BENIN—NO fewer than 836 teachers have been sacked by Edo State Government, sequel to the outcome of the verification exercise carried out by the state’s Department of Information and Communication Technology.
Gov Oshiomhole
Vanguard gathered that the affected teachers learnt of their sack when they discovered that their names were missing from the December salary voucher.
It was learnt that some of those sacked were allegedly found to have either over-stayed, mentally unstable, physically blind or have falsified their ages and credentials.
A man who gave his name simply as Osahon, said his wife was affected just as it was further gathered that over 96 of those sacked were alleged to be from a particular local government in Edo North.
Osahon, however, appealed to the state government to reconsider its stand on the sacked teachers, especially those who are still young in service.
His words: “I don’t have a steady job. My wife is the one taking care of the home. She is not up to three years in service and less than 35 years old. The governor should give the young ones a second chance. They should regularise their ages.”
Commissioner for Basic Education, Mr. Patrick Aguinede, who confirmed the sack, said those affected were certified by the ICT after the screening
He said those who have over-stayed in service gave a scenario that the state government could not recruit new teachers.
According to him, “the teachers were found to have served beyond 35 years. Some were physically blind, some manipulated their results and age which later showed they finished school before they were born.”
State secretary of Nigeria Union of Teachers, Mr. Akin Adeojo, said the union became aware of the sack through rumours, but added that the affected teachers had not been issued sack letters.
He said the NUT would scrutinise the letters before taking a decision, adding that it would make a case for anybody found to have been victimised.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/12/edo-govt-sacks-836-teachers/

Just 5? Clap for Yourself

I am from a rural area and we have our roads. The whole length of our communities is cut off. Incidentally, they are federal roads. They have appeared in the budget for many years, but it has not been implemented. With this development, can I still proudly look at my people and say, ‘the road between Kaiama and Kusobuso; the road between Kaiama and Wawa; the Kishi road and Kaima and Baruteen roads have been done. Can I go back to my people and tell them that these roads have been done? Is it convincing? What have I been able to get? Have I been able to get these roads done? These are salient questions. I should look for a place where the solutions to these questions can be gotten. The rehabilitations or constructions of these roads have been my own yearning and aspiration. I do not think that with their abandonment, I am fulfilled.

Having been a member of the PDP before your defection, is there any striking quality of the PDP that you will miss as you move over to the APC?
I have no comment on that.

Some critics say it is easy for Nigerian politicians to defectbecause they are not driven by ideologies. Do you agree to that?
For me, 14 years of democracy is too hasty to make such a conclusion. As it is, you may be tempted to say that, but it is very hasty. Fourteen years in the life of a democracy is not enough for one to say that ideologies have not been formed. I think I want to disagree with that assertion really.

With this gale of defection, will it not be a blow to Nigeria’s democracy?
It will strengthen democracy instead. It will strengthen democracy because there are choices. Before now, there used to be oppositions that are weak. But now, you have quality opposition so that good governance will improve; so that complacency does not set in.

As the APC members are majority in the House of Representatives, do you not think that it might give room for the impeachment of President Goodluck Jonathan?
I have no comment on that, really. I have no comment because the instrument of impeachment is there and it is a last resort. Of course, before it comes, there should be reasons why it should come. It is not a thing that you bandy all about. We too wish democracy well. We do not want to unnecessarily heat up the polity as responsible citizens in the parliament. But if the right things are done, why would you ask for that? The right things should be done. You cannot have a perfect government anywhere in the world but it should be seen as moving on the right track.

As an individual, are you satisfied with performance of the present administration?
I want to make reference to all the resolutions the House had made and all other issues, and I align myself with those resolutions of the House in the past. That is my answer to your question.
http://www.punchng.com/politics/court-cant-declare-our-seats-vacant-zakari-mohammed/

The Pastor of the Household of God Church International, Chris Okotie, recently bought a Rolls Royce Coupe, the 2014 Bespoke Edition, to mark his 30 years as born-again Christian and 27 years as a pastor,SUNDAY PUNCHlearnt on Saturday.
According Okotie’s close aide, the pastor spent N120m on the luxury car and had earlier spent N33m on a Range Rover Autobiography to mark a milestone of his church.
The source, in a text message, said, “Pastor Okotie just bought a Rolls Royce Coupe, 2014 Bespoke Edition at N120m to mark his 30 years as a born-again Christian and 27 years as a pastor. He had earlier bought a Range Rover (Autobiography) 2014 Model for N33m, reputed to be the costliest SUV in the world to mark this ministry’s milestone.”
Checks on the Internet showed that the cheapest price of same Rolls Royce model is about N65m, but it could be more expensive if armoured.
Fifty-five-year-old Okotie was in the news recently for the controversial comments he made during a church service in which he claimed that “all Catholics will go to hell,” and referred to Pope Francis as anti-Christ.
http://www.punchng.com/news/okotie-buys-n120m-rolls-royce-to-mark-pastoral-anniversary/

