Obama Declares Nigeria As World’s Next Major Economic Giant

The President of the United States of America, Senator Barrack Obama has declared Nigeria as the world’s next economic success story.
Stressing that the discovery was one of the major reasons why his government is committed to helping the country build strong democratic institutions and as well remove constraints to trade and investment through the African Growth and Opportunity.
Making this declaration at the ongoing US-Nigeria Trade and Investment Forum, an event organised by the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDOA) in Washington DC, yesterday, President Obama who was represented by Ambassador Eunice Reddick, a top official of the US Department, said that his country expanded opportunities for Nigeria to effectively access its neighbor’s market, and diversify its economy beyond a narrow reliance on natural resources as a result of the discovery that the West African nation will emerge as the world’ next economic giant.
“As we support these efforts, the Diaspora can play an important role in contributing to a strong, vibrant, and economically prosperous Nigeria” he noted.
President Obama pressed further that his country invests in Nigeria’s success because it recognizes Nigeria-s as a strategic center of gravity, stressing that the country’s success will as well be Africa’s success if the US can help Nigeria chart a secured, prosperous, and democratic course.
The US leader also make it known that his government will encourage Nigeria in the area of private investment in the power sector as well as other sectors to help seal the promise of growth and opportunity for all Nigerians.
He continued that the US government will also work to strengthen Nigeria’s agricultural sector, which employs nearly 70 percent of the country’s population, by encouraging improvements to infrastructure that would facilitate agricultural growth.
He also said that his government will help Nigeria to iberalize trade policies to foster regional trade, reform the customs system to bring it in line with global best practices, and as well encourage policy reforms to enable private investment in agriculture.
Speaking on the US-Nigeria Bi-National agreement, Obama said that the joint Commission has grown into a forum for frank, high-level concersations, in which both nations have seen substantial reforms and mutually reinforcing initiatives implemented in Nigeria.
His words: “Some key outcomes of the Binational Commission so far have been successful integration of civil society into the electoral process prior to the 2011 elections, sustained and elevated dialogue with energy sector officials on energy policy, reforms to increase investment, and agreement to support the development of a civil affairs training center in the coming year”
“Energy and Investment, the subject of one of the four working groups of the Binational Commission, is critical to Nigeria-s present and future”

Again, here are the faces of Cynthia Osokogu's killers!

From left : Nwabufor, Odera, Chukwunoso, Osita

A Magistrate’s Court in Yaba, Lagos Mainland yesterday ordered that four young men being held in connection with the murder of Cynthia Osokogu Udoka (25) be remanded in prison custody.
Magistrate P. A. Adekomaiya ordered that Okwumo Echezona Nwabufo (33), Ejike Ilechukwu Olisaeloka (23), Orji Osita (32) and Maduakor Chukwunonso (25) be remanded in Ikoyi  Prison, Lagos after an eight-count charge brought against them by the police was read to them.
The magistrate ordered that they should be held in prison, pending the advice of the state’s Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). He adjourned the matter till October 3 for mention.
Their plea was not taken. The magistrate only asked if they understood the charge after it was read to them. They answered “yes”.
They were charged with conspiracy, murder, armed robbery, rape, “unlawful administration of obnoxious substance” and “forceful administration of obnoxious substance” with a view to causing bodily harm.
By the charge, signed by Chukwu Agwu (Acting Superintendent of Police), the accused persons’ alleged offences are punishable under Sections 221, 231, 237, 241, 258, 295 and 409 of the “Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.”
In count one, they were alleged to have, between “2100 hours of July 21, 2012 and 12 hours of July 22, 2012 at room C1,  Cosmilla Hotel, Lakeview Estate, Amuwo Odofin, Festac Town, Lagos did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit: murder.”
In count two, they are accused unlawfully killing “Cynthia Osokogu Udoka ‘f’, aged 25 years by administering her with obnoxious substance known as Rohypnol Flunitrazepam tablets via a Ribena fruit juice drink, binding her hands with chain, padlock and cellotape her legs, neck and mouth with cellotape, giving her fist blows all over her body, giving her several human bites, tortured and strangled her to death.”
In count three, the four are accused of conspiring among themselves to commit felony to wit: Armed robbery. The Police, in count four, accused them of robbing Cynthia of her personal items while being armed with “obnoxious substances and other offensive weapons”.
Some of the items allegedly stolen from the late Cynthia include one Bold Five model of Blackberry handset, an international passport marked: A012493997 dated July 3, 2009; pairs of shoes, a hand bag, an artificial sex toy vibrator, a jewelry pack containing three wrist watches, four rings, three pairs of earrings, one pendant, one necklace, a hand chain (bangle)  and a single earring.
They were accused in count five of conspiring to rape the deceased. In count six, the accused were accused of unlawfully having sexual intercourse with the deceased without her consent.
In count seven, they were alleged to, with intent to facilitate the commission of felony, unlawfully administered an obnoxious substance known as Rohypnol Flunitrazepam tablets, purchased at Oxpharm Pharmacy, 32 Road, Festac Town, Lagos, on Cynthia Osokogu Udoka.”
They were, in count eight, alleged to have,”with intent to harm, did unlawfully cause an obnoxious substanceknown as Rohypnol Flunitrazepam tablets to be administered on Cynthia Osokogu Udoka against her consent and caused her grievous harm.”

Source: The Nation

Al-Qaeda Planning to Attack Nigeria, Ghana.

The international terrorist group, al-Qaeda, it has been gathered, are planning to attack Nigeria. The Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, confirming the information, however noted that such threats were received in the past, and added that security agencies were determined to ensure the group’s plan did not succeed.
According Mba, the police are receiving immense support from developed countries that have counter- terrorism expertise. He said, “That al-Qaeda and similar groups want to attack some certain countries is not new. As security operatives, we treat information at our disposal with uttermost care. We test their veracity and analyse them… Here in Nigeria, we stop most of the domestic attacks before they take place. We defuse more bombs than they detonate. We save thousands of lives daily but we do this discretely and quietly.
He continues: “More than ever, we have so much support from the international community. We are getting help from both ECOWAS and western countries. We are doing our best with the resources we have and we will continue to do so… We have stepped up security everywhere but we won’t disclose how we are doing that and the specifics of our mechanisms… I want to assure Nigerians and the international community that government is irrevocably committed to its mandate of providing adequate security in the country.”
Reports of possible attacks on Ghana had also been gotten about two weeks ago, leading the country to beef up security at their Kotoka International Airport, Accra last Tuesday. Also, a Ghanaian newspaper, Daily guide, had reported:
“Nigeria, three others are said to be on the radar of the terrorist group. Ghana is also said to be on a hit list of an international terrorist group, leading to deployment of soldiers at the Kotoka International Airport, Accra.”
So far, it is yet unknown if the attacks would be launched by al-Qaeda in the Maghreb or the main terrorist organisation in the country.

Here is the beast that killed Cyntia!!

