http:///2013/04/how-safe-is-lagos-from-boko-haram.html
Is Boko Haram planning a major attack on Lagos or any other South-West city or state? This is one puzzling question that has dominated the headlines and the minds of residents of Lagos, its government, the media and law enforcement agents since the sect began its terror campaign. The terrifying suicide attacks by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria often sound like tales from distant lands. But an echo of the terror the sect is capable of and its capacity to infiltrate its targets was brought close home recently.
Last week, the riddle of a possible attack came close to being resolved with the discovery of the sect’s cell in Lagos-at Ijora Badia to be precise. The news of the arrest of some suspected Boko Haram agents has since filled Lagosians with horror. The publicised arrest and the discovery of explosives also further confirm long-held speculations that an attack on Lagos by the Islamist terrorist organisation may be imminent. As Boko Haram bombs continue to claim lots of innocent lives in the North, one cannot but spare a thought or imagine the possibility of these horrors playing out in Lagos.

In recent days, since the news of the arrest broke, I have been gripped with the thought of potential suicide attacks in this bustling city. Now, I am daily haunted by the delusions of horrifying scenes of bombed-out cars, mangled flesh and the cries of innocent victims that would be unlucky to be caught in this madness.  It is sad that the terror campaign of Boko Haram and the spate of senseless killings have earned our country the tag of one of the most dangerous countries in the world according to Forbes Magazine.
A successful attack on Lagos will further cement our place in the global hall of infamy.  However, the threat to Lagos is real. To ignore its possibility will be foolhardy. There are several reasons why the Boko Haram threat must be taken seriously. The news of the arrest is one obvious reason. Like most terrorist organisations, Boko Haram has recently been attracted to the idea of the big hit. In the last three years, it has demonstrated its capacity to take on big targets. Without mincing words, Lagos will be a choice target. TO CONTINUE READING CLICK THIS LINK http:///2013/04/how-safe-is-lagos-from-boko-haram.html

A pastor and director of Light of Hope Orphanage at Akute, Ogun State, identified simply as Mr. Atunde, was on Wednesday [Apr. 3] arrested by policemen from  Zone 2 Command, Onikan, Lagos State for allegedly molesting two minors at his orphanage.

According to PUNCH report, Zone 2 command began investigating Atunde after receiving a petition from Project Alert against him. Project Alert, a non-governmental organisation, said the petition was prompted by a teacher of the school which the minors attended.

One of the minors (name withheld) had allegedly showed up at school in March with blood dripping down her legs. When questioned by school officials, the minor claimed that Atunde had had sex with her.

Plain-clothes officers from Zone 2 visited the school and spoke with the minors who are aged 13 and 14 years before picking up Atunde from the orphanage which also doubles as his family home.

The orphanage, a large one-storey building housing about 12 rooms, is said to have been functioning since 1996.

Currently about 22 children live at the orphanage, most of whom were male and female minors. Another 11 orphans were said to be running various programmes in a private University with their expenses being paid by the orphanage.

A total of 79 children are allegedly being cared for by the orphanage, which is registered with the Ogun State Ministry of Women Affairs.

The Zone’s Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Femi Balogun, confirmed Atunde’s arrest. He said, “Atunde has been arrested. We will have more details by tomorrow, [Apr. 4].

http:///2013/04/nigerian-car-manufacturer-innoson-makes.html
this is a huge achievement in the automobile industry of Africa. i wish the government can key into this great strides and help INNOSON push this project worldwide, sure bet the standard is perfect.

watch video herehttp:///2013/04/drunken-man-dangles-from-power-lines-in.html
A man who was intoxicated plunged from power lines in China. Fortunately, he fell onto a cushion placed below by firefighters and was not hurt. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

http:///2013/04/boko-haram-begin-mass-recruitment.html
The Jihadist violence which is ravaging the Northern region of the federal republic of Nigeria appears to show no indications of letting up. This is according to information received by 247ureports.com from a competent source within the top echelons of the security structure stationed in Kano.
As gathered, the Jihadist group who had recently ramped up their violent attacks in selected States of Northern Nigeria – particularly Kano, Bauchi and Borno State.  Our source pointed to the continued talk of amnesty by stakeholders within the federal government of Nigeria – as the principal cause for the increased level of attacks.

Precisely, the antagonists against the effort to grant amnesty to the Jihadist based group – is alleged to have raised the combative tendencies of the group to continue in their Jihadist quest.
Our source further revealed that the Jihadist group has launched a broad mass recruitment campaign in the Kano State environs. The recruitment exercise is reportedly headquartered inside the ancient Islamic communities of Kano metropolis.
The new recruits are taken to the troubled West African country of Mali for training. The training is said to last a period of 4 to 6 months. A majority of the new recruits are said be arriving Mali by road transport.
According to our source, the leader of the Jihadist group was recently a guest of a wealthy Islamic leader at a home located in the northern senatorial district of Bauchi State.
The leader of the group had come to Bauchi to coordinate the Bauchi recruitment.  They arrived Bauchi two days before Easter Day on March 29 and according to security sources – departed to Mali on Easter Day.
The recruitment exercise is reported by sources to have netted the group an estimated number of over 1,000 new members within 19 to 30 days of operation.
Already the Jihadist group has begun preparations for a Black June/July for the selected States in the Northern regions of Nigeria.

http:///2013/04/see-mythical-gate-to-hell-discovered.html
A "gate to hell" has emerged from ruins in southwestern Turkey, Italian archaeologists have announced.
A digital illustration shows the ancient Plutonium, celebrated as the portal to the underworld in Greco-Roman mythology
Known as Pluto's Gate - Ploutonion in Greek, Plutonium in Latin - the cave was celebrated as the portal to the underworld in Greco-Roman mythology and tradition.
Historic sources located the site in the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, now called Pamukkale, and described the opening as filled with lethal mephitic vapors.


