Happenings

Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Abdulmumin Jibrin on Thursday cleared the air on the heated exchange between himself and the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala when she appeared before the committee on December 19, 2013, to answer some questions on the state of the nation’s economy. Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala had shortly after presenting the 2014 budget proposal on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan, appeared before the committee but informed them that she would not be able to take all their questions as she was feeling indisposed. This prompted Hon. Jibrin to give the minister what he called “soft landing” to go and prepare a written response to their questions within two weeks so as not to jeopardize her health any further. The turn of events appeared to jolt the minister, who said she would “manage” to answer the questions as best as she could but Mr. Jibrin refused insisting that the committee has an exception for people who are “not feeling fine”...

The strangling of a 12-year-old girl, Bose Ogoja, by an 18-year-old boy, Ikechukwu Lucky, has been attributed to by the boy’s mother to his possession of an evil spirit. The boy had been arrested by the police in Lagos State for strangling Ogoja to death for money ritual, in Badagry area of the state. Speaking to newsmen yesterday, mother of the boy, Esa Egbo said her son had been arrested four times for attempting to r*pe little girls between the ages of 10 and 15 years by the police in Badagry Division. Mrs. Egbo also said she and her family are members of Perfect Christianity Mission in Surulere area of Lagos, where Dr. Ofuche Ukoha (aka Sign Fireman) is the General Overseer, adding that her son does not know or have any access to the cleric, whom he claimed sent him to kill the girl. According to her, two years ago, a neighbour laid a curse on her son and after then he started behaving strangely, thereby attempting to r*pe little children whenever he sees them. “He started two...

The 24-year-old sparked outrage after being photographed dressed in an Arabic kaffiyeh headdress and military-style vest with a fake circuit board and cables attached. Smalling claimed the outfit was ‘an attempted comedy play’ on the popular ‘Jagerbomb’ alcoholic drink, which is thought to be why he attached bottles of Jagermeister and Red Bull to his belt as imitation grenades. The costume has caused fury among survivors and relatives of those affected by terrorist attacks. Speaking to the Sun the father of a young man who died in the July 7 2005 terror attacks in London said he ‘could not condemn the costume strongly enough’. Oldham resident Graham Foulkes, 61, whose 22-year-old son David was killed at Edgware Road by suicide bomber Sidique Khan added: ‘It is one of the most offensive things I have ever seen’. Jacqui Putnam, who survived the Edgware Road blast in 2005, said people should ‘think twice’ before making light of terrorism. She said that even after eight years, peopl...

Yet-to-be identified hoodlums have unleashed terror on journalists and residents of Leme, Abeokuta, when they invaded the state secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the morning of January 9, 2014, Thursday. Suspected thugs are allegedly the members of the Ogun State branch of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, who are believed to be loyal to the state government. The group had invaded the APC secretariat at about 10.30 a.m. to stop a meeting of the members of the Harmonisation Committee scheduled to hold at the party office. The rampaging hoodlums damaged cameras belonging to the correspondents of the Galaxy Television and MITV, Kunle Ojo and Taofeek Lawal, respectively. The attackers, who were reportedly armed with various dangerous weapons and missiles, also snatched Blackberry phones belonging to the correspondent of the Radio Nigeria/Paramount FM, Mrs. Modupe Sobukola. They also manhandled the journalists, including the State Correspondent of the...

Nigeria’s military says it has killed as many as 38 fighters from the armed Boko Haram group during operations in Borno State. In a statement issued on Thursday, Colonel Mohammed Dole of the Nigerian army said the troops of 195 Battalion in Damboa “successfully repelled planned Boko Haram terrorists’ attack” on residents and a military camp in Damboa, in Borno state. “In the early hours (0100 hours) of Thursday 9 January 2014, the insurgents attempted to attack Damboa to cause havoc and mayhem. “But due to timely information and gallantry displayed by the troops, the attack was repelled and inflicted heavy casualty on the terrorists,” Dole said. While 38 fighters died, others fled with “various degrees of injuries”, he said. “Combined ground troops and Nigerian Air Force aircraft are tactically pursuing the fleeing terrorists in the ongoing operation in the general area of Damboa and surrounding villages,” he said. Three vehicles were destroyed and one of them was found to have c...

