image: http://cms.dailytrust.com.ng/cms/gall_content/2015/11/2015_11$largeimg24_Nov_2015_161824068.jpg
Ben state governor, Samuel Ortom
Sunday 29 November 2015
Adele tops the charts! Sells 3.38 million copies of new album in week of release
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a number.
Adele's blockbuster 25 has sold a record-shattering 3.38 million copies in its first week, according to Nielsen Music. It easily bests early projections of 2.5 million made more than a week ago.
Adele performs on the "Today" show on Nov. 25 to promote her latest release, "25." The album sold a record-breaking 3.38 million copies in its first week.
As Billboard reports, that's the largest sales week since Nielsen started tracking album sales in 1991. It's the first album to ever sell more than 3 million copies in one week and only the second to pass 2 million (the first was NSYNC's No Strings Attached, with 2.416 million sold in 2000).
Already, 25 is the biggest selling album of the year so far (nearly doubling the 1.8 million copies Taylor Swift's 1989 has moved in 2015). It will debut atop the Billboard 200 album chart this week, making it Adele's second No. 1 album after her similarly mammoth 21. For comparison, 21 started with 352,000 copies sold its first week in March 2011, going on to sell more than 11 million in sales.
Ice T and wife Coco welcome baby girl
Here's something to be thankful for!
Coco Austin and husband Ice-T welcomed their new baby girl, Chanel, into the world with an adorable Instagram debut.
"Surprise!!! Look who came early," Coco captioned the photo. "Welcome the new arrival of Chanel Nicole. A beautiful healthy 5.7 pound and 18 inch baby girl. Ice and I are so proud! I cried while she was coming out I was so excited to meet her!"
What a cutie.
It's currently unclear when the baby was born, but only hours before uploading the photo above, a very pregnant Coco posted a pic of herself standing next to a Christmas tree. In the caption, she described what the pregnancy has meant to her and revealed she had a feeling Chanel might arrive earlier than expected.
"My 37 week bump!!..This baby is coming early 😉 - a mothers intuition 🎀#ChanelNicole is trying to make her appearance," she wrote. "Strange thing is I will miss her inside of me..I really enjoyed the experience. My goal was to make pregnancy look positive, fashionable, cute, fit and healthy every step of the way. There were a lot of unbelievers along the way but honestly I'm used to that..Thanks to all the lovers that have been interested with my journey from the beginning and also a true 'Coco Fan'.. I wish I could hug everyone of you."
Earlier this week, Coco, never one to shy away from a revealing photo shoot, shared a photo of herself wearing a plunging leopard print sports bra and matching leggings. You know, typical mom stuff.
The talk show host has documented her growing belly on Instagram throughout her pregnancy, as well as blogging for E! about why she's excited to have a baby girl.
HuffPost
Coco Austin and husband Ice-T welcomed their new baby girl, Chanel, into the world with an adorable Instagram debut.
"Surprise!!! Look who came early," Coco captioned the photo. "Welcome the new arrival of Chanel Nicole. A beautiful healthy 5.7 pound and 18 inch baby girl. Ice and I are so proud! I cried while she was coming out I was so excited to meet her!"
What a cutie.
It's currently unclear when the baby was born, but only hours before uploading the photo above, a very pregnant Coco posted a pic of herself standing next to a Christmas tree. In the caption, she described what the pregnancy has meant to her and revealed she had a feeling Chanel might arrive earlier than expected.
"My 37 week bump!!..This baby is coming early 😉 - a mothers intuition 🎀#ChanelNicole is trying to make her appearance," she wrote. "Strange thing is I will miss her inside of me..I really enjoyed the experience. My goal was to make pregnancy look positive, fashionable, cute, fit and healthy every step of the way. There were a lot of unbelievers along the way but honestly I'm used to that..Thanks to all the lovers that have been interested with my journey from the beginning and also a true 'Coco Fan'.. I wish I could hug everyone of you."
Earlier this week, Coco, never one to shy away from a revealing photo shoot, shared a photo of herself wearing a plunging leopard print sports bra and matching leggings. You know, typical mom stuff.
The talk show host has documented her growing belly on Instagram throughout her pregnancy, as well as blogging for E! about why she's excited to have a baby girl.
HuffPost
Did police actually erase evidence in cop's killing of teen?
A Chicago Burger King manager who accuses police of erasing surveillance video in the case of a black teenager shot last year by a white officer said Saturday he testified before a federal grand jury investigating the shooting.
Jay Darshane told the Chicago Tribune that the FBI also took the video recorder containing all of the fast food restaurant’s surveillance images.
The allegations of tampering has fueled the anger of protesters who say the city, police and local prosecutors have botched the case of Laquan McDonald’s death. After months of refusals, the city released police squad car footage of the shooting Tuesday in response to a judge’s order.
Both the police chief and the Cook County state attorney deny the Burger King video was altered.
The Burger King is yards from where McDonald, 17, fell when the first few rounds from Officer Jason Van Dyke struck him. It took minutes for police to demand the restaurant’s password-protected video, Darshane said.
"I was just trying to help the police with their investigation," Darshane said. "I didn't know they were going to delete it."
He said that when the officers left, almost two hours later, there was an 86-minute gap in the recording, including the time surrounding the shooting.
Darshane told the newspaper he testified about the missing video before a grand jury earlier this year.
The Cook County state's attorney this past week announced a state-level charge of first-degree murder against the officer.
McDonald was shot 16 times after being pursued by police responding to a complaint about car break-ins. He was carrying a knife. The officer's attorney says his client fired because he feared for his life, and that he acted lawfully and within police department guidelines.
At a news conference announcing the charge, State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said forensic testing found no evidence that anyone intentionally erased the Burger King video. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy called the allegation "absolutely untrue."
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Jay Darshane told the Chicago Tribune that the FBI also took the video recorder containing all of the fast food restaurant’s surveillance images.
The allegations of tampering has fueled the anger of protesters who say the city, police and local prosecutors have botched the case of Laquan McDonald’s death. After months of refusals, the city released police squad car footage of the shooting Tuesday in response to a judge’s order.
Both the police chief and the Cook County state attorney deny the Burger King video was altered.
The Burger King is yards from where McDonald, 17, fell when the first few rounds from Officer Jason Van Dyke struck him. It took minutes for police to demand the restaurant’s password-protected video, Darshane said.
"I was just trying to help the police with their investigation," Darshane said. "I didn't know they were going to delete it."
He said that when the officers left, almost two hours later, there was an 86-minute gap in the recording, including the time surrounding the shooting.
Darshane told the newspaper he testified about the missing video before a grand jury earlier this year.
The Cook County state's attorney this past week announced a state-level charge of first-degree murder against the officer.
McDonald was shot 16 times after being pursued by police responding to a complaint about car break-ins. He was carrying a knife. The officer's attorney says his client fired because he feared for his life, and that he acted lawfully and within police department guidelines.
At a news conference announcing the charge, State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said forensic testing found no evidence that anyone intentionally erased the Burger King video. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy called the allegation "absolutely untrue."
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Recovered stolen funds is now with CBN
Public funds that have so far been returned by some past government officials who looted the treasury while in the saddle are currently with the Central Bank of Nigeria, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.
It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had while speaking during an interactive session he had with members of the Nigerian community in the Islamic Republic of Iran disclosed that some past government officials who stole public funds had started returning parts of their loot to government coffers voluntarily.
Buhari did not disclose the identities of the former government officials who have so far returned parts of the looted fund or the amount returned to the public treasury.
But SUNDAY PUNCH’s investigation revealed that the money is with the CBN, although the amount could not be immediately ascertained at the time of filing this report.
It was also not certain yet the purpose for which the money would be utilised.
Although there are speculations that the return of the monies could be part of a plea bargain arrangement that will see the ex-officials returning their loot quietly without being prosecuted, it was also learnt that the President might not have made up his mind on the matter.