"This space is full of a vapor so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground. Any animal that passes inside meets instant death," the Greek geographer Strabo (64/63 BC - about 24 AD) wrote.
"I threw in sparrows and they immediately breathed their last and fell," he added.
Announced this month at a conference on Italian archaeology in Istanbul, Turkey, the finding was made by a team led by Francesco D'Andria, professor of classic archaeology at the University of Salento.
D'Andria has conducted extensive archaeological research at the World Heritage Site of Hierapolis. Two years ago he claimed to discover there the tomb of Saint Philip, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ.
Founded around 190 B.C. by Eumenes II, King of Pergamum (197 B.C.-159 B.C.), Hierapolis was given over to Rome in 133 B.C.
"We found the Plutonium by reconstructing the route of a thermal spring. Indeed, Pamukkale' springs, which produce the famous white travertine terraces originate from this cave," D'Andria told Discovery News.
Featuring a vast array of abandoned broken ruins, possibly the result of earthquakes, the site revealed more ruins once it was excavated. The archaeologists found Ionic semi columns and, on top of them, an inscription with a dedication to the deities of the underworld - Pluto and Kore.
D'Andria also found the remains of a temple, a pool and a series of steps placed above the cave - all matching the descriptions of the site in ancient sources.
"People could watch the sacred rites from these steps, but they could not get to the area near the opening. Only the priests could stand in front of the portal," D'Andria said.
According to the archaeologist, there was a sort of touristic organization at the site. Small birds were given to pilgrims to test the deadly effects of the cave, while hallucinated priests sacrificed bulls to Pluto.
The ceremony included leading the animals into the cave, and dragging them out dead.

"We could see the cave's lethal properties during the excavation. Several birds died as they tried to get close to the warm opening, instantly killed by the carbon dioxide fumes," D'Andria said.
Only the eunuchs of Cybele, an ancient fertility goddess, were able to enter the hell gate without any apparent damage.
"They hold their breath as much as they can," Strabo wrote, adding that their immunity could have been due to their "menomation," "divine providence" or "certain physical powers that are antidotes against the vapor."
According to D'Andria, the site was a famous destination for rites of incubation. Pilgrims took the waters in the pool near the temple, slept not too far from the cave and received visions and prophecies, in a sort of oracle of Delphi effect. Indeed, the fumes coming from the depths of Hierapoli's phreatic groundwater produced hallucinations.
"This is an exceptional discovery as it confirms and clarifies the information we have from the ancient literary and historic sources," Alister Filippini, a researcher in Roman history at the Universities of Palermo, Italy, and Cologne, Germany, told Discovery News.
Fully functional until the 4th century AD, and occasionally visited during the following two centuries, the site represented "an important pilgrimage destination for the last pagan intellectuals of the Late Antiquity," Filippini said.
During the 6th century AD, the Plutonium was obliterated by the Christians. Earthquakes may have then completed the destruction.
D'Andria and his team are now working on the digital reconstruction of the site.

http:///2013/04/facebook-to-launch-phone-will-you-be.html
Facebook fueled fresh talk Friday about its own mobile phone after the leading social network scheduled a press announcement for next week.
Shortly after the Facebook invitation went out for the April 4 event, the technology news site TechCrunch reported the announcement would be a modified version of the Google Android operating system with “deep native Facebook functionality.”
Another report on “9 to 5 Google” said Facebook designing the software for the new smartphone, which would be made by Taiwan’s HTC.

Facebook’s invitation said only “Come See Our New Home On Android.”
The reports, if accurate, could explain the long speculation about a “Facebook phone” to help the social network better monetize its mobile platform by featuring Facebook prominently on the phone.
Facebook has long held firm it has no intention of building its own smartphone, saying instead it would rather weave access to the social network into software running the gamut of handsets.
News of the April 4 event at social network’s main campus in the Silicon Valley city of Menlo Park came as the research firm IDC released a Facebook-backed study showing that smartphones have become people’s close friends in the US.
US smartphone owners tend to be connected from the instant they rise until they fall sleep and revel in every minute of it, according to the study.
A weeklong IDC survey of more than 7,000 people ranging in age from 18 to 44 years old with iPhones or Android-powered smartphones showed that four out of five check their handsets within 15 minutes of waking.
The top three applications used were for messaging; Web browsing, and Facebook, in that order, according to IDC.
“People have a universal need to connect with others, especially those they care deeply about,” IDC researchers said.
“This coupled with mass market adoption of smartphones means that social engagement via phones has become mainstream.”
At a TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco in September, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg said the social network giant is focused on mobile devices.
“It is really clear from the stats and my own personal intuition that a lot of energy in the ecosystem is going to mobile, not desktop (computers),” Zuckerberg said during an on-stage interview.
“That is the future,” he continued. “We are going to be doing killer stuff there.”
Facebook has made a priority of following its more than one billion members onto smartphones and tablet computers, tailoring services and money-making ads for mobile devices.
“Now, we are a mobile company,” Zuckerberg said at the conference.
Zuckerberg rejected suggestions that Facebook would make its own smartphone, adamant that the company had no intention of stepping into the fiercely competitive handset hardware arena.
“Apple, Google, everyone builds phones — we are going in the opposite direction,” Zuckerberg said at the time.
“We want to build a system deeply integrated in every device people want to use.”

