The Nigerian military has confirmed that 28 people were killed in Langtang Local Government Area of Plateau State by gunmen on Wednesday night.
Spokesperson of the Special Task Force in Plateau, Captain Salisu Mustapha, also said 20 of the attackers were killed.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported the attack on Bolgan, Karkashi, and Magama villages in Langtang and the destruction of many houses causing residents to flee.
More details later…
Residents of Gwange area in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital have restricted their women from going out in the evening, following reports that Boko Haram members have now resorted to disguising as women, putting on female dresses while perpetrating evils and using the same method as a means of escaping arrest by soldiers and vigilante youth in the area.
DailyPost gathered that, four Boko Haram members were arrested on Saturday in Gwange ward, wearing women’s clothing and trying to escape arrest as a result of pressure mounted on them in the area by the vigilante youth who have been seriously hunting for the sect members particularly in Gwange area of the city.
ccording to a resident of Gwange, who pleaded not to be mentioned, the sect members are also wearing female clothing to hide their weapons in order to go and commit evil. “They have been doing that for a long time according to one of them who was arrested last month in Gwange and since that time, so many of them have been arrested and handed over to the security.” He said.
Speaking on whether the soldiers are killing them, he said, “They have been arresting them, but killing them, we do not know, because the soldiers always carry them to the JTF headquarters.”
According to him, even those that were arrested with ‘hijab’ last week Saturday,were beaten up by youth and handed over to the military for further interrogation.
The University of Benin has announced the termination of 18 of its senior staff’s appointment over sundry offences. The decision was taken by the University’s Governing Council.
Among those sacked was Mrs. May Nwoye, the university’s former Bursar. Also affected were two other professors of the University.
A statement by the registrar of the University, Mrs. G.O Ogboghodo said Nwoye’s offence was that she abandoned her duty post after she left the office of the bursar.
Meanwhile, the university was recently ranked as the most sought after institution in the country with a total number of 102,900 applicants in 2013, while universities of Ilorin, Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe University and University of Nigeria Nsukka came second, third, fourth and fifth respectively
A German snake expert died after being bitten multiple times by a viper during a presentation aimed at helping people ease their fears of the scaly reptiles.
Dieter Zorn, a 53-year-old herpetologist,died Tuesday evening of a heart attack minutes after he was bitten by an Aspic viper, according to Germany’s English-language newspaper The Local. Zorn was in southern France performing his “Reptile Show,” which teaches people how to overcome their fears of snakes, when he was bitten several times.
His co-host, Uschi Kallus, told The Local that Zorn died from an “extremely rare allergic reaction” to the bite, even though emergency personnel administered a blood thinner. She said he wouldn’t have wanted the snake to be blamed for his death and added that the incident was “exceptionally uncommon.”
Zorn’s show encourages attendees to handle the reptiles so as to get past “unfounded” fears. France’s Midi Libre newspaper reported “the audience, filled with curious people, almost saw him die” on stage, according to a Huffington Post translation.
Vipers are poisonous snakes, Animal Planet notes. Snake venom is meant to kill prey, with the poison working to damage an animal’s nerves, heart, breathing, blood vessels and body tissues. The Aspic viper is a snake native to France, Switzerland, Spain and Italy. It can grow up to 20 inches in length and live in a variety of habitats.
The spate of robbery incidents seems to be on the rise in Ogun State, with the recent experience of the general manager of a car company in Lagos, Mr. Lanre Bammeke.
His grey Toyota Avensis car, with registration number LL 969 EKY, was snatched at gunpoint by robbers dressed in military camouflage. While recounting their ordeal to Saturday PUNCH, Bammeke said they were also stripped naked and left in the bush.
On Sunday, June 2, 2013, the company manager and his wife, Fatima, left home for the wake-keep of a family friend at Lasada area of Ogun State, but the couple did not reach their destination. Along Atan/Agbara Road, some ‘soldiers’ riding in a rickety brown car overtook the couple’s vehicle and ordered them to stop or risk being killed.
He said, “It was a bad portion of the road where every driver would have to slow down. They jumped out of their vehicle, pointed their guns at me and ordered me to stop and get down the vehicle. They were six in number and four of them were in military camouflage. They said they would shoot and waste me if I didn’t come down, so I obeyed them since I didn’t know what I had done.
“Then, they pushed me to the back of my car and the two that were not in uniform sat on me and rested their backs like nothing was going on. As for my wife, they pushed her to the front passenger’s side and forced her to occupy the leg room. One of them sat in front, bent her head down and put his legs on her so that no one would know she was there.”
By his estimate, Bammeke said they must have been driven around for about an hour before arriving at an unknown place, where they were made to trek further into a thick bush. In the bush, Bammeke said he and his wife were stripped naked and abandoned.
He said, “We couldn’t see anything so we didn’t know where we were being driven to. But during the ride, they were asking if we had a tracker or any form of security in the vehicle. When we said ‘no’, they threatened to shoot and kill us if the vehicle stopped along the way. They said ‘we will kill you wherever the vehicle stops’. Even when my wife was praying, one of them asked her to keep quiet, that they had already fortified themselves with juju.