When contacted on Saturday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, confirmed that the looted fund was being returned to government coffers through the CBN.
He said only the apex bank could speak on how much had been returned to the government.
He said, “The looted fund is being returned through CBN. Only the bank can speak on the procedure, and how much has been returned so far.”
When further asked if the President was considering pardoning those who have returned their loot or they will still be prosecuted, Adesina replied, “The President has not made a declaration on whether those who returned money voluntarily would still be prosecuted or not.”
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had told journalists at Friday’s Federation Accounts Allocation Committee meeting in Abuja that the Federal Government had yet to put a specific figure to the amount of money so far returned by those who looted the treasury, saying the process was still ongoing.
According to her, when collated, the funds would be returned to where they were stolen from.
The minister said, “There is no figure on the funds being returned yet. The process is ongoing. When it is completed and the accounts are available, they would be returned to where they were stolen from. We haven’t come to that yet.”
Copyright PUNCH
Saturday 28 November 2015
Chris Brown sings with Rihanna in new album
Breezy surprised fans with 34 new tracks album yesterday.
Brown’s upcoming album Royalty was originally slated to drop Friday (Nov. 27), but its release was mysteriously pushed back three weeks to Dec. 18. But don’t worry, #TeamBreezy, your boy’s come through and given you the next big thing: a whopping 34-track mixtape.
Though Brown Named His Album After His Daughter, But His New Single Isn’t Quite Kid-Friendly.
Before The Party dropped Friday afternoon and boasts an impressive guest roster, including Tyga, Wale, French Montana and Fetty Wap. Brown also teams up with ex Rihanna, Wiz Khalifa and Kelly Rowland on the tape’s opening track, “Counterfeit."
As if 34 new tracks wasn’t enough to keep fans happy, Brown also released a new music video for “Fine By Me,” which finds him getting into an intense dance-off with some demonic dancers. It ends on an obvious cliffhanger, so it looks like this saga may be continued soon.
Between this and Lil Wayne’s No Ceilings 2, hip-hop fans should have plenty of new tunes to last through the holidays.
Tuesday 24 November 2015
Post-splits, from recent partners, Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik is a couple?
Hadid has him hooked! Fresh off her split from Joe Jonas, Gigi Hadid is now dating recently single Zayn Malik, Us Weekly can exclusively confirm.
"It’s a very new thing. They're just seeing where it goes," a source tells Us.
"I wouldn't call them boyfriend and girlfriend," another insider adds. "But seeing each other? Definitely. He's chuffed."
Indeed, the model, 20, and Malik, 22, seem to be enjoying each other's company. The pair were spotted getting cozy while partying in West Hollywood on Sunday, Nov. 22, after Hadid attended the 2015 American Music Awards, where Malik's former One Direction mates picked up two awards.
"Gigi was leaving The Nice Guy," an eyewitness tells Us. "Gigi went out the front, though. She walked down the street and jumped into the car where Zayn was waiting to pick her up."
Hadid — who previously romanced Cody Simpson — is newly single after splitting from Jonas earlier this month. The exes called it quits after four months of dating. (Jonas, 26, also walked the AMAs red carpet with his band, DNCE.)
"It was just due to busy schedules," an insider told Us at the time. "They are just going to be friends for now, but it wasn’t [due to] anything serious."
Malik, meanwhile, called off his two-year engagement to Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards this past August.
Reps for Hadid and Malik had no comment.
Us Weekly
Models Slam Kendall Jenner At VS Fashion Show: ‘She’s Not A Nice Girl’
Kendall Jenner may be the world’s latest it-model, but that doesn’t mean the 20-year-old hasn’t made her fair share of enemies along the way.
According to In Touch, Jenner received a chilly welcome from the angels during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, which taped last week.
“Most of the girls winked or high-fived when they passed each other on the runway,” an onlooker noted to the publication, adding, “nobody did that with Kendall.”
Sources close to the situation shared that most of the Victoria’s Secret angels look down on Jenner for being associated with the Kardashian Klan.
“The other girls think that Kendall became a famous model solely because of her family,” one insider told In Touch.
To make matters worse, Jenner’s allegedly icy personality also rubs most models the wrong way.
“Kendall is just not a nice girl,” the source said. “[She’s] getting a really bad reputation in the model world.”
As Radar previously reported, Jenner was bullied by models during New York Fashion Week in February this year, many of whom called her “entitled.”
RadarOnline
Vatican trial opens for 2 journalists, 3 others
Tom Kington
At the first hearing in a controversial Vatican trial of five people accused of leaking Holy See documents, judges have thrown out a request by one of the defendants to drop the case because it violates human rights.
Emiliano Fittipaldi, one of two authors on trial who published confidential reports of greed and corruption at the Vatican, told the court he was incredulous to find himself on trial for “simply having published news.”
Fittipaldi faces up to eight years in jail, alongside fellow Italian author Gianluigi Nuzzi, for publishing findings from a Vatican committee set up by Pope Francis in 2013 to weed out waste and wrongdoing at the Vatican.
Also facing trial for violating Vatican laws against leaks are three members of the committee accused of releasing the information: Spanish priest Angel Lucio Vallejo Balda, who is currently locked up in a Vatican cell, his assistant Nicola Maio and Italian public-relations expert Francesca Chaouqui. All five were present in the courtroom Tuesday.
After asking to address the court, Fittipaldi said: “I feel I must express above all my incredulousness at finding myself a defendant before a court which is not that of my country, even though I wrote and published in Italy the book for which I have been incriminated.”
He would not be prosecuted in Italy, he added, because he was not accused of publishing “false or defamatory news, but simply of publishing news — activity protected and guaranteed by the Italian Constitution, by the European convention on human rights and the universal declaration of human rights.”
Fittipaldi added it was “unacceptable” that the Vatican court had not specified which leaked documents he was being tried for publishing, leaving him unable to defend himself in court.
Speaking during a break in the trial, Nuzzi called the trial “Kafkaesque.”
“We are not martyrs, just journalists,” he said. “But there are principles that must be defended.”
The Vatican’s indictment, published Saturday, stated that both authors “solicited and applied pressure, especially on Vallejo Balda, to obtain secret documents and information.”
Addressing the court, Vatican prosecutor Roberto Zannotti argued that the two authors were not on trial for publishing the information, but for the pressure they used to obtain it. The court was not under obligation to specify which documents they were accused of publishing, he added, since the reference was obviously to those contained in their books.
The panel of four lay judges, led by Judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre, then retired to deliberate before ruling that the trial would continue.
The trial has provoked broad opposition from journalists’ associations and rights groups, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. “Journalists must be free to report on issues of public interests and to protect their confidential sources,” Dunja Mijatovic, the organization’s representative on freedom in the media, said Monday.
The Vatican legislation on leaks was introduced by Francis in 2013 after former PopeBenedict’s letters were provided by Benedict’s butler to Nuzzi, who published them. The butler, Paolo Gabriele, was given 18 months for stealing the letters but was later pardoned. It is not clear whether the Vatican would be prepared to ask for the authors' extradition from Italy if they were convicted. The Vatican, though set in Rome, functions as an autonomous state.
In the new indictment, the Vatican claims Balda, Chaouqui and Maio created “an organized criminal association” aiming at “divulging information and documents concerning the fundamental interests of the Holy See and the State.”
Chaouqui has blamed Balda for the leaks and did not address him in court Tuesday. Balda appeared protective toward a nervous-looking Maio, at one point placing his hand on his knee to calm him.
Speaking to reporters during the trial, Balda said he was being treated well by his custodians at the Vatican jail and felt “protected.”
The defendants have been compelled to appoint lawyers who are registered at the Vatican, prompting Nuzzi and Balda to ask if they could appoint lawyers of their choosing who were not registered. Nuzzi later said the request had been turned down.
