Photos: Billionaire Chima Anyaso and wife dedicate daughter

Billionaire businessman, Chima Anyaso and his wife, Ada, dedicated their daughter, Princess Chimazala Joan-Chinyere Anyaso, in Lagos on Sunday Feb. 28th. They threw a party to celebrate their bundle of joy. See more photos after the cut...

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This Naija Ladies Were Caught In The Mess of Prostitution

Two Naija ladies saved from a prosti-tution group narrate their ordeal:
The girls who were approached by a suspected unidentified female trafficker at Ekpoma in Edo state to seek greener pastures as workers in a restaurant in Ivory Coast ended up in Togo to work as prosti-tutes. The girls were to pay the woman who never told them her real names but was called “Madam Excellent" the sum of 800,000 cefas in their prosti-tution business.

These girls, 25yrs old Franca Akhimen and 23yrs old Ehinon Onofua, were lucky enough to summon courage and escaped from what would have been the beginning of life on the wild and dangerous side which they might never have been able to come out of. Below are the full details...

In an interview with Encomium, Franca and Ehinon, who disclosed they have learnt their lessons in a hard way, gave a graphic account of how they were deceived and almost ended up as prostitutes…

Can you tell us what happened and how you ended up in Togo to prosti-tute?
Franca: It was in Epkoma in Edo state where I met one lady... I was actually going to church when I met her and she approached me and said she was looking for girls that can work in her restaurant in Ivory Coast. So, when I got home I told Ehinon and we arranged to meet her and she told us what the plan was and when we will be leaving Nigeria for Ivory Coast. 

So, on February 2, we left Edo for Lagos, had a stop at Mile 2, and she told us that was where the car that will take us to Ivory Coast will pick us. So, at exactly 9.30pm, the car came for us and we all boarded that evening. When we got to Togo, I noticed that we were not going to proceed with our journey, so I asked the woman 'why are we here, you said we were going to Ivory Coast not Togo?' and she told me to keep quiet, that whatever she asked me to do I should just do it without complaining. 

Later, she went out to buy clothes and came back with some skimpy and short dresses and gave them to us to wear. I asked why such dresses, because they don’t look like clothes that are worn by a waitress or a person selling food. Again she told me to keep quiet and just do whatever she asked me to do, adding that we were brought to Togo for prosti-tution and in return we get to pay her 800,000 cefas each. 

So, I told my sister, we can’t do this kind of job, we have to find a way to escape from her than to stay here. So, we left without even carrying our bags in order not to arouse any suspicion of us running away. And as we were trying to escape, we met a guy, after listening to our story, he told us he doesn’t know anybody in Togo, because he is from Ghana and can help us get there so that we can get the help we needed. When we got to Ghana, he took us to Christ Embassy Church where we met with two guys and one of them gave us some money which is worth like N7,000 each and we left with the guy that brought us from Togo to lodge in a hotel, because it was getting late and there was nowhere to sleep. He, however, promised us that in the morning he will take us to some pastors so they can help us with transport fare back to Nigeria. 

But to our surprise in the morning while I was taking my bath, the guy took off with the money we were given at the Christ Embassy Church. So, we approached the manager of the hotel and told him our predicament, and he called a taxi, paid the driver and asked him to take us to the Nigerian Embassy and also gave us some money. But unfortunately, when we got to Nigeria Embassy we were told that there was no money to give to us to return to Nigeria. But God so good one of the workers there, asked us to come with him to his house since it was on a Friday and we had no where to stay, but told us that if the embassy does not help us by Monday, he won’t take us back to his house and we have to find help somewhere else...

And did he take advantage of you girls while you were in his house?
Franca: Not at all, he really took care of us and only God can repay him for his kindness. And when we got to the embassy on Monday, there was still no hope for us until we met Mr. Moses Owaro, President of the All Nigerian Community Ghana, who took us back to the embassy with a letter explaining our situation to them, and still no help was forth coming due to financial constrain, and eventually had to fund our trip back to Nigeria with the help of Chief Christopher Obareki, a member of the board of trustees of ANC-GH with the sum of 800ghc to buy our tickets back to Lagos and also gave us N6,000 for our trip from Lagos to Edo state.