The House of Representatives member representing Baruteen- Kaiama Federal Constituency and Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, is one of the 37 lawmakers that recently defected from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to the opposition All Progressives Congress. In this interview withSUCCESS NWOGU, he says why they did so

 What was the reason for the defection of 37 members of the House of Representatives from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress?
I cannot speak on behalf of other members I can only speak for myself.

So, why did you defect?
Every politics is local. What I mean by local is that some people sent me to Abuja to go and represent them. And if at some point their desires are not met as a people, they have the right to at least look for a choice and they have seen a choice in APC. That is why they changed camp and asked me as one of those representing them to also change camp. If you are a true representative of the people, you have to be responsive to them. The good thing to do is to respect their wishes and aspirations.

But some people have said your defection and that of other Rep members from the PDP to the APC was not borne out of personal conviction but that you were compelled to dance to the tune of your political leaders.
No! It is far from it. A lot of us, I must say are not new politically. At least, I have been in this game for over a decade now. I went to school too. I know my left from my right. When I see what will benefit me and lengthen my political participation and representation further, I know.

What is there for anybody to compel one?
It is out of our personal conviction. We have been holding meetings and of course, it is a demonstration of all the efforts that we have come out with. Please, I do not want to appear as if I am speaking on behalf of others. You know that as a spokesman of the House of Representatives, I speak for the House; but this response is my personal opinion and does not represent that of the House. It should be taken as my personal opinion.

Thirty-seven members of the House of Representatives defected the same day.
It could not have been by coincidence. How did you arrive at the group defection?
I have already told you that like minds had meetings. The parliament is a very interesting place. In the parliament, people will always come up with their own ideas. If there is change in political activities, our constituents have their own opinion. We too, as individuals, have our own opinions. We have to come together. In the parliament, there are like minds that sit down and rob minds together. We begin to look at our political future as young individuals and look at the yearnings and aspirations of the Nigerian people. The next question is which vehicle, which party can we belong to address the people’s aspirations and desires. Like minds came together, took some decisions and follow up with action.

PDP is threatening the defectors with court action. What is your response to this?
My advice to those who are thinking like that is that they should study the court judgment very well before they draw their conclusions. They cannot declare my seat vacant. The only people who have powers to call me or make me lose my seat are my constituents, whose confidence I have.

You emerged as the spokesperson of the House of Representatives when you belonged to the PDP, then the dominant party, are you not threatened that by this defection, you may lose your position?
I was elected first and foremost as a member of the House of Representatives; every other thing that comes with it is an addition or a complement. So, in the opinion of the presiding officers, if they think that I am representing their views well, there is nothing to fear but if they think otherwise, why not? The prerequisite is with them.

What are the features that you have seen in APC that made you to dump the PDP for it?
One, it is my personal conviction. One may ask, ‘am I at the right place now?’ Considering the realities of my country now, is it possible for me to go back to my people with that same vehicle? These are questions that are food for thought. Can I win an election with that vehicle? Are my people comfortable with it? Have I been able to, at least, plough back to them, using the vehicle of the party that they gave me their representation in terms of the dividends of democracy? If the answers are in the negative, then why should I continue to be in that party? As a representative who is being saddled and should be actively concerned with the needs of my people, because I am a leader in my own right, on how to solve the problems of my people. Should I not take an action that will alleviate the plight of my people?

