atajere blog: July 2013

Tuesday, 30 July 2013

UK confirms Nov kick off date for £3,000 bond for Nigerian, others

Culled from Vanguard
Britain’s Home Office, yesterday, confirmed that it will demand a 3,000-pound ($4,630) refundable bond for visas for “high-risk” visitors from six countries including Nigeria — a pilot scheme that has brought warnings at home and abroad that it will damage trade. Britain said in a statement Monday that it will go ahead with the pilot scheme despite the outrage, charges of discrimination and warnings of retaliation.

Nigerian Army, yesterday, in Lagos, paraded 42 suspected members of Boko Haram sect arrested in their hideouts in Lagos and Ogun states. Some of the paraded suspects confessed to have killed soldiers and civilians in the northern parts of the country. They also confessed to have fled Borno State for the western part of the country following the ongoing military intervention.

Twenty nine fun seekers were feared dead and many injured, Monday night, in the multiple blasts that occurred at Christmas quarters in the Sabon Gari area in Kano. The Sabon Gari area of Kano, where four blasts were reported, is full out of outdoor bars and eateries and known for its bustling nightlife. According to reports the first blast occurred at about 9:12 p.m. at Enugu/Igbo Road near International Hotel, while the second blast followed three minutes later, at exactly 9:15 P.M.

Born without skull

WITH much expectation, the world is waiting to see OkikiJesu Olawuyi grab a fitting place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Many across the world want to see this happen. And what that means is that a Nigerian child is well on her way to making history once she scales the mountain of surgeries standing in her path of life. OkikiJesu Olawuyi was born without a skull but not without a will to live. Bones from her hands are being obtained to construct a skull bone to help her live. Amazingly, she is winning this battle for her life at John Hopkins University in the United States of America.

Bayelsa Leaders Visit Al-Mustapha On How To Unite Nigeria

The leader of Oporoza house of Bayelsa, Timi Ogoriba, over the weekend led members of Oporoza house to a meeting to former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza al-Mustapha, in Abuja on how to further unite the country.

Airforce Invents Bomb Detecting Robot To Fight Boko Haram

Experts in bomb detonation would soon not need to get closer to such dangerous objects to neutralise them as the Nigerian Airforce has invented a robot to undertake such task from a far distance. Commandant of the Nigerian Airforce Institute of Technology (NAFIT), Kaduna, John Oshoniyi on Monday said the institute had developed a bomb detective robot capable of detecting bombs from afar, and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for surveillance and intelligence gathering in crisis prone parts of the country. At a news conference in preparation for the 42nd graduation ceremony of the institute, the commandant said the bomb detonating robot, would assist the security agencies to check the series of bombings by terrorist groups.

News reports from Port Harcourt said Mrs. Iwari-Oba, the mother of the wife of Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, may have died in an auto-accident on Monday. The mother of Mrs. Jonathan was said to have been involved in a ghastly motor accident along Elele Road in Rivers State. The Punch reported that the woman, who is from Okrika Local Government Area, was on her way to Bayelsa State when the accident happened and that her corpse has been deposited in the mortuary. The report did not indicate the age of the woman.

It was a harvest of deaths from road accidents, yesterday, as a total of 24 people perished in two separate accidents that occurred on the Lagos-Ibadan and Benin-Lagos expressways.
In the Ibadan crash, no fewer than six persons lost their lives, while eight others sustained serious injuries. Vanguard gathered that the accident involved a commercial bus with number plate OYO XE 675 LUY and a truck with number plate Lagos XX 455 GGE.

Former Nigerian international, Finidi George, has been appointed the Youth Team coach of Spanish La Liga side, Mallorca. The former Sharks winger, who made his Super Eagles debut in the 7-1 whitewash of Burkina Faso at the main bowl of the national stadium in Lagos in a Nations Cup qualifier, had played for Real Betis in Spain.

