Photos: Finally President Jonathan and Sanusi meet in Abuja

Who would have thunk it? That this two men will meet and heartily shake each other? President Jonathan and former CBN Governor and newly installed Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi met today July 23rd for the first time since Sanusi's installation as Emir.

They met at the Presidential Villa in Abuja where Sanusi had gone to break the Ramadan fast with the President. The reconciliation meeting was brokered by the Sultan of Sokoto, Saa’ad Abubakar. See more photos after the cut...

Photo: Police arrest 3 for car-snatching in Lagos

3 members of a notorious car snatching gang that specializes in snatching exotic cars from residents of the Victoria island, Lekki and Ajah axis of Lagos state have been arrested by men of the Lagos state Anti-Robbery Squad attached to the Bar Beach Police station in Lagos. .

According to Vanguard, the robbers were arrested separately on Saturday July 19th and Monday July 21 as they rode in taxi cabs they had earlier snatched from their owners at gunpoint on their way to steal exotic cars.

Anti-robbery policemen from the Bar Beach Police station who were on patrol intercepted the men as they drove into Victoria Island. Continue...


They arrested 20 year old Rasheed Yusuf while the other two members, Ade Yemi, 22, and Toyin Ajayola, 22 managed to escape. They were however arrested on Monday night, July 21st on  Oyin Jolayemi street in Victoria Island while driving against traffic in a taxi they confessed to have snatched from its owner at Orile Iganmu area.

It was gathered that as the policemen tried to stop them, they escaped towards Cowrie Bridge outward Victoria Island, but were blocked by another team of policemen who were on stop & search at a pin down point by the bridge.

They engaged the policemen in a shoot-out as they jumped out of the taxi trying to escape but they were shot in the leg by the police officers and immediately arrested. A pistol, charms, face mask and five cartridges were recovered from them. 

Photos: President Jonathan meets Chibok parents/girls

President Jonathan today July 22nd met with parents of abducted Chibok girls and rescued girls at the State House in Abuja. Present at the closed door meeting was the Senate President David Mark, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Principal of the school, Mrs Asaba Kwambura as well as some Heads of Nigeria’s Security Agencies.

The media was sent out of the room once the meeting kicked off.

Photos: Fashola sets up tribunal of enquiry on recent BRT vandalism

Governor of Lagos state, Babatunde Fashola yesterday July 21st inaugurated a panel of inquiry to get to the root of the Friday July 4th face off between men of the Armed Forces and a BRT driver in which a soldier lost his life, and the subsequent arson and destruction of BRT buses by the soldiers.

Governor Fashola tasked the tribunal to inquire into whether the act was committed by soldiers and also unravel how and why the military officers died and what killed him, as well as investigate what could have been done to avoid the accident. 

The panel which is to be chaired by a retired Judge of the Lagos High Court, Mr Justice Ebenezer Adebajo is expected to submit its findings within 60 days. See more photos after the cut...

‘We know where the Chibok girls are but we are just being careful’ – DG SSS

While fielding questions from newsmen after today’s National Security Council meeting held at the Presidential Villa, the Director General of the Department of State Security, DSS, Mr Ita Ekpeyong said that security forces know where precisely the kidnapped Chibok girls are but are being very careful in their rescue efforts so as not to endanger their
lives.

“The issue of the Chibok girls, government is making efforts. We know where they are but we don’t want to endanger their lives, that is the truth. We want to take it gradually and release them at the appropriate time. We know where they are” he said
Mr Ekpeyong also stated that the Federal Government has directed all the state government planning to register non-indigines in their state by issuing them means of Identification, to stop forthwith and warned military officers not to work with states that may want to go ahead with the process. (Picture above shows National Security Council Meeting at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja today)

UNN Lecturer Commits Suicide

A lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Dr Bede Opata has reportedly committed suicide over a yet-to-be ascertained reason, Thisday reports.
 