http:///2013/04/10-year-old-girl-my-dads-friend-raped.html
A 10-year old girl (name withheld) who lives at Agbado Ijaiye area of Lagos, southwest Nigeria, has alleged that her father’s best friend, Sunday Nwankwo, raped her five times in two years.
The suspected rapist, Sunday Nwankwo
Nwankwo was arraigned at the Magistrate’s Court 6, Ikeja and sent to Kirikiri Prison as he could not perfect the stringent bail conditions granted to him by the magistrate.
The accused had pleaded not guilty to the charge of defiling a minor and having carnal knowledge of her forcefully.
He was granted bail on the condition that he provides three sureties in kike sum of N100,000 each, three years evidence of tax payment to the government and each of the surety must possess landed property worth N5 million.

The accused was alleged to have been having sex with the little girl since she was eight years old.
Test conducted on the girl at the Orile Agege General Hospital showed that she was no longer a virgin.
The alleged illicit act was exposed when the three-year old brother of the victim told their mother that somebody used to lay his sister down when nobody was around.
Their mother became curious and questioned the girl, who later revealed that Nwankwo had been having sex with her, saying that he had slept with her five times.
According to the girl’s mother, "When I first asked her, she denied it but when I threatened to pour pepper on her, she opened up and said it was her father’s friend that slept with her.
She said by the time I gave birth to my second son, that was the third time her father’s friend had slept with her.
I gave birth to my second son two years ago, when she was eight years old."
She explained that because the church the family attended was far, she usually asked her daughter and the rest to go to the Four Square Church in Nwankwo’s compound, which gave the man the opportunity to carry out the alleged act.
She said: "My husband has been feeding Nwankwo for years. People even thought my husband was his younger brother because of their closeness."
The 10-year old girl, who is in Junior Secondary School 1, had explained to her mother and the Esther Child Rights Foundation, which pursued the matter, that Nwankwo would lay her down on a plank after putting a foam on top of it and then have carnal knowledge of her.
She alleged that the man usually brought out a knife and threatened to kill her if she reported the matter to anybody.
The little girl added that because he lays her on a plank during the act, that was why she normally complains of waist pain.
The matter was reported at the AIT Police Station which led to the suspect’s arrest.
It was gathered that the police tried to cover up the matter even when the test conducted on the girl proved that she was no longer a virgin.
The test result was tendered to the police but they were not willing to prosecute the suspect.
The culprit was released and re-arrested after the Esther Child Rights Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, intervened and demanded for justice.
This led the police to arraign the suspect at the Magistrate’s Court 6, Ikeja.
According to the Executive Director of the foundation, Mrs Esther Ogwu, she got to know about the matter when the mother of the raped girl contacted her, saying that the police tried to cover up the matter but that due to her persistence, the alleged culprit was charged to court.
Ogwu said she interviewed the raped victim and that she narrated all that happened to her and how she was defiled by her father’s best friend several times.
The case has been adjourned till 24 May, 2013 for hearing.

http:///2013/04/im-still-in-love-with-jim-iyke-actress.html
Actress Stephnora Okere and Jim Iyke dated for a while many years back and according to an interview she granted Stella Dimoko Korkus in this week's Encomium magazine, she's still in love with him. Excerpts from the interview:

    "I've been maintaining a low profile because of the fact that I wanted to re-arrange myself for the future having made one or two mistakes in the past.
    SDK: "What mistakes are you referring to? As an actress or your personal life?"
    Stephnora: "Both. First as an actress, I allowed myself to put on weight and that is not good for the kind of profession I'm in. When I gained weight, I lost a lot of offer for movie roles. My personal life mistake concerns my involvement in a marriage process that never scaled through. I got involved with someone with someone who doesn't understand what the word love means. It took me being involved in that relationship to realise what true love really means. It made me realise that I had loved and still do love someone else."

SDK: Who exactly are you referring to that you still love?
Stephnora: I still love Jim Iyke
SDK: Wow, that's some revelation. I am sure even Jim Iyke will be shocked to read this. He must have impacted on you strongly.
Stephnora: Jim was and is still the best friend I've ever had. He was not just around, he was there as a friend, brother, lover, companion. He was always there. He understood me.

http:///2013/04/pope-to-review-vatican-bureaucracy.html
Pope Francis, who has said he wants the Catholic Church to be a model of austerity and honesty, could restructure or even close the Vatican’s scandal-ridden bank.
The closure may be as part of a broad review of its troubled bureaucracy, Vatican  sources say.
Francis, who inherited a Church mired in scandals over priests’ segxwal abuse of children and the leak of confidential documents alleging corruption and infighting in the Vatican’s central administration, is mulling his options as he sets the tone for a reformed and humbler Holy See.
One of the tests of his papacy will be what he does about the bank which has regularly damaged the Vatican’s image over three decades and faces growing calls for reform.
 Last year a European anti-money laundering body found that the bank – formally called the Institute for Works of Religion and known by the Italian acronym IOR – had failed to meet some of its standards on fighting financial crimes.

