Tuesday 11 December 2012
N4bn scam: EFCC may declare ex-Kogi gov. Audu wanted
ABUJA- Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, may declare
former governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu wanted, following
the inability of its operatives to arrest him yesterday.
The former governor is alleged to have fraudulently enriched himself to the tune of over N4 billion while he was governor of Kogi State between 1999 and 2003.
The latest effort to arrest the ex-governor followed a Supreme Court ruling of November 23, 2012, which dismissed the ex-governor’s appeal to continue to protract his corruption trial by EFCC.
Prince Audu had approached the apex court asking for a stay of proceedings in his trial at the Kogi State High Court where he has been standing trial since December 1, 2006, on an 80 criminal count charge of conspiracy, fraud, criminal breach of trust and embezzlement of public fund.
In a judgement delivered by Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, the Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal was wrong to consider the questions referred to it for determination after being aware from the records of Appeal that a nolle prosequi had been filed.
Part of the setback suffered by the Commission in the prosecution of the case was the filing of several applications by the defendant for stay of proceedings at the high court pending the final determination of the appeal.
However, Prince Audu lawyer Mr. Abdullahi Haruna, told Vanguard on phone yesterday that he traveled out of the country last week for medical treatment in the UK after an accident he was involved in on September 28 on his way to Jos, Plateau State.
According to him, he traveled to London for treatment immediately after the accident and that he only returned home last week to attend his daughter’s wedding after which he flew back to continue his treatment.
The former governor said he has not received any invitation from the EFCC and that as such the issue of escaping did not arise.
Monday 5 November 2012
Eat less salt to avoid heart disease and stroke
Salt is a ubiquitous part
of the American diet, but even healthy people should be cutting back to
avoid high blood pressure and life-threatening heart disease and stroke.
That’s the message from the American Heart Association (AHA) in its latest advisory. The AHA takes issue with recent studies disproving a link between salt and heart-disease risk that it says have been “widely misinterpreted.” It also re-affirms its 2011 recommendation that all Americans should limit their sodium intake to just 1,500 mg per day — less than the amount found in a single teaspoon of table salt (sodium chloride). The typical American now eats more than twice that amount.
“Americans of all ages, regardless of individual risk factors, can improve their heart health and reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease by restricting their daily consumption of sodium to less than 1,500 mg,” AHA chief executive officer Nancy Brown said in a statement.
The data on salt and its impact on health, however, has been confusing and often conflicting. That’s because it’s challenging to design the fool-proof study that isolates just the effect of salt, and not other diet or lifestyle factors, from health outcomes like heart disease and hypertension. In addition, most studies rely on participants’ recollection of what they ate, a notoriously unreliable measure of dietary intake. Measuring sodium levels in urine is more accurate, but also more costly and too intrusive to test a large number of people several times.
Then there is the ”reverse causality” effect, in which high blood pressure may actually be linked to lower blood pressure since people with hypertension may have decided to limit their salt intake at the advice of their doctor. According to the AHA, said this may explain several studies published in the past year that found unusual associations between poor heart health and low sodium intake.
Still, experts agree on one thing: that whatever the healthy cut-off is for salt intake, most Americans are eating way more than we need. The debate is not so much about whether to cut back, but about how much to cut, and who needs to reduce sodium intake the most.
Our bodies need sodium to function, but our consumption in general far outstrips physiological needs, experts say. Guidelines like the AHA’s 1,500 mg per day would allow plenty for an adult or child to function well. About 99% of us consume more than the AHA limit, with the typical American eating on average 3,400 mg. daily.
In the body, excess sodium is filtered out by the kidneys and excreted in the urine. When we take in so much that the kidneys can’t get rid of it fast enough, however, health problems can set in. The extra salt starts to build up in the blood and attract water, which causes blood volume to swell, putting pressure on the vessels and on the heart to work harder to move blood through the body. The result? Higher pressure in your arteries. Over time, elevated blood pressure can boost the risk of heart disease and stroke. It can also lead to heart failure and kidney disease, starting a vicious cycle since both of those conditions make it harder for the kidneys to balance the body’s salt levels.
According to the AHA, high sodium intake is also linked to kidney stones, asthma, osteoporosis, and gastric cancer.
That’s reason enough, says the AHA, to watch your salt intake if you already have high blood pressure, and increasingly, even if you have no symptoms of risk factors for heart disease.
Yet the AHA is among the only major health groups recommending lower salt intake. Unlike the AHA, for example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Heath and Human Services say it’s fine for most people to consume as much as 2,300 mg of sodium per day. Those federal agencies recommend the stricter 1,500 mg limit only for people with higher heart risk, including everyone over age 51, all African Americans, and anyone with high blood pressure, diabetes, or kidney disease.
And the best way to keep sodium in check? According to the new AHA advisory, 70% to 80% of the sodium Americans eat comes from packaged or processed foods and sauces, soups, and cured meats. Hidden sources include breads, cereals, salad dressings, and condiments. Substituting fresh foods for packaged foods is a quick way to cut out a lot of sodium; fresh meat contains far less salt than lunch meats, bacon, or sausage, and most fresh vegetables are naturally low in sodium (whereas as canned versions often have salt added).
Other advice from heart-health groups: When you cook at home, you can often leave out some of the salt from recipes. And once your meal is prepared, stay away from the salt shaker. If you do buy packaged foods, it helps to read the labels. Just be aware that those listed daily recommended intakes are based on the USDA’s sodium recommendation of 2,300 mg per day for a healthy person who’s 51 or younger. To follow the AHA’s more stringent limit, you’ll need to eat less. But whether or not you have high blood pressure or not, the AHA says that’s ‘s an effort worth making.
That’s the message from the American Heart Association (AHA) in its latest advisory. The AHA takes issue with recent studies disproving a link between salt and heart-disease risk that it says have been “widely misinterpreted.” It also re-affirms its 2011 recommendation that all Americans should limit their sodium intake to just 1,500 mg per day — less than the amount found in a single teaspoon of table salt (sodium chloride). The typical American now eats more than twice that amount.
“Americans of all ages, regardless of individual risk factors, can improve their heart health and reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease by restricting their daily consumption of sodium to less than 1,500 mg,” AHA chief executive officer Nancy Brown said in a statement.
The data on salt and its impact on health, however, has been confusing and often conflicting. That’s because it’s challenging to design the fool-proof study that isolates just the effect of salt, and not other diet or lifestyle factors, from health outcomes like heart disease and hypertension. In addition, most studies rely on participants’ recollection of what they ate, a notoriously unreliable measure of dietary intake. Measuring sodium levels in urine is more accurate, but also more costly and too intrusive to test a large number of people several times.
Then there is the ”reverse causality” effect, in which high blood pressure may actually be linked to lower blood pressure since people with hypertension may have decided to limit their salt intake at the advice of their doctor. According to the AHA, said this may explain several studies published in the past year that found unusual associations between poor heart health and low sodium intake.
Still, experts agree on one thing: that whatever the healthy cut-off is for salt intake, most Americans are eating way more than we need. The debate is not so much about whether to cut back, but about how much to cut, and who needs to reduce sodium intake the most.