Sources within the university say the 38 year old law lecturer killed himself in his apartment within the town on Saturday July 19th but his body was only discovered on Sunday July 20th.
 
The lecturer who holds a doctorate degree in Law, hailed from Nsukka, Enugu state and was the son of a former Commissioner in the old Anambra state, Chief Cletus Opata.

Nigerian Air Force Jet Crashes In Borno

A Nigerian Air Force Mi-35 Helicopter on a training mission has crashed this afternoon according to the Defence Headquarters.

The jet crashed due to technical fault at a location South of Bama, Defence spokesperson, Chris Olukolade, said in a statement made available this afternoon.

The statement however didn’t reveal if anyone was injured or killed. He further stated that investigation has commenced to unravel what lead to the accident.

My parents initially didn't want me to marry Soyinka'- wife opens up on love story

Wife of Prof. Wole Soyinka, Folake Soyinka recently opened up on their love story in an interview with The News magazine where she revealed how she and the Nobel laureate met and her parents initial objection to their relationship.

"There were objections from everywhere except from my sisters and brother who were happy if I was. I also had the support of his siblings here. My parents along with most of my relatives objected, not because of anything, they just felt he was too famous and too accomplished. They worried about that. But within a few months after we were married, my parents had changed their mind and they loved him until they passed away. His close friends didn't have a problem with it but also everyone had an opinion. Then came the Nobel Prize in 1986 and that derailed everything for a couple of years. More than a quarter of a century later, those opinions didn't count, we are still trudging along. I have enjoyed love because of him" she said

On how they met;

"I knew he liked me from when I was in the University of Ife but I was young and he was so accomplished so I was kind of worried. After I left Ife and went to do my NYSC in Kaduna state, Dr Biodunjeyifo came to visit me and said Kongi (Prof Wole Soyinka) had been looking for me. After the service year, Dr Yomi Ogunbiyi who was at the Guardian got me a job there and one day, Wole stopped by. Our courtship was interesting" she said

She also revealed that the Nobel laureate, who turned 80 recently, is a great cook;

"He cooks and he is quite good at it. He even cooked about two days ago. When the boys were really little, one day in California, he called all of us to the kitchen and said he wanted to have a family meeting. They were so young I don't even think they had any concept of what a family meeting was. He lined all three according to their heights and asked me to sit. He said he has something to tell us and he was only going to say it once. He whipped some cooking utensils, moved them around noisily in the pot, threw some up, caught them performed a few tricks and then told us to listen. He said there were only three people in the world who can cook pasta like he does; one is dead, the other is in Silica, Italy and he is the third one and he is going to cook something that we have never eaten. He cooked pasta that day and we truly enjoyed it. True dramatist." she said.

STFU I'm Not A Graduate Yet - Davido

Don’t call Davido a graduate just yet.

The Nigerian music star took to his official Twitter account to speak out on reports that he has graduated from the Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun.

Davido sounded off on reports that he graduated from the tertiary institution without taking his final exams. If you recall, in June, excited fans caused disruption at a convocation ceremony when the “Aye” singer arrived at the venue.

It is unclear where the story emanated from, but the pop star clearly isn’t having it with the rumours.

He claims he was at the convocation ceremony to support his friend. “I attended a friend’s graduation, next thing I graduated without doing any exam! So stupid!!!” he said.

Bodies of MH17 crash victims tossed into rubbish trucks and taken to morgue train after 3 days laying in field

Bodies of about 200 victims of the Malaysian Airlines flight that was shut down on Thursday July 17th were left in heat in fields for over three days before they were finally piled up in bags and tossed into rubbish trucks then transported to refrigerated train carriages where they are said to be decaying. 

The train with the dead bodies, which observers says is stinking of decay, is stationed in the town of Torez where rebels who are in charge say they will let it leave this afternoon but didn't indicate where or whether the bodies would be handed over.

There's an international outrage that the rebels are holding the bodies unnecessarily as families beg for their loved ones to be returned to them so they could bury them properly.

