BRITISH ACTOR BOB HOSKINS DIES @ 71 FROM PNEUMONIA

Am sure you remember him from some of your favorite movies like "A Christmas Carol" and "The Long Good Friday" and other amazing soap Operas and movies he did. 
The British actor, Bob Hoskins died on Tuesday night from pneumonia. He died at age 71 and is survived by his wife Linda and five children.
Bob had an amazing career that spanned from stage drama to the big screen in london then proceeded to Hollywood.The star won a Bafta and was Oscar-nominated in 1987 for crime drama Mona Lisa, in which he starred opposite Sir Michael Caine and Robbie Coltrane. He announced he was retiring from acting in 2012 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. See more pictures from movie scenes below:

#BRINGBACKOURGIRLS

The days are getting older and the situation is getting unbearable, it is been two weeks since our girls were abducted(Government Girls College, Chibok). And it seems Our nation just suddenly went cold as if nothing has happened, things returned to normalcy while our girls out there in the middle of nowhere hoping that we will come to their rescue. But no we have all returned to our market places because she is not our daughter, we have returned to our offices because she is neither our cousin nor Sister, we have gone into our glass houses and locked our doors against them because they not our neighbours, friends, nieces.

Sometimes i have tried to imagine, creating mental pictures of what these girls are going through in the middle of the forest. Where do they sleep? on a mat or grass, How do they Sleep? comfortably, or really scared, do they get to eat three square meals? Do they get change of clothes? For heavens sake they are girls and some of them must have had their monthly visitors, how do they cope? The traumatic experience of the exchange of  gun battles between their abductors and the Nigerian military, watching people die in cold blood, the constant moving around in the forest with  worn out or no shoes, thanks to heaven our No one leader knows what it means to have no shoes he should understand the plight better.

We need our Sisters home, we all can't fight the gun battle but we can lend our voices to join in unison to plea that they are rescued, so the world knows something has happened. Lets lend our voices tomorrow, if u cant be there @ CMS tomorrow use the social medium and write it everywhere for your friends allover the world to see. It is a solidarity call for freedom.

 #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS
They not just girls, they are daughters, sisters and our Future mother's. BRINGTHEMHOME

R101...

CHANGE MOVEMENT NIGERIA PLANS MASS PROTEST TOMORROW MAY 1ST

As Nigeria’s social-political challenges mount, Change Movement Nigeria has announced a mass participation protest, named “Stolen Dreams Walk,” to take place on Thursday,tomorrow May 1, 2014.

“Every onlooker is either a coward or a willing collaborator,” the group said in a statement on Monday. “We have spoken enough at seminars, workshops and conferences. The time to act is now. Let us join hands to salvage our country.”

It said the ‘Stolen Dreams’ action will take place on at 9am at CMS, Lagos Island, and invited all Nigerians whose dream of a great nation has been shattered to come and join us in the event. 

DONALD STERLING GETS LIFE BAN, MAY SELL THE CLIPPERS

Donald Sterling

Yesterday, the National Basketball Associations imposed a life time ban on Donald Sterling, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Clippers for his racist comments.This may also mean that Sterling would have to sell the clippers. Guardian UK reports;

UNEMPLOYMENT TOLLS: DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES IN LAGOS SACKS OVER 5000 WORKERS

Yesterday, the managements of Eko and Ikeja Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs), sacked about 5,075 workers, adding to the already teaming unemployed society. Reports says about 2,600 and 2,475 workers had their cards retrieved by Eko and Ikeja DISCO's respectively asking the workers to re-apply as new workers. According to media reports on Information Nigeria,

CHIBOK UPDATE: MOTHER'S STORM ABUJA, DEMANDS RESCUE OF THEIR DAUGHTER'S

Aggrieved mothers and other indigenes of Chibok, Borno State, today in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, staged a protest to demand the immediate rescue or release of the more than 200 secondary school girls abducted by suspected Boko Haram insurgents on April 14.

PHOTONEWS: POLICEMEN USES HOT WATER AND TEAR GAS ON POLYTECHNIC PROTESTERS

Reports coming in says that security personnel's have dispersed the polytechnic protesters with not just Tear gas but also hot water. The protesters which include Lecturers, Students  of the polytechnics attempted to make an entrance into the National Assembly complex as they promised they would do, but were restrained. See more pictures  and Details below;

CHIBOK: ABDUCTED SCHOOLGIRLS MARRIED OFF FOR N2000 EACH AS BRIDE PRICE IN CHAD, CAMEROON

I sure hope these reports are lies, Reports making round says the remaining unfound Chibok girls have being given out in marriage to other African men in Chad and Cameroon with a bride price of N2000 each. According to reports from DailyTrust ;

Most of the 234 Borno schoolgirls in Boko Haram captivity have been ferried abroad to Chad and Cameroon after they were married off to sect members on N2,000 bride price each, an elder told Daily Trust yesterday.
The female students were taken from their hostels at the Government Girls Secondary School Chibok on the night of April 14.
About 40 had escaped in the days after the incident, but parents and school authorities said at least 234 of them were yet to be found.
Dr. Pogu Chibok, who is the leader of the Chibok Elders Forum, told Daily Trust yesterday that latest information available to them indicates that most of the girls have been taken to the neighboring Cameroon and Chad by their captors.
He said before they were ferried in canoes across the Lake Chad, a wedding ceremony was conducted at a town on the border with Cameroon where they were married off to Boko Haram militants.
He said N2,000 was paid as bride price on each of the girls to the specific Boko Haram members who took them from their school and who had assumed “ownership” of the students.
“They ferried them in canoes to Cameroon and Chad republic after they were wedded off to Boko Haram members who bidded (sic) and paid N2,000 each as dowries on their heads,” Bitrus said.
“The dowry was paid to their captors, the very people who abducted them from their school. One of them who married one of the girls took her to a border town close to Cameroon where villagers saw her.”
Following their abduction, the schoolgirls were thought to be first taken to the Boko Haram camps in the notorious Sambisa Forest. Reports later said villagers had seen the girls being conveyed in trucks to other locations.
Bitrus said yesterday: “So many sources have informed us that the girls have been taken to Cameroon. Many villagers said they saw the girls being transported in trucks and then in canoes.
“On Sunday they were taken to Dikwa area where they (Boko Haram) have a camp there. From there they took them to Marte, then Monguno before they were finally ferried in canoes. It was yesterday we got this latest report of them being married off to the insurgents by their captors.”
He said sources in Cameroon told them that most of the girls were now being held at “an area where the Boko Haram operates in Cameroon.”
‘Crying day and night’
On whether military authorities were informed about the movements of the girls, Bitrus said: “The military was alerted on Tuesday about two weeks ago when some villagers saw many of the girls being transported in trucks, some with even their school uniforms. The villagers tried calling the senator representing the zone but they couldn’t get him so they went to Bama barracks where they reported the matter.
“At the Bama barracks they were told that they must put it in writing, that that is the military tradition. At that time if the military had intervened they would have stopped them from reaching their destination.
“And the fact that for nearly two weeks we have been talking about this and nothing is being done, then there are questions we have to ask. Nobody did anything.”
Bitrus sobbed as he spoke to our reporter yesterday.
“What is happening with the Nigerian nation? I think we demand some answers. Today it is happening to these unfortunate girls from Chibok, tomorrow it may be somewhere else and that is why all Nigerians must rally around us on this,” he said.
“If these captors are trying to achieve a political point, I think the best thing is for us to try to make sure that they don’t succeed but from all indications they are succeeding due to inaction of government. It is helping these people in achieving their objectives.”
Earlier yesterday, Bitrus spoke to the BBC Hausa radio saying “parents of these girls have been angry that despite the existence of government, there has not been concrete effort from government on the matter.
“Female parents have been crying day and night, because nobody knows what government is doing about the whole issue. All that we read in the papers is that Nigerian Army have done this or that.”
When contacted over claims that the military was informed of the movement of the schoolgirls, the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, told Daily Trust: “The concern and anxiety from all quarters is quite understandable. Please be assured that as much as the forces may not disclose details of action being taken to secure the freedom of the girls, every information received on the subject is duly analyzed and acted upon as necessary.
“No information is being ignored in the concerted effort to ensure the safety and freedom of the girls. Just pray for the successful outcome of all efforts please.”

