There was a tragic road carnage yesterday afternoon as fourteen passengers were reportedly burnt  in an accident which occurred at Iwaraja junction, near Ilesa, Osun State.

Also twelve others were presently receiving treatment at a special hospital in Osun State after sustaining injuries.
Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Osun, Mr Sunday Maku, confirmed the casualty figures in a chat with reporters in Osogbo, the state capital.
Maku said the victims, including two drivers, were burnt beyond recognition when two buses collided and a fire started.
He said one of the buses was coming from Akure and going to Ibadan, while the other was moving in the opposite direction.
Maku said: “The accident involved a white Toyota Hiace bus, marked LG 27 GAR, with the inscription ‘Akoko Edo Line’, and a Volkswagen wagon painted in white and orange colour, with an unidentified registration number.
“Twelve adults, including eight men and four women, who were seriously injured, were taken to Wesley College Hospital in Ilesa.”
He blamed the accident, which occurred about 12:10pm, on excessive speeding and dangerous driving.

NEW YORK, - A New York City mother whose hands and feet were amputated during a medical disaster won a $17.9 million settlement from the city and a hospital, officials say.



The settlement ended a three-year legal battle for Tabitha Mullings, who lives in New York's Brooklyn borough, the New York Daily News reported Monday.

Mullings' lawsuit began in September 2008 when she went to the Brooklyn Hospital Center emergency room where she was told she had kidney stones and was sent her home with pain killers.

The next day, she complained of agonizing pain and numbness, but city paramedics refused to take her back to the hospital. Mullings' fiance took her to the Fort Greene hospital the next day, but a sepsis infection had spread through her entire body.

Mullings fell into a coma and gangrene spread to her extremities. When she awoke, both her hands and her feet had been amputated and she was legally blind in one eye.

While still in the hospital, she filed a lawsuit.

The city and hospital said it decided to settle because a jury could be easily swayed by Mullings' "profound" injuries.

"Given the extent of the injuries and the uncertainties of the trial process, we believe that settlement was in the best interest of all parties," city lawyer Sheila Rossi said.

Brooklyn Hospital and two of its doctors will pay more than $9.4 million and the city will pay $8.5 million to Mullings, who said she is happy with the outcome of the lawsuit.

"Now that the lawsuit is behind me, I look forward to going on with my life and caring for my children the best I can," she said. "I pray what happens to me never happens to anyone again."

WELLINGTON, - The parents of an 8-year-old boy caught driving a sport utility vehicle in New Zealand said they had no idea he had sneaked the joy ride.



The boy, whose name was not reported, was spotted driving in his pajamas by other motorists early Friday morning in Wellington, The Dominion Post reported.

Another driver blocked the boy and called police.

When officers arrived, the boy, who was crying by this point, told them he was having trouble sleeping and went out to visit his friends.

The police took the boy home and scheduled a meeting with the boy's parents and a Child, Youth and Family staff member for later this week.

"It's definitely not every day that minors as young as eight are behind the wheel. However, this is of concern to us and we are liaising further with the boy's parents to ensure he is aware of the risks involved," acting Wellington emergency response manager Paris Razos said.

TWENTY THREE leaders and members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (AC N) who were detained in Kogi State in September and October last year were N11million richer at the weekend.

The Federal High Court, Lokoja, Kogi State ordered the police to pay them the amount over their detention.

They had sued the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) for N15 billion for allegedly preventing them from entering the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on September 21 and on October 25 and 26 last year.

Kogi State Police commissioner Amana Abasakanga was later joined as a party in the suits.

The first group, from Lagos, was turned back on their way to Abuja to witness the Code of Conduct Bureau arraignment proceedings of their leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They were awarded N6million.

The second group, from Osun State, was going for a meeting at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja. The court awarded them N5million.

In the two separate matters filed by their counsel, Kunle Adegoke, the applicants challenged the powers of the IGP to infringe on their fundamental rights to personal liberty, freedom of movement, freedom from discrimination and the right not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment.

He said his clients were brutalised on the separate occasions by men of the Police Force who insisted that the applicants could not be allowed into the FCT.