 “Certainly if the pope wants to, he can close the IOR,” said a senior Vatican official, a prelate who had years of experience of directly dealing with the bank.
 “The future of the IOR was one of main issues Francis would have to confront now that the whirlwind of his surprise election was slowing,” he said.
 Any significant reforms of the IOR would not come for some time and would probably be made after changes at the Secretariat of State, the central Church department which was at the centre of a “Vatileaks” scandal that rocked the Holy See last year.
 These changes would include the replacement of its head, Cardinal Tarciscio Bertone, who is number two in the Vatican hierarchy and has widely been blamed for failing to prevent the many mishaps and infighting in Church government during the eight-year pontificate of Pope Benedict.
 “It will take time to change the bank,” said another Vatican official who is not a prelate. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity.”
 The second official believed it was more likely that the bank, which manages money for the Vatican, international Catholic religious institutions and orders of priests and nuns, would undergo “serious restructuring”rather than being closed.
 “But I would not exclude anything, including closing it down the line. Francis is doing surprising things every day,” he said.
 Both officials said the new pope might, as a first step, set up a committee to advise him on possible changes to the Vatican’s financial structure.
The first sign of change would be a new secretary of state. “It’s not a question of if but when Bertone leaves,” the senior prelate said.
 It remains to be seen who the pope chooses as new secretary of state.”
The basic failings of the Curia, as the Vatican’s central administration is known, were aired, sometimes passionately, at closed-door meetings of cardinals before they retired into the conclave that elected Francis on March 13.
 “The Curia did not come out smelling like a rose from those meetings,” the senior prelate said, adding that many cardinals had demanded explanations of the scandals and information on how the bank is run and whether it should exist at all.
 “The IOR is not an essential part of the ministry of the Holy Father as a successor of St. Peter,” Cardinal John Onaiyekan of Nigeria told an Italian television station before the election of Francis.
 “The IOR is not fundamental, it is not sacramental, it is not part of Church dogma.”
 Anger at the Italian prelates who mostly run the Curia was one of the reasons that the cardinals chose the first non-European pope for 1,300 years at the conclave and quashed the chances of one of the frontrunners, Milan Archbishop Angelo Scola.
 The next secretary of state, the senior source said, would have to instil a new style of “collaboration and service”among offices of the Curia, whose image was badly stained by the “Vatileaks” scandal.

http:///2013/04/nelson-mandelas-condition-improving.html
(YAAAAAAY thank God for him)
Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s condition continues to improve, the country’s presidential office said.
Mandela, 94, was readmitted last week to an unidentified hospital due to a recurring lung infection.
He received treatment for pneumonia over the weekend, a government spokesman said Saturday.
Doctors withdrew excess fluid that had accumulated in the space surrounding Mandela’s lungs as a result of an infection, said Mac Maharaj, a spokesman for President Jacob Zuma.
It’s the second time in past month Mandela has been hospitalized. More than two weeks ago, he was taken to a hospital for what officials described as a routine checkup.

He underwent treatment for a lung infection and had surgery to remove gallstones over the Christmas holiday — one of his longest hospital stays since his release from prison in 1990.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner has become increasingly frail over the years and has not appeared in public since South Africa hosted the World Cup in 2010.
His history of lung problems dates back to when he was a political prisoner on Robben Island during apartheid. He contracted tuberculosis during the 27 years he was imprisoned.

http:///2013/04/hamas-again-picks-meshaal-as-leader.html
(how i wish they can scrape out this HAMAS group from the surface of the earth- why should they keep the HOLY CITY ISRAEL as opponents and enemies..)
Hamas, the Palestinian movement that runs Gaza, has re-elected Khaled Meshaal as its political leader, several sources inside Hamas confirmed to CNN Tuesday.
Meshaal was re-elected as chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau in Cairo on Monday. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya will continue to lead the movement internally inside Gaza.
Based in Qatar, Meshaal has led Hamas in exile. He left the Palestinian West Bank in 1967 at the age of 11 after Israel moved into the territory during the Six Day War. Israel, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, attempted to assassinate him in 1997.
Meshaal, who visited Gaza in December on the 25th anniversary of its founding, then called for reconciliation among Palestinian factions but offered a singular vision that does not recognize Israel and remains committed to armed struggle.
Israel, the United States and other Western countries label Hamas a terrorist organization. The United States also has listed Meshaal as a terrorist.

http:///2013/04/hold-fg-responsible-for-insecurity.html
Former Military Head of State and leader of Congress for Progressive Change, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), has blamed the lingering  insecurity  in the country on the poor handling of the situation by the Federal Government.
Specifically, Buhari blamed President Goodluck Jonathan administration for the poor handling of the insurgency that had taken more lives and properties than necessary in Nigeria.
He said the problem of insecurity was not peculiar to the North alone, adding that there was no difference between the Boko Haram sect in the North and the militants in the South-South.
The CPC presidential candidate in the 2011 general elections spoke on the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation, when he visited its headquarters  in London on Monday.
He said, “The problem of terrorism is not confined to the North alone. Insecurity generally should be blamed on the Federal Government.

