Whereas, the thick cloud generated by the gruesome murder in a Lagos hotel of one Miss Cythia Osokogwu by her BB friends is yet to settle, a man who suffered similar fate in the hands of a female friend but didn’t die is on revenge mission.
He even recruited a friend and together, they have been all over town drugging and robbing ladies who falls into their snare in retaliation. But like what happened to Cynthia’s killers, the Police in Lagos have arrested the suspects and are telling the story of their lives.
Police sources disclosed to Crime Guard that the suspects were trailed by crack detectives to a popular hotel in Oregun. The sources hinted that the syndicate operated in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Abuja before they were finally rounded up. It was said that several innocent women had fallen victims to the suspects who confessed to have robbed them of expensive jewelries, handsets and cash running into millions of Naira.
In an interview with Crime Guard, one of the suspects who gave his name as Igwe, said he had no apology for what he was doing, adding that a lady he picked in Lagos in 2010 when he came back from South Africa rubbed him after he sucked her boobs and slept off.
He claimed to have stayed in South Africa for 10 years during which he made so much money; but lamented that he got to Nigeria only to be duped by a lady. It was after that horrible experience that Igwe vowed to take his pound of flesh from women.
According to him, he would go out at night and pretend to be a rich man who has plenty of money to spend, look for well dressed women, who have expensive jewelries on, phones and then asked them out. At the hotels, he would drug their drinks, raped them and robbed them afterwords.
This he said has been on for the past two years until they were recently arrested. He further stated that they have been shuttling Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja. In one of their trips to Port Harcourt, he claimed that they made so much money from the girls they caught, but was defrauded by his own boys,adding that he managed to come back to Lagos.
When Crime Guard spoke with the suspects, Igwe the Orlu, Imo State born business man blamed his action on his ordeal in the hands of the first girl he met when he returned to the country.
According to him, “I am a native of Orlu in Imo State, but I traveled to South Africa in year 2000, and I lived for 10 years before I returned home. I came back with $30,000 and I lodged at the Airport Hotel in Ikeja. On the night, I went to Metro Park Night club and picked a woman. I took her to my hotel room and when we got there I had a friend who came to pay me a visit in my room and while we were discussing, the woman discovered that I just returned from South Africa and I had some money.
“When the friend left and we were about to make love, I asked her to take her bath but she refused and said we will do that after sex but while I was romancing her, I sucked her Bosom s before I went into her. But shortly afterwords, I started feeling very dizzy and immediately fell asleep; I did not wake up until 6.00am. When I woke up, I discovered that she was gone; quickly, I checked my bag to see if my properties were still intact but I was shocked that the $30,000 I brought back home and all my Jewelries were gone.
“I immediately ran to the security guard to inquire if they saw her and they admitted seeing her on short, and when they asked where she was going, she told them that she was going to get toothpaste and soap. I rushed back to my room and I check the wardrobe where she kept her cloth and I discovered that her bag and a pair of trouser were still there.
“After waiting for a long time and she didn’t return; I realised that I had been robbed by a prostitute. There and then, I decided to take my pound of flesh from women. I can not count the numerous women I had done this to. But now, I have realized that what I was doing was a transferred aggression; which is not good.”
It turns out that the blinding bling Bobbi Kristina Brown has been wearing on her finger is an engagement ring. The 19-year-old is planning to marry her controversial boyfriend Nick Gordon.
In a promo for "The Houstons: On Our Own" — the reality show about how Whitney Houston's family has been coping after her death — Brown giggles as she breaks the news that she is engaged to 22-year-old Gordon. Let's just say the reaction isn't celebratory — it's more of a stunned silence. Brown's aunt Pat Houston, who was Whitney's manager and best friend, says, "Engagement? This is unacceptable."
Brown's relationship with Gordon — which began after Whitney's death — has raised eyebrows for multiple reasons. First, there's the age factor. Brown is still a teenager. Plus, she's mourning the loss of her mother, who died suddenly in February. But a bigger issue — as you'll see in the clip — is that Houston took Gordon in as a teenager and raised him as her own, alongside Brown. So the family is uncomfortable that the relationship has turned romantic.
[Related: Young love in Hollywood (photos)]http://omg.yahoo.com/photos/young-celeb-marriages-slideshow/
"No one knew that from a godson you would turn into a boyfriend," Whitney's brother, Gary Houston, says while confronting Gordon in the clip. Gordon shoots back, "Nobody has to be in my business." Brown's beau goes on to say that the family has wrongly made him out to be "a bad person."
Gordon himself isn't doing much to help his reputation. Late last month he took to his Twitter account to post a photo of himself behind the wheel of a car while pointing a handgun in the air. The photo was later removed from the social media site. In the new issue of People he addressed the controversy, admitting it was a mistake in judgment.
[Related: Bobbi Kristina Brown and boyfriend involved in mysterious single-car accident: report]http://omg.yahoo.com/news/bobbi-kristina-brown-and-boyfriend-involved-in-mysterious-single-car-accident--report.html
Meanwhile, late last month the Houston family — spearheaded by Whitney's mother, Cissy Houston — filed legal papers asking a Georgia judge to modify the existing terms of the late singing superstar's will. Brown is the sole beneficiary of Houston's estate, so the family wants to restructure the inheritance payouts in an attempt to prevent anyone from trying to take advantage of her. The legal papers stated that Brown is a "highly visible target for those who would exert undue influence over her inheritance and/or to seek to benefit from [her] resources and celebrity." No hearing date has been scheduled on the matter.
We suspect all these topics will be fodder for "The Houstons: On Our Own." The Lifetime series will premiere on Wednesday, October 24.
