Dubai-based Nigerian journalist Ahmed Salkida, who recently was flown to Nigeria to negotiate with Boko Haram, has denied claims that Abubakar Shekau is dead.



Two days ago, Cameroonian authorities had released a photo of a dead man they identified as Abubakar Shekau. Eventually the dead man was identified as one Bashir Mohammed, leader of the Islamist sect’s Uye camp. Nigerian security officials had also maintained for months that Mr. Shekau was dead, apparently killed by his own disaffected lieutenants in an internal rivalry for control of the terrorist organization. But according to Mr. Salkida who took to Twitter some hours ago to make the announcement, Abubakar Shekau is alive and well.

Mr. Salkida also dismissed media reports that the Nigerian government was negotiating with Boko Haram for the release of more than 200 kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls. He also described as untrue reports that the International Red Cross (IRC) was working on a deal that would persuade Boko Haram to free the abducted Chibok schoolgirls in exchange for the release of detained Islamist insurgents in the custody of Nigerian security agencies. Read Tweets below......

Over the years, Nigerian celebrities have given inter-racial marriage a try and it has worked out well for some. It’s now becoming a trend with more celebrities in Nigerian entertainment industry crossing borders to find love.
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THE LIST OF THE ACTRESSES IS AVAILABLE HERE

Another top Nollywood actor has just signified his interest in the 2015 election race, thus adding more to the number of entertainers seeking elective position come 2015. The latest entertainer to join politics is no other than renowned Nollywood actor, Yemi Solade, who is currently the interim chairman of the newly floated TAMPAN. Friends and fans of the actor flooded social media recently with posters of the vastly educated actor who has reportedly disclosed that he is seeking an elective into the Senate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The actor is yet to unveil his constituency though, but with the said announcement, he has joined the likes of 9ice, Kate Henshaw, Julius Agwu, KSB, Demond Elliot, Bob Manuel Udokwu, Tony One Week and other showbiz stars who have made their intentions known to contest in 2015. As an actor, Yemi has featured in several blockbuster movies especially in the Yoruba section of Nollywood as well as a number of TV soap operas.

The Aba shoe industry project in South-East Nigeria is heading for global market with daily export fig­ures of one million pairs to other African countries, the President of the Abia Think Tank Association, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa has said.

Ohuabunwa , who stated this during a press conference ahead of a two-day economic sum­mit in Aba, said that the shoemakers produce quality that compares with the Italian brands, adding that despite leading the Africa market, they are yet to have presence outside the con­tinent.

he said.

He explained that when he was in Aba where they make shoes billed for Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Gabon even to Zaira over one million pairs of shoes are exported daily out of Aba.

“I found out that they were doing the work without mini­mum support from anybody. But when I calculated their returns on those investments, I found it was peanuts. They work like elephant but eat like ant. They sweat to bring in their ingenuity but because they are not properly har­nessed, the return on invest­ments is meager,” he said. The former Chairman of Economic Summit Group la­mented that one of the great­est problems facing made-in-Nigeria products is the lack of policy backing by the govern­ment. “When products made- in- Nigeria are patronized by government and ordinary people then more goods will be produced, wealth created and prosperity will be spread among Nigerians,” he said.

He stated that once the made-in-Nigeria policy is sustained in the medium and long term percentage of Ni­geria’s manufacturer products in composite of export will in­crease and percentage of total imported goods will decrease.

If the policy is properly im­plemented, he said there will be wealth creation and more employment in Nigeria. He urged Nigerians to de­velop confidence in Made-in-Nigeria products and trade on the products in order to facili­tate more productivity in the country.

Ohuabunwa pointed out that Aba remains the econom­ic and industrial hub of Eastern states and Nigeria with great potentialities yawning for ex­ploitation.

He explained that the forthcoming summit with the theme, “Aba as the Cen­terpiece of Abia Economic Renaissance” will consolidate and deepen the gains of the previous edition and maintain the momentum in focusing at­tention of private and public sectors in Aba to resolve a ver­itable and strategic roadmap for the state’s development.

A student of the National Open University of Nigeria, Abdulmalik Sa’idu, has been languishing in a police cell for over 20 days on the orders of the Governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, for posting details of an alleged fertilizer scam in the state on his Facebook wall, reports confirmed.

    This was disclosed by Mr. Sa’idu’s family and lawyer. Abdulmalik was first invited to the Katsina Government House on August 28 by a phone caller who claimed he had a message for him. But when Abdulmalik arrived at the governor’s office, he was promptly arrested, handcuffed and taken to Batagarawa Police Station just outside the state capital, Katsina, and detained on the orders of Mr. Shema’s aide-de-camp, Shehu Koko, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP.

