CONFESSION: My Affairs With Pastor Biodun Fatoyibo of COZA .... Ese Walter

Keep an open mind as you read this because this is just one side of the story. A lady named Ese Walter (pictured above) is accusing a pastor with the Common Wealth Of Zion Assembly of manipulating her sexually/spiritually. I’m hoping to get the pastor’s side of the story later…that’s if he’s willing to talk. Read Ese’s story, which she shared on her blog, below…
This article contains stories that most ‘church people’ don’t want to address. So, if you are one of those living in denial and covering up crap going on in the church, this is where you should stop reading. Thanks for stopping by.

Now, for the rest of us, please sit down and switch on your open mind. I want to talk about something I have kept bottled up inside for longer than necessary. I have also decided to use real names, as my defense for any accusation of slander is justification. I tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but. However, feel free to throw your doubt around but know that I am past the shaming game (where victims of abuse are shot down by blame) I am no longer a victim but a survivor who is sharing her experience to help others caught in same web of abuse, guilt and shame. We only get to live once right? So here, it goes…
I recently came to know this event too was abuse (recently here means about 6 months ago). It has literally been eating me up having to drive by another billboard advertising preachers, or hearing his name, or even trying to ask about the validity of the entire salvation story and whether or not there is a God that truly watches over his people. That being said, I’m just going to say it as it is. This is a recap of my affair with Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of COZA (Common Wealth Of Zion Assembly) Abuja chapter. This affair I have come to know as a form of abuse as you would see the different elements of abuse very present.
I met Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo many years ago. I was getting bored of the church I was attending and someone suggested COZA. At the time, I had never heard about it. My friend said, go there, I’m sure you would enjoy the word. But he also gave me a strong warning. He said he would advice that I remain a member only and not join the workforce. I agreed. The first time I attended COZA, I felt it was my church and decided I was going to plant my ass there. About eleven months had gone by and I was still attending the services quietly and faithfully. I really did like the church. One day a worker in the church approached me that the senior pastor wanted to see me.
Me? I thought. Why would the senior pastor want to see me? Not the second man but the head nigga in charge? Ok na! I started to think my sin was oozing so bad the pastor could tell I needed Jesus. (Poor old me.) I saw him at the end of the second service (they had two services at the time) and he said to me that he would like me to work with him. I knew I had no intentions of becoming a pastor so I had to ask in what capacity. He said he’d like for me to join a department, preferably the Pastoral Care Unit (PCU).
A few weeks later, against my friend’s advice not to join the workforce, I was a PCU member. All of a sudden, I had some status in church. I was ‘somebody.’ Dress had to be on point, hair, shoes and what not… As workers, we were literally trying to outshine each other or so it seemed. Anyways, I felt like I was a privileged member of an elite circle. Hehehe. (It did feel good though, for the most part.)
About a year after joining the workforce, I was on my way to London for a Masters degree program that would last two years. As was the rule for workers travelling, I wrote to say I would be away for 2 years and Pastor Biodun Fotoyinbo asked that I keep in touch by sending him my number and email when I had settled in London so he “makes sure I continue in the faith” because according to him, people loose their faith when they leave home and he wanted to make sure I didn’t. So, on that note, as soon as I got a phone line in London, I was sure to call ‘my pastor’ to say I arrived safe, had settled in and also gave my phone number.
We had spoken a few times especially when COZA started to stream online. I always watched and would give feedback on quality of production and share a little bit on the challenges I faced settling in a new land. One evening, Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo called me that he was coming to London and needed me to help him make some hotel bookings as the person who was meant to do it couldn’t get it done (this was rather strange as I had never been involved in his travel itinerary) Later that day, he said it had been sorted and my help would not be required but that he would like me to arrange a cab to pick him up from Heathrow. I was happy to help my pastor from Nigeria and even saw it as a privilege. (I would later come to learn that all of this was a calculated attempt to hatch a plan that I suspect was set in motion when I was asked to join the workforce.)
The cab guy was there to get him the next day and when he arrived, he called to ask why I didn’t accompany the cab to pick him up (again, this was strange but I stopped my mind from overanalyzing the situation as I knew I had no business with his visit to London) About two hours later, he called me and said he would like to see me. When I arrived his hotel, I called from the reception but he asked that I come upstairs. I got to the room and tried to stop my mind from thinking why I was going to his room. As he opened the door and invited me in, I had to speak to my heart to stop its palpitations. My better judgment asked me not to go into the room but the kind of reverence I had for Pasotr Biodun Fatoyinbo bordered on fear and I steeped into that room.
“Care for a drink?” Asked Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo.
“No sir,” I said.
“You don’t have to be shy Ese, even if it’s alcohol, feel free and order what you want.” I wasn’t sure I heard my pastor asking me to order alcohol. I imagined it was a test and ignored the voice inside that was saying, “I’d have henny and coke please.” He proceeded to ask how I had been coping in London and if I was a committed member of any church. He also said he thought there was something special about me and wanted to know that I had not strayed from my faith. I really thought he had heard I was doing something I shouldn’t while in London but tried my best to focus on the conversation instead of my straying thoughts. He kept telling me to relax and feel comfortable with talking to him. After a few minutes, he asked that we go to the roof of the hotel as his room was a pent suite and had a connecting door to the roof.
While there, he sat on a reclining chair and asked me to come sit on his laps. This was a bit awkward for me and I froze for a moment as I asked why. He said he had told me to feel free with him and loosen up. I found myself strolling to sit on his laps. At that moment, I felt like a little girl who was experiencing something her mind couldn’t fathom. He asked me to kiss him and all I could think about was seeing him preach on the pulpit back in COZA Abuja, Nigeria, which was my home church. He again said ‘feel free Ese.’ And asked again, that I kiss him.
A few hours later, let’s just say, we were rolling under the sheets. It felt as though my mind had paused. I am not saying I was jazzed, (although it’s possible I was in some trancelike state and didn’t know it but I just was so afraid that I couldn’t say or think otherwise.) That was the beginning of this affair. A sexual affair that went on for a little over a week, DAILY!
I can hear somebody’s mind thinking, ‘well, you weren’t raped.” And I remember a pastor I opened up to when I couldn’t take all the mind games asking if I seduced him. No, I didn’t seduce him and no, I wasn’t raped but I felt trapped in this affair. Come to think of it, how could I have seduced him when I wanted nothing from him? I mean, I was too busy minding my business in London trying to get through with my masters program and I was overly comfortable. And even if I wanted to seduce anyone, it wouldn’t be a married man, not to mention a married pastor.
What I couldn’t reconcile the whole time, was how the same person who preached against the very things we were doing (i.e drinking in pubs, fornicating, committing adultery) was the same person endorsing and encouraging it.
At some point, I got really confused about what Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo and I were doing that I had to ask how he handles it. I will never forget what he said to me. He said and I quote, “I will teach you a level of grace that you don’t understand.” My mind couldn’t fathom that somehow grace was enough covering for not just fornication on my path, adultery on his path and the many lies that was bound to follow what we were doing that was clearly abominable. I somehow dealt with the thoughts and fears that followed on my path. He had said to me that he wanted me to be his girlfriend and he would take me around the world and spoil me with money and things. Somehow, money had never been one of the things that motivated me (I am from a home where all my needs have been adequately met) In all my ‘badness’ through finding myself, I never did things I did for money but more of rebellion against rules and authority.
Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo also said to me that he had a dream where I exposed what was happening to the media. Said it was all over the place and that people were calling me the girl that caused chaos in COZA. He also said I should remember the bible said to “touch not God’s anointed.” I immediately started to rebuke the devil and said I could never do anything like that. I was almost swearing with my entire family as I thought really I had touched God’s anointed by submitting my body to be used. Little did I know at the time that all of these were ways to mess with my mind and even manipulate my thoughts.
Fast-forward a few months later, I was back in Nigeria and my church had become uncomfortable. Anytime I sat in church and listened to Pastor Biodun preach, I felt shame. I finally sent him a message saying I wasn’t comfortable anymore. I was confused and needed to talk about what had happened. He said I should meet him to talk and I did. It was a really weird meeting for me especially when he tried to kiss me at our meeting. I finally realized at this point that he couldn’t help me. I thought God was angry with me and I couldn’t pray so I decided to withdraw completely from COZA. This was the beginning of my mental torture. I couldn’t talk to my family because already, I was the only one attending a different church and somehow my mom never liked the idea. As the days went by I tried to use drinking and smoking to cover up the deep shame and guilt I was battling with. But as soon as the high was over, the thoughts came back and I felt stuck like I couldn’t move forward.
I felt I had to talk to someone and I decided to speak to my then good friend, Ernest Akale but unfortunately for me, Mr. Ernest did not have the capacity to hold what I said to him. He broke down completely the days that followed and I found myself having to pause how I was feeling and what I was struggling with to help my friend be strong. After a while, he withdrew from not just me but his then fiancé and friends. I had to then tell the fiancé what had caused it (she suspected we were having an affair so I had to clear the air) To my surprise she was a lot stronger than her man and told me to suck it up (I’m paraphrasing). She said if she were me, she wouldn’t leave the church but stay to torment Pastor Biodun and collect money from him. Ok! That sounded extreme for me, as my intention was not to blackmail but to heal my broken self. Anyways, I finally found the courage to speak to my then unit head who said he was going to talk to Pastor Biodun but didn’t have the liver to do so. Before long, the story was spreading and naturally getting twisted.
I went to a new church and it seemed like the COZA bug had chased me there. The pastor would always refer to COZA as some example and each time that was done, it seemed like a spear was thrust through my chest. One day, I broke down in the service and started crying uncontrollably, as I couldn’t take another mention of COZA and the pictures it painted in my head.
Very long, boring story cut short, for the last 5 months I gave the whole church thing a big space and break. I wasn’t sure I believed in God. I wasn’t sure I understood what it meant when people said ‘Jesus saves” and I definitely wasn’t sure how to deal with the mental torture that was affecting not just me but my relationships with family and friends. I was very unstable, fearful and worst of all guilty. I got a chance to talk to Pastor Folarin of COZA Lagos Chapter, popularly called Pastor flo about everything. I made an effort to reach out to him because I realized the right thing to do was talk to an elder in the church and seek some sort of remedy to a wrong I believed had been done me.
Instead, Pastor Flo said, Pastor Biodun had confessed to him and they had ‘talked’ about it and somehow that was supposed to be Ok. He asked what it was I wanted coming to talk to him about it when I did, I told him I realized what happened between Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo and I was wrong and not just that I felt abused and manipulated. I also said I thought it was wrong for Pastor Biodun to go on preaching without taking time to deal with his personal character flaws. I said I thought he was danger to all the young women that attended the church. Come to think of it, maybe he meant if I wanted something monetary or material (as someone had suggested when I opened up to her) but the truth is, I never wanted his money (or is it the church member’s money.) All I wanted was to meet with him and have him accept that he misled me, betrayed his wife and the church he pastors. I wasn’t the only lady in COZA who had been a victim of his sexcapades and manipulative patterns but I was the one who could come back after months of struggle with not just my faith but also my affair with him. And I wanted to set things right. I wanted to talk to Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo maybe for closure and I felt like I needed an apology because he played the“touch not my anointed” card to keep me locked in guilt, shame and fear when all along it was a calculated plan and I dare say, it started when he asked me to join the workforce.
Not to mention the audacity to talk about teaching me a level of grace I didn’t understand. I had no intention of understanding a grace that would permit me to go on doing things that were wrong and what’s worse having to carry the burden for almost a year.
Different surprising advises came up in the weeks that followed the rumour making rounds. I was told to hush because Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo had been a cultist in the past and could send people to shut me up. All my so-called friends in COZA withdrew from me and treated me like I had the plague. What was worse was Pastor Flo finally saw my then pastor to ‘talk’ about what had happened with Pastor Biodun and lied that it happened once and was a mistake. My question then became, ‘do these people even care how broken I had become?’ ’do they care about the emotional and spiritual welfare of the people they were pastoring?’ The sad answer was NO. Most of us old members of COZA kept leaving but they couldn’t care less. What was important was to keep growing the church and having more and more cars with stickers that read “More than enough.”  Back then, I always felt horrible when I saw another car drive past me with the sticker. I was breaking, I was struggling but no one could help. All they could do was ask me to hide so Pastor Biodun’s goons don’t hurt me. And then the interesting one was if I had evidence to prove my claim. Let me just say here that, it isn’t a claim, it’s a confession to free me from all of the guilt and shame I have had to live with for no reason at all. (That being said, I have evidence to prove all I have said here, the latest being a 58 minutes recording of my meeting with Pastor Flo a few months back)
This is my confession and I cannot begin to describe how much weight has been lifted off of my shoulders just pouring the truth out about what went down. So, to all my ex COZA friends gossiping about me, get your facts right. To those who said they’d help me deal with the pain but didn’t, I forgive you, I have learnt how to deal with it and I am doing just fine. To those who fear for my safety saying Pastor Biodun would send people to shut me up, I really have gone past fearing for my life. To live is gain and to die is Christ (or how does Paul say it again?) And to the only person who ever supported me through it all, thank you, I am learning to be brave. Please don’t think I am perfect in all of this but in line with living my authentic life and putting all forms of abuse behind me, this is where I press the stop button and stop the bleeding. This is where I break the silence and call the church to stand up for what it has been commissioned to do. If you will not enter the Kingdom, please don’t stop others who are trying to enter.
I still remember when I used to nurse the idea of digging up emails, text messages, hotel billings (as once I used my card to pay for his room when his master card failed to work) to prove there was an affair. It was pathetic. Why for the love of heaven was I trying to dig up evidence? I am satisfied setting the record straight. I am ready for any shaming or bashing that would follow because the truth is, because of what I have suffered and come through, I am really not moved by what people say or think about me anymore. I am a stronger woman and a damn abuse survivor seeking to connect with other victims of abuse to show them how to deal with the shame, hurt and guilt and how to come out stronger. Turning their mess into their message.
I am Ese Walter and I have gone through all forms of abuse from family, boyfriends, my ex pastor and some strangers not to break me, but so I stand and so I qualify to help victims. My scars have qualified me and when all is said and done, I will still be standing.