Amby Uneze There has hardly been pretence about the flamboyant lifestyle of Chief Rochas Okorocha, the governor of Imo State. His flashy way of living predates his governorship status. But as a public figure, many had thought the demands of office would temper his showmanship’s propensity. He proved those who thought along that line wrong Monday when he chose to celebrate his 50th birthday amid pomp and ceremony. It was double celebrations for him as the occasion also marked the 10th anniversary of Rochas Foundation. In his honour, the state government ordered all markets and schools in the state shut. Civil servants, including teachers, with their students in tow, were directed to proceed to Heroes Square, Owerri, venue of the grand finale of the activities marking the birthday of the governor. It was a directive everybody obeyed peremptorily. The celebration of the birthday, which actually ought to have taken place on September 28, was shifted to October 8 to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Foundation of his schools. But between then and yesterday, there have been several activities lined up, all in celebration of the golden jubilee of the governor. Over the weekend, the publicity blitz of the ceremony hit the public dais, as most national newspapers celebrated the advertorials of the governor from his retinue of appointees — commissioners, special advisers, special assistants — as well as friends, associates and contractors to the state government. It was gathered that the governor’s appointees were under strict instruction to take up advert spaces in the media to show solidarity with their boss. It was not certain how the funds for the adverts were sourced. Prime time was also bought on national television to celebrate the governor. But at the Heroes Square yesterday, the pomp associated with the ceremony reached its peak as it turned out a mini parade of the power barons of the country. Leading the pack was former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, who in company with the governor, rode into the square with some streak of a triumphant entry, as the mass of the people who had gathered at the square since 8am rose in loud ovation on sighting their governor and his array of important guests. Other dignitaries include Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai, governors of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi; Rivers, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi; Delta, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; Kastina, Alhaji Shehu Shema, and Bauchi, Mallam Isa Yuguda. In his remarks, Tsvangirai charged African leaders to look inwards by delivering those promises they made during their electioneering campaign, adding that the electorate expected more from them. He commended Okorocha for his milestone in ensuring that his people benefit from the democracy dividends abound in the country. In his own speech, the former Head of State, Babangida extolled the virtues of Okorocha for his achievements in education, philanthropy and governance. He called other leaders to assist the special citizens by providing for them at all times. Okorocha reinstated his vow to put Imo in the map of the fastest developing states by executing only people-oriented programmes. He also promised to complete several on-going infrastructural projects in the state before the expiration of his tenure so as to transform the state. But some concerned Imo citizens who were critical of the flamboyant ceremony, described it as “wild and outlandish”. They expressed dissatisfaction over the exaggerated attention the celebration was given, especially given the huge financial cost of the ceremonies, whereas civil servants have not been paid their September salary. Former presidential candidate of the Peoples Mandate Party (PMP), Dr. Batos Nwadike, a citizen of the state, told THISDAY that it was not right for a sitting governor to celebrate his birthday in an elaborate manner. He expressed worry over the loss of man-hours in the state, arguing that such extreme celebration at public expense could not happen in a productive economy. “This is no reason for a sitting governor to celebrate his birthday. If he must do that, it would not be an elaborate affair, because the governor is still working and not done with the projects in the state. Why should he celebrate when roads are bad, schools are dilapidated, hospitals are mere clinics? People are hungry; civil servants have not received their September salary. So it shows lack of vision, especially when the event is made to be a state affair by closing roads, markets, schools without any feeling for the common man,” he said. Others who commented on the elaborate ceremonies, but who would not want their names mentioned, lamented that the governor overstretched his personal celebration and sacrificed the overall interest of the state. The ceremony which attracted dignitaries from the Northern part of the country and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) chieftains in the South-east, also had in attendance students from Rochas Foundation Colleges in Ibadan, Jos, Kano, Owerri and Okpoko, the governor’s home town. The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Chinedu Offor, could not be reached for comments.
I CAME AND ACROSS THIS ARTICLE FROM ONLINE NEWS, THEN I SAID TO MYSELF I MUST POST IT HERE FOR OTHER READERS LIKE MYSELF...
Earlier yesterday, I posted this on my facebook wall: "Ultimately, Nigeria will need another civil war to end the first civil war of 1967-70." Many of my friends made comments but am sure the hard hitters among my friends must have been silently watching my wall knowing that the JOK they know is anti-war and hate blood shed. Naturally,
they will be astounded by this "new JOK". One very close female friend of mine summarized the understandable confusion when she wrote "Haba Oga JOK! Diplomacy is not working again abi? It is well oo".
Permit me to start with a question here. Is the Nigerian civil war of 1967-70 over? Two recent unrelated events in Nigeria should guide us in answering that question. Speaking at a recent Leadership Newspapers Awards event held at Abuja and reported by Thisday Newspaper of September 19th 2012, Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar reportedly stated as follows.
“I want to recall that during the 1994-95 Constitutional Conference, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, the Second Republic vice-president of this federation, introduced and canvassed for the concept of geopolitical zones.
“I was among those who opposed it because I thought that Ekwueme, coming from the defunct Republic of Biafra, wanted to break up the country again.
“Now, I realise that I should have supported him because our current federal structure is clearly not working. Dr. Ekwueme obviously saw what some of us, with our civil war mindset, could not see at the time. There is indeed too much concentration of power and resources at the centre.
“And it is stifling our march to true greatness as a nation and threatening our unity because of all the abuses, inefficiencies, corruption and reactive tensions that it has been generating.
“There is need, therefore, to review the structure of the Nigerian federation, preferably along the basis of the current six geopolitical zones as regions and the states as provinces.
“The existing states structure may not suffice, as the states are too weak materially and politically to provide what is needed for good governance.”
