THE MISSING JAIL BREAK TWEETER IS FREE, BUT THE PROTEST HELD TODAY IN LAGOS

The guy who tweeted live photos of soldiers during the Boko haram escape attempt on Sunday March 30th has been released days after he was picked up by the SSS. @Ciaxon was reportedly released late last night to his family but because there was no visual confirmation of his release, some activists stormed the Lagos office of the DSS this morning to protest, demanding his immediate release. Pics from the protest after the cut...

Source: LIB

UPDATE: MISSING JAIL BREAK TWEETER GETS MORE MEDIA AWARENESS ON BBC

Yussuf Isiaka "Onimisi Ciaxon"

The sudden disappearance of the guy who tweeted about the Boko Haram Jailbreak on the 30th of march, has continued to generate loud whispers in the air. Presently, the international media, BBC has taken up the story to create more awareness. Read BBC's story below;

A man who live-tweeted from the scene of an attempted jailbreak in the Nigerian capital Abuja 12 days ago, has disappeared. Activists believe he may have been arrested, and have launched a Twitter campaign for his release.

The hashtag #FreeCiaxon and the Twitter handle @ciaxon have been trending in Nigeria since late on Wednesday. There's also a lot of discussion about it on Facebook. On 30 March, the man who runs the @ciaxon account found himself at the scene of a dramatic fight between Nigerian security forces and detainees trying to escape from the State Security Service (SSS) headquarters.

It was big news in Nigeria. The SSS HQ is a stone's throw from the presidential palace, and the detainees were - according to officials - suspected militants from the notorious group, Boko Haram. Official sources say more than 20 people were killed.

Much of the news came from social media sources at the scene - like @ciaxon. It's believed Yusuf Siyaka Onimisi - also referred to as Isiaka Yusuf - runs @ciaxon. He tweeted developments, including a series of images showing both the attackers and Nigerian soldiers. The pictures were picked up by news outlets in the country. But since then, there has been complete silence on Twitter from @ciaxon. And the silence has not been just virtual. Yusuf Siyaka Onimisi's brother Sanusi told BBC Trending that he has not been able to reach him since that day. His car has been left abandoned. "Nobody has given us any information. We are in the darkness. It's inhuman, it's very, very unfair," he says. When a friend contacted Yusuf Siyaka Onimisi's workplace to ask where he was, he was told he had been arrested.

The SSS has not responded to confirm or deny Yusuf Siyaka Onimisi's detention. But Nigerians have taken to social media to demand answers. "How can you arrest people for taking pictures - this is the 21st Century," says Fola Lawal, a Nigerian now based in Qatar, who started the Twitter hashtag #FreeCiaxon. "I would have done the same in his shoes. It's called citizen reporting."

Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission has started an investigation into his whereabouts. High-profile figures, including the World Bank's former Africa vice-president Obiageli Ezekwesili, have tweeted calling for his release. "It's very, very important this gets attention," says lawyer and writer Ayo Sogunro, who's been researching and tweeting actively about the case. Critics say the government is trying to regulate social media. The irony in this case, says Sogunro, is the tweets from the @ciaxon account were broadly supportive of the security forces.

ASARI DARES PATIENCE JONATHAN, CALLS FOR OGONI GOVERNOR IN RIVERS COME 2015

Alhaji Mujahedeen Asari Dokubo has said the first Lady Dame Patience Jonathan has no right to impose supervising Minister of Education Nyesom Wike as Rivers state Governor come 2015. This came after the first lady openly pledged her support to Nyesom Wike On Tuesday . He had this to say in his interview with LEADERSHIP NIG

“To make Wike a governor in Rivers State in 2015 is not morally right. All the fellows endorsing him for whatever reason should know that it will injure PDP, it will injure Goodluck Jonathan. If Goodluck’s name is brought into it, that he is in support of the perpetuation of an Ikwerre hegemony in Rivers State, which is not right by population, which is not right under any calculation, it will injure him and PDP,” Dokubo stated.


He further said Wike could not become the next governor of the state in view of the interests of the three ethnic clusters in the state, and that an ikwerre man had no business in Rivers government house come 2015 having ruled for 16 years. He called attention to the two other clusters in the state, the Ogoni's and the Ijaws to be given a chance to Rule.