The bizarre part is that Holland, who lost more citizens than any other country, isn't showing as much outrage as other countries like Britain that have threatened to seize Russian's billions. See more pics after the cut...

Bagged victims can be seen above lined up in front of a truck yesterday at the crash site, ready to be moved to the refrigerated trains

Boko Haram Takes Over Toll Gates in Borno, Abduct Politician’s Wife & Children

Suspected members of Boko Haram have reportedly taken over Maiduguri-Dikwa-Gamboru Ngala road, where they have commandeered the toll gates and are forcefully seizing money and goods.

Borno State House of Assembly majority leader, Idrissa Jidda is said to have confirmed that Boko Haram insurgents have indeed taken over the road, Daily Trust reports.

“The insurgents have had absolute control of the road in the past one month. No day passes without an attack along the Maiduguri-Dikwa-Gamboru road and in most cases, innocent people are killed,” he said.

“The insurgents have had absolute control of the road in the past one month. No day passes without an attack along the Maiduguri-Dikwa-Gamboru road and in most cases, innocent people are killed…In most cases, they carefully select some passengers and promptly execute them. They also kidnap girls at will and sometimes forcefully snatch vehicles that are loaded with assorted food items,” he said.

In a separate development, reports state that on Friday, some insurgents invaded Ngala town and abducted the wife and two children of politician, Zaraye Mala Sheriff. In addition, the terrorists are said to have also abducted two prominent politicians: Alhaji Annur Mohammed and Liman Alhaji Hussaini.

Former Minister of Petroleum, Rilwanu Lukman dies at 75

Former Minister of Petroleum, Rilwanu Lukman has died. He died this morning July 21st in Austria. He was 75.

Alhaji Lukman was a renowned engineer who held several ministerial positions in Nigeria before becoming Secretary General of OPEC from 1995 to 2000. He was appointed Minister of Petroleum Resources by late President Yar’Adua in December 2008 and held the position until March 2010.

Lukman was made a Knight of the British Empire (KBE) in 1989 and Officer of the Legion d’Honneur of France in 1990, as well as being conferred with the First Class rank of the Order of the Liberator from the Republic of Venezuela. He was the first African ever to be honored with the Fellowship of the Imperial College, University of London. May his soul rest in peace...amen.

Ebonyi State House of Assembly Speaker impeached, new speaker elected

The speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Chukwuma Nwazunku has been impeached. He was impeached this morning July 21st by 18 out of the 24 members of the House. He was impeached over allegations of gross misconduct, incompetence and corruption.

According to reports, the members of the House re-instated three members who were on suspension before moving to impeach the Speaker.

The member representing Ezza South state Constituency Hon. Chris Usulor moved the motion for his impeachment while the Minority Leader and member Representing Ezza North West, Hon. Enyi Enyi seconded the motion.

 

A new speaker, Hon Helen Nwaobosi was immediately elected. 

Oby Ezekwesili detained and later released by SSS at Abuja Airport

Former Minister of Education and #bringbackourgirls convener Obi Ezekwesili, was this morning detained by SSS agents at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as she tried to leave the country for London.

Mrs Ezekwesili immediately took to twitter to announce her detention. She said she was heading to London to appear on the BBC Hardtalk programme but was prevented from boarding her flight by security operatives who confiscated passport. She was later released and allowed to board her 8a.m British Airways flight. See her tweets after the cut...

Graphic pics: Female ritualist caught with corpse of a 3yr old boy in Mile 2

According to a source who witnessed the arrest, the woman pictured above, pretending to be a mad woman, was caught yesterday morning July 20th on the Mile 2 Bridge in Lagos with the decomposing body of a 3 year old boy. A police officer who saw her dragging the blue Ghana Must Go bag (pictured), stopped her to search the bag and inside it he discovered the boy's corpse and a lot of charms.