Tunisia’s prime minister has resigned, in line with an agreement aiming to end months of political deadlock in the country. Ali Larayedh, of the ruling Islamist Ennahda party, announced on Thursday that he had handed his resignation to President Moncef Marzouki. “As I promised to a short while ago … I have just submitted the government’s resignation,” Larayedh said. His resignation comes as part of a blueprint to put the democratic transition in Tunisia back on track after the assassination of Mohamed Brahmi, an opposition MP, last year. Under the plan, Larayedh is set to be replaced within 15 days by Mehdi Jomaa, the prime minister- designate, at the head of a government of technocrats that will lead the country to fresh elections. “The president will appoint the new Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa shortly, and he will present his new cabinet in the next few days,” Larayedh said. “I hope the country will be a model for democratic transition.” Ennahda has been under mounting pressure...

The Federal Government has declared next week Tuesday, January 14, as public holiday to mark the Eid-el-Maulud festival. This was contained in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Mrs. Fatima Bamidele, on Thursday in Abuja. The statement urged all Muslims and Nigerians in general to support, co-operate and join hands with President Goodluck Jonathan “in his sustained effort to build a peaceful, united and virile nation”. It also quoted the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, as wishing Nigerians a happy Eid-el-Maulud celebration, urging them to use the occasion to pray for peace across the nation.

The rankings of Africa’s top higher education institutions has been provided by the 4 International Colleges & Universities (4icu). 4icu is an international higher education In reviewing accredited Universities and Colleges in the world. 4icu.org includes 11,160 Colleges and Universities, ranked by web popularity, in 200 countries. The list shows that South African universities comes top, although South Africa ranks very low in the quality of education in the world. Meanwhile the first Nigeria University on the list is at number 10. See full list below 1 University of South Africa, South Africa 2 University of Cape Town, South Africa 3 Universiteit Stellenbosch, South Africa 4 University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 5 University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 6 University of Pretoria, South Africa 7 Cairo University, Egypt 8 University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa 9 University of the Western Cape, South Africa 10 Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria 11 Makerere Uni...

Convicted former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, and other Nigerians serving prison terms in the United Kingdom may soon be transferred to Nigeria to complete their sentence following an agreement on prisoners transfer signed on Thursday between the Federal Government and the UK government. The British government has also promised to give the country £1m (about N260mm) to assist in comprehensive reformation of the Nigerian Prisons for the comfort of the inmates. UK Minister of Justice, Mr. Jeremy Wright, said this while answering questions from journalists when he visited visited the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, in Abuja to finalise the process of prisoner exchange between Britain and Nigeria. Wright stated that under the agreement, several Nigerians in British prisons would be repatriated to complete their jail terms in the country. He stressed the importance of respecting the agreement by the two countries, adding that there was the need for the prisons in Nigeria t...

A prosecution witness, Inspector Olamide Olayemi said the four dismissed soldiers charged with rapє of seven commercial sєx workers in Abuja left their guard duty-post to commit the crime. Olayemi stated this while giving evidence at an FCT High Court in Abuja on wednesday where the dismissed soldiers, Nse Eywdip, 33; Ugwu Mathew, 23; Emezien Uzonna, 24, and Efosa Ikhomoregbe, 23 are being tried. They were arraigned on a 12-count charge bordering on conspiracy, rapє, assault and armed robbery on January 23, 2013. Olayemi, while being led in evidence by the prosecutor, Mr Adama Musa, told the court that on the day of the incidence, they were supposed to be on duty at the Airtel Mast in Wuse 2. “The accused persons left their guard duty-post with their Hilux Van, armed with their official riffles. “The accused persons arrested the victims and collected N104, 000 from them which they shared among themselves,’’ he said. The witness, who was also one of the investigating pol...

