This man, 42-yr old Liasu Sakiru, resides at Okuluku Quarters in Ado-Odo, Ogun State. He was kidnapped and was about to be killed by his captors when luck smiled on him. He narrated his ordeal to Oluwole Adeboye and Dedeigbo Ayodeji:

•Liasu Sakiru
I am a palm kernel buyer, I went to the farm at Igemu village via Ado-Odo, Ogun State, to pick my uncracked palm kernel. And on my way back home at about 4.pm I met two boys, Azeez a.k.a Ishan and Muyideen, his Elder brother and they ordered me to come down from my pick up van with registration no XA 164 FST. They asked me of my identity card and my response was that I had none, that I got my licence from the Ministry of Agriculture, Abeokuta. Suddenly Azeez, said “your chairman Adebisi Ajiboye has reported you that you were stubborn and we shall deal with you.” From there they started beating me and took me on their motorcycle which had no number plate from Ago-Sango to Ido-Ilehin and as they carried me Azeez asked for my phone and I said it was in my pick up at Ago-sango where they stopped me”.
Muyideen went on Okada to the Pick Up leaving me and Azeez; behind to bring my phones. When he returned he said he got N13,000 and two mobile phones. He asked if that was all I had and I replied that I had more than what they brought. And the three of us went on the same Okada. As we got to Ido-Ijana, I raised the alarm to draw the attention of people, I called the name of Iya Akeem, whom I know too well saying, ‘E gba mi o’, meaning please save me. Then, they said they will kill me, that I should say my last prayers and they changed into another route towards Aisuwe Village, Wesunme. They asked if I know anyone in the village and I said that is my mother’s village but I was lying and they asked me again to give them three names of people I know there. I did, using my initiative to just list any name that came to mind.
They didn’t wait and I was taken to another village to say whatever I wanted to say before they will kill me. I just kept quiet, wondering how I could escape from them. They said “you do not have identity card, you were among those who killed our mother at Babalawo village, Ido-Ilehin.” On the way when they were about to kill me, they met a man whom they knew and greeted, I don’t know why but they asked the man if he knew me and the man’s response was that he knew me and that am a relation of his. That was how I was saved by that good Samaritan after being tied and beaten severally. After being rescued I was taken to Isanyin village where I was recognised as Alhaji Liasu’s son, I was helped to treat the bruises and my leg and hand were bandaged. I am an Egbado man and because Awori people and Egun people are fighting they just keep killing people.
P.M.NEWS investigation revealed that the incident was reported at Ado police station and the suspects were arrested. The police investigation officer is Dotun;attached to Ado-Odo Division, Ogun Sstate. A young man called Olufemi Dada was abducted on the farm and killed. Up till now, his corpse was yet to be found. The police are also investigating that and the one involving the two suspects who have since been charged to Ado-Odo Magistrate’s court and were granted bail.
—Oluwole Adeboye/Dedeigbo Ayodeji
 

via PM News

Corruption and the pain of being a Nigerian physician. Written by Ahidjo Abdulkadiri Kawu Colleagues, 1. I am a spine surgeon employed at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada Abuja as a consultant. 2. I was a fellow of Scoliosis Research Society at the New York Hospital for Joint Diseases, US in August 2010 under the tutelage of Dr Baron S Lonner. 3. At the completion of my training, Dr Baron S Lonner on my behalf approached Samantha Torres of DePuy Spine Inc US for donation of spine equipment to help operate indigent patients in Nigeria to put to practice all I have learnt with him. 4. On the 15th December 2010, DePuy Spine Inc US approved the donation of some spine items for use by me at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada. 5. I contacted my hospital management who informed me to ship the equipment to Nigeria. 6. My clearing agent Siklaw Global Resource Ltd after completing the Form M and risk assessment paid the custom duty on the 6th march 2011. 7. The equipment was shipped in to Nigeria from the US and arrived in May 2011. 8. On arrival, the O/C (Officer in Charge) Custom Services Mr Wakama GAP inspected the document and said that we must settle him before he release the good since the donated equipment has a value of about N50 million. 9. I instructed the clearing agent to refuse to part with any money. 10. In order to frustrate the release of the equipment he refused to examine or release the equipment till it incurred a demurrage of N27, 800.00. His Immediate bosses intervene and directed him to inspect and release the equipment 11. In-order to justify his delay in inspecting the goods, he wrote a report that we undervalued the goods so as to evade payment of the requisite custom duty 12. Due to his greed; the need to justify his action and covered his crime he forgot that medical equipment and donated materials for humanitarian purpose do not attract any duty 13. This issue dragged on till 15th July 2011, when I wrote an official petition to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Custom Service. 14. There was no response from the Nigeria Custom Service till October 2011 when I officially reported the case to ICPC for further action 15. In November, I was invited by the investigation officer from Nigeria Custom Service to tell my story 16. I was informed by the investigating officer that I have not done anything wrong and that the officer knows that too and that the equipment will be brought to the hospital for me. 17. Since November till date, the equipment is still at the storage which the Nigeria Custom Service has refused to release 18. I have discharged home to die many patients who would have benefited from this equipment. 19. I wanted the government to investigate this claim and appropriate sanction should be applied to this irresponsible officer whose greed has led to death of many indigent patients in Nigeria, yet I have not received any correspondence from them. This is the story of Nigeria, where thieves have taken up our lives and greed is our religion

UPDATE: The dreaded Islamist Sect Boko Haram has again called on those living in the North to join the fight against the corporate entity call "Nigeria."

Boko Haram made the call few minutes ago through a man who claimed to be the Sect's spokesman in a telephone chat with Journalists from an unknown location. The group said it had "closed all possible doors of negotiation" with a government of "unbelievers" that it cannot trust, and called on

 Muslims to join the fight against it.