Finally we have the first face photos of the monsters that murdered the pretty Cynthia using facebook as a major tool, they were arraigned before a lagos court today, here is how PM news reported:

Quote

The suspects - Okwumo Echezona Nwabufor, 33, Ezike Ilechukwu Olisaeloka, 23, Orji Osita, 32, and Maduakor Chukwunonso, 25 were slammed with  an eight-count charge of murder, armed robbery, administering the late Cynthia with obnoxious substance known as Rohyenol via Ribena fruit drink, among  others.

According to the charge, the suspects also had unlawful sexual intercourse with the victim without her consent.

Their plea was not taken.

The court ordered that they should be remanded in prison custody and their file duplicated for DPP’s advice.

The matter was adjourned till 3 October, 2012.

Following the arrest and subsequent parade of  Olisaeloka and his cousin, Nwabufor, over the murder of Cynthia, three more ladies came forward, saying they were once victims of the alleged murderers.

The three women reportedly went to Festac Police Command to write a statement about how they were drugged, raped and robbed by the suspects now facing trial.

Togo women on sex strike against President Gnassingbe

Isabelle Ameganvi said holding the strike would ensure women's voices would be heard

Women in Togo have called a week-long sex strike, starting on Monday, to demand the president's resignation.

The ban has been called by opposition coalition Let's Save Togo, which groups together nine civil society groups and seven opposition parties and movements.
Opposition leader Isabelle Ameganvi said that sex could be a "weapon of the battle" to achieve political change.
The coalition wants President Faure Gnassingbe, whose family has held power for decades, to stand down.
"We have many means to oblige men to understand what women want in Togo," Ms Ameganvi, leader of the women's wing of the coalition, told the BBC.
She said she had been inspired by a similar strike by Liberian women in 2003, who used a sex strike to campaign for peace.
"If men refuse to hear our cries we will hold another demonstration that will be more powerful than a sex strike," she added.
'Like fasting'
Togo has been run by the same family for more than four decades.
President Faure Gnassingbe took power in 2005 following the death of his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled Togo for 38 years. The president was re-elected in 2010.
The strike was announced at a rally on Saturday in Lome, attended by thousands of people.

The rally was held to protest against recent electoral reforms, which demonstrators say will make it easier for Mr Gnassingbe's party to win re-election in the parliamentary polls set for October.
Activists say that the strike will motivate men who are not involved in the political movement to pursue its goals, which include an end to the system allowing unlimited presidential terms.
Earlier this month, two anti-Gnassingbe protests were dispersed by police using tear gas and more than 100 people were arrested.
The sex strike was welcomed as a political tool by some women in Lome.
"It's a good thing for us women to observe this sex strike as long as our children are in jail now. I believe that by observing this, we will get them released," Abla Tamekloe told the Associated Press.
"For me, it's like fasting, and unless you fast, you will not get what you want from God."

Source: BBC World News

"I Enjoyed It"..... 11 year old sexually abused girl tells police.

An 11-year old girl who was a victim of sexual abuse (name withheld) stunned the police in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, when she confessed that she enjoyed having sex with their neighbour, Adams Oliyide, who allegedly defiled her on many occasions. The victim told the police that she did not tell anyone, including her parents, because she enjoyed having sex with the suspect. The victim, who opened up to the police, when she was asked why she did not report the sexual assault to her parents, said whenever Oliyide invited her to his one room apartment, she always sneaked in and allowed him to have sex with her because she enjoyed it.
The incident happened in Iyana Ipaja Lagos State Southwest Nigeria. The suspect from Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria, used to sneak back home from work in the afternoon when the parents of the victim had gone to work to have carnal knowledge of the victim. It was alleged that after having sex with her, he would give her money to buy food, sweets or biscuits and warned her not to tell anybody. This went on for months until they were caught by their neighbour who raised an alarm and contacted the victim’s parents. When the suspect was arrested, he was taken to Oke Odo Police Division, where he allegedly confessed that he had sex with the girl on many occasions.
The victim also confessed to the police that the 20-year old suspect had sex with her on many occasions but did not to tell her parents because she loved him. But the police insisted that Oliyide committed rape because the victim was an under age.
He was therefore charged with rape at Ikeja Magistrate’s Court sitting in Abule Egba under Section 137 Of the Criminal Code Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.  The suspect pleaded not guilty to the charge and the presiding magistrate, Mr. A.O. Komolafe, granted him bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.
The court also ordered that one of the sureties must be a blood relation and the sureties must show evidence of payment of taxes.
The matter has been adjourned till 3 September, 2012.

How My Father Drugged Me And Raped Me.... Oluchi Tells Court

A 53-year-old trader, Nzewi Donatus is currently facing a two-count charge at the Ojo Magistrate court, Lagos, for having canal knowledge of his daughter, Oluchi Nzewi , 18, without her consent which is an offense under section 258 of the criminal laws of Lagos state .
He is also being charged for threatening to kill one Ngozi Emeka, for reporting him to the police which is punishable under section 56 of the criminal laws of Lagos state  Nigeria.
Donatus, a tenant at No. 11, Akoberu street by Cele bustop,  Ojo was reported to the police by Ngozi Emeka who is a friend to the deceased wife of Donatus after he, (Donatus) chased his daughter out of the house because she accused him of having sex with her.
Oluchi, who appeared before the court narrated her shocking side of the story.   She alleged that the father has been having canal knowledge of her for five years after the death of her mother.
“My father has been having sex with me whenever I am asleep and there is this drink he always forced me to drink before I sleep and when I wake up, I do noticed sperm all over my body.   When I asked him, he will deny it and warn me never to ask him such question.
On the 15th day of August when I woke up, I noticed such on my body again and this time, I was bold enough to ask him but when I did, he beat me up and sent me out of the house.   So, I went to one Ngozi for shelter and when I narrated my pains to her, she quickly ran to the police to file a report,” she lamented.
Crime Guard gathered from a reliable source that ever since his wife died,the suspect has been maltreating his daughter by even sitting with her at a bar taking alcoholic drinks.
He also allegedly chases away any male friend that comes visiting his daughter.  Some people who never knew his reasons for doing such thought he was preventing them from the corrupt society little did they  know that he was doing so for his own selfish interest.
Crime Guard also learnt that when he was invited to the police station, he never showed any remorse but instead he was disturbing and causing nuisance at the station. He also allegedly threatened to kill Ngozi Emeka for reporting “a case that did not concern her” to the police.
Another witness who pleaded anonymity also disclosed that he saw Donatus beating his daughter but when he tried interfering, he got the worst insult of his life. “When I heard Oluchi screaming for help, I ran to see if I could talk to his father.   But when I tried doing so, he gave me the worst insult of my life accusing me of having a secret affair with his daughter.   I got pissed off and had to leave so as to mind my business”.
When  the charges were read to him by the prosecutor, Supol Eze, he pleaded not guilty but the presiding Magistrate, Mrs  J.O.E Akhanamaya, rejected his bail and he was remanded  at kirikiri prison custody for further hearing of his case.