Our bodies need sodium to function, but our consumption in general far outstrips physiological needs, experts say. Guidelines like the AHA’s 1,500 mg per day would allow plenty for an adult or child to function well. About 99% of us consume more than the AHA limit, with the typical American eating on average 3,400 mg. daily.
In the body, excess sodium is filtered out by the kidneys and excreted in the urine. When we take in so much that the kidneys can’t get rid of it fast enough, however, health problems can set in. The extra salt starts to build up in the blood and attract water, which causes blood volume to swell, putting pressure on the vessels and on the heart to work harder to move blood through the body. The result? Higher pressure in your arteries. Over time, elevated blood pressure can boost the risk of heart disease and stroke. It can also lead to heart failure and kidney disease, starting a vicious cycle since both of those conditions make it harder for the kidneys to balance the body’s salt levels.
According to the AHA, high sodium intake is also linked to kidney stones, asthma, osteoporosis, and gastric cancer.
That’s reason enough, says the AHA, to watch your salt intake if you already have high blood pressure, and increasingly, even if you have no symptoms of risk factors for heart disease.
Yet the AHA is among the only major health groups recommending lower salt intake. Unlike the AHA, for example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Heath and Human Services say it’s fine for most people to consume as much as 2,300 mg of sodium per day. Those federal agencies recommend the stricter 1,500 mg limit only for people with higher heart risk, including everyone over age 51, all African Americans, and anyone with high blood pressure, diabetes, or kidney disease.
And the best way to keep sodium in check? According to the new AHA advisory, 70% to 80% of the sodium Americans eat comes from packaged or processed foods and sauces, soups, and cured meats. Hidden sources include breads, cereals, salad dressings, and condiments. Substituting fresh foods for packaged foods is a quick way to cut out a lot of sodium; fresh meat contains far less salt than lunch meats, bacon, or sausage, and most fresh vegetables are naturally low in sodium (whereas as canned versions often have salt added).
Other advice from heart-health groups: When you cook at home, you can often leave out some of the salt from recipes. And once your meal is prepared, stay away from the salt shaker. If you do buy packaged foods, it helps to read the labels. Just be aware that those listed daily recommended intakes are based on the USDA’s sodium recommendation of 2,300 mg per day for a healthy person who’s 51 or younger. To follow the AHA’s more stringent limit, you’ll need to eat less. But whether or not you have high blood pressure or not, the AHA says that’s ‘s an effort worth making.
Friday 2 November 2012
BREAKING: Boko Haram decrares ceasefire; names Buhari, four others as mediators
Reports reaching us say the fundamentalist group, Boko Haram has proposed to dialogue with the federal government and in the plan outlined by a member of the group, a ceasefire will be declared before the dialogue commences.
In
what can be described as a drastic shift from the sects hard line
position, the sect which has been staging insurgent attacks against the
Nigerian government in northern Nigeria on Thursday offered to cease all
hostilities if the federal government will arrest and prosecute the
immediate past governor of Borno State, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff.One Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz who claimed to be one of the leaders of the Islamic sect, made it known that the group will call for a ceasefire if the federal government arrests and prosecutes the immediate past governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.
In a telephone press conference in Maiduguri the Borno State capital today, Abdulaziz told journalists that he was speaking for the sect as he has been directed to do so by the leader of the Jama’atul Ahlis Sunna Liddaawati wal Jihad widely known as the Boko Haram.
“If this former governor is arrested, this thing will end as we are highly offended with what happened three years ago”
He claimed that Sheriff (the former Governor) while in office sent securities to arrest and kill most of their members while practising their religion, adding most of them are at the moment languishing in various prisons across the country.
He called for compensation as most of their wives and children have been killed while their properties have also been destroyed.
Saudi Arabia venue
The sect he revealed have adopted Saudi Arabia as the neutral venue for the proposed dialogue with the federal government, saying the choice of Saudi Arabia is because the federal government has failed them in the series of the negotiations.
Abdullaziz said five of its members have been mandated to liaise with five members of Borno Elders to find ways of meeting the federal Government to end the insurgency.
He listed the Nigerian mediators to include Alhaji Shettima Ali Mongonu, General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd), Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Ambassador Gaji Galtimari and Barrister Aisha Wakil and her husband.
“The committee members of the dialogue he stressed include; my humble self, Abu Mohammed Abdullaziz, Sheik Abu Abas, Sheik Ibrahim Yusuf, Sheik Sani Kontagora, and Mamman Nur”
Boko Haram, formed in 2009, claims western education is sinful and proposes that interaction with the western world is forbidden and also opposed to the Muslim establishment and the federal government of Nigeria and therefore wages what the sect calls a war against them.
Since August 2011 the insurgency attacks and counter insurgency is reported to have claimed over 2,000 lives. The sect staged a number of attacks on government establishment by planting bombs and using suicide bomb attacks at strategic locations and churches across the northern region of the country.
Thursday 1 November 2012
The man who sued his wife for giving birth to an ugly baby
Apparently in China, bad genes are grounds for divorce — and six-figure fines
"Failed relationships can get ugly," says Ji Lin at the Irish Examiner, but the weird, sad tale of Jian Feng and his wife "really gives meaning to the old cliché." The story starts out conventionally enough: Feng, a resident of northern China, met and married a beautiful woman, and they had a baby girl. That's when things reportedly got, um, ugly. Feng was "so sure of his own good looks, so crushed by the wrinkly ugly mess that was handed to him in a swaddle, that he decided to sue his wife because the awful looking baby was totally her fault," says Madeline Holler at Babble. And then things went from ugly to crazy: He won. Here's what you should know:
How was the ugly baby the mom's fault?Since the baby didn't look like either parent, Feng accused his wife of infidelity — "because jumping to conclusions about your wife's faithfulness is the obvious thing to do when you have an ugly baby," says Sam Smith at Planet Ivy. After a DNA test proved that the baby is, in fact Feng's, the wife came clean on her little secret: Before they had met, she had undergone about $100,000 worth of cosmetic surgery in South Korea. And unverified before-and-after photos circulating on Western and Chinese blogs do show a marked improvement in looks after the women went under the knife.
SEE MORE: Does heavy pacifier use emotionally stunt boys?
On what grounds did he sue?False pretenses — Feng claimed that his wife misled him by not telling him about her plastic surgery before they wed. "I married my wife out of love, but as soon as we had our first daughter, we began having marital issues," he reportedly said. "Our daughter was incredibly ugly, to the point where it horrified me." A judge agreed, and ordered the wife to fork over $120,000. Ugh, says Babble's Holler. The wife "should probably file her own lawsuit for even more damages from having married Feng under the false pretense that he wasn't a shitty husband and father."
Who's the biggest loser here?Well, "it's usually the victim of court cases that you're supposed to feel sorry for," says Planet Ivy's Smith, but who wants to give emotional succor to a "man who is angry at his beautiful wife for being ugly at some point in her life." The wife obviously has to pay a huge amount of money, and got publicly humiliated in the process, but at least she's free of an obviously odious husband. So "if you're going to feel sorry for anyone, feel sorry for their child, who will forever be known as the baby that broke her parent's marriage — with her face."
Hurricane Sandy: Police officer dies after rescuing 7 people
NYPD officer Artur Kasprzak, 28. (NYPD)
An off-duty New York City police officer died in his own basement after saving seven members of his family from rising floodwaters. Officer Artur Kasprzak, who died on Monday, was 28 and had been on the NYPD for six years. Now, more details of Kasprzak's heroic actions are coming to light.