“As far as we all know, there are three ethnic clusters in Rivers State: the Ijaws, the Igbos (Ikwerre is part of the Igbo cluster) and the Ogonis. After Bayelsa was excised from Rivers State, the Igbos have ruled for many years. Odili was an Idoni Igbo; he ruled for eight years. Omehia/Amaechi, who are also Ikwerres, by 2015 would have ruled for more than eight years, making over 16 years,” he explained.

Insisting that it is impossible for an Ikwerre man to emerge as successor of the incumbent governor Rotimi Amaechi, he said: “It is morally wrong for any anybody to say that Igbo cluster should produce the next governor in 2015. I am an Igbo man also, by virtue of my origin, and so I am not against the Ikwerre people or against the Igbo. I repeat, I am an Igbo man; I can narrow it down: I have Ikwerre blood flowing in my veins.

“Having said that, the next cluster are the Ijaws, made up of the Kalabaris, the Obolo and Ibani people, the Wakrike; Okirika is just one town in Wakrike, Ukoro and others. These people have produced a governor. In terms of local government spread, they are in 11 local government areas out of the 23 local government areas; the Igbos are spread in eight and the Ogonis in four local government areas.

“In terms of population, when you remove the cosmopolitan population of Port Harcourt and Obiakpor, which is about 80 per cent of the population, is non-indigenous of those local governments. That is old non-Rivers indigenes and Rivers indigenes, who are not indigenes of Port Harcourt and Obiakpor local governments. If you remove those populations, the Ijaws are the majority as a single block.

“When you look at that, for somebody to say another Ikwerre man should become governor is wrong. Yes, constitutionally, he has a right to aspire, everybody is free to aspire, but it is not moral, it is not right. Something can be legally right but it might not be morally right.”

Making a case for the Ogoni, Dokubo said the age-long domination and oppression of the Ogoni people must end in 2015.

According to him, it would be unjust and unfair to continue to exclude the Ogoni in the scheming for the highest political office in the state. The Ogonis are the only people who have never produced governor because the whole Bayelsa that left were Ijaw people, he stated.

“So if we are saying there should be justice in Rivers State… if we are crying against domination by others, we should not also oppress other people. The people that morally should be allowed to produce the next governor of Rivers State is the Ogoni cluster made up of the Ogonis proper and the Eleme people.”

“The first lady need not to be told that it is morally and politically wrong for her to support another Ikwerre man by 2015, after the Igbo bloc would have spent over 16 years. She has every right to support who she wants but that must be done in a morally and politically correct direction and manner.”

Debunking the claim of his Ijaw kinsmen to the coveted seat in 2015, he said: “The arguments of the Ijaws are weaker. That an Ijaw governor should come in 2015 is weaker because Ada George and Melford Okilo have been elected governor; they can say it was old Rivers State — even in old Rivers State, the Ogonis should be in the right position to contest for the governorship. Yes, I will prefer an Ijaw man to become governor any day, anytime but when you are fighting oppression, you should fight it anywhere you see it. When you fight discrimination, you should fight it anywhere you see it.

“And in Rivers State, I believe the people who have the moral authority to produce the next governor of Rivers State are the Ogonis.”

A NIGERIAN CHILD BRIDE POISONS HUSBAND AND HIS THREE FRIENDS

A 14 year old child bride who was forced into marriage in Kano last week, has reportedly killed her new husband and three of his friends with rat poison.

Wasila Umaru was forced to marry to 35 year old Umaru Sani sometime last week. During the small wedding which took place in the northern Ungwar Yansoro village, at Gaya LGA near the city of Kano, the reluctant bride allegedly slipped rat poison into a rice dish that was eaten by the groom and some of his friends.

According to Kano State Police Command, ASP Musa Majiya, the groom, one Nasiru Mohammed, Alhassan Alhassan, and a woman named Indo Ibrahim died after eating the meal. Continue...

Wasila eventually confessed to buying the poison known locally as  Shinkafa Bera at the market for N8and putting it in the food. 