72 year old woman raped to death in Abia State

A 72-year-old Nigerian woman has been raped to death by a 32 year old man who bears the nickname Ochu.
The incident happened on Sunday in Ibom Village in Arochukwu, Abia state, eastern Nigeria.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the deceased went to fetch fodder for her goats around 5 p.m. in a nearby bush when she was trailed by Ochu to where he raped her to death.
The source said the man, a notorious Indian hemp smoker, was known for trailing and raping women in the area.
It said that before Ochu left the deceased to run away, he pulled her corpse to a nearby footpath for people to see it.
The source said the assailant was arrested on Monday in Ohafia when he was identified by a woman who was privy to the information about the crime.
The woman, who was in a bus en route to a nearby village, alerted military men at a check point on the road.
The source said the military men arrested him and later handed him over to the police in that area before he was moved to Arochukwu.

NATIONAL DISGRACE: Liberia students all fail university admission exam

 

 Liberia education system is said to be in a "mess"

Liberia's education minister says she finds it hard to believe that not a single candidate passed this year's university admission exam.

Nearly 25,000 school-leavers failed the test for admission to the University of Liberia, one of two state-run universities.
The students lacked enthusiasm and did not have a basic grasp of English, a university official told the BBC.
Liberia is recovering from a brutal civil war that ended a decade ago.
'Dreams shattered' President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel peace laureate, recently acknowledged that the education system was still in a "in a mess", and much needed to be done improve it.

"In English, the mechanics of the language, they didn't know anything about it”

Momodu Getaweh University spokesman

Many schools lack basic education material and teachers are poorly qualified, reports the BBC's Jonathan Paye-Layleh reports from the capital, Monrovia.

However, this is the first time that every single student who wrote the exam for a fee of $25 (£16) has failed, our reporter says.
It means that the overcrowded university will not have any new first-year students when it reopens next month for the academic year, he adds.
Students told him the result was unbelievable and their dreams had been shattered, our reporter says.
Education Minister Etmonia David-Tarpeh told the BBC Focus on Africa programme that she intended to meet university officials to discuss the failure rate.
"I know there are a lot of weaknesses in the schools but for a whole group of people to take exams and every single one of them to fail, I have my doubts about that," Ms David-Tarpeh said. "It's like mass murder."
Ms David-Tarpeh said she knew some of the students and the schools they attended.
"These are not just schools that will give people grades. I'd really like to see the results of the students," she added.
University spokesman Momodu Getaweh told BBC Focus on Africa that the university stood by its decision, and it would not be swayed by "emotion".
"In English, the mechanics of the language, they didn't know anything about it. So the government has to do something," he said.
"The war has ended 10 years ago now. We have to put that behind us and become realistic."

BBC NEWS

Polyandry: Two Kenyan men marry one woman

Sylvester Mwendwa said he would pay the bride price

Two Kenyan men have signed an agreement to "marry" the same woman.

The woman had been having affairs with both men for more than four years and apparently refused to choose between them.
The agreement sets out a rota for Sylvester Mwendwa and Elijah Kimani to stay in her house and states they will both help raise any children she bears.
Mr Mwendwa told the BBC he loved the woman and said the contract would "set boundaries" and "keep the peace".

"She is like the central referee. She can say whether she wants me or my colleague”... Sylvester Mwendwa Co-husband

Lawyers said the "marriage" would only be recognised if they could prove polyandry - a woman having more than one husband - was part of their custom.

The BBC's David Okwembah in the capital, Nairobi, says polyandry is not practised by any community in Kenya.
People have reacted with shock to the "marriage", arguing that it is not acceptable in terms of their culture, religion or the law, he says.
Defending the "marriage", Mr Mwendwa told the BBC Focus on Africa programme that while he may acting in breach of the law, he had decided to enter into a contract with Mr Kimani to end their rivalry.
"It could have been very dangerous if the other man would have come to her house and caught me... So our agreement is good as it sets boundaries and helps us keep peace."
'No jealousy' Community policing officer Adhalah Abdulrahman persuaded the two men to marry the woman after he saw them fighting over her in Mombasa county, the local Daily Nation newspaper reports.
"We have agreed that from today we will not threaten or have jealous feelings because of our wife, who says she's not ready to let go of any of us," the agreement says, Kenya's NTV station reports.
"Each one will respect the day set aside for him. We agree to love each other and live peacefully. No-one has forced us to make this agreement," it adds.
Mr Mwendwa said her parents had given their blessing, while he is planning to pay the bride price.
The woman, a widow with two children, did not want to be named.
Mr Mwendwa told the BBC he did not marry the woman simply to satisfy his sexual desires but because he loved her and, most of all, her children.
"I have never been called a dad and her two children call me daddy," he said.
He said he hoped to have his own children with the woman, but she would have to decide.
"She is like the central referee. She can say whether she wants me or my colleague," he added.
Kenyan family lawyer Judy Thongori told the Daily Nation that the law does not explicitly forbid polyandry.
"The laws we have do not talk about it but for such a union to be recognised in Kenya, it has to be either under the statutory law or as customary marriage. The question we should ask now is whether these people come from communities that have been practising polyandry," she is quoted as saying.

BBC NEWS

Baby Born After 19 Years as an Embryo

Kelly Burke and Liam James. Photo courtesy of the Reproductive Science Center.Kelly Burke of Virginia is grateful to be a new mom at 45. She gave birth to son Liam James nine months ago, but it’s not her age, these days, that’s the amazing part. What’s noteworthy here is that her baby was the result of a donated embryo—the second oldest cryopreserved human embryo in history, her doctors believe.


“He’s my little miracle,” Burke, a single mom and research scientist with NASA, told Yahoo! Shine.