Giulia Bongiorno, a lawyer representing Chaouqui, said she was not allowed to attend the trial.
“This is extremely serious,” she said. “In another trial a few months ago, I was allowed to work at the Vatican even though I am not on their list. What is the difference now?
“I am thinking of taking this to the European Court of Justice,” she added.
Nuzzi said he had only seen the 10-page prosecution case on Tuesday morning. “Italian justice is slow, but Vatican justice is a bit too fast,” he said.
The trial will resume Monday with testimony from the defendant.
LA Times
Chelsea youngsters must fight for first-team action: Mourinho
Football - Chelsea Press Conference - Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, Israel - 23/11/15 Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho during the press conference (Reuters)
Chelsea's academy players should fight to break into the first team, manager Jose Mourinho has said, while defending the way in which he is using the youngsters.
The Blues, who currently have 33 players out on loan, have had many young players under contract in recent years, most of whom were out on loan and were eventually sold, and 34-year-old John Terry is the last academy graduate to win a regular place at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho, who is expected to name an experienced team for Tuesday's Champions League clash against Maccabi Tel-Aviv, said 19-year-old Ruben Loftus-Cheek has to do more to get regular game time.
"Sometimes young players can argue that the chances were not too many for them. Ruben is the last one who can complain about that," Mourinho told a news conference on Monday.
"He is a player who we have lots of hope for but, sooner or later, he -- him, not me -- has to give one step forward to be more stable in the first team.
"It's easier to get chances in smaller clubs. At big clubs, not many players his age have the opportunities he has had to start matches in the Premier League, Champions League and the cups, to be on the bench for lots of matches consecutively, living and learning with top players.
"So he is having everything."
Mourinho also dismissed suggestions he neglects his academy players in his starting line-ups and highlighted the emergence of 21-year-old Kurt Zouma as proof that the Blues do give a chance to their young players.
"In the first-team squad we have seven under-21 players who have 26 starts and 12 substitute appearances this season, and 43 appearances on the bench (when they were) not used," Mourinho said.
"Zouma is in his second season at this level and is unleashing himself as a top player. When he came here, he was not the player he is now.
"I remember the first two matches he played for us in pre-season in 2014. He was very bad. But now he's a player, fighting with Terry and (Gary) Cahill hand to hand."
ahramonline.com
Benue govt. confirms Tor Tiv's death
Ben state governor, Samuel Ortom
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state has confirmed the sudden demise of the paramount ruler of Tiv nation, Dr. Alfred Akawe Torkula IV.
Ortom while answering questions from journalists today on the news the state about the death of the royal father replied that details of the death and formal announcement would be made public soon as the Tiv traditional council formally meets with him.
"As am talking to you now, members of the Tiv traditional council are on their way coming from Gboko to Makurdi to formally announce the passing away of the paramount ruler," he said.
The Tor-Tiv who assumed throne on April 21, 1991 was chairman of the Benue state council of Chiefs and was aged 71.
He held the position of Pro-Chancellor of Michael Okpara University, Umudike in Abia state until his death.
The late royal father's spokesman had debunked rumours of the death making the round on Monday in the state, saying that the news was being peddled by mischief makers.
Daily Trust
BREAKING: APC to replace late Audu with another candidate in Kogi poll
Following the sudden death of Abubakar Audu, the Kogi state's former governor and gubernatorial candidate in the state's recent poll, his party, All Peoples' Congress (APC) has expressed its resolve to field another candidate in his stead in the upcoming elections. The recently-held November 14 gubernatorial poll was inconclusive though Audu was leading.
More details to follow...
China beats Hollywood by producing Tupac Shakur biopic
Until the End of Time centres on a Chinese student who meets up with an ex-girlfriend of the rapper for a project on American civil rights history
The success of the hip-hop biopic Straight Outta Compton at the US box office this summer has reignited hopes that a film based on the life of the late rapper Tupac Shakur could finally get the greenlight. Now it’s emerged that Hollywood has been beaten to the punch by a little-known Chinese film-maker named Steven Sheng, with the distinctly unauthorised Tupac-themed movie Until the End of Time.
The trailer intersperses scenes in which actor Dean Xue, as the student, discusses his project with Tupac’s rather young-looking “ex-girlfriend” in China, with mock flashback scenes featuring Baptiste as the rapper.Complex Magazine reports that the film has been banned from social media by Chinese authorities, but Baptiste himself has been enthusiastically promoting the movie via Facebook.A trailer for the new film, which features American actor Tsalta Baptiste as Tupac, has hit the web. According to Maxim the bizarre-looking movie is set for a first-run release at Chinese film festivals early next year. The plot centres on a young hip-hop influenced college student in China who is asked by his professor to research American civil rights and activism. “In choosing renaissance man Tupac Shakur, he finds himself learning more than expected,” reads the film’s blurb. “After meeting a former girlfriend of Mr Shakur in China, things take a turn from just another class project to a life changing event.”
Boyz N the Hood director John Singleton was at one point lined up to direct a Tupac biopic but walked away in April claiming the film’s producers had shown a lack of respect for the rapper, who was murdered in 1996. Singleton was replaced by Carl Franklin, the director of Devil in a Blue Dress, Out of Time and recent episodes of Homeland and House of Cards, but little has been heard of the film in the intervening months.
Actor Marcc Rose, who played Shakur in Straight Outta Compton, said in Augustthat he and Singleton are currently in talks to bring their own Tupac biopic to life. F Gary Gray’s biopic of the pioneering LA hip-hop group NWA has reignited interest in rap movies after pulling in more than $200m (£133m) on a budget of just $28m this summer.
Guardian UK
Sunday 22 November 2015
Fuel scarcity persists despite increase in supply
The nationwide fuel scarcity has forced the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to dispatch about 96.61 million litres of petrol within three days, a development which the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, says is above the corporation’s normal delivery capacity.
But long queues for fuel have persisted at a few filling stations where petrol is being sold in major cities across the country.
The daily dispatch reports of petrol to filling stations by the corporation at the peak of the fuel scarcity problems showed that over 95.61 million litres of petrol was distributed between Monday, November 16 and Wednesday, November 18, 2015.
An analysis of the reports showed that on November 18, a total of 83 stations got 3.266 million litres of petrol from Suleja Depot; 25 stations received 991,007 litres from Kaduna Depot; 113 stations got 4.974 million litres of fuel from Kano Depot; seven outlets in Minna got 280,987 litres, while Gusau Depot dispatched 1.534 million litres to 38 stations.
Other depots that dispatched products on the same day included Mosimi, distributing 5.554 million litres of fuel to 160 filling stations; Satellite, 520,070 litres to 15 stations; Ilorin, 285,000 litres to eight outlets; Ore, 471,018 litres to 13 stations; Ibadan, 1.037 million litres to 30 stations; Gombe Area, 3.495 million litres to 89 stations; Benin, 243,999 litres to seven outlets; Port Harcourt, 32,900 to one station; Makurdi, 580,994 litres to 14 stations; and Enugu dispatched 2.272 million litres to 55 filling stations.
In all, 658 petrol stations got about 25.54 million litres of petrol from 15 depots on November 18, 2015, the report stated.
On November 17, a total of 753 filling stations received 31.79 million litres of petrol from 13 depots, while 16 depots supplied 38.278 million litres of petrol to filling stations across the country on November 16.
Kachikwu, who doubles as the Group Managing Director of the national oil firm, told journalists in Abuja that “the trucks that had been moved around over the last three days are in excess of 4,000, whereas the total normal utilisation yield is about 2,500 trucks. Again, there are people who store products and the Department of Petroleum Resources has sealed a lot of such stations in the last one week.”
He noted that the “NNPC has been the one supplying the country and it is almost 100 per cent when most typically, we should be doing 50 or 55 per cent.”
The NNPC had on Monday absolved itself of being responsible for the prolonged fuel scarcity across the country.