'The suspect confessed to committing the crime and said she did it because she was forced to marry a man she did not love, she resorted to taking this option. Corpses were taken to hospital for examination. Investigation is on top gear,”  Majia said.

Umaru is cooperating with police and will be charged with culpable homicide, according to Majia.

FAMOUS WRESTLER "ULTIMATE WARRIOR" IS DEAD

James Hellwig,  The Ultimate Warrior

The Famous wrestler James Hellwig popularly known as the Ultimate Warrior has passed on Tuesday.According to reports, James collapsed while walking to his car with his wife, he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The cause of death is yet unknown. He died at age 54, and is survived by his wife and two daughters. The ultimate Warrior is known for painting his face.

For those of us who were into wrestling wayback in the 90s, you should remember him. multicoloured paintings on the face and a rival of the famous Hulk Hogan in the ring. May his soul rest in peace.See Pics below to remember what he looks like ..

FEMI FANI-KAYODE REITERATES HIS POSITION AS AN APC MEMBER

Contrary to news and tweets making round about Femi Fani Kayode's return to PDP the erstwhile Aviation minister reiterates that he has not joined the ruling party PDP. In a statement made yesterday, he said,

“If ever choose to leave the party I will let the Nigerian public know and I will give my reasons,” he wrote in a statement. 

What I said to the media whilst there was very clear and I chose my words very carefully. Let those that are interested read those words in the newspapers rather than speculate. Other than that I will say no more on this matter until I am ready to do so.”

 

See full Statement below;

He drew attention to the recent visit of APC governors from the south west to the presidential for a meeting with Mr. Jonathan, pointing out that the subject of their discussion has yet to be made public. 
“Does that make them PDP governors?” he asked.  “The Presidency belongs to every Nigerian irrespective of religious and political persuasions.”
He also cited the fact that General Muhammadu Buhari was recently honored by President Jonathan during the centenary celebration, an event that did not enjoy the support of the APC, asking whether that means Buhari has joined the PDP.
“Again the ongoing Federal Government confab has some APC chieftains participating in it despite the fact that the party is against it. Does that mean that they have left the APC? People should get real and stop speculating.”
He quoted an online writer, Biodun Ishola Ladepo, as saying about him, ''If I were Femi Fani-Kayode and my party planned to field a Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket, especially in the age of Boko Haram, I would bolt faster than Hussein Bolt.'' He described the writer as someone “seeing things clearly,” suggesting that the possibility of a Muslim/Muslim APC presidential ticket may be at the heart of his political concerns.
“This is not about leaving parties but about principle,” Fani-Kayode said.  “Let us hope that the leadership of the APC sees fit to clarify this matter at the soonest and assure us all that they will do no such thing.  Their silence on the matter and their refusal to rule it out is simply fuelling more speculation and dissent from within. When I say this I am speaking for many within the party leadership who have chosen to remain silent for obvious reasons.”
Mr. Fani-Kayode has a controversial past. A one-time critic of former President Obasanjo, he later became a rabid attack dog for the president he once pilloried. He hurled insults at Mr. Obasanjo’s critics, including Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, literary icon Chinua Achebe, and a former military governor of Kaduna State, Abubakar Umar.
Mr. Fani-Kayode is facing a pending prosecution for alleged corrupt practices tied to his tenure in the Obasanjo administration. Seen as very close to the former president, who is politically estranged from President Jonathan, Fani-Kayode has often led attacks against the incumbent president.
President Jonathan and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have adopted a policy of wooing members of the opposition APC to their fold.
Mr. Jonathan, who will seek reelection in 2015, has been reaching out to politicians in the southwest, an area where the APC is deemed impregnable.

NIGERIAN SECRET POLICE ARRESTED CITIZEN WHO TWEETED PICTURES OF THE BOKO HARAM JAIL BREAK

The Nigerian Citizen,Onimisi Ciaxon, who tweeted six photos of the Boko Haram jailbreak after security agents regained control of the situation at the headquarters of the State Security Services (SSS) in Abuja. He was arrested shortly after his photos brought attention to the events that took place outside the Nigerian secret police, which is also known as the “Department of State Security,” on March 30, 2014. He has been in detention for 10 days now.