Personally, I support restructuring of Nigeria with the 6 geopolitical zones becoming 6 Regional Governments of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with as many states and LGA as they want to create. Derivation should be 50% to cure the regions of laziness while the Federal Government will share the remaining revenue strictly on the basis of equality of regions. Of course the centre will have a President with 6 Vice Presidents and part time national Assembly that convenes not more than 4 times per annum, to approve Federal Budgets and legislate on critical issues that will be left in the exclusive list. We need not pay them anything more than a fixed sitting allowance that will take care of their transport and accommodation at Abuja.
Pardon my digression.
Those who believe Nigerian Civil War ended in 1970 should read these lines from Atiku Abubakar. "I was among those who opposed it because I thought that Ekwueme, coming from the defunct Republic of Biafra, wanted to break up the country again. Now, I realize that I should have supported him because our current federal structure is clearly not working. Dr. Ekwueme obviously saw what some of us, with our civil war mindset, could not see at the time."
This is coming from a man who ended up being the most powerful Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. He is also reputed to be one of the most powerful power brokers from Northern Nigeria.
Obviously the Atiku mind set is the Northern/Western Nigeria mind set. To them the war is not over yet. Ndigbo must be punished further for daring to ask for freedom from a marriage that was killing them in 1966. I recall current CBN governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi pointing out the dangers of this anti-Igbo mind set in one of his presentations titled "The Yoruba are Nigeria's problem" in a Paper Presented At The “National Conference On The 1999 Constitution” Jointly Organised By The Network For Justice And The Vision Trust Foundation, At The Arewa House, Kaduna From 11th –12th September, 1999. (You can read a copy from http://theafricansense.blogspot.com/2012/02/yorubas-are-problem-with-nigeria-by.html?m=1). While not agreeing entirely with Sanusi, it is important to note that anti-Igbo sentiments accounts for why Igbo are massacred whenever the gods of the North need blood appeasement. The whole country appears to be involved in this conspiracy and share the Atiku mind set. That explains why even though Dr Ekwueme was a key founder of PDP and the most qualified Nigerian to lead in 1999 the Atikus of this world and their military wing conspired to dash his ambitions. Ekwueme lost PDP primaries because he is "coming from the defunct Republic of Biafra that wanted to break up the country again". That must have been what Atiku and others told the talakawas of the North while bribing them to vote against arguably Nigeria's best hope in 1999. Otherwise, every PDP delegate to Jos convention of 1999 knew Ekwueme was the best of the lot.
Of course we all know the rest of the story, including how a Former military leader was sprung from jail and pardoned of treason convictions and then literally washed, bathed and delivered to Nigerians as our President. That arrangement favored Atiku who knew that an Obasanjo who is just coming out of jail cannot lead and so must depend on his Vice. The arrangement "worked" well till Obasanjo's rehabilitation was concluded and he started thinking for himself. Suffice it to say that Atiku later joined Obasanjo's opponents, even as Obasanjo's VP, because there is no how those involved conspiracy against justice, equity and good conscience will not ultimately disagree and fight each other. But the loser was Nigeria and Nigerian masses who lost an opportunity to have a fit and proper civilian President. We have not recovered from that yet. We will not recover from it until a Nigerian President of Igbo origin is installed. Mark it somewhere and quote me freely, Nigeria will continue to grope about in search of leadership, peace and development until an Igbo man emerges as President. The coming of the Igbo President will signpost the end of Nigerian civil war. For now, the war is still ongoing. By other means.
Recently, renowned Prof of Literature and arguably Nigeria's best writer, Prof Chinua Achebe, released his latest and only book on Nigeria civil war titled "There was a country". This book which was released in UK just thursday and will be released in America on 11th October is not yet in Nigeria. I am not sure that any Nigerian, including those who reacted to excerpts from the book published on wednesday can claim to have read the book as at yesterday. Yet Achebe is being attacked by a whole tribe with the leaders of that tribe already subtly threatening members of the Igbo tribe living in their area because of what Achebe wrote.
“Almost 30 years before Rwanda, before Darfur, more than 2 million people-mothers, children, babies, civilians-lost their lives as a result of the blatantly callous and unnecessary policies enacted by the leaders of the federal government of Nigeria.”
Prof Achebe also said "The wartime cabinet of General Gowon, the military ruler, it should also be remembered, was full of intellectuals, like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, among others, who came up with a boatload of infamous and regrettable policies. A statement credited to Awolowo and echoed by his cohorts is the most callous and unfortunate: all is fair in war, and starvation is one of the weapons of war. I don’t see why we should feed our enemies fat in order for them to fight harder’. “It is my impression that Awolowo was driven by an overriding ambition for power, for himself and for his Yoruba people. There is, on the surface at least, nothing wrong with those aspirations. However, Awolowo saw the dominant Igbo at the time as the obstacles to that goal, and when the opportunity arose with the Nigeria-Biafra war, his ambition drove him into a frenzy to go to every length to achieve his dreams. In the Biafran case, it meant hatching up a diabolical policy to reduce the numbers of his enemies significantly through starvation eliminating over two million people, mainly members of future generations.”
That was the offensive portion of Achebe's book, at least to my Yoruba brothers. Ever since, they've rolled out the drums of "war" against, note this carefully, Igbo and Chinua Achebe. Please don't ask me why Igbo. Don't ask me if the book was written by the whole of Igbo land and Ndigbo. Don't ask me if Ohaneze Ndigbo authored or published "There was a Country". Just read two prominent Yoruba leaders in their own word.