According to the corporation, it has kept its bargain by making fuel available to depots that receive supply from its subsidiary, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company.
The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, told our correspondent that the firm had made it clear that Nigeria had enough fuel that would keep the country wet for this month.
He stated that the country was also expecting products before the end of November, adding that when the products arrived, there would be enough petrol that would last for more days.
When asked to explain why there was still scarcity despite claims of available products, he said, “I’m going to send you the daily supply to all the stations nationwide. This is to let you know that we are fulfilling our own part of the bargain. So if there is any case of fuel diversion observed by anybody, then we can go to town with that.”
Meanwhile, our correspondent observed that the queues for fuel in some parts of Abuja, Nasarawa, Ilorin and Kaduna continued on Friday.
The situation was not different in Lagos, Abeokuta and other cities in the South West.
The Federal Government recently approved the payment of N413bn to marketers for the subsidy debt owed them.
President Muhammadu Buhari has requested the approval of the National Assembly on the supplementary budget of N465.64, from which the subsidy arrears will be paid. This will help resolve the current fuel shortages and close the book on debts owed importers from 2014 to date.
Subsidised imports account for about half of Nigeria’s petrol needs and firms bringing in the product have not been paid since Buhari came to power at the end of May this year.
The marketers said they were struggling to finance their purchases with low dollar availability and shrinking credit lines.
Copyright PUNCH
But long queues for fuel have persisted at a few filling stations where petrol is being sold in major cities across the country.
The daily dispatch reports of petrol to filling stations by the corporation at the peak of the fuel scarcity problems showed that over 95.61 million litres of petrol was distributed between Monday, November 16 and Wednesday, November 18, 2015.
An analysis of the reports showed that on November 18, a total of 83 stations got 3.266 million litres of petrol from Suleja Depot; 25 stations received 991,007 litres from Kaduna Depot; 113 stations got 4.974 million litres of fuel from Kano Depot; seven outlets in Minna got 280,987 litres, while Gusau Depot dispatched 1.534 million litres to 38 stations.
Other depots that dispatched products on the same day included Mosimi, distributing 5.554 million litres of fuel to 160 filling stations; Satellite, 520,070 litres to 15 stations; Ilorin, 285,000 litres to eight outlets; Ore, 471,018 litres to 13 stations; Ibadan, 1.037 million litres to 30 stations; Gombe Area, 3.495 million litres to 89 stations; Benin, 243,999 litres to seven outlets; Port Harcourt, 32,900 to one station; Makurdi, 580,994 litres to 14 stations; and Enugu dispatched 2.272 million litres to 55 filling stations.
In all, 658 petrol stations got about 25.54 million litres of petrol from 15 depots on November 18, 2015, the report stated.
On November 17, a total of 753 filling stations received 31.79 million litres of petrol from 13 depots, while 16 depots supplied 38.278 million litres of petrol to filling stations across the country on November 16.
Kachikwu, who doubles as the Group Managing Director of the national oil firm, told journalists in Abuja that “the trucks that had been moved around over the last three days are in excess of 4,000, whereas the total normal utilisation yield is about 2,500 trucks. Again, there are people who store products and the Department of Petroleum Resources has sealed a lot of such stations in the last one week.”
He noted that the “NNPC has been the one supplying the country and it is almost 100 per cent when most typically, we should be doing 50 or 55 per cent.”
The NNPC had on Monday absolved itself of being responsible for the prolonged fuel scarcity across the country.
According to the corporation, it has kept its bargain by making fuel available to depots that receive supply from its subsidiary, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company.
The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, told our correspondent that the firm had made it clear that Nigeria had enough fuel that would keep the country wet for this month.
He stated that the country was also expecting products before the end of November, adding that when the products arrived, there would be enough petrol that would last for more days.
When asked to explain why there was still scarcity despite claims of available products, he said, “I’m going to send you the daily supply to all the stations nationwide. This is to let you know that we are fulfilling our own part of the bargain. So if there is any case of fuel diversion observed by anybody, then we can go to town with that.”
Meanwhile, our correspondent observed that the queues for fuel in some parts of Abuja, Nasarawa, Ilorin and Kaduna continued on Friday.
The situation was not different in Lagos, Abeokuta and other cities in the South West.
The Federal Government recently approved the payment of N413bn to marketers for the subsidy debt owed them.
President Muhammadu Buhari has requested the approval of the National Assembly on the supplementary budget of N465.64, from which the subsidy arrears will be paid. This will help resolve the current fuel shortages and close the book on debts owed importers from 2014 to date.
Subsidised imports account for about half of Nigeria’s petrol needs and firms bringing in the product have not been paid since Buhari came to power at the end of May this year.
The marketers said they were struggling to finance their purchases with low dollar availability and shrinking credit lines.
Copyright PUNCH
Is there any Nigerian involved in Malian attack?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that no Nigerian was involved in the terror attack at Radisson Blu hotel, Bamako, Mali last Friday in which 19 people were killed.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Ahmedu Ogbole-Ode, said the ministry did not have information that Nigerians were killed or injured in the attack by Islamist militants who stormed the luxury hotel and held 170 hotel guests hostage.
“No Nigerian was involved in the attack, we don’t have any information that Nigerians were affected by the incident,” he said on Saturday.
Initially, there were speculations that multi-billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote was in the hotel, but the industrialist in a tweet said he left the hotel on Thursday, 24 hours before the attack.
Most of the hotel guests and workers were freed when Malian and French special forces, and off-duty US servicemen stormed the hotel to end the siege.
Two militants were killed by the special forces who freed dozens of trapped guests.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with the United States President, Barack Obama; Russian President, Vladimir Putin and the President of Mali, Ibrahim Keita, over the death of their nationals in the attack.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a Facebook post on Saturday, said Buhari and Nigeria joined other peace-loving nations of the world in condemning the attack.
The post said, “President Buhari assures President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and the people of Mali of the full support and solidarity of the Federal Government and people of Nigeria as they mourn those who lost their lives in the attack and strive to bring the surviving perpetrators to justice.
“The President also extends heartfelt condolences to the governments and people of China, Russia, the United States and Belgium, whose nationals sadly lost their lives in the heinous and callous attack.’’
Adesina’s post further stated that against the background of persisting atrocities in Nigeria and other countries across the world, President Buhari again called for increased cooperation among countries against all known terrorist organisations, their collaborators and sponsors.
Buhari stated also that Nigeria, under his leadership, remained committed to deploying all necessary resources and working with friendly nations, regional, continental and global organisations to speedily overcome the continuing threat of terrorism to world peace and security.
Copyright PUNCH
Thursday 19 November 2015
Boko Haram overtakes ISIS as the deadliest terror group in the world
With its reign of terror in the Middle East, its claim to have brought down a Russian passenger jet and now, the atrocities in Paris, ISIS has commanded global headlines as the world's most dangerous terror group.
But another militant Islamist organization overtook ISIS to become the world's deadliest terrorist group last year, according to a new report.
Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist group based mainly in Nigeria's northern states, was responsible for 6,644 deaths in 2014, an increase of 317% from the previous year, according to the Global Terrorism Index, released Tuesday.
By contrast, ISIS, the terror group to which Boko Haram reportedly pledged allegiance in March of this year, was responsible for 6,073 deaths.
Between them, the two groups were responsible for more than half (51%) the deaths attributed to terrorism, in the deadliest year on record for terror, according to the report.
Internationally, deaths from terrorism experienced a "dramatic rise" in 2014, increasing by 80% from the previous year, according to the study by the Institute for Economics and Peace.
There were 32,658 people killed in terrorist attacks last year -- nine times more victims than there were in 2000, it says.
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa dialect, gained international notoriety for its raids on schools, in which hundreds of girls have been kidnapped.
An estimated 276 teenage girls were snatched from a boarding school in Chibok in Nigeria's Borno state in April of last year, sparking the #bringbackourgirls campaign on social media.