“After parking, they marched us further about 200 metres into the bush. Their own car did not follow and it was only four of them that came in my car that were there. When we got to a thick part of the bush, they stripped us naked and ordered us to lie down. My wife was left with only her panties and her bra was used to tie my hands behind my back. They went with everything, including our clothes.”
He said the hoodlums threatened to kill them right there in the bush. He said they also vowed that their bodies would never be found.
“At that point, my soul was out of my body spiritually and I was looking at my body and my wife down there. Even after they left, fear gripped us so we stayed there for sometime. I realised that what was happening to us could have been what many people declared missing today might have gone through,” he said.
Bammeke added that they might have even slept off before realising that the robbers had probably left them alone. At a point when there was silence all around them, he said his wife loosened the bra used to tie her hands and then freed him.
They then found their way out of the place, naked. Trudging along unclad, Bammeke said they chanced upon some villagers, who fled.
The company executive said, “It was already dark and we didn’t hear any voices again, so my wife untied me and we started looking for footpaths. Some okada riders (commercial motorcyclists) who saw us wanted to turn back and speed off, but I quickly shouted and begged them to assist by getting us to the nearest police station.
“One of the okada riders took us to Atan Police Station, where we were given clothes and put in a chartered cab to Agbara Police Station that night. The police really tried for us because they still gave us money to get transport home. Till now, each time my wife thinks about the experience, she shivers. As for me, I have had a hard time taking any food. It was as if my throat was blocked.”
Investigation shows that the Bammekes’ experience may have become a new trend of snatching vehicles in parts of Ogun State. For instance, a source at Atan Police Station said that another couple suffered the same sad experience three days after the Bammekes’ ordeal.
The Bammekes are yet to find their car but the police source gave the assurance that efforts were ongoing to recover the vehicle.
“We are trying our best to recover the stolen vehicle,” the source said.
Also, an okada rider in the area told Saturday PUNCH that the bush where he sighted the couple is located along Egodo Road. He confirmed that the area had become notorious for robbery incidents.
He said, “My brother was also robbed around there recently, but he was not stripped naked. Although, they also collected everything he had on him and drove him to the bush.”
The company executive told Saturday PUNCH that he was yet to get over the incident, even after two weeks.
He said, “I suspect that they were not military men; they were only criminals in military uniform. But each time I think about it, I feel cheated. That night, I took sleeping pills, but I still couldn’t sleep. During the ordeal, they even asked us to pray for them, which we did because we didn’t have a choice. “Just the other night, my wife woke up from sleep and started shouting that she heard a voice telling her to wake up because armed robbers were around.”
The Ogun State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, in a text message to Saturday PUNCH, described the case as “strange”, saying he was not aware of it.
“However, we will look into it and act accordingly; we will fine tune a way forward,” he said.
The Supreme Court has again dismissed an application by the Democratic People's Party's candidate in the last governorship election in Delta State, Chief Great Ogboru, who is seeking to compel the court to set aside its earlier judgment which upheld the election of Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party.
In a judgment written by Justice Clara Ogunbiyi but read by Justice Suleiman Galadima, the court said the application to set aside its earlier judgment was an abuse of court.
It consequently ordered Ogboru to pay Uduaghan N50,000 as cost for filing the "frivolous" application.
The court noted that a similar application was filed and withdrawn by Ogboru's first counsel, Mr Sebastine Hon, SAN.
It further held that the allegation that Hon withdrew the application without the authority of Ogboru was not substantiated.
Justice Ogunbiyi upheld the arguments of Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, to the effect that a counsel had unfettered authority to conduct his client's case.
Olanipekun who represented Uduaghan had argued that when briefed, a lawyer had full control of his client's case. He could compromise the case, he could agree to a judgment and that the only choice the client had was to withdraw the instruction given to the lawyer.
She further held that there must be an end to litigation.
The Supreme Court adopted this reasoning and held that Ogboru did not prove that Hon acted without authority when he withdrew the initial application to set aside the judgment. The court held that Hon had withdrawn the application and the plaintiff was bound by the withdrawal and that to file a similar application was an abuse of the process of court.
In the circumstance, the court did not go into the merit of the application.
Justice Ogunbiyi also frowned at the allegation by Ogboru's later lawyer, Dr Dickson Osuala, that Hon compromised himself in the manner in which he withdrew the application.
She held that it was unfair to allege that Hon compromised himself.
She warned lawyers not to allow their clients to use them to disparage the legal profession and legal practitioners.
After the Supreme Court upheld the election of Uduaghan, Ogboru returned to the apex court with a fresh application asking that the judgment be set aside and a new panel be constituted to hear his appeal.
The application was filed by Hon who later orally applied to withdraw the application. Consequent upon the withdrawal, the court struck out the application.
Shortly thereafter, Ogboru hired a new lawyer, Osuala who filed a fresh application alleging that Hon was not authorised to withdraw the application.
Meanwhile, Delta leaders on Friday congratulated Uduaghan for his victory at the Supreme Court. They also praised the justices of the Supreme Court for "satisfying the electorate by dismissing the request of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) governorship candidate".
