Olalaciou!!!

Cristiano Ronaldo congratulates Lionel Messi on winning his fourth Ballon d’Or.

Dear Lionel,

I am writing you this note to offer my congratulations  on winning the Ballon d'Or.

Again. As you can see by the look on my face, I am very happy for you. Please forgive me for not congratulating you at the gala, but
since I am so tall and statuesque and you are so tiny and maintain terrible posture, I couldn't find you in the crowd. Also, since
someone played a joke on you by telling you to wear that garish spotted jacket and tie, I didn't want to keep you from getting home
and changing your clothes as fast as you possibly could. That's how thoughtful I am.

It was another tremendous year for me, and, supposedly, for you as well. You had to set a world record in order to score more goals
than me. Of course, smart people know that team accomplishments  are far more important than personal achievements and I helped my club to win La Liga in 2012 whereas you only helped your club win the Copa del Rey. The year my club only won the Copa del Rey, I did not win the Ballon d'Or. I
suppose this just shows that voters hold me to a higher standard than you.

Anyway, you have now won the Ballon d'Or a record four times in row. I guess you're happy about that. Yet, Andy Gray, England's
most respected sexist broadcaster, has questioned whether you could play well on a cold night in Stoke. After all, you have only
won titles for one club, whereas I have won titles for clubs in La Liga and the Premier League. But very few players have the
physical talent and mental strength to prove themselves on different teams and in different leagues, so you should only feel a
little bit bad about that.

People are always trying to compare you and I, but there really is no comparison. Yes, we were both named after Americans -- I was
named after Ronald Reagan, a talented actor and two-term president, whereas you were named after Lionel Richie, a man who sang about dancing on the ceiling. Which is both impossible and patently ridiculous. I impregnated a woman and created a child in 2010, but it took you until 2012 to figure out how to do those things. I grew tall and strong naturally and you needed enough growth hormones to make even Lance Armstrong feel guilty in order to be neither of those things. Also, I wear proper tuxedos to formal events while you wear a suit made out of
clown pants. So comparing us is both silly and unfair.

In conclusion, I congratulate you, Leo. But remember: No matter how many Ballon d'Or awards you win, I still won it first.

Confidently yours,

Cristiano Ronaldo, CR7 'The only 1'

P.S. My apologies for writing this letter in English, one of several languages I am able to speak, when I know you only speak Spanish.

Maybe Cesc or Pique will translate it for you

The London Metropolitan Police is expected to tender evidence against the Chairman, Bi-Courtney Highway Services, Dr. Wale Babalakin, in court when his trial begins proper.

A leading legal practitioner who spoke in confidence said the Met police investigated the involvement of Babalakin and others in the case involving the loot of N4.7 billion for James Ibori, the convicted former state governor.

The Legal practitioner said, “The United Kingdom metropolitan police investigated the case. They just finished their investigation. That is why they are going to give evidence in the case, because it is their case,”

He said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is going to make use of evidence supplied by the Metropolitan Police.

The source stated that the money stole by Ibori was later discovered to be part of Delta State fund used by the former governor to buy a jet in Canada.

He said the EFCC did a good job charging Babalakin in a court within the country, which is where the money originated.

“The issue of charging him in Nigeria when it was the UK police that investigated the matter cannot raise any jurisdictional issue because the money originated from here,” he said.

In the charge sheet, all the suspects are to be arraigned in court for alleged “conspiracy to commit felony, to wit: corruptly conferring benefit on account of public action, contrary to Section 516 of the Criminal Code Law, CAP. C17, Laws of Lagos State, 2003”.

They are also to respond to allegation of “corruptly conferring benefit on account of public action, contrary to Section 98A (1) (a) of the Criminal Code Law, CAP. C17, Laws of Lagos State, 2003.”

The third leg of allegation is “retention of proceed of a criminal conduct contrary to Section 17(a) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004”.

EFCC counsel, Mr Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), had expressed shock at the explanation given by Babalakin’s counsel, Mr. Ebun Sofunde (SAN), for his client’s non-appearance in court on the scheduled date.