Even doctors at the Reproductive Science Center of the San Francisco Bay Area, which oversaw the transfer of the donated embryos, were a bit amazed at the viability of the 19-year-old embryos.


“We trust the technology of embryo freezing, but we still wondered, after 19 years, how they would do,” Deborah Wachs, the reproductive endocrinologist who did Burke’s procedure, told Yahoo! Shine. “It was very exciting for us.” She added that women reading about Burke’s success should understand that the viability of frozen embryos all depends on the age of the eggs; if they are from a young woman (under 35), there can be up to a 65 percent pregnancy success rate.

Burke didn't start trying to get pregnant until the age of 39, first with a partner and then, after a break, on her own, with donated sperm and artificial insemination procedures. She was passionate about becoming a mom, and said she decided, “I couldn’t wait around anymore for someone to try with.”

That’s when she decided to forge ahead with trying to adopt, and retained an adoption lawyer. Not long into the process, a California colleague contacted the lawyer about an Oregon couple who had decided to donate some unused embryos. They had frozen four of them in 1994 after having leftovers following an IVF procedure, which bore them twins. The embryos were particularly unique, not only because they’d been preserved for so long, but because the eggs had been donated by a younger woman to the Oregon woman, who had been over 40 at the time.

Burke’s attorney encouraged her to consider the rare opportunity, telling her, “This just doesn’t happen that often.”

Despite the fact that there are an estimated 500,000 frozen embryos in the U.S., donated embryos are indeed rare, the result of couples having leftover embryos after doing IVF procedures. Those couples must then decide to keep the extra embryos for later use, discard them, keep them frozen indefinitely to avoid making a decision, donate them to science, or donate them to other people, although that final option is still a rarity.

“What happens a lot, I think, with people who have had successful pregnancies after IVF, is that those embryos that are now frozen take on a little more significance,” Wachs noted. “I just think it becomes very heavy for them.”

Burke jumped at the chance.

Because embryos cannot be sold (although the ethics of that were recently challenged in the New England Journal of Medicine), those that are donated must be “adopted,” with the receivers going through the same adoption procedure they would face if adopting a baby. So Burke quickly put together her adoption portfolio for the Oregon couple, and then endured a five-month wait as they pondered who to ultimately get the embryos.

“A lot of people wanted those embryos, so they had a pretty arduous process to go through,” Burke said, although she admitted the wait, plus endless rounds of personal questions, became frustrating. “I wanted to know what was going to happen, so that if they didn’t pick me I could move on.”

When they finally chose her, the doctors decided it would be best to do the transfer into Burke at the Reproductive Science Center, where the embryos were stored, to avoid possibly damaging them in transport. So Burke flew out from her home in Virginia Beach to have the procedure, after months of doing everything she could do to prepare her body for pregnancy: undergoing acupuncture, downing holistic supplements and taking hormones to thicken her uterine-wall lining.

Doctors were honest with Burke about her chances of the embryo implanting—60 to 65 percent, as the egg donor was young—as well as about how long the embryo had been frozen.

“When I first found out how old they were I was like, what? But I researched it,” Burke said, adding she couldn’t find any evidence that it would lower the embryo’s viability. She added that she most likely dealt with the “science experiment” aspect of her pregnancy well because of her background, although certain ironies—like the fact that the original woman donated her eggs in order to fund her own IVF treatment—were not lost on her. “It’s just crazy. Crazy,” she said.

Because the embryos had been frozen at two days old, as was the norm 19 years ago, doctors thawed them and then cultured them to day 5, which is the standard today. “Amazingly, all four made it to the day-five stage,” Wachs said. She transferred two into Burke, one of them attached, and Liam James was born in November. All told, the new mom estimates the entire procedure cost her less than $20,000, with much of the costs being attorney fees.

Burke said she still hasn’t decided what to do about the two remaining embryos, which are hers for five years and then revert back to the Oregon couple. 

That couple and their 18-year-old twins, as it turns out, will be a part of baby Liam’s life, because both they and Burke agreed that the adoption of the embryos would be an open one. They have yet to meet, but Burke, for now, keeps her son’s biological parents and siblings updated on his growth, and the families have exchanged photos.

Burke, for her part, said that, though it’s uncomfortable, she’s decided to speak out about her experience in order to encourage others. “I hope that this gives hope to others out there,” she said, “because I know what it’s like to desperately want to have a baby and not be able to.”

N150m loot: Army panel indicts Winners Chapel

Says Church gets N11m in two instalments
Popular pentecostal church with headquarters in Ota, Living Faith Church has been named as one of the beneficiaries of the N150 million over which Colonel Robert  Ahangba (N/9827) was convicted on Tuesday by an Army Court Martial for allegedly defrauding the government of Bayelsa State.
The Army officer was alleged to have used the name of the late National Security Adviser, General Andrew Owoye Azazi to swing the deal during the administration of former governor of Bayelsa, Timipre Sylva.
Speaking while delivering judgement on a four count charge prefered against the Colonel, President of the court martial, Brig.Gen. Edward Nze said that the officer donated N11 million to the church in two instalments of N9 million and N2 million.
Other beneficiaries of the Colonel’s largesse were two messengers in the Bayelsa State Government House who were allegedly given N500,000 each, an Army officer who he gave N5 million for welfare and an unknown lady who met him in a bank where he allegedly directed that she should be given N8 million.
Giving more insight on how the money was disbursed, General Edward Nze said
“The sum of N25,000,000 was traced to Account number: 0000775163 in Union Bank. The sum of N30,790,000 was traced to Account Number: 0000730707 in Union Bank and N29,500,000 traced to Account number 0001800406 also in Union Bank. In First Bank, the sum of N48,055,654 was traced to Account Number 2011252278 and in First Bank Registrars the sum of N13.5 million was also traced”.

Source: The Sun

Mugabe says of Obama’s gay rights push, ‘We ask, was he born out of homosexuality?’

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe speaks at an election rally in Chitungwiza. (REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo)

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe railed against President Obama during a recent campaign rally, arguing that the U.S. president wanted to force Africa to “embrace homosexuality,” according to the Herald, a Zimbabwean newspaper that the Economist describes as “state controlled” and “slavishly pro-Mugabe.”
The African leader often criticizes homosexuality or other perceived enemies to gin up populist support, but the turn against Obama included a new comment.