“The world is very much concerned about two things — the issue of security and economic wellbeing of a nation. Security is number one. A nation can only be economically viable if there is security. But how did all these crises start? How did the crises begin and assume this dimension?”
Establishing a relationship between kidnapping and bombing, Buhari said, “Up until now, every day, they abduct people and receive ransoms. How was the problem reduced? How did it start? What method was employed to convince them to mellow down?
“Similarly what we  should look at is, how did the  Boko Haram start? We   know all  these. Security is the responsibility of the government.
“It is the responsibility of the Federal Government to know how this thing started and how to go about it. First  and foremost, security is the responsibility of the government; they should know how this thing came about.”

http:///2013/04/oyinlola-tukur-faces-fresh-trouble-with.html
There  were indications on Monday  that  the plan  by the embattled Peoples Democratic Party National Chairman, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, to conduct a South-West congress  may land  him  in another trouble with the party’s   governors and some National Working Committee members.
Investigations showed  that the governors and  the NWC members saw the  proposed  congress as one of Tukur’s moves to further plunge the party into crisis.
Tukur  had on Wednesday  said a zonal congress would be held in the South-West to elect  a replacement for a former National Secretary of the PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
The national chairman had on January 14, 2013 directed Oyinlola to vacate his seat, citing  a January 11, 2013  judgment of a Federal High Court, Abuja.

  The court had  held that Oyinlola could not have emerged as the nominee of the PDP in the South- West  in view of the fact that two courts of competent jurisdiction nullified the congress in which he was selected.
Our correspondents however gathered on  Monday that the PDP governors felt that Tukur  should have waited for  the Governor Ibrahim Shema-led Reconciliatory  Committee to finish its work before announcing the planned South-West congress.
The PDP Governors’ Forum had last month set up  the Shema  committee  to reconcile all the warring factions in the South-West.
A member of the party’s NWC, who pleaded anonymity, said, “We are  aware that governors are not happy with the national chairman over the move to conduct a congress in the South-West where Oyinlola’s successor would  be elected.
“They feel that he should have allowed the Shema committee to conclude its assignment before embarking on further action in the South-West. He is causing more confusion in the zone.”
Investigations showed  that  the governors  saw the proposed  congress as illegal since the  national secretary, like other national officers of the PDP,  was not a product of zonal congress.
The NWC member, who spoke with one of  our correspondents, said, “You will recall that Oyinlola was elected at the national convention held in March last year, just like Tukur  . You will recall also  that it was Sheu Babayo that emerged as the choice of the North-East  but at the national convention, Tukur was elected.
“You will   remember that although other candidates stepped down for Oyinlola,  votes were cast. In the same way  votes were cast for Tukur. If the national chairman wants a replacement for Oyinlola and even for  the sacked national auditor, Bode Mustapha,   he should be bold enough to convene a national convention.”
 It was also gathered that the governors  are  miffed that Tukur  had not made any reference to the stay of execution order granted on June 25, 2012  by the Court of Appeal in Lagos  on the post of national secretary of the PDP.
 It was learnt that the governors  were  angry that the national chairman ignored  the stay of execution order and  hurriedly sacked Oyinlola and Mustapha.
A source close to one of the governors said, “He (Tukur) is portraying the PDP as a party that has no regard for the rule of law because we don’t understand why he should obey a Federal High Court and tactically avoid the order of the Court of Appeal. ”
It was gathered that because of its impact on the party, the South-West crisis would top the agenda of the next  meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum.
Since his assumption of office, Tukur has not received the full cooperation of the governors. His interference in the running of the party in his home state of Adamawa, is one of the issues being raised against him by the governors.
The governors also  believe that he is  running a one-man show.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Chief Olisa Metuh, seemed to have confirmed the PDP governors belief that Tukur, is running a one -man show when he said on Sunday that he was not aware of the planned Congress in the South-West.
“I am completely unaware of any plan to have any zonal convention. I am completely unaware of it as National Publicity Secretary speaking on behalf of the National Working Committee.  I am completely unaware of it,” Metuh said in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents.
He added, “ I think the press has misquoted somebody; there is no such plan;  we have not discussed it and the matter is subjudice and has not been discussed right now. Whenever we take a position on it,  you will know.
“It is subjudice. It is a matter that is in court, and we have not taken any decision on it. “
On the allegation  that the party flouted a court order restraining it from removing  Oyinlola from office, he said, “All I know is that we have an acting National Secretary.
“The National Working Committee has taken a decision that there is a caretaker committee in the South-West; a working committee has an acting National Secretary but the matter of having a congress was never discussed at the NWC and no decision on it.
“We are aware of an ongoing court matter on that issue;  so we cannot declare a congress until we get a brief from our legal adviser.” But Tukur is not resting on his laurels as opposition against his continued stay in office mounts.
A  source  close to the PDP national secretariat hinted on Monday that “the chairman(Tukur) was relying on his loyalty to the President to keep his job.
He added, “Apart from that, he will also get in touch with those close to the President to   let him(Jonathan) know that he needs someone that is loyal and could confront the governors as the party’s chairman.”
Tukur is  said to be considering sending emissaries to the governors, considered to be   against him  to sheathe their swords.
“Tukur will also use the proposed nationwide tour that would see him visiting all the governors in their states  to appeal for their support,” the source said.
It was also learnt that if the permutations that could make him retain his job fail , he would ask that all members of the NWC be sacked.
“He is just carrying along with them in order not to further create an impression that the party is divided at that (NWC) level,” the source said.
The chairman is believed to be unhappy that a majority of the NWC members were playing double game.
While some of them are said to be pretending to be with him and the President, their loyalty is actually  with the governors, who nominated them .

http:///2013/04/time-to-abolish-office-of-deputy.html
We are masters at thwarting processes and systems. Where else but in Nigeria will a group of legislators suspend all their colleagues that hold a contrary view on an issue for the purposes of achieving the required two-thirds majority, and then go ahead in a hotel room or under a tree, with a carpenter’s hammer as gavel, to impeach a governor or deputy governor or pass a law? It is only in Nigeria that a country will adopt federalism as a system of government and then twist it to become pseudo-unitarianism, with the President as powerful as a monarch, and all the federating units always running to the centre, cap in hand, to collect one hand-out or the other.