CNN
But another militant Islamist organization overtook ISIS to become the world's deadliest terrorist group last year, according to a new report.
Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist group based mainly in Nigeria's northern states, was responsible for 6,644 deaths in 2014, an increase of 317% from the previous year, according to the Global Terrorism Index, released Tuesday.
By contrast, ISIS, the terror group to which Boko Haram reportedly pledged allegiance in March of this year, was responsible for 6,073 deaths.
Between them, the two groups were responsible for more than half (51%) the deaths attributed to terrorism, in the deadliest year on record for terror, according to the report.
Internationally, deaths from terrorism experienced a "dramatic rise" in 2014, increasing by 80% from the previous year, according to the study by the Institute for Economics and Peace.
There were 32,658 people killed in terrorist attacks last year -- nine times more victims than there were in 2000, it says.
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa dialect, gained international notoriety for its raids on schools, in which hundreds of girls have been kidnapped.
An estimated 276 teenage girls were snatched from a boarding school in Chibok in Nigeria's Borno state in April of last year, sparking the #bringbackourgirls campaign on social media.
CNN
Atiku at biography presentation: HID was created to help Awo
Former vice president of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday, described the late Yeye Oodua of Ile-Ife, Chief (Mrs) HID Awolowo as an extraordinary woman married to the most extraordinary man Nigeria had the privilege to have.
Abubakar said this at the public presentation of “In the radiance of the Sage: The life and times of HID Awolowo,” a biography written in honour of the late chairman of the African Newspapers Nigeria (ANN) Plc, publishers of the Tribune titles.
The book presentation, held at the Awolowo family compound in Ikenne, amid fanfare, with a live band welcoming guests to the venue with the best of Chief Ebenezer Obey’s numbers before the event formally took off.
Abubakar, who was the chief presenter on the well attended occasion, stated that Mama was created to help Chief Obafemi Awolowo actualise the vision God gave to him, adding that Mama was a natural partner, who was always beside her husband when it mattered most, including during his political travail.
“He (Awolowo) could not have done all that he did and achieved all he achieved and perhaps, could not have survived those difficult political challenges without the counsel, support, patience, prodding and perseverance of his beloved wife, the late Chief (Mrs) Awolowo.
“And there is no better qualified person to say so, other than the Venerable Chief Awolowo himself. In his autobiography, “My Early Life,” published in 1968, he said: “Throughout all the changing fortunes of my life, my wife, Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo (nee Adelana), has been to me a jewel of inestimable value.
“She is an ideal wife. The outpouring of her love and devotion to me and to our family is exceeding and beyond words. I do not hesitate to confess that I owe my success in life to three factors— the grace of God, spartan self-discipline and a good wife. Our home is to all of us, a true haven; a place of happiness and of imperturbable seclusion from the buffetings of life,” he said.
The Turakin of Adamawa added that Mama was more than a loyal and supportive housewife, just as he stressed that she courageously became a leader in her own right and held Chief Awolowo’s political family together during his incarceration.
The courage, grace, tenacity and fortitude with which the late Chief (Mrs) Awolowo held the fort during Chief Awolowo’s imprisonment and after he passed away, according to Abubakar, affirmed not only what her husband said about her, but that she was a true leader.
“She showed that she was a leader of people, including her family, and the South-West civic and political community. The Awolowo home remained a Mecca for political and civic leaders, not only from the South- West, but also from across the country. Let me borrow from the late Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who said that the late Chief (Mrs) Awolowo was the best First Lady Nigeria did not have,” he declared.
Welcoming dignitaries to the occasion on behalf of Awolowo’s family, Ambassador (Dr)Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu revealed that the former vice president had made it a habit to be present at Awolowo’s family events.
She noted specially that Abubakar shared the same birthday with Mama and thus, shifted forward the Founder’s Day of his American University, Yola, to attend Mama’s funeral rites.
Dr Awolowo Dosumu, therefore, thanked him for his consistency and others, who also identified with the family.
The former ambassador to The Netherlands also showered encomiums on the author of the book, Professor Wale Adebanwi and revealed how Mama personally commissioned him to write the book in commemoration of her 100 years birthday.
Former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Adigun Agbaje, while reviewing the book, expressed his delight for being a witness to the life of the subject of the book and that of the author including some dramatic events captured in the book about Mama.
Professor Agbaje also commended the author, whom he referred to as his student at the University of Ibadan, for competently presenting the stories of Papa Awolowo and his Jewel of Inestimable Value, Mama HID Awolowo, a couple which, he noted, was united by love and loyalty to their family, Yoruba race and Nigeria, describing Papa and Mama as “two eminent personalities and major influence in the modern history of Africa.”
The professor of Political Science said: “From the two sides of what the author himself described as an entwined story of two great lives—Papa and Mama Awolowo, he has given us a rare gift of two seminal books within one year on a most distinguished couple that helped to shape the history of modern Nigeria and indeed, that of Africa. A couple that produced unparalleled leadership to one of the largest nationalities in the continent, Yoruba.
“The first book, Agbaje said was a 295-page book entitled: “Yoruba Elites and Ethnic Politics in Nigeria: Obafemi Awolowo and Corporate Agency,” which was published to global acclaim in 2014 by Cambridge University, adding that Adebanwi completed the story with another 311-paged focus on the life and times of Mama HID Awolowo, described famously by Papa Awolowo, her great husband and life partner as his “Jewel of inestimable value.”
Reverend (Mrs) Tola Oyediran, in her speech, expressed her gratitude to Nigerians for celebrating Mama.
She said the genuine love Nigerians demonstrated to the family from Lagos through Ibadan to Ogun State was evident of Mama’s fulfilled life..
“We are happy everybody celebrated Mama. The love Nigerians have shown to her is a testimony to the love Papa had for the country. All of you will live long to also be celebrated,” she prayed.
Former Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Dimeji Bankole, on arrival, first paid his last respect to Mama Awolowo, where she was laid-in-state at the Efunyela Hall, Ikenne.
Bankole saw Yeye Oodua clad in Ankara fabrics laden with white and silver stones and holding a white Bible in the glass casket.
Other eminent personalities on the occasion included Chief Ayo Adebanjo; Sir Olaniwun Ajayi; former Lagos State governor, Alhaji Lateef Jakande; Chief Ebenezer Babatope; Honourable Oladipupo Adebutu; Mr Kunle Ajibade; Professor A.B.O.O Oyediran; Dr Gbolahan Dosumu; Bishop of the Remo Anglican Diocese, Olusina Fape; Mr Gboyega Nasir Isiaka; Senator Olabiyi Durojaye and Chief Titi Ajanaku.
Also in attendance were Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2, Bala Hassan; Commissioner of Police, Ogun State command, Abdul Majid Ali; Professor Kemi Rotimi; Senator Anthony Adefuye; Mrs Abba Folawiyo; Prince Adeniyi Ademola Adele; former governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, represented by the Managing Director, Telegraph Newspaper, Funke Egbemode; Editor-In-Chief, Vanguard Newspapers, Gbenga Adefaye, Senator Femi Ojudu; Mr Tunde Fagbenle; Mr Odia Ofeimun and Chief Jayeola Taiwo, Mr Felix Adenaike and Chief Ebenezer Obey Fabiyi, among many others.
The duo of veteran broadcasters, Yanju Adegbite and Bisi Olatilo, made a perfect match in effectively coordinating the programme.
A galaxy of Nollywood stars were also led to the occasion by Saidi Balogun, as they added spice to the event after the book had been formally unveiled.
A full complement of policemen from Ogun State command and their Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) counterparts maintained peace at the venue. Ogin state government also provided free medical services at the event and is billed to do so durin subsequent burial rites for the late matriarch.