Did your families know you were embarking on such mission?
Ehinon: Hmmmm, we didn’t tell our parents because we wanted to surprise them by going to Ivory Coast to work and come back home with lots of money to help us start our businesses, because we just finished learning fashion and design, so we were hoping when we make money, we can come back to Nigeria and buy sewing machines and open our own place and that was a big mistake on our part. But Mr Moses Owaro spoke with my brother in Nigeria to explain the situation of things. So, currently our families are aware that we are in Ghana and will be returning home soon.

How were you able to cross the boarder without the authorities suspecting any foul play?
Ehinon: Anytime we got to the boarder, we were told to come down from the car and cross over to the other side on foot. And what the woman kept telling the immigration officers and other security personnel was that we were going to the next country to buy goods to sell. They told us not to show any sign of fear or fidget in front of the officers.

So, how did you feel when you realized that you are being tricked into prosti-tution instead of working in a restaurant?
Franca: We felt bad, and we just wanted to leave that place even when we had no place to go, rather than sleeping with different men while she takes all the money.

So, what is your advice for young girls like you who are looking for fast means to get rich?
Ehinon: My advice is that, if anybody approaches them and promises to take them somewhere for greener pastures, they should not go, find out if indeed its legitimate. Please confirm before you travel with any stranger that offers you job in foreign land, please don’t go, especially the girls. I’m appealing to you, because you will end up in prostitution and that was the mistake we made. We need to be patient, though there can be delay in reaching our goals but with God it will surely happen.

Franca: You know it is not everybody that tells their parents their plans, especially when it is this kind of travel. They should please not hide anything from their parents.

Gerard Piqué to consider playing in Colombia for Shakira's sake

Footballer Gerard Pique says he might play in Colombia towards the end point of his career because of his partner Shakira, who's from Colombia. It is common among football stars to play in lower leagues towards the end of their career but Pique's decision to consider plying his trade in Colombia is a real sign of love.

Photo: Omotola meets Beyonce's mum, Tina Knowles and her husband

Actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde pictured with Beyonce's mother, Tina Knowles and her husband, Richard Lawson at the 5th Gospel Goes to Hollywood Luncheon held in Los Angeles last week Friday February 26th.

Photos From President Buhari's Return To Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari arrived from Qatar and Saudi Arabi on Monday. He landed at the Nnamdi Azikwe International airport in Abuja and was received with full honours. More photos...

Dino Melaye Causing Commotion with His Expensive 3-Wheel Machine In Abuja

The way Dino is pending is giving some cause for concern as they don't know what business he's in to. Lol!

Check out these wedding photos...the man paired his tuxedo with a wedding gown

Ok, that's a new one. The photos were shared on Facebook. See more photos after the cut..

Nigerians Angry With Police IG, Emir Sanusi Over Young Girl's Abduction and Forced Marriage

Nigerians have expressed outrage over the alleged abduction of 14-year-old Ese Oruru by one Yinusa [aka Yellow] from Kano, who also forced her into marriage.

Nigerians, who read the story of the helpless minor as captured by Punch, took a swipe at the inactions of the authorities, saying the girl was abandoned to wallow in captivity.

Yinusa, a tricycle driver, took away the teenage girl to
Kano on August 12, 2015, from her mother’s shop in Opolo, Yenagoa area of Bayelsa State. The mother, Mrs. Rose Oruru, had gone out on the day leaving Ese and her siblings in the shop. Yinusa seized the girl in her absence. Rose’s attempts to seek the release of the girl at the Emir of Kano’s (Sanusi Lamido’s) palace, where she was reportedly kept met a stiff resistance.

An online reader, who identified himself only as Seagols, wrote, “I feel so ashamed of the Bayelsa State Police Command for saying it’s not abduction, but elopement of a 13-year-old? Shame on the Bayelsa State Government, which can’t stand for the rights of its citizen. Shame on the Emir of Kano, who allowed such injustice. Finally, how could a guy who sold his keke in Bayelsa be this powerful? Just that the police are already biased. More will unfold if only the police were to do their job.”

A commentator, Edward Owens, expressed worry and wondered, “Why is the IG of police and the National Assembly silent on this issue? It is taking too long. Why is the presidency silent on this?”

