOO...

ct)(:
Fist to commet

aniiii: https://www.bubblews.com/assets/images/news/1895032392_1360150326.jpg

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ABAKALIKI — EBONYI State Police Command, yesterday, said it had arrested one Stephen Okolie Chukwu who hails from Umuegbe Amaifeke in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State with fake N1 million notes.

The command’s spokesperson, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP Sylvester Igbo, who made the disclosure in his office said the suspect was arrested in Abakaliki on July 4, 2013 when he came to Alhaji Lawal Ibrahim Bureau de Change to convert N1 million denominations into US dollars.

Igbo said on close examination of the currency notes by Alhaji Ibrahim, who suspected the notes were fake, he lured the suspect to a bank (name withheld) where the money was confirmed to be fake by the bank.

He said the suspect had been assisting the police to trace the import of fake naira notes into the state capital.

In an interview, the suspect who confessed to the crime, told newsmen that he bought the N1 million notes from one Ugoo who is based in Oguta, Imo State for N150,000.

Meanwhile, the state Police Command, yesterday, gave motorists in the state 13 days ultimatum to renew their vehicle particulars, change all fake number plates or be arrested.

It said: “The command has observed with dismay the indiscriminate use of vehicles/motorcycles without number plates and fake number plates as well as improvised number plates.

“It is pertinent to note that the prevalence of such vehicles/motorcycles in the state pose security threat as they could be used for heinous and violent crimes. Only original number plates and genuine vehicle particulars from relevant authorities will be allowed unfettered movement in the state.

“Therefore, with effect from July 21, 2013, motorists with fake number plates and expired particulars will be arrested as owners of vehicles impounded will be prosecuted.”

Source

IN the beginning: THE precarious security situation in the country assumed a frightening dimension on March 2, 2013, when a serving Commissioner of Police, Chinwike Asadu was gruesomely killed by gun men in Enugu. The Police boss who was in-charge of Kwara State was in the city en route to Port Harcourt for the annual police games when he was brutally shot to death in front of his private residence.

https://dvsl3w2q45hb8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/CHUKWUBE-crime.jpg
Immediately after his death, the Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Abubakar gave marching order that his killers must be fished out, dead or alive. While Nigerians waited with baited breath, the rumour mill took over as different stories of the circumstances that surrounded his death were bandied both in the newspapers and public domain.

Some said he was a victim of a raging land crisis in Kwara State while others said he was involved in chieftancy dispute in his country home, Nsukka. Yet, others said he had a disagreement with Police authorities in Abuja and the only way out was to eliminate him.

While these postulations spread like wild fire, Police authorities mobilized a crack team from both the Force headquarters, Abuja, Special anti-robbery squad, SARS, and Criminal Investigations Department, CID, Enugu, and swung into action with a view to meeting the deadline given by the IGP for them to round up perpetrators of the heinous crime.

Suspected killers

Few months later, the IGP who was on an official visit to Enugu State Police Command jolted the nation by announcing that the suspected killers of the Commissioner of Police had been rounded up. In spite of the uproarious reaction that heralded the announcement, some Nigerians still agitated for more explanations. They sought for not only the motive but the conviction that the suspects who reportedly confessed to the crime, were the real perpetrators. Unfortunately, the only response from the police was that they have been charged to court and remanded in prison custody. This gave room for more speculations and postulations.

Those charged to court: However, a week-long investigations carried out by Crime Alert in Enugu and its environs revealed the daunting tasks faced by the police in their efforts to nab the suspects. The investigation also unearthed some of the criminal exploits of the remanded suspects, their operational strategies and most importantly, the identity of not just those arrested but the man that pulled the trigger who is presently on the run.

From available evidence, the suspects charged to the Chief Magistrate Court 11 in Enugu presided over by His Lordship, Ebere Udeze were; Collins Ogechukwe Uzor, a.k.a Danwisiki, (28), Ugochukwu Nnaji a.k.a Agbomorocco, (38), Okwuosa Anthony a.k.a Sparrow, (29), Chekwube Enete (25), David Elvis Aja (23), Ugokwe Obiora Johnpaul (22)and Ameobi Nnamchi.

They were arraigned on the 15th of March, 2013 on a two – count charge of consipracy and murder of CP Asadu by the prosecutor, Bar. C.P. Nwachukwu, legal officer SARS, Enugu. The defense counsel were ; B.I. Ugwuja and B.U.Odoh for the 7th accused, S.I. Ejiofor for the 4th accused and S.N. Egbo for the 3rd accused. The court ordered that the case file be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, for advice within 21 days from the date of arraignment after which the case was adjourned sine die.

Police sources said that when the suspects were taken to prison custody in Enugu to be remanded, the warders were openly grumbling by stating that most of them had been their old customers and that they gave them a lot of problems while in their custody.