NOLLYWOOD ICON AMAKA IGWE DIES @51

 
The Iconic writer producer and a force to reckon with in Nigera's motion picture industry, Amaka Igwe has passed on. She died last night April 28th in Enugu after an asthma attack. Mrs Igwe had gone to Enugu in company of her husband for pre-production preparations for a new Igbo soap when the sad incident occurred.
She suffered an asthma attack and was immediately rushed to the hospital after initial intervention had failed but sadly died before getting there.

Mrs Igwe is survived by her husband of 21 years Charles Igwe, three children, an aged mother. 
Born Amaka Isaac-Ene, the deceased was an accomplished writer, producer, director, entrepreneur and teacher.
She is the founder of BoBTV Expo, founder and CEO of Top Radio 90.9FM, Amaka Igwe Studios, and the newly-launched Q Entertainment Networks.

A visionary and pioneer of modern Nigerian TV drama and film, she hit national limelight as the writer and producer of award-winning TV soap 'Checkmate' and its off shoot 'Fuji House of Commotion'.

Her Nollywood projects include RattleSnake and Violated - two critically-acclaimed movies that set apart Amaka Igwe Studios in the much-criticised Nollywood industry.

Amaka Igwe studied Education/Religion at the University of Ife (Now Obafemi Awolowo University). She had a Master's Degree from the University of Ibadan. She had her early education at All Saints School (Now Trans Ekulu Primary School), Girls High School Awkunanaw, Enugu and Idia College, Benin.

She worked as a lecturer at the Anambra State University of Technology and briefly in oil and Gas, before settling for the motion picture industry.

May Her Soul Rest in Peace...Amen

BEYISM: DOES THE BEYONCE CHURCH EXIST? READ MORE TO KNOW

Chineke!!!. It started as a rumor but the thing di kwa serious. Some group of marijuana smokers(that is what i choose to call them) about 13 of them came together to set-up a church to worship the singer Beyonce Knowles, my people they call this religion BEYISM. 

The website News Nerd said, in the summer of 2013 Pauline and 12 of her friends formed the National Church of Bey in Atlanta, Georgia and Pauline named herself the official “Minister Diva.” The Divine Divas registered their church as a legitimate non-profit organization, after collecting donations and emptying their savings accounts the Bey worshippers bought the first National Church of Bey temple where they worship Beyonce and analyze her songs while smoking Beyha (marijuana). The Church released a statement after they were being criticized of their belief. read statement below; http://www.thenewsnerd.com/local/beyonce-church-responds-criticism/

“We are very disappointed in the failure of the public to recognize the existence of a divine Deity walking among them,” the church’s founder Pauline John Andrews stated.” Deity’s often walk the Earth in their flesh form. Beyonce will transcend back to the spirit once her work here on Mother Earth has been completed.”

“As our congregation continues to swell, we ask that you consider what is more real; an invisible spirit on high, or a walking, talking, breathing Goddess who shows you her true form daily? Beyonce’s spirit is entrancing. We know that she was sent to this place to spread love, peace, and joy. While we do not believe Beyonce to be the Creator, we recognize that she still sits among the throne of Gods. There is a lot of false information being spread about our beliefs, but we will correct all of the vicious lie-tellers. As Beyonce spreads her gospel through song and dance, her message provides uplifting, loving, and many times real-life happenings. We humbly ask you to respect our beliefs, just as you want those to respect yours. Open your mind to new possibilities and you will see, just as we did, that Bey is a true higher power. Surfbort!”

Pauline Andrews also revealed that the church continues to grow at an unbelievable pace. “Since the day we decided to go public, we have had tons of requests to learn more about our religion. We have published the Beyble(Bible) and it will soon be available for free to the public. Donations have poured in and we will soon have enough to build a temple in honor of Mother Bey. We will invite her to speak to her flock, once the doors are open.”

The Beyonce Church (The National Church Of Bey), is also looking to expand outside of Atlanta. They revealed that they have parishes popping up all over the United States and the United Kingdom. The Church says they intend to spread their message abroad using their Tumblr account.

What do you think about what these people are doing?

PASTOR'S DAUGHTER WHO CONVERTED TO ISLAM SET TO WED THE LAWYER WHO HANDLED HER CASE

Charity Uzoechina , 26 year old daughter of Pastor Raymond Uzoechina, who converted to Islam last year is set to wed. Following the conversion, she also dropped her name charity and took up Aishat. Read details in full,

The Executive Director of Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, Ishaq Akintola, whose organization has kept tab on the convert for months, said Miss Uzoechina is set to marry on May 2.
Mr. Akintola, a professor at the Lagos State University, said in a message posted to a discussion forum moderated by MURIC, that Miss Uzoechina would be marrying the lawyer who handled her case after her conversion to Islam became controversial.

Mr. Akintola’s message reads as follows:
Salaam All,
Remember Sister Aishat? She is the pastor’s daughter who reverted to Islam last year and the father raised hell in Niger State. MURIC has been monitoring her progress.
She is to wed on Friday, 2nd May, 2014.
Guess who is the proposed husband? Barrister Tijani, the lawyer whom MURIC got to handle her case in court.
Isn’t this worth celebrating?

Details of the arrangement for Miss Uzoechina’s marriage ceremony are not immediately available.
PREMIUM TIMES could not reach her and her fiancé for comments.
Background
Miss Uzoechina, a student of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, converted to Islam on February 13, 2013, angering her family and sparking a religious controversy in the country.

Fearing for her life, she stopped school and approached a Shariah court in Niger state, asking for protection from her parents.

The court asked the Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar, the spiritual and political head of the Bida emirate in North-Central Nigeria, to take her into custody.

However, her father, Pastor Uzoechina, and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) tried to take her back from the Etsu Nupe, accusing the Emir of abducting and forcibly converting the student to Islam.

But the Etsu Nupe and the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) insisted that Miss Uzoechina voluntarily converted to Islam and on her own sought refuge at the Etsu Nupe’s palace in Bida out of fear she might be harmed.

Miss Uzoechina was quoted at the time as saying her conversion to Islam was “strictly personal, gradual and well thought-out.”

“I joined Islam purely on my own terms. I love the character of Muslims that I have related with, particularly the way they behave. You know Muslims believe in God,” Miss Uzoechina, told OnIslam.net at the time.

“I have Muslim friends and I watched what they do, that enticed me to join Islam.”

ALISON-MADUEKE GETS COURT INJUNCTION STOPPING REPS FROM PROBING THE N10 BILLION JET SCANDAL

Petroleum Minister, Alison-Madueke

The Petroleum minister who has been at the center of the 10 billion jet scandal has gotten an interim court injunction to restrain the House of Representatives from investigating how she spent the money. According to Premium Times;

A federal court in Abuja restrained the House, its committees or representatives from summoning Mrs. Alison-Madueke or requesting that she produce papers, documents or give evidence relating to the jet spending.

The presiding judge, A. R. Mohammed, also barred the lawmakers from ordering the minister’s arrest for failing to appear before the House Committee on Public Accounts, which is probing the allegation.

The interim order was given April 14, while the court asked that a representative of the House appear on a later date [April 17] and argue why full injunction as requested by the minister should not be granted. It is however not clear what happened in court on that day.

“It is directed that the respondents shall be served with the motion exparte dated and filed on 11th April, 2014 for interim orders of injunction,” the court ordered.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke is accused of spending billions of naira for the services of private jets she deployed for mostly personal trips. State oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, supervised by the minister, has absolved the minister of wrongdoing.