In one of the photos, Mr. Onimisi offered a bottle of water to one of the soldiers. He also took a photo of a soldier and tweeted it to give an accurate sequence of events that transpired during that day.

The SSS was reportedly miffed by one of the photos, which showed how its officers recaptured one of the escaped detainees, who were later summarily executed by officers. The SSS stated that 21 detainees died after a firefight, in the efforts to bring the jail breakers under control.

Several sources said Mr. Onimisi is an employee of the defunct power company, Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) at the Presidential Villa substation.

Culled from saharareporters

PHOTO STORY:JOBLESS GRADUATE ATTEMPTS SUICIDE IN AKWA-IBOM

The term frustration was yesterday put in proper context when an unemployed graduate of mechanical engineering from the Ekiti State University, Mr. Sunday Omotayo, was prevented by police and Nigeria Prisons officials from committing suicide.


Omotayo, who created a minor scene along Wellington Bassey Way, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, when he deliberately jumped out of a speeding Toyota Hiace bus, with the hope that he would be hit by oncoming vehicles or run over, said he was fed up with life after searching for a job for the past 10 years after graduation.

According to PUNCH Metro report, Omotayo had gone to the state prison Wednesday morning asking the officials to either kill him or make way for him to rot in the prison.

A prison officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said they saw Omotayo, well dressed and wearing a tie, running towards them. He added that the unemployed graduate’s action forced the guards on duty to be alert as they readied their guns.

He said, “The next thing he said was ‘shoot me, shoot me, I want to die, I am tired of this world’. He added that otherwise, we should allow him to enter and die inside the prison”.

The official stated that Omotayo was later overpowered by the police, who counselled him and forced him into a bus heading towards the Ibom Plaza roundabout.

However, Omotayo was not done yet in his suicide attempt as he leapt out from the moving bus into the major road for other vehicles to run over him.

Lying on the main road leading to Akwa Ibom Government House, It took a while for policemen to convince him to get him out of the road. He insisted that he must put an end to his misery by committing suicide.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro, Omotayo said: “There is no state that I have not gone to in search of a job in the past 10 years. I came to Akwa Ibom because this is my last hope because of the stories of Governor Godswill Akpabio and his uncommon transformation.

“I came with the hope that with what is going on in the state, getting a job would be easy so that I can begin to be a man. But since I came, I discovered that many people from Akwa Ibom are also crying because of poverty and joblessness”.

FEMI-FANI KAYODE RETURNS TO PDP

There were speculations that Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Minister of Aviation and , a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC may  decide to return to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party following his close door meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday. Well, it has been confirmed that Femi Fani-Kayode(FFK) has returned to PDP,he was congratulated on tweeter by Reno Omokri and Doyin Okupe. Read Tweets below:

JAMB BLAMES BOKO HARAM ON UTME APPLICATIONS DROP

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has blamed the 35 percent drop in the number of students who registered for the 2014 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, on the activities of Boko Haram insurgency in some parts of the country.

The Registrar and Chief Executive of JAMB, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, said this in Abuja, yesteray, while briefing journalists on the board’s preparation for 2014 UTME, stating that registration for 2014 UTME is 129,139 less than the 1,735,892 recorded in 2013.

According to him, the board had started investigation on reasons Nigerian universities admitted fewer applicants to their carrying capacities.

“We will not reveal our strategies to the public but we know there are security challenges in some parts of the country but of course we have made adequate arrangement to conduct examinations in such States and in everywhere in Nigeria.

“There are some areas full of insecurities and we have made adequate security arrangement and if the worse come to the worse we will result to CBT to such candidates.

“From the Northeast which is one of the troubled areas, the number of candidates coming from there is relatively lower than last year and therefore we had a shortfall and that is the reason why there were lesser candidates this year compared to last year. And you know why it is not only education that is being troubled even the economy of that areas are affected. So therefore not many people are coming out to do the exams.”

On the capacity of Nigerian universities to absorb applicants, Ojerinde said: “Recently, I setup a committee to find out why Nigerian universities admit less figures to their carrying capacities. Spaces are there, the federal government has created a huge access but no admission. Most of Nigerian institutions are not responsive to their carrying capacities”.