Nigerian Tribune
Security agencies to invite ex-service chiefs over arms scandal
There were indications on Wednesday that security agencies, including the police, were concluding arrangements to invite some former service chiefs, who were said to have been indicted by a committee, set up by President Muhammdu Buhari to probe arms procurement during the last administration.
Investigations showed that indicted service chiefs would be charged, while those who were not affected by the probe panel’s report might serve as witnesses during the trial of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki(retd.), and others said to be the masterminds of the alleged scam.
It was learnt that those, who might be invited, include ex-naval chiefs, Vice-Admiral Dele Ezeoba, (2010-2013), and Vice Admiral Usman Jubril (2014-2015).
In the Air Force, former officers that may be invited include Air Marshal Mohammmed Dikko (2010-2012); Air Marshal Alex Badeh (2012-2013), who later became the Chief of Defence Staff, and Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (2013-2015).
The police could not be reached on Wednesday for information on when the ex-military chiefs, said to be allegedly indicted by the report of the Presidential Arms Procurement Committee, would face interrogation over their involvement in the purchase of arms during the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole, did not respond to calls put through to her mobile while she had yet to respond to a text message sent to her as of the time of filing this report.
The arms procurement panel, which submitted its report on Tuesday, had indicted certain persons, chief among whom was the immediate ex-NSA, who, among other allegations, was said to have awarded about N333bn arms contracts, which the panel described as fictitious and phantom.
But Dasuki, who had initially been arraigned for illegal arms possession and money laundering, has faulted the report of the probe panel which indicted him of awarding fictitious contracts, 53 failed contracts, and payment for equipment without due process and proper documentation, among others.
Dasuki said in a statement he personally signed on Wednesday that all the contracts in question were executed and payments made with the approval of Jonathan.
The former NSA described the conclusions of the John Ode-led panel’s submission as baseless and lacking in diligence.
Dasuki explained that contrary to the claim by the panel, there were no fictitious contracts or diversion of contract sums as all the services acknowledged receipt of delivered items in writing in addition to the fact that the military agencies had their own contractors.
He alleged that the outcome of the report only showed the desperation of the Presidency to hang some former public and military officers, who served the country at great a risk to their lives.
Dasuki pointed out that if the members of the panel had invited him to appear before them, he would have given them the necessary documents to avoid some of their findings which he described as jaundiced.
He also faulted the panel’s claim that he awarded fictitious contracts between March 2012 and March 2015, saying he was appointed NSA on June 22, 2012 and could not have awarded contracts before then.
Dasuki added, “To set the records straight, Nigerians should appreciate that the AVM Jon Ode-led panel did not invite the ex-NSA under any guise before arriving at its ambiguous findings. At least, fairness demands that the panel ought to hear from Dasuki instead of its recourse to hasty conclusions. If the panel had been more patient and painstaking, it would have been availed of all relevant documents on some of the jaundiced findings.
“As if acting a script, the Presidency alleged that the panel accused Dasuki of awarding fictitious contracts between March 2012 and March 2015. Contrary to this claim, Dasuki was not the NSA in March 2012 and could not have awarded any contract in whatever name. The ex-NSA was appointed by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on June 22, 2012.
“All contracts and accruing payments were made with the approval of the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces. Once the ex-President approved, the former NSA paid. So, there was due process for every purchase in line with regulations guiding arms procurement for the Armed Forces.
“The conclusions of the panel were presumptive, baseless and lacked diligence.”
He explained that all the arms of the Armed Forces acknowledged that they received the weapons they had applied for.
“While awaiting judicial process on these allegations, it is proper to make some references to show that the Presidency is just desperate to hang some former public and military officers, who served this nation at the risk to their lives.
“It is laughable for the panel to assume that four Alpha jets and 12 helicopters were undelivered.”
He said it was his expectation that he should have been questioned if there were issues relating to the arms purchased under him.
Dasuki, who denied being a thief or a treasury looter, noted that he was just the clearing house for the purchases as all the contracts and the equipment purchased were done with Presidential approval.
Dasuki said the former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, acknowledged receipt of the four Alpha jets and the helicopters in a memo to the ONSA with reference no. NAF/905/D/CAS of November 28, 2014,
He stated that Amosu also confirmed receipt of ‘F-7 N1 aircraft combination of 250kg bombs and accessories at $2,894,000 with the cost of freight at $1,200,000’ on October 21, 2014.
The former NSA vowed to meet the Presidency in court, where he said he would defend himself.
Copyright PUNCH
Investigations showed that indicted service chiefs would be charged, while those who were not affected by the probe panel’s report might serve as witnesses during the trial of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki(retd.), and others said to be the masterminds of the alleged scam.
It was learnt that those, who might be invited, include ex-naval chiefs, Vice-Admiral Dele Ezeoba, (2010-2013), and Vice Admiral Usman Jubril (2014-2015).
In the Air Force, former officers that may be invited include Air Marshal Mohammmed Dikko (2010-2012); Air Marshal Alex Badeh (2012-2013), who later became the Chief of Defence Staff, and Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (2013-2015).
The police could not be reached on Wednesday for information on when the ex-military chiefs, said to be allegedly indicted by the report of the Presidential Arms Procurement Committee, would face interrogation over their involvement in the purchase of arms during the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole, did not respond to calls put through to her mobile while she had yet to respond to a text message sent to her as of the time of filing this report.
The arms procurement panel, which submitted its report on Tuesday, had indicted certain persons, chief among whom was the immediate ex-NSA, who, among other allegations, was said to have awarded about N333bn arms contracts, which the panel described as fictitious and phantom.
But Dasuki, who had initially been arraigned for illegal arms possession and money laundering, has faulted the report of the probe panel which indicted him of awarding fictitious contracts, 53 failed contracts, and payment for equipment without due process and proper documentation, among others.
Dasuki said in a statement he personally signed on Wednesday that all the contracts in question were executed and payments made with the approval of Jonathan.
The former NSA described the conclusions of the John Ode-led panel’s submission as baseless and lacking in diligence.
Dasuki explained that contrary to the claim by the panel, there were no fictitious contracts or diversion of contract sums as all the services acknowledged receipt of delivered items in writing in addition to the fact that the military agencies had their own contractors.
He alleged that the outcome of the report only showed the desperation of the Presidency to hang some former public and military officers, who served the country at great a risk to their lives.
Dasuki pointed out that if the members of the panel had invited him to appear before them, he would have given them the necessary documents to avoid some of their findings which he described as jaundiced.
He also faulted the panel’s claim that he awarded fictitious contracts between March 2012 and March 2015, saying he was appointed NSA on June 22, 2012 and could not have awarded contracts before then.
Dasuki added, “To set the records straight, Nigerians should appreciate that the AVM Jon Ode-led panel did not invite the ex-NSA under any guise before arriving at its ambiguous findings. At least, fairness demands that the panel ought to hear from Dasuki instead of its recourse to hasty conclusions. If the panel had been more patient and painstaking, it would have been availed of all relevant documents on some of the jaundiced findings.
“As if acting a script, the Presidency alleged that the panel accused Dasuki of awarding fictitious contracts between March 2012 and March 2015. Contrary to this claim, Dasuki was not the NSA in March 2012 and could not have awarded any contract in whatever name. The ex-NSA was appointed by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on June 22, 2012.
“All contracts and accruing payments were made with the approval of the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces. Once the ex-President approved, the former NSA paid. So, there was due process for every purchase in line with regulations guiding arms procurement for the Armed Forces.
“The conclusions of the panel were presumptive, baseless and lacked diligence.”
He explained that all the arms of the Armed Forces acknowledged that they received the weapons they had applied for.
“While awaiting judicial process on these allegations, it is proper to make some references to show that the Presidency is just desperate to hang some former public and military officers, who served this nation at the risk to their lives.
“It is laughable for the panel to assume that four Alpha jets and 12 helicopters were undelivered.”
He said it was his expectation that he should have been questioned if there were issues relating to the arms purchased under him.