“Then we have this American president, Obama, born of an African father, who is saying we will not give you aid if you don’t embrace homosexuality,” Mugabe said, according to the Herald. “We ask, was he born out of homosexuality? We need continuity in our race, and that comes from the woman, and no to homosexuality. John and John, no; Maria and Maria, no.” He then broke briefly into Shona, a native Zimbabwean language, before concluding, it’s not clear about whom, “If they don’t, we will cut their heads off.”
Mugabe also reiterated his oft-repeated comparison between homosexuals and pigs. “They are worse than dogs and pigs, yes worse than dogs and pigs,” he said. “I keep pigs and the male pig knows the female one.” Parts of the speech, including some of the swipe at Obama, were independently reported in the Zimbabwean outlet NewsDay.
Mugabe is facing reelection on July 31. It’s the country’s first presidential vote since a violence-ridden 2008 election that was met with such international outcry that Mugabe was forced to accept a power-sharing arrangement with one of his rivals, though he has appeared to largely maintain power. Mugabe has run Zimbabwe since 1980 and is now 89 years old but shows no signs of ceding power willingly.
Attitudes toward homosexuality are negative in much of sub-Saharan Africa, where homophobia is often used by populist leaders looking for an easy enemy or a way to divert from tougher issues. The Obama administration’s plan to support gay rights in Africa has at times been met with a backlash and a belief among some that the United States wishes to impose homosexuality on Africans.
Just for good measure, Mugabe also criticized Britain, which he called, in an almost word-for-word reproduction of long-held North Korean propaganda tropes, “a very cold, uninhabitable country with small houses.”
The Washington Post

The Surprising Truth About C-Sections

 
Turns out, it's not so safe to streamline the delivery process 

Does it seem like everyone and their moms has had a c-section-or knows someone who has? It's not all in your head: Cesarean delivery rates increased by nearly 60 percent between 1996 and 2009. But a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report finds that the rate of cesarean deliveries in the U.S. has leveled off for the first time in 12 years.

 Experts credit the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a nonprofit women's health care advocacy group, with curbing the upward trend. In 2009, the group launched a public health campaign to discourage physicians and expecting mothers from undergoing unnecessary c-sections.


Why C-Sections Can Be Dangerous
 Cesarean deliveries are riskier than vaginal births because cutting into your abdomen exposes you to bacteria, which increases your odds of getting an infection, says George Macrones, MD, a representative for the ACOG. A c-section delivery can also heighten your chances of excessive bleeding, blood clots, and, in rare cases, death, he says.

 What's more, it takes an intense physical toll on your body. While recovering from vaginal birth takes just one to two weeks, post-c-section recovery can last up to six weeks. And after you recover, your c-section could complicate future pregnancies; women who have cesarean deliveries face an increased risk of placenta implantation problems, uterine rupture, bladder and bowel injuries, a second cesarean delivery, and the need for a hysterectomy, according to previous research cited in the ACOG guidelines.

Despite these risks, about 31 percent of U.S. births between 2009 and 2012 were cesarean deliveries. And while there's no firm data on what portion of these procedures were medically necessary, experts at ACOG estimate that about 8 percent of the total number of c-sections were avoidable.


Why They Became So Popular
It's known that c-sections come with the complications listed above… so what accounted for the rise between 1996 and 2009? One reason is that c-sections lead to more c-sections. If a woman has already had a baby via cesarean, giving birth to a second child vaginally becomes riskier. Doctors are wary of performing risky procedures, both out of fear of harming the mother, and also out of fear of lawsuits. A 2010 poll published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology showed that 29 percent of obstetrician college members said they were performing more caesareans to avoid being sued.

Another reason is convenience-for both the mother and the doctor. Women may prefer to have c-sections scheduled around when family members might be in town to help them take care of their children, for instance. And older studies have found that c-sections are more common on Fridays and between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. The scary implication: Some doctors might recommend inducing labor so that they don't have to spend their nights and weekends waiting for the baby to come.

When a C-Section is Your Best Bet
 All that being said, sometimes c-sections are necessary to ensure the safety of the mother and child. Like most medical decisions, it's ultimately up to you and your doctor to determine the best way to deliver your baby. But according to the ACOG, you might be a prime candidate for a c-section if:

-You're carrying multiples and they're very small or poorly positioned

-Your contractions aren't strong enough to move the baby on their own

-The umbilical cord is pinched or compressed

-The baby has an abnormal heart rate

-There's a problem with the placenta

-The baby is particularly large or breech

-You're infected with an STI that could infect your baby if it were to go through the birth canal

-You have diabetes, which could lead to a larger baby

 -You have high blood pressure, which can lead to preeclamsia, a dangerous condition that can damage your organs and can only be cured by childbirth (which is why an early-term cesarean delivery may be necessary) 

The Bottom Line
 If you can have a vaginal birth safely, you should, says Macrones. When you give birth the natural way, you face a lower rate of infection and will experience a faster recovery-so you can hit the ground running as a new mom. So before you sign off on a c-section, you should ask your doctor if you can give birth vaginally. Be wary of doctors who encourage c-sections right off the bat-especially if you're young and relatively healthy.

Tito Vilanova set to step down as Barcelona coach after suffering relapse

Vilanova

Barcelona have called a press conference this evening, where they are expected to announce that Tito Vilanova will resign as coach of the Catalan side, because he has reportedly suffered a cancer relapse.
The statement read: “This Friday at 20:30, there will be a press conference featuring president Sandro Rosell and director of football Andoni Zubizarreta in the press room at the Ciudad Deportiva.”

ESPN FC columnist Graham Hunter told Sky Sports News: “Off the record, the directors are briefing that Tito Vilanova has come to them following the regular check-ups that you would expect for somebody who has had such intense radiotherapy and chemotherapy to fight off a cancerous tumour in his saliva gland.
“It’s been affecting him now for 18 months, maybe a little bit more, and the check-ups have shown that there is a renewed problem.”
The 44-year-old took over Barca following Pep Guardiola’s resignation at the end of the 2011/2012 season and led the club to the League title this year. He was initially diagnosed with the problem in December last year, but returned to Spain in March, after treatment in New York. His assistant, Rubi, is expected to take over the team.