“My mother has not visited us here since we got here. I don’t even know where she is. In the night, children like me, whose parents have not visited gather to pray that wherever our parents are, God should bring them.”
The younger girl, whose sad eyes still seemed to carry the heavy load of her past ordeal, gave the same answer. She too said she would not want to live with her parents any more.
The home has enrolled Bola and Tolu in schools; the older girl in Junior Secondary School Year One and the younger in Primary Four.
For these two bruised children, nothing could hold them back. Not even the absence of family.
The older girl said she would like to become a lawyer while Tolu said she would like to become a banker.
They only spoke with excitement anytime conversation switched away from their parents.
But when Ogwu spoke of an attempt to contact her mother, Bola rose to her defence immediately.
“Nobody should touch my mother. Don’t do anything to her, please,” she said plaintively.
But she was assured that her mother had not done anything wrong to be arrested.
Father gave them siphilis
After Bola and Tolu were rescued in July, they were taken to the hospital for medical checks.Saturday PUNCHhas learnt that their father gave both of them syphilis, a case which had been muted at the time of their rescue. But they were promptly given treatment which got rid of the disease.
A phone number the girls’ mother provided seemed to be out of use, as it had not been going through. Neither does anybody know her address in Oyo State.
It is not an easy road for these children but consistent counselling has been helping them in the home.
“Someone comes to counsel us regularly,” Bola said. “They tell us not to think of what has happened to us in the past. They said we can become something big in life.”
A young female official of the home said Bola has grown to be very intelligent.
“The counselling is really helping her. On top of that, they are both doing well in school. I am confident they will go ahead to live normal life,” she said.
A neighbour’s intervention
If not for a neighbour who promptly raised the alarm on the children’s plight, one can only imagine the kind of situation they would be in by now.
It will be recalled that the landlord of the house in which they live with their father, Mr. Amos Omooye, had said he had no idea that such thing was happening in his house.
The landlord said, “I noticed the children were always crying and I tried as much as possible to provide for them whenever they said they were hungry and their father went to work without leaving them any money for food.
“The children were born in my house and I christened them. But I could not imagine that their father was doing something as terrible as that to them.”
http://www.punchng.com/news/we-are-scarred-for-life-children-raped-by-own-fathers-1/

Scary future for children raped for two years
Thirteen-year-old Bola (not real name) danced and clapped with her friends; children of the Lagos State Children’s Centre, Idi Araba. It was an end-of-year event in which the children exhibited their talents in various crafts like bead-making and tailoring.
Some of them were younger than Bola, some older. The laughter of the children was a far cry from the journey that had brought most of them to the centre, which houses rescued homeless children, victims of rape and physical abuses.
At that single moment, the sad stories etched in the memories of the young children seemed to vanish. In the crowd was Bola, with her sister Tolu (10) both laughing excitedly.
But the situation that brought these young sisters to the children’s home was far from being a laughing matter.
Bola looked towards the back of the crowd and instantly shot out of the crowd like a lightning bolt; her sister at her heels. She threw her arms around Ogwu, who had just entered the premises. Both Bola and Tolu locked the woman – their rescuer – in a tight embrace. Tears streamed down the face of Bola.
“I did not know you were coming,” the young girl said with a big teary smile.
Bola and Tolu have both spent six months at the home. The woman who rescued them has become someone they love like their own mother.
One evil night in June
Bola and Tolu’s journey to the children’s home was one with a lot of pains. For three years, both children had endured an excruciating sexual abuse from their father, Adetayo Adeleke, a 35-year-old commercial bus driver in Egbeda area of Lagos. But they suffered in silence. They dared not tell anyone; their father would kill them. So they said after their rescue, whichSaturday PUNCHreported in July 2013.
One cannot really say what the exact psychological state of these two children are at present because their evaluation in the home could not be revealed by the officials.
But Consultant Child Psychiatrist, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Mashidat Mojeeb-Bello, had an opinion on what victims of the horrible act like the one Bola and Tolu had gone through may face.
She said, “Such victims could develop anxiety and undue fear. In the long term, they could develop major psychiatric problems like depression and other major psychosis later in life.
“The self esteem may be affected in such a way that they may not see themselves worthy of anything good. At some point, some may develop somatisation disorders; they start having some unusual bodily symptoms whose origin becomes untraceable through tests. There is a myriad of psychological impact on such children.”
The magistrate weeps
Adeleke is now facing charges of incest and child defilement at the Family Court, Ikeja and the two sisters were transported to the children’s home.
With tears in her eyes, their mother, Kemi, came to the court with a toddler she had for her new husband.
She had told this correspondent a life of hell she was subjected to in Adeleke’s house.
“He beat me regularly, calling me prostitute just to disgrace me. I suffered with my children. We rarely had food to eat. When I could not take it anymore, I had to leave. It was not like I was starving him of sex. I did not know he was raping my children. May God punish that man,” Kemi said.
In November 2013, during one of the hearings of the case in court, the children were asked to come forward to testify. When they took up the narration of their ordeal, the misty-eyed magistrate could not take it anymore. She had to excuse herself for a moment to wipe her tears in her chambers.
However, months after their rescue, a lot has changed. Bola looked chubby; no longer the haggard looking girl she was when she was rescued. This correspondent spoke with her during the visit of her rescuer to the children’s home.
Asked how she felt about her father at the time, the young girl’s excited face fell like a pack of cards. She looked down at the ground.
“I know we cannot forget what our father did. This is something we have to live with for the rest of our lives. Here, they tell us to forget the past but how can we forget that our father slept with us?”
“But I want them to release him. I don’t ever want to live with him again. But I have forgiven him. I like it here very much. They should just let him go,” she said.
Bola spoke with a surprising intelligence that was totally in contrast with the beaten and abused child who spoke little when she was rescued.
It was clear a lot had changed.
Will you like to live with your mother as well, she was asked.
She said, “No o. I don’t want to live with her again. I want to continue to live here because I have a lot of friends here. The other children and our teachers here are very nice.
“When we went to the court last time, my mother did not even come. None of my mother’s family came too. Only our landlord and a woman who is a friend to my mother came.