Dasuki, who denied being a thief or a treasury looter, noted that he was just the clearing house for the purchases as all the contracts and the equipment purchased were done with Presidential approval.
Dasuki said the former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, acknowledged receipt of the four Alpha jets and the helicopters in a memo to the ONSA with reference no. NAF/905/D/CAS of November 28, 2014,
He stated that Amosu also confirmed receipt of ‘F-7 N1 aircraft combination of 250kg bombs and accessories at $2,894,000 with the cost of freight at $1,200,000’ on October 21, 2014.
The former NSA vowed to meet the Presidency in court, where he said he would defend himself.
Copyright PUNCH
Daniel Kanu: Two lawyers battle to represent detained MASSOB leader
Two lawyers, Ezechukwu Obete and Gabriel Ebule, battled each other for the right to represent the Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, when the Federal Government’s case against him came up before a Magistrate’s Court in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, on Wednesday.
Both lawyers flaunted different letters appointing them to defend the accused person.
Kanu was on October 19, 2015 arraigned on charges of criminal conspiracy, managing and belonging to an unlawful society as well as criminal intimidation, offences said to be contrary to sections 97 and 397 of the Penal Code.
The accused was not present in court on Wednesday but a number of his supporters were seen in the court premises throughout the period the proceedings lasted.
However, the dispute between the two lawyers over his legal representation made the presiding Chief Magistrate, Shuaibu Usman, to order the Department of State Services to produce him on Monday to enable him to identify his desired counsel.
Prosecuting counsel, Mr. Moses Idakwo, said the DSS did not produce the accused in court on Wednesday because the court’s business for the day was for the hearing of an application by the accused challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the charges preferred against him.
But the magistrate reminded the prosecutor that he had on October 23, 2015 ordered that the accused person must always be present in court each time the matter came up regardless of what the proceedings were about.
He said the criminal proceedings could not continue in the absence of the accused person.
Usman, therefore, ordered the prosecutor to unfailingly produce the accused before the court on November 23, 2015.
Ebule, who first announced his appearance for the accused person on Wednesday, had informed the court that he represented the accused person on October 19, 2015 when he was arraigned.
Ebule produced a letter which he said was written by the wife of the accused person appointing him as the defence lawyer.
The prosecutor had also confirmed that the notice of preliminary objection scheduled for hearing on Wednesday was served on him by Ebule.
Obete, on his part, produced two letters one of which he said was written by the Indigenous People of Biafra, and signed by an official of the group, Alphonsus Mefor, appointing him as lawyer.
The second letter produced by Obete which he said appointed him to defend the accused was said to be dated October 16 and written by the father of the accused person, and the traditional ruler of Afara-Ukwu community in Abia State.
Obete, who said he was based in Enugu, noting that Ebule only capitalised on his absence from the previous proceedings.
He said he arrived in Abuja late on the day of the previous proceedings because he got the notice late.
The presiding magistrate recalled that the accused did not have any lawyer to represent him on the day he was arraigned on October 19.
He added that Ebule only volunteered to defend him (Kanu) after he inquired and confirmed that he had no counsel in court.
The magistrate then directed that the accused would be made to identify his desired lawyer on Monday.
The charges against the accused included an allegation that he formed an unlawful society with the purpose of bringing into being a Republic of Biafra.
He was also alleged to have proclaimed himself as the leader of the Republic of Biafra and established the Radio Biafra.
Kanu was also alleged to have appointed himself the Commander of the Loyal Forces of Biafra and was broadcasting to the whole world the dire consequences the government and people of Nigeria would surfer should they attempt to hinder the actualisation of the Republic of Biafra.
Copyright PUNCH
Both lawyers flaunted different letters appointing them to defend the accused person.
Kanu was on October 19, 2015 arraigned on charges of criminal conspiracy, managing and belonging to an unlawful society as well as criminal intimidation, offences said to be contrary to sections 97 and 397 of the Penal Code.
The accused was not present in court on Wednesday but a number of his supporters were seen in the court premises throughout the period the proceedings lasted.
However, the dispute between the two lawyers over his legal representation made the presiding Chief Magistrate, Shuaibu Usman, to order the Department of State Services to produce him on Monday to enable him to identify his desired counsel.
Prosecuting counsel, Mr. Moses Idakwo, said the DSS did not produce the accused in court on Wednesday because the court’s business for the day was for the hearing of an application by the accused challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the charges preferred against him.
But the magistrate reminded the prosecutor that he had on October 23, 2015 ordered that the accused person must always be present in court each time the matter came up regardless of what the proceedings were about.
He said the criminal proceedings could not continue in the absence of the accused person.
Usman, therefore, ordered the prosecutor to unfailingly produce the accused before the court on November 23, 2015.
Ebule, who first announced his appearance for the accused person on Wednesday, had informed the court that he represented the accused person on October 19, 2015 when he was arraigned.
Ebule produced a letter which he said was written by the wife of the accused person appointing him as the defence lawyer.
The prosecutor had also confirmed that the notice of preliminary objection scheduled for hearing on Wednesday was served on him by Ebule.
Obete, on his part, produced two letters one of which he said was written by the Indigenous People of Biafra, and signed by an official of the group, Alphonsus Mefor, appointing him as lawyer.
The second letter produced by Obete which he said appointed him to defend the accused was said to be dated October 16 and written by the father of the accused person, and the traditional ruler of Afara-Ukwu community in Abia State.
Obete, who said he was based in Enugu, noting that Ebule only capitalised on his absence from the previous proceedings.
He said he arrived in Abuja late on the day of the previous proceedings because he got the notice late.
The presiding magistrate recalled that the accused did not have any lawyer to represent him on the day he was arraigned on October 19.
He added that Ebule only volunteered to defend him (Kanu) after he inquired and confirmed that he had no counsel in court.
The magistrate then directed that the accused would be made to identify his desired lawyer on Monday.
The charges against the accused included an allegation that he formed an unlawful society with the purpose of bringing into being a Republic of Biafra.
He was also alleged to have proclaimed himself as the leader of the Republic of Biafra and established the Radio Biafra.
Kanu was also alleged to have appointed himself the Commander of the Loyal Forces of Biafra and was broadcasting to the whole world the dire consequences the government and people of Nigeria would surfer should they attempt to hinder the actualisation of the Republic of Biafra.
Copyright PUNCH
Boko Haram strikes again in Kano, as Yobe death toll climbs
No fewer than 15 mobile phone dealers and patrons were killed on Wednesday, while 20 others suffered varying degrees of injuries when two female suicide bombers blew up themselves at a market located at Farm Centre in Kano.
The Kano State Police Command however put the casualty figure at five, which included the two female bombers.
A couple of minutes after the explosion, angry residents gathered the fragmented remains of the female suicide bombers a few metres away from scene of the blast, piled used tyres on the pieces and set them ablaze.
One of our correspondents, who visited the scene of the explosion a few hours after the blast, observed that some parts of human flesh still littered the environment, which had been cordoned off by security operatives.
Pieces of cell phones could also be found in most parts of the market after the blast which occurred at about 3pm.
A man, who claimed to be a brother to one of the victims, identified as Ibrahim, told one of our correspondents amidst tears that he lost two of his relatives while another one was still missing.
Meanwhile, a red Toyota Hilux ambulance, which arrived the scene minutes after the blast, conveyed the remains of some of the victims, which were covered with clothes.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Muhammad Katsina, confirmed the incident while briefing newsmen in Kano, but said only five people died in the explosion.
Katsina added that eight other persons sustained injuries during the incident, NAN reports
According to him, the incident happened when a Sharon Space Wagon arrived at the market with six passengers and dropped two females at the market.
He said soon after the suspects alighted from the vehicle, the suspects entered the GSM market through different gates and detonated the bombs.
He said the injured ones had since been rushed to the hospital for treatment.
