Shallow Graves in Abia Forest: Governor Says It's True But...

The governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu and his Imo State counterpart, Rochas Okorocha, has admitted that a shallow grave with corpses was indeed discovered in a forest in the boundary community along Uturu axis of Abia State.

They claim that the grave was not the handiwork of Biafra [IPOB] but was dug by suspected kidnappers, who killed and buried five Fulani and two Igbo men.

The governors swore to aggressively tackle the menace of kidnapping in both states. They ruled out ethnic killing or killing by any group, saying it was a case of kidnapping. The joint meeting was also attended by traditional rulers led by the chairman of South East Traditional Rulers’ Council, Eze Eberechi Dick.

At a joint press briefing, shortly after rising from a joint security meeting of the two states, the governors attributed the killing to activities of kidnappers which they agreed needed to be tackled.

According to them, security operatives have been directed to raid the forest and clear it of miscreants, and warned that any property in which kidnapping activity was carried out would be demolished.

Governor Ikpeazu said that they would “re-strategise and make bold statements about the security challenges facing the two states; one of such is that we condemn the spate of kidnapping, especially the five Fulani men that were abducted and assassinated in the forest.”

Governor Okorocha said, “We are here to join forces with Abia and to see how we flush out criminal elements in the two states, particularly the recent kidnapping of five Fulani herdsmen. We condemn the killing of five Fulani herdsmen and two Igbo, who were buried in the forest.

“The culprits have been arrested and they will face the full wrath of the law. I assure you that all of them that were involved will pay the ultimate price for their action. I also want to make the world understand that it was not an issue of ethnicity or hatred for any group, but a case of kidnapping."

Notorious Kidnapper, Chidiebere, Nabbed with Weapons & N5m

Trying to make "cool cash" without working legitimately...na wahala you dey find for yourself. Troops of the 14 Brigade Garrison based in Ohafia, on Sunday 10th March 2016 conducted operation aimed and bursting a notorious kidnapping syndicate based in Nkporo community in Ohafia, Abia State.

During the operation, the troops were able to rescued a kidnap victim who was earlier shot and kidnapped by his abductors at Aba on 6th April 2016.

One of the notorious kidnappers, Chidiebere Sunday, was apprehended 

two of his suspected accomplices escaped. One other member of the gang in a bid to evade arrest through the roof of their den fell from a roof, hit his head on the hard floor and died.

The troops recovered 2 AK-47 rifles, 9 AK-47 rifle magazine loaded with 124 rounds of 7.62mm Special ammunition, 1 Pistol, 2 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 2 machetes and the sum of Five Million, Four Hundred and Ninety Thousand Naira (N5,490,000.00).

Other items recovered include a Toyota RAV4 jeep, military camouflage jungle hat, handsets, iPad, etc.

50 Women with VVF Get Free Repair Surgeries from SNEPCo/NNPC

...and Stephanie Linus’ Extended Hands Foundation

A total of 50 women formerly suffering from the deeply embarrassing consequences of Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) have been given a chance to live normal lives again. This tremendous change was brought about a recent Extended Hands Foundation’s Pool effort in Kebbi state sponsored by SNEPCo/NNPC.

Since its inception, the goal of the Extended Hands Foundation founded by Nollywood star actress Stephanie Linus has been to restore hope and put smiles on the faces of women. The women had the repair surgeries done at no cost to them and their families.

The exercise which was carried out at the Ministry of Women Affairs & Social Development VVF Center in Gesse, Birin-Kebbi was a successful one as the women all had successful surgeries and were nursed back to health at the hospital. Before the surgeries, many of them had been shunned and separated from their families as a result of the embarrassing effects of the condition. Some of them lost their jobs, their husbands, and were forced to live in degrading conditions. Thanks to the successful surgeries, they are now back with their loved ones and are living their dreams.

Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) is a serious disability that can be experienced by women after childbirth. They are holes resulting from the breakdown in the tissue between the vaginal wall and the bladder or rectum caused by unrelieved obstructed labour. The consequence of such damage is a woman’s inability to control the flow of urine or faeces. It occurs more often in young women during childbirth, as their bodies are not yet mature for the process.

The project was headed by the Chief Surgeon - Dr Sa’ad Idris, a seasoned VVF Surgeon with over 20 years experience in the field. He was assisted by Dr Halima Bello, a Consultant and other doctors and nurses at the VVF Center.

Against the backdrop of her recently released movie, DRY, Stephanie Linus who has been an advocate for issues concerning child brides has taken the message of restoration and hope to real women suffering from VVF. This pool effort goes a long way to show that DRY is more than just a movie, but a tool for touching the lives of women actually living with this condition.

Buhari Gets Offered Special $6bn Infrastructure Loan in China

China has offered Nigeria a loan worth $6bn to fund infrastructure projects in Africa’s biggest economy. 

“It is a credit that is on the table as soon as we identify the projects,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, told reporters who traveled with President Muhammadu Buhari to China.