He said, “It took the EFCC close to a week to get him. He was served with all the processes and released because he took an undertaking that he would appear in court for his arraignment.

“We believe if there is a medical issue that he should have contacted us a day earlier (November 28) rather than to confront us with this application this (November 29) morning.

“We are disappointed by the tactics of the first defendant (Babalakin) but Your Lordship can bend backwards and allow us to come back next week.”

Justice Onigbanjo had rearranged the arraignment for December 13, which coincides with the day a Federal High Court, Lagos, fixed for the hearing of a suit in which Babalakin is in quest to stop his indictment.

Courtesy Businessweek

Pope Benedict XVI will join Twitter from December 12, with regular tweets in eight languages from the account @pontifex just in time for Christmas, the Vatican said on Monday.

“The first tweets will be answers to questions sent to the pope on matters of faith. The public can start sending them starting now,” the Vatican said.

The account already has 2,435 followers, with numbers rising quickly immediately after the announcement. An introductory message read: “Welcome to the official Twitter page of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.”

The tweets will be in Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish and more languages could be added in future.

“The pope’s presence on Twitter is a concrete expression of his conviction that the Church must be present in the digital arena,” the Vatican said in a statement.

It added that Benedict wanted “to ensure that the good news of Jesus Christ and the teaching of his Church is permeating the forum of exchange and dialogue that is being created by social media”.

Several leading Vatican prelates are already regular tweeters including Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, as the tradition-bound institution tries to reach a younger global audience.

An Oshodi Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Monday sentenced a 27-year-old woman to two years’ imprisonment for stealing jewellery worth N800,000,

The Magistrate, Mrs M.R, Osho-Adebiyi, convicted Mosurat Ismalia on two counts of conspiracy and stealing and did not give her an option of fine

Osho-Adebiyi said that Ismalia, mother of five, was not truthful in her evidence.

“The accused is found guilty of the offences, going by the facts before the court,’’ she held.

The woman was arraigned on March 20 on a two-count charge, but she pleaded not guilty.

The court granted her bail in the sum of N500, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Kehinde Olatunde, had submitted she conspired with others at large to steal the jewellery from the shop of one Mrs Shadia Lawal at the Oshodi Market.

The prosecutor said that Ismalia pretended to be buying the ornaments but hid them in her handbag on March 22. (NAN)

The Nigeria  Weightlifting Federation is at the moment grappling with the allegation that a Cameroon national, John Baptis, competed for Anambra State in the weightlifting event (77 kg category) of the ongoing 18th National Sports Festival.

Sports Vanguard checks at the Brai Ayonote Boxing Gym, venue of the weightlifting event, confirmed that the weightlifter achieved the best lift in the snatch event. With a body weight of 74.75kg, the lifter achieved the best snatch with a weight of 132 kg.

Kaduna State lifter,  Majinedum Seldum placed second with 126 kg lift while Rabiu Ibrahim, representing Nasarawa State came a close third also with a lift of 126 kg.

President of the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation, Chimdi Ejiogu confirmed that the federation was aware of the presence of a foreigner but would not speak further as the technical committee was yet to sit on the matter. “We (officials) raised the issue but I can’t say much until a decision is reached on the matter,” the NWF boss said.

Meanwhile, Caro Okouokha of Rivers state won three gold medals in the 63 kg category in the snatch, clean and jerk events yesterday. She won the snatch event with a lift of 96 kg, followed with a lift of 118kg in the clean and jerk event to place first with a total of 214kg. She was seconded by Victoria Adesanmi of Akwa 212 kg, also bagged three silver medals in the same events, while Joy Chima of Lagos 203 placed third.

In the men’s 69Kg category, David Adeyemo representing Bayelsa  placed first with a total of 265 kg. He was followed by Jubril Abubakar of Delta State(264), while  Yohunna Jack of Plateau placed third with a total of 253 kg.

MAIDUGURI—The Joint Task Force, Department of State Security and the Nigeria Police Force Dog section, in a combined special operation yesterday, in Maiduguri, killed a top commander of the Boko Haram, Abdulkareem Ibrahim and two of his sub commanders. Abdulkareem Ibrahim was top on the wanted list of the JTF.