THE SENATORS WHO VOTED FOR UNDERAGE MARRIAGE (SEE THEIR LIST HERE)

We now know how senators voted on the constitution amendment bill which caused an uproar in the senate on Tuesday. The section up for amendment had to do with persons qualified to renounce Nigerian citizenship. The constitution in Section 29 says anyone of age can do so. Section 29(4) (b) says that ” any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age.” It means that even a child if married can be seen to be of full age and as such can renounce citizenship. The committee proposed that that provision be deleted. When it was put to vote, 2/3 of members present voted for it which meant it was deleted. But, not so fast. Enter Senator Ahmed Yerima of Zamfara, the controversial former governor of Zamfara who tried to stoke religious sentiments. He said it was against Islamic law. Yerima got married to a teenager a few years ago, and going by the provision, the girl who is still not 18 cannot be said to be of age. Sen. Yerima needs to watch this video: Watch: Genius: Meet The Most Politically Aware And Lucid 12 Year Old In The World He kicked and began to mobilise his fellow Muslims in the Senate and it was threatening to cause confusion. Despite the senate president, David Mark insisting that it could no longer be revisited as it had been voted upon, Yerima continued his objection. Due to the sensitive nature, Mark had to call for another vote. At this point the Senators who were in favour of this clause could no longer muster 2/3 of the votes that will retain Section 29, Clause 4 (b). Senators still voted 60 votes to 35 votes for the clause to be deleted, but it did not satisfy the 2/3 requirement and so, according to the senate version, “any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age.” Thanks to Sen. Babafemi Ojudu (Ekiti Central, ACN), we have the full list of the senators who voted NO) The senators who voted NO, that is those who did not want the clause deleted, include the following:
1. Sen. Abdulmumin M. Hassan (Jigawa South West, PDP)
2. Sen. Abdullahi Danladi (Jigawa North West, PDP)
3. Sen. Adamu Abdullahi (Nasarawa West, PDP)
4. Sen. Ahmed Barata (Adamawa South, PDP)
5. Sen. Akinyelure Ayo (Ondo Central, Labour Party)
6. Sen. Alkali Saidu A. (Gombe North, PDP)
7. Sen. Bagudu Abubakar A. (Kebbi Central, PDP)
8. Sen. Dahiru Umaru (Sokoto South, PDP)
9. Sen. Galaudu Isa (Kebbi North, PDP)
10. Sen. Garba Gamawa (Bauchi North, PDP)
11. Sen. Danjuma Goje Mohammed (Gombe Central, PDP)
12. Sen. Gobir Ibrahim (Sokoto East, PDP)
13. Sen. Gumba Adamu Ibrahim (Bauchi South, PDP)
14. Sen. Hadi Sirika (Katsina North, CPC)
15. Sen. Ibrahim Bukar Abba (Yobe East, ANPP)
16. Sen. Jajere Alkali (Yobe South, ANPP)
17. Sen. Jibrilla Mohammed (Adamawa North, PDP)
18. Sen. Kabiru Gaya (Kano South, ANPP)
19. Sen. Lafiagi Mohammed (Kwara North, PDP)
20. Sen. Lawan Ahmad (Yobe North, ANPP)
21. Sen. Maccido Mohammed (Sokoto North, PDP)
22. Sen. Musa Ibrahim (Niger North, CPC)
23. Sen. Ndume Mohammed Ali (Borno South, PDP)
24. Sen. Sadiq A. Yaradua (Katsina Central, CPC)
25. Sen. Saleh Mohammed (Kaduna Central, CPC)
26. Sen. Tukur Bello (Adamawa Central, PDP)
27. Sen. Ugbesia Odion (Edo Central, PDP)
28. Sen. Umar Abubakar (Taraba Central, PDP)
29. Sen. Usman Abdulaziz (Jigawa North East, PDP)
30. Sen. Ya’au Sahabi (Zamfara North, PDP)
31. Sen. Zannah Ahmed (Borno Central, PDP)
32. Sen. Ahmad Rufai Sani (Zamfara West, ANPP)
33. Sen. Ahmad Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central, PDP)
34. Sen. Bello Hayatu Gwano (Kano North, PDP)
35. Sen. Ibrahim Abu (Katsina South, CPC)
Some senators did not register to vote, while some abstained.
After the second voting, Yerima tried to get up to thank the Senate Present and his colleagues in an attempt to claim victory, he was shouted down and booed.

Obama earned $609,000 in 2012, pays $112,000 in taxes

President Barack Obama made less in 2012 than in any other year since taking office, with about 40 percent of the nearly $609,000 in income that he and first lady Michelle Obama reported coming from book sales.
Obama, who renewed his call for higher taxes on the wealthy in the budget he released Wednesday, paid $112,214 in taxes last year, putting his effective federal tax rate at 18.4 percent. The Obamas donated almost one-quarter of their income to charity, according to tax returns released by the White House.
Most of the $608,611 that the Obamas reported in adjusted gross income came from the president's salary, as he reported $394,840 in wages. An additional $258,772 came from royalties from his books, including his 1995 memoir "Dreams From My Father," his 2006 political book, "The Audacity of Hope," and a 2010 children's book, "Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters."
Income from Obama's books has fallen off since 2009, when his books sales surged after his inauguration. The Obamas made $5.5 million that year — his first year in office — but the figure dropped precipitously the next year to $1.73 million. In 2011, the Obamas reported about $790,000 in income.
The president and Mrs. Obama signed their tax returns on Monday — one week before the April 15 deadline for Americans to file their 2012 returns.
Itemized deductions of $258,385 brought the Obama's taxable income down to $335,026. The first family deducted $45,056 in interest on the mortgage for their home in Chicago, plus $36,554 in state and local taxes and $26,751 in real estate taxes.
Through withholding and estimated tax payments during the year, the Obamas paid $129,029 to the Internal Revenue Service — an overpayment of $16,815. The Obamas directed that, rather than receive a refund, the overpayment will be applied to their taxes for next year.
The Obamas also claimed $39,875 in income from outside the United States. A White House official said all of that income came from book royalties, but did not disclose details about which countries the income came from. The official was not authorized to comment publicly on Obama's taxes and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The president and first lady reported donating $150,034 — or 24.6 percent of their income — to 33 charities. That's a slight dip from the previous year, when the Obamas donated more than $172,000. The largest contribution last year was a $103,871 donation to Fisher House Foundation, which provides humanitarian services to military members, veterans and their families. Other charitable groups that received donations from the president for $5,000 or less include the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the United Negro College Fund.
The president and the first lady also paid $29,450 in income taxes to Illinois, according to their state tax returns.
The White House also released tax returns for Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, who teaches at Northern Virginia Community College.
The Bidens paid $87,851 in federal income taxes on $385,072 in adjusted gross income, for an effective federal tax rate of 22.8 percent. The vice president and his wife paid state income taxes in two states — $13,531 in Delaware and $3,593 in Virginia. The Bidens overpaid a bit last year in their withholdings, so they'll get a refund of $4,608 from the IRS.
They reported donating $7,190 to charity. The largest sum of $2,400 went to the Catholic Diocese in Wilmington, Del.
The president this week revived his push for wealthier Americans to pay higher taxes, arguing that higher earners like himself should bear a larger share of the burden for deficit reduction. The $3.8 trillion budget blueprint he unveiled Wednesday proposed that "wealthy millionaires pay no less than 30 percent of income, after charitable contribution, in taxes," to ensure that poorer Americans don't get stuck paying higher rates than the wealthy. Obama also proposed a change in the way inflation is calculated that, if proposed, would have the effect of pushing more Americans into higher tax brackets.
"The president believes we must reform our tax system, which is why he has proposed policies like the Buffett Rule that would ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share while protecting families making under $250,000 from seeing their taxes go up," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement accompanying the release of Obama's tax returns.
During the negotiations with Congress over New Years, Obama won a tax increase on incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples, although he had wanted those thresholds to be lower. The deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff preserved the lower Bush-era tax rates for the middle class.