CBS New York reports that on Monday, with water pouring into his Staten Island home, Kasprzak helped move six adults and his 15-month-old nephew into his home's attic. He then went back down to the basement to look for his father. Unknown to Kasprzak, his father had already exited the house and was on his way up to the attic via a different path. Kasprzak never returned.
A family member he rescued called 911 to report him missing. A team of rescuers arrived but was unable to search the basement due to downed power lines. When it was deemed safe to search, around 11 hours later, Kasprzak's body was discovered by authorities.
In an interview with NPR, Kasprzak's sister said he loved his job. "He's always ready. Sometimes he didn't sleep, or he slept just a few hours. Every time they called him, he was there. You know, he's very devoted. We will miss him so much." Family friend Krystina Nawrot called him "a hero to the last minute, to the last second."
Yorubas set to kick ACN out of South West..... Afenifere
FOLLOWING the re-election of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour
Party (LP) in the October 20 Ondo State gubernatorial election in spite
of the boast of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, the Pan Yoruba
socio-political organisation, Afenifere, said the outcome of the polls
sign-posted the end of the ACN in the South-West.
In a congratulatory letter to Governor Mimiko, which was signed by Chief Reuben Fasoranti (Leader) and Chief Seinde Arogbofa (Security), the group said the outcome of the election had shown that Yoruba people were tired of the ACN and would “kick them out at the appropriate time.”
The Afenifere prediction raises the bar for future elections in the zone beginning with Ekiti and Osun governorship elections en route the 2015 general polls. The question is: will ACN retain its political control of the South-West in 2015?
In a congratulatory letter to Governor Mimiko, which was signed by Chief Reuben Fasoranti (Leader) and Chief Seinde Arogbofa (Security), the group said the outcome of the election had shown that Yoruba people were tired of the ACN and would “kick them out at the appropriate time.”
The Afenifere prediction raises the bar for future elections in the zone beginning with Ekiti and Osun governorship elections en route the 2015 general polls. The question is: will ACN retain its political control of the South-West in 2015?
Reps order total closure of Kogi Assembly
The House of Representatives on Thursday ordered the full closure of the Kogi State House of Assembly pending the report of its mediation on the crisis rocking the House.
The lawmakers in a letter directed the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, the Director General of the State Security Service (SSS), Ekpenyong Ita and other relevant security agencies to ensure full compliance with its order.
The letter dated October 30, 2012 was signed by the Deputy Chief Whip and Chairman House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee to mediate in the Kogi State House of Assembly crisis, Hon Murktar Ahmed.
The same letter was also addressed to all members of the Kogi State House of Assembly and the Clerk of the House.
The lawmaker also directed the Clerk of the House and all other supporting staff of the Assembly not to recognize any group of members or its leadership pending the outcome of the Ad-Hoc committee’s mediation.
It would be recalled that 12 members of the 25 member Kogi Assembly last month sat and impeached the Speaker of the House, Hon Abdullahi Bello and other principal officers of the House.
The action of the members has been variously condemned as illegal.
Analysts have said the group did not meet the mandatory two- third majority members required to carry out the impeachment.
Thursday 25 October 2012
Students Kidnap Female Colleague, Assault, Kill And Bury Her In A Forest
BENIN—TWO students of Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State, Henry
Edewo, 21 and Emmanuel Isikhuime, have been arrested by the Police for
kidnapping, molesting and murdering a female student, one Mercy Peter,
21, also a student of the institution.
They were alleged to have buried their victim in a shallow grave in a forest at Ugbor village, Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, after killing her.
Vanguard gathered that the victim, who was kidnapped on July 29, this year, was killed four days later after she was serially molestd by the suspects.
They were also alleged to have continued to demand for ransom from her parents after killing her.
State Police Public Relations Officer, Anthony Airhuoyo, however, told newsmen that the police made a breakthrough in the case on October 17 when two of the suspects were arrested.
He added that a third suspect, whose name was given as Charles, was still on the run.
Airhuoyo disclosed that the suspects took the police to the spot where they buried Mercy and her corpse was exhumed. He said they were awaiting autopsy report.
They were alleged to have buried their victim in a shallow grave in a forest at Ugbor village, Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, after killing her.
Vanguard gathered that the victim, who was kidnapped on July 29, this year, was killed four days later after she was serially molestd by the suspects.
They were also alleged to have continued to demand for ransom from her parents after killing her.
State Police Public Relations Officer, Anthony Airhuoyo, however, told newsmen that the police made a breakthrough in the case on October 17 when two of the suspects were arrested.
He added that a third suspect, whose name was given as Charles, was still on the run.
Airhuoyo disclosed that the suspects took the police to the spot where they buried Mercy and her corpse was exhumed. He said they were awaiting autopsy report.
Angry Governor flogs PHCN staff for poor power supply to his village!
Aliyu Wamakko, Sokoto State governor
SOKOTO State governor, Alhaji Aliyu Magataka Wamakko, recently threw caution to the winds by flogging a member of staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), who is in charge of Wamakko’s substation, for his failure to restore power to the town and its environs.
Wamakko is the home town of the governor.
An eyewitness told the Nigerian Tribune that for several months, the small town has not been enjoying steady supply of electricity.
According to the source, the epileptic power supply in the town was a serious embarrassment to the governor who felt that as the governor of the state, his town ought to be enjoying an uninterrupted power supply.
Findings revealed that the governor then invited an official of the PHCN to discuss how best the situation could be addressed.
The official, according to the source, wrote a proposal of N17 million which was approved by the governor without delay. The source added that the money was for the purchase of a new transformer, cables, and other items that were necessary for the installation.
However, to the chagrin of the governor, in spite of the money spent for the installation of the new transformer, the situation remained the same as the epileptic power supply continued unabated. The governor then decided to invite the official of the PHCN to find out from him why power had not been restored.
When the official could not give a satisfactory answer, the governor became annoyed and he flogged the PHCN official with the stick he was holding.
Onlookers at the scene were reportedly stunned by the attitude of the governor with some of them hurriedly leaving the scene for fear of a possible breakdown of law and order.
Attempt to speak with the Sokoto State Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Danladi Bako, was unsuccessful as all his lines were switched off.
The acting Managing Director of the company, Mohammed Adamu, confirmed the assault at a press briefing late on Monday, at the company’s Doka office, Kaduna.
Adamu said the affected member of staff was summoned and was beaten to a pulp by the governor and some of his aides.
“On Saturday, October, 20, our business manager, Gwiwa Business Unit, So-koto State, Moses Osigwe, was invited by Governor Aliyu Wamakko to his personal residence, over the issue of lack of power supply to his hometown, Wamakko, as a result of a failed 2.5MVA transformer.
“He accused Osigwe of deliberately denying his community, Wamakko, of power supply. As the business manager was trying to explain to him, the governor just brought out a horse whip and lashed him,” Adamu said.
According to him, the governor also invited two other members of staff, Isyaku Daura, Officer 2 (Electrical) and Nuru-ddeen Mohammed, Staff 1 (Lines) and ordered the mobile policemen to beat them up.