In a judgment at the weekend, which took about an hour each, Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo condemned the acts of the police in detaining the applicants without justification.

The court berated the force for discriminating against the applicants on the basis of their political affiliation.

According to the judge, they were denied entry into Abuja due to their being ACN members, which violated their fundamental rights.

Justice Ekwo rebuked the police for what he called executive lawlessness, reckless show of power and lack of respect for the Constitution.

Adegoke described the judgment as the triumph of constitutionalism over “poetic exertion of power.”

He hailed the court for dispensing justice courageously and without bias or favour.

The first suit, has the following applicants: Rasaq Oyesegun Folami, Omotosho Oluwaseyi, Olanrewaju Savage, Kolapo Olatunji, Theophilus Femi Kolawole, Olawale Aina and Hakeem Subair.

Others are Babajide Alli-Balogun, Yakub Akilagun and Lukman Subair, Omoniyi Olayemi, Babatunde Abodunrin, Ayo Adesanya, Segun Desalu, Babatunde Lawson, Azuka Igbue and Lawal Yusuf. They had are asked for a compensation of N10 billion from the IGP.

The second suit, has Prince Benson Adekunle, Jimoh Olatunde Olayemi, Prince Akin Omolaoye, Ayo Laloye, Oyedeji Abayomi and Rabiu Yekeen as applicants. They prayed for N5billion compensation.

The applicants sought a declaration that the act of police led by the IGPin holding them hostage for hours under harsh weather conditions without any lawful or justified basis is unconstitutional, and, therefore, illegal.

They asked the court to hold that police officers restricting their freedom of movement and preventing them from entering the FCT on account of their membership of the ACN is in gross violation of their right to freedom from discrimination.

The applicants prayed the court for an order restraining the IGP, whether by himself, servants, agents and/or persons acting for or on his behalf from further tampering with, violating or otherwise infringing on their rights.

The N10 billion compensation, they said, was for the alleged gross violation of their rights to freedom of movement, right to dignity of human persons and right to freedom from discrimination.

Besides, they argued that there is no provision in the Constitution or any law enacted by the National Assembly restricting their rights to enter or exit the FCT, Abuja or any other part of the federation.

A Sri Lankan man has died while trying to break an informal local record for the longest time spent being buried alive, police say.
Janaka Basnayake, 24, allegedly buried himself with the help of family and friends in a trench sealed with wood and soil in the town of Kantale.
The government has urged the public not to attempt similar “high risk events”.
Mr Basnayake went underground on Saturday morning, and was pronounced dead the same afternoon, police say.
Doctors say that a post-mortem examination has not determined the cause of death and further medical investigations are being conducted.
Local newspapers say that the trench in which Mr Basnayake was buried was 10ft (3m) deep.
His family say he was buried alive on two previous occasions – for two and a half hours and six hours respectively.
Correspondents say it is unclear whether there is an official world record for the longest time buried alive.

She was just a teenager at the time. And given the nature of forced conscriptions into the war at the time, young male adults were forced into the war, while young female adults were forced into the kitchen " those to cook for those fighting the war. One of those in the kitchen then was the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
In her superlative tribute for late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the finance minister recounted how she became a cook for the Biafran soldiers during the war.
Describing Odumegwu-Ojukwu as her hero and the hero of all Nigerians, she said: "During the war, my father was a Brigadier in the Biafran army. I was also a teenager at the time. As I said in a tribute recently, I was cooking for the Biafran soldiers at the war front. So Ojukwu was my hero and he was the hero of all Nigerians, and we want his soul to rest in peace." She asked: "Have you ever seen someone who received this kind of tributes from all over the country, even from outside the shores of this nation?"
Okonjo-Iweala noted that the death and burial of the former Biafran warlord and leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), had united Nigeria, describing the requiem service preceding his burial as a sober and uplifting occasion.
The minister told journalists shortly after the internment of the remains of Odumegwu-Ojukwu at the weekend at Umudim community in Nnewi, Anambra State that he was a man who in death united the whole country, noting that although when he was alive, he seemed “like a divisive figure"
According to her, But that's not the case; he has actually brought everybody together. Look at the calibre of the personalities who attended the ceremony " from the speaker of the House of Representatives to the president, the First Lady.  So we want to thank the Ojukwu family for having given us a great hero.
Asked if there was any lesson people could learn from the life of Ikemba Nnewi, the minister declared: “Nigerians can learn to be principled, to be resilient, to believe in their country, to be patriotic, to be courageous, stand for what you believe in.
“This was a man who stood for what he believed in. And like the priest said in Enugu during the funeral at Okpara Square, no one has come out to say that Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu ever stole one naira from public funds. That's the best example you could ever have. Let it be said of all of us when we depart that we never stole one naira.
Reminded that Nigerians do not seem to have pointed out any of Odumegwu-Ojukwu's faults, she retorted: There is no human being who doesn't have any fault. I don't think I am qualified to even talk about whatever must have been his faults, right now. But I am sure that if he were here today, he was a great man and great people admit their faults.
It is a tribute to his greatness that three days after his burial, the echo of his funeral has continued to reverberate in his Nnewi, Anambra State country home.