Speaking further on the 2014 UTME, he said: “This year’s examination will be in three modes: Computer based test, CBT, Dual Based Test, DBT, and Paper Pencil Test, PPT. This desire to go full-blown CBT has been the resolve of the of the Board, owing to the need to curb examination hitches of result ‘black-outs’ and other forms of malpractice that have been norm in the PPT.

A 36 year old Woman Hides 685g Of Cocaine In Her Vagina

The Nigerian National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 36-year-old food vendor for concealing wraps of cocaine in her vagina.

Chinelo Okorom Lynnette was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos during the inward screening of passengers who arrived via an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The NDLEA said Chinelo has already “excreted” 685g of cocaine and remains under observation.

“The suspect tested positive for drug ingestion and vaginal insertion”, Commander of NDLEA at the airport, Hamza Umar said.

“She, however, expelled a total of 685 grammes of substance that tested positive for cocaine while under observation at the airport”.

The suspect confessed to the crime, but claimed that she was lured into drug trafficking on the pretext that she would be importing female bags.

“I am a food vendor at Ajangbadi, Lagos and have never been involved in crime. I am a victim of man’s cruelty to man”, she lamented in her statement.

“My husband abandoned me with four children two years ago. I work hard to pay their fees and ensure their proper upkeep. The last straw that devastated me was when the landlord forcefully ejected me. I had nowhere to turn to for solace”.

Chinelo said she was “crying like a baby” when a man appeared out of the blue to offer a shoulder to cry on, asking her to wipe away her tears and promising to introduce her to importation business.

“I felt he was God-sent until he sponsored my trip to Addis Ababa”, she said. “When I got to Ethiopia, he told me to take cocaine to Nigeria. Initially I disagreed, but he threatened to recover his investment at all cost”.

Also speaking, Chairman of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade observed that drug traffickers are fond of always changing their routes and tactics, but they could not possibly outsmart the NDLEA.

“Going to Addis Ababa to smuggle cocaine into Nigeria is one of the tricks employed by drug trafficking syndicates” Giade said.

“Cocaine is not known to come from Addis but, we were able to detect it because of our vigilance. We are prepared to counter the activities of drug kingpins and bring them to justice. We look forward to fruitful progress in our investigation”.

While confirming that the suspect will soon be charged to court, he implored the public to be wary of the manipulative tendencies of drug traffickers.

ANOTHER AVIATION DISASTER AVERTED AS AIRCRAFT MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING

Another aviation disaster was averted yesterday as an Overland Airways plane originally bound for Abuja had to make an emergency landing in Lagos.The aircraft, which had 48 passengers on it, had to divert its course and head for Lagos when the pilot noticed a crack in the windshield while in flight.
The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency has confirmed the incident through its General Manager for Public Affairs, Supo Atobatele.

Daily Independent reports:

He explained that the pilot while airborne noticed some cracks on the windshield and subsequently requested to divert the aircraft to Lagos being the base of the airline to allow for change of plane for the passengers.Atobatele added that the plane was airborne at about 8.42 a.m, diverted at 8.57 a.m and that it landed in Lagos at 9.43 a.m.

He said there were 42 passengers and six crewmembers onboard the aircraft as at the time of the incident, adding that what the pilot did was safety precautionary measure.

“There is no cause for alarm as the diversion was precautionary and this conforms to the basic safety norms of the industry,” Atobatele said.

Attempts to get Overland officials to speak on the issue failed, as they could not be reached as at the time of compiling this report.

Among those on the plane were Oyo State Information Commissioner, Gbade Lana, National Population Commissioner, Abdul-Lateef Gbadamosi, former President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lanre Ogundipe, and an officer in the Oyo State Accountant General’s Office, Demola Akinlabi.

It was gathered that the plane took off at the Alakia, Ibadan local airport.

A passenger on the plane told our reporter on phone: “We were midway in the Niger State airspace when the aircraft windshield got broken and the pilot made a detour to Lagos”.

Three hours after their landing in Lagos, it was later gathered that the passengers were moved into another Overland aircraft arriving from Enugu, which subsequently took them to Abuja.