Where else in the world but in Nigeria can an unconstitutional body like the Nigerian Governors Forum become the bloc that determines who rules the nation and the policies that get implemented? It is only in Nigeria that legislators will fix their salaries and allowances and pass such into law. It is only in Nigeria that legislators will change the President’s budget by re-directing the projects to be executed in other parts of the country to their constituencies, and refuse to pass the budget unless the President accepts the budget the way they have altered it. It is only in Nigeria that a law is made for oil theft to carry a death sentence, while looters of the treasury get a fine of N250, 000.00 or a presidential pardon.
It is only in Nigeria that a governor, after leaving office, will get a law court to grant a perpetual injunction that he must never be tried for any aspect of his tenure. It is only in Nigeria that an elected public official will defect to as many parties as he wants and still retain his position. It is only in Nigeria that since the local government election was handed over to the governors to conduct in their respective states, no opposition party member has won a local government chairmanship seat in the 36 states of the federation. Even though a governor and his party will complain that the national electoral body is not fair and transparent in its elections, the same governor and his party will ensure that all the local government chairmanship seats in their states are won by their party, by hook or by crook. Those who complain about electoral fraud are promptly advised, with an air of arrogance, to go to court, since the chances of the state-owned courts upturning the elections are slim, if not non-existent.
My point is that we live in a nation where systems and processes are manipulated, thwarted and twisted to achieve some selfish aims. We live in a nation where people take advantage of systems and processes to achieve ridiculous results, calling such acts ingenuity, political sagacity or political engineering, when in other countries such people should be in jail or politically tainted for life. It is the same spirit that drives the young boys who engage in internet fraud: they see a loophole in a system and decide to take advantage of it to deceive others and take their money.
The office of the deputy governor is very important, just like the office of the vice-president. The deputy governor is elected jointly with the governor. The deputy governor is there to assist the governor in running the affairs of the state. He/she is meant to stand in for the governor in his/her absence. And in the event of death, impeachment, resignation, or incapacitation of the governor, he/she is promptly sworn in as the governor, to ensure that there is no break or lacuna in governance.
Each governorship candidate in every state, with the consent or knowledge of his party, chooses his running mate, and campaigns with that running mate for the office of governor. The governorship candidate usually chooses his running mate from a part of the state different from his, with the aim of getting the kinsmen and supporters of his running mate to vote for their ticket and make the chances of victory higher. But once the election is won, rather than become partners in governance, the governor becomes the master while the deputy governor becomes his servant or yes-man. The deputy governor is not allowed to have an opinion on any matter. It is a crime for him/her to disagree with the governor even in secret, or advise the governor against a policy. He/she must sing the praises of the governor at every opportunity and call him/her “Your Excellency” regularly in private and in public, and acknowledge them always as “the oga at the top”. The deputy governor must make it abundantly clear that they are 100 per cent loyal to “His/Her Excellency”. Most importantly – and most ridiculously – the deputy governor must not show in any form that he/she has any plan or ambition to become the governor at the expiration of the term of the boss. So, why have a deputy governor who cannot take over when the governor’s tenure is over?
Because the Constitution does not assign any specific role to the deputy governor, most governors make their deputies idle and redundant. Some governors completely sideline their deputies and make them less important than their appointed aides.
But the ultimate tool the governors use to deal with their deputies is impeachment. Another twist to political life is that each state House of Assembly, which ideally should be independent and serve as a check on the governor, willingly and unashamedly allows the governor to put them completely into his pocket. Whatever the governor wants done gets done expressly. So, whenever the governor wants the deputy impeached, he sends word to the state assembly. Once a deputy governor is marked for impeachment by a governor, he is a goner.
And because the Constitution does not ask for an election to be conducted to fill the vacant post of a deputy governor, impeachment has become a route to a governor getting a deputy that would be loyal to him like a lapdog, because the deputy owes his exaltation to the new office without an election to mercies of “His Excellency”. Once an elected deputy governor is impeached, the governor sends a letter to the state House of Assembly, submitting a name of the person he wants be his newly appointed deputy. In a matter of minutes, the lawmakers approve the name for the governor. Case closed!
Since it has become clear that the governors have made the office of the Deputy Governor useless, unnecessary, redundant and derogatory, the onus is on the National Assembly to start the amendment of the Constitution to expunge that office from our Constitution. The commissioner of special duties or any other person should hold brief for the governor when he/she is ill, out of the country, on leave, and the like. And in the event of death, resignation, impeachment, incapacitation of the governor, the speaker of the House of Assembly should be the acting governor for three months before an election is held to choose a new governor.
Our governors have rubbished the office of the Deputy Governor. There is no need to keep such an unnecessary office anymore and continue to waste national resources on it.
by Azuka Onwuka ([email protected]

http:///2013/04/ig-orders-arrest-of-policemen-in.html
Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar has allegedly ordered the arrest of policemen caught wearing their new camouflage all over the country.
The directive is said to be in response to a petition written against Abubakar to the Presidency concerning the sale of the camouflage.
Police source said on the condition of anonymity that violators were being arrested by the IG’s monitoring team and taken to Abuja.