 Michael Jackson's entire back catalogue, including previously unreleased material from his sessions has apparently been stolen by computer hackers.
   Sony Music paid the late singer's estate over $250 million (£158 million) for the back catalogue in 2010 and released the first swathe of tracks from it at the end of that year with the posthumous album 'Michael'.
   A source told sunday times: "Everything Sony purchased from the Michael Jackson estate was compromised. It caused them to check their systems and they found the breach. There was a degree of sophistication. Sony identified the weakness and plugged the gap."
   The source added that the second breach happening so soon after the first "would have made investors and artists think, 'What other part of Sony isn't secure?'"
    Last night Sony admitted there had been a security breach and that the Michael Jackson material had been stolen but refused to say how much the hackers downloaded.
   A source within the company said that although the Jackson estate had been told about the hack the company did not have to make the knowledge public as there was no customer data involved.
   They added that computer experts had traced the hack to the UK by examining a "fingerprint" allegedly left behind.
     The Sony Music site also hosts tracks by other artists including the Foo Fighters, Olly Murs and Avril Lavigne although it is still unclear whether they are affected.

There would be no “happy ever after” for bride Siliya whose groom was killed by unknown assasains, only hours after a wedding.

According to reports, Alhaji Lawan Kofar Dawanau, the 47-year-old newlywed and staff of the Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano State was shot dead shortly after the Zuhr prayer.

Eye witnesses say the assailants had stormed the quarters on a motorcycle, taking a female guest hostage and using her to force their way into the wedding ceremony.

Upon their arrival, reports said, the groom came outside when one of the gunmen identified and shot him, a source told reporters.

The Leadership reported that the gunmen had asked those around to remain calm as they had come there on a mission, warning that anyone who got in the way would get shot.

Kano State police PRO Magaji Musa Majia confirmed the incident and promised that an investigation into the killing was underway.

For residents of Zannari area of Maiduguri, Borno State, the murder of a 10-years of boy and her mother by gunmen over the weekend is still sad and shocking.

The mother and her son were killed when gunmen  invaded their house residence Saturday night around 8:30pm.

In similar development, a trader at the Gamboru Market and an unidentified man on the outskirt of Maiduguri were also murdered. According to eyewitness, the killer squad stormed the market square shot sporadic the air and flee after killing the trader who was until his death an iron bender.

A row has broken out between Nigeria and South Africa over last week’s deportation of 125 Nigerian travellers.

The Federal Government at the weekend demanded an explanation from the South African government over the “harsh” treatment meted out to the Nigerians, who were turned back at the Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johanesburg for allegedly carrying fake yellow fever clearance certificates.

The government also vowed to react in a “calculated” manner, depending on the outcome of talks between Nigeria and South Africa today in Pretoria.

The Nigerian passengers, comprising 50 on Arik Air and 75 aboard South African Airways, were deported at the point of entry on Friday.

Following the action, Arik Air suspended its flight operations to South Africa. It later rescinded the decision, pending further discussions.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru yesterday said the Federal Government considered the maltreatment of Nigerian passengers as harsh and a violation of international practice.