According to his father, Maiyawo Sa’idu, while the young student was not charged with any offence, he was accused of cloning the governor’s phone number and using same to call the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affair, Sani Makana, with instructions that Mr. Makana deposit N3 million in his account. Mr. Sa’idu said his son was innocent. He said if indeed Abdulmalik cloned the governor’s number to dupe a commissioner he wouldn’t be tricked to come to the Government House to be arrested. “I think they are trying to frame him. I know my son cannot clone the governor’s number and call a commissioner to put three million into his account,” Mr. Saidu explained.

He said Abdulmalik was arrested because he posted details of an alleged fertiliser scam by the governor on his Facebook page. Mr. Saidu said prior to his son’s illegal detention, some officials of the state government had warned his son to desist from criticising the governor on Facebook. On one occasion, the General Manager of Katsina State Road Maintenance Agency, Jamilu Umar, threatened to pay N2 million to thugs or policemen to kill Abdulmalik if he doesn’t stop criticising the governor publicly, Mr. Saidu said. Governor Shema’s Chief Press Secretary, Sani Malumfashi, rejected repeated calls made to his mobile phone after this reporter told him he was calling about Abdumalik’s case.

Mr. Sa’idu said he is worried about the wellbeing of his son after relatives were abruptly stopped from seeing him a week into his being detained. “For the first week they used to bring him out to me. He would eat in front of me and they would take him back to the cell but for more than 12 days now, we have not seen him. They told me that they have a directive from above not to bring him to me,” he said. “The DPO (Divisional Police Officer) told me they have a directive from the Government House not to bring him out for his family or anybody in Katsina to see him.”

Akin Ajayi, a Kaduna based lawyer, who is helping the family on the case, said the DPO of Batagarawa Police Station told him he had order from above not to release Abdulmalik on bail. “I spoke to the DPO of the Batagarawa Police Station and he said he cannot do anything because it was an order from above,” he said.

Mr. Ajayi said as a lawyer, the governor should realise that he was breaking the law by holding the boy beyond 48 hours on a “frivolous claim.” “The governor is a lawyer, his deputy is a lawyer and the attorney general is a lawyer and they all know that it is wrongful of them to arrest someone and keep him in detention for more than 48 hours on a frivolous claim that the boy cloned the governor’s number and wanted to collect N3 million and some other concocted allegations which are not proven. And they now kept the boy incommunicado. His family cannot reach him, and these days because of the security situation in the north, he could be killed,” he added. Mr. Ajayi warned that if Abdulmalik was not released he was going to send a petition to the National Human Rights Commission and the Inspector General of Police. The DPO of Batagarawa declined to talk to reporters after he was asked on whose orders Abdulmalik was being held beyond the 48 hours stipulated by law.

 The Police PRO, Abubakar Sadiq, also refused to return several calls after promising to find out the details of the case.

The star-studded wedding of Senator Florence Ita Giwa‘s daughter, Kokoeka Florence Mayen, held yesterday and it is one society wedding that will be talked about for a while. The wedding kicked off with the holy solemnization at the Methodist Church of the Trinity in Tinubu and later moved to the Convention Centre situated inside the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos With the traditional part of the ceremony having held in Calabar, Cross River State on September 13, the grand wedding ceremony took place yesterday as the daughter of Senator Ita Giwa, also a former presidential aide to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, got married to ‎her sweetheart, Chimaobi Shawcross Obioha Jnr. ‎ From the arena of Nollywood, music, politics, media and others, dignitaries came from different walks of life to celebrate with the influential former lawmaker.

Popular Nollywood actress, Iyabo Ojo, shared these pictures on her Instagram page. With her are Dayo Amusa, Ronke Odutayo, Ronke Ojo (Oshodi-Oke), among others.

Shad Moss, formerly known as Bow Wow has proposed to girlfriend, Erica Mena.


Over the weekend, the couple was spotted in Atlanta for the 2014 BET Hip Hop Awards and a rumor started spreading that the “106 & Park” host popped the question. Shortly after that, Bow Wow and Erica both posted the picture above on their Instagram pages. Hours later, Erica's make-up artist/friend confirmed the engagement.

Governor Babatunde Fashola approved the new resumption date at a stakeholders’ forum held Sunday, at Lagos Television Blue Roof, Agindigbi, Ikeja. The forum was attended by headteachers and principals of  schools in the state. According to the governor, the shift in date is to allow for adequate distribution of  Ebola preventive materials in schools across the state.

The Emir Of Kano, His Royal Highness Muhammadu  Sanusi Lamido II, today visited the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Emir visited Tinubu at home with the Oba of Lagos, His Royal Majesty, Oba Rilwan Akinolu I.

Nollywood actress Clarion Chukwura just released these new photos from her New York shoot


Ma'am is showing off her curves at 50. Fine woman.

Yesterday, journalist Nicholas Ibekwe released an audio recording of Prophet T.B Joshua offering Nigerian reporters that came to cover one of his buildings' collapse N50,000 fuel money.



It turns out foreign journalists reportedly were offered the money too. But they rejected it. Tweets continue here....