It is no ordinary crime. Incest, a distant word to many, claims its victims body and soul and shatters every sense of normalcy a child who grows up to experience such act is supposed to have. Such is the life of Bola and Tolu, who endured a sexual abuse by their father for two years. But for Susan, who had two children for her father, it is a different kettle of fish as a result of the identity problem her children will have to contend with.KUNLE FALAYIreports
Sexual abuse is one of the greatest crimes that could be committed against a child. The United Nations Convention on Rights of Child and Nigeria’s Child Rights Act give prominence to the protection of a child in the society as a result of this and specifically make case for the importance of the “primary care giver” which is the child’s immediate family.
But for many children, they are captives in their own family as they are constantly sexually assaulted by their own fathers. For such children, the scar the act leaves in their lives will not likely be erased anytime soon.
‘My children’s father is their grandfather’
The Lagos State Children’s Home at Ipaja Ayobo, like the one at Idi Araba, houses children whose complicated fates had brought them together to live as family.
It was their end-of-year social event; a period of merry-making and lots of singing and dancing.
In the crowd of hyperactive former victims of different forms of abuses in this home, was Susan (not real name). Smiles smoothed away the creases on the face of the fair, good-looking young lady as she was busy dishing out food, washing plates and helping her younger friends and co-residents of the home.
But few will wish upon themselves the unfortunate fate that brought this young lady to the home. She was no longer a child. But leaving the home was not that simple.
Susan was 17 years old in 2011. By that time, she already had two children for her father, Egbuna, a pastor of a church in Igando, Lagos, who is in his 50s. The Enugu State born father is currently awaiting judgment before the Family Court, Ikeja.
Susan, now 19, is one whose story many would hear and cry out the word, ‘abomination!’
She was rescued by the Esther Child Rights Foundation in 2011 after a group of women in the neighbourhood made a report.
Egbuna had nine children from his wife, who died in 2009. But he allegedly started sleeping with her eldest daughter shortly after, and she gave birth to two children.
A cunning rescue
Director of the ECRF, Mrs. Esther Ogwu, with a contingent visited Egbuna’s home under the guise that they wanted spiritual intercession.
“You have come to the right place. Before 24 days, you will come here and give testimony,” Egbuna told the group, and called Susan out to round off the prayer.
Ogwu said, “It was obvious the girl was living under serious subjection. She was almost trembling as she scurried to obey her father.
“We did not make any attempt to confront him the first day. We studied the place and noticed that there was no single sound from any other child within the house. It was as if there was a warning that none of them should make any sound. Neighbours said only one of the children was allowed to venture out to hawk sachet water.
“We came back days later with the police and state government officials to arrest him and he denied fathering the children. He said they were fathered by her daughter’s boyfriend. He was sweating all over as he spoke.”
All the children were transferred to the state government children’s home.
Egbuna is still in custody.
But fast-forward two years. Susan looked radiant at the home. She has changed but the scar is far from being healed. Her current dilemma is what to tell her children when they grow up.
Her two young children were kept inside, out of sight, during the visit to the home. There was no chance to see them.
“The children are really growing up fast. But what do I tell them when they grow up? How can I tell them that my father is their father. I am very confused about that.
“I will like to leave this home later but this place is just too good to us. But I am getting older; I will like to go back to my family. I have forgiven my father for what he did.
“But though I have forgiven him, I am scarred for life. How do I tell people that I have two children for my father?”
What family to go back to is another major quandary for this young lady, whose journey in life seemed to have been a transcendental punishment.
“None of my father’s or mother’s families has visited us since we were brought here. I don’t know how tomorrow will be but I know God will show the way,” she said.
She had yet to be admitted in school as officials are still considering which class best suits her.
Her children are also still being kept at the home, yet to start school. She is not alone.