“It won’t need an agreement to be signed; it is just to identify the projects and we will access it.”

Also, the President's man on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, offered $15m agricultural assistance to Nigeria for the establishment of 50 demonstration farms.

The deal was in response to Buhari’s vow to make Nigeria self-sufficient in food production.

The offer, according to Shehu, was made during talks between Buhari’s delegation and high-ranking Chinese government officials led by Jinping.

During the talks, China and Nigeria also agreed to strengthen military and civil service exchanges as part of a larger capacity building engagement.

In line with this, China offered to raise its scholarship awards to Nigerian students from 100 to 700 annually, while 1,000 other Nigerians would be given vocational and technical training by China annually.

Shehu quoted Jinping as applauding the war against corruption being waged by Buhari and assured him that Nigeria would always have a special place in the affairs of China.

Buhari, after the talks, directed that technical committees be immediately established to finalise discussions on new joint Nigeria/China rail, power, manufacturing, agricultural and solid mineral projects.

Update On UNIPORT Protest: School Shut Down As Two Die

What started as noise has led to the untimely death of two students of the University of Port Harcourt who were feared killed during a protest over an alleged policy by the management of the institution that school fees must be paid before they would be allowed to take their first semester examinations.

One of the students, Peter Ofurun, who was hit by a bullet from a policeman, died instantly.

A female student, also hit by a bullet was rushed to the hospital, but sources said she died on the way.

The UNIPORT students’ protest had halted academic and administrative activities in the institution as they demanded the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sunday Lale, should address them and reverse the policy.

The late Ofurun was a student in the Faculty of Management Science before he met his untimely death. His corpse was later taken to the African Independent Television station in Port Harcourt.

It was alleged that the two students were hit by bullets when policemen opened fire to disperse the protesting students from the busy East-West road they had occupied for hours.

However, the state Police Public Officer, Mr. Ahmad Muhammad, told Punch that no life was lost.

“No reported case of loss of life throughout the students’ protest. What the police did was just the discharge of their mandate of restoring normalcy and orderliness in the university,” Muhammad said.

Funny enough, there are photos of the corpse of late Ofurun, OluFamous.Com also sighted the photos

Tompolo Still On The Run, Drags FG To Court From Hiding

Wanted former Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemulopo [Tompolo], has commenced a legal action against the Federal Government of Nigeria, challenging the N45.9bn fraud charges against him.

Tompolo, who approached the Federal High Court in Lagos through his lawyer, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, is seeking an order, restraining the Federal Government and its agencies from proceeding with the N45.9bn fraud charges filed against him.

The defendants in the suit are Federal Government of Nigeria, the EFCC, the Inspector-General of Police, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff and the Chief of Air Staff.

Tompolo, through Adegboruwa, is contending that 

sections 221 and 306 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, which prohibit him from seeking stay of proceedings in his trial, are infringing on his constitutional rights to fair hearing.

He is urging the court to not only nullify sections 221 and 306 of the ACJA but to also restrain the Federal Government, the EFCC and the IGP from deploying those sections of the law against him.

Adegboruwa argued that sections 221 and 306 were in conflict with Section 36 of the Constitution, which guarantees his client’s right to fair hearing.

The suit followed an appeal filed by Tompolo against the dismissal of his application seeking to set aside the arrest warrant issued against him by Justice Ibrahim Buba on February 8, 2016.

Tompolo is urging the Court of Appeal not only to vacate the arrest warrant issued against him but to also disqualify Justice Buba from presiding over his case.

Adegboruwa said Justice Buba must suspend all actions on the charges against his client pending the decision of the Court of Appeal.

The EFCC had since January this year charged Tompolo alongside nine others before Justice Buba for an alleged N45.9bn fraud. But Tompolo went under, employing lawyers to go to court on his behalf.

EFCC Reveals How Ex-Governor Lamido Secretly Took N1bn from Contractors

This is why most government jobs are poorly done and they collapse within weeks or months; the man who is giving out the contracts usually collect a large part of the money through the back door.

The EFCC has presented more witnesses in the trial of ex-gov Sule Lamido of Jigawa, his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha, and two others before Justice Adeniyi Ademola of a Federal High Court in Abuja.

They are being prosecuted on a 27 counts bordering on the abuse of office and money laundering.

Prosecution witness, Micheal Wetkas, an operative of the EFCC, who testified as PW18, said Lamido, his sons, and cohorts received kickbacks from contractors in Billions.

He told the court that investigations into the alleged fraud started in 2007 through to 2015.

He said, “We discovered that Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company, which executed over 21 contracts (for the Jigawa State Government) totalling almost N30bn, had paid over N1bn into the accounts of Speeds International Limited and Bamaina Holding Company – both accounts whose sole signatory is Alhaji Sule Lamido.”

The witness added that N100m was paid into the bank account of Speeds International Ltd., believed to be owned by Mustapha, a son of the ex-governor.