19 children die after eating school lunch in India

PATNA, India (AP) — Nineteen children have died and more are sick after eating free meals at a primary school in eastern India. Bihar state official Amarjit Sinha says 28 children have been hospitalized in Patna, the state capital. Ten of them are in serious condition. The children are age 8 to 11. They fell ill soon after eating meals in the school on Tuesday in Masrakh, a village 80 kilometers(50 miles) north of Patna.

A fleeing landlord, his brother and an agent said to be the landlord’s son who swindled hundreds of house seekers in Alapere-Ketu area of Lagos, southwest Nigeria, have been unmasked.
The fraudsters have been on the run since Monday, 15 July, the same day they asked pros

Culled from PM NEWS
A 45-year old cripple, Sunday Erim Udoyo and 19 others have been convicted by the Special Offences Court in Alausa for begging on the streets of Lagos, southwest Nigeria, and sent to jail.
The Lagos State Government declared war against begging and jailed over 120 beggars last year.
On Monday, the cripple and six others were convicted and sentenced accordingly by the court. Because of his predicament and being a hernia patient, Udoyo was convicted and remanded at the Lagos State Rehabilitation Centre, Majidun, where he will spend two years.

Culled from PM NEWS
The Nigerian Police in Rivers State on Wednesday declared the Majority Leader of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Chidi Lloyd, wanted in connection with the 9 July fracas in the assembly.
The announcement came on the heels of another by the Police Headquarters in Abuja, which invited, Lloyd, the Aide-De-Camp (ADC) to the Rivers State Governor, Ag.ASP Debeware-Semeikumo, and the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the Governor, Tony Iwelu for interrogation over their roles “as seen in the video clips in circulation”.

VIDEO: Army Confirms Al-Mustapha’s Status In Military

The Nigerian Army has confirmed claims made by Major Hamza al-Mustpha that he is still personnel of the Nigerian Army. At a briefing by the joint security information committee, the Director of Army Public relations who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Colonel Joe Agim, said that Major Al-Mustapha, the Chief Security Officer to late General Sani Abacha, is still enlisted in the Nigerian Army.

Culled from ChannelsTV

Exactly one week after the Rivers State Assembly crisis, protesters who are against the state governor Chibuike Amaechi have attacked four Northern governors led by Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger state. According to information gathered by Channels Television, the protesters who besieged the Port Harourt International Airport, had camped there from 7am on Tuesday morning.

An alarming news hits the blogs and social media that talented actress Funke Akindele’s one year marriage to Kehinde Oloyede has come to an abrupt end.
Blogger Linda Ikeji reports that Kehinde made the announcement himself via his Facebook page but has since deleted the post.

Heroic welcome for Al-Mustapha in Kano

Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer, CSO, to the late Nigerian tyrant, General Sani Abacha wept in Kano Government House Sunday as he relived his 15 year spell in Kirikiri Prison in Lagos. Al-Mustapha was set free by an Appeal Court in Lagos last Friday.
His chartered plane, a Dornier 328, landed at Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, MAKIA, at about 12:05 Sunday amidst tight security provided by the military, police, State Security Service, Civil Defence and the Hisbah Board.

Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former chief security officer of Nigeria’s tyrant, General Sani Abacha, has paid a surprise visit to Pastor T.B. Joshua of the Synagogue Church in Lagos.
Mustapha was released from Kirikiri Prisons on Friday after the Court of Appeal judgement acquitted and discharged him over the charge that he conspired to murder Alhaja Kudirat Abiola on 4June,1996.

Baby stabbed 90 times with scissors by his Chinese mother after he bit her as she was breastfeeding him

An eight-month-old boy is lucky to be alive after he was stabbed 90 times by his mother, mostly in the face, for biting her while she was breastfeeding.

Xiao Bao needed more than 100 stitches after the incident in Xuzhou, eastern China's Jiangsu Province.

The future of Nigerian international,John Obi Mikel,is subject to another speculation,with The SunUK reporting that the midfielder is being linked with a move to Turkish side,Trabzonspor.