Some rich men in my church are dating my wife.... Pastor Oyedunn

A Customary Court in Ake, Abeokuta, in Ogun State became a theatre of some sort when a cleric, one Pastor Samuel Oyedotun, pleaded that his marriage to his wife be dissolved by the court.
What was however astonishing was the reason given by the cleric for his plea. Oyedun alleged that his wife Lydia, 37, was dating some rich men in his church, and that when he confronted her, she threatened to deal with him ruthlessly. The plaintiff said that all efforts to stop her from continuing in the habit proved abortive.
In regret, he said he wouldn‘t have got married to his wife, Lydia, if he knew the woman was not responsible. Oyedotun said his wife made him believe she was religious when they met, until after she bore two children for him and he discovered she indulged in drinking beer and was also adulterous. This was a source of serious concern to him, he said, noting that he hardly prayed as he used to do before they became husband and wife.
Meanwhile, although the 37-year-old woman denied the allegations leveled against her by the husband, she told the court she was ready to accept the divorce since her husband was adamant. She also pleaded that she be granted custody of the five children the marriage has produced, noting that she knew that the money Samuel would be making from the church would not be enough for the upkeep of the children. The case was adjourned for further hearing.

Prophet Who Allegedly Specializes In Annointing Private Parts Of Women Arrested

A 24-year old lady, Cynthia Nwanguma who was placed on a secrecy oath by a Lagos based self-styled prophet, Dennis Mmadu, not to disclose her ordeal to anyone or else she would die, has damned the consequences and recounted her ordeal in the hands of the fake prophet; because that’s what he is.
Cynthia alleged that Mmadu had unihibited sexual intercourse with her for seven days; pretending to be anointing her breasts and private part with oil. She added that the prophet also claimed they were having ‘holy’ sex while he engaged in unprotected sex with her whenever he felt like throughout the period. The sex was allegedly to ‘deliver’ Cynthia Nwanguma, a student nurse from barreness. She also claimed to have been defrauded by the prophet to the tune of N21,800.

35-year-old Prophet Mmadu, is now cooling his heels at Kirikiri Prison on the order of an Ejigbo Magistrateís Court where he is facing a four-count charge of obtaining money under false pretence, stealing and threat to life.
Mmadu from Imo State, met Cynthia at Igando, off LASU-Isheri road, Lagos, and he took her in his car marked TU 806 AAA to his house at 26, Oseni Street, New Oko-Oba, near Agege.
She said during one of their sex session Prophet Mmadu prophesied told her that she had a strange illness in her stomach that would make her barren throughout her life time.
She said he told her that she was lucky to have met him and promised to offer her spiritual healing so that she will not have problem looking for the fruit of the womb when she got married.
She said he showed her some women and men as those who have benefited from his spiritual powers. But she later discovered they were his accomplices. She said she was still in shock over what happened because she did not know what came over her.
She later discovered that she has been duped. After regaining herself, Cynthia demanded her money from Prophet Mmadu but he ignored her. She thus reported the incident to Igando police division.
Prophet Mmadu was subsequently arrested and interrogated. He was charged to court for fraud, stealing and assault.
The offence, the police said is contrary to Sections 36, 44, 312 and 409 of the Criminal code Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011. He pleaded not guilty. The presiding Magistrate, Mrs. M. B. Folami granted him bail in the sum of N50,000 with one surety in like sum.
The matter has been adjourned to 16 September, 2012 for further hearing. The prophet was however remanded in prison custody pending when he will meet the bail conditions

How Facebook Friend Killed Cynthia

By Evelyn Usman and Ruth Chukwuemeka
LAGOS— Emotions ran high, yesterday, at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters, Ikeja, following startling revelations by two university students on how Cynthia Osokogu, the only daughter of a retired General was strangled inside a hotel in Festac area of the state.
While parading the suspects, the police displayed 18 handsets, one brown Louis Vuitton bag, a black suede shoe belonging to the deceased, seven drivers licences, an unopened Ribena drink, two sunshades, two used syringes, eight wrist watches, four stamps from different banks, one chain and padlock, one international passport bearing the deceased name and over thirty complimentary cards, over fifty used and unused sim cards of various networks and an Identity card bearing Sunday Briggs which they said, were recovered from the suspects.

Late Cynthia-Osokogu and back view of the suspected killers when they were paraded yesterday.