The Sect claimed responsibility for the abrupt withdrawal of Alhaji Ahmed Datti from being the go-between between the Sect and the Government, saying the battle against Nigeria must be continued and won, while warning Nigeria security operatives to be ready for the new face of bloody offensive to begin soon.

 

The statement to local journalists in the sect's heartland of Maiduguri came two days after a Muslim cleric brokering initial peace talks pulled out, dimming hopes of a negotiated end to the insurgency.




"Almighty God has told us repeatedly that the unbelievers will never respect the promises they made. As such, henceforth, we will never respect any proposal for dialogue," Abu Qaqa, a shadowy figure who frequently communicates with journalists on the sect's behalf, said by phone in the northern Hausa language.




The group has said it wants to impose Islamic sharia law across a country split equally between Christians and Muslims.




"We are certain we will dismantle this government and establish Islamic government in Nigeria," Abu Qaqa said. "There is no doubt in our minds we will emerge victorious. We are calling on all Muslims in this part of the world to accept the clarion call and fight for the restoration of the Caliphate."

 

The departure of Datti Ahmed, a former ally of Boko Haram's founder, is a major blow for talks between government and the islamist sect which were only in their early stages, although some security sources doubt peace talks are possible with a sect so fragmented and radicalised.




The talks were aimed at ending months of bomb and gun attacks by Boko Haram that killed hundreds, mostly in the majority Muslim north, and have at times dominated Goodluck Jonathan's presidency.




The group has said it wants to impose Islamic sharia law across a country split equally between Christians and Muslims. 

Worried by the huge debt owed the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, and the company’s inability to meet its basic obligations to key suppliers, the Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, has summoned the chief executives of the 11 distribution companies created out of the state-owned power utility.
 The distribution companies are the sole source of revenue for the PHCN, even as the minister threatened to seek presidential approval to deduct debts at source from ministries’ votes.
 “I will brief the president on decisions you arrived at the retreat, and if there is any need to start deducting money at source from the votes to ministries, departments and agencies in order to strengthen the power sector, which is very dear to him, the president will certainly not hesitate to do so,” Nnaji said.
 The emergency meeting, according to sources in the ministry, “is to help create a paradigm shift because Nnaji believes we cannot continue with a system, which has failed over the decades and still expect a different result.”
 The meeting, mandatory for chief executives and marketing chiefs of the distribution companies, held at Oriental Hotel, Lagos, this weekend, with officials of the Presidential Task Force on Power in attendance.
 It was gathered that the monthly PHCN revenue, which was N11.8billion when Nnaji assumed office last July, rose to N15.6billion in December, but declined to N12.8billion in January, following the general strike against the removal of petrol subsidy. However, unconfirmed reports suggested it was N14.9billion last month.
 At an unscheduled meeting in his office last week with top ministry and PHCN executives responsible for revenue mobilisation, ahead of the Lagos meeting, the minister directed the officials to work out strategies “that will result in a monthly revenue of at least N22.5billion, the irreducible minimum which we must generate to ensure regular settlement of PHCN’s obligations to power and gas suppliers like Shell, Agip and AES.”
 PHCN indebtedness
 The PHCN allegedly owes various companies huge amounts of money:
 * Agip N60billion for its power plant at Okpai in Delta State, which produces 470Megawatts;
 * Shell $78million for its 561MW from Afam in the Rivers State
 * Nigerian Gas Company N10billion for 700million standard cubic of natural gas
 * National Integrated Power Project N6billion for power supplied from its stations in Sapele in Delta State and Olorunsogo in Ogun State
 * Ibom Power N300million for the 90MW generated from its plant at Ikot Abasi in Akwa Ibom State.
 As a result, Nnaji noted, “Even when we generate N22.5billion monthly, it will still not be big enough for our maintenance and operations, but enough for only the payment of gas and power supplies, as well as for the wage bill which has ballooned since we last June approved a 50% increase in salary as part of the incentive package for the entire 50,000workforce.”
 The minister also directed the executives to search for “new and creative ways to recover the N100billion owed PHCN by customers across the country,” dispelling the notion that the government debt is the cause of the debt crisis.
 “What the government and all its agencies in the country owe is about only 20% of the debt stock. Therefore, there must be a paradigm shift in the way we have been going about our revenue business, including the deployment of modern technology,” he declared.

http://aje.me/AmtF1E Click here to watch the video

The Vatican's top official responsible for relations with the Muslim world explains why Christians flee the Middle East.
http://aje.me/AmtF1E
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According to the Vatican, more than half of Iraq's Christians have left the country since the US-led invasion in 2003. On New Year's, a bomb went off in a church in Egypt, killing at least 20 people. And in Nigeria a bomb destroyed a church on Christmas 2011, leaving 35 people dead.
 
There is no shortage of headlines on the painful events between East and West, between Muslims and Christians these days. And as a sign of its concern about recent attacks against Christians in the Middle East, the Vatican has announced it is dispatching Cardinal Tauran to Nigeria for talks and meetings.
 
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran is the leading official in the Vatican responsible for relations between the Catholic Church and the Muslim world.
 
In an exclusive interview, Cardinal Tauran talks about the attacks against Christians in the Middle East. Who is behind the attacks? What is the fate of Christian communities in the Middle East? How has the Arab Spring impacted dialogue between religions? And is there room for dialogue?
 
Tauran warns of a "clash of ignorance" between Muslims and Christians. "We succeeded in avoiding the clash of civilisations, let us avoid a clash of ignorance." In Europe, "there is a fear of Islam, but it is due to ignorance," says Tauran.
 
"If you speak to right-wing groups, you realise that they have never opened a Quran and never met a Muslim. There needs to be a big effort to educate, to inform them... Because most of the problems are coming from misinterpretation or ignorance."
 