When contacted on phone, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor, Sani Umar, told the Nigerian Tribune that “it is a case of N17 million contract failure, which is now in court and it will be prejudicial talking about it in the newspapers.”
Nigerian Tribune
Hurray! Onaiyekan is a Cardinal!
Archbishop of the Abuja Diocese, John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan
The Catholic Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI, yesterday elevated the
Archbishop of the Abuja Diocese, John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, along with
five others to the position of cardinal, barely two months after the
retirement of the Archbishop of the Lagos Diocese, Anthony Cardinal
Okogie.
He becomes the fourth Nigerian to attain that position after Dominic
Cardinal Ekanem, who died in 1995, Francis Cardinal Arinze and Okogie.
Benedict, 85, announced the appointment of the new cardinals during his
weekly general audience and said they would be formally elevated at a
consistory on November 24.
With the new cardinals, there will be 120 cardinals under the age of 80
and thus eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Europe
still has the most number of cardinals, totalling 62.
Also, with the new additions, the College of Cardinals is more
multinational in outlook, comprising 21 from Latin America, 14 from
North America, 11 from Africa, 11 representing Asia and one from
Oceania.
Onaiyekan, 68, and the five other new cardinals from the United States, India, Lebanon and the Philippines will be consecrated by the Pope.
Onaiyekan, 68, and the five other new cardinals from the United States, India, Lebanon and the Philippines will be consecrated by the Pope.
President Goodluck Jonathan and Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, in
swift reactions to Onaiyekan’s elevation, said his new status was a
testimony to his commitment to duty.
A statement by the Director of Communications, Catholic Archdiocese of
Abuja, Rev. Fr. Thomas Asen, said notwithstanding his elevation,
Onaiyekan would remain in Abuja to run the affairs of the archdiocese.
The new cardinal was a nominee for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize
alongside the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar III, for
the roles they played in maintaining peace and equilibrium in the face
of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North. He co-chairs the Nigeria
Inter Religious Council (NIREC) with the sultan.
Reacting to his elevation, Onaiyekan described his appointment as “a great honour to Africa”.
“I see the elevation as a great honour to Africa, Nigeria, my country and (Nigeria's capital) Abuja. It is an encouragement for me to continue the good works that I have been doing for humanity,” he told AFP by phone from Rome.
“I see the elevation as a great honour to Africa, Nigeria, my country and (Nigeria's capital) Abuja. It is an encouragement for me to continue the good works that I have been doing for humanity,” he told AFP by phone from Rome.
He has won widespread respect for his efforts to ease religious
tensions in Nigeria by using the pulpit to speak against mis-governance
and build bridges between Islam and Christianity.
Onaiyekan, who holds a doctorate in biblical theology, was ordained a
Catholic priest in 1969 and appointed by the late Pope John Paul II a
permanent member of the Synod of Bishops in Rome.
The cardinals are the Pope's closest aides in the Vatican, where they
run its key departments, and around the world, where they head dioceses
to administer the 1.2 billion members of the Roman Catholic Church.
The other cardinals named yesterday included Beatitude Bechara Boutros
Rai, 72, the patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church in Lebanon and
Archbishop James Michael Harvey, an American who is based in the
Vatican.
Harvey, 63, whose title is Prefect of the Pontifical Household, looks
after world leaders visiting the Vatican and arranges the Pope's
audiences. A native of Milwaukee, Harvey, who was the direct superior of
the Pope’s former butler, Paolo Gabriele, has worked in the Vatican for
more than two decades.
Another new cardinal, Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, 53, the major
Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara rite in India, is on the frontline of
inter-religious dialogue with Hinduism faithful.
The other two come from predominantly Catholic countries - Archbishop
Ruben Salazar Gomez, 70, of Bogota, Colombia, and Archbishop Luis
Antonio Tagle, 55, of Manila in the Philippines, which is the largest
Catholic country in Asia.
Benedict has now named 67, or more than half, of the cardinals who will
elect his successor from among their own ranks. Fifty-three others were
named by Pope John Paul, but Italians are still by far the largest
group of cardinal electors with 28 members.
Congratulating Onaiyekan on his elevation, a statement by President
spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, said Jonathan believed that the elevation
clearly showed the cardinal as diligent, dedicated and committed to his
calling.
“The exemplary diligence, dedication and commitment with which he has
gone about his labours in the Lord’s vineyard since his ordination in
1969 has been recognised and appreciated,” he said.
According to him, with his elevation, Nigeria “now has three members of
the most eminent and distinguished College of Catholic Cardinals. This
as an indication by the Vatican of its continuing recognition of the
immense contributions of the church in Nigeria to the worldwide Catholic
movement.”
The president prayed that God Almighty would grant Onaiyekan continued
good health, strength, wisdom and divine guidance required to discharge
his new responsibilities.
Obi, in a congratulatory letter to Onaiyekan, said it was both a divine favour and recognition of personal merit.
“No one can contest that in your capacity as a pastor, you have shown great devotion to your calling. And as a religious leader, you have displayed sensitivity to the mood and makeup of our society in the handling of religious issues.
“No one can contest that in your capacity as a pastor, you have shown great devotion to your calling. And as a religious leader, you have displayed sensitivity to the mood and makeup of our society in the handling of religious issues.
“The appointment once more puts Nigeria in the global spotlight but for
salutary reasons. Your selection makes a strong statement that we can
offer the best to the world in every endeavour,” he said.
Dead Man Turns Up At His Own Funeral, Some People Flee, Others Fainted!
SAO PAULO - A 41-year-old car washer shocked his family when he interrupted a funeral being held for him at his mother's home in the town of Alagoinhas in northeastern Brazil, police said Tuesday.
Police inspector Roberto Lima said by telephone that on Sunday Jose
Marcos Araujo identified a body at the city morgue as being that of his
brother, Gilberto.Lima said that Jose Marcos took the body to his mother's home where a wake was held.
"The confusion started when news started circulating that a car washer had been shot dead," Jose Marcos' wife, Ana Paula, told the UOL Internet news portal. "Police called my husband and told him that his brother had been killed and his body was at the morgue."
Lima said the confusion was "understandable."
"The two men closely resembled
each other and both worked as car washers," Lima said adding that the
man whose body was in the morgue was named Genivaldo Santos Gama. He
said further information on Gama was not immediately available.
A few hours before the Monday
burial "a friend of Gilberto's saw him walking down the street and told
him that his family was mourning him," he said.
"So he went to his mother's home to let everyone know he was very much alive."
When Araujo showed up at his wake
"some people fainted and others were so scared they ran away. It was a
big shock," family friend Maria Menezes told the G1 online news site.
Gilberto's mother Marina Santana
told reporters "I am overjoyed. What mother wouldn't be after being told
that her son is dead and then sees him alive."
Saturday 20 October 2012
Top Boko Haram member arrested in Senator Bama's house
A high-profile member of the Boko Haram sect has been arrested in the
home of a senator in Maiduguri, Borno state, according to a statement
from the military task force.
“A high-profile Boko Haram commander, one Shuaibu Mohammed Bama, who has been on the list of wanted terrorists … was arrested by task force troops in a serving senator’s house …,” the statement said of the arrest on Thursday.
“He is in the custody of the (task force) and assisting in the investigation and has since made startling revelations.”