The undergraduates, Nwabufo Okwumo, 33, and Odera Ezekiel, 23, discovered to be cousins, claimed their intention was never to kill the 25 year-old post graduate student of Nasarawa State University but to collect her money and jewelries.
One of the suspects, Nwabufo, a 300 level Accounting student of the University of Lagos, admitted to have been chatting with the deceased on the blackberry for sometime. In the process, she revealed her true background including the fact that she owned a boutique.
But unknown to her, Nwabufo who hails from Nnewi, Anambra State had a sinister motive. Along the line, the deceased, according to him, informed him that she was coming to Lagos to buy wigs and attachments for her saloon. The suspect then paid for the air ticket.
How the deed was done
Vanguard gathered that the deceased arrived Lagos on July 21, 2012, and she was picked at the Murtala Mohammed Airport by Nwabufo and driven straight to a hotel called Casmilla on 6th Avenue, Festac town where Nwabufor had earlier made reservation with a fictitious name.
Inside the hotel, Nwabufo reportedly offered a bottle of Moet to Cynthia which she reportedly declined on the ground that she does not take alcohol. The suspect thereafter, asked her to take a Ribena drink from the fridge. But unknown to her, the three packets of Ribena had been drugged. He confessed that she took three; one in the afternoon, another in the evening and the third, the next morning.
Next day, she reportedly became tipsy. Even at that state, it was reliably gathered that Cynthia did not allow Nwabufo to sleep with her the previous night.
It was learnt that in the morning, the second suspect, Odera came in. At that point, Cynthia who apparently had started feeling the effect of the drugs asked who the visitor was. Rather than getting an answer, she was reportedly pinned down by Nwabufo, with her hands and legs tied. At that state, Nwabufo allegedly raped her twice. His cousin, Odera reportedly took over and used a sex vibrator on her.
I did not mean to kill her
But in his confessional statement, Nwabufo who was dressed in an ash-coloured suit, said his intention was never to kill her. He admitted however, that Cynthia was not his first victim, disclosing that all he did was to propose to them through blackberry and later invite them to the hotel,where he drugged and dispossessed them of cash and other valuables.
According to him: “It was a mistake, I never meant to kill her. I invited her from Abuja as my friend on July 21. I was trying to dislodge her by tying her hands and I hit her in the process. I tied her because I did not want her to know I was escaping from the hotel. We had a mutual agreement for her to come over. I met her from BB (blackberry) group chat. She came to buy some things for her boutique in Abuja. We had a disagreement. I did not rape her. It was the devil’s handwork.
I wanted to run because I knew I had committed a serious offence against her. I thought she had money on her that I can collect. So in the process, I tied her with cellotape to make her not to shout. I was not the only person, it was I and my cousin, Odera that did it. We tied her together and beat her together.
Yes, I invited her and in the process we felt like robbing her of all she had. The condom the police saw on me is what I used personally. I used it on her based on the sex toy with her. She came with a vibrator sex toy, so I inserted the condom on the sex toy and later dropped it there. I did not make love to her. If they test the condom forensically, it will prove that I did not use it on her.
I drugged her with RAFINOL through Ribena drink. I bought three packets of Ribena and when she took it, she became weak. It was my cousin that drugged the drink, he used a syringe and administered ten tablets of it inside the drink.
This is the first time someone died in the process. I have done this say like, four times before now but none of the girls died. Whenever they take the drink, I will sleep with them and they will just lose memory of all that transpired. Usually, I use hotels in Festac. I have used Opera mini Hotel, Benny, Chelsea and Concilia. I feel bad because I did not bargain for this – to kill her in the first instance. It is just unfortunate and it was an accident,”he stated.
His alleged partner in the crime, Odera Ezekiel, said: “ I am also an Accounting student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The morning it happened, my brother called me to come to the hotel to help him bind the girl so that he can dispossess her of her belongings.
My mission at the hotel was to come and help him bind the girl. In the process of trying to bind the girl, she put up struggle and we assaulted her and in the process, she passed out. I did not hit her with any hard object and we didn’t have any weapon with us. My brother only told me he wanted to take her money. I have not done it before. He asked me to buy the drink for him”.
How they were arrested
Vanguardgathered that after the evil deed was done, Odera left the hotel first with the lady’s belongings. Moments later, his cousin Nwabufo then left. But at the reception, one of the receptionists asked if he was checking out but he said he was coming back. Two hours later, they reportedly called the hotel telling them to ”go into the room and remove the corpse of the bagger.” On getting to the room, Cynthia was said to have been discovered stone dead with her hands and legs tied to the back and with series of bite marks on her back which she apparently sustained during the struggle for dear life.
Police sources hinted that investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the girl proved a hard nut for them initially. However, the first trace that gave the suspects out was the number with which they contacted the hotel. Their task was made more difficult because the fleeing suspects threw away the sim card they used in calling the hotel. The detectives, however, went an extra mile and succeeded in using the same number to get all the suspects’ contacts and it was from there that the bubble burst.
The investigation took detectives to Cotonou and Nnewi where Odera who is in his final year was arrested in the school premises. His confessional statement, as gathered, led to the arrest of his cousin, Nwabufo. Over 40 persons, as gathered, were arrested in the course of the investigation. But gradually, most of them were released when operatives could not link them to the crime.
Another thing that helped the police in identifying the deceased was her Yellow Card, which her assailants reportedly forgot in the hotel room. But the telephone number of the card was discovered to be different from her original number. The Immigration was reportedly contacted in the course of the investigation which was described as a rigorous one.
The command’s boss, Mr Umar Manko who paraded the suspects before newsmen disclosed that the footage of the Close Circuit Television, CCTV, in the hotel also assisted the police in their investigation.
He said: “From the footage, we discovered that the two young men came into the hotel, went into the room and came out after a while, so we started from there”. Emphasizing the importance of CCTV in crime detection, the elated police boss said the police was working towards installing it around the state.
“We are talking to the Lagos State government and the Force Headquarters. We have been meeting with bankers but with this development, we do not have more option than to meet with hoteliers.
It has become necessary to mandate hoteliers to install CCTV in their hotels because security is a fight against crime and it is not a fight for the police alone but everyone. People who run such businesses must put in place facilities that will make those who come feel safe.”
He, therefore, advised young ladies to learn a lesson from this, saying, “youths have to be more careful. Social media network is good but some criminals are trying to make something criminal out of it”, adding that the suspects will be charged to court soon.”
Meanwhile, the pharmacist who reportedly sold the tranquilizer to the suspects is still in police custody. Although he was not paraded alongside the suspects whose faces the police insisted, should not be photographed, Vanguard gathered that he might be charged to court because he was not supposed to sell the drugs without prescription.

Source: Vanguard

Key suspect on the Deeper Life Killing arrested in Ondo

 

•Katsina (middle) displaying one of the military rifles

•Two bomb factories uncovered •Guns of killed soldiers recovered

The principal suspect in the killing of worshipers at the Deeper Life Bible Church in Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State, Abdulmannan Obadeki, has been arrested by the Kogi State Police Command. 
Thirty-two-year-old Obadeki of 8, Lafia Street, Okene was nabbed at a farm settlement in Ulowo, Owo, Ondo State after the exchange of gunshots with the police during which he was injured. 
Police Commissioner Mohammed Musa Katsina, who confirmed the arrest, said the suspect was found hiding behind a banana leaf when his men led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Zanna Mohammed combed the bush. 
Two suicide bombers were also arrested by the police on Monday on the Jamata Bridge on Lokoja/Okene/Abuja Road. 
The police commissioner said following intelligence reports, the bombers were arrested with explosive devices in a luxury bus.  
Two bomb factories have been discovered at Okene and Okehi local government areas in Kogi Central.
The first was in a factory located in an estate in Okene, while another was discovered at Eyika-Adagu in Okehi Local Government.
Items recovered included three rocket launchers, police bullet proof jackets, AK 47 rifles and others.
The Kogi State Police Command has recovered two military type AK 47 rifles with serial number BH 574 and KJ 19100.
Katsina said the guns belonged to the two soldiers that were attacked at the Okene Central Mosque.

FG names Mike Adenuga, Fola Adeola, Dantata as those behind the subsidy scam

Mike Adenuga

Nigerian billionaire, Mike Adenuga, through his company, Conoil Plc, is one of those behind the fuel scarcity being experienced in Abuja, the Federal Government has said.
Mr. Adenuga is not alone in this alleged misdemeanour, according to Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Companies owned by other wealthy Nigerians such as Eterna Oil, whose directors are Mahmud Tukur, son of Peoples Democratic Party National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, and Fola Adeola, the Vice Presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria in the last presidential elections; and MRS Oil and Gas, believed to be owned by businessman Sayyu Dantata were also found to be instigators of the fuel crisis.
Mr. Adenuga, listed by Forbes Magazine as one of the world’s richest billionaires, is not new to controversy. In 2009, the Ogun State born businessman was indicted by Nigerian tax authorities. The Federal Inland Revenue Service sealed the Lagos office of Conoil, and Continental Oil and Gas, another company owned by the businessman, over the non-remittance of $610 million tax to government. At that time, Mr. Adenuga was able to wriggle his way out of the crisis.
This time however, the FG says it is bent on dealing with Conoil and its other partners in crime over their fraudulent activities.