In terms of the Middle East, Tauran says that there are school textbooks in which "Christians are never called Christians, they are called misbelievers, and this is not right."
 
"For me the great temptation for the Christians in the Middle East is to emigrate. I think if Christians would leave the Middle East, it would be a tragedy, because first of all they are leaving the earth where they were born because Christians have always been in the Middle East. And all the holy places would become museums and that would be a catastrophe... You cannot deny that they are the target of a kind of opposition. I have been in the Middle East for many years and what I felt was that Christians feel they are second-class citizens in countries where Muslims are the majority."
 

By Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt
 
Justice Gladys Olotu of a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday ordered the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) to pay N4 billion as general damages to some communities in Imo State, for crude oil spillage.
 The spill occurred on April 29, 1997.
Before filing the suit, a N900 million ex-gratia was made by Shell to the communities, for which they signed an undertaking that the full and final settlement for the oil spill had been made.
The affected communities are Umudike, Alimiri Umudike, Ekpe Agah, Ukpazizi Ekpe Mbede and Etekuru.
Shell’s pipeline ruptured along the Egbema-Assa delivery line, destroying the areas’ streams, swamps and forest, causing pollution and environmental degradation.
The communities, led by Sylvester Onyema Esiegwu and 11 others, through their counsel, Lucius Nwosu (SAN),filed the suit, demanding N5,408,000.000 as special damages, as assessed by their chartered valuation surveyors.
Justice Olotu said the course of justice would not be served, if she had to agree with Shell, based on the document corroborating the earlier agreement.
She reiterated that ex-gratia means favour and not right, stressing that the agreement with the communities could not stop their rights to claim adequate compensation.
The judge noted that the N4 billion would be for the indirect economic losses and negative environmental impact the communities had suffered, including loss of objects of reverence, totems, historical landmarks, air quality and associated fear and forced refugee status.
Experts’ report showed that the spillage was as a result of external corrosion on the pipeline, buried seven metres deep, but in the course of the trial, Shell alleged that the spill was caused by sabotage.
 
via The Nation

MARCH 20, 2012 BY TUNDE ODESOLA, OSOGBO
 
A nine-year-old pupil of Sunshine Nursery and Primary School, Ile-Ife, Osun State, (name withheld) has narrated before a High Court sitting in Ife how she was allegedly raped by her teacher, Mr. Francis Ijiwande.
 
At the hearing on Friday, the pupil alleged that Ijiwande had a forceful carnal knowledge of her in 2010.
 
The pupil told the court that the teacher accosted her when she was urinating behind her classroom and subsequently raped her on the school premises – after the school hours.
 
But the teacher restated his innocence before the court, stressing that he did not commit the crime.
 
The pupil told the Justice O Siyanbola-led court that, “Mr. Ijiwande was my teacher in primary four. I was in primary five when he raped me. When I was urinating behind the classroom, I saw uncle (Ijiwande) standing at my front.
 
“As I was urinating, uncle pushed me down. He removed my pant and threw it away. I shouted for help but no one came to my rescue. Uncle removed his trousers and boxer. He then lay on me and removed his private part and put it inside my private part.
 
“I felt the pains in my thigh and back when uncle was on me. Uncle did not stay long on me. I also felt the pains after uncle stood up. I managed to stand up and stay with my younger brothers, who were waiting for my father at the front of my school.”
 
When asked if she told her parents her ordeal, the victim replied, “I did not tell my parents because uncle Ijiwande threatened to kill me. I only complained of back and thigh pains. My parents gave me Paracetamol, (a pain reliever), but the pains persisted.”
 
She explained that her mother discovered the fate that had befallen her four days later when the pains did not subside, adding that she was subsequently taken to a hospital.
 
The victim said, “My mother called me in the evening and ordered me to remove my pant. She discovered something like mucus and clotted blood at my private part. My mother shouted and she started crying. My father woke and we all prayed together and we went to sleep.
 
“The day, my parents took me to a hospital. A doctor conducted a test on me. We later went to a police station where I made statement on what uncle Ijiwande did to me and he was arrested.
 
“Two policemen followed me to where uncle raped me. My parents and Aunty Bisi, the proprietress of the school, also followed us. Aunty Bisi called me aside and told me not to mention uncle Ijiwande’s name again. She told me the police would kill him and that I would not see him again.”
 
Testifying before the court, a Professor of Gynecology, Orji Okechukwu, who conducted a test on the victim, confirmed that the pupil was actually raped.
 
Okechukwu accused the police of lack of diligent prosecution, saying they failed to conduct a test on the girl and the accused when the matter was reported.
 
The gynaecologist said he refused to release the result of the test he conducted on the victim and the specimen he took, alleging that the police thereafter began to threaten him.
 
However, the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Moses Faremi, prayed the court to adjourn the case for further hearing, saying he was not healthy.
 
Justice Siyanbola granted Faremi’s prayer and adjourned the matter till April 18, 2012, for further hearing.
 
via Punch

From EMMANUEL OGOIGBE, Warri
Tuesday, March 20, 2012

 
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Warri, Delta State has warned that no member of the branch will handle cases bordering on kidnapping and killings of innocent persons henceforth.

Chairman of the body, Chief Gweke Akudihor, who disclosed this yesterday while speaking with newsmen at the opening ceremony of a two-day seminar organized for lawyers from the South-south geo-political zone, expressed deep worries that the incident of kidnapping and killings had reached an alarming situation.

According to him, the decision was taken at a crucial meeting of the executive body on Sunday, regretting that government had failed to nip the situation in the bud.