Enyeama the best goal keeper

tpia@:
can we see this centenary flag?

But i can see it now, or are you using a tecno phone with T.v for browsing?

The Federal Government has declared December 25 and 26, 2013 as public holidays to commemorate the Christmas and Boxing Day Celebrations.
Similarly, January 1, 2014 has been declared as public holiday to mark the New Year.
The Minister of Interior, Abba Moro who made the declaration on Friday in Abuja enjoined all Christian faithful and Nigerians in general to extend the spiritual benefits of Christmas which is love, joy, peace and kindness to their daily living and through this, reflect on the giant strides made by the present government in the development of the country.
http://www.punchng.com/news/fg-declares-public-holidays-for-christmas-new-year/

check www.channelstv.com for the details @op

Reflective of the political tinge of the controversy, Mr. Salami was suspended August 18, 2011, just as the Court of Appeal was hearing a suit brought by the presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Muhammadu Buhari, against President Jonathan’s election.
Mr. Salami’s suspension was approved by the president even while the matter had gone before a court.
After Mr. Katsina-Alu left office, his successor, Mr. Musdapher ordered a review of the case. The Uwais panel found Mr. Salami not guilty, and rather, it criticized Mr. Katsina-Alu in his capacity as CJN then.
Mr. Musdapher’s letter provides an insight into how President Jonathan turned down recommendations for Mr. Salami’s recall, rebuffing detailed presentation from the Chief Justice, and the NJC. The NJC is mandated by the constitution to advise the president on such matters.
In his letter, Mr. Musdapher warned that the judiciary was already suffering a damning public opinion deficit nurtured by perceived impunity and corruption, and that the Salami case, if not well addressed, could only exacerbate that perception.
“And Your Excellency would agree that it is judicial schisms of this nature, and not necessarily the paucity of administrative or judicial infrastructure, that overstretch the ethical and moral fiber of our judiciary, robbing it inevitably of the confidence of the public.”
On May 10, 2012, five months after the letter was delivered to the president, the NJC officially voted 10 to 8, in favour of recalling Mr. Salami eight months after he was suspended.
At the time, judiciary officials who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES said the plan was for the former Appeal Court president to be reinstated and made to serve three months before retirement as his case had severely polarised the ranks of the judiciary.
Weeks later, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, said Mr. Jonathan would not act since the matter was already in court, again raising eyebrow since the same government approved Mr. Salami’s suspension even while a court was considering the case. Mr. Musdapher noted that point in his letter.
“Firstly, the National Judicial Council, NJC, took action on the matter when it was subjudice,” he said. “Normally we do not take decisions on matters before us which are pending before the court.”
Throughout the episode, opposition leaders accused the president of being pressured by PDP officials not to heed the recommendation of the NJC.
That concern grew after an Abuja-based lawyer, Amobi Nzelu representing one Wilfred Okoli, rushed to the Federal High Court in Abuja, shortly after the NJC’s recommendation, asking the court to restrain the president from accepting them, because the “recommendations were not binding”.
Mr. Nzelu, who became known after handling the infamous Apo six killings of 2006, said while the NJC had powers to recommend the removal of the President of the Court of Appeal, it lacked power to recommend his reinstatement.
Curiously, officials of the federal government circulated his court papers to the media.
We will upload the full text of Justice Musdapher’s letter later today.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151762-exclusive-ex-cjn-writes-jonathan-accuses-president-unjustly-treating-justice-salami.html