In a statement issued in Asaba by the director of communications of the People’s Movement, Mrs. Ibifuro Tatua, the leaders lauded the judiciary for not yielding to what it called "calculated lies about elections in the state", describing the past three governorship elections as the most transparent ever seen in the history of the state.
“Contrary to impressions created by some enemies of the state, Uduaghan has no problem if he decides to seek election into the senate come 2015.
Sometime in November last year, it became apparent that top gospel singer, Tope Alabi was no longer forthcoming with her civic bits at the Christ Revival Victory Chapel led by Prophet Ireti Ajanaku. So yummy and chummy was the bond that existed between the duo. Their paths crossed about 12 eventful years ago and the singer even did a song in praise of Ajanaku titled ‘God of Iretiola Elijah Ajanaku’ to the envy of other clerics. But what seemed a whirlwind of insinuations had been confirmed by the prophet after a church service at his Ipaja-Lagos headquarters last Sunday. Prior to this time, the prophet had claimed that Alabi was still his spiritual daughter while Alabi also maintained the same stance with what she shared with the press. There was somewhat a glimmer of hope that their difference was still reconcilable after all. But bubble burst last Sunday as the prophet renounced all that ever bonded them.
It roused the church as the prophet spilled the beans. “For 12 solid years, I fathered Tope Alabi spiritually and she sang about me and my God not because I ever asked her to do so. She was Toyin when I met her, I rechristened her Tope because that was the name my God ordained for her. Her travails disappeared because my God is true and faithful. She became almost an instant star flying local and international for shows. And I blessed God for who He is. So, Tope wasn’t advertising me, she was dazzled by the God of Ajanaku that raised her from travails to many triumphs”, he thundered. And when SBF reached out to Alabi over the phone, her husband, Soji who doubles as her manager declined to comment.“As far as this matter is concerned, my wife and I have decided to remain silent.” So, we proceeded to talk to the prophet. Is it true that he is at war with Tope Alabi? And he replied: “I’m not at war with her and I don’t go to war against anyone.
Tope Alabi feared the God I serve and she had great respect for Him, but her problem is that she doesn’t listen to sermons that should keep the power working for her continually. Please remind me how many singers have praise-sung the God of his/her pastor for that long. Yes, God is in the life of Pastor Enoch Adeboye, same with Pastor David Oyedepo and many others around the world. But there’s no singer who will dedicate herself that much except she encounters one almighty power in the life of such pastor. But as much as Tope Alabi praises the God of Elijah Iretiola Ajanaku, it has never positively affected my ministry.
If she had followers in this ministry, most of them would have gone with her when she left. Hard as it may sound to you, Tope has never thought of ever appreciating me with her substance. Let people ask if she’d ever thought ‘let me give my pastor N100,000 to buy foodstuffs,. I’d never asked Tope to quit the church of God. Is it good for someone of Tope’s pedigree to leave a church and we cannot tell that this is the drum, guitar or saxophone she bought for the ministry? If Tope didn’t do all these, how can I miss her? I don’t miss her and I don’t pray she returns to me. During the crossover service on December 31, 2012, there’s something I’ve always told her that she refused to heed; I made her know God has shown her mercy enough to remain steadfast. You plan your shows and have the right to alter it at will, why do you include Sundays? Find a week or two in a month to attend the church service as long as you’re in Nigeria. I told her it was an order as long as she remained my daughter, but if she dares me, never will I ever give her such counsel or invite her for any function in my ministry
. I asked her to start the Sunday after. She refused to show up in church until the cross-over service she attended with her husband. She didn’t sit where she had always sat near the singers. She hid herself and when I made the altar call for artistes in the church, she rebuffed and when some stewards approached her, she claimed she was tired. That particular night was when I met the 18-year-old girl, Ifemide. She had never sung before me. I didn’t even know she could sing. I just spotted her and dragged her to the pulpit and said that someone is losing her divine place today and another person is taking the place. I told the church that by the power of God, I replace someone with this girl.” Ifemide, the new kid on the bloc is already having shows and singing gospel enchantingly as she heaps praises on the God of Ajanaku like Tope once did
Ten people drowned and 20 remained unaccounted for after a boat carrying West African clandestine migrants sank off the coast of Gabon, the police said on Friday.The boat had left Nigeria and was within 15 minutes of arriving in Gabon’s capital, Libreville, when it went down late on Tuesday night.
Gabonese authorities rescued 23 survivors and the search continued into Friday.“Last night, we had six bodies and since this morning we have found four more, which makes a total of 10 recovered bodies. The immigrants drowned,” said a member of the nautical brigade of Gabon’s national police, who asked not to be named.
Police said the survivors – from Benin, Nigeria and Burkina Faso – claimed to have each paid the boat’s crew up to 500,000 CFA francs N160,000) to take them to Gabon where they hoped to find work.Local newspapers reported that the human traffickers attempted to extort more money from the immigrants and began throwing those who could not pay overboard.Gabonese authorities said they were investigating the cause of the accident.