“We took the fundamental resolution that lawyers in the area will no longer defend cases bordering on kidnapping and killings because they are acts of terrorism that does nobody any good,” stressed Akidihor, maintaining that any lawyer who fails to comply will be sanctioned.
He said if drastic actions were not taken to stop the incident, it would continue unabated, adding that perpetrators would now regard it as a very lucrative business.

“It is unfortunate that Nigeria is confronted with acts of terrorism and it seems to give the impression that government does not know what to do. We understand clearly that the problem did not start with this present administration, regrettably, the Nigerian government has not been taking this worrisome issue seriously,” lamented the NBA boss.
To stem the alarming situation, Akudihor therefore suggested that jobs be provided for our teeming youths who were jobless, lamenting that kidnapping and killings of people were capable of destroying the fabric of the Nigerian society.
He lauded the theme of the seminar entitled: An overview of the various regional mechanisms for the promotion and enforcement of Human rights, put together by the national body of NBA in-conjunction with Mac Arthur Foundation, meant for the training and re-training of lawyers.

From BAMIGBOLA GBOLAGUNTE, Osogbo
Tuesday, March 20, 2012

 

Photo: Sun News Publishing

 
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Hearing continued yesterday at an Osogbo High Court on the case of an alleged rape of 23-year-old Helen Okpara, who was a National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) member by a traditional ruler in Osun State, Oba Adebukola Alli, the Alowa of Ilowa in Obokun local government area of the state. The victim revealed how the monarch raped and bruised her private part.

“The monarch came over me and I started panicking and ran into a toilet where he started struggling with my clothes and pulled it off. He collected my clothes and said he was going to soak them in water. He came inside the room and switched off the light, he struggled with me on bed and that was how he raped me. I kept shouting but the Oba told me that nobody would hear me. And after I noticed that something was dropping from my private part.”

Okpara who recently completed her national service in Ilowa, the monarch’s domain was led in evidence by the principal state counsel, Mr. Biodun Badiora and she took her time to explain to the court how Oba Adebukola forced her to bed.

Miss Okpara, while narating her ordeal said, “I was engaged by the monarch to distribute forms for a computer training he organized and after distributing the computer training form to the participants, I told the Oba that we are through for the day and he said I should wait that he was going to drop me on the way to my house. So I waited for him and he drove me in his car but when we got to the front of my house where I was expected to drop, he said I would have to follow him to Osogbo for the registration of the forms, saying that the state government is expecting the forms.”

She explained further : “I told the Oba that it was late and that I can’t make it to Osogbo but he made a promise to bring me back to the village whatever time it cost. When we got to his house in Osogbo, he didn’t mention anything about the registration of the forms, so I told him I wanted to leave but he said it was already getting late and that he couldn’t risk driving at night.”

“I told the Oba to drop me in front of a police station that I would find my way home, he didn’t comply. Instead, he went inside a room and came out with a bundle of N200 notes and threw it at me that I should collect, because he mentioned how impressed he was with my performance at the computer training centre but I told him I didn’t need his money.”

According to Okpara, Oba Adebukola went in with the money and when he came out of the room, he had undressed
“When I told him I was leaving, he said I wasn’t going back that night and that he had been using many ways to get at me but I always turned down his advances and he said he was going to harm me that night.”
The accused monarch was in court and it would be recalled that he had told the court through his counsel, Tawfiq Tewogbade that he made love to Helen and that she enjoyed it while it lasted.

From IKENNA EMEWU, Abuja
Tuesday, March 20, 2012

 

For the second week running, confusion has had the better of the Force Headquarters of the police in Abuja. While it has not got over the helicopter crash that killed DIG Haruna John and three other senior officers last week in Jos, Plateau State, yesterday was a different turn in the event of things.

The day that started normally later ended in confusion as the last batch of Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs) came back to the offices they left.

The return that looked like a hijack of the offices, was said to have been at the behest of the Presidency.
As the ex-AIGs came back, they all headed to the offices from where they left the service. Even those of them that served at the zonal divisions were also there in their official uniform.

The drama took the police headquarters unaware as the story making the rounds was that since the AIGs had challenged their ouster, they possibly got orders from powerful offices for their return pending when the matter would be resolved.
During the drama, those who got to their former offices and met some other AIGs already posted there, ordered the new occupants to leave immediately.
But for those whose offices were still unoccupied, it was a smooth sail as they simply got back into the saddle as if they were never out.

The situation, according to a reliable source, forced the serving or new AIGs to take the option of leaving and planning to get back to where they were promoted while serving as Commissioners of Police.
But another dilemma is what becomes of them as the positions they left had been filled either by newly-appointed state commissioners or those in charge of units and formations.
In the first week this month, four AIGs were among the 40 senior officers between the ranks of Deputy Commissioners of Police and Commissioners of Police forcefully retired.

Seventeen officers who had served the 35 years statutory requirement were also retired formally on March 1.
But regarding the other officers, the Police Service Commission (PSC), led by retired DIG Parry Osayande, had asked them in writing to tender their voluntary retirement letters. Many of them, who felt there was no reason for such coercion by the PSC, resisted it.
However, some of them gave conditions which included promotion to the next rank while they accepted to apply for voluntary exit.

One of the contentions was what they called illegal and inappropriate promotions of some junior officers to DIG position and never deserved, by order of hierarchy, to get such quantum leap in promotion.
While the brouhaha festered, the aggrieved officers had petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan, the leadership of the National Assembly and the National Security Adviser (NSA), calling for a reversal of the order for their retirement.

That was the last ditch as the PSC had insisted that the affected officers write a committal so as to shift the liability of an illegal retirement out of its doorsteps. They had feared that if the PSC served the officers letters ordering their retirement, they might have valid legal claims against the PSC. As coercion did the job of making them commit in writing to leave the service, they noted in their petition that they were forced out.
The officers complained in their protest that Osayande, rather than bringing reforms in the police as expected, is causing confusion.