In November 2011, Nigerian secret police said they had arrested an alleged Boko Haram spokesman with ties to Senator Aliyu Ndome. The alleged links however appeared to involve local politics in Nigeria’s northeast.
Nigerian authorities frequently exaggerate their efforts in arresting or cracking down on Boko Haram, which has carried out scores of bombings and shootings.
Violence linked to Boko Haram’s insurgency in northern and central Nigeria, including killings by security forces, is believed to have left more than 2,800 people dead since 2009.
“A high-profile Boko Haram commander, one Shuaibu Mohammed Bama, who has been on the list of wanted terrorists … was arrested by task force troops in a serving senator’s house …,” the statement said of the arrest on Thursday.
“He is in the custody of the (task force) and assisting in the investigation and has since made startling revelations.”
In November 2011, Nigerian secret police said they had arrested an alleged Boko Haram spokesman with ties to Senator Aliyu Ndome. The alleged links however appeared to involve local politics in Nigeria’s northeast.
Nigerian authorities frequently exaggerate their efforts in arresting or cracking down on Boko Haram, which has carried out scores of bombings and shootings.
Violence linked to Boko Haram’s insurgency in northern and central Nigeria, including killings by security forces, is believed to have left more than 2,800 people dead since 2009.
Ondo Guber: Mimiko in Early Lead, defeats Akeredolu and Oke at their own poling booths.
Governor Segun Mimiko was Saturday, on course for a historic
re-election after first results showed him dusting his two major
opponents in their respective homes in the gubernatorial election in
Ondo State.
Governor Mimiko, who stood as candidate of the Labour Party (LP), defeated Rotimi Akeredolu, the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in Akeredolu’s polling unit at GRA Unit 6, Owo by 144 votes to 139. Akeredolu was also defeated at the ward level by Mimiko who took first position with 420 votes and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Chief Olusola Oke, who took second position with 292 votes, leaving Akeredolu with 287 votes.
Should Mimiko be confirmed, he would be the first governor of the new Ondo State to be re-elected.
Governor Mimiko, who stood as candidate of the Labour Party (LP), defeated Rotimi Akeredolu, the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in Akeredolu’s polling unit at GRA Unit 6, Owo by 144 votes to 139. Akeredolu was also defeated at the ward level by Mimiko who took first position with 420 votes and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Chief Olusola Oke, who took second position with 292 votes, leaving Akeredolu with 287 votes.
Mimiko during accreditation, Saturday, in Ondo.
Wednesday 17 October 2012
Woman to spend 99 years in jail for gluing toddler to wall, beating her
A Texas mother who super-glued her 2-year-old daughter's hands to a wall and beat her over potty training problems was sentenced Friday morning to 99 years in prison, a Dallas County felony records department district clerk said.
Elizabeth Escalona, 23, will be eligible to ask for parole in 30
years. She pleaded guilty in July to a charge of first-degree injury to a
child, a crime punishable by anywhere between probation and life in
prison.
"This mom was pure evil, and her children are better off without her," prosecutor Eren Price said after a judge delivered Friday's sentence. "Her five kids now have a chance to lead a productive life."
Escalona’s attorney said that the sentence was excessive and that an appeal would be filed, CNN affiliate KTVT reported.
Escalona's daughter Jocelyn Cedillo was less than two months shy of her 3rd birthday in September 2011 when Escalona used a powerful adhesive to glue her hands to a wall and beat her because of potty training troubles, authorities said. Three other children belonging to Escalona, who was pregnant at the time, witnessed the abuse, according to Dallas County district attorney's office spokeswoman Debbie Denmon.
The child urinated on herself during the ordeal, during which she was hit in head and kicked in the groin, among other forms of abuse, Denmon said.
Oefelia Escalona, the defendant's mother, testified during her daughter's sentencing hearing this week that she found the girl and took her to a hospital. Once Jocelyn was there, medical authorities noticed severe bruises to her face and head, as well as a severe brain injury that led to her temporarily being in a coma.
At this week's sentencing hearing, prosecutors showed pictures of Jocelyn's hands and bruised body and forehead.
"The entire picture was very shocking," said Dr. Amy Barton, then a child abuse pediatrician at Children's Medical Center of Dallas, choking back tears on the stand on Monday. "I see a lot of children, and this was one of the most shocking cases that I have seen."
Escalona asked for leniency during her sentencing hearing this week, saying she behaved like a monster but deserved a second chance, KTVT reported. Her mother asked the judge to sentence Elizabeth to probation, according to KTVT.
Price initially offered a plea bargain of 45 years in prison, but Escalona turned it down, the district attorney's office said.
Price said that the judge, after learning more about Escalona during the hearing, was justified in sentencing her to more time.
"Elizabeth Escalona wasn't sorry for what she did to 2-year-old Jocelyn. Elizabeth Escalona felt sorry for herself," Price said. "Those tears on the stand were for her and not for the toddler she tortured."
An attempt to reach Escalona's attorney for comment Friday was not immediately successful.
Before this incident, Escalona had been investigated by Texas Child Protective Services but never arrested or charged, Denmon said.
The child welfare agency put all of her children in foster care after Jocelyn was taken to the hospital. All five of them, including Jocelyn, are now in the custody of their grandmother, Oefelia Escalona.
"This mom was pure evil, and her children are better off without her," prosecutor Eren Price said after a judge delivered Friday's sentence. "Her five kids now have a chance to lead a productive life."
Escalona’s attorney said that the sentence was excessive and that an appeal would be filed, CNN affiliate KTVT reported.
Escalona's daughter Jocelyn Cedillo was less than two months shy of her 3rd birthday in September 2011 when Escalona used a powerful adhesive to glue her hands to a wall and beat her because of potty training troubles, authorities said. Three other children belonging to Escalona, who was pregnant at the time, witnessed the abuse, according to Dallas County district attorney's office spokeswoman Debbie Denmon.
The child urinated on herself during the ordeal, during which she was hit in head and kicked in the groin, among other forms of abuse, Denmon said.
Oefelia Escalona, the defendant's mother, testified during her daughter's sentencing hearing this week that she found the girl and took her to a hospital. Once Jocelyn was there, medical authorities noticed severe bruises to her face and head, as well as a severe brain injury that led to her temporarily being in a coma.
At this week's sentencing hearing, prosecutors showed pictures of Jocelyn's hands and bruised body and forehead.
"The entire picture was very shocking," said Dr. Amy Barton, then a child abuse pediatrician at Children's Medical Center of Dallas, choking back tears on the stand on Monday. "I see a lot of children, and this was one of the most shocking cases that I have seen."
Escalona asked for leniency during her sentencing hearing this week, saying she behaved like a monster but deserved a second chance, KTVT reported. Her mother asked the judge to sentence Elizabeth to probation, according to KTVT.
Price initially offered a plea bargain of 45 years in prison, but Escalona turned it down, the district attorney's office said.
Price said that the judge, after learning more about Escalona during the hearing, was justified in sentencing her to more time.
"Elizabeth Escalona wasn't sorry for what she did to 2-year-old Jocelyn. Elizabeth Escalona felt sorry for herself," Price said. "Those tears on the stand were for her and not for the toddler she tortured."
An attempt to reach Escalona's attorney for comment Friday was not immediately successful.