Oil-rich Gabon’s relatively high wages for manual labourers have made the tiny central African nation a popular destination for regional migrants.However, entrance requirements are strict, pushing many to enter the country illegally, often using the dangerous sea route from Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria.
At least 45 people died when a wooden boat carrying 166 migrants bound for Gabon capsized off Nigeria in March.Some 35 people taking the same route died after their boat sank off Cameroon in 2008.(Reuters/NAN)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Friday washed its hands off news making the rounds that it had ordered the freezing of bank accounts of some religious organisations over allegations of link with terrorists.
The bank explained in a statement posted on its website that in order to ensure that the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act (MLPA) of 2011 were enforced, all Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) were required to comply with the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requirement whose deadline was recently extended to December 31, 2013.
The statement signed by the Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr. Ugochukwu Okoroafor, pointed out that the only requirement for the KYC update was the presentation of evidence of registration, specifically, certificate of registration showing registration number with the Special Control Unit Against money Laundering (SCUML).
DNFBPs refer to dealers in jewellery, precious metals and stones, cars and luxury goods, audit firms, tax consultants, clearing and settlement companies, lawyers, notaries, other independent legal practitioners and chartered accountants, trust and company service providers (who provide services to third parties), hotels, casinos (including internet and ship-based casinos), supermarkets, real estate agents, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), religious and charitable organisations, or such other businesses or professions as the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investments, or appropriate regulatory authorities may, from time to time, designate.
The statement said further: “The attention of the CBN has been drawn to some reports being circulated in the media to the effect that the CBN had ordered the freezing of the accounts of some religious organisations, citing alleged suspicion of links with terrorist groups.
“We wish to state that the CBN has not ordered the closure or freezing of the bank account of any religious body or any institution whatsoever as alleged in the publications and posts. There is, therefore, no iota of truth in these allegations.
“Prior to 2006, Nigeria was on the infamous list of the Non-Cooperating Countries and Territories (NCCTs) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global watchdog on financial crimes. Nigeria was removed from this undignified list on account of stringent actions taken by the Nigerian Government.
“However, by 2007, as a result of loopholes in Nigeria’s legal and regulatory system, the country was included in the ‘grey list’ of countries that had not made appreciable progress in their Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime by FATF.”
From the above, the CBN stressed that it was therefore incumbent on Nigerian authorities to ensure that the country’s financial processes and procedures as well as the provisions of the MLPA 2011 and the Prevention of Terrorism (PTA) Act of 2011, were in conformity with the FATF recommendations and international best practice. This it said led to the directive for KYC update by DNFBPs operating accounts in all financial institutions in Nigeria.
The deadline for the policy initiated in August, 2012 has since been extended three times, with a fresh deadline of December this year announced last Tuesday.
n 2008, the names of Alhaji Aliko Dangote and a few other Nigerians appeared on the FORBES billionaires’ list. Dangote’s fortune was pegged at $3.3 billion. When the rankings were made a year later, his fortune dropped to $2.5 billion and plunged further to $2.1 billion the year after. By 2011, after he had taken Dangote Cement public, his fortune surged 557 per cent to $13.8 billion.
In 2012, he dropped to $11.2 billion, but rebounded at $20.1 billion this year. Since March, his fortune has jumped another 30 per cent. He is now the richest man in Africa and the 25th richest in the world. Dangote, whose cement manufacturing concern is on its way to becoming the largest in the world, has announced his plans to go into petroleum refining. He may well be on his way to becoming the No. 1 moneybags in the world. Or, what is he up to? HASSAN GIMBA AHMED writes:
His beginning
Aliko Dangote was born in Kano, Nigeria, on April 10, 1957. Born into a rich Muslim family, he had an eye on cutting his teeth in his own corner. While in primary school, he discovered the incurable desire for sweets by the other children and began selling cartons of sweets, just to make money. He would buy from huge shops and sell to the children in his school. He had no use for the money, yet he stockpiled it. “I was selling the sweets just to make money, because I was so interested in business even at that time,” he recalled.
After finishing his secondary education, the young Dangote was shipped off to Cairo’s Al Azhar University where he bagged a degree in business methods. With some knowledge of the world added to his natural business savvy, Dangote returned to Nigeria to work with his maternal uncle Sanusi Abdulkadir Dantata. When he turned 21, Dangote was good to start and on his own. His uncle, who had become somewhat of a business tutor, loaned him N500, 000 with his blessings.
Dangote began trading in commodities like cement, flour, sugar, rice, fish and later pasta and its byproducts.
By the early part of the 21st century, he had delved into full production of these items. He also added freight and food processing; he went ahead to build the Dangote Group, West Africa’s largest publicly-listed conglomerate. His interest covers sugar refineries, salt processing facilities and Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer. Dangote Group brokered deals which made his group the major sugar supplier to the country’s soft drink companies, breweries, and confectioners.
Today, the Group exports cotton, cashew nuts, cocoa, sesame seeds and ginger to several countries. It also has major investments in real estate, banking, transport, textiles and oil and gas. The Dangote Group employs over 11,000 people, a figure expected to double in the next three years. It has become the largest industrial conglomerate in the whole of West Africa. In January 2009, he was honoured as the leading employer of labour in the Nigerian private sector.