However, sources disclosed that detectives have launched a big hunt for the leader of the gang called Mbala whom other arrested suspects said pulled the trigger when they accosted the Commissioner on the night of the incident. It was reliably gathered that the hunt for him led detectives to Onitsha and when they raided his house, there was a heavy exchange of gunfire between him and the police after which he narrowly escaped. This suspect reputed to be the kingpin of the vicious gang was said to have connived with another member of the gang, Ugochukwu Nnaji, a.k.a. Agbomorrocco who was armed with an AK 47 rifle on the day the Commissioner was killed to snatch another AK47 from the police aid to the slain Commissioner of Police.


For more and source

Opey4luv: Small Screen, No 3G and Samsung think this phone will compete with the techno phones out there!!!
Then they must be the Joseph of the 21st century.

Tablet Man: Ndi Hausa Ndi Ara Always Bleep Like Bingo<> D Fathers of those unborn kids will SHOEMAKERS CATTLE REARERS MERUWA GATEMEN GWORO/KOLANUT SELLER$ PEASANT FARMERS HUT/MUD ENGRS & BUILDERS

samfibby: Bros, buy the range rover. Forget the marriage thinz, u are too young to rushed into marriage.In-fact, i have a clean orange 2008 range rover going for 7.5m. Very negotiable,mail me pre3p5@yahoo.com if u are interested.

babarazy: MAY GOD FORGIVE YOU.

dasparrow: @Post

That's serious. Hope someone enlightens the people in Katsina State of the dangers of having kids as a young teenager.

ABUJA—The National Population Commission, NPC, disclosed yesterday that Katsina State has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy and motherhood in Nigeria.

Chairman of NPC, Eze Festus Odimegwu, who disclosed this at a briefing to mark the 2013 World Population Day in Abuja, said while the state accounted for 65 percent of teenage pregnancy, Edo State recorded the least percentage of 2.9.

Odimegwu said: “Teenage pregnancy varies markedly in the Northern and Southern zones, as well as urban and rural areas.

“They are higher in the Northern geo-political zone’s rural areas. One in every three teenage girls in the North has started child bearing in 2008, compared to one in every 10 in the South.

Odimegwu, who was represented by the Head, Technical Management, NPC, Mr. Festus Uzor, noted that pregnancy was the highest killer of teenage girls worldwide.

He said for girls and women aged 15-19, pregnancy and child birth were the number one killer, adding that they were the cause of 50,000 deaths of teenage girls every year.

He opined that: “Teenage pregnancy not only imposes severe health and psychological strains on their baby and the teen mothers but also have a long term negative impacts on sustainable development efforts.

“It worsens the population and reproductive health situation and compromises genuine efforts to promote gender equity, educational attainment, family values and economic development”.

Odimegwu named the negative impacts of teenage pregnancy to include unsafe abortion, pregnancy complications, poor ante-natal care, week pelvic bones, high fertility rate and curtailment of educational attainment.

He blamed poverty for increased incidence of teenage pregnancy, noting that teenage pregnancy remained the most prevalent among girls from poor households.

According to him, poor teenagers are also the least likely to use condoms among women who had high-risk sexual intercourse in the 12 months preceding the surveys.

Calling for a concerted effort to combat the ugly trend, Odimegwu said: “Teenage pregnancy is still high in Nigeria with a resultant poor sexual and reproductive health.

“For a nation that seeks to improve the welfare of the people on a sustainable basis, pursuing a concerted effort with broad based national consensus and international support in combating teenage pregnancy is an absolute necessity.

“It is, therefore, imperative for Nigeria to implement national and international conventions that seek to curtail teenage pregnancy.



Source

LAGOS — Policemen attached to Ikotun division in Lagos have arrested a man alleged to have been having carnal knowledge of his two daughters between the ages of 10 and 13, in the past two years.

His daughters reportedly claimed to have been going through what they described as horrible experience since their mother left them for another man.

Unable to resist their father, they endured until the elder girl confided in her friend’s mother, who then contacted some child rights groups.

The organisations were said to have effected the man’s arrest at his 29, Omooye Street, Abaranje, last Saturday and handed him over to policemen at Ikotun division.

Explaining, the elder child (names withheld) said: “Our father started it when I was 11 years old. I did not know he was doing same to my sister who was then eight years.

I only got to know when I saw her blood stained undies and when I demanded to know whether she had started seeing her monthly flow, she revealed that our father slept with her the previous night. He usually crept to either of us at night whenever he wanted to satisfy his urge. He was the one who dis-virgined us.”