They challenged their forced eviction and asked the President, NASS and NSA to order a reversal.
But what could not be immediately ascertained by Press time was whether President Jonathan or any of the other officers ordered them back to their posts pending a final decision.
The returnee AIGs, according to Daily Sun sources, were not in the mood to talk to anybody or give details of what informed their stepping back to office by storm.

Also the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), DCP Sola Amore, refused to pick several calls to him. Even a text message sent to him at about 6.32pm yesterday intimating him of the intention of the caller and the need to reply, never yielded any positive dividend. Till Press time, Amore had not got back to the caller or replied the text.
However, another very senior officer and one who works closely with the Acting Inspector-general of Police, Mohammed Dikko Abubakar, at the headquarters, who picked his call, declined any comments. He could neither say yes or no, but just directed Daily Sun to Amore.

“The procedure is to visit the website and fill a consultation form online. It is stipulated that one need not indicate his problem as the priest will use the bio data supplied to consult, identify the trouble and proffer solutions.”
 
Gone is the era when herbalists and soothsayers are known by their shabby dressing, ignorant approach and house hangings as Babalawos in Nigeria especially those in Lagos and environs have embraced the use of technology and online divination to make their work easier as they now offer Ifa consultation on their websites.
 
When Asabe Bello first heard the advertisement on radio that she could have her problem solved by a Babalawo without actually visiting one, she was surprised, as all her life, she had thought that to get Ifa intervention to any problem, one must see an Ifa priest physically before she could consult and get such problems solved.
 
She, however, had a change of heart when she actually got in touch with one via a website and was given an identification code after filling a consultation form and told to pay a certain amount.
 
She was told what to do and given vivid directions on what to do to solve her problem which was described as a spiritual attack and she did. The consultations and the solution proffered gave her an understanding that contrary to expectations, Babalawos have moved on with the times and have embraced cyber technology.
 
“I know many Nigerians in the course of their daily work have embraced the use of technology but I was still surprised that even Babalawos now consult on websites. My idea of an herbalist is a dirty man in an unkempt environment with various hangings and dirty clay pots, so the experience was an eye opener,” she told Inside Lagos.
 
In Lagos and its surrounding towns, more Ifa priests are making their business technology driven by making it accessible to many more people on the web. One of such is the Ajigbotifa Temple which is in an area near the suburb of Lagos.
 
The temple is advertised to have a mission ‘to make man to live a fulfilled life. To professionally help man with the help of Olodumare and Ifa; to help man in overcoming both physical and spiritual problems, give foresight into the future, prosperity, health, good children, peace, love and more by communicating with us through the Holy Odus in IFA and proclaim Ifa, Olodumare and Holy Odus of Ifa supremacy to all nations of the world.’
 
To consult at this temple, one has to visit the website, www.Ajigbotifatemple.com. According to the website, Ajigbotifa Temple Limited is an Ifa religion based organisation in Nigeria; a registered company under Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja, Nigeria that specialises in Ifa Olokun Asorodayo, with the motives of making man kind to live a fulfilled life.
 
The procedure is to visit the website and fill a consultation form online. It is stipulated that one needs not indicate one’s problem as the priest will use the bio data supplied to consult, identify the trouble and proffer solutions. After the form is submitted, an acknowledgment is sent from the temple with a personal ID number and code given to the potential client after which the mode of payment is indicated and then the real business begins, all without physical contact except the client desires.
 
Also, there is an assurance that like other professionals, confidentiality is guaranteed. “At Ajigbotifa Temple Limited, your privacy is paramount to us. We don’t reveal your name, telephone, address e.t.c to any third parties. And we don’t sell for profit sake. Thanks,” the temple indicates on its website.
 
According to them, spiritual power and super-natural forces can be used to heal many spiritual attacks that affect people’s lives and result in ailments like barrenness, miscarriage, mental ill health, misfortune, premature death, contention/litigation, loss, blindness as well as paralysis among others and they can help to solve these problems.
 
Chief Ifakayode Ifaluade, the Oluwo of Ajigbotifa temple is said to be one of the people Orunmila uses to help the human race at this modern times and it is claimed that through his website, he has divined for thousands of clients and initiated people in their hundreds and numerous clients have positive testimonies of how Orunmila has helped in turning their lives around for good.
 
The temple, like all other Ifa online worship centres, claims to have a complete solution to all kinds of problem including protection, ifa divination, spiritual ill health, prosperity, unfulfilled dreams, birth and naming ceremonies, training, despondency, guidance and marriage consultation, among a wide range of other spiritual aids.
 
The ifa divination form on the website asks for details like name, mother or father’s name, date of birth, email address, telephone number and message with a warning that this is not compulsory. “Remember, you have right not to mention your reason for divination” while there is also the opportunity to “Talk directly with Oluwo (the Chief Priest). Talk to him in confidence and he will reply you personally as requested. No problem without solution.” For this, there is another form online.
 
Another online divination solution system is offered by a London born Nigerian, Awoyinfa Ifaloju aka Ifalomo who describes himself as a self employed consultant. His profile transcends the shores of Nigeria due to his exposure and academic background. He can be found at www.egbeifaorun milaalawoye.com
 
He claims to have studied the science of traditional Yoruba midWifery and continues to practise this art. “I initiated the traditional appeasement for the commemoration of the bicentennial, marking 200 years since the end of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, with rites being performed on the coast of West Africa and throughout many parts of the African Diaspora. Included with these events was the realisation of the importance of appeasing Gelede (essence of female energy) alongside Egungun (male energy). I am forming the Council of Ifa Priest Ijo Erigi-Aboola, to facilitate the links on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond (www.IfaCouncil.com).”
 