1. “Let our Igbo brothers be reminded that about three-quarters of their assets not in the eastern Region are in Lagos and we have been very liberal and accommodating. We have allowed them to live undisturbed.” This statement was credited to Mr. Ayo Opadokun who was Assistant Director of Organisation of the late Chief Awolowo’s. He aslo said; “It is a rehearse of the perverted intellectual laziness which he had exhibited in the past in matters related to Chief Obafemi Awolowo. When Achebe described Awo as a Yoruba irredentist, what he expected was that Awo should fold his arms to allow the Igbo race led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, to preside over the affairs of the Yoruba nation,” Opadokun said.
2. Senator Biyi Durojaiye, another Yoruba shares Opadokun’s view. He said the Igbo should be more charitable, seeing that both sides of the war are now benefiting from its outcome. He enjoined all to join hands in facing the challenges of the moment, insisting that the way to go is for all Nigerians to support a Sovereign National Conference and restructuring of the polity. “My view is that you don’t expect somebody on the receiving end of a war to say something pleasant about the winners. “I don’t share Achebe’s view that Awolowo did all he did for personal political aggrandisement. It was all in the process of keeping Nigeria one. What he and General Gowon did was in the process of preserving the integrity of Nigeria.”
What does such response tell you about the end of Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970? Personally, it tells me the war is not over yet hence nobody wants the truth about an unfinished war to be exhumed. A whole tribe has been threatened and reminded simply that the war is not over and "we can hurt your properties if you don't stop your son from revealing the truth about the first phase of the civil war".
Taking a cue from Ayo Opadokun and others, many of my online friends went to war against Achebe and Ndigbo. Non even bothered to find out if Achebe lied or not. The most exciting was a full note published by one Festus Akanbi titled "ACHEBE's guided missile on Awo: Awolowo's Account of the Biafran War"(https://m.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10151266120884104) in which he published a 1983 interview by Chief Obafemi Awolowo where he puportedly denied the 5 key accusation against him regarding his civil war activities. Those familiar with the war blame Awolowo for (1) the £20 policy that robbed returning Igbo of billions of money left Nigerian banks before the war. (2) Starvation policy that used hunger as a weapon of war. (3) Change of currency at the beginning/end of the war, (4) abandoned property and (5) indigenization policy almost immediately after the war that allowed Yorubas to buy up UAC, Lever brothers, Cadbury, NBL etc.
Naturally I was interested in reading Awo's defense against those policies for two principal reasons
1. My elder brother, Jona, died of Kwasiokor during the war
2. I learned "tribalism" from Chief Awolowo.
My first instinct when I started reading the interview as published by Festus Akanbi was that Chief Awolowo was speaking as a politician. When he said ordinary Igbo love him I couldn't reconcile that with the fact that as a small boy I watched him and his helicopter being stoned at Etche Road field Aba. My father was living at 119 Etche Road then and I witnessed this stoning by angry Igbo men, boys and girls. Naturally I was attracted to the location by the helicopter hovering to land at the field that is almost opposite my father's house. When I asked my mother why Aba people stoned the man, she told me the man was a wicked man called Awolowo. It was that very day I found out that my only brother then died of Kwasiokor as a result of Awolowo's starvation policy as a weapon of war. I know for a fact that anything named Awolowo in Igbo land is something that reminds Igbo people of civil war wickedness. I challenge my readers to find out about awolowo leaves for wounds and awolowo anti malaria leaves. Ask your parents why they were named after Awolowo and not even Gowon or the butcher of Asaba, Murtala Muhammed.
While going through that interview, I stumbled upon the truth from Awo's own lips. Read this line and take a minute to digest it.
"So I decided to stop sending the food there. In the process the civilians would suffer, but the soldiers will suffer most."-Obafemi Awolowo
Like a Facebook friend of mine wrote recently, English language is not my strong area. Of course I was among those who started primary education under a big tree at the end of the civil war. My 6 year old daughter is more of my English teacher because she is receiving better quality education. But even as an "olodo" I can see that Chief Awolowo used personal singular in describing that policy. Instead of saying "we" or "the govt" he said "I decided..." That means he takes personal responsibility for that policy and it's execution. He expects to be given credit for that "brilliant" starvation policy. What Achebe did in his book was simply to give Obafemi Awolowo credit for the hunger policy of the Federal Govt that led to the death of of my brother Jona and about 2m children.
So why was Achebe and Igbo attacked if Awolowo accepted authoring the hunger policy? My answer is simple, the civil war is not yet over. Our brothers are reminding Achebe and Ndigbo that the winners must be allowed to decide what is true, when the truth can be revealed and also choose who will reveal it.
In conclusion, I think Nigeria needs another war to end the civil war of 1967-1970. This war will be fought with truth and forgiveness as our major weapons. The role played by living and dead Nigeria leaders must be revealed and examined to aid the healing process and those found culpable punished or vilified appropriately.
Today, 7th of October, is the anniversary of the Asaba massacre. Nobody is talking about Murtala Muhammed lining up defenseless Igbo men, women and Children at Asaba and shooting them to death at point blank range. People are making excuses for that crime against humanity and telling us how "all is fair in war" as if there is nothing called war conventions. The articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) extensively defined the basic, wartime rights of prisoners (civil and military); established protections for the wounded; and established protections for the civilians in and around a war zone. The treaties of 1949 were ratified, in whole or with reservations, by 194 countries, including Nigeria of 1967-70 and the present. Massacre of unarmed civilians and even prisoners of war is a crime against humanity. Yet Murtala Muhammed's face is on our currency notes and the biggest airport in Nigeria is named after him. Nobody is complaining thereby legalizing that act of wickedness for the next generation to copy. And copy they have, in Madalla, Kano, Mubi, Bauchi etc.
Let every Nigerian with a conscience join this war to free Nigeria of the evils of our "heroes" past and present. Let us honor men like Prof Wole Soyinka and Late Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya who vehemently condemned Awolowo and Nigeria's war time policies and actions even when it was unpopular to do so. Let us borrow a leaf from Prof Chinua Achebe and expose the evil policies and contradictions that have conspired to keep Nigeria down and under after 52 years of independence.