The subsidy fraudsters
Not content with fleecing Nigeria of hundreds of billions of naira through the fuel subsidy scam, the indicted oil companies, have decided to punish Nigerians by creating artificial fuel scarcity, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said.
The companies were earlier indicted of large-scale fraud by the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede presidential committee which investigated the 2011 fuel subsidy payments.
“It is clear that those behind the strikes are marketers being investigated for possible fraud. These elements have now resorted to hiding behind the unions to unnecessarily antagonize Government and create hardship for Nigerians,” Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said in the statement.
Seven of the companies had created fictional ships, which delivered imaginary petrol, for which they got N13 billion naira subsidy payments, PREMIUM TIMES had exclusively reported here.
Some of the others were involved in ship space travel, in which they claimed that vessels that were in China, or UAE, delivered petrol to Nigerian waters at the same time. Nigeria lost 21 billion naira to this category of fraudulent companies.
Already, petrol stations in Abuja are filled with long queues as road users struggle for the little petrol available. Should the oil workers go ahead with their strike which would commence next week, the rest of the country would join in the fuel scarcity.

We remain undaunted
In the statement, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said government remained committed to seeing its actions through despite the scarcity.
The minister said following the submission of the report of the Aig-Imoukhuede committee that investigated the payments, the federal government has paid all marketers with “legitimate and unencumbered” claims and that such marketers will continue to be paid.
Between April and May 2012, two batches involving 14 oil marketers with a claim of N17 billion were settled while N25.6 billion worth of claims were paid since early July 2012, the minister said.
In all, between April and August this year, N42.666 billion have been paid to 31 oil marketers.
“Government will continue to encourage honest efforts by genuine companies engaged in fuel importation but we will not fall for the cheap blackmail of indicted marketers who are using all kinds of subterfuge to escape sanctions,” he minister said.

The companies punishing Nigeria
Apart from Conoil, other companies the finance minister mentioned include Alminnur resources ltd, Brilla energy ltd, and Eterna plc, headed by Mahmud Tukur, the son of the national chairman of the PDP, Bamanga Tukur. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is already prosecuting the younger Tukur for his role in the subsidy scam, and he has since been granted bail by the court.
Other companies involved are Caades Oil and Gas Ltd, Capital Oil and Gas Industry Ltd, Downstream Energy Source Ltd, Euraafric Oil and Gas Ltd, Lumen Skies Ltd and Majope Investment Ltd.
Matrix Energy Ltd, Menon Oil and Gas Ltd, Mob International Services, MRS Oil and Gas Ltd, Nasaman Oil Services Ltd, Natacel Petroleum Ltd, Ocean Energy Trading and Services, Pinnacle Contractors Ltd. Sifax Oil and Gas Company, Tonique Oil Services Ltd and, Top Oil and Gas Development Co. Ltd, were also named.

Discussing with the cabal
Some other companies, also indicted by the Aig-Imoukhuede committee are however being courted by the government in other to prevent a nationwide fuel scarcity.
Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said these groups of companies, with infractions which are relatively minor, are already in discussion with government for a quick resolution of the issues.
She said the outstanding claims of companies under investigation for possible refunds to the government, will be netted against their expected refunds to government and those with positive net balance will be processed and paid.
In other words, even though these companies dubiously received fuel subsidy payments, the government will let them off the hook by simply deducting the money they are expected to refund from the genuine subsidy payment the FG owes them.
The Aig-Imoukhuede committee had recommended that all the indicted marketers refund N382 billion to government.
Mr. Imoukhuede had however advised Nigerians not to expect that all the money would be recovered.

Scientists Say Eggs ‘Almost As Bad As Smoking’

New research has suggested regular consumption of egg yolks accelerates atherosclerosis, an effect which is more often linked to smoking cigarettes.
Also known as coronary artery disease, it is a disorder of the arteries where plaques, aggravated by cholesterol, form on the inner arterial wall.
Dr David Spence revealed eating the yolk of an egg is about two-thirds as bad as smoking when it comes to increased build-up of carotid. Having surveyed 1,231 men and women, Spence, of the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, linked the findings to stroke and heart attack risk factors.
Plaque rupture is the usual cause of most heart attacks and many strokes. The study involved patients, with a mean age of 61.5, attending vascular prevention clinics in Ontario. And ultrasound was used to establish a measurement of total plaque area and questionnaires were filled out regarding the patients’ lifestyles.

Consumption of Egg Yolks As Bad As Cigarettes Smoking?

The research found carotid plaque area increased in line with age after 40, but increased exponentially after years of regular smoking and egg yolk consumption. The study also found those eating at least three yolks a week had significantly more plaque area than those who ate up to two yolks per week.
Dr Spence, 67, who is also a neurology professor, said: “The mantra ‘eggs can be part of a healthy diet for healthy people’ has confused the issue”. He goes further to say,“high cholesterol intake increases the risk of cardiovascular events, and egg yolks have a very high cholesterol content. The study shows that, with age, plaque builds up gradually in the arteries and egg yolks make it build up faster.”
The effects of egg yolk consumption were independent of sex, cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking, body mass index and diabetes. While there is still room for more research to be done, it is strongly advised that regular consumption of egg yolk should be avoided by anyone at risk of cardiovascular disease.
The research has been published online in the journal Atherosclerosis

Explosion Kills two terrorists in Kaduna

 

Bomb exploded in Kaduna today killing two people who were reported to be conveying the bomb while on MOTORCYCLE AT ALI AKILU ROAD BY ABAPA, KADUNA ON TUESDAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THERE was a loud explosion on the ever busy Ali Akilu Road in the Kaduna metropolis, a commercial centre close to the state House of Assembly and one of the biggest mosques in Kaduna at about 3:30 p.m.

The two suicide bombers bearing the explosive device were said to have died.

It was gathered that the two men were carrying an object, which looked like a television set, while heading towards the Ungwan Seriki Area, but luck ran out of them as the object exploded before they got to their destination.

The mosque was said to be hosting the final round of the Tasfir normally carried out during the holy month of Ramadan.

A swam of bees invaded the area immediately after the explosion, forcing onlookers to cut leaves to drive away the bees while security operatives had to shoot canisters of teargas apparently to ward off the bees.

Many residents, including journalists, that went to the scene were stung by the bees.

An eyewitness told the Nigerian Tribune that she was passing by the area when she heard the blast and ran there only to see three persons lying on the ground with their motorcycles affected by the explosion.

“I was coming from the house, going to plait my hair when I heard the sound. I thought it was a gunshot. Then I saw the three of them and three motorcycles; they were all lying on the ground and two of them were dead, while one of them was still moving. Then, the bees spread around and started stinging people.”

The Acting Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Balteh, who confirmed the explosion, said, “two people were carrying an object suspected to be an Improvised Explosive Device on a motorbike from Singer roundabout towards Lugard Hall roundabout, close to the NNPC filling station, the device exploded and killed the two of them.