The sect top commander and his sub-commanders were killed on a day President Goodluck Jonathan disclosed that 70 per cent of the sect’s activities were aborted before they occurred, insisting that Nigeria remains safe in spite of bombings just as the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar 111 stressed the need for collective action against the bombings.

How operation succeded — JTF

On the killing of Boko Haram top commander, the JTF in a statement by its spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, said Abdulkareem was a notorious terrorist Commander, who has been responsible for the recent spates of assassinations and bomb attacks in Maiduguri.

He said:  “In a follow up operation by the JTF to arrest some key Commanders of the Boko Haram Terrorists in Bulabulin area of Maiduguri on November 29, 2012, where the JTF lost a personnel with one other injured, the Joint Task Force with members of the Department of State Security and the Nigeria Police Force Dog Section, in a combined operation this morning, launched a special raid operation along Damboa – Biu Road to capture one of the major Terrorist Commanders Abdulkareem Ibrahim, top on its wanted list.

“During the operations and in the ensuring fire fight, Abdulkareem Ibrahim and two of his sub Commanders were killed and an AK47 rifle with other arms and ammunition were recovered.

AFTER nearly 30 years of desperately searching for solutions to the Human-Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV, the vermin that leads to the deadly Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS, the world may soon heave a sigh of relief, as real hope has been kindled of a possible vaccine that could, on a single dose, offer lifelong immunity to HIV/AIDS.

A Texas-based institute has applied for a patent to begin the production of the vaccine genetically engineered to provide immunity for life to potential HIV/AIDS sufferers. The vaccine – its name is still shielded from the public – is also said to have the potency to provide relief for other infections.

It reportedly functions by preventing the replication of viruses when they enter the human body.

Since the potency of the HIV/AIDS virus is rooted on its ability to reproduce rapidly and spread within the body, thus eventually overwhelming the body’s natural resistance to infections, the full release of this vaccine into the open market could become the first real advancement in the war to eliminate the killer virus and save millions of lives.

The news is particularly welcome to Africans living in the sub-Saharan zones, where the scourge has taken the bulk of human casualties, robbing them of valuable manpower and resulting in millions of orphaned children. In time it will render anti-retroviral drugs useless since the AVRs only slow down the rate of infection and spread.

Even when this drug becomes widely available, the war on HIV/AIDS will only be halfway won. This drug, however, has no benefits for those who have already developed the terminal stage of the disease (full-blown AIDS). The concerted efforts that have been going on, both on orthodox and traditional medical research should continue unabated.

Since this drug is, as yet, a preventive vaccine, it will take a long time of cautious observation before people will wholeheartedly accept it as vaccine against AIDS.

Health authorities and advocacy groups should continue to prevail on Nigerians to adopt risk free sex practices. They should also ensure the vaccine is affordable. Availability of a vaccine should not be an invitation to the recklessness that promotes HIV/AIDS.

Nigerians should continue to observe safe sex measures that limited spread of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria in the past five years. We make these points because about 90 per cent of new infections in Nigeria and Africa are acquired through segxwal activities.

Even when this vaccine becomes widely available to users, Nigerians should not see it as a substitute to healthy segxwal practices.

The greatest weapons against HIV/AIDS are not condoms or vaccines. Desisting from unsafe sex practices and, use of sterilised metal objects bear more preventive prospects than vaccines

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Attahiru Jega has said that the commission is not fully independent as envisaged by the report of Justice Muhammad Lawal Uwais-led Electoral Reform Committee.

“In the level of independence, we are not there yet. I was a member of Uwais Committee that recommended the need to strengthen the independence of the commission. Obviously, we are not there yet. This is not for me. There is still room for reforms,” Jega said recently while fielding questions on NTA current affairs programme ‘Platform’, which was monitored in Abuja.

INEC boss, who noted that the necessity of multiparty democracy should not be an excuse for the existence of ‘too many frivolous political parties’, underscored the need to specify certain conditions to be met by political parties before being allowed to field candidates in elections.

He said in as much as it is easy to register political parties, certain conditions should be spelt out to avoid abuse of the law that  provides that a political party should be registered within 30 days of the receipt of such request by the commission.