Unless we fight this war, the civil war of 1967-1970 will not end. And might just end Nigeria as we know it.
ABAKALIKI – A four-year-old girl, little Miss Faith Chukwuka Okorie, of Ohaozara Local Government of Ebonyi State was last Friday reported to have been allegedly kidnapped by unknown gunmen at about 9pm.
Little Faith, who is the daughter of a primary school teacher in Ebonyi State, was kidnapped at the Mgbom Enu, home of Mr. ChukwukaOkorie.
It was, however, gathered that Mr. Okorie while in his residence, was accosted by the hoodlums with guns who forcefully took away his daughter and as they (hoodlums) left the compound, they dispossessed family members of their mobile phones.
A source close to the family said the victim was a pupil of the Federal Government College, Okposi Nursery School in Ohaozara Local Government Council and that so far, the family was yet to ascertain the motive behind the kidnap.
Although, the motive of the kidnappers was not yet clear, Vanguard learnt that the family had established contact with kidnappers who demanded N5 million ransom before the victim would be released.
The incident had been reported to Ebonyi State Police Divisional Headquarters, Obiozara for appropriate action. Contacted, Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer Deputy Superintendent Sylvester Igbo, who said he was yet to be communicated on the development, assured the family and general public of police preparedness to combat crimes and criminality in the state.
(AFP)---Nigeria's military has arrested a number of security personnel over links to Islamist extremist group Boko Haram.
The arrests on Friday came after soldiers from a special military unit deployed in the northeastern city of Maiduguri arrested an immigration officer, Grema Mohammed, for allegedly being an active member of Boko Haram, a military spokesman said.
His confession led to the arrest of a number of other officials.
Boko Haram is blamed for deadly attacks that have killed more than 1,400 people since 2010 as part of its rebellion in northern and central Nigeria.
The arrest "led to further arrests of some other security personnel that had been participating in various terrorist attacks in Borno and Yobe states,"said Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa.
He did not specify how many arrests had been made.
"He confessed to being an active member of the Boko Haram terrorist sect which he joined long before the 2009 crisis," Musa said in a statement in reference to a 2009 attacks by the group.
"He also confessed to having been trained alongside 15 other members of the sect on weapon handling, assassination and special operations in Niger republic," Musa added, referring to the neighbouring nation.
Global terrorists
Grema was arrested over a month ago at a checkpoint while allegedly impersonating as an army lieutenant.
The suspect also confessed to the killings of some senior civil servants, security personnel and politicians who had spoken against the sect in Yobe and Borno states.
Boko Haram shot to prominence in 2009 when hundreds of their members attempted to storm police stations and government buildings in Maiduguri.
The security forces quelled the rebellion and killed dozens of the group's members, as well as its leader, since then, their attacks have been better organised and caused many more civilian deaths.
Three of Boko Haram's leaders have been declared global terrorists by the US, but Washington has resisted calls to slap a terrorism designation on the entire organisation on the grounds that Boko Haram's primary focus is domestic.
US officials also say what has come to be known as Boko Haram may in fact be a number of different factions or groups.
Its main Islamist faction has said it wants to create an Islamic state in the north, but its demands have varied widely.
Former England national team captain John Terry who was stripped off his English captain band by the FA for alleged racial abuse on Anton Ferdinand of Queens Park Rangers who also surprisingly announced his retirement from international football last week on the eve of the hearing by the FA Committee has been found guilty. Terry who made his England debut in 2003 was quoted to have said that his decision to quit international football was a hard decision made “untenable” by the FA. In his words, “I am today announcing my retirement from international football. “I would like to thank the England managers who have selected me for my 78 caps. I have had great pleasure in sharing that honor with all the players that I’ve played with. “I would like to thank them, the fans and my family for their support and encouragement during my international career. “Representing and captaining my country is what I dreamed of as a boy and it has been a truly great honor. I have always given my all and it breaks my heart to make this decision. “I want to wish Roy (Hodgson, the England manager) and the team every success for the future. “I am making this statement today in advance of the hearing of the FA disciplinary charge because I feel the FA, in pursuing charges against me where I have already been cleared in a court of law, has made my position with the national team untenable. “I now look forward to playing for Chelsea FC, and challenging for domestic and European honors, and I want to thank the fans and the club for their continued support” he concluded. Terry was adjudged to have abused Ferdinand racially "contrary to FA Rule E3[2]" in a match involving Chelsea and Queen Park Rangers on October 23, 2011 by the independent regulatory panel. He has been fined 220,000 pounds and also banned for four matches. Terry has got 14 days to appeal against the judgement. In the statement of his defence team, "Terry is disappointed that the FA Regulatory Commission has reached a different conclusion to the clear not guilty verdict of a court of law.
"He has asked for the detailed written reasons of the decision and will consider them carefully before deciding whether to lodge an appeal." A statement from his club, Chelsea read: "Chelsea Football Club notes and respects today's decision by the Football Association regarding John Terry.
"We also recognise that John has the right to appeal that decision. It is therefore inappropriate for us to comment further on the matter at this time."
Thanks to billionaire Hong Kong property developer Cecil Chao Sze-tsung, every heterosegxwal male of the world (within reason) now has a chance to become $65 million richer—and gain a beautiful bride in the bargain.
Apparently disconcerted that his 33-year-old daughter, Gigi Chao, ran off to France in April and become the wife of her girlfriend of seven years, Sean Eav, Mr. Chao Sze-tsung has offered a $65 million bounty to any straight man who is able to seduce Gigi and win her heart.