He is said to have students (omo-awo) in several countries worldwide, at various stages of apprenticeship to become future priest-of-character and knowledge and he emphasises that the intent is not on quantity but quality practitioners, well grounded in the technology of Ifa’s philosophical and practical elements.
 
“I created this website to serve them (my omo-awo) more consistently in the best form possible and those of you who desire to enrich their own knowledge by learning -connecting to the various ways I will disseminate information,” Ifalomo claims.
 
More Babalawos have embraced the use of online divination system to make life easier for their clients and also enlarge their client base. For them, ifa is a professional occupation that has gone beyond the realm of etutu at road junctions.
 

via Tribune

By Yusuf Alli
 
MORE facts emerged yesterday on why Britain deported 53 Nigerians last week.
 Many of them had overstayed their visas. Some had completed their prison terms, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
It also maintained, through a statement signed by its spokesman, Ogbole Ode, that 53 – not 120 – Nigerians were brought back home from the United Kingdom (UK).
The statement explained that the deportation followed due process because the affected Nigerians were made to face some migration-related panels and went through legal appeals.
It claimed that the processes, up to deportation level, were monitored by senior officials of the Nigerian High Commission in London .
The statement reads: “On the issue of deportation of Nigerians from Britain , we wish to state emphatically that the total number of Nigerians involved was 53 contrary to the exaggerated claim of 120.
“These compatriots were removed from the UK essentially because they have overstayed their visas or have completed their prison terms.
“Deportation of Nigerians from the UK is covered by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Migration Returns which was concluded between the two countries a few years ago.
“Under the terms of the MoU, Nigerians who no longer have the rights to remain in the UK and have exhausted all local remedies and legal appeals are subject to removal from the country.
“This has made deportation of such Nigerians a matter of routine that now takes place in line with the provision of the MoU.
“The whole process was supervised by very senior officials of the Nigerian High Commission, London.”
An official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who also spoke in confidence, said: “We started Migration Returns in 2005 after the completion of the MoU.
It is a global trend to deport migrants who are surviving through illegal means, including credit card fraud, internet scams and immigration paper forgery.
“It is not as if Nigeria is condoning the deportation of its citizens. Those who have valid visas and earn income legitimately in the UK have nothing to fear.”
 
via The Nation

MARCH 19, 2012 BY AGENCY REPORTER
 
Legal practitioners on Sunday advanced factors inhibiting the process of obtaining favourable justice by victims of rape in Nigeria, noting that it was complex.
 
Lawyers, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria, in separate interviews in Lagos, blamed the complexity on the attitude of victims, as well as the judicial procedure.
 
Mrs. Jecinta Ogbeledeto explained that most victims would rather suffer in silence, in order to avoid stigmatisation.
 
She said, “Because of our kind of environment, rape victims prefer to suffer in silence and bear the emotional trauma alone to avoid being identified or exposed.
 
“In most cases, their relations would refuse to prosecute the matter because they want to protect their family from the ‘shame’.”
 
She said justice could be attained if only the victims were bold to report the cases and allow proper prosecution of such, adding, “justice comes to those who desire for justice”.
 
On his part, Mr. Kunle Aribisala said the judicial process for rape cases might be discouraging, because some courts would insist on medical tests and other evidenced.
 
Aribisala said, “Most times, it is not easy to produce a witness or show evidence of the actual act of rape and these are the basic requirements for investigation and prosecution of rape cases.”
 
Another lawyer, Mrs. Nkechi Amanambu, said many of the prosecutors lacked the expertise to handle sensitive matters like rape.
 
Amanambu said, “Most prosecutors handle rape cases with laxity, they ask ridiculous questions, thereby making the victims shy away from answering questions during trial.
 
“We are supposed to have well trained and specialised prosecutors because rape cases are very sensitive.”
 
She, however, urged the government and human rights groups to organise regular campaigns in collaboration with the media, on the need for rape victims to seek redress.
 
Amanambu also advised the government to provide the required materials that would aid the investigation of rape cases as obtainable in developed countries.
 
via Punch

By Bisi Olaniyi
 

The family of four that perished during Saturday’s petrol tanker fire at Igwuruta, Ikwerre Local Government of Rivers State, was given quit notice by the landlord of its rented apartment, it was learnt yesterday.
 This made them relocate to the wife’s shop, where they died.
 A tanker tumbled at Igwuruta Roundabout, thereby sparking a fire.
 Two other persons also died and many others injured.
 Over 25 houses and four vehicles were razed.
It was gathered that the head of the family was recently given a quit notice by his landlord, following his inability to pay the rent.
 This made the family relocate to the wife’s shop near the roundabout.
 When the fire started at 4:30 am, the family and other victims were asleep.
 They were burnt beyond recognition.
 Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who later visited the scene, with his wife, Judith; Deputy Governor Tele Ikuru and the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sampson Parker, expressed shock.
 Amaechi condoled the victims and their families.
 The governor said: “It is so disastrous. I heard an entire family is gone, husband, wife and their children. Now, look at the level of damage.
“We must reduce the level of irresponsibility of some road users.
“I have directed the Commissioner for Special Duties, Emeka Worgu, to identify the victims and let us see how we can assist them.”
 Amaechi also expressed his government’s determination to reduce drivers’ recklessness on the roads.
 He promised to rebuild the road around the Igwuruta roundabout, which is a federal road, to ensure free flow of traffic and avert future accidents.
 

via The Nation

MARCH 19, 2012 BY SEGUN OLATUNJI, KADUNA
 
Confusion broke out amongst residents and motorists along Kachia Road, Ungwan Yelwa area of the Kaduna metropolis on Sunday as a vigilant riot policeman gunned down a member of a four-man masked gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram.
 