Mikel was heavily with a transfer to Turkish giants,Galatasary,who wants to sign him to replace Felipe Melo in the midfield.

Chelsea manager,Jose Mourinho has once again retiterated his desire to sign Manchester United striker,Wayne Rooney. Rooney’s future has been subject to speculation,after it emerged last season that the striker wants to seek other challenges somewhere else. Chelsea are believed to have made Rooney,their number one transfer target,with Mourinho admitting that he is the sort of player he would love to have in his team.

Lagos - Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha was on Friday released from the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons, Lagos, following his discharge and acquittal of a murder charge by the Court of Appeal .
The appellate court sitting in Lagos upturned a death sentence earlier passed on Al-Mustapha and Alhaji Lateef Sofolahan, an aide to the late Kudirat Abiola.

The Edo state command of Nigeria Immigration Service has apprehended over 300 illegal immigrants from Niger, Chad, Mali, Ghana and Guinea during an operation conducted by the command in the state. Parading the immigrants at the command headquarters in Benin City, Controller of Immigration, Edo state command, Mr David Akwo said that after screening the immigrants,120 of those arrested have been deported.

An Ethiopian Airlines 787 Dreamliner caught fire at London’s Heathrow airport on Friday in the latest calamity for Boeing’s troubled jet, forcing the airport to shut down for an hour-and-a-half.
Heathrow suspended both its runways after the fire on the parked plane was reported at around 1530 GMT. It announced 90 minutes later that services were resuming but warned passengers to expect delays. “Emergency services are currently dealing with the incident. No one was on board so there were no casualties,” said a spokeswoman for the west London airport.

Culled from ChannelsTV
The Appeal Court in Lagos has dismissed charges of conspiracy to murder Alhaja Kudirat Abiola levelled against Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (RTD). The Court in a unanimous decision ruled that there was no direct circumstantial evidence that he conspired with anyone as evidence of prosecution witnesses in that regard were contradictory.

Onazi Ogenyi has flourished as player since he announced his arrival when he featured for Nigeria at the FIFA Nigeria 2009 U-17 World Cup where they finished as runners-up to finally earning a place with the Super Eagles. Following his impeccable performance at the 2013 AFCON, where Nigeria emerged eventual winners, the midfielder has been synonymous with most bookmakers, hence, supersport.com engaged him while he was on holiday before the Serie A resumes.

Some succour came the way of the family of deceased highlife musician, Fatai Olayiwola Olagunju, when the management of Daily Needs Industries Limited donated N500,000 for his children’s education. The artiste popularly called Rolling Dollars, who died at the age of 86 on June 12, 2013, was an ambassador to the makers of De-Deon’s Syrup.

Pastor Arrested With 317 Kegs Of Stolen Petrol

Culled from PM NEWS
Officials of the Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit have arrested a pastor and three others over alleged oil theft at Majidun, Ikorodu area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria. At least, 317 fifty-litre kegs of petrol, amounting to 15,850 litres were recovered by the taskforce officials during the raid. The suspects and the 317 kegs of petrol were brought to the taskforce office at Alausa. P.M.NEWS investigations revealed that the suspects were arrested around 5 p.m. on Tuesday when the taskforce officials sighted them stealing petrol from NNPC pipeline into 50-litre kegs at Majidun. In an attempt to arrest the oil thieves, many of them allegedly jumped into the river and escaped.

Rivers Assembly Crisis: Lawmaker Battered With Mace Still In Critical Condition

Culled from ChannelsTV
Michael Chinda, a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly who was battered by his colleagues on Tuesday is currently receiving treatments and in critical condition in a Port Harcourt Hospital. During the fight that ensued when five members of the Rivers House of Assembly moved to impeach the speaker of the House, Otelemaba Amachree, the House leader, Chidi Lloyd was seen in a widely circulated video hitting Mr Chinda with the Mace.

Senate In Rowdy Session Over Rivers Assembly Mayhem

While the House of Representatives debate on the Rivers Assembly crisis was conducted calmly, the Senate experienced a rowdy session on Wednesday during deliberations on the same issue.