While noting that the issue of 30 days was to prevent INEC from delaying party registration request unnecessarily, the INEC boss, however, said the electoral body as presently constituted was much more independent.

He stated the recent financial challenge occasioned by the transfer of their money to the newly introduced system is being addressed, noting that in budget preparation “everybody is not getting what they requested for” because of what government called “limited fund”.

Jega said the commission was trying to strengthen its voter registration exercise and constituency delimitation before 2014, stating that “we are concluding strategic planning process. We have done quite a lot in terms of restructuring and reorganisation. We want, by 2015, to be the best or one of the best election management bodies”.

INEC boss clarified the controversy over who is the Chief Accounting Officer of the commission between he (Jega) and the commission’s secretary.

“The press has made a mountain out of a mole hill. The issue is: who is the Chief Accounting Officer and who is the Chief Executive Officer. In practice at INEC, Permanent Secretaries are posted as Secretary of INEC by Head of Service. In public ministry, they serve as accounting officers. But the constitutional amendment allows INEC to appoint its Accounting Officer.

“We did write to Attorney General and Minister of Justice to clarify who is the Accounting Officer. The Head of Service said the tradition in the Civil Service is to separate Accounting Officer from the political head of the organisation.

“Nobody in INEC has contested who is political head and Chief Executive Officer. I have asked Secretary to be Chief Accounting Officer until further clarification. Some people are saying I’m trying to gain more power,” he said.

AS the country prepares for the yuletide season, Nigerians across the country have continued to groan under intense electric power outage currently rocking the nation.
As if the heat accompanied by this massive power blackout is not enough, the nation’s power utility company, Power Holding Company of Niger, PHCN, has continued to distribute outrageously high bills, popularly known as crazy bills, to virtually all consumers.
This is coming even as the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, the connecting company between generation and distribution, claims that it is currently transmitting over 4,000 Megawatts to distribution companies across the country.
The reasons for the current situation has been blamed on the system collapse, which occurred on Thursday, November 29, due to a fault on the 330kv transmission line from Benin to Onitsha and the shutdown of Escravos Gas Plant, causing the combined nationwide shutdown of 3,716Mw, the shutdown of three units of the Egbin Power Station and the closure of transmission stores, which house maintenance spare parts for PHCN facilities

NERC, bills and consumers

National Electricity Reforms Commission, NERC, saddled with the responsibility of regulating the nation’s power sector and ensuring reliable and steady power supply to all Nigerians, seems to have also lost grip of the sector as low power voltages are on astronomical rise with several Nigerians incurring huge costs over loss of home electrical appliances due to poor supply of electricity even in the face of crazy billings being distributed nationwide.

Checks by our correspondents around the country revealed that most parts of Lagos State are badly affected as residents who spoke with Vanguard all complained of incessant power outages and bills which were not commensurate with the power supplied them within the period.

In some areas on the mainland, low power voltage has been reported as the order of the day, destroying electrical appliances in its wake.

Checks in parts of Ogun State also revealed same situation as most residents, who spoke to our correspondent, complained of days without power supply but with overzealous PHCN staff always threatening to cut off their electricity supply for failure to pay the high bills forwarded to them.

Checks around Benin, Edo State capital, also revealed that residents were not having the best of times as low power voltages in most areas have continued to take its toll on businesses around the state.

Most small businesses have resorted to power generating sets as their main source of supply.

Consumer speaks

A businesswoman, who spoke with our correspondent from Uselu area of Edo Sate who simply identified herself Madam Beatrice, claimed that most business entities in the state have settled for their generators as the primary source of power supply, while PHCN is the back-up source of power supply.

When contacted, Sam Amadi, Chairman of NERC, told our correspondent that there are processes in dealing with such developments as there is no way his commission can be aware of such situations all over the country.

According to him if the issue gets to the Commission via complains and petitions then it would be taken up by NERC.

He stated further that his Commission had mandated distribution companies nationwide to embark on workshops and sensitisation programme in order to enlighten the public on the new tariff order.