As petroleum minister, Mrs. Alison-Madueke has been repeatedly investigated by the National Assembly. Multiple reports have blamed the minister for either maladministration, corruption or violation of the law.

A key probe which found the minister wanting was the 2012 fuel subsidy inquiry which exposed how the government spent more than N2 trillion subsidizing petrol in one year when actual subsidy cost was less than N500 billion.

There is also the recent allegation of missing $20 billion oil funds.

Amid the charges, Mrs. Alison-Madueke has also drawn praise for ensuring a year-round availability of petrol, a significant achievement in Nigeria’s notoriously corrupt oil sector.

Yet, that achievement recently ebbed with fuel shortage across the country lasting months.

The latest allegation against Mrs. Alison-Madueke came March 20 in a motion presented by a member of the House of Representatives, Samuel Adejare, accusing the minister of committing about 500,000 Euros (N130 million naira) monthly to maintain an aircraft for her personal needs and those of her immediate family.

Mr. Adejare said preliminary investigations showed government funds were used for financing the deal.

Preliminary investigation by the House public accounts committee showed more than one aircraft was involved.

Some lawmakers on the committee have spoken of pressure on them to suspend the investigation and a planned public hearing that has already been delayed by the minister’s refusal to attend.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke has also refused to submit required documents related to the spending, ahead of a public hearing.

The court’s interim injunction which is dated April 14 but only made public Monday, ordered the House not to summon the minister or ask her to provide any documents relating to the jet scandal.

The court order was emailed by the NNPC to reporters late Monday.

Ohi Alegbe, a spokesperson for the NNPC, who also speaks for the minister, told PREMIUM TIMES the injunction was earlier served on the House two weeks back. He said the House may have deliberately kept the papers from the public.

But the chairman of the House Public Accounts Committee, Solomon Olamilekan, said he was surprised the minister waited until Monday- the scheduled day of the commencement of the investigation- before coming up with a court order, giving the impression the court document had just been served.

House agrees to soft pedal

The order raised immediate concerns whether the court, as a separate arm of government, has powers to restrain another arm-legislature- from its constitutional functions of investigating government agencies.

The NNPC spokesperson, Mr. Alegbe, said the order was not “unusual”. “There is nothing strange about it. There is a precedent,” he said.

In its reaction Monday, the House of Representatives on Monday said it would study the order and decide on a response.

“As a law abiding arm of government, we will tarry a while and of course take a legal opinion as far as issues are concerned,” Zakary Mohammed, a spokesperson for the House, said.

Mr. Olamilekan said the committee had received responses from other groups involved in the investigation including Vistajet International and Executive Jet Hangar.

He said the only responses being awaited by the committee are those from the ministry of petroleum, the NNPC, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, and Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN.

“Today is April 28, the committee scheduled to receive the honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources and other agencies that have stake in this investigation.

“But as we speak, there is a court order, which has been served to the office of the speaker, even though the committee has not gotten the copy of that order,’’ he said.

“The nature of the court order is simple. They are just restraining us from carrying out our own investigation. I don’t know what they are afraid of that they have gone to court.”

CHIBOK ABDUCTION: MILITARY SURROUNDS BOKO HARAM HIDEOUTS WHERE ABDUCTED GIRLS ARE HELD

Nigeria’s military said it has tracked down and surrounded the location, where over 200 schoolgirls who were abducted two weeks ago from Government Secondary School, Chibok, are reportedly being held captive by Islamist sect Boko Haram.


The military is said to be applying caution in its approach having identified the various camps where the girls are held, to ensure their safety it explores several options, including intense negotiations by locals and the Borno State Government to secure their release.

“The operation is being strategically carried in a very covert manner because the terrorists will not hesitate to use any of the girls as human shields or even kill them in the event of an attack.

“Another thing you must consider is that apart from being a large expanse of land area, the Sambisa forest also has many clusters of villages and settlements that can suffer from the collateral damage, should an all-out bombardment be carried out.

“Assuming the military attacks them and some of the girls get killed in the process, can you imagine the outrage that will come from the members of the public? So they (military) are being careful.

“All this while, the military has known and has tracked the locations where they are and has even concluded plans to invade the place, but later shelved it to avoid collateral damage,” a source told Thisday.

The military was said to have changed tactics, as it was revealed that the instead of a full onslaught on the terror hideouts, the troops are relying more on intelligence gathering and negotiations by some local indigenes and the state government with the terrorists to secure the release of the girls.

It has also emerged that in the course of searching for the girls, the military has arrested some of the arrowheads behind their abduction and are currently undergoing interrogation.

The source further explained that the security forces do not want to get involved in negotiations since they consider the kidnapping a “highly coordinated local issue” with the full backing of the state government.

“The state government and the Commissioner (of Education) are seriously negotiating (for the girls’ freedom) because they know these boys. And what you see playing out is the politics of the state of emergency,” he said.

Also, sources within defence circles further revealed that after being embarrassed by the conflicting accounts on the number of girls that were abducted or released, the military is taking a more cautious approach in dealing with the situation.

Most of the military top brass, the sources also revealed, are still aggrieved with the way they were misled into giving a false statement about the missing students, which forced the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) in Abuja to retract its statement.

One top security officer expressed doubts that 234 schoolgirls were kidnapped, stating that the number of the abducted girls was grossly exaggerated and may not be more than 70 in total.

According to him, since the total number of the students in the school from junior to senior secondary level is about 1,200, this would explain the high number of parents claiming that their children are missing.

“This is aside from the calculated effort aimed at getting some kind of financial compensation from the state government, which was alleged to have doled out the sum of N1 million to each family of the missing girls.

“Now if you divide that figure by six, you would have a maximum of 200 students in a class. And when you consider the fact that the SS3 (Senior Secondary 3) students are normally fewer in number than other classes, it stands to reason that less than 200 schoolgirls were abducted,” the source explained.

Expressing frustration with the entire incident, the security official added: “Another thing you should note is that schools were closed within this period and this is both a day and boarding school, and not all the students were living in the school.

“So who gave them the directive to come to school and what were they doing in school at that time? Who are the students that make up these figures, because most of them were going to school from home since they are all members of Chibok community.

“The fact is that the figure is less than 100, or even less than 70 from our estimates, which was admitted by the school security men there and even the principal of the school before she started changing figures and statement. Today, she will say the figure is 129, then later she said 234 and again changed the figure.”

He alleged that the whole situation playing out with the abduction saga was beginning to appear like a hatchet job meant to ridicule the military in order to gain the upper hand in their quest to lift the state of emergency imposed on Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.

“Owing to what has happened, the military has decided to operate in the background since our men cannot trust the people (community members) who are also being brainwashed to see us as enemies.

“The way this whole situation has played out has made the military wary of those it is working with, that is, the locals and their hunters, as you can see how the principal has been made the star of this whole misfortune.

“She has been granting interviews to the media in a euphoric manner, ridiculing the military and saying the hunters are the ones doing the job,” the source added.

Source: InformationNigeria

8 YEAR OLD GIRL FOUND UNCONSCIOUS IN POLICEMAN'S HOUSE

 

Why do we always find the policemen at the center of inhumane treatments against its citizens? During the weekend the youths in ketu attempted to set ablaze Mobile Policeman’s apartment following the discovery of an eight-year-old missing girl in his room.

The girl identified as Amarachi, who was unconscious, had her hands, legs and mouth tied. She also had a deep cut on her skull when she was rescued.

According to Vanguard,  Amarachi was last seen at about 4pm on Thursday, after going on an errand for the Mobile Policeman identified as Corporal Gbuchenge Augustine, with Force number 400823. The Policeman lives in the same compound with parents of the girl at 1, Olufowobi Street.

But apprehension set in after her father, Mr Patrick Abakwan, returned at about 7.30pm and requested to see his daughter.

Speaking with Vanguard, Abakwan said: “The first person I sought after when I came back was Amarachi. I was told she had gone to sleep. But when I went inside, I did not see her. I only met her mother who was with a visitor.