Ivory Cast and Newcastle United midfielder Cheick Tiote has appeared in court charged with five offences, including using a false identity document and fraud.
The footballer was stopped by police on 12 February near the club’s training ground on suspicion of fraud in relation to driving offences.
The Ivory Coast star, 27, is accused of using a fake Belgian driving licence in a bid to obtain a UK licence.
Newcastle magistrates bailed the player to appear at crown court in July.
Car seized
They were told the false identity document charge could only be dealt with at that court and that the other charges were linked.
Mr Tiote was given unconditional bail to appear at Newcastle Crown Court on 5 July.
His car, a Chevrolet Camaro estimated to be worth about £75,000, was seized by Northumbria Police at the time of his arrest.
Factional Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Plateau State Governor, Mr. Jonah Jang, has described his Kano State counterpart, Alhaji Rabiu Kwakwanso as lacking in moral ethos following his explanation of what transpired at last month’s NGF election.
Jang, who was defeated by Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi by 16 votes to 19, but went ahead to declare himself as Chairman of the Forum with the active support of some Governors, cited his consensus candidature by the 19 northern state Governors as evidence of his victory.
Jang, in a statement on Thursday by the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Yiljap Abraham, said by Kwakwanso’s admission, his nomination as chairman of the NGF by the northern governors was a political game, only showed the level of “descent to which some politicians had sunk in terms of lost moral ethos.”
Kwakwanso, on Monday, was quoted as saying though, the northern governors nominated Jang, some of them still voted against him because it was a political game.
Jang’s statement read in part, “Governor Kwakwanso’s account of events during the Northern Governors’ Forum, which led to the adoption of Governor Jonah Jang as the candidate of the region for the chairmanship of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, has thrown a moral glitz on Nigeria’s political turf.
Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Wamakko, Tuesday said he had been vindicated following the lifting of the suspension order slammed on him by the National Working Committee of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, a fortnight ago.
Even so, Wamakko appealed to the national leadership of the party to recall his Rivers counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi who was also suspended about a month ago.
Speaking in an interview with the Voice of America (VOA) Hausa Service monitored in Sokoto yesterday, Wamakko noted that the lifting of his suspension by the NWC was an indication that truth had prevailed in the end, as he had done nothing wrong to warrant the suspension.
He said: “Truth always triumphs over falsehood no matter what time it takes. I am not fighting anybody and I am not afraid to speak my mind because I believe truth will always prevail. We are talking about fairness and equity to all, so we are fighting injustice in the party.
“I am a Muslim, a northerner and a Nigerian. Thus, even if I am not the governor, these three things will always remain with me. I know that power is transient, so I am not scared of anything because I know that you can only be afraid of something if you are doing wrong,” Wamakko asserted.
He insisted that his call for the sack of the PDP national chairman, Bamanga Tukur, was in response to the yearnings of the party supporters in the state and also people with like minds in the PDP.
The governor observed that before Tukur’s tenure as PDP national chairman, the party had internal mechanisms to resolve its problems and disagreements away from public knowledge but lamented that this was no longer the case.
“In the past, before Tukur’s election as PDP national chairman, if we had any problem or disagreement in the party, we convened a meeting where all issues and problems were ironed out. We used to disagree and exchange words with one another during such meetings, but at the end of the day, we resolved the problem.
“In fact, such problems were kept secret without the knowledge of the public. But today, it is no longer so, you hear everything about PDP and its problems on the pages of newspapers and nothing is kept secret which is very sad.
“So the president (Goodluck Jonathan) as the leader of our party should rise up to the occasion and do the right thing to save the PDP from being destroyed,” Wamakko said.
While making an appeal on behalf of Amaechi, Wamakko stressed that doing so would enhance the unity of the party and ensure that all members are being treated on the basis of equity and mutual respect.
The governor thanked representatives of the state in the National Assembly and the State House of Assembly as well as party members in the state for their loyalty and support while his ordeal lasted.
Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Dr. Ade Abolurin has lamented the spate of job racketeering in the country.
Abolurin expressed worry over the daily increase of illegal websites designed by fraudsters to defraud desperate job seekers, and therefore warned that henceforth anyone caught, both the giver and taker, will be treated as common criminals in accordance with the existing laws governing fraud and corrupt practices.
“The corps is not recruiting and has no intention to recruit and even when it’s to recruit, the process is certainly not through the internet and websites. Therefore, all those designing illegal websites for the purpose of recruitment are fraudsters and should desist from such nefarious activities with immediate effect,” Abolurin said.
He said: “ignorance is never an excuse in the law court therefore, no matter your level of unemployment, if you allow yourself to be duped, the Corp will not take responsibility for that and will not allow its name to be dragged through the mud.
“The Corps has warned sufficiently through the mass media, times without number, that the Corps is not recruiting and its recruitment is not for sale but persons allow themselves to be defrauded by criminals and disgruntled elements in the society whose handiwork is for evil.