Another reader, Fineman Peters, said Ese’s case defied sanity and urged the authorities to rise up to the case and ensure that the girl was freed.

“Am I reading a true story here or some kind of fiction? I hope the VP, IG and DSS DG will pick a copy of The PUNCH and read this. What happened to us as a nation? From the word go, everybody involved in this should have been in police net. This is the most blatant state-sponsored case of a paedophile that I have ever seen. My heart is broken as I read this. Our government should be ashamed. If I was in charge of this country, heads will roll. Many heads will roll,” he wrote.

In his comment, Samuel Ogbonaya, said, “This should never happen in a country where there are laws. The laws are clear. How on earth does any sane mind accept that a 13-year-old girl has the maturity to accept to be married and her religion forcefully changed without the express approval of her parents? I thought it is the convention that parents approve their kids to be married and are believed to be the ones to hand over their children to whoever that has followed the process?”

A reader who went by the alias, Thorn in the flesh, said, “This is disgraceful to say the least. How can anyone abduct a 13-year-old girl and term that to be elopement, when the girl in question is an underaged child who certainly cannot give informed consent.”

Another commentator, identified simply as NG, blamed Sanusi and the police for playing politics with the girl’s freedom.

“There is nothing we cannot hear in this country, imagine this? Even the Emir can’t be straight on the matter; the police could not take action and get the girl out. The parents even saw the girl brought in a black SUV. Why weren’t they allowed to take the girl right away, and they were being denied access to their child, saying she had been converted to Islam. How can you marry someone’s child without the knowledge of the parents and the so called Emir and police can’t do anything about it? An underage girl for that matter.”

The Truth wrote, “A 13-year-old girl got married without her parents’ consent? May God Almighty punish Yinusa who abducted the girl, repay Lamido Sanusi for not standing for justice, punish Kano Police Command and DSS for doing nothing. They should arrest the criminal boy called Yinusa and prosecute him.PUNCH please monitor this case to the last because of the girl. Please don’t let this girl perish in the hands of these wicked souls.”

“If the Nigerian government does nothing about this, the parents and their lawyers should petition the African Union, United Nations, Amnesty International, the National Human Rights Commission, the International Criminal Court in the Hague, and all involved should be arrested, tried and jailed,” Donloke wrote.

A reader, Casca, wondered why the Emir was passive on the case despite his level of education and exposure.

He insisted, “This is unjust provocation. God help us. Nigeria is a failed state. Even IG could not do anything about this too! I am disappointed in the so called Emir, after all he is educated and he understands the meaning of a pedophile.”

Security agencies rescue Gov. Dickson's sister without ransom

The younger sister of Bayelsa State governor, Henry Seriake Dickson has been rescued after spending over two months in the hands of kidnappers. A statement issued on Monday by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said 26 year old Nancy Dickson, was rescued on Sunday evening from her abductors without any payment of ransom.

According to him,

"some of the kidnappers took to their heels while others were apprehended following a tip off on their hideouts."

While calling on the people of the state not to succumb to the demands of ransom made by kidnappers, Governor Dickson assured that plans were underway to amend the Bayelsa State Secret Cult, Kidnapping and other Related Offences Prohibition Bill 2012 to proscribe payment of ransom in the state.

He stressed that the Bill when passed into law, would go a long way in putting a stop to the incidence of kidnapping in the state. Dickson urged Bayelsans to take a cue from his personal experience with kidnappers when his aged mother was abducted in 2009 and efforts were made to secure her release without payment of ransom.

As part of efforts to stem criminal activities in the state, Governor Dickson said "a comprehensive security strategy would be launched soon to boost government,s policy of zero tolerance on crime and criminality."

He therefore advised anyone or group of persons who indulge in the unwholesome practice to turn a new leaf as the full weight of the law would be brought to bear on any culprit.

Photos: Iara Oshiomole donates relief materials to IDP in Edo

First Lady of Edo state, Iara Oshiomole, on behalf of the Nigeria Customs Service, donated relief materials to people in an IDP camp in Edo state, recently. The Comptroller General of Customs, Armed Ali, was also at the ceremony where the items were donated. Continue to see more photos..