Another Disaster: Boat mishap in Nigeria, 164 feared dead

The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, has confirmed that it has recovered nine bodies from a boat that capsized at 40 nautical miles off the coast of Calabar, Cross River State, South-south Nigeria.
The boat reportedly left on Friday from the remote town of Oron in Akwa- Ibom state and was heading across the Gulf of Guinea to Gabon, in Central Africa.

A text message to Dailypost on Tuesday night by NEMA Head of Public Relations, Yushau Shuaib, said two survivors have been taken to the University Teaching Hospital in Calabar.
The spokesman added that rescue operations are ongoing.

KANO BOMB BLAST: 108 PASSENGERS ROASTED TO DEATH

Scene of Kano bomb blast

KANO MOTOR PARK BOMB BLAST UPDATE:

• Death Toll Rises to 108 Passengers.

• 59 passengers that bought full ticket all died plus the other 49 passengers that bought small seat (attachment), were roasted alive.
  

HOW KESHI, NFF, USED AND ABANDONED ME...... Emmanuel Emenike

Super Eagles striker Emmanuel Emenike, has expressed his unhappiness, over the way Stephen Keshi has treated him, after he picked up a hamstring injury at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Spartak Moscow player, who ended the competition as the top scorer, says he has not heard from the coach, who eventually left him out of the squad to Kenya in a World Cup qualifier ever since.
“I must be honest with you, I have not been treated well by the coach and the NFF because they ignored me so soon, so fast,” he said in an interview with MTNFootball.
“Nobody from NFF and the coach have called to ask me about my injury. I am bitter about this. It is unfair and I can tell you that is why some players don’t come to give their best for the national team.
“When a player gets injured on national duty, I think the country’s football authority and coach ought to keep in touch to let him know he is loved and cared for.
“I am not a use-and-dump player. I will not act as one at all because my club career is very much important to me than anything.”

Emenike cited the case of Victor Anichebe and said it would be hard for any player to give their best in a Nigerian jersey.
“Look at a player like (Victor) Anichebe (Everton striker was injured while on national team duty last year), no one cared about him and you think he will come to national team to give his best,” he pointed out.
“I am not worried about that but I just need to tell them it’s unfair. It is not everything that is money, but a call just to show you care could change someone’s problem at a particular time.”
He however went on to praise his Russian club, who stood by him all the way and are helping him get back to the pitch.
“I must give kudos to my club for taking good care of me even though I didn’t get the injury while playing for them,” he said.
“I can’t wait to return to my best form. I feel like playing and banging in the goals for my club right now.
“I am happy with my rehabilitation and I will start joggling soon and I believe I will respond well because I have missed the game so much.”

HOUSE WIFE HIRES ASSASSINS TO KILL HUSBAND

A housewife, who allegedly masterminded the gruesome murder of her husband in Port Harcourt, is now telling the Rivers State Police Command all she knows about the crime.
The woman, whose identity could not be ascertained as at press time, was said to have plotted the assassination of her husband ( name withheld) on Wednesday night, at their house in Mgbeosimiri, in Agip area of Rumuolumeni.
The deceased, who was a prominent businessman and contractor with Nigerian Agip Oil Company, was killed at his country home, Mgbeoshimiri, Rumuolumeni, in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the State. Saturday Sun gathered that the woman hid the alleged killers in their house before her husband returned from work, having told them that he was “a strong man” whose powers needed to be neutralised before they carried out the operation. According to a source, when the deceased returned home from work at about 11:30pm, the wife asked him what he wanted to take for dinner and her husband requested for oatmeal.
She was said to have drugged the meal, which weakened the man and paved the way for the assassins to murder him without resistance.
Shortly after the incident, one of the perpetrators was arrested and handed over to the police by members of a vigilance group, who noticed bloodstains on his clothes.
The woman, who later confessed to the crime, was said to have fainted at a police station, when she sighted one of the suspects in the murder. She was said to have confessed to conspiracy to kill her husband. According to her confession to the police, she decided to eliminate her husband when she discovered that he was making plans to marry a woman who was already pregnant for him.
When the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Benjamin Ugwuegbulam, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), was contacted, he told the reporter to give him some time to confirm from the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area. Subsequent efforts made by our reporter to reach him on phone proved abortive. DAILY SUN

Microwaving:The worst way to cook

It is a well known fact that raw food is more nutritious than cooked because cooking food destroys nutrients, whether it’s on a stove, or in the microwave oven. But microwaving food on high power can be more destructive than cooking on the stove.
Microwaving is the unhealthiest way to cook food. Dozens of researchers agree that the microwave oven absolutely decimates the nutritional value of food, destroying the very vitamins and phytonutrients that prevent disease and support good health.
“Microwaved food is not merely ‘dead’ food at every level; it is food that has been deconstructed, leaving nothing but empty calories, fibre and minerals” warned a nutritionist recently.

What’s really deceptive about microwave cooking is that the food still appears to be basically the same, but at the cellular level, it’s like a nuclear war has taken place because virtually the entire vitamin and phytonutrient content has been destroyed. Vitamins and phytonutrients (plant-based nutrients) are delicate molecules which are fragile. They are easily destroyed by heat, which is why raw plant foods contain more plant nutrients than cooked foods.
The full story on microwave cooking is a long-drawn one. promote ill health because they turn nutritious, healthy food into empty, decimated calories.
A microwave does not just heat the food by moving the molecules faster. Microwave ovens create radio waves at a frequency of about 2.45 GHz. This is enough energy to destroy biological molecules through electromagnetic radiation. The microwaves excite the water molecules inside the food that is cooking, causing heat to be formed from the inside out. This results in a cell-by-cell molecular decomposition of the vitamins and phytonutrients that promote disease.
There is a tendency for most microwave users to cook everything on high power, except when defrosting. High is the default setting. The maximum power is also a major selling point for a microwave oven. The higher the power, the stronger the electric field, and the more damaging it is to nutrients even if the final temperature is the same.
So, the lower the power, the safer.
But only some microwave ovens are capable of true low power cooking. The microwave ovens equipped with inverter magnetrons actually reduce the power instead of just cycling it between high and off. So if you use a microwave, use one with an inverter magnetron, and cook on low power. Cooking on low power (not intermittent high) will greatly reduce the amount of damage done to the food.
But if you want to eat in a healthy way, make sure a significant part of your diet is raw plants. It’s okay to eat some steamed, stir-fried or even grilled vegetables, but when grilling foods, avoid burning them because all burned parts contain toxic, cancer-causing chemicals that promote colon cancer.