As a concerned father, Cecil Chao Sze-tsung insists on some basic qualifications for candidates seeking his daughter’s, to avoid a more explicit term, hand: “I don’t mind whether he is rich or poor. The important thing is that he is generous and kind-hearted.”
MORE: Iraq’s Arranged Marriage Suicide Surge
Chao Sze-tsung’s proffered jackpot may seem distasteful, as if it were a form of pimping out his daughter’s reproductive rights, but objections to the businessman’s ploy pale in comparison to the outrage elicited by courtship rituals around the world.
Arranged child marriages, for instance, are enough of a global norm, especially in Africa and southern Asia, that Mr. Chao Sze-tsung’s $65 million would be far more well spent in financing groups working toward eradicating the practice.
Calling it "the world's most-expensive black diamond dress," self-taught British designer Debbie Wingham showcased her latest masterpiece in Kiev earlier this month: a $5.7 million gown decorated with rare black diamonds, the centerpiece of her newest luxury line.
Wingham, who has dressed celebrities including Kate Winslet, Hilary Swank, and Dita Von Teese, calls the gown "an anthem for a beautiful woman who loves life."
Related: Russian asteroid crater revealed to be filled with over $1 quadrillion of diamonds
Twenty-five 2-carat black diamonds dot the peplum of the 29-pound dress, and 25 more adorn the removable shrug; another 5 carats' worth embellish the bustier. It took more than six months to hand-sew the outfit, which also features "fine beading and delicate pointer white diamonds set in white gold with a very fine chain mail detail to add a little more individuality," Wingham writes on her website.
(How big is a 2-carat diamond? A round-cut stone is about 8.1 millimeters, or 1/3 of an inch, wide, according to online diamond retailer Blue Nile.)
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The $5.7 million dress isn't the only diamond-covered creation in Wingham's wardrobe right now. Her "Diamond Range" collection -- her "vision of wearability combined with luxury" -- sports glittering belts, bodices, shrugs, and a line of limited-edition denim jeans with diamond-studded buttons and hand-stitched in 14-carat white gold thread. "Limited edition doesn't quite bespoke couture," she says on her website. "But in high-end commercial terms it's the closest you will ever get." We assume the jeans are dry-clean only.
Though extravagant, Wingham's black diamond gown is not actually the most expensive dress in the world.
Earlier this year, New York-based designers Chloe and Reese created a $15 million little black dress studded with a hundred 3-carat round diamonds at the American Gem Society's Conclave Fashion Show. And in 2010, designer Chris Aire created a white flapper-inspired, diamond-encrusted cocktail dress worth about $20 million.
The $30 million Nightingale of Kulala Lumpur dress, which is decorated with 750 diamonds. (Photo: Mouawad Jewelers)The $30 million Nightingale of Kulala Lumpur dress, which is decorated with 750 diamonds. (Photo: Mouawad Jewe …But the most-expensive dress out there right now is Malaysian fashion designer Faisol Abdullah's $30 million "Nightingale of Kuala Lumpur", created in collaboration with luxury jeweler Mouawad in 2009. The dazzling dress is made out of 14 meters of red silk-satin and decorated with 750 diamonds—1,100 carats worth. It was commissioned by the STYLO Fashion Festival and sports a single 69.68-carat pear-shaped diamond nestled in the ruched bodice. And, yes, it's for sale, Mouawad Jewelers said in a press release.
It makes Wingham's black diamond-encrusted gown look positively practical. Not to mention environmentally friendly.
Wingham uses only gems sourced from Dejoria, "a conflict-free diamond mine," she told The Telegraph. "Everything I do is fair trade and handmade," she added. "I was just in a lucky position, able to do such things. I was just very fortunate."
Not everyone at The Fairmont Grand Hotel in Kiev fell in love with Wingham's dress, which was featured September 14 at Ukraine Fashion Week. (The next showing is set for Dubai in October.)
"I don't even want to try this dress, either to show it off or to be photographed in it," one woman who got an up-close look at the dress told The Telegraph. "I regret that so many diamonds were 'killed' by such an ugly-looking dress. It really does look awful."
Hopes by Nigeria’s President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, to attend the ongoing 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, USA, with First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, were dashed after doctors at the German hospital where she is receiving treatment declared her unfit for discharge, it has been revealed.
Quoting unnamed sources, the Lagos-based National Mirror reported this morning: “Dame was expected to join her husband in New York for the UN Assembly, but a team of doctors attending to the ailing first lady in Germany warned of dire consequences on her health should she embark on any long trip.”
The paper said “it was also gathered from a competent Presidency source that President Jonathan and his wife had planned to use the trip to New York to prove critics wrong and end speculations about the health of his wife.
“However, since it was not possible for Dame Patience to attend the UN Assembly with her husband, based on doctors’ advice, Jonathan had to make a stopover in Germany to see his ailing wife before arriving in New York.”
News Express reports that Dame Jonathan was rushed to Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden, Germany, four weeks and assurances by the Presidency that she was recovering and would return to the country two weeks ago proved to be unrealistic. The ailing First Lady has remained incommunicado for over a month.
An official at Horst Schmidt Klinik once disclosed that initial records showed that the Nigerian President’s wife had earlier been treated for food poisoning back home before being brought to Horst Schmidt Klinik, where she underwent a major surgery for a ruptured appendix to remove the poisons in her intestine.
Though admitting that Dame Jonathan travelled to Germany, presidency spokesmen had claimed that she went for a rest but kept sealed lips on her whereabouts. The Presidency thereafter adopted a policy of silence on the First Lady’s fate despite repeated media enquiries.
This is one of the reason Nigeria should divide bcoz these fools are bringing Nigeria down as one nation, people who doesn't know much about Nigeria might think Nigeria is a muslim country...