Culled from National Mirror
Diamond Bank Plc yesterday relieved over 100 of its staff their jobs, for not measuring up to the Bank’s measuring standard. National Mirror was told that those affected, which included those that have spent over five years with the bank have been given their sack letters. According to a source close to the bank, there was palpable tension and a brief stop of office activities at the headquarters of the Bank in Lagos where many of those affected were serving.

A three storey building has collapsed on Oloto Street in Ebute Metta area of Lagos, claiming at least two lives and a numebr of people are still trapped in the building rubble. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed to Channels Television that the collapse occurred at about 2am Thursday morning.

Arik Unveils New Generation Plane

Arik Air, Nigeria’s largest airline, unveiled its latest plane on Wednesday, saying the new Airbus 330-200 twin-engine aircraft with a capacity of 217 seats has increased its fleet to 24.
The latest addition marks the first of four A330 aircraft to be delivered over the coming year, the airline said in a statement released at the event. The new A330 aircraft will complement Arik Air’s long-haul wide body fleet, which currently consists of two A340-500 aircraft.

A former captain of the Super Eagles, Sunday Oliseh, has lashed back at Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi over comments he made against him at the weekend. Oliseh, who responded through his blog, asked Keshi to learn to accept constructive criticism and work with it like managers in Europe do rather than slam any professional that raises any issue about the Eagles. Last Saturday in Kaduna, Keshi lashed out at Oliseh for saying that there were too many unexposed home-based players in the Confederations Cup team. Oliseh said it affected the team’s performance in the FIFA event.

Lawmakers Turn Rivers House Of Assembly Into Battle Field

Culled from ChannelsTV
The sitting of the Rivers State House of Assembly was disrupted on Tuesday morning when hoodlums and some members attacked the principal officers of the house, with an assortment of weapons. The house which adjourned sine die for some weeks now, in the wake of the political crisis between Governor Amaechi and President Goodluck Jonathan's pointsmen in the state, re-opened this morning at about 9.45 a.m.

Man Jumps Into Canal To Avoid Trial

Culled from PM NEWS
A suspected fraudster who resides in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, Olayinka Salau, tried to avoid trial by fleeing from an Ejigbo Magistrates’ Court in Lagos Lagos and jumping into a canal under a heavy rainfall. The suspect caught the court officials unawares when he escaped while entering the court room. The 35-year old Salau was, however, re-arrested by the Investigating Police Officer, IPO, Akinkumi Muni, who also jumped into the canal and brought him back to the court for prosecution.

Nigeria has again made a mark in the literary world with the emergence of Tope Folarin, as winner of the 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing with his short story entitled ‘Miracle’ published by Transition in 2012. The Chair of Judges for the 2013 Caine Prize, Gus Casely-Hayford, announced Tope Folarin as the winner of the £10,000 (N2.5million) prize at a dinner on Monday evening at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. “Tope Folarin’s ‘Miracle’ is another superb Caine Prize winner – a delightful and beautifully paced narrative that is exquisitely observed and utterly compelling” Gus Casely-Hayford said, as he praised the story.

Nigerian defender Taye Taiwo has declared that he also had interest from Cardiff City after finalising a move to Bursaspor from AC Milan. The 28-year-old decided to move on this summer after struggling to establish himself in the Milan side following his switch from Marseille two years ago.
He spent time on loan with Queens Park Rangers in early 2012 and was at Dynamo Kiev last season, but he has now sealed a permanent transfer to Turkish club Bursaspor on a three-year deal.

Tommaso, a four-year-old, one-time stray from Rome, is thought to have become the world's richest cat.Since the death of his 94-year-old mistress last month, he has become a property magnate — or perhaps mognate — with flats and houses worth an estimated €10m scattered from Milan in the north to Calabria in the south. In a handwritten will, signed on 26 November, 2009, Tommaso's mistress — the childless widow of a successful builder — gave her lawyers the task of identifying "the animal welfare body or association to which to leave the inheritance and the task of looking after the cat Tommaso".