“At that point, we went outside to look for her in the midst of other children who were playing. One of them told me that olopa (policeman) sent her to buy akara (beans cake).

“One of the children even said he saw olopa carrying my daughter while she was asleep into hi s room. I peeped into Augustine’s room and also placed my mouth on the key hole and shouted my child’s name but there was no response.

“At that point, he came out and said my child was not there. I thereafter, went round the neigbourhood in search of her. When I came back, I was told olopa left the room in anger after my wife confronted him to tell her all he knew about our missing daughter.

“They said he angrily left the compound, saying he was going to report at the station that he was being accused of kidnap.”

“At that point, some curious residents were said to have peeped through the room, where to their amazement, they saw someone bound in both legs and hands, struggling to free herself.

“Policemen from Ketu were reportedly contacted following which the door of the mobile policeman’s apartment was forced open only to find the girl in the pool of her blood.

“When we went inside the room with the policemen, Amarachi’s body was under the bed. Only her legs were outside and she was still struggling slowly to free herself. She could not talk.

“The policeman had twisted her neck and used an object to break her skull thinking she would die in the process but God saved her. We rushed her to Dafe Medical Hospital where they refused to admit her before taking her to the Island General Hospital.”

When Vanguard visited the hospital, Amarachi was seen with a plaster on her head and a neck crest.

According to her, “he first sent me to buy him akara and later recharge card. When I came back, he asked me to wait a while. Later I heard my father calling me. I told him I was going to meet my father and collect what he bought for me from work.

“But he grabbed me and laid me on the floor, saying he would kill me if I shouted. He tied my mouth with a cloth and also tied my neck. He later brought a knife and hit me severally on the head. That is all I remembered until I woke up and found myself in the hospital.”

Residents of the area accused the fleeing Mobile policeman of being a ritualist. Their accusation followed the discovery of several children’s clothes and shoes reportedly found under his bed.

One of the residents said: “He packed into the compound four years ago. Since then, he has always been travelling every time. He has four cars. Most nights, we usually saw him carrying a Ghana Must go into his jeep, only to return at about 4 a.m.

“He just came back from one of the trips on Thursday. We suspect he intended using the girl for ritual because a Ghana must Go bag with which he wanted to put the butchered body was found in the room.”

Contacted, spokeswoman for the Lagos State Police Command, Ngozi Braide, said: “I heard about the wicked act and we have started investigation.

“I have contacted the Commander in charge of Mopol 22 which is where the complainant alleged the suspect is working. The Commander said there was no such name or identity in his squadron.

“Meanwhile, we have sent signals to other police departments and stations to ascertain if this man is actually a serving policeman. The act is inhuman and whoever did that will never go unpunished.” [Vanguard]

I REVEALED THE SPONSORS OF BOKO HARAM TO JONATHAN SAYS GURU MAHARAJI

Guru Maharaj Ji

As Nigeria continues its battle against the insurgents, Boko Haram, the spiritual  leader Sat Guru Maharaj Ji, has said he revealed the names of the sponsors of the sect to President Jonathan during his visit to Aso rock. Guru claims the Northern elders are partakers of the current situation in Nigeria. According to his interview with Daily Independent;


Guru who recently declared that both sponsors of the group and those behind the April 14 bombing at Nyanya Park in Abuja that claimed scores of lives would face repercussions of their action before the end of October revealed during an interview with our correspondent: “I had told President Goodluck Jonathan those behind these nest of killers (Boko Haram) through several publications.”

He named some former military rulers, a former Vice President, and some leaders in the North as financiers of the group. “I have asked the President to arrest them before now because they said after the 2011 general elections that because power did not return to the North, they would make the nation ungovernable.

“The spirit of the creator is against them. They are going to be dealt with. I will call them to order in the interest of innocent Nigerians, enough of the bloodletting. If President Jonathan had listened to the advice I gave him two years ago when I was at Aso Rock, all the killings by Boko Haram would have stopped. After my visit to the villa, the bombings stopped but because those in government did not continue to tap from my spiritual grace, the bombers returned.

“Nigeria belongs to all of us. As Living Perfect Master, I cannot be here and all these continue. I am challenging the Northern leaders to an open debate in a national television. Let them swear by the name of the Creator and all the seven elements of the earth that their actions were not the direct reflection of Boko Haram onslaught.”

DECEPTION SURROUNDING THE FLAG-OFF OF THE SECOND NIGER BRIDGE

The construction of the second Niger bridge which was flagged off some-time in February by the Jonathan administration to enable easy access to the South-east zone has been faulted by some people especially in the manner in which the project was hurriedly approved without proper environmental analysis and assessment. According to reports from SAHARA REPORTERS ;

The grand deception heralding the shoddy contract award and flag-off of 2nd Niger Bridge has been exposed, Mr Osita Okechukwu told delegates last Saturday during the All Progressives Congress (APC) Enugu State congress, which held at Enugu.

Okechukwu, who is the spokesman of APC South East further reminded the delegates that it was when His Royal Majesty, Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe on February confronted and put President Goodluck Jonathan on the spot over the pledge he made during the 2011 presidential election campaign to the effect that he will complete the 2nd Niger Bridge in four years which prompted him to hurriedly flag- off the construction of the bridge in March.

Okechukwu said that the hurry to cover the empty promise Jonathan made to the South East over the bridge, led to the award of the bridge under an opaque Private Public Partnership with neither Environmental Impact Assessment report ready nor the critical project captured in the federal budget.

'One is at a loss why President Jonathan forgot to insert such critical project in any of his federal budget, bearing in mind that the votes of the South East for him in 2011 presidential election is over 25% of the total votes he got.'

The absence of the 2nd Niger Bridge in any federal budget in the last four years led to bogus cost of the project. Otherwise how can a project ex- president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo awarded for N55 billion in 2009 to Gitto Construction Ltd balloon to N117 billion in 2014?

'One is not happy that APC is vindicated for from day one we doubted the propriety of the PPP contraption; which serially failed in Nigeria. This is why the Honourable Minister of Environment, Mrs Laurentia Mallam, in line with due process and best international practices has exposed the grand deception by refusing to issue certificate to resume work, because there is no Environmental Impact Assessment Report.'

Now that the 2nd Niger Bridge has been suspended we call for international competitive bidding and due process to govern the award of the contract.

Mr Okechukwu maintained that sooner or later Ndigbo will discover to their dismay that voting further for the Peoples Demcratic Party (PDP) on sentiment and ancient stereo-types will lead us to nowhere.

Mr Osita Okechukwu
South East APC Spokesman

NAMADI SAMBO LOSES BROTHER TO ROAD ACCIDENT

The younger brother of Vice President, Namadi Sambo has died in a ghastly car accident in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

The VP’s brother, Sabo Sambo who died on Sunday was said to be on his way to the Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport when his vehicle veered off the airport road in Abuja. The car hit a tree before  exploding and instantly killing the former pilot according to eyewitnesses.

Mr. Sambo was a pilot in defunct Nigerian airways, he listed his expertise as flying Boeing 737 aircrafts according to his profile on linkedin. He later became the CEO of Manyata Engineering Services Ltd an aviation consultancy business he started 7 years ago.

The VP had just returned from a trip to Tanzania, tonight he received President Goodluck Jonathan on a condolence visit.

SOUTH KOREAN PM RESIGNS OVER FERRY ACCIDENT

Chung Hong-Won

The South Korean Prime Minister, Chung Hong-won, announced his resignation this morning April 27th, 11 days after a ferry carrying school children on a field trip to the island of Jeju capsized and sank, killing over 300 people. In his announcement this morning, Chung Hong-Won said;

"It has been more than 10 days since the sinking accident occurred, but the cries from the family members who still not have found their missing keep me from sleeping at night," he said.

"I bow my head and express my condolences to the victims' portraits of this accident. I apologize deeply to the bereaving families, and I pray for a quick recovery from the hurt of a slow recovery."