NERC blames distribution companies

Amadi placed the problem of low power voltages on the doorstep of distribution companies and stated that NERC was redirecting its focus on that unit of the power sector, as according to him, corruption cannot be ruled out as a factor.

He said his Commission would also want to investigate if the MYTO funds being disbursed by the market operator to distribution companies was being used for its intended purpose.

However, Vanguard investigations revealed that the nationwide blackout could not have been unconnected with the systems collapse emanating from multiple factors.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, had issued a statement recently apologising for the power outage, which cut off power supply to consumers nationwide.

TCN’s statement

In that statement by TCN, AGM Public Affairs, Dave Ifabiyi, the immediate cause of the problem was said to be a fault on its 330Kv transmission line from Benin to Onitsha, which was aggravated by the shutdown of Chevrons Escravos Gas Plant.

The incident caused a generation loss of about 3,716 Megawatts and shut down the nation’s grid system.

The closure of the Escravos Gas Plant on the Western Gas Network to the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System alone may reduce the nation’s electricity supply by 300Mw for three weeks, even as the Presidential Task Force on Power, in a recent statement, gave the assurance that measures had been taken to reduce the impact of the partial shutdown, which began on November 26.

However, the shutdown had been described as an important and scheduled interruption to enable Chevron tie in wells and lay pipes for sustainable gas supply to the domestic market and the gas-to-liquid plant.

Also, the shutdown of about three of the four units in the nation’s largest thermal power plant, Egbin, for maintenance purpose has also been described as a reason behind the massive power outage been experienced nationwide.

Union‘s reaction

Speaking with Vanguard over the phone, President-General of Senior Staff Association of Electricity Employees, SSAEE, Mr. Bede Opara, corroborated TCN’s position that the current national generated capacity is above 4,000, but insisted that other factors might have affected the inability of Nigerians to get adequate power supply at this time.

According to him, the dry season is a factor as there were more demands for electric power due to the heat that accompanies the season.

He also mentioned that the closure of transmission stores by the government, citing fraudulent practices as its reason, could also have affected the system.

He said: “PHCN is a very technical company and there is need for consistent maintenance.”

of our equipment nationwide. Thus, if there is a gap as a result of this kind of closure, it affects the system because equipments can’t get maintained since it is the stores that house the spare parts.

“Aside from this, you are also aware of the shortage in gas supply to our thermal stations nationwide and the maintenance ongoing at Egbin, which has seen the closure of three of the units, all these must have culminated in the current situation nationwide.”

As at 2008, one year into President Umaru Yar’Adua administration, of which President Jonathan was part, power supply dropped to an all-time low, registering an average 1,630 Megawatts (Mw) output from Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN.

By May 29, 2007, when the late President was sworn in, average power generation was in the region of 2,800 Mw. As at that time, average residential expenditure (an estimated 60 million residents use generators of varying sizes) on fuelling power generators has climbed to an all time high of N1.56 trillion (about $13.35 billion) per annum and similar level of expenditure on private power generation has characterised the affairs of industrial and commercial power consumers.

Lagos lawyer and activist, Mr. Femi Falana, has faulted the appointment of Messrs Steve Oronsanye and Ben Otti into the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, which increases the statutory numbers of the board members from seven to nine.

He urged the government to review  the board appointment or face legal action.

Falana said the Federal Government should demonstrate sincerity in the fight against corruption in the oil sector.

He said it would be out of place for the government to ask the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Mr. Emeka Wogu to head the white paper committee on the Nuhu Ribadu-led Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force, PRSTF, since according to him, the minister was indicted in the alleged illegal payment of N2.7 billion to a company for fuel that was never supplied.

On Oronsaye and Otti, Falana said the appointment of the duo was “illegal, null and void as it violates Sections 2 & 3 of the NNPC Act, which provide that NNPC shall have six members and an alternate Chairman.

“Specifically, the Board shall consist of the Petroleum Minister, who shall be the Chairman; Managing Director of the NNPC; Director-General, Federal Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, and three persons appointed by the President and an alternate chairman.

“Instead of seven members, NNPC has nine members with the appointment of Messrs Oronsaye and Otti.”