A 35-year-old lady yesterday told how her live-in lover poured fuel on her and set her ablaze in Ikotun area of Lagos State.
The lady, Janet Udegba said her lover, Mr. Kehinde Adesamuye, 39, set her on fire because he was angry and jealous over her relationship with other men. She said she was at the Junction where she does her business of selling cooked Indomie before kehinde came that night, poured petrol on her and lit it with fire.
Janet however says Nigerians should not let kehinde go scot free with what he has done to her.
‘’My husband has always been jealous. He used to beat me every time, under any guise and excuse.
I’ve tried several times to leave him, but he always threatens to harm me. I stayed with him because I was afraid of him and my life. He always told me that I could never escape from him, except I leave Lagos State. Anytime I said I was leaving him, he would say, no problem, but that he would do something to me which I would not forget. Now, see what he had done to me. He wanted to kill me.
“I used to sell indomie at Ikotun round about. There are other men and women selling there too. We’re all friends. Last two weeks Friday, one of the traders had a baby. We went for the naming ceremony. Kehinde was there with me. One of the traders gave me a drink; I just took a sip because I was in my flow.
“That was how it all started. He said I was kissing another man in his presence. He said that I sipped from the bottle that the man drank from. Right there, he started threatening that he was going to deal with me when we get home.
To be on the safe side, I called my younger sister, telling her that I might come over to spend the night at her place. I didn’t want him to beat me. When we got home, he cursed, abused and said all sort of things, but I didn’t respond or reply because I didn’t want him to pounce on me. This behaviour continued till Saturday. He even kicked off the bed, but I didn’t mind. I slept on the floor.
When I woke up on Sunday, he had gone out. I rushed to take my bath because I wanted to leave the house before he came back. But he suddenly came back, and started beating me for no reason. He beat so much that I thought he was going to kill me. It was due to the intervention of our landlord that he left me. After that beating, I moved in with my younger sister.”
Government should make sure Kehinde pays for what he did to me. I am an orphan. I have no father or mother. I sell Indomie to live. Now, I’ve spent all my money. In fact, I need help she said.
For reasons best known to Kehinde, he started sending friends to Janet’s shop, to beg on his behalf. He wanted her to forgive him and come back. But she refused. Last week Tuesday, Kehinde came to the shop with another friend to beg once more, but Janet told him that she was through with the relationship. Fuming, Kehinde jumped up from his seat, told her that he had nothing against her leaving, but that he was going to deal with her. He made good the threat by dousing her.
The following day, Kehinde was arrested by policemen as he was strolling along the streets of Ikotun.
A burial ceremony in honour of the former Cross River State Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Mr. Raymond Obeten, was disrupted on Saturday in Obubra Local Government Area, when a giant lizard dropped from the rooftop.
Obeten, who was the immediate past commissioner in the ministry, died on August 29 at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital from liver complications.
At the burial ceremony, several people scampered to safety with some screaming on the top of their voices when the lizard fell and dashed towards the crowd.
The incident brought the burial proceedings to a halt as the cleric who was conducting the farewell mass was taken aback and had to step aside to ask what the matter was.
However, one of the villagers, who identified himself as Mr. Obongha, said the crowd which consisted of relatives of the deceased and his kinsmen from Adun and neighbouring villages, were afraid because they read superstitious meaning into the incident.
“For a diabolical society like ours, the death of a person is always attributed, not to an ailment but one person or an amorphous factor. So, people get scared when something strange, no matter how ordinary, occurs during burial,” he said.
Also, the younger brother to the deceased, Mr. Otaba Obeten, alluded to this when he said the demise of his elder brother was “mysterious and its source could not be far from the tussle currently going on in the village.”
But the commotion did not bother the state Deputy Governor, Mr. Efiok Cobham, who was already seated and awaiting the arrival of Governor Liyel Imoke.
In his farewell message, Imoke eulogised his former aide, saying he took his job seriously.
Imoke said, “Ray Power, as we called him in the State Executive Council, was close to me. He was one person that had great sense of humour because during debate he would not make his speech without a joke that would send us all laughing, no matter how serious the matter was.”
The governor called on the family and the people of Adun, the deceased immediate community, to remain united no matter what differences that might exist between them.
He consoled the deceased’s wife, Helen, and his two children, David and Odam, and asked them to remain humble and focused so that their father’s expectation and desire for them would come to pass.
*The abandoned 17-storey building – House of terror?
RECENTLY, a security man, Moshood Afolabi, was found dead in a 17- storey building after he was declared missing by the family. Earlier, the family had reported his mysterious disappearance to a local vigilante group where he works at Oto-Awori local government development council after four days of waiting for him to return from his usual night watch.
The remains of Afolabi was found in the uncompleted and abandoned building in Oto-Awori after four days’ fruitless efforts by members of his family to locate his whereabouts. Crime Alert learnt that the leader of the vigilante group where he works had alerted both the police and other security agencies after which they started combing the area.
Their efforts paid off later when information got to the group that the body of Mr Moshood was found in an uncompleted building and they went to confirm the shocking discovery. His remains was taken to an undisclosed mortuary for further investigation.
Return from duty post
When Crime Alert visited the wife of the deceased, Raimot Afolabi, the mother of four narrated how she informed the vigilante group when her late husband didn’t return from his duty post. She lamented: “I went to report to Baba Saka who is the leader of the group my husband worked with that he had not returned home for two days after he went to his normal duty post. He was surprised but raised an alarm and ordered his boys to carry out a thorough search. His body was found in that 17-storey buidling. That monstrous house killed my husband.”