The source said, “This incident began sometime last month when some concerned policemen wrote a petition to the Presidency concerning the sale of these camouflage uniforms. The camouflage, which is available at all police stores nationwide, were being sold at either N10,000 or N15,000 and then sewn for N5,000.
“Normally when there is a new uniform, a set ought to be issued to every policeman free of charge. As a matter of fact, the Federal Government, last year, approved new camouflage uniforms not just for the police but also for the navy and army. While the military has gone ahead to issue these uniforms to their men, the NPF has yet to do same.”
The PUNCH had on March 14, 2012 reported the introduction of a new uniform for the police force as part of the FG’s reformation and image laundering agenda for the force.
Abubakar reportedly described the new police camouflage as a testrun for the force as one of its operational outfits.
“The new police camouflage is cost effective; operationally durable; highly customised with security features to forestall impersonation and environmentally-friendly,” Abubakar had said then.
It was gathered that currently, the camouflage were only being worn by a select few.
Another source said the camouflage was initially meant for police officers from the rank of commissioners.
He said, “Later, the camouflage came down to the assistant police commissioners, deputy police commissioners and some state police public relations officers.
“Eventually, some junior police officers started buying the uniforms and it is not as if this is a new trend. Policemen always buy and sew their uniforms including all other accoutrements.  The development caused some disaffection between the junior officers who had access to the uniforms and some senior officers who were yet to get them.”
Deputy Force Police Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, a chief superintendent of police, dismissed the allegation.
He said, “There is no iota of truth in that assumption or rumour. This uniform has come to stay and is an integral part of the force. Therefore, the IG cannot sanction the arrest of policemen who wear this uniform.
“That would mean all CPs and every other person including the IG himself who wear the uniform would be arrested. If indeed the uniforms are being sold, what the IG monitoring team has been doing is going about as decoy to get anyone who would sell the camouflage uniforms to them. If such happens, then we would act appropriately.
“There is no way the IG can order the arrest of policemen for doing the right thing.”

http:///2013/04/atiku-lied-about-pentascope-deal-el.html
A former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has said that a former Vice-President, Abubakar Atiku, lied when he accused him of  imposing the Pentascope management contract on the defunct Nigeria Telecommunitions Limited.
El-Rufai was the Director-General of the Bureau for Public Enterprise when the Federal Government entered into a contractual agreement with a Dutch firm, Pentascope, to manage the nation’s telecommunications firm, NITEL, on the eve of the privatisation carried out by the Obasanjo administration.
El-Rufai said that Atiku, who was Chairman of the National Council for Privatisation, gave a written approval to enter into a contractual agreement with Pentascope to manage NITEL on February 21, 2003.
El Rufai whose allegations were contained in an electronic mail on Monday, signed by his Media Advisor, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye, said that Atiku’s memo on the Pentascope’s management contract with NITEL dated February 20, 2003 was raised by a director of the BPE in charge of the duties of the Director-General at the time.

The former minister explained further that the Pentascope deal was made following what he described as a competitive selective process following an earlier decision that a management firm be engaged to prepare NITEL to operate like a private firm in addition to preserving its assets.
He added that the terms of the contract with Pentascope made it a duty for the BPE to set up an executive committee to monitor the operations of the company on a daily basis.
According to him, the management contract was terminated in 2005 because it was frustrated due to lack of effective supervision by the BPE and other key players in the Ministry of Communications and the NCP under Atiku’s leadership.
He said, “On Pentascope, we see the same pattern of muddying the waters with falsehood. As chairman of the National Council on Privatisation, Atiku gave his approval in writing on 21 February 2003 for the management contract with Pentascope to be signed.
“The memo on which Atiku minuted his approval, BPE/I&N/NT/MC/DG/280, is dated 20th February 2003, and was initiated by the director of BPE that was covering the DG’s duties at the time. By the virtue of the high office he then held, Atiku knows that Pentascope was not foisted on NITEL but emerged from a properly advertised and competitive selection process.
“After the failure of the first attempt to sell NITEL, it had been decided that there was the need for a management contractor to keep the momentum of preparing the company to operate like a private entity and to preserve its assets. Pentascope resumed in NITEL on 28 April 2003, shortly before el-Rufai left the BPE to become a minister.
“The Pentascope contract terms included obligations by the BPE to monitor the contract, and for the NITEL Board to set up an Executive Committee to supervise day-to-day operations in NITEL. Between the new BPE leadership that neglected its responsibilities, the NCP which Atiku chaired and which failed to supervise the BPE and the bureaucrats and politicians around the Ministry of Communications, the management contract was frustrated and terminated in 2005.”
El Rufai’s reaction followed an allegation by Atiku in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, that el-Rufai, as the DG of the BPE defied wise counsel to foist the Pentascope management contract on NITEL.
Atiku had alleged that el-Rufai ignored public outcry against his choice of Pentascope to manage NITEL even when it was proved that the foreign firm was financially incapable and lacked the competence to manage the telecommunications firm.
The former VP had said, “On Pentascope, one would have expected your paper to direct the questions to el-Rufai himself. The Pentascope scandal was one of the issues investigated by the National Assembly and it accused el-Rufai of ignoring wise counsel by imposing the company on NITEL.
“Despite proven allegations that Pentascope was not financially capable and technically competent to handle NITEL management contract, the former Bureau of Public Enterprise Director-General ignored public outcry and forced the Dutch company on NITEL.
“Before the coming of Pentascope, NITEL was making an estimated N100bn profit annually. However, as soon as Pentascope took over, NITEL’s profits were nose-diving incredibly.
“With telecoms stakeholders, the National Assembly and the Nigerian public insisting that the imposition of Pentascope on NITEL was ruinous to national interest, the Federal Government eventually cancelled the management contract against el-Rufai’s desire.”
El-Rufai, who also commented on the NITEL GSM contract involving Ericsson and Motorola, denied Atiku’s claim that his brother was on the board of Motorola.
He also debunked the claim that the contract was split, adding that it was awarded to Ericsson, “but at the lower price submitted by Motorola, because of Atiku’s intense lobby and smears deployed to advance Ericsson’s bid.”
He alleged that Atiku and his then ADC, Abdullahi Yari, spoke on several occasions to him to favour Ericsson in the bid.
He said that Atiku had a responsibility to explain to Nigerians why he was pushing for Ericcson to get the offer.