A letter from a former Chief Justice shows how President Jonathan turned down advice from the National Judicial Council on the Salami case
———————————————
President Goodluck Jonathanbrushed aside recommendations from the National Judicial Council and the Chief Justice of Nigeria to sack former Appeal Court president, Ayo Salami, ignoring firm arguments by the two authorities that Mr. Salami was innocent of allegations against him.
The two authorities are mandated by law to advise the president on such judiciary matters.
The government accused Mr. Salami of professional misconduct, but he is widely believed to have been punished for political reasons.
A letter to the president by former Chief Justice of the Federation, CJN, Dahiru Musdapher, obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, shows how the top echelon of the nation’s judiciary laboured to have President Jonathan realize Mr. Salami’s innocence in his dispute with Mr. Musdapher’s predecessor, Aloysius Katsina-Alu; and how they advised that punishing Mr. Salami would terribly dent an already integrity-deficient judiciary.
In the four-page letter, dated January 27, 2012, Mr. Musdapher informed the president how a committee he named to review Mr. Salami’s suspension in 2011 absolved him, and made it extensively clear why ensuring justice on the case- by reinstating Mr. Salami- was crucial for a judiciary bereft of public confidence.
“Your Excellency, this report is not only before the National Judicial Council, it is also at the court of public opinion,” Mr. Musdapher said of the findings of the review committee. “And Mr. President will agree with me that this recommendation no doubt should challenge our commitment to the redemption of the image and credibility of the judiciary.”
Mr. Musdapher told the president that the committee, led by another former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Uwais, found Mr. Salami not guilty of any of the misconducts he was accused of, and recommended his immediate reinstatement.
“There was no evidence before any of the National Judicial Council panels or in any of the petitions to justify any findings that Salami PCA contravened the code of conduct for judicial officers by talking to the mass media,” he said in his etter to the president. “…On the whole, there was no evidence to show any form of misconduct on the part of Salami PCA to justify any sanction or punishment.”
The committee, Mr. Musdapher informed Mr. Jonathan, also recommended that “…in order to maintain the integrity of the judiciary and to assuage public feeling and restore confidence in both the bar and bench, this committee strongly advises the Chief Justice of Nigeria and National Judicial Council to reconsider its earlier decision on the suspension of Justice Salami PCA and reinstate him back to his position as soon as possible and in that way assure the public that the suspension of Justice Salami as the President of the Court of Appeal is not ill motivated.”
The former Chief Justice’s letter to the president came ahead of an official recommendation by the National Judicial Council, that Mr. Salami be recalled.
Both calls were rejected by the president.
Mr. Jonathan’s firm refusal to reinstate the judge, who finally retired October 2013, spurred widespread allegations that the president’s decision was politically-motivated beyond the professional breach the government claimed as its reason for suspending him. Mr. Musdapher’s letter appears to back that claim.
Justice Salami’s suspension in 2011 was linked partially to his refusal to be elevated to the Supreme Court. More specifically, he was punished for speaking to the media and accusing Mr. Katsina-Alu, who was CJN at the time, of attempting to interfere in the Sokoto state’s governorship election case that was before the Appeal court.
He was suspended by the NJC for refusing to apologize to Mr. Katsina-Alu.
Mr. Salami’s case became a sore point for political outfoxing between the governing Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the defunct opposition Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN (now All Peoples Congress, APC).
The PDP accused the former judge of working for the ACN, hobnobbing with its leaders and dispensing judgments deliberately skewed in favour of the party. Mr. Salami had presided over the Court of Appeal’s upturning of governorship elections in Osun, Ekiti and Edo States, decisions he based on evidences showing that the sacked PDP governors in those states were beneficiaries of rigged elections.
The PDP said there was evidence of telephone calls between leaders of the ACN, and the judge.
While the ACN, now APC, spoke in defence of Mr. Salami, the ruling PDP, President Jonathan’s party, backed Mr. Katsina-Alu with a spokesperson for the party, Olisa Metuh, recently accusing Mr. Salami of lying against the former CJN