Before this incident, Escalona had been investigated by Texas Child Protective Services but never arrested or charged, Denmon said.
The child welfare agency put all of her children in foster care after Jocelyn was taken to the hospital. All five of them, including Jocelyn, are now in the custody of their grandmother, Oefelia Escalona.
Plot to attack the New York Federal Reserve in Manhattan foiled
NEW YORK (WABC) --
One man was arrested in a federal terrorism sting targeting the Federal Reserve in lower Manhattan.
Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis , 21, was arrested this morning in downtown Manhattan after he allegedly attempted to detonate what he believed to be a 1,000-pound bomb at the Federal Reserve Bank on Liberty Street in lower Manhattan's financial district.
Agents set up a sting and he was caught and taken into custody according to officials.
Authorities say the suspect parked a van that he thought was filled with explosives. He then tried to set them off with a cell phone call made from the Millennium Hotel, across from the World Trade Center, officals said.
But the attempt turned out to be a big sting. The van did not explode, and the suspect was arrested by federal agents.
"Whether al Qaeda operatives like Iyman Faris or those inspired by them like Jose Pimentel, terrorists have tried time and again to make New York City their killing field. We're up to 15 plots and counting since 9/11, with the Federal Reserve now added to a list of iconic targets that previously included the Brooklyn Bridge, the New York Stock Exchange, and Citicorp Center. After 11 years without a successful attack, it's understanding if the public becomes complacent. But that's a luxury law enforcement can't afford. Vigilance is our watchword now and into the foreseeable future. That's why we have over 1,000 police officers assigned to counterterrorism duties every day, and why we built the Domain Awareness System. I want to commend the NYPD detectives and FBI agents of the Joint Terrorist Task Force for the work they did in the case and in other ways every day to help New York City safe from terrorists." said Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.
A joint FBI/NYPD operation flagged the suspect on the internet three months ago.
The defendant faces charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al-Qaeda.
According to the criminal complaint filed today in the Eastern District of New York, defendant Nafis, a Bangladeshi national, traveled to the United States in January 2012 for the purpose of conducting a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
Nafis, who reported having overseas connections to al-Qaeda, attempted to recruit individuals to form a terrorist cell inside the United States. Nafis also actively sought out al-Qaeda contacts within the United States to assist him in carrying out an attack. Unbeknownst to Nafis, one of the individuals he attempted to recruit was actually a source for the FBI.
"Attempting to destroy a landmark building and kill or maim untold numbers of innocent bystanders is about as serious as the imagination can conjure. The defendant faces appropriately severe consequences. It is important to emphasize that the public was never at risk in this case, because two of the defendant's 'accomplices' were actually an FBI source and an FBI undercover agent. The FBI continues to place the highest priority on preventing acts of terrorism," said FBI Acting Assistant Director Mary Galligan.
The complaint alleges that Nafis proposed several targets for his attack, including a highranking U.S. official and the New York Stock Exchange.
Ultimately, Nafis decided to conduct a bombing operation against the New York Federal Reserve Bank. In a written statement intended to claim responsibility for the terrorist bombing of the Federal Reserve Bank on behalf of al- Qaeda, Nafis wrote that he wanted to "destroy America" and that he believed the most efficient way to accomplish this goal was to target America's economy.
In this statement, Nafis also included quotations from "our beloved Sheikh Osama bin Laden" to justify the fact that Nafis expected that the attack would involve the killing of women and children.
Sultan declares October 26 Sallah Day
This is contained in a statement signed by the Chairman, Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs to the Sultanate Council, Prof. Sambo Junaid.
“The sultanate council advisory committee at its meeting on October 16, reviewed reports received from various moon sighting committees across the country.
“They have duly confirmed the birth of the new moon of Zulhijja, 1433 After Hijra of the Holy Prophet with effect from Wednesday, October 17, which is the first day of Zulhijja.
“Friday, the 26 of October, is the 10th day of Zulhijja, 1433 AH, which is the Ed-el-Kabir day.
“His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar wishes all Muslims a happy Ed-el-kabir. May Allah accept our religious deeds, Ameen, “the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the Prof. Junaid as saying in the statement.
Welcome back, Mama Nigeria!
President Goodluck Jonathan with her wife,Patience on arrival in Abuja on Wednesday.
First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, returned to the country from Germany on Wednesday afternoon.Mrs. Jonathan was hospitalized in the European country for several weeks, recuperating from an undisclosed ailment.
The first lady, whose arrival was confirmed by the News Agency of Nigeria, landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on a presidential jet at about 4 pm and was received by top government officials and other well-wishers.
Tuesday 16 October 2012
Aluu4 Went to Demand For Dept Repayment; 'Armed' Policemen Were Chased With Stones - IG Abubakar.
What role did the police play in the gruesome killing of the four young University of Port Harcourt undergraduates in Aluu on October 5? That’s been one question, the answer to which has been the subject of much speculations. Mohammed Abubakar, Nigeria’s top cop, has revealed the official police position on why the police were incapable of protecting the lives of the young boys.
In a statement which he issued today in Abuja, titled ‘Update on on-going investigations on Aluu killing: Rivers State: Murder of Four (4) Students of University of Port-Harcourt:”, Abubakar said his men did not sanction the attacks, but were chased away with stones by the mob.
“On 5th October, 2012 at about 0700Hrs, based on a distress call that some armed robbers were arrested at Omukiri-Aluu area in Ikwerre LGA, a patrol team of four Policemen from Isiokpo Divisional Police Headquarters was dispatched to the area, a distance of about 10kms. The Police on getting to the scene met a mob attack on four victims who were supposedly the suspected armed robbers. Attempt made by the Police Patrol Team to take over the suspects were met with stiff opposition from the mob who chased the team with stones.
“Consequently, the Patrol Team called for reinforcements, but unfortunately, upon the arrival of the reinforcements, the alleged armed robbery suspects have been stoned and burnt to death, while the mob immediately took to their heels. The corpses were recovered by the Police who by then have been joined by members of the Joint Task Force (JTF).”
The IGP however said that the police were making efforts to arrest the culprits. He mentioned that after the incident, the Police immediately launched an investigation leading to the arrest of Alhaji Hassan Welewa, the traditional ruler of Omukiri Community, Aluu. Eighteen others, some of whom are members of the vigilante group of the community were also arrested.
“Intelligence report implicated Alhaji Hassan Welewa, as being the person who incited the mob to unleash terror on the victims. Further investigation conducted by the police indicates that four suspects, namely: Felemo Solomon; Cynthia Chinwo; Ozioma Abajuo and Chigozie Samuel Evans have been closely linked to this barbarous act.
“Findings have revealed that the victims had gone to the area where they met their unfortunate death earlier that morning to demand for money allegedly owed to them by Coxson Lelebori Lucky, alias ‘Bright’, who raised a false alarm that the victims were armed robbers.
Sadly, Coxson is still on the run, but Abubakar said that detectives are on his trail.
Abubakar also said that the police have made a massive deployment of policemen to the area, including detectives to assist the State Police Command.
“Normalcy has been restored in the area, while the situation in the area, especially in the University and other tertiary institutions are being closely monitored with a view to forestalling any untoward reactions.
“Efforts are being intensified to establish the motive(s) behind this crime, arrest all who may be directly or indirectly connected with the crime and eventually bring all indicted persons to book.