THE PUNCH learnt that the masked gunmen had earlier beaten a police checkpoint while the riot policemen gave them a chase to apprehend the hoodlums.
 
Blessing Audu, an eyewitness said, “About four masked people driving inside a Peugeot 206 with tinted glasses were being chased by the police who caught up with them around here. We learnt that they had earlier beaten police checkpoint at Barnawa junction.
 
“As the police blocked the suspects’ vehicles, one of them fired into the air, probably to scare the policemen, but one of the policemen opened fire on the driver and killed him instantly.”
 
Audu said the other three members of the gang wielding various dangerous weapons scampered out of the vehicle and fled through a nearby bush but the search conducted subsequently by the police for the suspects did not yield any fruit.
 
She however said panic-stricken residents of the area, guests lodged in a nearby hotel and worshippers in a church close to the scene of the incident scampered to safety following the brief exchange of fire between the police and the suspects.
 
The eyewitness said the people ran in different directions shouting, “Boko Haram o!, Boko Haram o!, Boko Haram o!, please help us oh!.
 
The Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, however denied that the armed men were Boko Haram members.
 
Abubakar described them as armed robbers.
 
“They are not Boko Haram, we will address the press later,” he said.
 
via Punch

President Goodluck Jonathan may be heading for a showdown with former military dictator, Gen Ibrahim Babangida, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over the candidacy of former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola for the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party.
 
Investigation by THE PUNCH on Sunday revealed that while Jonathan was to be in league with some powerful interest in the South-West to support another candidate, the desire of Oyinlola, the former military governor of Lagos State, is said to be causing ripples in the party.
 
Oyinlola is said to have the backing of Babangida and Atiku, two prominent PDP leaders, who tried in 2011 to displace Jonathan as the party’s candidate for the presidential election.
 
Oyinlola came to the party’s headquarters on Thursday to submit his form for the position, but was turned back on the grounds that the submission of forms had closed.
 
Investigations, however, revealed that Oyinlola’s backers had mounted pressure on the party’s National Working Committee to accept the former governor’s form.
 
It was gathered that the South West PDP was piqued by Oyinlola’s entry into the race in spite of its decision that none of the former governors should contest the party’s offices for now.
 
A leader of the party, who pleaded anonymity, said, “We all know those who are in the race. We have penciled down two former ministers – Prof. Tunde Adeniran and Chief Ebenezer Babatope – as well as the National Legal Adviser of the party, Chief Olusola Oke.
 
“Oyinlola himself is aware of this. The President is aware of our position and he is supporting us. You will recall that none of the former governors was appointed as a minister by Jonathan. We learnt that Oyinlola sneaked to his friends, governors, and Babangida, who was his boss in the army. It is these people that want to pick our candidate for us.”
 
The PDP chief, who explained the South-West’s position, said, “These former governors were responsible for the death of the party in the zone.
 
“If we want the PDP to regain its lost glory in Yorubaland, these people should take back seats in the party for now. They cannot launder the image of the PDP in the South West.”
 
Investigations revealed that Oyinlola was convinced by Babangida, Atiku and some governors to join the race as part of moves to spite the President.
 
It was gathered that with the chances of Tukur looking bright as a chairmanship candidate, the IBB group reasoned that they needed a person they could trust as National Secretary.
 
A member of the PDP’s NWC, who pleaded anonymity said, “You know Jonathan has not hidden his support for Tukur. IBB, Atiku and some governors chose Oyinlola, who they think they can trust to check the Jonathan man (Tukur) in the next NWC.”
 
When contacted, Oyinlola denied that he was being sponsored by IBB and Atiku. He, however, confirmed that he had the backing of the governors.
 
Oyinlola, in a statement by his media aide, Ayo Olaiya, said as an ex-governor, “There is nothing wrong if the Governor’s Forum throws its weight behind his aspiration.”
 
He said, “The talk about Oyinlola being a candidate of some powerful elements in the North is sheer blackmail. Politics should be without bitterness. Why run a fellow party man down because of your own ambition?”
 
He added that the PDP remained a formidable national party ready to attain political power legitimately during elections, stressing that his ambition would not scuttle the interest of the South West within the PDP.
 
But a group within the party, Osun PDP Patriots, criticised the former governor for his ambition.
 
The group’s spokesperson, Dr. Segun Oyinloye, in an interview with one of our correspondents, alleged that the contest for the post of PDP National Secretary should not be manipulated.
 
Oyinloye said, “Only those that collected forms for the post should be allowed to run. Nobody should be imposed on the party because it will affect the fortunes of the party in the South West.”
 
via Punch

Do you want loved ones to have access to your information? Or will that just lead to disputes once all your chats are visible for family to peruse..?

When Karen Williams’ son died in a motorcycle crash, the US woman turned to his Facebook account in hopes of learning more about him.
 
Williams found his password and emailed the company, asking administrators to maintain 22-year-old Loren Williams’ account so she could look through his posts and comments by his friends.
 
But within two hours, she said, Facebook changed the password, blocking her efforts.
 
“I wanted full and unobstructed access, and they balked at that,” said Williams, recalling her son’s death in 2005. “It was heartbreaking. I was a parent grasping at straws to get anything I could get.”
 
Now lawmakers and attorneys in at least two US states are considering proposals that would require Facebook and other social networks to grant access to loved ones when a family member dies, essentially making the site contents part of a person’s digital estate.
 
The issue is increasingly important as people record more online and more disputes break out over that material.
 
Williams ultimately got back into her son’s account, but it took a lawsuit and a two-year legal battle that ended with Facebook granting her 10 months of access before her son’s page was removed.
 
Nebraska is reviewing legislation modelled after a law in Oklahoma, which last year became the first state to take action.
 