“The Corps is urging desperate job seekers to beware of this and ensure they ask questions properly from any of the Corps formations whenever they are confronted by these scammers on the issue of recruitment.
“The public relations office, servicom and other offices of the Corps are open for confirmation and verification of ifo.
Maiduguri again experienced violence yesterday as gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram Islamic sect unleashed terror at Innovative Secondary School in the Customs area of Maiduguri, the Borno State, where they killed four teachers and two students.
The gunmen numbering about four were said to have entered the school premises at about noon and met a female teacher who had gone to invigilate the ongoing NECO examination.
Sources said they spared the woman’s life after she begged amid tears for them to let her live. Her hand bag and the envelop containing the question papers were taken from her as they ordered her to leave the school premises.
The gunmen were later said to have opened fire on other teachers sitting under a tree, killing all of them on the spot before fleeing the area.
“The spate of killings of innocent people is becoming a source of concern to people; it is unfortunate that, students, teachers and poor farmers have now become the targets of terrorists,” a source said.
Security sources say dozens of terrorists living in the Sambisa Game Reserve fled to Mandara Mountains and other Hilly areas of Gwoza Local Government which is bordering Cameroon Republic among other desert areas of the state.
“Some of the terrorists who fled from their camps in Sambisa have regrouped, and are launching attacks on Maiduguri and other areas in Yobe and Borno states,” a source said.
“I am sure that the security agencies are aware and we will take decisive measures to ensure that there is no hiding place for the terrorists in the state.”
The federal account allocation Committee (FAAC) reconvened late on Wednesday night to disburse N156 billion to settle the February outstanding arrears to the three tiers of government. This comes barely 24 hours after President Goodluck Jonathan intervened in the week-long crisis over unpaid arrears of revenue allocation to the 36 states and Abuja.
At the end of the meeting, which followed a resolution arrived at last Tuesday between the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the presidential committee set up by the president to resolve the crisis, a total of about N620.656 billion was shared for the month of May.
The committee also agreed to pay N92 billion augmentation for May in July, pointing out that settling all the huge liabilities for February at a go could deplete the savings in the excess crude revenue account.
The Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Ngama, told reporters at the end of the meeting that total revenues from minerals and non-minerals sources for the month stood at about N590.777 billion, representing a shortfall of about N30.090 billion from the budgeted figure for the month.
According to the minister, the total statutory revenue distribution stood at about N577.490 billion; Value Added Tax, N74.873 billion; Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, N35.549 billion; and N7.617 billion being the refund for the withheld N450 billion revenue by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
From the statutory distributions, details of the disbursement of the fund showed that the Federal Government got N235.778 billion or 52.68 per cent, compared to states’ allocation of N119.590 billion or 26.72 per cent, and local governments’ N92.199 billion.
In addition, the sum of N59.152 billion was shared by the oil producing states based on the 13 per cent principle of derivation.
From the VAT accruals, the Federal Government got N10.782 billion, representing 15 per cent, while the 36 states took N35.939 billion, or 50 per cent of the VAT distributions. The local governments shared the balance of N25.157 billion, representing 35 per cent of the months collections.
Mr. Ngama, however, said the challenges of production and lifting operations in the upstream sub-sector of the oil and gas sector experienced in the previous month persisted in the month under review.
Leading telecommunications operator, Airtel Nigeria, has introduced a dual-purpose single recharge card for both voice and data services on the network that will allow customers to recharge for both services with only one recharge card.
The Single Recharge Option, another first in the industry by Airtel, is available in both physical and electronic recharge formats. The physical recharge card comes in N100, N500 and N5000 denominations, while the electronic pin (paper) option are available in denominations of N100, N200, N500, N1000, N2000 and N5000.
For the Single Recharge, the old process of recharge for the Airtel voice service still suffices as customers are to dial *126* followed by the Recharge PIN and then #. However, to subscribe for data service on the same recharge card, customers will need to dial *143* followed by Recharge PIN and #.
The Single Recharge Option also attracts applicable bonus rates for data subscription depending on the amount of airtime purchased.
When customers load between N100 and N500, they will enjoy 60% data bonus while subscription of N1, 000 to N5, 000 attracts for 30 percent data bonus.
Speaking on latest innovation, the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, Airtel Nigeria, Deepak Srivastava, said the latest recharge option further buttresses the company’s commitment to continually offer Nigerians innovative products tailored to provide them a whole world of value and convenience.
He pledged Airtel relentless drive to deliver fresh and cutting-edge telecoms technology so to ensure that its customers continue to enjoy first-rate products and services, adding that Single Recharge is another great reason to be on the Airtel network, especially coming at a time when Mobile Number Portability (MNP) allows customers to move over to Airtel for the conveniences that it offers its customers
Stop worshipping God on our land, it is for our goddess – Community destroys church
By Abiodun Badejo on June 18, 2013
Pandemonium broke out in Idanre local government, area of Ondo State as some suspected hoodlums allegedly destroyed a church building belonging to Fruit of Christ Church of God Ministry and also damaged property worth millions of Naira in the process.
The barbaric action was said to have been sponsored by some elders in the community who claimed the church was built on a rock where their goddess was being worshipped.