Following reports that Lil Kesh‘s song, Shoki has been banned by the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation(NBC), the NBC has responded through its official twitter account that the song has not been outrightly banned. Although the broadcast regulator mentioned that the song was not banned, a radio station was reportedly sanctioned for playing a club version of the song during the ‘Family Time’ belt, the period when children have access to the mass media like TV and radio. The NBC statement goes thus: ‘We at the National Broadcasting Commission can confirm there was no such ban. A club version of the song cannot be played on radio. The club version contains vulgar lyrics which was played around 9am which is considered as ‘family time’. ‘There is a broadcast code to follow by every broadcast station and this station failed to comply. This said station has been sanctioned for playing a club version during family time. We at the NBC did not ban ‘Shoki’- by Lil Kesh. We simply asked the suitable broadcast version to be played on the radio.’

Below are the tweets.........

Mixed reactions have trailed the release of Wizkid’s sophomore album, Ayo (Joy). The album was released ahead of schedule on September 17, 2014, dropping worldwide on iTunes. Despite Wizkid claiming the album was leaked ahead of the September 23 scheduled release date he had announced, the album, within a few hours, rose to the top of the iTunes album chart in a matter of hours. On several fronts, the long-awaited album has been criticized for several reasons. Officially, this is Wizkid’s last album under the E.M.E Records imprint, so it’s safe to say he made this album to satisfy E.M.E, and that’s probably why he didn’t include the new songs records he has featuring Rihanna and Chris Brown in this album. He recently said those tracks would drop in his next album which would be released under his own record label, StarBoy in December 2014. The new album Ayo is a 19-track album that features several pre-released tracks that fans have rocked severally in the last 9 months, with songs like ‘Jaiye jaiye’, ‘On top your matter’, ‘Show you the money’, ‘One question’ and others not really exciting fans as such. This is added to the fact that fans have had to wait for three years for any album from Wizzy made them expect far more from him than what they got.

Below are some comments his fans are making about the album.

Liverpool were left shell shocked by West Ham as the hammers raced into a two goal lead in the opening seven minutes and eventually ran out 3-1 winners against a lackluster Liverpool side. The Hammers were ahead as early as the second minute when Winston Reid rose to knock in the first strike as Liverpool looked in disarray when defending the first set piece of the match. In the seventh minute, Diafara Sakho made it two with a chipped finish before Sterling pulled the deficit back to 2-1 with a riffled shot into Adrian’s right. In the second half, Liverpool pressed for an equalizer and left themselves exposed at the back and late in the game, Morgan Amalfitano struck a third for West Ham on the counter attack.
Liverpool who have been desperately terrible this season have now lost 3 of their first four premier league matches and needed a last minute penalty to beat un-fancied Ludogorets in the UEFA champions league. The loss of Suarez might be affecting the Merseyside Reds more than they claim to be admitting.

However, a funny thing happened which led to Liverpool's only goal of the match and this was the way Super Mario Balotelli jumped out of the way of a Raheem Sterling shot, and into social media fame.

Check out the funniest memes here........

Moet & Chandon hosted Bright Okpocha popularly known as Basket Mouth for his 36th Birthday at the Moët Rosé Night series last weekend. Having had an amazing year so far, especially with the success of his Uncensored tour, Moet & Chandon Night Series celebrated humour merchant at a classy event which saw him get a customized Moet Nectar Rose bottle as a souvenir. Held on Saturday, September 13, 2014 at the newly refurbished Club Uno, the event had celebrities including Ketchup, Buchi, Black Magic, Bovi, DJ Spinall, Ehiz, Shina Peller, Jimmie and others in attendance.

Tiwa will be performing in this outfit. She looks fabulous, right?

Fans have been queuing over night to get their hands on Apple’s latest product iPhone 6, which is available in the UK from today 19th of September. A certain Adam Taraneesy bought a space on the line for £570 from Depauluk Org. A charity organisation that raise funds for young people who are sleeping rough. Paid £700 for iPhone 6 – 128gb.

Despite the Queue and the stress, D'Banj's boo Adama Indimi has got the latest craze in town, the iPhone 6, and she's taken to IG to show it off.

 Singer Praiz says marriage is not in the cards for him right now and said when he's ready to settle down, it won't be with any girl in the entertainment industry..

    "I don't intend to marry anyone in the industry. I want my love life to be different from what you see on the screen, Marriage is not something one just rushes into. I can't say because everyone is getting married, I should now rush into marriage. It's a deal forever. Basically, I am just focused on my musical career" he said.

Speaking on his kind of woman, Praiz says women who like to work turn him on

    "I like my woman to be ambitious. I like a lady who likes to work. It turns me on. I like a woman who would give me that challenge, she must be a good dresser. I like a lady who is obedient, humble and patient with me whether she is right or wrong. Obviously she has t be physically attractive" he said