A 28-year-old man, Nonso Egbuzobi, who was recently arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad during a robbery operation in Lagos State, has pleaded with the police to release him, saying he was just an informant and not a member of any robbery gang.
Police authorities had said Egbuzobi and three others were part of a gang that killed three policemen during an ATM robbery at an Access Bank branch in Ayobo, Ipaja area of the state on November 20, 2013.
It was learnt that after the Ipaja robbery, SARS men led by the officer in charge, SP Abba Kyari, commenced investigations.
It was learnt that the suspect was arrested with one Ak-47 rifle while attempting to rob a house at the Ilasamaja area of the state.
He said, “Some weeks ago, I was at a snooker joint around Lagos State University when a man approached me saying he had a target that we could rob at Ilasamaja. I told him I was not a robber, but I knew people who were capable.
“I approached one armed robber known as Fine money and I connected him with the person that gave me information. On December 4, 2013, Fine money picked me up in a jeep around Mile 2 and I led him and two other guys to the house at Ilasamaja. We were told that the victim had N10m in his house.
“They all had guns, but I decided that I would remain in the car. However, before they could come down, policemen started shooting at us and everyone in the vehicle died except me because I hid on the floor of the car.
“Like I said, I did not rob, I only gave the robbers information that they needed. I am a responsible man and even a footballer at Lagos State University, it was poverty that pushed me to become armed robbers’ informant.”
Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, said when he received information about the robbery, he ordered his men to foil the attempt and the policemen engaged the robbers in a gun duel during which two robbers, Daniel Onuoha, and Eyo Bassey, a dismissed soldier, were killed.
Manko said investigations led policemen to the agent who helped the robbers to secure accommodation and after their house was searched, four AK-47 rifles, which belonged to slain policemen, were recovered, while the agent was also killed while attempting to escape.
He said a police walkie-talkie was also recovered adding that it was with the aid of the walkie-talkie that the robbers were able to monitor police movement.
He said, “Weeks after the ATM robbery at Ipaja, I got a tip-off that the same robbers were planning to attack at Ilasamaja and I informed the OC SARS. He led his men to the scene and there was an exchange of gunfire with the robbers on Akawo Street. Two of the robbers were killed while Egbuzobi survived.
“One AK-47 rifle, 11 AK-47 magazines fully loaded, one liberty jeep with plate number, LH124EKY and three Nokia phones were recovered from them. Investigations led policemen to the house agent of the robbers and he led us to the home of one of the robbers which happens to be their operational base. Four AK-47 rifles, one police walkie-talkie, Nigerian Army uniform, 19 AK-47 rifles, fully loaded, 300 rounds of AK-47 live ammunitions were recovered.
“The agent attempted to escape through the roof but he was killed. Among the five Ak-47 rifles recovered, four belonged to policemen killed in various robberies across the state.”
http://www.punchng.com/metro/i-dont-steal-i-only-give-robbers-information/#comments

Ok, thats a good development

APC are still having internal crisis, Only God Knows how 2015 would be.

The 34-year-old Ovu River Bridge, which is located on a federal highway linking Enugu and Ebonyi states, has collapsed.
The bridge links Ebonyi State, through Uburu in Ohaozara Local Government Area, and Enugu State, through Agbani-Ugboka-Nara-Nkerefi in Nkanu East council.
PUNCH Metrolearnt on Wednesday that the bridge collapsed under the weight of a truck, which was plying it late at night.
Villagers at the foot of the bridge told our correspondent that the truck was carrying 900 bags of cement when the bridge caved in, as against 600 bags stipulated for heavy-duty vehicles.
President of Nkerefi Town Union, Mr. Joseph Mkpume, said before the town could decide on the action to take, the driver of the truck connived with some people and evacuated the truck and cement.
“If we, the villagers, had been smarter than the driver, we would have held him, the truck and the goods, and ensure its firm comes to fix the bridge,” said Mkpume.
He said, “Our people are now stranded and no one is going to enjoy this Christmas because our movement has automatically been restricted.
“Those of them who must go to Ebonyi State for an urgent matter would now have to go out of our community, then pass by Enugu town, through Abakaliki in Ebonyi State, before getting to their destination.”
“This will take them about four times the original journey. It then means that they will spend half a day travelling.”
The Nkerefi Town Union president stated that the matter was made worse because the federal road on which the bridge is built had been in a terrible state for more than a decade.
“We have had to ply this federal highway filled with pot holes for more than a decade. Now, the only bridge on the road that links the two states – Enugu and Ebonyi – has caved in,” Mkpume added.
Senior officials of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency were also at the scene of the incident.
They toldPUNCH Metrothat an analysis of the damaged bridge had been carried out, adding that it would cost no less than N50m to fix it.
The South-East Representative of FERMA, Mr. Nnoli Nnaji, said the analysis carried out showed there was a structural defect.
Nnoli said FERMA had already tabled the bridge on its emergency schedule even though it was never part of its budget for the year 2013.
“We are making plans to get funds for an emergency repair. We are certain to provide the estimated cost of N50m for work to begin. We have no option because the whole thing is affecting the people’s commercial and farming activities.”
Nnoli, however, called on indigenes to ensure that heavy-duty vehicles were not allowed to ply the bridge when fixed.
http://www.punchng.com/metro/34-year-old-enugu-ebonyi-bridge-collapses/