Nigerian couple who beat their kids jailed 14 yrs in London

 

What most Nigerians culturally do by using corporal punishment to correct their children when they do wrong and go scot free has become the albatross for two Nigerian couples resident in the United Kingdom.
For beating their six children with brooms, hoovers and wires and even giving their baby a morphine overdose after childbirth, the Nigerian couple have been jailed for seven years each in London, with the UK press calling them all sorts of names.
But the Nigerian married couple denied the allegations, claiming the children were victims of a racist witch-hunt. They were, however, found guilty of cruelty to a person under 16.
The parents convicted of a decade long campaign of abuse against their six children were jailed for seven years each yesterday.
The Nigerian couple, which the paper said claimed their kids were possessed by evil spirits, were found guilty after Coronation Street star Michelle Collins gave evidence against them.
The parents argued that the children had been ‘brainwashed’ into making the allegations by the police, the London Borough of Haringey and Miss Collins who they said ‘wanted to steal’ them, UK’s Green Crown Court heard.
Jurors rejected the parents conspiracy theories. When they are released, they face deportation back to Nigeria – despite pleas from their legal team that they have been ‘punished enough’ by having their children taken into care.
As they left the court, the paper said the couple wailed: ‘We are innocent, this is a miscarriage of justice.’
The couple were accused of beating their children with brooms, hoovers and wires and even giving their baby a morphine overdose just days after her first birthday.
A report published in UK’s Daily Mail said five of the children were rescued after their eldest daughter threw a heart-wrenching SOS note out of a window.
The report said it was not until their one-year-old baby was given a morphine overdose over a year later that police reopened the case which led to their prosecution.
The paper said the plight of the children was so bad that Miss Collins, who met them at a church lunch, took them to the cinema ‘because she felt sorry for them’.
The Miss Collins gave evidence as a prosecution witness during the trial of the parents, both 40, who could not be named to protect their six children.
Sentencing them to seven years behind bars each, Judge James Patrick described it as ‘shocking mistreatment’ that they had tried to cover up with a ‘web of deception’.
Judge Patrick said: “No-one who sat through this trial could help but be moved by the fact that these intelligent, charming, fun, lovable children continue to love you despite what you put them through.
“You alleged a conspiracy involving a well-known actress, who had done nothing but show your family generosity and kindness, a member of a housing charity, social workers and foster carers.
“Those who had taken the trouble to support you were repeatedly accused of dishonesty, lying, and conspiracy to rob you of your children when the reality was that both of you were lying – in fact they ware simply seeking to give your children stability.”
But the parents claimed they were victims of a conspiracy – and even alleged Miss Collins was involved in a witch hunt against them and wanted to ‘steal’ their children.
One of the youngsters, a baby at the time, had been allowed to stay in the home by Haringey council, who were involved in other case called the Baby P and Victoria Climbie cases, despite the fact the five other children had to be rescued.
The abuse reportedly came to the attention of police in April 2010 when their nine-year-old wrote an SOS note and threw it out of her bedroom window.
The heart-breaking plea read: ‘My mum is the worst mum ever because she can’t cope with five of us, her broken hand and being pregnant. She always leaves me out so I always starve and I am forced to work.
‘If I don’t get enough house work done, I am beaten without mercy with the wooden end of a broom. I have scars all over me to prove it. I can’t stay here. I would like a new mum.’
It was found by a neighbour who called the police, and when officers attended the address they found the children living in messy conditions with ‘dirty’ and ‘dishevelled’ clothing.
Revealing scars the eldest said her mother had hit her with a cable, a broom, and a hoover and her father had dangled her by her feet down the stairwell of the house, tied her hands behind her back and her legs together ‘to get the devilish spirits out’, prosecutor Emma Smith said.
Her sister, who was seven at the time, had a stick shaped bruise of her thigh and after a few months in care, she drew a series of pictures showing her dad beating her and her being left home alone and including a speech bubble saying ‘I’m hungry.’
The children were left home alone for hours, sometimes days on end, with the elder kids forced to look after the others.
They had even been forced to lie to a charity and social services that they were living alone with their mother in one room and had no idea who their dad was so they could scam benefits.
Even during the trial the eldest feared she had torn her family apart with her ‘devastating cry from the heart in the form of a letter which she threw from the window’, the judge noted.
There was an investigation but no further action, and the five children remained in care until the parents once again came to police attention on 28 June last year, when they gave their baby an overdose.
‘But for the events of June 28 you would have gotten away with your crimes because of a merciful decision not to prosecute you’, Judge Patrick noted.
The couple’s sixth child, a baby girl, the report said, was also initially taken into care but then returned to her parents. They took her to St Thomas’s Hospital just days after her first birthday last year.
The paper went on to say that without treatment, the baby could have died but doctors managed to save the youngster, who it is believed was given morphine orally that morning.

Man docked for defiling 5-yr-old

BY Onozure Dania
A 45-year-old man, Alabi Bakare, has been docked before an Ikeja Magistrate Court, Lagos, for allegedly having carnal knowledge of a five-year-old girl.
Bakare, who was accused of assaulting the child (name withheld), a commercial motorcycle operator, is married with two wives.
The defendant, who is a neighbour of the victim’s parents, is facing a one-count charge of having unlawful sexual intercourse with the minor.
The Police prosecutor, Mr Barth Nwaokoye, told the court that Bakare had allegedly had sex with two other girls, who are minors and whose names were simply given as Jumoke, aged four and Azeezat aged, eight, before he was recently arrested.
Nwaokoye, said that the man committed the offence on August 3, 2012, at Oluwakemi Street, Alapere, Ketu.
The prosecutor alleged that Bakare, has been sexually assaulting little children over time before he was finally caught.
The prosecutor added that it was one Mr  Kehinde Ogundare of the same address, who caught him having sexual intercourse with the little child  and reported the case.
Nwaokoye said that Bakare as an Okada rider and as a neighbour to the victim, was the one that usually takes them to school every day, adding that the defendant had access to the children as a result of the familiarity he had with them as their driver and as a neighbour.
The offence is punishable under section 137 of the Lagos State Criminal Laws Vol. 44 No. 11 of 2011.