Bus Driver Rapes 2 Daughters For 2 Years

A 35-year old bus driver, Adewale Adeleke has been arrested by the police for defiling his two daughters. The little girls alleged that their father has been having sex with them for two years.
The incident occurred in Ikotun, Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos, southwest Nigeria.
Adeleke was arrested and detained at the Ikotun Police Station over the act. His two daughters, who were in tears, confessed that their father had been sleeping with them since 2011 without the knowledge of their mother who separated from their father last year.

Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi is not taking it lightly with his critics, particularly, those with the opinion that he was depending too much on the home-based players. The coach who took eight local stars to the recently concluded FIFA Confederations Cup descended on his former national team mate, Sunday Oliseh for attributing the team’s poor outing in Brazil to Keshi’s dependence on local stars. ”It is a shame that Sunday Oliseh could say a thing like that. He was a nobody when he came to the national team. He started from home too,” Keshi said.

Beauty and brains rained down in Lagos on Saturday, July 6, at the Intercontinental hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos where The Most Beautiful Girl In Nigeria MBGN Beauty pageant was held and we have a winner! Ezinne Akudo, 22, clinched the crown; beating 32 other contestants to take home the star prize of a brand new car, a trip to California and three million naira.

Nokia , the second-biggest maker of mobile phones, has unveiled cheaper handsets to meet consumer demand for fast connections to the Internet. The Nokia 207 and 208 are candybar-shaped phones that let users connect to speedier third-generation networks, the company said in a statement.

Jonathan Flags-Off N167 billion Reconstruction Of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

After many years of foot dragging and inaction over the reconstruction of the Lagos/Ibadan expressway, President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday, flagged off the multi billion naira, 127.8km road. The President disclosed that the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway was withdrawn from the Bi Courtney company due to evidence of non-performance by the construction firm. The new companies awarded the reconstruction are Julius Berger Plc and Reynold Construction Company,( RCC) at the cost of N167 billion. The road is expected to be concluded in 2017.

What should have been a moment of joy for a jobless couple, Mr. Elisha Bassey and his wife, Patience, turned to sadness when a set of conjoined twins was born to the family on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old resident of the Federal Capital Teritory, Abuja, who is from Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, and his 30-year-old wife, are currently at a loss. The conjoined twins were delivered at about 7 pm on July 2, 3013 at LUNA Hospital in Gwarinpa, Abuja. Bassey said,

The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) have confirmed that Flying Eagles Coach, John Obuh has tendered his resignation letter as coach of Under-20 team after they crashed out of World Youth Championship held in Turkey. NFF General Secretary, Musa Amadu, confirmed the receipt of the letter which was delivered by agents of the coach.

Fake ‘Youth Corper’ To Serve In Prison

A suspected fake National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, member, Opeyemi Ajala, 34, has been remanded in prison custody after he was arrested by the police at Dolphin Division, Ikoyi, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, and charged to court. He allegedly told the police that he was contracted by Olotu Osayowanon now at large to help him serve the one year compulsory scheme with an agreement that he would be paying him N19,000 monthly. Trouble started for Opeyemi, a resident of 25, Jebba Street, Ebute Meta, Lagos on 27 June, 2013 when he went to the Ikoyi/Obalende LCDA, Ikoyi, Lagos to register for the one year NYSC compulsory scheme as a graduate.

ABUJA—House of Representatives, yesterday, passed a resolution to investigate the incidence of fake naira notes being dispensed by automated tellers machines, ATMs, in some parts of the country.
Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, who presided over the plenary session, mandated the House Committee on Banking and Currency to investigate the situation and report back to the House within three weeks.

CAIRO (AFP) – Egypt’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted president Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday and declared the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court caretaker leader. Sisi also announced a freezing of the Islamist-drafted constitution and early presidential elections. Cairo protesters erupt in joy after army ousts Morsi.

