Thursday 27 November 2014

41 Boko Haram members beheaded in Biu

BY NDAHI MARAMA, Maiduguri

No fewer than 41 suspected members of Boko Haram sect were killed and beheaded by men of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a.k.a Civilian JTF, at Biu, Borno State following a failed attempt by the insurgents to overrun the Sabon Gari village, in Damboa Local Government Area of the state, Thursday.

Biu,located south and about 185 kilometres drive from Maiduguri the state capital, is one of the largest local government areas in the state.

50 suspected Boko Haram members arrested hiding underneath the truck carrying sheeps and goats during a routine check

Sources told Saturday Vanguard that the combine efforts of military officers and members of the Civilian JTF pursued the insurgents to Gur area, around Mandafuma village where they engaged them in a fierce battle which lasted for about two hours killing 41 members of the sect, before beheading them and hanging their heads on sticks. The victorious Civilian JTF members displayed the heads of their victims as the returned to Biu amid fanfare.

A member of the Civilian JTF, Umar Hassan who confirmed the incident told Saturday Vanguard that, “we beheaded the insurgents after the shoot out which lasted for about two hours and took their heads to Biu to show the people that the Boko Haram insurgents are human and not beasts and so, people should not fear them but instead, join hands with us and security operatives to ensure that the sect members who are enemies of Islam and the people of Nigerians are defeated.”

Umar further said that when his members heard that the insurgents went to attack Sabon Gari, where people were just returning to their homes after three months of exile as internally displaced persons in various camps across the state, they moved in quickly to foil their action pointing out that troops had however arrived the area before them, hence both groups joined hands to defeat them.

“After the insurgents were repelled, they headed towards Mandafuma in Biu local government and took the route to Gur village in an attempt to escape, but again the military and our members ambushed them.

“They were engaged in fierce battle with the soldiers and 41 of them were killed, 1 am alive, no soldier was killed in the ambush. After they were killed we cut off their heads and took them. We asked the people of Biu to stand against the Boko Haram fighters, who are now destroying our villages despite the supposedly ceasefire agreement with government,” he added.

Victor Moses returns to Chelsea

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has confirmed that winger Victor Moses has returned to parent club Chelsea after suffering a thigh injury.

Assistant manager Mark Bowen had earlier revealed that he thought Moses would be out for between six to eight weeks and now in his press conference before the game against Liverpool Hughes has said that Moses has returned to Chelsea.

Moses joined the Blues from Wigan but he failed to work his way into the first team and last season went out on loan to Liverpool. .

However he struggled there as well and hardly featured yet his time with Stoke has definitely been more successful.

He is considered a key player by the management and his absence will be a huge blow for Hughes and his coaching staff.

It is currently unclear whether or not the loan has actually been terminated but it seems as if Moses has just gone back for treatment.

Corruption allegation: You’re a liar, senate tells Obasanjo

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru & Joseph Erunke

ABUJA – THE Senate Thursday said that the allegation by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo that the National Assembly was using constituency projects to siphon the public funds was a total lie meant to denigrate the sanctity of the parliament.

The Senate also claimed that it was the Obasanjo’s administration that approved the constituency projects to be built in the national budget which was executed by the executive.

Speaking through its chairman on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, the Senate described the allegation of corruption against it by the former president as unfortunate and an attempt to tarnish the image of the National Assembly.

According to the statement, the Red Chamber said it was unfortunate that the former President would distort the issue of constituency projects as meaning a direct monetary advance to lawmakers and thus amounting to the “promotion of corruption” by the National Assembly.

Describing the allegation as spurious, Abaribe in the statement said the former President’s comment was distant from the truth and nowhere near reality, adding that if it were so, the former President would not have tolerated such for the period he was the President of the country.

According him, “President Obasanjo for the avoidance of doubt, was the initiator of the constituency project in the year 2000 as a means of ensuring that projects were fairly spread across the country using the Senatorial zones as the spring board.

“To ensure execution of the projects, President Obasanjo again factored the constituency projects into the annual budgets to be implemented by the executive depending on availability of funds. That is to say that no lawmaker ever comes close to the funds or even determine the contractor for the said projects or when the said contract would be awarded.

“So, it looks curious and surprising that President Obasanjo would turn around after over ten years of initiating such a project to allege that the National Assembly is performing the function of both the executive and the parliament.