http:///2013/04/i-sell-petrol-at-n48-per-litre-pipeline.html
A suspected oil pipeline vandal, Komuko Ayekede, says he sells stolen petrol at N48 per litre.
The suspect, who was arrested by the Inspector General of Police Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism Unit on Sunday, added that he had numerous customers including filling stations, due to his attractive price.
He however pleaded with the police to release him and the other four suspects, Oluwafemi Bamidele, James Awolowo, Eugene Stanley and Kunle Ogushe, in the spirit of Easter.
“We thought that on a day like Easter, security operatives would go and rest with their families. Please forgive us at least for the sake of Christ that rose from the dead because of you and me,” he said.
Narrating how he joined the illegitimate business, Ayekede, 52, said he was involved in sand dredging but joined other vandals when he couldn’t make ends meet.
He said, “I was engaged in sand dredging. Some years ago when my business was not moving well, my friend, Ebi, advised me to join him in pipeline vandalism. Initially, I said no because I was a hardworking person, but when it dawned on me that this was the only source of living, I joined Ebi.
“We were using kegs but because of the level of the water, we introduced the use of sack which contains a larger quantity. The sack can contain as much as 125 litres of fuel or diesel. Normally we move about 270 bags per trip.

“When we get to the pipe, we will open it and use our own valve to block it immediately. You then run it through the hose to the water where the bags and my boys are waiting.
On how they sell the products, Ayekede said there were always buyers at Apapa to collect the product at N6000 per sack of 125 litres.
He said, “Selling the product is not a problem. There are so many of them at Apapa. The main job is to collect the product and successfully cross the river especially through FESTAC canal. This is why we normally work at midnight.”
Stanley, another suspect, claimed he was an aspiring footballer based in Bayelsa but was pushed to crime because he needed money to bribe scouts who would help him get a good offer in Europe.
Another suspect, Bamidele, who claimed to be a university dropout, said he was not part of the vandals but only wanted to patronise them.
Friday Ibadin, who is in charge of the Task Force said that at about 12am, on Sunday they got an intelligence report that vandals were at Ijedodo, Ijegun in Iba Local Government Council Development area of Lagos.
He said they were arrested around 7th Avenue, FESTAC with 270 bags of 120 litres of petrol.

http:///2013/04/police-rescue-septuagenarian-from.html
A 77- year- old woman, Grace Agbonkpolor, has been rescued by men of the Edo State Police Command from her abductors, after spending four days in captivity.
The septuagenarian was said to have been rescued by men of the Edo State Police Command Anti- Kidnap Unit, following the arrest of one of the kidnapers, who had come forward to collect ransom demanded from the family.
The ransom according to report was to be exchanged at Obarente village, along Benin-Sapele road.
Agbonkpolo was said to have suffered similar fate in 2010, when she was allegedly kidnapped on December 23. Of that year, and was only
released after payment of ransom.
Expressing gratitude to the police for her rescue and arrest one of the kidnappers, the victim appealed to the police for protection,
saying, “As long as other members of the gang are still at large, I remain unsafe.”

http:///2013/04/rescuers-find-59-dead-bodies-in-tibet.html
Rescue teams have found 59 dead bodies at the site of a massive landslide in Tibet and two dozen more workers are still feared buried in the rubble, Chinese state media said on Tuesday.
 Tonnes of rock, mud and debris engulfed a miners’ camp on Friday in Maizhokunggar County where China Gold International Resources Corp Ltd operates its Jiama mine.
 Emergency workers and other miners spent the weekend digging through the landslide which was up to 50 metres deep in parts.
 Rescuers had to suspend their search for any survivors on Monday after large cracks were found in hills above the site, raising fears of more landslides, Xinhua said.
 China Gold International Resources Corp Ltd, which is listed in Toronto and Hong Kong,has two operating mines and last week forecast 2013 production of 26.5 million pounds of copper at Jiama.
 Its shares were largely flat on Tuesday after falling almost 16 per cent on Monday.