When cornered, Saka, the leader of the vigilante group, told Crime Alert: “When the wife reported that her husband had not returned for two days, I commanded a search within the neighbourhood and on the second day, we received a call from an undisclosed person who told us that a body was found in the building. We quickly rushed to see if the body was that of a familiar person. When we got there, we recognized the body to be that of late Moshood. We then deposited his remains in a mortuary for further investigation.”
Investigations by Crime Alert revealed that the abandoned building has been a notorious hideout for criminals in the area. Residents of the area who pleaded not to be named for fear of their lives hinted that criminals normally share their loot inside the uncompleted building.
Some of them said that a lot of criminal activities had been happening in that building with boys of different shades and characters seen coming in and going out of the place. One of them said: “We have also been hearing gun shots from the place. It is amazing that security agents have not cared to raid the place and clean it up. It is a haven for armed robbers and ritualists.”
A community leader in the area, Alhaji Daura also told Crime Alert that the building has a very bad record in terms of crime. He said: “I remember when I came into Lagos for the first time, that was when members of Odu’a Peoples Congress, OPC, arrested people they suspected to be criminals.
An officer that was attached to the community police was found dead in that same building and also, just last week, a girl was thrown down naked after being raped by some heartless men of the underworld. That place has been an hideout for criminals who steal and terrorize our community. They go in there to share the loot stolen from us.”
Incidentally, as a result of the notoriety of the building, the death of Afolabi there, elicited little or no sympathy as people in the neighbourhood went about their businesses as if nothing happened. Only the distraught wife was left to mourn the demise of the bread winner of their family. She said that she would be saddled with the onerous responsibility of catering for her growing children all alone.
Crime Alert gathered that both Oto-Aowri local government Council and good Samaritans who live in the community have been helping her to overcome her burden. Some members of the community used the opportunity to appeal to Police authorities in Lagos State to help them put a stop to the crime that has be giving them sleepless nights by creating more police stations because the only station there, Hausa Ilemba division, was not enough for a whole community like Awori.
The Holy book clearly stated that as part of signs of end time, Kingdoms would fight against Kingdoms, Nations would rise against its neighbours. Such is the case of a self-acclaimed prophet in Edem community, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State as he has threatened to blow up the catechist of a Catholic church for allegedly causing obstruction to his prospective members.
The ‘unholy war’ ensued between the clerics when Prophet Ekene observed that business was no longer as bountiful as usual in his church. After much inquires, he confirmed that the catechist of St. Dominic’s Catholic church, Mr. Joseph Ugwu, acting on instructions by the parish priest Rev. Fr. Patrick Ujah, had passed a strict warning to the congregation to desist from visiting his prayer house or bear the consequences.
A reliable source in the know, stated that the Catechists warning didn’t go down well with the prophet as the there was a drastic effect on the number his members.
Regardless of the “mind-blowing testimonies” from those who visited him, the Prophet lost a huge bunch of his members. In order to tactically restore his lost glory, the prophet allegedly applied some Catholic doctrines in his prayer. The sign of the cross and the rosary was also said in every gathering.
“However, the style of his vision brought confusion among people, enthralled rancour, and mutual suspicion. People began to see their brothers as the source of their problems, while some who visited the prophet insisted that the names of their enemies should be revealed to them,” confirmed the source.
All attempts by the Parish Priest, to make Prophet Ekene get authority from the Catholic secretariat in Nsukka and recognition letter from his home parish to boost his authenticity proved abortive.
Consequently, the priest forbade Catholics from visiting the prophet or risk excommunication. Unable to bottle his anger and pains over adverse effect of the order on his church, the prophet sent emissaries to the catechist to stay out of his way. But the Catechist remained unperturbed, however, the prophet personally confronted him with severe warning and threat to bomb his entire household if he doesn’t to steer. He was also said to have threatened to become ruthless to any obstacle on his way.
However, nemesis caught up with the fake prophet when the youths of the community caught and arrested him for allegedly defiling little boys in the community. He was humilated and taken to the Igwe’s palace. The Prophet later confessed to the homosegxwal act after two of his victims recounted their experiences before the counsel of the elders. He was at the verge of being lynched by the angry youth but for the timely intervention of the traditional ruler who handed him over to the police.
Some sources claimed that the prophet was granted bail and he immediatly fled the community, but the Police Public Relations Officer in Nsukka, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, maintained he is yet to be informed about such development.
A 35-year-old security guard, Niyi Ayoola, has been remanded in prison custody by an Osogbo Magistrate’s Court for allegedly molesting a housewife, Mrs. Bola Osunlana.
The charge sheet obtained by our correspondent on Friday alleged that Ayoola forcibly had carnal knowledge of Osunlana in Iloro market, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
The charge sheet stated that Osunlana, a trader in the market, was going home about 10:20pm, on August 29, 2012 when Ayoola stopped her and demanded to know her identity.
Despite telling Ayoola that she trades in the market, the guard allegedly refused to let her go.
Police prosecutor, Sergeant Elisha Olusegun, said instead of performing his primary responsibility, which entails protecting members of the public, Ayoola engaged in crime against the woman.
Olusegun, who said the alleged crime was contrary to Section 357, stressed that the crime is punishable under Section 358 of the Criminal Code, Cap 34. Volume II, Laws of Osun State, Nigeria, 2003.
But Ayoola pleaded not guilty to the one-count against him even as his lawyer, Mrs. Nnena Ngwu, pleaded with the court to grant him bail.
Ngwu insisted that any accused person should be presumed innocent until the contrary was proved in a law court, adding that Ayoola would not attempt to subvert justice if granted bail.
But the Magistrate, Mr. Adewunmi Makanjuola, ordered that Ayoola be remanded in Ilesa prison custody and adjourned the case till September 20, 2012.
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