Source: Vanguard

Job scam rocks Customs

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From IKENNA EMEWU, Abuja
There is ongoing scam of job sale in several cities purporting to be at the behest of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS). With the desperation for employment in the country, many have fallen victims of the bait and paid dearly for it. Daily Sun investigations showed that the job slots go for as high as N500,000 for one and most times, the employment papers are prepared and names fixed to them, and just delivered to the buyer.
Many suspects have been detained. But the Customs authorities have denied links with such agents, which they described as fake and cautioned Nigerians not to fall for their tricks. With such tailor-made offers, the buyers are meant to bear the names on the job offer paper and the credentials already attached as those of the buyer. The syndicates are many.
They operate in diverse forms. While some use phone calls and personal contacts, others operate online, using some websites and Facebook accounts purported to be those of the Comptroller-General of NCS. Unfortunately, however, some of the people that bought these job offers met a brick-wall when they reported at the NCS head office in Abuja for documentation. Instead of the employment they paid for, they were rather arrested and handed over to the police where they are being interrogated.
“They give you a letter that bears names that are not yours and support them with academic documents and tell you that you bear the name on the letter all through your employment if you indeed need the job,” a victim told Daily Sun. Though the victim said he refused the offer after he was asked to pay N500,000 to have the letter, he said that several people have, however, fallen prey to the syndicate. Another victim said that she paid N200,000 to another syndicate, which promised her a Customs job. The syndicates had fleeced job-seeking Nigerians of millions of naira with the fake employment offers.
According to the victim, a lady who convinced her victims with evidence of NCS staff ID card, leads one of the syndicates. “She showed us her staff Identity card and the uniform in her car to convince us. She told us that she works with the Head of the Human Resources department and our names will appear on the priority list. We have not heard from her since then.
The woman lives in Gwarimpa, here in Abuja and I am sure the authorities know of her because other people who have been her victims said she had been in the business of Customs job fixing for long.” The victim gave out the names of one Mr. Amadi, said to be a Customs official, as a member of a syndicate led by another alleged Customs official called Oluwaseyi. Efforts to confirm if they are actually staffers of the NCS proved negative as they were said to be unknown to the service.
Calls put to Amadi on a telephone number said to be his, were not responded to. Questions about the actual identity of Oluwaseyi, who we gathered, might have made more than N10 million from the fraud, turned out negative. Authorities of the NCS actually confirmed to Daily Sun that indeed, it had uncovered false job syndicates that operate to defraud Nigerians, to tarnish the image of the service.
It also said it is already investigating such syndicates to know the extent of their activities. From Customs sources, the syndicates operate online through websites and the social media to lure their victims. “They operate about three Facebook accounts in the name of the Comptroller-General (CG) of Customs through which many Nigerians have been duped for job and contracts. But every reasonable job-seeker should know the CG couldn’t descend so low as to respond to official matters on Facebook chat.
“The CG does not have a Facebook account,” Superintendent Joseph Attah, Customs spokesman, said. Other sources Daily Sun contacted at the Customs headquarters in Abuja, confirmed that some members of a job syndicate had been arrested and under investigation over alleged extortion of money on the pretext that they would be offered employment in the NCS.
Attah said, “the leadership of the service had ordered investigations which led to the discovery of huge fraud by the syndicates. “Some members of the syndicates are already in detention and have made useful statements, while other leads are still being trailed by the service. A woman already penciled down as notorious in the syndicate is one Hajiya Rekiya, who is a resident of Mararaba, a satellite town in Nasarawa State, near the FCT. “She operates a syndicate that had duped job-seekers of up to N14 million. Among her victims are 53 persons who paid into her account and direct cash to her sums ranging between N50,000 and N300,000.
Investigations by Customs, as the NCS said, is a discovery that the said Rekiya parades herself as a Customs officer while carrying a forged Customs Identity card and claims to be working for a wider syndicate, inside the service. Hajiya tells her victims she is a Customs officer and usually came to them with an Identity card tagged on her uniform while also working with forged letterheads and other official documents of the NCS. Sources at the Customs headquarters indicate that “because investigations are still on-going, it is not yet possible to ascertain how extensive the span of the crime is and if there are people who are involved from inside.
Attah said the Comptroller-General, Abdullahi Inde Dikko, has placed every segment of the service on high alert over these activities and instituted internal checks even after alerting the police of the development. He assured that “since we didn’t contract or mandate anybody to recruit workers for the service, then, whoever does that intends to undermine the CG who is doing his best to ensure the Customs remains a reputable organization.”

Source: The Sun

Horror: Suspected cultists kill UBTH woman

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From TONY OSAUZO, Benin
Horror was unleashed on Edo State yesterday when suspected cultists shot at close range, a female staff of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH).The incident occurred in the presence of her husband. The victim, who was identified as Mrs. Elisabeth Osayande, was allegedly shot at their residence at Akpata Street, Egor Local Government Area.
According to sources, the gunmen, who allegedly rode on a motorcycle, had reportedly pointed at the woman, saying “that is the person, shoot her,” before she was shot on the chest. She died instantly. Her son, whose name could not be ascertained, was said to have had an altercation with a boy who parked his motorcycle in front of their residence before the unknown gunmen shot the deceased.
The late woman’s husband, simply identified as Mr. Osayande, said that he sent his son to buy him some planks and the son noticed that a stranger parked his motorcycle at the entrance to their residence. “My son only asked him to give way, but the stranger told him to shut up. He threatened to deal with my son and he came back in a few minutes and shot my wife,” Mr. Osayande said, noting that the body had been deposited at the mortuary, adding that the matter was reported at the Ogida Police Station.
The Edo State Police Command’s spokesman, DSP Anthony Airhuoyo, said the police were yet to receive detailed information on the incident. Meanwhile, following the killings of some members of the Deeper Life Bible Church in Okene, Kogi State last week by gunmen, the Edo State Police Command has beefed up security in boundary towns between Edo and Kogi to forestall invasion of the state by armed militia.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olayinka Balogun, who disclosed this in Benin yesterday, said policemen had been deployed in Muslim communities in Edo North to ensure a hitch-free Sallah this weekend. “We have deployed policemen in the buffer zones between Edo and Kogi States to ensure that the gunmen, who were responsible for the killings in Okene do not infiltrate into Edo State. We have beefed up security in towns like Ibillo, Igarra, Okpella, among others. “We are also taking some security measures to ensure that Muslims in Edo have a hitch-free Sallah celebration,” he said.
The commissioner, who had earlier addressed members of the Police Community Relations Committee, sued for aggressive recruitment of volunteers with unblemished record into the committee just as he praised the PCRC at Ibillo for assisting the police in the arrest of two gunmen who were said to be part of those who attacked the Deeper Life Church. In his speech, the Chief Imam of Benin, Mallam Abdul-Fatai Enabulele, said the term, Boko Haram, was anti-thetical to Islam which he said was a religion of peace. “The problem in Northern Nigeria is the problem of long-term manipulations and double standard. Boko Haram has never fought for Islam, beginning from the days of the Prophet in Medina and Mecca.”
“The Prophet preached Islam with diplomacy…There is nothing like Western knowledge. So, knowledge is knowledge, which is why Islam told us that knowledge is continuous. Let me assure everybody that in Edo State, we will never collaborate with, support or tolerate Boko Haram or kill any Christian,” he said.

Culled from The Sun

FG to Raise Power Output to 9,000MW

Minister of Power, Bart Nnaji

By Chuks Okocha  and Onyebuchi Ezigbo 

The Federal Government Sunday raised hopes of improvement in power supply as it announced plans to raise electricity output from the current 4,300 megawatts (mw) to a record 9,000mw in “the next few months”.

A statement from the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, which detailed the achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan since his inauguration in May 2011, said government would attain the new output when it completed the 10 projects under the National Integrated Power Plants (NIPP).

The statement was in response to the criticism by former Federal Capital Territory Minister and chieftain of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, who accused the presidency of “seeking to outsource governance”. 