“I wish to use this medium to advice and appeal to Nigerians to see it as their civic obligation in the fight against crime and criminality, to assist security agencies in the discharge of their responsibility. Security is everybody’s responsibility and so, should not be abandoned in the hands of security agencies alone. The maximum cooperation of the public is needed to ensure that Nigeria is safe for all.
“Nigerians are further reminded to avoid taking laws into their hands, as two wrongs can never make a right. More so, it is criminal and against the laws of the land and those that do so will surely be made to face the full wrath of the law.
“In addition, the IGP appeals to citizens who might have information touching on this and other on-going police investigation not to hesitate in turning over such information to the Nigeria Police Force.
“May I assure Nigerians that the Police Force will do everything legitimate, within its capacity, to ensure that perpetrators of these dastardly acts at Aluu in Rivers State are identified and made to face the law.”
Monday 15 October 2012
Malala Yousafzai, schoolgirl shot by Taliban, now in UK
Fourteen-year-old Malala
Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl shot in the head by Taliban gunmen in
Swat, has arrived in the UK for medical treatment.
A renowned campaigner for girls' education, she was attacked
on her way home from school last Tuesday and a bullet was removed from
her skull.The Taliban said they targeted her for "promoting secularism".
She is in a serious condition and is being seen by doctors at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
Malala was flown from Pakistan on board an air ambulance provided by the United Arab Emirates and accompanied by a full medical team.
A bullet which hit Malala's skull was removed by surgeons in Peshawar in north-west Pakistan last week but she was later transferred to a military hospital for more specialist treatment.
Although Pakistan had initially insisted she could be treated in her home country, a military statement said that a panel of doctors had recommended she be "shifted abroad to a UK centre which has the capability to provide integrated care to children who have sustained severe injury".
On arrival at Birmingham Airport, she was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance, travelling at a slow speed because of the nature of her wounds.
The hospital has a recently-opened major trauma centre specialising in both gunshot wounds and head injuries.
Its specialist team has 10 years of experience of treating UK military casualties and Medical Director Dr David Rosser said Malala Yousafzai "could be viewed as a battle casualty", which put doctors there "in a good position to treat her".
Security, he added, was taken very seriously "at the best of times".
Education campaigner
Malala Yousafzai came to prominence in 2009 at the age of 11, when she started writing a diary for BBC Urdu about life under the Taliban.
Under the pen-name Gul Makai, she
described the problems caused by militants who had taken control of the
Swat Valley where she lived in 2007 and ordered girls' schools to
close.
Although the Taliban were ousted from Swat in 2009, her role
as a young campaigner for girls' education meant that she received death
threats.She was attacked last week as she returned home from school in the town of Mingora, in the Swat Valley.
Two armed men stopped the van she was travelling in. One of them entered the vehicle, asked which of the girls inside was Malala, and fired three shots, hitting her in the head and wounding two others.
The bullet that went into her skull had to be removed from close to her spinal cord.
“Start Quote
Malala Yousafzai Diary entry, 8 February 2009I felt hurt on opening my wardrobe and seeing my uniform, school bag and geometry box. Boys' schools are opening tomorrow, but the Taliban have banned girls' education”
After she was moved to a military
hospital in Rawalpindi, a panel of doctors decided she needed
"prolonged care to fully recover from the physical and psychological
effects of trauma", the Pakistani military said.
The doctors had advised that if she were to be moved abroad,
it should be "during this time window whilst her condition was optimal
and before any unforeseen complications had set in," the statement
added.Once Malala recovers sufficiently, she is expected to need treatment to repair or replace damaged bones in her skull and to undergo neurological treatment.
The Taliban have threatened to target her again. She was given tight security while she was being treated in Pakistan and on board the air ambulance, which stopped in Abu Dhabi on its way to Birmingham.
'Example to us all' Dozens of people have been arrested in Swat in connection with the shooting, and most have since been released on bail.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague: "It was a cowardly attack on her and her school friends"
The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague said the shooting had "shocked Pakistan and the world" and her bravery was "an example to us all".
"The public revulsion and condemnation of this cowardly attack shows that the people of Pakistan will not be beaten by terrorists," he said. "The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism."
Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown - now the UN's Special Envoy for Global Education - has announced the launch of a petition in Malala's name "in support of what Malala fought for".
"The petition calls on Pakistan to ensure that every girl like Malala has the chance to go to school," he said, while also calling on the international community to ensure all children have access to education by the end of 2015.
Mr Brown said he would hand the petition to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari when he visited Islamabad next month.
Four Farmers Commit Suicide Over Flood Disaster In Kogi
Four farmers in Kogi State have committed suicide as a result of losses
they incurred due to flood just as thousands of others have been
displaced. President Goodluck Jonathan who disclosed this yesterday in
Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital while undertaking a tour of the areas
affected by flood encouraged the Internally Displaced People, IDPs, in
Bayelsa State not to give up hope, assuring that the Federal Government
was committed to rehabilitating them.
He stated this in one of IDPs camps at Samson Siasia stadium, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Speaking in Yenagoa, President Jonathan said:
“In Kogi State, four farmers committed suicide because they borrowed money from the bank to buy seeds and flood came and destroyed it. So because they were scared they committed suicide. I was also in a place in Kogi, where a storey building was under water”.
He stated this in one of IDPs camps at Samson Siasia stadium, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Speaking in Yenagoa, President Jonathan said:
“In Kogi State, four farmers committed suicide because they borrowed money from the bank to buy seeds and flood came and destroyed it. So because they were scared they committed suicide. I was also in a place in Kogi, where a storey building was under water”.
Grandson kills grandparents in Ibadan
A middle-aged man, simply identified as Dekunle, on Sunday
afternoon, killed his grandparents, Pa Busari Ogundeji, 140 and Madam
Olalonpe, 120, at N4/204, Yemetu, Adeoyo, Ibadan, Oyo State.
According to an eyewitness, the entire neighbourhood was alerted to the happening at the house when another old woman, identified simply as Iya Eleko, who watched as Madam Olalonpe was being butchered, raised the alarm.
The alarm from Iya Eleko drew the attention of residents, including Pa Ogundeji, who, on getting to the scene, was overpowered by Dekunle and was thereafter macheted to death.
“I’m one of those who helped pack the corpses after the incident. Mama sustained several cuts on her body. He also hit grandpa on the chest, head and leg. They could not have survived the incident,” the eyewitness said.
Iya Eleko also had her arm injured in the process, while the corpses had been deposited at the mortuary of the state hospital, Yemetu, Ibadan.
Men of the state police command from Yemetu divisional police station, after the incident, arrested Dekunle, who was said to have also killed his parents few years ago.
According to an eyewitness, the entire neighbourhood was alerted to the happening at the house when another old woman, identified simply as Iya Eleko, who watched as Madam Olalonpe was being butchered, raised the alarm.
The alarm from Iya Eleko drew the attention of residents, including Pa Ogundeji, who, on getting to the scene, was overpowered by Dekunle and was thereafter macheted to death.
“I’m one of those who helped pack the corpses after the incident. Mama sustained several cuts on her body. He also hit grandpa on the chest, head and leg. They could not have survived the incident,” the eyewitness said.