Prime Minister Chung outlined his decision on national television, after apologizing "on behalf of the government for the many problems that arose during the first response and the subsequent rescue operation" in addition to "problems that existed before the accident."

"During the search process, the government took inadequate measures and disappointed the public," Chung said. "I should take responsibility for everything as the prime minister, but the government can assume no more. So I will resign as prime minister", the PM said.

The captain and all crew members of the Sewol ship rescued themselves leaving 300 school children, teachers and other passengers to their fate. They have all  been arrested and are being prosecuted for causing death by abandoning (ship), and violation of the country's marine law, the Rescue and Aid at Sea and in the River Act. A total no of 188 persons have been confirmed dead and about 114 still missing.

MILITARY TROOPS COMBS SAMBISA FOREST, BOKO HARAM MOVES ABDUCTED GIRLS

The Nigerian military has begun a massive combing of the dreaded Sambisa Forest in a bid to rescue about 191 girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, abducted 13 days ago.
A resident of Bale village in the neighborhood of Sambisa Forest told LEADERSHIP Sunday that there was increased deployment of troops in the area some days ago and heavy gunshots were heard coming from inside the forest.

Confirming the development to LEADERSHIP Sunday yesterday on phone, director of defence information Major General Chris Olukolade said, “Yes, you got your gist right; we are closing in on the insurgents. We are doing everything within our powers to rescue the abducted girls and return them to their parents safely. As you know, what makes the operation very delicate is the safety of the girls; we want them rescued safely. I can confirm to you that we are not leaving anything to chance to rescue the innocent schoolgirls. I just returned from the area (Chibok) this afternoon.”

The heavy deployment of the military inside the forest has also made the insurgents continuously change location with the abducted girls.

A farmer in the village of Izge told LEADERSHIP Sunday that he saw the abducted girls being moved around by the insurgents in trucks in the forest. He also said that it was the second time the girls were being moved in different locations.

Meanwhile, one of the girls who escaped from the insurgents recently said their escape became possible when they were allowed to go to a nearby river to fetch water after the insurgents had set up camp for the night.

She said when they told them to go to the river and fetch water for cooking, they decided to escape into the bush, not knowing the direction of home. She added that not all the girls that escaped made it safely back to town as some were recaptured, while some were still roaming in the bush.

A resident of one village close to the route taken by the insurgents into the Sambisa Forest said the insurgents had been coming to their village in search of some of the girls that had escaped. He said the insurgents had warned them that anyone who assisted the girls would be killed if they didn’t disclose where they had taken the girls to.

Source: Leadership NP

REVELATION ON BOKO HARAM AND THE SAMBISA CAMP HOLDING THE ABDUCTED GIRLS

Here's an article I found on Abusidiqu.com written by By Dr. Peregrino Brimah. You guys need to read this. Find it below...

Nigerians and the world must know what the true situation in Sambisa and other forests in Borno is. It was in the media that the families who ventured in pursuit of their daughters turned back when they approached the terrorist camps. The media reported that what they saw, was “serious,” but they will not say it for security concerns. We are obligated to reveal what they saw. Continue...


Inside Sambisa Game Reserve
From the credible participants we spoke to, the camps are real and live. The civilians actually reached the Boko Haram camps in Sambisa four days ago. The mission was led by the army division in Borno, who were in the front, while the civilians followed behind.
Upon reaching the periphery of the camp and realizing the threat they faced, the civilians were advised to turn back. When they asked if the military would engage the terrorists, the army commanders responded, “we were given no such directive.”

Boko Haram camps in Sambisa are not hidden. The terrorists camp in clear sight. The camp seen housed thousands of terrorists and their abducted families, up to 3000 people by conservative estimates. The terrorists were seen walking freely in the camps, living a very normal life. Women were seen in the camps, these included the hundreds of women who have been abducted over the years.

The camps were kitted with generators delivering power to their devices. There were fridges, welding machines and all other household and technical equipments.
Over 100 trampoline tents were seen, in which the terrorists dwell. It is not yet rainy season in Borno, so not much shelter is yet utilized.

We were informed that over 50 vehicles were seen in the Sambisa camp. There were hundreds to thousands of motorcycles.

After the civilians turned back and returned to the metropolis, it was related that the army too came back, evidently having not engaged Boko Haram in any physical way. For them it was just another day, another month in another year, scouting the Boko Haram ‘barracks.’ The situation s the same in other forests like Banki and Buniyadi, according to the credible people we spoke to.

The Desperate State Of Insecurity
With the above registered, the world must recognize that there is evidently a standing accord between Boko Haram and the Nigerian military. The military knows and has always known where they hide in plain sight, but is either not equipped, or not interested in ending their reign of terror.

A recent media report in the Vanguard described how a US-based StrategyPage report presented that Boko Haram terrorists were so wealthy; they had actually bought government and security officials over. The source of Boko Haram funding has never been exposed to the people. The Nigerian government continues to cover this up, protecting the sponsors; thus the four year long reign of unlimited sponsored terror with absolute impunity is far from its end. Like the government, Boko Haram thrives on the explosive state of corruption.

Boko Haram invests way more than Nigeria does in equipping and boosting the morale of its army. Boko Haram is today an institution and a well functioning one that pays top dollar to purchase tentacles at all levels of society. Fear and corruption facilitate its growth in this regard. In contrast, the Nigerian government sabotages its army and underfunds and under-equips them. A latest report by the BBC revealed that Boko Haram pays $3000 to purchase mercenary recruits from neighboring countries like Niger. Increasingly perplexed by the course of the war, Nigerian soldiers have been deserting the army according to several reports and military sources. They are frustrated as they realize there is no honest intention to combat the terrorists whose locations are known and are left to operate freely. Soldiers are approaching activists to volunteer their services in a true battle they believe in, after they leave the Nigerian army.

Nigeria is in trouble! We the people know and realize that this situation must be checked in Yar’Adua style—eliminated in totality. Boko Haram must be starved to desperation in their camps and the terrorists must be engaged and killed without remorse. A similar conflict between Nigeria and Chad in the 80’s had the Nigerian army under then Brigadier Muhammadu Buhari, with the 21st Armored Brigade, cut supplies and starve the Habre Chadian troops, thus retaking the 19 Nigerian islands. The efficiency of the Nigerian army is also fondly recollected in its commanding role in solving the Liberian crises. But today, our army cannot capture Sambisa. They are not engaging Boko Haram with any determination to win by any method whatsoever, under whatever directives they have from Abuja; and now it is way passed time we the people do this for ourselves. We simply have no other choice.

Furthermore, our reliable suppositions were again confirmed today with the arrest of some of the “unknown 100 gunmen,” usually reported as “Fulani herdsmen” who have been ravaging the middle belt since 2012; these men confessed according to the DHQ, to being part of Boko Haram. We have analyzed their mission and operations which have involved the massacre of towns and burning all in sight, as being coincident with the mission of Boko Haram: ultimate goal, the destruction of life in large parts of north Nigeria. If further studied, these “100 men” not only dressed and killed and destroyed just like Boko Haram; but also started off provoking ethnic crises, first attacking “Christians,” and when this failed, they as with the primary Boko Haram now moved to the full massacre of all towns, irrespective of creed or ethnicity. The gunmen arrested and displayed looked anything but Fulani; supporting this realization, in times past, some killed marauders have been described as foreign mercenaries. The chronic misinformation on the mission and identities of these marauders and failure of the government to accost them for a whole three years, suggests a sinister, pervasive plan to purposely provoke deadly ethnic tensions in Nigeria.

Trust Breakdown: The State Security Department Takes To Lying
Nigeria’s military and security department has taken to lying to cover their wrong actions or inaction. They lied about the number of girls abducted. They made up an imaginary number they claimed they had freed. They lie about how many are killed and how many they kill in millions. The most recent lie was made by the junior minister of defense, Musiliu Obanikoro who said so on Channels TV, Monday, that no helicopters were used to supply terrorists. This is a categorical lie. We have confirmed from numerous sources including released abductees, who described how choppers flew in to the camps and dropped Mr. Biggs snacks, chicken, burgers and things, bought from the Borno metropolis. There is no doubt as to the accuracy of this information.