I beg to be forgiven —Suspect

On his part, the 35-year-old suspect , a commercial bus driver identified as Adewale Adeleke, admitted to the police that he committed the sacrilegious act. He claimed, however, that he did not know what usually comes over him at that point.

Hear him: “I beg to be forgiven. This is the handiwork of the devil because I do not know what usually comes over me. What usually happened was that the urge would just come and before I know it, I would be with either of them.”

When news of the act reached the mother of the children who resides in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, she reportedly rushed to Lagos, where she was quoted as saying that she was shocked beyond words.

She reportedly said she was forced to leave her husband because of alleged battering, in spite of the fact that she was the one responsible for the upkeep of the home. She said while leaving, she handed her two children to her mother with the intention of sending them monthly allowance, only for their father to go and take them.

Executive Director of Esther Child Rights Foundation, Mrs. Esther Ogwu, said her foundation was making effort to ensure that the woman would take custody of her children, adding also that the arrest of the suspect was a first step to ensure that justice was done.

The two girls are now under police protection while their father will be arraigned at the Ejigbo Magistrate’s Court by the police.

When contacted, Lagos State Police Command, Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ngozi Braide confirmed the arrest of the suspect, saying that he would be arraigned in court soon.


Source

LAGOS — A witness in the case involving a policeman, Cpl. Abu Abolaji, who is standing trial for alleged shooting three men to death while on patrol, yesterday, told a Lagos High Court in Igbosere that seven shots were mistakenly fired by him.

The witness, Mr Yahyah Emmanuel, an inspector, told the court that he and three other policemen, including the defendant, were on patrol when the seven shots that left three men dead were fired.

According to the witness, “On October 1, 2009, I was at Adekunle Police Station when we received a distress call informing us of a robbery at Alagomeji after which four of us signed for ammunition and went on patrol. When we got there, we saw three men who ran into a car and locked themselves up immediately they saw us.

“I got down from the patrol van with Cpl. Abolaji and asked him to go find out why the men ran into the car when they saw us. After a while, I started hearing gunshots and I moved to the scene to ask the defendant why he was shooting.”

Yahyah further told the court that one of the men died instantly and the other two died on their way to the general hospital on Lagos Island.

He said: “Immediately I got there, Cpl. Abolaji said it was a mistake and the gun was collected from him by another police officer who later discovered that seven of the bullets had been fired.”

Counsel to the defendant, Mr Victor Okpala, argued that Yahyah had not seen the defendant fire the shots, adding that the defendant was on red alert.

State counsel, Mrs O. A. Akin-Adesomojo countered that the Inspector had said all he knew about the incident.

After listening to the witness, Justice Ebenezer Adebajo adjourned to October 9 for continuation of trial.

According to the charge sheet, Abolaji, on October 1, 2009, at 4, Olode Street, Alagomeji, Yaba, Lagos at 12.30 a.m shot at three men— Mr Ibrahim Olojede, Rotimi Philips and Friday Uti— which later led to their death, offences which contravened Section 361 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State.


Source

Cairo (CNN) -- Egyptian security forces opened fire on supporters of the deposed president, Mohamed Morsy, and the Muslim Brotherhood, early Monday, killing more than 40 people.
Witnesses said the military and police fired when protesters had taken a break from holding a vigil at the Republican Guards headquarters to say their morning prayers. Morsy is reportedly detained there after his arrest Wednesday.
The health ministry put the number of fatalities at 42, and said 322 others were wounded.
The military offered a different version. It said it was forced to fire when an "armed terrorist group" tried to raid the headquarters. An interior ministry statement said two security force members died in the clashes.
The Monday morning violence further deepened a crisis in the country -- the Arab world's most populous -- where Morsy supporters have been squaring off daily with the military.
CNN counted at least eight bullet-riddled bodies and up to 40 wounded at the chaotic emergency facility in the Egyptian capital, down the street from the site of the shooting. The upper bodies of the victims appeared to be peppered with shotgun pellets and bullet wounds.
Doctors tended to the victims, performing surgeries in many cases before shipping them out to other facilities. Egyptian flags were draped over those who did not survive.
In the midst of the escalating tensions, state radio reported that two soldiers had been kidnapped by Morsy supporters in eastern Cairo.
Party withdraws from talks
Reacting to the shooting at the Guards headquarters, the Al-Nour party -- which supported Morsy's ouster -- withdrew from all talks about forming an interim government.
"We will not remain silent on the Republican Guards Massacre," party spokesman Nader Bakkar said.

Stepping up security

The developments came as protesters took to the streets again, where, for weeks, arguments have turned to clashes.
Ahead of Monday's events, more than 30 people had died and 1,400 had suffered injuries since Wednesday's coup.
Egypt's military said in a statement over the weekend that it was stepping up security efforts for the demonstrations.
"We also warn against any provocation or clashes with the peaceful demonstrators," the statement said. "Anyone who violates these instructions will be dealt with firmly in accordance with the law."