PHOTONEWS: DELEGATE PLAYS SCRABBLE ON HIS LAPTOP AS THE CONFAB MEETING HOLDS

This Delegate was seen playing scrabble game on his laptop while the confab session was going on. He must be having a great time. Please if you know this delegate... Name him 

AFRICA'S LARGEST ECONOMY: JONATHAN SPEAKS, I CAN'T CELEBRATE WHEN MY PEOPLE STILL LIVE IN POVERTY.

Just like many Nigerians who reacted to the news of Nigeria becoming Africa’s largest economy, President Goodluck Jonathan has said he will not celebrate the recent feat of the country, now 26th in the world.

He said, although, the feat calls for celebration but he will not roll out the drums because “too many of our citizens (are) living in poverty”. Jonathan made this disclosure in a post on his verified facebook account, Goodluck Jonathan.

Special Assistant to the President on New Media, Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) also tweet excerpts from the message shared by Goodluck Jonathan on facebook.

It will be recalled that Nigeria’s nominal Gross Domestic Product, GDP, now stands at $509.9 billion, making the nation’s economy the largest in Africa and the 26th in the world.

The Full text of the message reads:

Yesterday, our Gross Domestic Product was rebased to give an accurate picture of where we are as a nation.

I am glad to report to you that Nigeria is officially the largest economy in Africa with a Gross Domestic Product of $510 billion which also places us as the 26th largest economy in the world.

This feat is a collective achievement of all Nigerians particularly when you take into account the fact that our Per Capita Income had increased by over 60% from $1091 in 2009 to $1700 in 2013, prior to the rebasing.

While this calls for celebration, I personally cannot celebrate until all Nigerians can feel the positive impact of our growth. There are still too many of our citizens living in poverty.

Three years ago, I was asked to define Transformation and I said “Transformation in my view simply means taking what you have and making the best of it and in so doing produce results that can bring about a paradigm shift”.

That positive paradigm shift, as occurred yesterday, is still a work in progress.

Regardless of our present challenges, our place as a nation at the table of greatness is assured. GEJ.

A STUDENT OF THE NIGERIAN LAW SCHOOL, ABUJA, COMMITS SUCIDE IN TAKUM

A 30-year-old student of the Nigerian Law School, Abuja, Auwal Haruna, allegedly committed suicide on Monday by hanging himself on the ceiling fan in his hotel room in Takum.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Joseph Kwaji, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Jalingo on Monday, saying the matter was under investigation.

According to him, the body of the deceased was found dangling from a ceiling fan at Mairiga Guest Inn, Takum.

He said the deceased, until his death, was a suspect in a case of murder involving his younger brother, Ahmed, who allegedly connived with their mother, Aisha, to murder their father, Haruna Mohammed.

He said that the deceased’s brother (Ahmed), 27, was being detained for abducting and hanging his father to death in the suburb of Gembu over his father’s alleged marriage of a second wife against the wishes of his wife.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there is an upsurge in suicide cases in Taraba.

Kwaji attributed the increase in cases of suicide to drug abuse and frustration.
“Most of these young men commit suicide as a result of drug abuse and frustration in life. Suicide is not the solution to our problems. Killing oneself is not only contrary to the laws of the land, but also against our religions,’’ Kwaji said.

NAN recalls that two incidents of suicide were recorded in Jalingo in February.

One involved a 400 Level student of the Taraba University, Friday Samson, 32, who poisoned himself to death over lack of funds to pay his school fees.

The other incident involved a watchman, Saidu Babura, 45, who hung himself on a tree at Hassan Primary School, Jalingo, after an alleged battle against drug abuse.

In January, 21 year-old Mansur Tanko burnt himself to death in Jalingo because his father, Tanko Mijinyawa, allegedly refused to approve of his plan to marry.

Source - NAN

OSCAR WEEPS AS HE APOLOGISES TO REEVA'S PARENTS FOR KILLING HER

Oscar Pistorius took the witness stand today April 7th to tell is own version of what happened on the day he shot his girlfriend four times through a bathroom window, killing her. A sobbing Oscar then apologized to Reeva's parents, saying he was trying to protect and not to take her life...