“Mementos, shoeboxes with photos. That, we knew how to distribute once someone passed away,” said Ryan Kiesel, a former legislator who wrote the Oklahoma law. “We wanted to get state law and attorneys to begin thinking about the digital estate.”
 
Under Facebook’s current policy, deaths can be reported in an online form.
 
When the site learns of a death, it puts that person’s account in a memorialized state. Certain information is removed, and privacy is restricted to friends only.
 
The profile and wall are left up so friends and loved ones can make posts in remembrance.
 
Facebook will provide the estate of the deceased with a download of the account data “if prior consent is obtained from or decreed by the deceased or mandated by law”.
 
If a close relative asks that a profile be removed, Facebook will honour that request, too.
 
Like the Oklahoma law, the Nebraska bill would allow friends or relatives to take control of social media accounts if the deceased person lived in the state.
 
The measure would treat Facebook, Twitter and email accounts as digital assets that could be closed or continued by an appointed representative.
 
Nebraska lawyer William Lindsay, who specializes in estate planning, said his professional experience has taught him that the issue should be addressed in the law. But he also has a personal interest because of a cousin who died while serving in the Navy.
 
“We wanted to be able to get the email records, but we couldn’t because nobody knew the password,” Lindsay said. “We wanted to let her friends know she had died, but we didn’t know all of them.”
 
Facebook spokesman Tucker Bounds said the company was surprised by the Oklahoma law and was working closely with Nebraska legislators on the latest proposal. The company declined to say how many people had requested access to accounts held by Oklahomans, but Bounds said it was relatively rare.
 
“I can tell you there aren’t people pouring out into the streets asking for access,” Bounds said.
 
Oregon could be the next state to take up the issue. The Oregon State Bar Association has formed a group to work on the matter and hopes to propose legislation next year.
 
Oregon lawyer Victoria Blachly said the plan will mirror the Oklahoma law, but it will also include a “virtual asset instruction letter” that lists online information and passwords, along with instructions for when someone dies or becomes incapacitated.
 
“That’s the part that social media providers have been wrestling with,” Blachly said.
 
Like others, Blachly said she began studying the issue after a young relative died and left social media accounts in limbo.
 
Her top concern is the emotional value of social media accounts.
 
“Some people say ’Well, if I get hit by a bus, what do I care?’” she said. “The people who love you care very much about it.”
 
via sowetanlive

An unidentified police sergeant attached to Area ‘C’ Police Command, Iponri, Surulere, Lagos, allegedly went beserk and shot a truck driver on his left hand and a stray bullet he fired killed another person while he was making efforts to escape from the scene of the incident to avoid being lynched by an angry mob.
An eyewitness told P.M.NEWS that trouble started when the cop with about five others who were operating in a (danfo) commuter bus blocked the truck with a Lagos registration number RV538 EKY driven by Saheed Mufutau. The incident occurred at Jimoh Odutola Street, by PHCN office, Surulere, Lagos on Friday.
According to the source, the policeman, after checking the truck’s particulars and they were up to date, demanded for a N20,000 bribe which the driver pleaded he could not afford because he was in the area to off-load empty containers.
During the ensuing argument, the sergeant allegedly shot the driver in his left hand. Sensing danger, his colleagues in the danfo bus sped off and left the sergeant to his fate.
In his desperate bid to escape from the scene, the cop fired several shots into the air to scare the mob from lynching him. One of the bullets he fired hit Dotun Alawiye, a motor spray painter at a nearby workshop. He died instantly.
The erring sergeant still managed to escape with the help of a motorcyclist he forced to ferry him away from the area.
He was later arrested at Bode Thomas Police Division and handed over to the Area ‘C’ Police Command where he was serving.
Speaking with P.M.NEWS, Chairman of Artisans Association at Doyin bus stop, where the deceased painter had his workshop, Mr. Gbenga Shoneye, said they heard the gun shots at the bus stop but did not know one of them had been hit by a stray bullet.
“We are appealing to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to ensure that justice is done because the deceased had a wife and four children,” he said.
Wife of the deceased Mrs. Omolara Karounwi, 30, said she was shocked to hear that her husband was killed by a stray bullet because he was an easy-going person who never got involved in any trouble.
“We had been married for 15 years and blessed with four children. How am I going to cope with the upkeep and training of the children?” she wept.
She called on the authorities to ensure that justice is done on the murder of her husband, while also soliciting for the assistance of kind Nigerians on the upkeep of her four children.
Narrating his ordeal to P.M.NEWS on his bed at a hospital on Savage Street, Orile Iganmu, Lagos, the shot driver Saheed Mufutau of 22, Ifelodun Street, Moslem area, Ibadan, Oyo State, said he lives in Ibadan with his wife and a child.
“On the day of the incident, I brought an empty container with my truck from Mile 2 to Eric Moore, and on my way back, a danfo bus suddenly blocked my way on Jimoh Odutola Street and two policemen in uniform and some others in plain clothes dropped off the bus and demanded for my driver’s licence and vehicle particulars. I obliged.
“After they had checked the papers and discovered all were current, one of them with a gun shouted at me that I must give them N20,000 for off-loading my container. As I tried to explain that I had no money on me, one of them removed my vehicle plate numbers and they entered their vehicle and tried to zoom off.
“As I made attempt to retrieve my vehicle plate number from them, the armed cop shot at my left hand and I fell down while they escaped.
“An okada rider rushed me to the hospital, ”Mufutau explained.
He appealed to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola and state Commissioner of Police to come to his aid because the hospital management are yet to operate on his hand to remove the bullet lodged there.
 When P.M.NEWS visited the Area ‘C’ Police Command to see the Area Commander and DPO, they were said to have gone to the Lagos State Command for a briefing, but a police source confirmed the incident and said that the errant cops has been arrested.
—Paul Iyoghojie
via PM News