He added that since the NNPC Act has not been amended to validate the increase in the membership of the board, Oronsaye and Otti should be removed.

He, however, vowed to pursue legal means to oust them if they were retained in the NNPC Board in contravention of the law the Federal Government

An explosion Monday morning rocked the city of Kano at a junction along the popular textile market in the commercial city. Details are sketchy but eyewitnesses say two people were feared dead in the blast.

Details later

STRONG indications emerged, yesterday, that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP is not supporting President Goodluck Jonathan on his attack on former President Olusegun Obasanjo, especially through aides.
According to PDP,  Obasanjo may not be perfect in his actions or utterances,  but  Jonathan must tread softly because of the personality of the two- time President.
It also noted Obasanjo’s status as a former Military Head of State and a civilian President.
Speaking with some journalists in Abuja, yesterday, a member of PDP National  Working Committee of the party, NWC who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that President Jonathan must not undermine the powerful influence of Obasanjo among the northern oligarchy stressing that it was not necessary for the President to take on Obasanjo.
The NWC member said the President should not allow his aides to create friction between him and the former President, adding that exchanging words on the pages of newspapers with the former President was uncalled for.
The NWC member, who noted that  Jonathan was not properly advised  to take on  Obasanjo, especially against the backdrop that he benefited from the former President, said:  “We are concerned about this feud between the President and former President Obasanjo. The  President must watch it. It is dangerous for him to take on this man, who is very close to the northern oligarchy.
“Jonathan should rather speak with him as a father because of his second term ambition. This is not the time to start fighting people like Obasanjo.
“We all know that Jonathan’s popularity has waned. He should not make Obasanjo a hero because Nigerians have this belief that the President is not handling the security situation in the country well.
“The President is not popular in majority of the states in the north and South-West. If he allows this the people in these areas will work against him and his second term dream will remain in the pipeline for a long time. He should not think that votes from the South-East and South-South can give him a second term ticket.
“It was this same Obasanjo who appealed to restive members of the party at the Eagles Square when Jonathan picked the party’s presidential ticket.
“That time, the north was very angry that the party did not follow the zoning formula as enshrined in its constitution following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua.”
However, both the National Secretary of the PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, have said there was no problem between the former President and Jonathan.
When contacted,  Oyinlola said “the issue of Odi killings will not cause hostility between the two leaders of our party,”
Metuh, on his part, said both leaders were working together towards deepening democracy in Nigeria.
It will be recalled that President Jonathan during the media chat penultimate week had faulted the attack on Odi community by Obasanjo, saying the action was not a solution to the problem

Two bombs hit Military cantonment in Jaji, Kaduna state on Sunday, killing innocent and helpless Nigerians.....

Yesterday, gunmen attacked Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) HQ in Abattoir, Area 11, Abuja, freeing several inmates.....

GEJ says it's shocking; Sambo opines it's disheartening; Mark retorts 'perpetrators must be brought to book'; Tambuwal 's speechless; Army boss says 'they are cowards' and IGP says 'we have commenced investigations into the matter'

Religious leaders are busy buying private jets. Iweala is busy suffocating the economy; Lamido is preoccupied with subsidy removal

Only last night, robbers attacked three banks (First Bank, GTBank and Access Bank), police station in Auchi, Edo state with dynamites....

And we pretend all is well with Nigeria, huh? When robbers now use grenades and dynamites? Have we imagined the situation? Is it until when the whole country is turned into a state of anarchy, that's when our leaders will know wahala dey? #Justspeakingmymind

This sounds like a fairy tale but it is true. Gunmen have invaded the labour room of a maternity home in Nkwoegwu, Ohuhu, in Umuahia North LGA of Abia State and took away a newborn baby immediately after delivery, while nurses were still battling to save the mother from bleeding to death.

The baby, a boy, was still dripping with blood when the evil men seized and folded him with the bed sheet in which he was lying.

The mother, Mrs. Eberechi Ihezukwu, says she still thinks that she is in one deep dream, which she will wake up from. “I only heard the cry of my baby and I asked the nurse its sex and she told me that it was a baby boy. I have had three girls for my husband and this is the first male child. My heart was joyful as I felt that I have got an identity in my husband’s house.