“Is it not preposterous for anybody to believe that members of the National Assembly would against the provisions of the constitution with regards to application of separation of powers, award contracts ‘to their agents to execute’ and expect the Presidency under a President Obasanjo or any other President for that matter to pay for what they are not part of?

“Such allegation stands logic on its head, as it amounts to an indictment of the Presidency for wilfully contravening the budget laws by ceding its power to execute to the National Assembly, if it was the case.”

The Senate according to Abaribe therefore, challenged the former President to go a step further to furnish Nigerians with details of how the National Assembly members became executors of national budget rather than being law makers.

He said, “It will also help to clear the allegation once and for all, if any presidency official not only from the time past but currently, could come forward and explain the true position of the so called constituency projects. Doing so would at least set the records straight.”

The Senate spokesman cautioned political leaders to be wary of the consequences to our democracy of dragging the revered institution of lawmaking to public odium just to score some political point.

Tuesday 25 November 2014

Three civilians killed in Ukraine shelling

Three civilians were killed by shelling in the rebel-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine over the past 24 hours, separatist officials said on Tuesday.

One shell hit a minibus early on Tuesday, killing two passengers including a man of around 25 and a woman in her forties, and injuring eight others, a hospital source told AFP.

The incident happened close to Donetsk airport, the scene of heavy fighting between Ukrainian and rebel forces for several months.

Four areas of the city were hit by shells overnight, the Donetsk town hall said, without giving details of the third death.

More than 4,300 people have been killed since fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine in April.

Pakistani man kills niece for listening to loud music – police

A teenage Pakistani girl has been shot dead by her uncle following a row over loud music, police said Tuesday.

The incident happened Saturday in the Kallar Kahar valley in Punjab province’s Chakwal district, around 120 kilometres (75 miles) from the capital Islamabad.

“The girl Rehana Bibi was alone at her home and was listening to music when her uncle Muhammad Gulistan… came to her house and asked to lower the volume,” Sadat Ali, an official on duty at Kallar Kahar police station, told AFP.

“On her refusal, they quarrelled and Gulistan shot her dead,” said Ali, adding that Bibi was aged about 17.

Another police official, Ali Akbar, said they were attempting to arrest the killer.

Police said they were not aware of any family feud leading up to the attack.

In Pakistan’s highly patriarchal and often violent society, women are frequently killed over minor issues or so-called matters of “honour”.

The Aurat Foundation, a campaign group that works to improve women’s lives in Pakistan, says more than 3,000 have been killed for “honour” since 2008.

Italian doctor with Ebola arrives in Rome

An Italian doctor who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone arrived Tuesday in Rome, where he will receive specialist treatment, media reported.

The doctor, the first Italian to be infected with the disease, was flown into the military airport of Pratica di Mare, outside the capital.

The doctor, who reports say is a 50-year-old man, was transported in a specially sealed unit on board a military plane, TV pictures showed.

He will be hospitalised at the Lazzaro Spallanzani national institute for infectious diseases.

The Italian health ministry said he has not yet developed feverish symptoms and his general condition is good.

The doctor was working for the charity Emergency at a clinic for Ebola victims when he contracted the disease, which has killed nearly 5,500 people in its latest outbreak in west Africa.

Time magazine refers to abducted Chibok girls as "Boko Haram girls"

So Time magazine today revealed the names of those nominated for Person of the Year 2014, and the missing Chibok girls were nominated, which is a great. The only problem is that Time referred to the girls as "Boko Haram girls" in their list.

Trust Nigerians to call call them out. Continue to see the rest of the list and tweets from some Nigerians who found it distasteful...

Chris Brown wears safety pins in his nose

Chris Brown wore a safety pin through one side of his nose as he attended Trey Song's 30th birthday party in California on Saturday Nov. 22nd.

Two Suspected Fraudsters Arraigned for €61,500 Scam

Find the EFCC press statement below...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arraigned two suspected fraudsters, Gabriel Osereme Xavi (a.k.a. Collins Page) and Aikhaituamen Best Junior Cyril, before Justice E.F. Ikponmwen of the Edo State High Court sitting in Benin, on charges bordering on conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence.

While Xavi was slammed with a 12-count charge, Aikhaituamen was docked on 6-count charge.