sanusi is truly confused

too bad

The near-death hunger striker, Isa Muazu, whose deportation from the United Kingdom was foiled by the Nigerian government earlier in December, was quietly deported to Nigerian on Tuesday, the BBC is reporting.
The British government tried to deport Mr. Muazu from the Harmondsworth detention centre, where he was being held, in a private jet after he lost his suit to remain in the UK at an immigration tribunal and the British Appeal Court; but the Nigerian authorities denied the plane the right to land.
Mr. Muazu claimed he is likely to be killed by the dreaded Islamist group Boko Haram if returned to Nigeria. He then embarked on a three-month hunger strike saying he would rather die than be returned to Nigeria.
Mr. Muazu who is suffering from severe mental illness alongside hepatitis B, kidney problem and stomach ulcer was flown to the Lagos airport and has been checked into a hospital for “appropriate” medical attention at the cost of the British government.
British Immigration Minister, Mark Harper, said Mr. Muazu has “no right” to be in the U.K. and has been “successfully removed,” reported the BBC.
“Halting the removal of Mr. Muazu because of his protest would undermine our asylum and immigration system – and provide a dangerous incentive for others to follow suit,” Mr. Harper said.
Mr. Muazu entered the U.K. on a valid visa but stayed back five years after his visa expired claiming his life was under threat by the Boko Haram militia.
Previous attempts to deport Mr. Muazu sparked controversy in the U.K. with over a hundred rights groups, actors and lawyers starting a campaign to prevent his deportation on humanitarian ground.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151675-near-death-nigerian-asylum-seeker-isa-muazu-finally-deported-u-k.html

Details coming shortly

The senate on Tuesday unanimously passed a harmonised Conference Committee report banning same-sex marriage in Nigeria.
Senate President David Mark has therefore called on President Goodluck Jonathan to quickly sign the Bill into law.
Mark said, “We have been under series of attack from different quarters. I think we believe in this Bill. The earlier we sign it into law, the better. We (Nigeria) have many shortcomings, we don’t want to add this one (same-sex marriage) to it”
The Same Sex Bill, 2011 was passed by the Senate on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 and the House of Representatives passed it on Tuesday, July 2, 2013.
However, some differences were noticed in the two versions of the Bill as passed by the two chambers.
This necessitated the setting up of a conference committee in the Senate to reconcile the areas of differences, which appeared essentially in five clauses of the Bill.
Specifically, the Bill passed by the Senate provides for, among others, that a marriage contract or civil union entered into between persons of same sex by virtue of a certificate issued by a foreign country shall be void in Nigeria.
It also says that a marriage or civil union entered into between persons of same sex shall not be solemnized in any place of worship, either Church or Mosque or any other place whatsoever called in Nigeria but that only a marriage contracted between a man and a woman, either under Islamic Law, Customary Law or the Marriage Act, is recognised as valid in Nigeria.
The Bill also provides that persons that entered into a same-sex marriage or civil union contract committed an offence and will be jointly liable on conviction to a term of 14 years imprisonment each.
http://www.punchng.com/news/senate-votes-against-same-sex-marriage-2/

The court ruled that the woman has a case to answer.
A Yaba Chief Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday in Lagos ruled that a woman, Nkese Iroakazi, who allegedly murdered and set ablaze a nine-year-old housemaid, Eno Bassey, had a case to answer.
The Chief Magistrate, Yewande Aje-Afunwa, gave the ruling at the resumed hearing of the case following a report by the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
She said that the DPP’s report showed that a prima facie case had been established against the accused.
The Prosecutor, Felix Ifijen, who arraigned the accused on August 29, had told the court that Ms. Iroakasi set ablaze the housekeeper, Bassey, on July 27 at her residence, No. 7 Adeniran Ogunsanya, Surulere, Lagos.
According to him, Bassey, suffered severe burns and died a week later at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.
He noted that the offence contravened Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The case was in August adjourned pending the DPP’s report, while the accused was remanded in prison.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/151608-court-remands-woman-setting-9-year-old-housemaid-ablaze.html

Inec and their wahala

Details coming shortly