"I want to take this opportunity to apologise to Mr and Mrs Steenkamp. There hasn't been a moment since this tragedy happened that I haven't thought about your family

"I wake up every morning and you're the first people I think of. The first people I pray for. I can’t imagine the pain and the sorrow and the emptiness that I’ve caused you and your family.

"I was simply trying to protect Reeva. I can promise you that when she went to bed that night she felt loved. I have tried to put my words on paper many times to write to you but no words would ever suffice.' Continue..

He also told the court his struggles since the incident, saying he wakes up every morning 'smelling blood..and terrified". He claimed he suffers from panic attacks and takes anti-depressant medicine.

'I'm scared to sleep. I can smell blood and wake up terrified. I climbed into a cupboard and I phoned my sister to come and sit by me, which she did for a while. I'm just in a complete state of terror. I fall asleep and wake up like that.' He said

SOLDIERS CLAIMS MILITARY COMMANDERS AIDING BOKO HARAM

According to a report by Punch, a Nigerian soldier who was a guest on the Voice of America Hausa Service has claimed that some military chiefs are aiding the men of the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

The soldier who did not reveal his identity, told VON Hausa Service, that sometime ago, while serving in Bama Unit in Borno state, a commander from a nearby unit got in contact with his own commandant and asked for backup.

He said when he and the soldiers were to meet with the soldiers from the other commandant, they discovered they were given different uniforms and in the brink of launching the attack on the insurgent group, the soldiers from the other unit were withdrawn by their commandant leaving them to face the men of the Islamic sect alone with light arms. He also claimed that some of the insurgents they killed were officers that conducted training in military base in Kontagora near Abuja. Continue...

"We had only light arms and our men were being picked off one after the other. We realised that some of them were actually mercenaries from the Nigerian army… hired to fight us,” he said.

The unidentified soldier said that most of his colleagues are silently putting their arms down and leaving the army due to the frustrations they experienced and what he termed the politicizing of the war against the Islamic sect

"“I swear by Allah, there are soldiers who are coming out of the forest after they were abandoned; several of them dropped their weapons and just went home. There were more than 20 of them from this battalion in Kwanduga. Even me that is talking to you now, I am preparing to leave. I just want to tell the world so that they will know what is happening. These people are doing this secretly.” he said

His claim on some military personnel being recruited by the sect group seem to have been confirmed as some Military high command on Sunday launched an investigation into claims of a lance corporal who was said to be killed by the Special Forces during an encounter with  insurgents in Borno State. The Lance Corporal according to a source told Punch that he was a trusted  trainer of Special Forces at the Nigerian Army Training Centre, Kontagora.

"A soldier who trains Special Forces at the Nigerian Army Training Centre in Kontagora, Niger State, was among those who were killed. The man was not among the Special Forces; he was obviously leading the attack for the insurgents but he got killed. It was one of the soldiers that identified him as somebody from his unit in Kotangora. The soldier called attention to the man’s corpse and when the commander said he should be searched, they recovered a current pass authorizing him to leave Kotangora and his Army identity card from him".

Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen Chris Olukolade in response to the soldiers claims said they were all not true and that the unidentified soldier could be a Boko Haram sect member who was disguising as a Soldier.

"The person that granted that interview on the VOA; we believe he is not a soldier, he could just be one of those simulated on the other side to give some false impression to support the insurgents.” He refused to comment on the story about the killed lance corporal who is alleged to have been working for the sect members.

NIGERIA BECOMES AFRICA'S LARGEST ECONOMY WITH $510 MILLION

Article written by Associated Press writer, Michelle Faul. It's Mind blowing. Read!

Nigeria's recalculated economy is worth $510 billion, by far the biggest in Africa, officials announced Sunday using long overdue revised data that gives the West African nation continental bragging rights but does little for the 70 percent of its citizens living in poverty.

The new value of Nigeria's GDP adds previously uncounted industries like telecommunications, information technology, music, airlines, burgeoning online retail outlets and Nollywood film production that didn't exist when the last GDP count was made in 1990. Then, there were 300,000 landlines. Today, Nigeria has 100 million cell phone users.

The new figures also will take account of growth in agriculture and tourism that have flourished since democracy was restored in 1999, ending decades of military dictatorship.