The Minister said: “On Friday, I directed our High Commissioner to South Africa, Amb. Yusuf, to formally send a protest note to South African Government about this maltreatment of Nigerian passengers. And that South Africa should stop this harassment.

“First of all, the Federal Government deplores what the South African Immigration officials did to Nigerian passengers by sending them back to Nigeria on the excuse that they were in possession of fake yellow card certificates.

“Number one, the same yellow card certificate is a requirement at the South African Embassy before they can issue you visa. So, the visa officers at the embassy in Nigeria usually crosscheck yellow card certificate submitted by the applicant.

“Having crosschecked and given them visas, why should the Immigration Department at the point of entry say the same certificate that have been crosschecked by their embassy officials is fake.

“And the standard international practice, for countries requiring yellow card, is for them to quarantine passengers without yellow card certificates at the point of entry.

“It is improper to send them back. It is a harsh treatment of Nigerian passengers, it is not good to send them back.

“They should realise that they do not have the monopoly of sending back passengers or ill-treating them at the point of entry.

“Our officials and the South African officials will be meeting on Monday in Pretoria. And thereafter, Nigeria would react in a mature and calculated manner to this obvious maltreatment of Nigerian travellers.”

Ashiru also said Nigeria had been certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a Yellow Fever-free nation and, as such, he did not see why the South African Immigration Services turned back the travellers.

“That is why countries in Europe and the United States do not demand Yellow Fever cards from Nigerian travellers; it is only South Africa and a few countries in the Southern Hemisphere that demand Yellow Fever card from Nigerian travellers.”

Nigeria and South Africa in 2001 established a Bi-National Commission to, among other issues, promote trade and investment. The pact is also to ensure easy visa process.

A Thirty-three year-old man, Solarin Muyiwa is now cooling his heel at police net for allegedly pouring a hot water on his daughter.

Muyiwa, a laboratory assistant of spintex Mill was arrested at his No.3, Ikorodu,  by security agencies led by officials of the Ministry of Women Affiars and Poverty Alleviation [WAPA], Lagos State.

According to a director in charge of Child Development, Mrs. Alaba Fadairo, alleged that Muyiwa poured hot water on his daughter (name withheld) for licking soup from the pot without his permission.

According to her, the alleged assault left the girl with serious injuries and complications.

She said: “The incident in question took place on Friday, but a concerned neigbour who saw the state of the young girl, put a distress call across to the ministry. We responded immediately to rescue the girl and she is presently being treated in the hospital.”

Mrs. Fadairo said investigation conducted showed that Muyiwa had directed his wife to boil the water and subsequently ordered his daughter to dip her hands inside.

She said: “Her father told her stepmother to go and heat water when the wife reported to him that she caught the girl stealing from the pot of soup and it was that water he poured into a plastic and ordered her to put her hands inside.

“The young girl, who was gripped with fear, said she was afraid to put her hand inside the water and the father carried it and poured on her which gave her severe burn and complications.

“His wife also confirmed that he asked her to boil the water and after that, he asked the girl to put her hands inside the water, but she said at that juncture, her baby was crying and she had to go and nurse her and she didn’t know what transpired afterwards.”

Muyiwa, who obtained an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Science and Laboratory Techology, from the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, admitted to the crime and explained that his intention was not to harm, but to scare his daughter.

He said: “That was exactly what happened and I just want to apologise. I regret what I did. She has been stealing, but I did not mean to pour hot water on her. I just wanted to scare her with hot water so that she will know the difference between good and bad. I did not know it would result to this and am very sorry.”

LAGOS, - The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it has declared war on Nigerian security agencies and South African businesses in Nigeria without giving further details.

The militancy group which last week carried out an attack resulting in the death of four policemen in Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan's state of Bayelsa.

In a statement to media outfits this weekend, it said "We are at war with all arms of the Nigerian security services and as such, members of the Nigeria police will be attacked as the opportunity presents itself,".