She was immediately arrested and taken away. When you continue, you will see pics of the dead little boy. If you don't have the heart, don't look. It's truly heartbreaking. That's someone child!. My Goodness!!..

Here's a pic of the police officer who caught the woman...

Photo: IG of Police conducting traffic in Abuja

Inspector General of Police, MD Abubakar fully dressed in Traffic Police uniform, controlling traffic at the popular Ministry of Finance Junction in Central Abuja yesterday July 20th.

Ukrainian Govt release horrific pic of infant lying in a field, killed when rebels shot down plane

The Ukrainian government yesterday published a heartbreaking photo of a dead infant and accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of having the blood of the baby victim of flight MH17 on his hands.

Senior government advisor Anton Gerashchenko posted the pic on their website, with a message to Putin saying: ‘This baby’s death is on your conscience. Damn you for centuries!’. He said he agonised over whether to publish the image of the tiny corpse lying in the field or not but decided the world needed to see it.

3 infants died after the plane was shot down on Thursday May 17th by pro-Russian rebels and till today, many bodies are still lying in fields. Meanwhile yesterday Russian rebels stopped investigators who arrived the MH17 crash site from investigating the site, firing several warning shots. And the rebel commander blamed for shooting down the plane said “bodies aren’t fresh’, claiming corpses around the wreckage died before plane took off. Yes, he said so. Unbelievable!

Monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were prevented from conducting their investigation by militiamen during their first trip to the scene.

The separatists reportedly fired warning shots as the group of 30 officials approached, forcing them to leave after just 75 minutes. 

The stand-off fuelled speculation that rebels are beginning a ‘cover-up’ by hiding all links to the Buk missile believed to have shot down the plane.
 

Mr Hug is leading the investigation into the deadly incident – but has been hindered by a dispute over the location of the black boxes 

Michael Bociurkiw, spokesman for the OSCE, told CNN: ‘It basically looks like the biggest crime scene in the world right now, guarded by a bunch of guys in uniform with heavy firepower who are quite inhospitable. And there didn’t seem to be anyone really in control, for example. One of our top priorities was to find out what happened to the black boxes. No one was there to answer those questions.’  

Bociurkiw also described how the inspectors felt they were in danger as rockets were fired in the distance.

Thomas Greminger, the body’s chairman, added: ‘They did not have the kind of access that they expected. They did not have the freedom of movement that they need to do their job.’

Amid the confusion over the whereabouts of the black boxes, the Russian foreign minister was forced to deny having ‘any plans’ to grab the flight recorders following the allegations.

Meanwhile, the rebel commander blamed for shooting down flight MH17 has made bizarre claims that bodies at the crash site ‘aren’t fresh’.

Pro-Russian separatist Igor Girkin (pictured above) has claimed corpses near the debris died days before the plane took off.

According to rebel website Russkaya Vesna, the leader was told by people at the scene in eastern Ukraine that ‘a significant number of the bodies were drained of blood and reeked of decomposition.’
Girkin, also known as Strelkov and allegedly a former Russian intelligence agent, also suggested that a large amount of blood serum and medications in the wreckage.

The information has not been confirmed but the commander said: ‘Ukrainian authorities are capable of any baseness.’

He was said to be among the laughing rebels that filmed the plane as it crashed
Footage is said to have captured him gleefully bragging: ‘That was a blast – look at the smoke!’ while a fireball rose from the debris. 

The extraordinary footage – apparently filmed by the shooters themselves – charts the terrible final moments of the doomed airliner.

A voice believed to be that of Strelkov – dubbed ‘Igor the Terrible’ – announces: ‘The plane was hit!’ He adds: ‘Look at those black spots, these are the parts, flying … it was a blast … look, look, black smoke!’ 
As a pall of smoke was seen coming from the crash site, he wrote a triumphant war cry on Twitter, saying: ‘We warned you – do not fly in “our sky”.’ 

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 was shot down Thursday, killing all 298 people aboard. 

Source: UK Daily Mail