Supporters vow peaceful protests

Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood's political party vowed that protests would be peaceful and accused authorities of planning to send fake bearded men into Cairo's Tahrir Square to incite violence.
"This is so they can claim that the supporters of the elected-president and the Islamic groups are attacking the peaceful demonstrators. ... We warn those who play with fire that any sectarian incitement at this critical time will not be in the interests of anyone in our beloved Egypt," the Freedom and Justice Party said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
Human Rights Watch called for the country's military and political leaders to do more to stop the bloodshed.
"All sides need to tell their followers to refrain from actions likely to lead to violence and loss of life," Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "At the same time, the security forces need to show that they can act professionally and effectively to stop the violence without resorting to unlawful lethal force."

Bonny (Rivers) - The Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta on Sunday said that it had impounded 17 metal badges, 10 vessels and a tug boat laden with crude oil in Rivers.

The JTF Commander, Maj.-Gen. Bata Debiro, said this after an assessment tour of JTF’s operational bases in Bonny, Rivers.

Debiro said that the arrests were made only in its “Sub-sector Five” areas, which covered Andoni, Bonny and Gokana local government areas in Rivers, between April 2012 and July 2013.

He claimed that some of the vessels and badges were laden with stolen crude oil and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) when they were apprehended.

Debiro said that eight out of the 17 seized metal badges had been destroyed, while others were still undergoing investigations.

The JTF commander, however, did not disclose the number of arrests made during the time under review.

He said that his visit was aimed at carrying out a surveillance of the JTF’s operational areas and ascertaining the readiness of the JTF troops to fight against oil theft and related crimes.

Debiro, however, said that the JTF operations in the region would improve appreciably if the task force was provided with modern equipment which could be used to track pipelines and illegal bunkering activities.

“Multinational oil companies can assist us with provision of modern technologies and equipment to complement the efforts of our troops who were deployed to protect oil pipelines installations.

“The equipment will enhance our operations because it will alert us about pipelines that are being vandalised in real time and, therefore, guarantee the quick response of our troops to the scene.

“The provision of the equipment will further improve our policing of pipelines and could ultimately lead to the end of pipeline vandalism in the country,” he said.

Debiro, however, rejected allegations that some JTF personnel were involved in illegal oil bunkering activities in the Niger Delta.

He said that the JTF’s personnel were constantly monitored, adding that they were also aware of the zero-tolerance policy of the Army toward corrupt practices.

He stressed that any member of the task force, who was involved in corrupt practices, would be severely dealt with, in accordance with the Army’s code of conduct.

Debiro, nonetheless, said that the JTF had recorded several successes in its operations, pledging that it would not relent in efforts to apprehend and prosecute individuals and groups that were involved in oil theft and related crimes.

Debiro called on community leaders and the public to provide the JTF with timely information which could lead to the arrest of oil thieves and pipeline vandals.

He solicited continued media collaboration with the JTF, saying that this would aid the fulfilment of the campaign against oil theft and allied criminal activities in the Niger Delta region. (NAN)

Asaba—The Bishop of St. Peter’s Anglican Catheral Asaba, Delta State, Rev Justin Mogekwu, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to sign into law, the anti-gay bill passed by the National Assembly.

The cleric made the call, weekend in his sermon at the Cathedral, during a funeral service for mother of Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, NIALS, Prof Epiphany Azinge, SAN, the late Mrs Angelina Azinge.

Mogekwu condemned same sex marriage, describing same as evil and a curse from hell.

He said: “Same sex marriage is a curse from hell; it is not a human right. Imagine what would have happened when your father wanted to marry your mother and said to his own father, dad, I have seen the person I want to marry and he said, ‘fine, bring the person home and let me see her.’ And then he goes to bring one Isaiah, saying,‘ dad this is my wife to be.”

The cleric described gay marriage as evil and wickedness, which must be resisted with the last drop of our blood.

He berated the US President Barrack Obama, for advocating same sex marriage, describing it as a next step to heinous sex perversion.

He warned that if not checked, the next thing will be for somebody to say: “I want to marry my dog.”

He noted that President Jonathan must not delay in signing “this wonderful bill” as passed by the National Assembly into law.

The Senate passed the Anti-Gay bill, recommending 14 years imprisonment for anybody found engaging in gay activities.

He commended the Senator representing the zone, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa for doing a great job in the Senate.

The service was attended by prominent political leaders, judicial officers and dignitaries from all parts of the country, including Delta State governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Senator Chris Ngige, Dr. Joe Nwodo, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, General Secretary, Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr Emeka Obegolu and omong others.