It said on assumption of office, Jonathan inherited 10 abandoned projects under the NIPP and had since then revitalised the projects.

The projects, which on completion, will add additional 4960mw to the national grid are: Ihovbor in Edo State (451mw), Omotosho in Ondo State (451mw), Olorunsogo in Ogun State  (750mw), Sapele in Delta State (451mw), Geregu in Kogi State (434mw), Egbema in Imo State (338mw), Gbarain in Bayelsa (225mw), Omoku in Rivers State (225mw), Calabar in Cross River State (561mw) and Alaoji in Abia State (1074mw).

“This administration met 10 abandoned NIPP projects and has successfully revitalised all. More importantly, they are all within the range of 95-100 per cent completion stage and are awaiting gas supply, which government has taken very concrete steps to address.

“Government has improved power generation from under 3,000mw in 2011 to 4,300mw by August 2012. Therefore, when the 10 NIPP projects are fully on stream, which will be within the next few months, the total national generation capacity will not be less than 9000mw, a 200 per cent increase in generating capacity as compared with the figures for 2011 and the highest ever by any administration since independence,” the Federal Government said in the statement signed by the Media Director in the office, Mr. Olusanya Awosan.

On transportation, the statement said the government had rehabilitated 3,000 kilometres out of 3,505 kilometres of existing narrow gauge rail lines, while the Lagos-Kano corridor would be completed this year and that of Port Harcourt-Maiduguri corridor would be ready next year.

The government said the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri modern standard gauge rail line was nearing completion with the entire track 100 per cent laid, while the contract for a second similar standard modern gauge line between Lagos and Ibadan had been awarded.

The statement also brandished the government’s achievements in agriculture to include elevating the living standards and income of farmers and rural dwellers through the free distribution of millions of improved seedlings including cotton, sorghum, rice and cassava.

The government, which plans to double cocoa production from its present 250,000 metric tonnes to 500,000 metric tonnes per annum by 2015, is also working assiduously to leverage on Nigeria’s status as the world’s largest producer of cassava to make it the largest exporter of the product globally.
According to the statement, flour millers who initially resisted government’s directive for three per cent local substitution with cassava, have on their own increased the substitution ratio to 20 per cent.

It cited the popular sausage roll, gala, a snack manufactured by UAC Nigeria Plc, which has a substitution ratio of 20 per cent cassava mix, adding that this has resulted in considerable foreign exchange savings and increased income for farmers and agro-allied processors.

“Besides, the government, through the public private partnership (PPP) initiative, has attracted $40 million foreign investment to rice production and milling in Taraba State,” the statement added.

The investment will produce 300,000 metric tonnes of rice, which accounts for 15 per cent of national rice imports and create 15,000 jobs.

“This administration is facilitating the establishment of the largest high quality rice processing mills with an overall installed processing capacity of two million tonnes per annum which will also be the largest installed milling capacity in Africa. It will be private sector driven and established in rice producing states,” it said.

It added that three new rice-processing mills in Ebonyi, Niger and Kebbi States with combined 90,000 metric tonnes of milled rice per annum had been completed.

The presidency listed infrastructure projects to be completed to include 180 kilometres of rural roads and 77 kilometres of feeder roads completed within the last 12 months as well as the establishment of 10 export crop preservation and conditioning centres in Kebbi, Kaduna, Cross River, Nasarawa, Gombe and Enugu States.

The government has also established eight agro-processing centres, completed 10 additional silo complexes with total capacity of 550,000 metric tonnes, 100,000 metric tonne capacity silos located in FCT, Borno, Zamfara and Kebbi States, as well as the 25,000-metric-ton capacity located in Taraba, Osun, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Katsina and Sokoto States.

On the provision of water supply, the statement said the government had completed water supply projects in Northern Ishan, Edo State with a plant capacity of nine million litres per day to serve communities of Uromi, Ubiaja, Ugengu, Ugboha and Igueben, with a total projected population of 500,000 by 2012 at a cost of N2.5 billion.

It also listed the 10 million litres per day Mangu water treatment plant in Plateau State at the cost of over N1 billion.

“With these few highlighted developmental efforts and activities of the government, all the fallacies, deceits, misinformation and disinformation about incompetence and non-performance of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration are unfounded not supported by facts on the ground and are therefore are outright falsehood,” the statement stressed.

Meanwhile, CPC has accused the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin  Okupe, of unwarranted attacks on two of its leaders, Pastor Tunde Bakare and el-Rufai, for their opposing views.

Both Bakare and el-Rufai came under fire last week following their calls for the president’s resignation.

Okupe had described the CPC leaders as political opportunists and power-hungry politicians who were desperate for political office and not sincere in their criticism of the government.

However, CPC in a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said Okupe's disparaging remark was not in consonance with decent, diplomatic comportment.

Fashakin said the party could not understand why Okupe choose to cast aspersions on Bakare’s pastoral calling because of his political activism.

He said the party was dismayed at the desperate attempt by Okupe to justify his appointment and invariably satisfy his employers in unleashing unwarranted attacks on Bakare and el-Rufai.

Source: Thisday Live

Scores Missing, 28 Killed as Floods Ravage Plateau Again

Governor Jonah Jang

By Seriki Adinoyi

No fewer than 28 persons have been killed, while scores of others are still missing in a renewed flood rage in nearly all the villages of the southern zone of Plateau State at the weekend.

More corpses are still been picked in villages around the affected areas.

Also about a hundred communities and over a thousand houses are said to have been affected by the flooding.

Also, hundreds of houses and bridges linking the area with Lafia, capital of Nasarawa State and Taraba state were summarily sweep away by the flood waters.

A residence of Langtang, an affected area, Mr Nandom said "iced blocks were literarily falling on their roofs all through early hours of Sunday," before their homes and farmlands were washed away.

The transition committee chairman of Shendam Local Government, an affected area, Kemi Nshe told Newsmen that two hundred hectares of farm land was also   washed away by the flooding in his local government council alone.

The  chairman, who described the incidence as sad, however, called on the people of the state to be calm and wait for relief that will come their way soonest.

Senator representing Plateau south district in the National Assembly, Hon Victor Lar, who led a team of newsmen to assess the affected place Monday, described the incident as ugly and unfortunate, and assured the affected people that he will come to their aid.

Meanwhile, the forthcoming Eid el Filtri will be nothing short of a peaceful celebration in Jos, as the military Special Task Force (STF), the Police and religious leaders in Plateau State have agreed to shun violence and make the celebration as peaceful as possible.

It will indeed be a sharp contrast to that of last year in which over 30 lives were lost and 200 vehicles burnt, when the Muslims, who had gone to pray at Rukuba praying ground were challenged by the youths of the area, leading to a full blown crisis.

Muslims in the state this time have extended invitation to their Christian counterparts to join them at the Central Mosque to feast during the sallah, as a mark of reconciliation.

SOURCE: THISDAY LIVE