The money was paid under the pretext that it was meant for the payment of a subcontractor.

Wetkas added, “Investigations also revealed that about N100m of third party cheques were cleared into the Access Bank Account of Speeds International Ltd., where Mustapha Sule Lamido is a signatory.

“These revelations resulted in the invitation of the Managing Director of Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company, one Mr. Udo, to the commission, where Udo claimed that the monies paid were for sub-contracts awarded by Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company to the defendants’ companies for supplies of bitumen, diesel and steel iron rods – construction consumables used by the company.

“A close inspection of Dantata and Sawoe’s electronic records, physical books, financial statements, consumable journals, and waybills by the investigators and the forensic team revealed discrepancies which could not be explained.”

The case is still going on with more witnesses to testify with evidences.

Woman Cries; Soldiers Stomped on Her Baby to Death in Delta

Soldiers from the 4th Brigade, Benin attached to Presco Oil, Ovre-Eku, in Ethiope East area of Delta State have been accused of stomping a 20-month old baby to death during early morning raid at Eku community.

The soldiers stormed the community, last Wednesday, in company of some policemen in three Hilux vans in search of youths suspected to have burnt down an excavator belonging to the company.

The firm and the community have been at logger-heads over the former’s alleged acquisition of a disputed land, which did not go down well with indigenes of the community.

Recounting her ordeal, mother of the baby Mrs. Maureen Atori, siad


she was in bed with her husband, Mr. Collins Atori when the door to their apartment was smashed open by a team of angry looking soldiers and policemen who tried to forcefully take her husband away.

She Niger Delta Voice: “As they (soldiers and policemen) were beating my husband and dragging him on the ground, I and my second son were pleading with them to tamper justice with mercy and leave him alone. It was during the commotion that one of the soldiers stomped on my baby, David.”

Continuing, Mrs. Atori, who also suffered injury on her leg, said: “Though it did not occur to me that the impact on my baby was that serious as I was more concerned about the whereabouts of my husband, until he (David) started acting strange and later died as he was being rushed to the hospital.”

Hundreds of youths from the community took to the streets at the weekend in protest over the incident with an appeal to the Delta State government to caution the company and also set up an investigation panel.

The youths, who described the action of the soldiers as reminiscent of the dark days of the military era, said that "though the country is in democratic dispensation, citizens are being brutalized and molested by soldiers in a 'slave and master' manner."

Attempts to get the comment of the 4th Brigade Army Public Relations Officer, Eromosele J. Unuakhalu were not successful as at press time, but a police source at the Abraka police station, dismissed as untrue the claim by Mrs. Atori that security operatives stomped on her baby.

He said the security operatives only arrested Collins, father of the late infant and two others, Shedrack and Christopher Usobotie who were fingered in the alleged burning of an excavator belonging to the company and that matter is being investigated.

But the member representing Ethiope East in the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Evans Iwhurie, said: “As the lawmaker representing the area in the state House of Assembly, I will not sit back and watch this recurring sad development.

"When I was informed about the incident, I contacted the District Officer of Eku police post, who informed me that no such entry as regards the incident was made at his police post, instead a similar entry was entered at the Abraka police station where Presco had filed a petition and made an entry to embark on the arrests made.

"Personally, I will not allow this kind of criminality to happen under my watch while my people are being brutalized and molested over their land by a company using soldiers from the 4th Brigade and policemen to intimidate and harass them.”

N400m Entered Olisa Metuh's Account On Jonathan’s Order

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, on Monday opened his defence before a Federal High Court in Abuja, where he is being prosecuted for money laundering and charges bordering on the N400m he received from the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Metuh’s first witness, Mr. Ike Abonyi, who described himself as a journalist and a public relations consultant, said in his testimony that the N400m was released to the PDP spokesperson by the ONSA in 2014 on the instruction of the then President, Goodluck Jonathan.

Abonyi said the then President informed Metuh of the money paid into his account by the NSA office

saying it was for the purpose of executing the party’s Presidential media campaign for 2015 election.

The EFCC on January 15, 2016, arraigned Metuh and his firm, Destra Investments Limited, before Justice Okon Abang on seven counts, including money laundering involving $2m cash transaction.

Part of the charges preferred against them also bordered on the N400m which the accused allegedly received fraudulently from the Office of the National Security Adviser in November 2014.

Already, the EFCC is prosecuting the then NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), on alleged diversion of funds for security purposes in the NSA office into PDP presidential campaign and other frivolous issues.

Funny enough, on cross-examination Metuh's man admitted that NSA shouldn't be part of PDP funding.

Mark Zuckerberg celebrates National Sibling Day with throwback photo of himself with his three sisters

Yesterday was National Sibling Day in America and celebrities took to social media to post old and new photos of themselves and their brothers and sisters. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared a photo of himself and his siblings as kids from the 1980s. "Happy Sibling Day to my three wonderful sisters. Here we are having a great time and rocking our awesome 1980s ski jackets." he captioned the photo