Apparently there is cooperation with the military and treacherous military cover-up. We the people must act and time is running out. Soon Boko Haram will be too big to contain and then they can over throw not just the north, but the entire nation as has happened and been attempted by terrorists in neighboring nations and across the world. The time to act is now.

It has been four years that this terror has been going on unchecked and distressingly, increasing in amplitude by the day. The bombing of Nyanya was reviewed by Brian Michael Jenkins and Bruce R. Butterworth, the terrorism experts from the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI), as being the fifth worst episode of such explosives attack in any nation across the entire world since 1970! The abduction of 234 girls is another topper on the list of few similar abductions in recent world history. The president of Nigeria flew in his hoards of private jets first to Ibadan for a birthday party, then to Kano to dance at a pre-legally permitted campaign rally within a day of the attacks, in a show of disconnect from the terror situation and possible uncanny delight. The incompetence and lack of interest of our current administration in handling this epic crises is not debated and not a today topic. The current reality necessitates the response and active action of the people before all hope is lost along with the lives and limbs being blown away.

Self Help: Embarking on Urgent Civilian Intervention
We are recruiting all support, supplies and volunteers to surround and eliminate Boko Haram in their forest camps. This is a dangerous task, but the Almighty will give us the strength and victory against these enemies of the state, of peace, of man and God.

Time is of the essence. We do not know what these 200 girls are going through, the type of horrific molestation in the hands of these beasts. *God forbid! And not only them, so many of our fellow citizens, mothers, sisters, daughters, brothers, fathers and sons have been trapped with the terrorists for years. It is time for us to do for them what we would want them to do for us, had it been us in the camps or our daughters there.

The parents have vowed to dare again into the forests to rescue their wards. By God’s grace, many of us will go with them. We will also assist them with all the supplies they may need.

We Need Everybody
We invite a homogeneous response from Muslims, Christians and others alike. The Doctor Amadi (JP), Muslims Against Terror organization, who are deeply involved in this rescue mission, it can be recollected played a vital role in reversing a Boko Haram trend of bombing Churches in 2012 when they released the Communiqué captioned, “Official Communiqué from Muslims Against Terror, Nigeria: Fear None Save Allah. Defend Islam, Defend People, Defend Churches, Defend our Nation.” Many of us read this strong message, and supported by calls of the same from Sheikh Gumi as relayed on SaharaReporters, Boko Haram left Churches alone and declared Muslims their new top enemy; they have since killed numerous Muslim scholars. We are all in this together. See MuslimsAgainstTerror The more we come together, the more frustrated Boko Haram and their evil sponsors become.

Nigeria’s billionaires who exclusively benefit from the corrupt failed system, and whose ill-gotten wealth sponsors our unique terror crises which we now export to neighboring nations and around the world, are nowhere to be found now that we need urgent action and contributions. We the ordinary people have only ourselves. All prayers and all forms of contributions to the desperate people and their urgent missions in Borno go a long way and are urgently needed. Emergencies like this are never planned for or expected. The mothers plan to go back into the forests soon and we hope we will be there with them.

It is touching how many of our youth have decided to volunteer in this divine mission against the terrorists. It is simply humbling. It says a lot about the true purity of spirit and faith of Nigerians, when seen through the murky layers of cabal instituted corruption. These young men setting out for Borno will also need our support for their sustenance in this altruistic mission.
Thank you everyone. We will win against Boko Haram and we will win against the persecution of tyrant, usurper cabal who keep us in this compromised, denuded, betrayed, painful state of existence.

Dr. Peregrino Brimah
http://ENDS.ng [Every Nigerian Do Something]
Email: drbrimah@ends.ng Twitter: @EveryNigerian

MARRIAGE IS FOR LOSERS

I Can imagine the look on your face when the title "Marriage is for Losers" hit your screen. I can only imagine the pictures racing through your mind at such a crazy statement. But Yes, If you have to stay Married you have to join the losing team. When a couple decides to love each other, losing becomes a way of life. What are you ready to lose Everything, somethings or Nothing?

Many therapists aren’t crazy about doing marital therapy. It’s complicated and messy, and it often feels out of control. In the worst case scenario, the therapist has front row seats to a regularly-scheduled prize fight. But I love to do marital therapy. Why? Maybe I enjoy the work because I keep one simple principle in mind: if marriage is going to work, it needs to become a contest to see which spouse is going to lose the most, and it needs to be a race that goes down to the wire.

When it comes to winning and losing, I think there are three kinds of marriages. In the first kind of marriage, both spouses are competing to win, and it’s a duel to the death. Husbands and wives are armed with a vast arsenal, ranging from fists, to words, to silence. These are the marriages that destroy. Spouses destroy each other, and, in the process, they destroy the peace of their children. In fact, the destruction is so complete that research tells us it is better for children to have divorced parents than warring parents. These marriages account for most of the fifty percent of marriages that fail, and then some. The second kind of marriage is ripe with winning and losing, but the roles are set, and the loser is always the same spouse. These are the truly abusive marriages, the ones in which one spouse dominates, the other submits, and in the process, both husband and wife are stripped of their dignity. These are the marriages of addicts and enablers, tyrants and slaves, and they may be the saddest marriages of all.But there is a third kind of marriage. The third kind of marriage is not perfect, not even close. But a decision has been made, and two people have decided to love each other to the limit, and to sacrifice the most important thing of all—themselves. In these marriages, losing becomes a way of life, a competition to see who can listen to, care for, serve, forgive, and accept the other the most. The marriage becomes a competition to see who can change in ways that are most healing to the other, to see who can give of themselves in ways that most increase the dignity and strength of the other. These marriages form people who can be small and humble and merciful and loving and peaceful.

And they are revolutionary, in the purest sense of the word.

Because we live in a culture in which losing is the enemy (except in Chicago, where Cubs fans have made it a way of life). We wake up to news stories about domestic disputes gone wrong. Really wrong. We go to workplaces where everyone is battling for the boss’s favor and the next promotion, or we stay at home where the battle for the Legos is just as fierce. Nightly, we watch the talking heads on the cable news networks, trying to win the battle of ideas, although sometimes they seem quite willing to settle for winning the battle of decibels. We fight to have the best stuff, in the best name brands, and when we finally look at each other at the end of the day, we fight, because we are trained to do nothing else. And, usually, we have been trained well. In the worst of cases, we grew up fighting for our very survival, both physically and emotionally. But even in the best of situations, we found ourselves trying to win the competition for our parents’ attention and approval, for our peers’ acceptance, and for the validating stamp of a world with one message: win. And, so, cultivating a marriage in which losing is the mutual norm becomes a radically counter-cultural act. To sit in the marital therapy room is to foment a rebellion.

What do the rebellious marriages look like? Lately, when my blood is bubbling, when I just know I’ve been misunderstood and neglected, and I’m ready to do just about anything to convince and win what I deserve, I try to remember a phone call we recently received from my son’s second grade teacher. She called us one day after school to tell us there had been an incident in gym class. After a fierce athletic competition, in which the prize was the privilege to leave the gym first, my son’s team had lost. The losers were standing by, grumbling and complaining about second-grade-versions of injustice, as the victors filed past. And that’s when my son started to clap. He clapped for the winners as they passed, with a big dopey grin on his face and a smile stretched from one ear of his heart to the other. His startled gym teacher quickly exhorted the rest of his team to follow suit. So, a bunch of second grade losers staged a rebellion, giving a rousing ovation for their victorious peers, and in doing so, embraced the fullness of what it can mean to be a loser. When I’m seething, I try to remember the heart of a boy, a heart that can lose graciously and reach out in affection to the victors.