The group which had earlier condemned the ongoing trial of its leader Henry Okah and others in South Africa also warned South African businesses in the country to either relocate or face its wrath.

The declaration is a setback for the Nigerian government as it face rising attack from Islamist sect, Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria especially on security forces which it accused of extra judicial killings and torture of its sect members.

Nigerian born British boxer, Ola Afolabi has emerged the interim World Boxing Organisation, WBO cruiserweight champion.
The 31-year old Afolabi, (19-2-3, 9 KOs), took his Russian contender and former interim title holder, Valery Brudov (39-4, 28 KOs) to the cleaners in their bout held at the Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf in Germany early Sunday.
Referee Gino Rodriguez saved Brudov from his own bravery after the fifth round to stop further punishment in the hands of Afolabi.
Brudov, who accepted the fight two weeks ago, was rusty but willing to bring some heat to the WBO number one Afolabi, who was also ranked number four by the WBA and number seven by both the WBC and the IBF.



Brudov marched forward and threw looping shots but the British pugilist easily slipped them with his supreme defense. He kept Brudov at the end of his jab, while adding stinging right swings occasionally and left hooks to the body to make Brudov’s diet a bit more diverse.
In the third round, Afolabi went after Brudov and landed two right shots to put him down on his knees.
Brudov, 35, refused to surrender and continued to fight. The fourth stanza also ended in Afolabi’s favor. He wasn’t very active but when he opened up he tagged the Russian once again.
The punishment continued to accumulate in the fifth, and midway into the round, Afolabi landed several left and right hand bombs, which knocked Brudov down for the second time.
He got up and went on, trying to harm Afolabi, but the Nigerian landed several huge right hand bombs at the bell.
Brudov didn’t go down but he was dazed and wobbly, forcing referee Rodriguez to stop the bout.
Afolabi may battle WBO full champion Marco Huck, if the interim champion decides to stay in the cruiserweight limit.

One of the suspected masterminds of the October 1, 2010 bombing in Abuja, Tiemkenfa Francis Osvwo (alias General Gbokos), died in the Kuje Prison on Saturday.

A statement by his lawyer in the case, Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Charles Okah & others, Mr. Festus Keyamo, alleged that Osvwo was murdered by the authorities.

Keyamo claimed that Osvwo’s death came on the heels of a series of complaints by the counsel representing him and his co-accused about the maltreatment meted out to the accused persons in prison.

“The sickness leading to the death of Tiemkenfa Francis Osvwo started when their cell was fumigated with a strange substance on the January 8, 2012, which affected the health of all the four suspects. Suffice it to reiterate that we, their solicitors raised the alarm about that development at the time.

“Prior to his death in custody, Gbokos had been urinating and defecating on himself in the prison and despite pleas by his solicitors requesting that he be treated properly, no one attended to him.

“On February 21, 2012, Osvwo collapsed in court which stalled hearing for that day but despite the order of the court that Osvwo should be medically attended to by the prisons authorities, no medication was administered on him. It was obvious therefore that the authorities wanted him dead,” Keyamo’s statement read.

Comparing the plight of his clients with that of suspects linked to Boko Haram bombings, some of whom are on bail, Keyamo said it was unfair that his clients were being maltreated in prison, when they were still supposed to be presumed innocent according to the law.

“At this juncture, we are constrained to state that we find it extremely inequitable that virtually all the suspects linked to the Boko Haram bombings have been enjoying bail while our clients, the alleged masterminds of the October 1, 2010 bombings (still presumed innocent) continue to suffer indignities in custody.

“We therefore, respectfully, call on all well-meaning Nigerians to join in the call for their bail and the Nigerian government to facilitate the release of the other suspects in custody with a view to attending to their deteriorating health before they die in custody,” the lawyer said.

According to Keyamo, other accused persons in the October 1, 2010 bombing still in Kuje Prisons are facing similar conditions that claimed Osvwo’s life.

Nice one police.

She was directed by an evil spirit.