He called on residents to be extra-careful and report any suspected character or movement to security agents for prompt response.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday called for increased vigilance among Nigerians to help ward off terror attacks on soft targets around the country.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President made the call in his reaction to the latest terror attacks in Yola and Kano.
Shehu said the President condemned the blast in Yola on Tuesday evening and that of Kano on Wednesday.
The statement read in part, “The President extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims as well as to the government and people of Adamawa and Kano states.
“President Buhari reassures Nigerians that his administration is very much determined to wipe out Boko Haram in Nigeria and bring all perpetrators of this heinous crime against humanity to justice.
“The President urges all Nigerians not to despair in the face of cowardly terrorist attacks but to have confidence in the ability of Nigeria’s reinvigorated, well-equipped and well-motivated Armed Forces and security agencies to overcome Boko Haram very soon.
“He believes, however, that vigilance is a potential life saver, since security agents cannot be everywhere to deter every planned attack.
“Citizen’s vigilance will therefore help to reduce the frequency of such attacks.”
Meanwhile, death toll in the explosion that rocked a night market around the Tipper Garage in Yola, Adamawa State, on Tuesday has risen to 34, the Red Cross and the National Emergency Management Agency said on Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the agencies also put the number of people who were injured in the blast at 80.
The explosion occurred at a fruit and vegetable market beside a main road in the Jimeta area of Yola around 8pm on Tuesday.
“Thirty-four people were killed and 80 have been injured,” said a Red Cross official, who asked not to be named, but the NEMA regional spokesperson, Alhaji Sa’ad Bello, later confirmed the figure.
“The ground near my shop was covered with dead bodies. I helped to load 32 dead bodies into five vehicles,” said an eyewitness, who identified himself as Ahmed and a trader in the market.
Another eyewitness claimed that he saw eight ambulances being used to carry casualties away for treatment.
The Chief Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre, Yola, Dr. Bala Sa’id, said the hospital had received 29 dead bodies from the scene of the Yola explosion.
“As of yesterday (Tuesday) night, we had 29 corpses in the mortuary. We also have 30 people on admission with varying degrees of injuries. I believe by now, some of those injured are stable. We are now about to take our rounds and make some discharges,” Sa’id added.
He said among the dead were six women and eight children.
The Public Relations Officer of the FMC, Mallam Adamu Dodo, said 41 casualties were taken to the hospital, including four dead.
“One of the dead is a woman,” Dodo said.
A police bomb squad was seen at the scene of the attack on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, relatives of the victims of the blast besieged the Specialists Hospital, Yola, on Wednesday to claim the remains of their loved ones.
Many of the relatives, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria, said they came to the mortuary after visiting the hospital emergency wards and could not locate their relatives.
“Since I did not see my brother who was selling sugarcane at the scene of the incident, I have no option but to come to the mortuary,” said one of them, who simply gave his name as Adamu.
Another one, Habila Ibrahim, also said he checked the wards in the specialists’ hospital and the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, before visiting the mortuary to ascertain if his brother was among the dead.
Another worried resident, Hamid Dogo, said the Yola suicide bomber detonated the bomb in front of a female food vendor.
“The woman and her son, Chidinma, died on the spot. I was among the people that helped in the evacuation of the victims,” he said.
“The man, we suspect, was giving bean cake to almajaris and the next thing we heard was a blast,” Dogo added.
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The Kano State Police Command however put the casualty figure at five, which included the two female bombers.
A couple of minutes after the explosion, angry residents gathered the fragmented remains of the female suicide bombers a few metres away from scene of the blast, piled used tyres on the pieces and set them ablaze.
One of our correspondents, who visited the scene of the explosion a few hours after the blast, observed that some parts of human flesh still littered the environment, which had been cordoned off by security operatives.
Pieces of cell phones could also be found in most parts of the market after the blast which occurred at about 3pm.
A man, who claimed to be a brother to one of the victims, identified as Ibrahim, told one of our correspondents amidst tears that he lost two of his relatives while another one was still missing.
Meanwhile, a red Toyota Hilux ambulance, which arrived the scene minutes after the blast, conveyed the remains of some of the victims, which were covered with clothes.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Muhammad Katsina, confirmed the incident while briefing newsmen in Kano, but said only five people died in the explosion.
Katsina added that eight other persons sustained injuries during the incident, NAN reports
According to him, the incident happened when a Sharon Space Wagon arrived at the market with six passengers and dropped two females at the market.
He said soon after the suspects alighted from the vehicle, the suspects entered the GSM market through different gates and detonated the bombs.
He said the injured ones had since been rushed to the hospital for treatment.
He called on residents to be extra-careful and report any suspected character or movement to security agents for prompt response.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday called for increased vigilance among Nigerians to help ward off terror attacks on soft targets around the country.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President made the call in his reaction to the latest terror attacks in Yola and Kano.
Shehu said the President condemned the blast in Yola on Tuesday evening and that of Kano on Wednesday.
The statement read in part, “The President extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims as well as to the government and people of Adamawa and Kano states.
“President Buhari reassures Nigerians that his administration is very much determined to wipe out Boko Haram in Nigeria and bring all perpetrators of this heinous crime against humanity to justice.
“The President urges all Nigerians not to despair in the face of cowardly terrorist attacks but to have confidence in the ability of Nigeria’s reinvigorated, well-equipped and well-motivated Armed Forces and security agencies to overcome Boko Haram very soon.
“He believes, however, that vigilance is a potential life saver, since security agents cannot be everywhere to deter every planned attack.
“Citizen’s vigilance will therefore help to reduce the frequency of such attacks.”
Meanwhile, death toll in the explosion that rocked a night market around the Tipper Garage in Yola, Adamawa State, on Tuesday has risen to 34, the Red Cross and the National Emergency Management Agency said on Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the agencies also put the number of people who were injured in the blast at 80.
The explosion occurred at a fruit and vegetable market beside a main road in the Jimeta area of Yola around 8pm on Tuesday.
“Thirty-four people were killed and 80 have been injured,” said a Red Cross official, who asked not to be named, but the NEMA regional spokesperson, Alhaji Sa’ad Bello, later confirmed the figure.
“The ground near my shop was covered with dead bodies. I helped to load 32 dead bodies into five vehicles,” said an eyewitness, who identified himself as Ahmed and a trader in the market.
Another eyewitness claimed that he saw eight ambulances being used to carry casualties away for treatment.
The Chief Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre, Yola, Dr. Bala Sa’id, said the hospital had received 29 dead bodies from the scene of the Yola explosion.
“As of yesterday (Tuesday) night, we had 29 corpses in the mortuary. We also have 30 people on admission with varying degrees of injuries. I believe by now, some of those injured are stable. We are now about to take our rounds and make some discharges,” Sa’id added.
He said among the dead were six women and eight children.
The Public Relations Officer of the FMC, Mallam Adamu Dodo, said 41 casualties were taken to the hospital, including four dead.
“One of the dead is a woman,” Dodo said.
A police bomb squad was seen at the scene of the attack on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, relatives of the victims of the blast besieged the Specialists Hospital, Yola, on Wednesday to claim the remains of their loved ones.
Many of the relatives, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria, said they came to the mortuary after visiting the hospital emergency wards and could not locate their relatives.
“Since I did not see my brother who was selling sugarcane at the scene of the incident, I have no option but to come to the mortuary,” said one of them, who simply gave his name as Adamu.
Another one, Habila Ibrahim, also said he checked the wards in the specialists’ hospital and the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, before visiting the mortuary to ascertain if his brother was among the dead.
Another worried resident, Hamid Dogo, said the Yola suicide bomber detonated the bomb in front of a female food vendor.
“The woman and her son, Chidinma, died on the spot. I was among the people that helped in the evacuation of the victims,” he said.
“The man, we suspect, was giving bean cake to almajaris and the next thing we heard was a blast,” Dogo added.
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