According to eye witnesses, the demolition was done by some people who came wearing jeans and shirts, armed with axes, hammers and guns while demolishing the building.
DailyPost gathered that the decision to demolish the Church’s structure was taken at Ugha Council meeting which was headed by the King of the Community, Owa of Idanre land.
But, the Church Founder, Prophetess Modupe Akinrinmade, said “I have been occupying this place since God called me over two years ago. When I bought the land from Pa. Charles Akinbobola, I met some people in the area who had already built their houses and churches to an advance levels.
“About one and half years after the purchase of the land, we were able to dig a well on the site but some people rose against us, saying that the rock belongs to the community where they worship certain gods. However, I told them that I was the one who dug the well. When they insisted, I left it and God provided another one on another location, but on the other side of the rock of which they could not claim the ownership.
Then I thought it was over, until now that they came and said that I should leave the land that it is the mountains of their Orisa (deity). They mobilised troops from Akure and destroyed all our property here worth millions of Naira. They came in seven hilux vans, armed and were about 52 in number”.
According to the man, who sold the land to the church, Pa. Charles Akinbobola said he inherited the land from his late parents, stressing that nobody among all the people in the community had challenged him since he has been selling parts of the land to people.
His words, “though, when some of the Chiefs came here, they said that there is a particular water on the rocky area of land which they accused me of selling to the prophetess two years ago. They invited the Owa of Idanre to the point of the water but to their surprise, Owa ruled that they should allow the woman to continue building the church.
“I am shocked and ashamed when I learnt that they came here with gunmen to pull down the structure”
Confirming the incident, the Lisa of Idanre, High Chief Akindolie said the demolition of the church was a decision of Ugha Council, adding that he would not deny the attack because he was also present at the meeting where the decision was taken.
“I am not authorised to speak much on this, but I believe the King is in the best position to give details about this issue. We had already informed the government through its Ministry of Works and the Attorney General before embarking on the demolition” the Lisa said
In a case of the hunter becoming the hunted, President Goodluck Jonathan has succumbed to pressure and backed off from getting rid of the chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who is accused of running the party into the ground.
His removal through resignation next Thursday along with members of the National Working Committee (NWC), was recommended by a committee headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Anyim Pius Anyim.
Sources told SaharaReporters that following heavy pressure brought to bear on him, Mr. Jonathan this evening at the presidential villa decided that Mr. Tukur, along with the PDP Financial Secretary and the Auditor, be spared the humiliation of removal.
This means that all of the other members of the NWC, including National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh, will still have to resign on Thursday, but that leaves all of 48 hours in which Mr. Jonathan, who is trying to ensure his party does not stand in the way of his re-election, may still change his mind once or twice.
Our sources say President Jonathan capitulated to the pressure mounted by Tukur to make the situation appear to be solely a legal issue, with the argument that only those individuals affected by legal tussles in the NWC or who have been legally challenged in their various zones will now be show the front door of Legacy House. It is unclear if Tukur used any other pressure points on the president.
Mr. Jonathan’s inability to make up his mind means that the fissures and divisions within the party may continue to grow, with some of those who feel aggrieved by Tukur’s retention becoming instant brides of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
Even then, Mr. Tukur may not be totally out of danger. Zonal meetings are now scheduled to take place on July 13, to be followed by the National Convention two days later at which the party might still remove the troubled National Chairman, with Mr. Jonathan unable to prop him up.
Even now, some PDP members were also today complaining that Alhaji Tukur, following a meeting with Andy Uba, the perennially-controversial former domestic aide to President Olusegun Obasanjo, Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha and Olisa Metuh, illegally recruited a Director-General for the Peoples of Democratic Institute, a “research” arm of the PDP. Mr. Ubah is also believed to be instrumental to President Jonathan's capitulation on the PDP crisis tonight.
Tukur’s new hire, given the job completely without due process, is Chinwe Nnorom Onuoha, who assumed duty at 4PM Nigerian time.
Our source said although the position was advertised as far back as December 2012, the group bypassed thousands of applications to ensure the employment of Ms. Chinwe.
Some of the spillover of Mr. Jonathan’s flip-flops may occur within his own cabinet, including the Anyim committee, which identified the weakness of Tukur and accused him of running the party aground. With Tukur regaining some control, at least for the moment, his position pitches him against Anyim and members of the committee who, the chairman must now feel, have brought him to the cliff of infamy and disgrace.
Source: saharareporters
Jigawa Sate Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, on Tuesday said nine Peoples Democratic Party governors voted for the incumbent chairman of the Nigeria Governors' Forum, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, at the June 4 election that later divided the forum.
Lamido gave a specific insight into what happened during the NGF election while speaking in an interview with the Hausa Service of the Voice of America monitored in Abuja, on Tuesday
Speaking specifically about the election of Ameachi as Chairman, NGF, Lamido said,
"I also voted for Ameachi. Look, in the PDP, myself, the governor of Kano, the governor of Niger, the governor of Kebbi, the governor of Sokoto, the governor of Kwara, the governor of Rivers, the governor of Adamawa, nine of us PDP governors voted for him.