WARRI — AT least three youths and an elderly man were, yesterday, shot dead at Ajamita community in Warri North council area of Delta State, while about 34 houses were burnt down at Gbokoda, Ajamita and Udo riverine communities off the Atlantic Ocean by armed Ijaw youths in an early morning attack. The armed youths were said to have invaded the three communities at 5.00a.m., shooting sporadically with indigenes running into nearby bush for safety.

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has affirmed its commitment on zero tolerance for market infractions as it tasked the newly launched National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Over-the-Counter (OTC) market to avoid insider dealings and other malpractices in its operations.

Jonathan's Treatment To Muslims Will Determine 2015 Election - Sultan

Politicians thinking of getting the Muslim vote in 2015 have been told that performance in their present capacity would be the main determinant. The Sultan of Sokoto, his eminence Abubakar Sa'ad (III), who is also the spiritual leader of the Muslims in Nigeria told a gathering of Muslims on Sunday that the Jamatrul Nasril Islam (JNI) will evaluate the performance of President Goodluck Jonathan's administration as it relates to the condition and welfare of Muslims in the country before taking a common position on the 2015 presidential election. The Sultan believes the position is taken by the Islamic body to ascertain if the president has treated Muslims fairly as he promised Islamic leaders during his electioneering campaign in 2011 before seeking for a re-election in 2015

Fire guts Visafone office in Lagos

Culled from Punch
There was pandemonium at Saka Tinubu, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Tuesday, after fire broke out at the national sales office of Visafone Communications Limited. Although no life was lost, recharge cards and equipment, said to be worth millions of naira, were lost to the fire which lasted for hours Although the cause of the fire could not be ascertained as of press time, firefighters told our correspondent that the fire began on the ground floor of the building.

Culled from Vanguard
BENIN CITY – Three mem-bers of a gang that kidnapped the wife, daughter and driver of a judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, in May, this year, were among seven suspects paraded by the Department of State Services, DSS, in Benin City, yesterday. The other suspects paraded were three extortionists who threatened to kill their victim if he didn’t pay up and a musician who was paraded for trafficking in persons.

This young man had a deadly brush with a moving train weekend after he walked into it’s tracks along Agege motor road by Air port bus stop, Ikeja. The young man covered his ears with ear phones as he walked into the tracks and was knocked down by the moving train. Sympathizers thronged the scene and rescued the yet-to-be identified victim from the clutches of death, though his head was battered. A LASAMBUS emergency ambulance raced to the scene and took him to Ikeja General Hospital. We could not ascertain the state of his health as at press time.

Tuesday, 2 July 2013

Samsung Unveils New Cameras

Samsung Electronics West Africa, has unveiled its line-up of high-performance smart cameras.
The products, unveiled at an elaborate event in Lagos on 21 June, feature wireless sharing connectivity and compatibility with a broad range of Android and iOS devices. According to Samsung, the new range of digital imaging devices embodies style and functionality, and will raise the bar for compact system cameras all over the world. Key among the new products is the Smart Camera NX300, from Samsung’s flagship model NX Series.

Culled from PM NEWS
Hundreds of policemen and women living in Police Barracks, Apapa, Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, including their wives and children have been rendered homeless. P.M.NEWS learnt that the police officers and their families were thrown out of the barracks due to the ongoing demolition of shanties at the barracks. It was gathered that the police officers were evicted following the directive of the Police Commissioner in charge of the Port Authority Command, Sherifat Disu-Olajoku. The most affected officers were those serving under the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko.

Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Monday, 29 July 2013

Tuesday, 23 July 2013

Thursday, 18 July 2013

Tuesday, 16 July 2013

Monday, 15 July 2013

Friday, 12 July 2013

Thursday, 11 July 2013

Wednesday, 10 July 2013

Tuesday, 9 July 2013

Monday, 8 July 2013

Saturday, 6 July 2013

Thursday, 4 July 2013

Wednesday, 3 July 2013

Tuesday, 2 July 2013