For alleged failure to provide genuine yellow fever vaccination documentation, South Africa Friday deported some 125 Nigerians that arrived the country on Thursday through South African Airways (SAA) and Arik Air.
THISDAY learnt that SAA returned 75 passengers to Nigeria while Arik Air brought back 50 passengers. Among those deported were Nigerians who have been living in South Africa for several years.
Reacting to the action of the South African government, Nigerian’s major carrier Arik Air announced the suspension of its flights to that country.



In a statement issued by the airline and signed by its head of communications, Adebanji Ola, Arik said it has taken the decision to temporarily suspend all flight operations between Lagos, Nigeria, and Johannesburg, South Africa with immediate effect.
“The decision to suspend the daily B737-800 service between the two financial hubs was taken due to the ongoing dispute between international airlines operating into Johannesburg and the Port Health Authorities over Yellow Fever documentation being presented to authorities at OR Tambo International Airport by passengers.
“Many of the passengers have been detained and refused entry into the country in recent months. The Port Health Authorities cite the reason being incorrect or un-recognised batch numbers on the documentation which is mandatory proof before entrance to the country.”
The airline also said the situation had escalated, culminating in hundreds of Nigerian and West African passengers travelling from the region being refused entry including 50 Arik Air passengers today (March 2, 2012).
“Arik has reached the conclusion that the irregular and obfuscating nature of this protocol is having an impact on its passengers and does not wish to proceed with operations into a country where its customers are at risk of detainment or any other measures meted out arbitrarily by the authorities.”
Arik Air also said its top official in South and Central Africa, Rodger Whittle, had been attempting to secure an answer for the decision to refuse 50 of its passengers yesterday morning, but the Head of South African Port Health Authorities had refused to speak to the head of operations of the airline in South Africa.
Group CEO/President of Arik Air, Dr. Michael Arumeni-Ikhide, said, “We are not prepared to stand-by and watch as our passengers reach their destination after an over-night flight only to be met with a protocol and procedure that is at best haphazard and at worst discriminatory to many of our passengers.
“Whilst we are being informed that the current crack-down is not unique to Nigeria and its inbound passengers, we are taking a stand by temporarily suspending this daily operation to show the Port Health Authorities we are simply not prepared for our customers to be treated in this manner.
“I hope that the matter can be resolved so that we can start up operations again as we obviously have a number of passengers booked in the coming days but I think they will agree with our decision and support our stand. Our priority is our passengers and we will ensure that everything is done to re-accommodate them whilst this situation is clarified and resolved in an agreeable manner to all carriers that are involved in this.”
The insistence of South African government to demand yellow fever vaccination document, known as Yellow Fever card, from Nigerian passengers has been a recurrent controversial issue, which many Nigerians believe is a way to discourage citizens from Africa’s most populous nation from visiting the country that shed off its apartheid regime in 1994.
The image-maker of South Africa Airways in Nigeria, Mr. Tope Awe, explained that the national carrier made efforts to ensure that its Nigerian passengers were not deported, including trying to authenticate their yellow fever vaccination documents, the country’s government still insisted that those passengers that did not satisfy the expectations of the officials of South Africa’s port health must be forced back to Nigeria.
An informed industry source told THISDAY that although the request for Yellow Card was not discriminatory of airline, it could be said to be discriminatory against some countries. The source wondered why some Nigerians resident in that country for some time now were also sent back home.
The source argued that South African government might have contacted the Port Health in Nigeria to be acquainted with the identity numbers of the Yellow Card for the officials to know which ones were not genuine.
The yellow fever vaccination was supposed to be administered by the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and other health centres in the local government councils which were supposed to issue yellow fever certification, but South Africa argued that most of the Yellow Cards were fake.
An industry operator told THISDAY that there has been a strain in the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa over the controversial vaccination and other visa and immigration issues.
In 2001, the then Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Kema Chikwe, was held hostage by the South African Port Health, which insisted that Chikwe must be vaccinated and quarantined, but the former Minister resisted it and the issue was later resolved by the Nigerian embassy in that country.
Earlier in 2000, former President Olusegun Obasanjo visited South Africa and as he addressed the business community in that country, he told them that he was aware of the way South Africa manhandled and humiliated Nigerians and treated them disrespectfully.
He, however, said he was not going to treat South Africans who wished to come to Nigeria that way but would rather facilitate their visa process, a promise that he kept and which succeeding governments also kept.
Yesterday, the aviation source disagreed with Obasanjo, saying, “Nigeria should introduce the quid pro quo, the principle of reciprocity, by also treating South African citizens who come to Nigeria in the same manner”.