SODOM & GOMORRAH: 400-member homosexual club found in Benue State

As Benue state continues to grapple with the rising figures of HIV/AIDS in the state, Executive Secretary of the Benue State Agency for the Control of Aids (BENSACA), Mrs. Grace Wende has revealed that the agency recently discovered a 400-member homosexuals club existing in Makurdi the Benue state capital.
She said the organisation otherwise known as Men Sleeping with Men, MSM, has a large membership of male students from higher institutions in the state.
Wende who made this disclosure yesterday at a one day Training of Media Practioners on HIV/AIDS in Makurdi, said the existence of the gay club in the state was not helping the state government’s efforts at curbing the spread of the HIV virus in the state.
According to her, “the club was discovered during an Epidermic appraisal carried out by our Canadian partners in colloboration with BENSACA following the state government’s resolve to fight the increasing trend of HIV/AIDs in the state as shown in 2011 survey.
”In fact my office is already interacting with the group of young men who  are mostly undergraduates in various higher institution of learning located in the state.” She stressed that the idea of identifying with the MSM which usually holds their meetings in December in Makurdi was meant to reduce the spread of HIV virus commonly found among them.
Mrs Wende further urged all stakeholders to join the fight against the virus in the state, stressing, “there is a heightened need for scale-up of effective and efficient HIV prevention efforts in the state if we must all win this war against the virus.”

VANGUARD NEWS

Infant in Womb Holds Doctor's Hand

• Infant in Womb Holds Doctor's Hand …

Nevaeh Atkins was going to be born soon enough. She just wanted a helping hand, evidently.

She got one from her doctor, as seen in a photo snapped Oct. 9 by her father just before her birth via C-section.

In the photo, Nevaeh grips Dr. Allan Sawyer's hand even before emerging from her mother's womb.

"I just thought right away that it was a beautiful, amazing photo that I had never seen before," Nevaeh's mother, Alicia Atkins, told ABCNews.com. "I knew it was special right away.

"When my doctor broke my water, the doctor told my husband, 'Hey, she's holding my finger,'" Atkins said. "He had my camera, and so they were able to capture the moment of her holding his hand."

The Phoenix-area mom first saw the photo Oct. 10, but she had her assessment of its specialness affirmed after she posted it Dec. 26 on the Facebook page of her Glendale, Ariz., photography company, A Classic Pin-Up, and drew the attention of ABC News affiliate KNXV-TV and other local media.

Even Nevaeh's two older brothers, ages 2 and 3, were impressed.

"Every time they see it on TV, they say, 'That's Nevaeh's hand,'" Atkins said.

The picture is only emerging now because Atkins kept it under wraps for weeks after the birth as she enlarged it to give as a gift to Dr. Sawyer. She wanted him to see it first, and wanted him to see it big.

"I've never captured that picture before," Sawyer told KNXV. "It's really rare."

Finally, Atkins was able to reveal the picture to the rest of the world.

"We actually weren't going to put a copy of the photo in our house because we didn't know the reaction of people, whether it was too graphic or not," Atkins told ABCNews.com.

But after all the coverage the picture attracted, she said, she and her husband changed their minds. Now, Nevaeh (or "heaven" spelled backward) will grow up with it.

"We decided to put the photo in her room," Atkins said, "so that she'll always know how special it was."

(ABC News)

WHEN BEAUTY IS A CRIME... Dental Assistant Fired For Being 'Irresistible'

After working as a dental assistant for ten years, Melissa Nelson was fired for being too "irresistible" and a "threat" to her employer's marriage.

"I think it is completely wrong," Nelson said. "I think it is sending a message that men can do whatever they want in the work force."

On Friday, the all-male Iowa State Supreme Court ruled that James Knight, Nelson's boss, was within his legal rights when he fired her, affirming the decision of a lower court.

"We do think the Iowa Supreme Court got it completely right," said Stuart Cochrane, an attorney for James Knight. "Our position has always been Mrs. Nelson was never terminated because of her gender, she was terminated because of concerns her behavior was not appropriate in the workplace. She's an attractive lady. Dr. Knight found her behavior and dress to be inappropriate."

For Nelson, a 32-year-old married mother of two, the news of her firing and the rationale behind it came as a shock.

"I was very surprised after working so many years side by side I didn't have any idea that that would have crossed his mind," she said.

The two never had a sexual relationship or sought one, according to court documents, however in the final year and a half of Nelson's employment, Knight began to make comments about her clothing being too tight or distracting.

"Dr. Knight acknowledges he once told Nelson that if she saw his pants bulging, she would know her clothing was too revealing," the justices wrote.

Six months before Nelson was fired, she and her boss began exchanging text messages about work and personal matters, such as updates about each of their children's activities, the justices wrote.
The messages were mostly mundane, but Nelson recalled one text she received from her boss asking "how often she experienced an orgasm."
Nelson did not respond to the text and never indicated that she was uncomfortable with Knight's question, according to court documents.
Soon after, Knight's wife, Jeanne, who also works at the practice, found out about the text messaging and ordered her husband to fire Nelson.
The couple consulted with a senior pastor at their church and he agreed that Nelson should be terminated in order to protect their marriage, Cochrane said.
On Jan. 4, 2010, Nelson was summoned to a meeting with Knight while a pastor was present. Knight then read from a prepared statement telling Nelson she was fired.

"Dr. Knight felt like for the best interest of his marriage and the best interest of hers to end their employment relationship," Cochrane said.

Knight acknowledged in court documents that Nelson was good at her job and she, in turn, said she was generally treated with respect.

"I'm devastated. I really am," Nelson said.

When Nelson's husband tried to reason with Knight, the dentist told him he "feared he would have an affair with her down the road if he did not fire her."

Paige Fiedler, Nelson's attorney, said in a statement to ABC News affiliate KCRG that she was "appalled" by the ruling.

"We are appalled by the Court's ruling and its failure to understand the nature of gender bias.," she wrote.

"Although people act for a variety of reasons, it is very common for women to be targeted for discrimination because of their sexual attractiveness or supposed lack of sexual attractiveness. That is discrimination based on sex," Fiedler wrote. "Nearly every woman in Iowa understands this because we have experienced it for ourselves."

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.