Iya Eleko also had her arm injured in the process, while the corpses had been deposited at the mortuary of the state hospital, Yemetu, Ibadan.
Men of the state police command from Yemetu divisional police station, after the incident, arrested Dekunle, who was said to have also killed his parents few years ago.
‘Nigeria Should Expect Bigger Boko Haram Insurgency, Insha Allah If…’ – Senator Buka Ibrahim
Former governor of Yobe State, Senator Buka Ibrahim, has warned the
Federal Government to expect insurgency worse than that of the Boko
Haram in the coming months, if it failed to redress the paltry funds
appropriated to the North-East in the 2013 budget.
The Senator spoke in the wake of the 2013 budget presentation by President Goodluck Jonathan at the National Assembly last Wednesday.
He said Federal Government’s allocation to the region was alarming, arguing that it was another form of injustice.
He said: “Boko Haram is a product of poverty. It is a product of unhappiness. We are unhappy with Nigeria. Unless something is done to address it, Nigeria should expect bigger Boko Haram insurgency, Insha Allah.
“Other geo-political zones got N79 billion or N80 billion. But the North-East has only N50 billion; a difference of N30 billion. Go and check the budget figures or ask the Director-General Budget Office.”
Asked what the Federal Government should do to avert such a development, he said continuous injustice could only breed continuous insecurity.
“Look, injustice is the basis of all crises in the world. All insecurity comes from injustice. If injustice continues, there will never be peace.
“The panacea is for the government to be conscious of the fact that this part of the country that is totally being neglected; this area called an area without security, is also an area to which injustice has been meted out for decades.”
“Unless concerted effort is made to balance it up, there is no hope.”
Reminded that the President’s 2013 budget was just a proposal and that the National Assembly could rectify the wrong, Abba said: “You see, when the difference is so huge from the Executive, it’s difficult for the National Assembly to really do much to completely change it.
“More so, the members of the National Assembly are not all from the North-East.”
The Senator said it was only 20 percent of members of the National Assembly that were from the North-East, adding that the remaining 80 percent will also want to work in favour of their own geo-political zones.
-VANGUARD
The Senator spoke in the wake of the 2013 budget presentation by President Goodluck Jonathan at the National Assembly last Wednesday.
He said Federal Government’s allocation to the region was alarming, arguing that it was another form of injustice.
He said: “Boko Haram is a product of poverty. It is a product of unhappiness. We are unhappy with Nigeria. Unless something is done to address it, Nigeria should expect bigger Boko Haram insurgency, Insha Allah.
“Other geo-political zones got N79 billion or N80 billion. But the North-East has only N50 billion; a difference of N30 billion. Go and check the budget figures or ask the Director-General Budget Office.”
Asked what the Federal Government should do to avert such a development, he said continuous injustice could only breed continuous insecurity.
“Look, injustice is the basis of all crises in the world. All insecurity comes from injustice. If injustice continues, there will never be peace.
“The panacea is for the government to be conscious of the fact that this part of the country that is totally being neglected; this area called an area without security, is also an area to which injustice has been meted out for decades.”
“Unless concerted effort is made to balance it up, there is no hope.”
Reminded that the President’s 2013 budget was just a proposal and that the National Assembly could rectify the wrong, Abba said: “You see, when the difference is so huge from the Executive, it’s difficult for the National Assembly to really do much to completely change it.
“More so, the members of the National Assembly are not all from the North-East.”
The Senator said it was only 20 percent of members of the National Assembly that were from the North-East, adding that the remaining 80 percent will also want to work in favour of their own geo-political zones.
-VANGUARD
Sunday 14 October 2012
Tomatoes may prevent stroke, cancer!
A tasty whttp://www.blogger.com
A diet rich in tomatoes may reduce the risk of having a stroke, according to researchers in Finland.
They were investigating the impact of lycopene - a bright red chemical found in tomatoes, peppers and water-melons.A study of 1,031 men, published in the journal Neurology, showed those with the most lycopene in their bloodstream were the least likely to have a stroke.
The Stroke Association called for more research into why lycopene seemed to have this effect.
The levels of lycopene in the blood were assessed at the beginning of the study, which then followed the men for the next 12 years.
They were split into four groups based on the amount of lycopene in their blood. There were 25 strokes in the 258 men in the low lycopene group and 11 strokes out of the 259 men in the high lycopene group.
The study said the risk of stroke was cut by 55% by having a diet rich in lycopene.
'Major reduction' Dr Jouni Karppi, from the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, said: "This study adds to the evidence that a diet high in fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of stroke.
"The results support the recommendation that people get more than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, which would likely lead to a major reduction in the number of strokes worldwide, according to previous research."
He said lycopene acted as an antioxidant, reduced inflammation and prevented blood clotting.
Dr Clare Walton, from the Stroke Association, said: "This study suggests that an antioxidant which is found in foods such as tomatoes, red peppers and water-melons could help to lower our stroke risk.
"However, this research should not deter people from eating other types of fruit and vegetables as they all have health benefits and remain an important part of a staple diet.
"More research is needed to help us understand why the particular antioxidant found in vegetables such as tomatoes could help keep our stroke risk down."
'Tomato treatment' slows cancer
Tomatoes contain lycopene
|
Lycopene has already been linked with a reducing the risk of prostate cancer.
It is now the most common form of the disease in men, affecting around 21,300 men in Britain annually.
 |
We're still a way off firm conclusions until lycopene and vitamin E are tested in men with prostate cancer
Dr Chris Hiley, Prostate Cancer Charity
|
And when the lycopene was combined with vitamin E, it reduced the growth of tumours by up to 73%.
The researchers found that levels of PSA (prostate specific antigen) matched the growth of the tumour, meaning that can be used to monitor the treatment's effects in men.
'Eat lycopene'
Dr Jacqueline Limpens, from the Erasmus Medical Centre presented the team's findings to a cancer symposium in Geneva.
She said: "What was particularly marked was that it was the low dose of both lycopene and vitamin E that was the most effective, demonstrating that 'more does not necessarily equal better'.
"Many pharmacological agents and natural compounds follow a bell-shaped dose response curve, which means that very low or high doses may not work and that there is an optimal dose between the two extremes."
The product being used in the research is a lycopene supplement called LycoVit.
Dr Limpens said more research was needed before doctors could say if a combined lycopene and vitamin E treatment could be given to healthy men to prevent them developing prostate cancer.
But she said her team's findings tied in with other studies suggesting that lycopene and vitamin E could protect against the disease.
"Therefore we would certainly recommend that all men regularly eat lycopene and vitamin E-rich foods - for example, all kinds of processed tomato products, papayas, pink grapefruit and watermelon, wheat germs, whole grains, mangoes, leafy green vegetables, nuts and olive oils," she said.
"Of course, this needs to be part of an all-round healthy lifestyle and diet with plenty of vegetables and other healthy foods."
Dr Chris Hiley, head of policy and research at the Prostate Cancer Charity, told BBC News Online: "We welcome the promising results of this study.
"We're still a way off firm conclusions until lycopene and vitamin E are tested in men with prostate cancer.
"In the mean time, our advice to men remains the same - maintain a healthy diet containing lycopene and vitamin E rich foods listed.
"This is a practical approach that men with prostate cancer already, or those concerned about developing it, can easily adopt."
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