GOLDEN GATE, - A Florida man is accused of threatening to show naked photos of a woman to her husband if she would not have sex with the suspect, police said.


Collier County sheriff's deputies said the victim told them David Carrillo-Rodriguez, 33, of Golden Gate, approached her while she was walking home and said he wanted to talk, the Naples Daily News reported Friday.

The woman, who said she previously had a segxwal relationship with Carrillo-Rodriguez but called it off because she is married, said the man grabbed her and pulled her behind a house when she refused to talk to him.

Deputies said Carrillo-Rodriguez then told the woman he would show naked pictures he took of her to her husband if she would not have sex with him.

The woman said she kicked Carrillo-Rodriguez and fled.

Carrillo-Rodriguez was arrested at his home Tuesday and charged with domestic battery.

A 16-year-old girl, Umaima Jimada, has been assaulted  by soldiers in Minna, the capital of Niger State for allegedly crossing a barricade opposite the Central Police Station on Stadium Road.

The girl who is presently receiving treatment at undisclosed hospital was beaten to a state of coma by the soldiers.

It learn’t that the incident occurred on Tuesday at about 8pm when Umaima, who was sent on an errand by her mother to deliver food to her sick uncle.

It was gathered that when Umaima alighted from a commercial motorcycle and was about to cross the road, she was accosted by a soldier, who later allowed her to continue her journey.

When Umaima got to the other side of the road, another soldier asked her to go back and out of confusion, she planned to leave the scene, but the soldier got hold of the girl and beat her to coma. The soldier also damaged the food flask she carried.

The victim’s father, Mohammed Jimada, said that his daughter left home to deliver food to her sick uncle.

He said: “When my daughter was walking to her uncles’ house, one soldier initially stopped her, but later allowed her. As she got to the other side, another soldier sent her back, but the first one insisted that she return.

“In her attempt to return, the second soldier descended on her, hitting her with his boot and beat her mercilessly till she was unconscious.”

Jimada said his daughter is receiving treatment at the Minna General Hospital and the incident had been reported at the Central Police Station.”

The Police public Relation Officer, Mr. Richard Oguche, said the command was not aware of the incident.

LAGOS, - The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Thursday, prevented the incursion of a Pakistani drug cartel into Nigeria, while also seizing his 13 kilogrammes of high grade heroin worth N120 million.


Operatives of the anti-drug agency, at the Mur-tala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos, arrested a 35-year-old Pakistani with the parcels of brownish powdery substances tested positive for heroin hidden inside his hand luggage.

According to the NDLEA airport commander, Mr Hamza Umar, the suspect, Syed Waseem Ahmed Buhari, with Pakistani international passport number BT3347071, arrived aboard a Qatar Airways flight.

“A 35-year-old Pakistani was apprehended following the discovery of 13 kilogrammes of high grade heroin in his hand luggage.

“A Nigerian clearing and forwarding agent, Okereke Benjamin Chukwudi, 42, who is suspected to be an accomplice, has also been arrested and investigation had commenced,” Hamza said.

Syed, an electrical engineer, who hails from Karachi and believed to be working for a Pakistani-based drug cartel, was found to have travelled from Karachi to Abu Dhabi aboard Pakistan Airline flight, before taking Qatar airways flight through Doha to Lagos.

The suspected Nigerian accomplice, Chukwudi, who hails from Ekulobia, Anambra State, was cooperating with narcotic investigators.

NDLEA boss added that the arrest of the Pakistani, few days after three Bolivians were caught in a suspected case of

methamphetamine production, was a demonstration of the agency’s resolve to bring drug traffickers to justice.

The NDLEA boss commended the officers for the arrest and urged them to remain dedicated to duty at all times.

Both suspects, according to Hamza, would be charged to court soon.