With one fell swoop, Nigeria knocked out of the ring South Africa, whose GDP of $353 billion was previously counted the biggest on the continent and which is the only African member of the G20.

"Nigeria's success is a reminder that Africa is moving ahead despite its current challenges," said investment manager Kevin Daly of UK-based Aberdeen Asset Management, which invests in Africa. He pointed out that it is a Nigerian, billionaire Aliko Dangote, who is building Africa's largest privately owned oil refinery.

Investors' attention will be drawn by the fact that while oil remains the biggest source of government revenue, about 80 percent, oil production is declining while Nigeria's agriculture, communications and service sectors are enjoying healthy growth.

Nigeria has been Africa's biggest drawer of direct foreign investment despite myriad woes, from massive corruption and oil thefts costing the country some $20 million a day to an Islamic uprising in the northeast that has killed more than 1,200 people so far this year, to a paralytic electricity supply that keeps businesses dependent on diesel-run generators.

Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told a news conference Sunday that the new data makes Nigeria the 26th largest economy in the world and raises its per capita income to $2,688, making it No. 121 in the world, up from No. 135.

That is still feeble compared to South Africa's $7,336 for its population of 48 million. South Africa, bedeviled by mining strikes, violent protests over services and a lackluster performance that has kept annual growth at around 3.5 percent, still has infrastructure unrivaled on the continent, most notably a power sector that generates 10 times more electricity than Nigeria.

Nigeria's revised figures will lower its much-vaunted growth rate of 7 percent but also will decrease an already low debt to GDP ratio of 21 percent, which should lower interest rates should the government want to borrow more, economists said.

Okonjo-Iweala blamed decades of military rule for the delay in repositioning Nigeria's economy, but the country is not alone. Ghana's economy jumped by 60 percent when it recalculated its goods and services production in 2012, and Kenya and Zambia are considering the same.

Okonjo-Iweala has said that Nigeria's economy needs to grow at about 10 percent to address massive poverty and youth unemployment. Government statistics say unemployment increased from 12.7 percent in 2007 to 23.9 percent in 2011; the World Bank says unemployment among young Nigerians stands at 38 percent but analysts say it is as high as 80 percent in many parts of the country.

Financial analyst Bismarck Rewane called the revisions "a vanity. The Nigerian population is not better off tomorrow because of that announcement. It doesn't put more money in the bank, more food in their stomach. It changes nothing."

Question: How does this mitigate the threatening poverty rate in Nigeria?

NIGERIAN MEDICAL DOCTOR SHOT DEAD BY HER HUSBAND IN THE US

Dr Isioma and her Daughter

A 36 year old Nigerian Medical Doctor was shot dead by her 63 year old husband on Saturday March 22nd 2014 at their home in West Harris County, Houston, Texas.

Dr Isioma Awele Ebegbodi nee Unokanjo (pictured above), a mother of two and a medical resident physician at Marshfield Clinic in Texas, was shot dead around 3.am on that fateful day after getting into a fight with her husband and the father of her children, Martin Ebegbodi (also pictured above).

After killing his wife, Martin Ebegbodi went to a neighbors house and asked him to call the police. When deputies arrived, Martin Ebegbodi was arrested and charged with the murder of Isioma.

Martin Ebegbodi, her husband.
Isioma Ebegbodi attended Queens College Yaba and studied Medicine at the University of Lagos Medical School. May her soul rest in peace.

GUNMEN ATTACK YOBE MOSQUE, KILL 20

Gunmen suspected to be members of the dreaded Islamist sect, Boko Haram, yesterday struck in Yobe State killing no fewer than 20 worshippers in a mosque.
A civil servant, Musa Ibrahim, who spoke with the Associated Press, said the gunmen struck before dawn as residents of Buni Gari village were getting set for the first prayer of the day.

The village is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, in an area that has been attacked numerous times.
Mosques have been targets of the insurgents, who threaten Muslim clerics they consider to be preaching against their extremist doctrine.

The insurgents also routinely attack churches and schools, killing Christians and students and setting buildings – both public and private – and other property ablaze.

More than 1,200 civilians have been killed this year amid more frequent and deadlier attacks by the Boko Haram terrorist network.