With the joy, I was happy that if the nurses stopped the bleeding, its arrival would be a consolation for my travails. “Now see what they have done to me. My Bosom s are heavy with milk; it is a burden I have refused to bear. They should please bring back my baby to suck my Bosom s. I refuse to believe that my baby has gone; the God who put it in my womb for nine months before its delivery will fish out the perpetrators and my baby will be brought back to me.

Peace will continue to elude those who have taken it until they bring it back to me,” Mrs. Ihezukwu prayed. Her husband, Clifford Ihezukwu, a radio/television repairer, said what was too much for him to understand was how the police, who he reported the incident to. turned him into a suspect and locked him up in a cell for two days (Tuesday to Thursday) until he allegedly bailed himself with N15, 000.

“On Tuesday, November 13, 2012, at about 2pm, my wife who was already heavy with a baby told me she was going to hospital (Our Lady of Apostles, Nkwoegwu, Ohuhu, Umuahia North LGA of Abia State) where she normally puts to bed. Later, she phoned me, seeking for my consent as the nurses wanted to give her hot drip to help her deliver of the baby since during her three previous pregnancies, there was no time she was given such hot drip before she put to bed. Instantly, I gave my consent if that would be the solution to the problem.

I learnt that the drip was at about 6pm. By 7pm, I went there to see her since it is within a short distance from my home. When I got to the maternity, I saw my wife’s sister rejoicing; she told me that my wife had just put to bed. I thanked God and told her to take charge while I went back to check what I was cooking. I was there when she rushed back to the house and was shouting: “My stomach! My stomach!” I asked her what was amiss and she told me that gunmen invaded the maternity, kicked her in the stomach after overpowering the security man and collected everybody’s cell phones, including that of my wife who was still inside the labour room where the nurses were battling to stop the bleeding after the delivery.

They dashed into the labour room, grabbed the baby who was still dripping with blood and dashed off. My wife was not yet conscious of what was going on as she battled for survival after the nurses had administered her with some injection to stop the bleeding. So, I rushed to the maternity. When I got there, the whole place was locked; I went round knocking at the windows until someone opened. When they narrated how gunmen carried out their operation and took my baby away, I took my wife and went straight home.

“When I later came back to the maternity, soldiers had besieged the arena. After asking questions, the soldiers picked the five nurses and I told them that my wife was still bleeding and appealed to them to allow one nurse to attend to her and they obliged me. After some time, policemen came and asked us what happened and I told them what transpired. Then, they asked me to come to the station in the morning and report the matter officially.

They asked me and I directed them to the home of the owner of the maternity and they left. In the morning, I was attending to my wife and children when they came and asked me why I had not come to the station as they directed me. Then, I told them that I was still attending to my wife and children and would soon be with them. Shortly after, I went to Afugiri Police Station to make an entry. On getting there, the policemen who came to my house earlier were not present so I waited for about four hours before they came back as I was told that they went to Umuosu, the home of the owner of the maternity.

I told the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) what I knew about the matter. When he asked why I left the maternity I told him that I went to feed my children and look after my wife who was still down. After another two hours, I told them that I was going to eat and see how my wife and children were doing. As I was speaking with him, he ordered that I should be kept behind the counter. My brother who came with me had to go and buy malt and snacks for me to eat because I was already famished. “Then the owner of the maternity, Mrs. Dan Mbakwe and her husband came with my Sister- in-Law. About 4pm,

I asked them what my offence was and why I should not be allowed to go home and see my family, but the policemen kept mute. After some time, they started intimidating and telling me that I was the number one suspect in the case and that I would soon be taken to see the Commissioner of Police and I said ok. “At about 5 pm, they brought out a Hilux van, put me, my sister in-law, Mrs. Mbakwe and her husband and the securityman at the hospital in it and took us to the State CID headquarters. At the State CID, I told them my story and they told me that it was late for me to be released and that I would be locked up till the next day.