In marriage, losing is letting go of the need to fix everything for your partner, listening to their darkest parts with a heart ache rather than a solution. It’s being even more present in the painful moments than in the good times. It’s finding ways to be humble and open, even when everything in you says that you’re right and they are wrong. It’s doing what is right and good for your spouse, even when big things need to be sacrificed, like a job, or a relationship, or an ego. It is forgiveness, quickly and voluntarily. It is eliminating anything from your life, even the things you love, if they are keeping you from attending, caring, and serving. It is seeking peace by accepting the healthy but crazy-making things about your partner because, you remember, those were the things you fell in love with in the first place. It is knowing that your spouse will never fully understand you, will never truly love you unconditionally—because they are a broken creature, too—and loving them to the end anyway.

Maybe marriage, when it’s lived by two losers in a household culture of mutual surrender, is just the training we need to walk through this world—a world that wants to chew you up and spit you out—without the constant fear of getting the short end of the stick. Maybe we need to be formed in such a way that winning loses its glamour, that we can sacrifice the competition in favor of people. Maybe what we need, really, is to become a bunch of losers in a world that is being a torn apart by the competition to win. If we did that, maybe we’d be able to sleep a little easier at night, look our loved ones in the eyes, forgive and forget, and clap for the people around us.

I think that in a marriage of losers, a synergy happens and all of life can explode into a kind of rebellion that is brighter than the sun. The really good rebellions, the ones that last and make the world a better place, they are like that, aren’t they? They heal, they restore. They are big, and they shine like the sun. And, like the sun, their gravitational pull is almost irresistible.


Culled From Dr Kelly

'HALF OF A YELLOW SUN" BANNED OR NOT BY NIGERIA CENSORS BOARD

The long awaited movie "Half of a Yellow Sun" which was due to be released yesterday in Lagos for general viewing did not happen. Some say the NFVCB may have banned the movie as it will raise dust of the untold civil war saga but the director said no formal letter has been written to him inline with this even if it were to be so. So what is happening to airing the famous movie in our own country that has gained so much international acclaim? It is about time we tell our story to the younger generation. Read details as reported by PREMIUM TIMES;

The Nigeria Film and Video Censor Board has delayed the release of Half of a Yellow Sun, the movie adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel by Chimamanda Adichie.
The movie was expected to start showing in cinemas across Nigeria starting from Friday.It had earlier been premiered in London and Lagos.

The movie’s director, Biyi Bandele, speaking to the BBC’s Focus on Africa, said that he did not know why the film was delayed.

The Nigeria film board saw the film seven months ago, Mr Bandele said

“What’s frustrating is we have not received a formal letter from the board telling us we’ve been banned, or that we’ve not been banned,” he lamented.

Though the NFVCB has not said the film has been banned, observers speculate that the delay may be linked to the content of the movie.

The novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, was centered on the Nigeria civil war – the Biafran war – and was told from the perspective of the Biafrans.

In an interview with Arise 360 in March, Ms. Adichie stated that her reasons for writing the novel included starting up a discussion about the war among her generation of Nigerians.

However, there are some who feel that the war, which took place between 1966 and 1970, is still fresh and the issues surrounding it too sensitive for public discussion.

Some initial critics of the movie,after its Lagos premiere, also found problem with the nudity in it. In a particular scene, actress, Thandie Newton, was filmed with her breasts exposed. Nigeria tends to style itself as a conservative country with high religious morals, a stance promoted by its leaders and government officials. The country’s conservatism is sometimes highlighted in the type of entertainment material consumed by its citizens. Regulatory bodies, such as the Board and the National Broadcasting Corporation, NBC, have often banned films, videos, and songs from airing on television or radio due, to their highly sexual content.

OBA OF BENIN ENDORSES GEJ FOR SECOND TERM

Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba Erediauwa

The Oba of Benin, Oba Erediauwa I, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to seek re-election even as he urged him not to be distracted by the wave of disturbances in parts of the country.

He assured the President that the spirit of the ancestors of the Benin kingdom would see him through.

The monarch’s message was delivered to the President by his first son, Ambassador Eheneden Erediuwa, who was accompanied to the Presidential Villa by the Chairman, Ocean Marine Tankers Limited, Capt. Hosa Okunbo.

He said, “He (Erediauwa)also prays that the opportunity will come for him to continue the good work he is doing in Benin and other parts of the South-South for at least another term.

He told State House correspondents at the end of his meeting with the President that his father decided to send him on the errand because the monarch no longer travels due to old age.

The prince said, “I am here on a special mission and having been an ambassador to many countries, I can say I am a special envoy who is carrying a special message on behalf of my father who sent me here to convey this message to Mr. President that we have been following the things that have been happening in the country.

“My father is praying for Mr. President in the Benin Kingdom. He is praying fervently for him to be able to withstand the pressure. He sent me to let Mr. President know that the spirits of the ancestors of the kingdom are with him and they will see him through.

“He also pray that the opportunity will come for him to continue the good work he is doing in Benin and other parts of South-South for at least another term.

“That is the commitment we have in this kind of special prayer coming from the Oba of Benin. He sent me as his eldest son, so you can imagine the importance that my father attaches to such a message.”

He said the monarch also requested that Jonathan finds time to visit him in Benin so that he could offer him fatherly advice that would help in nation building.

NO BREAK-UPS: P SQUARE RECONCILES

I think the Okoye brothers have decide to stick together. thanks to your prayers Super Fans. See their simultaneous solidarity tweets





Then the newest Mrs Okoye also tweets

CAPTURED BOKO HARAM MEMBERS POSING AS FULANI HERDSMEN

This is a picture of 17 Boko Haram Members posing as herdsmen who have been committing heinous acts in the North. They were arrested after a failed attack at a military checkpoint. Read details below...

A group of terrorists posing as herdsmen have been arrested at the outskirts of Wukari, while two others died after an attack on a military checkpoint at Gindin Dorowa, a suburb of Wukari in Taraba State.

Other members of the group were sighted during an aerial surveillance and later trailed to their camp where they engaged the troops in a gun battle. The terrorists were clad in the usual attire of their counterparts operating in Borno and Yobe States. Assorted arms and ammunition were recovered from them.

This was disclosed yesterday in a statement issued and signed by director of information, Defence Headquarters, Major General Chris Olukolade.

According to the statement, one of the apprehended armed men confessed that he had been fighting for the terrorist group in Borno State and was recently brought to Wukari area in furtherance of their mission.

The Defence spokesman also disclosed that the curfew in Wukari would be relaxed since normalcy was returning to the town.

He said: “The curfew imposed on Wukari and its environs is expected to be relaxed as normalcy returns to the town. Troops have maintained patrol of the area while a house-to-house search for arms is ongoing”.

The military also disclosed that troops on patrol of the Lake Chad Islands had made some arrests.

“Among those arrested was a boat operator who ferries terrorists across the Lake Chad while another confessed to being a supplier of hard drugs to the terrorist groups in the area,” he said.

In the meantime, the search for the abducted students of Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, is also being intensified by the troops.

NIGERIAN MUSLIM CLERICS RECRUITING BOKO HARAM SAYS US MILITARY

Nigerian Muslim clerics living in the border towns of Cameroon and Nigeria are recruiting Boko Haram members in their mosques, the government of Cameroon has alleged. Worse still, government officials in the North East states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa collaborate with the terrorists and take bribes from them, thereby, hindering the fight against the terrorists. Governors of these states also capitalise on their civilian fears to berate the army and the federal government.

These allegations were published in a report, yesterday, by US-based online military news agency, StrategyPage. The magazine explains that the army wants governors in the affected states removed because “many officials in those states are cooperating with Boko Haram (to avoid attack) and are taking bribes from the Islamic terrorists.

“Some of these officials are covering themselves in case Boko Haram should gain power and the governors are often just responding to civilian fears of army misconduct,” it noted.

The magazine said: “Cameroon is also concerned about pro-Boko Haram clerics from Nigeria quietly preaching and recruiting for Boko Haram in Cameroon mosques.