"This election was for the NGF, not a candidate for the PDP; there is nothing to it."
In a veiled reference to the consensus reached by the Northern Governor Forum to present Governor Jonah Jang as consensus candidate.
He said, "For one group to come and say 'this is your leader, let's present him to the nation'. Things are not done like that. People forget easily we are all reasonable people and the PDP was founded by reasonable people."
Lamido also took a swipe at the party's leadership over the suspension of Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Wamakko.
While describing the suspension of Wamakko by the Bamanga Tukur-led National Working Committee as reckless, he said leaders needed to be circumspect in taking decisions.
He said, "Any reasonable politician, who has foresight, knows that doing anything that will cause trouble for party members or bring confusion, a leader should avoid it.
"The suspension of Wamakko was a mistake that shows a lack of leadership. Secondly, there was recklessness because what was his offence?
"The truth is Bamanga Tukur was defeated in Bauchi or was he not defeated during the zonal elections in Bauchi? He was defeated, not so?
"Myself, Wamakko, the governor of Kano and others came together and said what they (North East) did was wrong, so we will not agree; let us go for an election.
"The North East said its consensus candidate was Babayo. Bamanga Tukur was brought to us at the convention and we elected him, even from this, you have your answer (about the NGF election)."
President Goodluck Jonathan has summoned the 36 state governors to an emergency meeting on Monday. The meeting, which is scheduled to hold at the Presidential Villa by 9 p.m., according to a source, is to deliberate on the sharing of federal allocation which was stalemated on Thursday.
Also, Sunday Mirror reliably gathered that the Plateau State Governor, David Jonah Jang, has equally called for a meeting of NGF members, prior to the meeting with the President.
A governor who pleaded anonymity told Sunday Mirror that Governor Jang at the weekend sent messages to all the governors informing them of the meeting.
“Usually, each time the President summons us to a meeting on national issue, we meet to take a definite position before meeting the President. In line with this, Governor Jang has invited us to a meeting for Monday in Abuja,” the governor who belongs to the Jang faction said yesterday. But it was learnt that most of the pro-Rotimi Amaechi governors have said they will shun the meeting called by Jang.
“Governor Jang is not the recognised chairman of the NGF. So, he has no moral right to call for a meeting of governors. He only leads a faction. So, we won’t attend his meeting on Monday,” one of the opposition governors told Sunday Mirror. It was learnt that most of the pro-Amaechi governors will proceed straight to the Presidential Villa for the meeting.
A source said that every governor will present his position as the NGF is divided. The monthly meeting of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC was aborted on Thursday as the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Ngama who doubles as its Chairman failed to convince the State Commissioners for Finance on an acceptable terms for which the May 2013 allocations would be based which led to the state commissioners walking out on the minister.
The stalemate has the potential to affect most states with poor Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, as they stand the risk of not meeting their financial obligations.
Chairman of State Finance Commissioners Forum, Timothy Odaah, stated that the states boycotted the May FAAC session because of “the non-implementation of the decisions and resolutions taken in most FAAC meeting plenary sessions, especially the May 2013 resolutions which still remain inconclusive based on the fact that the arrears of February have not been paid.”
Also, he said the failure of the committee to pay augmentation of April allocation in line with the resolution mutually passed at the meeting was also responsible for the walkout.
“Every month returns from the states accountant generals appear to be shabbier than the previous one. And the state governments have taken a lot of disappointment from the administration of FAAC which by intents and purposes have become templates of ineptitude,” Odaah lamented.
An angry mob on Wednesday along stadium road, Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, smashed a robbery syndicate that specializes in snatching money and valuables from unsuspecting passengers.
Narrating his experience in the hands of the suspected thieves, their victim said, “I went to change some currency from naira to dollars at a bureau de change. After the transactions, I stopped the taxi with the men inside. Getting to my destination, I asked the driver to stop but he said he wanted to pick someone ahead before dropping me so he moved up a bit and stopped.”
According to him, while trying to open the door which was proving difficult, one of the passengers drew closer in a bid to assist him but as he dropped from the cab, he noticed that the money he just changed was missing and quickly raised alarm.
The suspects quickly threw down the money as they sped off but passers bye, who heard the alarm gave the fleeing men a hot chase with Okada and apprehended two of them.
It took the quick intervention of men from Special Anti Robbery Squared, SARS, for the suspects not to have been lynched by the angry mob.
The windscreens and windows of the Mazda taxi cab used by the suspects with Kwara Registration number XD 358 KEY and taxi union registration number LRN A5/ 264, was shattered in the process.
The players insist that that bonus be paid to them in full.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria have boycotted their Thursday evening flight to Brazil because of a cut in their match bonus, sources in Namibia have said.
The eagles were expected to leave Namibia for Brazil to represent Africa at the FIFA Confederation cup that commences on Saturday, June 15.
The team had played a 1-1 draw against host Namibia, in Windhoek, in a World Cup Qualifier on Wednesday.
They were supposed to leave for Brazil to commence preparation for the Confederations cup. with their first match scheduled for Monday against Tahiti.