They asked me to pull off my dress and then hauled my sister and me in-law into cell. But they kept Mrs. Mbakwe, her husband and the securityman at the counter. Then they all left and handed over to another set of policemen on duty. “In the morning, just before people started coming to work, they put us (the trio) into cell for about an hour to look as if all of us had been inside the cell all night. I then asked the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) what my offence was and he told me that no one had come for me. He said that he had asked them to bring N20, 000 for my bail. ‘Are you asking that amount of money from some one who had been passing through such a trauma?’ I asked the man who came for me later – Chief Ukaobasi.

I told him to look into my trouser pocket at the counter, maintaining that I had N8, 000 inside it. He found the money intact, added N2, 000 to it and paid the police with a promise to bring a balance of N5, 000 if they released me. On Thursday, they released me to go home. I then borrowed N5, 000 from a neigbour and sent to them to bring the total sum to N15, 000. But by I pm on that Thursday, the owner of the hospital and the security man were released. That is what I’m passing through. “I wonder why I should be made to go through this after my baby had been kidnapped and my wife left at a point of death.

“The name of the lady who signed my bail bond is Chioma. I ran to the police to help me because I had nobody and the police threw me into cell and turned me into a suspect instead of helping me to look for my stolen child. I am calling on the relevant authorities to come to my rescue. I have no one to fight for me,” he lamented. When contacted on phone, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ambrose Aisabor, who was shocked said he was not aware of the matter.

“Where did this happen; I’m not aware of this incident; I have to find out,” the CP replied. When Daily Sun visited the maternity along Nkwoegwu road in Ohuhu. It was under lock and key. Daily Sun also visited the home of the Mbakwes, owners of the maternity at Umuosu, Okauga and did not find any body at home for comments.

“We will seize fire if government arrests Sheriff and compensate us” – Boko Haram

Members of Jama’atul Ahlis Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad also known as Boko Haram have said they are now willing to seize fire and stop all atrocities being perpetrated by their group and work against other existing groups if the State and Federal Government will truly heed to their demands.

The acclaimed spokesman of the group, Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulazeez, who doubles as the second-in-command (Amir) to their leader Imam Abubakar Shekau revealed this in a tele-conference with journalists in Maiduguri on Thursday stating that if the state and the federal government want the group to seize fire completely, then former Borno state governo,r Ali Modu Sheriff must be arrested and prosecuted according to the law of the land.

He also said that apart from the arrest of Senator Ali Sheriff, government should compensate the group and rebuild their places of worship which were destroyed during 2009 uprising.

Abu Abdulazeez further stressed that, all their members who were arrested and are under the custody of security agencies must be released with immediate effect, and all their wives who were displaced following the crises as well as their children must be rehabilitated into the society to create room for a fruitful dialogue with the Federal Government.

He pointed out that for a dialogue to take place, it must be through the following elders namely: Dr. Shettima Ali Monguno, Former Head of State General Muhammadu Buhari, former Yobe State Governor, Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Ambassador Gaji Galtimari and Barr Aisha Alkali Wakil and her husband, Barr, Alkali Wakil, insisting that the dialogue must not take place in Nigeria but Saudi Arabia, as according to him, the government of Nigeria is not sincere for dialogue due to its betrayal in the past.

Abu Abdulazeez also said that the group has mandated five members who are to mediate on their behalf; they include himself (Abu Mohammed Abdulazeez), Abu Abbas, Sheikh Ibrahim Yusuf, Sheikh Sani Kontogora and Mamman Nur

While speaking on the series of killings and unwantom destruction of property that took over Maiduguri recently, Abu Abdulazeez disassociated the group from such act, pointing out that such attacks were politically motivated by those seeking for power in the Borno Emirate council, government or otherwise, but not in line with the ideology of the sect who are fighting for the cause of Allah.

He also said that,the burning of old and newly constructed primary schools witnessed across the state were not masterminded by the sect, insisting that the burning of such places were carried out by aggrieved politicians who were denied contracts from the state government.

Aaaaaaaaaammmmeeennnnnnn! A biiiiig one @ dat

there is something sinister abt d whole thin in d 1st place

No lele, time shall surely tell

no be small thin o, lik 2Baba will alwaz say