“Islamic conservative clergy are not unusual on either side of the border, but those who do not denounce Boko Haram are suspected of quietly recruiting young men to join the “jihad” (struggle) and fight (and often die) in Nigeria. These preachers have to recruit quietly because otherwise police in Cameroon will arrest and deport them, sometimes after a vigorous interrogation. Evidence of this recruiting is showing up when some of the recruits return from Nigeria with tales of disillusionment and adversity while with Boko Haram,” the report said.

The magazine said that the Cameroonian government is “being criticized because recent claims of large (over 5,000 weapons) arms seizures near the Nigerian border could not be verified by reporters. Civilians living in villages near where the government said the seizures took place said they saw nothing. The government responded that the smugglers operated in remote areas and avoided civilians as well as security forces. There are also concerns that even if weapons were seized they would, as often happens, be sold back to black market arms dealers so that government officials could keep the cash.”

On the military, the report said: “Residents of those three states have justifiable complaints about the army, in particular the casual attitude of the military towards the safety of civilians and their property.

“The army is also unreliable when it comes to sharing information on casualties. Thus Boko Haram related deaths so far this year are believed to be (based on local reports) at least 1,500, which is 50 per cent more than what the army reports. Boko Haram related deaths from 2010 to 2013 were about 3,600, so the violence is not declining.

“The government has been saying, for several years, that Boko Haram would be crushed within a year and never happens. More insightful observers point out that the problem is mainly one of corruption and poverty, as well as the appeal of Islamic radicalism as a magical cure. All of Nigeria suffers from corruption.

“Poverty is more prevalent in the Muslim north, in part because of climate. That’s because the semi-desert Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert is found in the north. Another problem is the more conservative nature of Islamic populations and the lower education levels.”

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/04/nigerian-muslim-clerics-recruiting-boko-haram-members-cameroon-govt/#sthash.Nr55kwLe.dpuf

TEACHER RAPES AND IMPREGNATES 12 YEAR OLD

One Chukwudi Boniface, a teacher at Bright Kids Academy, Barkin Ladi, Plateau State has been reportedly arrested by the state police command for raping and impregnating a 12-year-old Primary three pupil of the school (name withheld).

Public relations officer of the police command, SP Felicia Anselm who confirmed the arrest said investigation into the matter was ongoing.

“The man has been arrested and investigation is ongoing and he will be charged to court. The girl is already four months pregnant and I want to assure the public that justice will be done in the matter,” she said.

LEADERSHIP gathered that gathered that the private school which is located in Barkin Ladi had in December 2013, introduced an extramural lesson and only four of the pupils attended the lesson including the victim.

It was further gathered that Chukwudi had on one occasion, after giving the pupils classwork, told the victim to wait for him in the other classroom with her book where he committed the crime.

The 12-year-old girl while narrating how the teacher raped her, said, “my teacher called me to come close and held my hands and then he forced me down and removed my clothes and had sex with me. I cried but nobody came to help me and when he finished, he warned me not to tell anybody and said if I did, he will deal with me.”

A close family source, who preferred anonymity, said the victim is an orphan and following the treats by the teacher, she kept the secret to herself “until few months later, when we began to notice some pregnancy symptoms and after thorough investigation, she confessed.”

MASS ABDUCTION: PARENTS SAY 234 GIRLS MISSING, 39 ESCAPED

There seems to be alot of uncertainty in the number of girls missing from Chibok. Contrary to the 129 reported by the media, the parents have claimed that about 234 girls are yet to be re-united with their parents, that only 39 has escaped. According to Leadership Newspaper-

The parents made this known when the state governor, Mr Kashim Shettima finally visited the attacked school yesterday.

This was as the search party, made up of mostly parents and volunteers from Chibok had to return home, having been warned of the dangers of moving into the camps of the Boko Haram at the heart of Sambisa without any serious arms.

The parents of the missing students also faulted the claim by government officials that 45 of the girls had escaped and had been reunited with them. According to the parents, only 39 girls had escaped so far.

The principal, Mrs Asabe Kwambura however insisted that the number of girls reunited with their parents was 43. She also claimed that lots of students were in the school on the day of the attack. She said that the total number of girls in boarding at the school was 405 and that 234 were still missing.

Kwambura and the state commissioner for education, Musa Inuwa Kubo, had both said that 129 students that were taking science exams were in the school at the time of the attack and that 45 of them had been reunited with their families, having escaped captivity.

But the parents insisted that the number of students in the school was more than that. They argued that some of the girls who were not taking the science exams were in school, waiting for their friends in science classes to finish their exams before they would all leave the school together when the incident occurred. A non-academic staff member of GGSS, Chibok confirmed this to LEADERSHIP saying, “You know girls with their ways; some would want to wait until their sister or friend is through before they would all go home together.”

At the school premises, Governor Shettima was conducted round the completely burnt down school. The commissioner for education said the school was set ablaze after the students had been taken away by the abductors.

One of the parents, Mrs Shettima Hamma said, “We trailed the abductors of our daughters into very dangerous places inside the forest, but we couldn’t go far because we were warned against going further since we have no sophisticated weapons that could match that of those holding our daughters.

“When we heard that they had attacked the school, we rushed down here, but found our daughters missing. We were asked to register the names of our daughters, which we all did, but up to this moment, we have not seen 234 of our daughters. We have only seen 39 of our daughters that were able to escape on their own.”

Another parent, who did not introduce himself while briefing the governor and other visitors to the school, recounted in detail how they had on their own, without any security personnel trailed the abductors into Sambisa Forest, a distance of over 50km from Chibok.

He described how they had ventured into the forest along a path following directions given them by a number of people they met along the way, until they arrived at a point where they were advised to go no further, as it was too dangerous.

He said, “We continued to move on until we met an old man who warned us that if we ventured into that part of the forest without any security personnel following us, we would all be killed together with our daughters. He advised us that we go back to Damboa and get more security agents to help, lest we embark on a most dangerous mission.”

A man, Musa Muka, who could not hold back his tears as he kept weeping uncontrollably, told LEADERSHIP that his 17-year-old daughter was among those kidnapped and taken away.

“I have not seen my dear daughter, she is a good girl. We plead with government to help rescue her and her friends. We pray nothing happens to her.”

Senator Muhammed Ali Ndume who was there with the governor as a representative of the area at the Senate, could not control his emotions as he addressed the parents, describing the abduction as the worst thing that could ever happen to any parent.

“We are all touched by the incident concerning the abduction of our daughters. I am a father too; I have 10 children and every day, I put my children in the position of these girls currently in captivity and I weep for them, I weep for the poor parents. My heart goes out to you all, so is our governor here. But you should know our limitations here in the state concerning the security deployment. Neither the governor nor I has control over our security; we can only plead with the federal government to assist us. But be assured that we are doing our best to see that these girls are freed in one piece.”

Governor Shettima who also could not control his emotions, described the abduction as the worst of Boko Haram’s actions and said the security operatives were doing their best to see that the girls were rescued unharmed.

On the controversy surrounding the actual number of the missing girls, the principal, who appeared very confused, told journalists that, “The total number of missing female students now stands at 230. Initially before the arrival of the governor, 234 were missing, but we just recovered an additional four female students.”

She further said that, “The number of girls recovered so far is 43. It is only 43 girls we have recovered and handed over to their parents.”

On why she had given an initial figure of 129 girls missing, the principal said, “The 129 I gave were those that sat for Physics exam on the day they were abducted. The total number of female boarding students is 405; this means that out 405, 230 are still missing.”

She insisted that the total number of abducted girls was less than the 234 the parents were quoting.

“But the other issue is that out of the 230 girls missing, some of them had run home to their parents and we have not received any information on them. It will also interest you to note that the school was initially Government Girls Secondary School Chibok but in 2011, it became Government Secondary School Chibok, which now allowed for male students. So the entire student population, including day students who are boys, is 530,” Mrs Kwambura said.