The duo however pleaded not guilty to the charges after they were read to them on November 21, 2014.

The accused persons are alleged to have fleeced a 49 year-old Belgian nurse, Goryczka Janina, whom they met on Facebook, of the sum of fifty five thousand, five hundred Euros.The victim allegedly met one of the accused persons sometime in January, 2014, who introduced himself as “Collins Page”, a Croatian Engineer resident in Wigan, England.

Within days of their meeting, “Page” contacted her with the story that he was in Nigeria to supervise a construction project in Edo State and that he was having difficulty with his credit card as it had been blocked for security reasons. He solicited Janina’s assistance for desperate cash.

Over the next few weeks, Janina kept sending him money until she had transferred a total of €61,500 through one Emmanuel Okoh based in Cape Town, South Africa and Messrs Junior Best and Cyril Ojiemen.

When ‘Mr. Page’ pressurized her for more money, Janina confided in a friend who told her that she might have fallen into the hands of scammers.

In view of the plea of the accused persons, prosecuting counsel, G. K. Latono asked for a trial date and prayed the court to remand them in prison custody.

Counsel to the first accused person, P. E. Onobun and counsel to the second accused C. N. Dike prayed the court for a short adjournment to enable them file applications for bail.

Justice Ikponmwen adjourned the case to December 8, 2014 for consideration of bail applications and ordered that the defendants be remanded in prison custody.

Two of the charges against Xavi read:
Count-1: “Gabriel Osereme Xavi (a.k.a. Collins Page), Aikhaituamen Best Junior, Ojiemen Cyril (still at Large) and Emmanuel Okoh (still at Large) sometime between January and February 2014 at Benin within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable court with intent to defraud, conspired to obtain money by false pretence from Goryczka Janina, offences contrary to and punishable by Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006”.

Count-2: “Gabriel Osereme Xavi (a.k.a. Collins Page) and Emmanuel Okoh (still at Large) on or about the 31st day of January, 2014 at Benin within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable court with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of €40,000 (Forty Thousand Euro) from Goryczka Janina on the false representation that you were a Croatian Engineer handling a road construction project in Edo State, Nigeria and the money was for purchase of equipment and materials towards the project, which representation you knew to be false”.

Chinese car company unveils $22,000 copy of Range Rover

Nothing wey China no dey copy...lol. UK giant car company Jaguar Land Rover is furious after a relatively unknown Chinese car company called LandWind unveiled a car that looked almost exactly like the Range Rover E-vogue which at $22,000 cost $48,000 less than the Evogue which is about $70,000. Above is the Evogue and below is the Chinese car. It was launched at a motor show in China last week. Continue...

Jaguar Land Rover say they may take legal action against the company. Jaguar Land Rover chief executive Dr Ralf Speth told Autocar magazine:

‘The fact that this kind of copying is ongoing in China is very disappointing. The intellectual property (IP) is owned by Jaguar Land Rover and if you break that IP then you are in breach of international regulations.’

Photos: Abuja Court reportedly frees alleged Nyanya bomber

A Federal High court sitting in Abuja has freed Aminu Oguche, the suspected mastermind of the Nyanya bomb blast which killed about 70 people in April.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the court in it's ruling, dismissed the two counts terrorism charges brought against him and freed him based on lack of diligent prosecution by the state.

Aminu escaped to Sudan after allegedly coordinating the attack. He was apprehend and repatriated to Nigeria in July. More photos of him in court today after the cut...

Boko Haram members disguised as traders attack market in Borno, scores killed

Many market men and women are feared dead after Boko Haram militants disguised as traders attacked a market in Damasak town in the Mobar Local government area of Borno state this morning.

According to reports, the sect members arrived the fishing and farming community around 11am, moved into the middle of the market and opened fire on unsuspecting buyers and sellers. Details later

Monday 24 November 2014

Denrele Edun recounts robbery attack in Festac over the weekend

Denrele Edun was robbed this past weekend in the Festac area of Lagos. In the bag the robbers took, he had his passport and credit cards in it. He explained exactly what happened in a series of tweets.

Red carpet photos from the 2014 American Music Awards + list of winners

The 2014 American Music Awards held in Los Angeles last night Sunday November 23rd and the stars came out in style. See the red carpet photos and full list of winners after the cut...