Nollywood actress, Amanda Ebeye in an interview tells why she does more of soap operas than Nollywood movies. You became popular in the television series, Clinic Matters; is there any difference between you and the character you portrayed in the soap? Yes, it’s a world of difference between the character, Abigail and I. Abigail is known to be very nosy, she is two-faced and has issues and controversy surrounding her. She also gossips a lot. I talk but not to the detriment of other people. I was only portraying a character to the best of my understanding at that time. But do you gossip, and are you temperamental in real life as you act in the soap opera? Yes. I could be a little bit temperamental but not a big time gossip like Nurse Abigail. I talk too but who doesn’t? I can never scandalise, lie or bring people down; never. On several occasions I’ve had a lot of people say, maybe when I get upset, I yell. They assume I am just as Nurse Abigail in reality. It is very funny be...

There are reports from Akwa Ibom State that the Plaza branch of First Bank Nigeria PLC, Uyo is currently under a traditional injunction placed at the entrance of the banking hall by unknown persons. The building which is reportedly owned by Joesco Group of Companies is located at the heart of the town and is reportedly regarded as the most patronized bank in Akwa Ibom State. Whoever gave the traditional injunction is still unknown but there are insinuations that maybe there’s a problem between the owners of the property and the bank or an aggrieved customer/staff of the bank versus the branch’s management. As a result of the injunction, customers reportedly were seen in large numbers rushing in use the ATM to avoid being financially stranded as the week begins. For now, no one knows whether the bank will be open for business tomorrow following the ugly incident.

Following the certificate scandal of Aviationminister, Stella Oduah, Chairman, Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Onyekachi Ubani, and the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, has called for the removal of the minister, Punch has authoritatively revealed. According to Ubani, Oduah was not fit anymore to be the country’s aviation minister. He said, “It is becoming very embarrassing. When the news broke out, I was concerned about whether thorough investigation was done before the story was published. But when by the second day the woman started deleting the records online, I knew something was in the offing. “This was the same woman who broke extant laws in buying bulletproof cars far above the allowed limits, I think something has to be done now. It is even the right time for the woman to speak out. “If such a person that lies about her certificate can spend additional second in office, it shows how badly we have descended as a nation.” Also speaking the CACOL’s ...

                                 What do you think about the idea of wearing this to a party ?    

Sycophancy is the problem that has kept Nigeria backward all these years, it's so bad that no one can dare to challenge the President even if he is wrong. Sanusi Lamido has said such can't happen in the CBN: As you read this, President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to resign immediately on the grounds that the letter Sanusi wrote to him on the unremitted $49.8 billion oil money to the Federation Account was leaked to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo by Sanusi himself. But Sanusi said all that is cheap politics and vowed that Jonathan can't force him to resign because based on the constitution of Nigeria, he could only be removed from office by two-thirds of the Senate. Jonathan called Sanusi on phone but he was shocked as they had a heated exchange... According to THISDAY, the president had called Sanusi and accused him of leaking the letter to Obasanjo, which enabled the former President to use it as one of the...

The book of Matthew 24:24 says: “For false christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25“Behold, I have told you in advance”. This Biblical injunction freely and clearly offers an advance warning that many Christians are yet to heed. It warns about the rise of false prophets masquerading as men of god that use God’s name to swindle, deceive and hypnotize the gullible. That was exactly what happened in Umuezii, Nguru Mbaise where the Chosen Church of God prophets embarked on a failed mission to resurrect the dead. This is not the first time the Chosen Church is directly fingered in fake miracles and spiritual hocus-pocus. A young man, from Umuezii community died in Burkina Faso in November last year under mysterious circumstances. A month after, his sealed body was brought back to Nigeria and was buried the same day in his family compound in Umuezii, Nguru Mbaise, Imo State. Trouble start...