Happenings

In the villages that line the border with Nigeria, even those charged with protecting Cameroonians from Boko Haram fighters fear the fall of darkness. “When night falls, we tremble. We don’t sleep,” said a Cameroonian policeman from a far-northern border town, on condition of anonymity. The Nigeria-born Islamist group has stepped up raids into northern Cameroon in recent days, murdering and stealing with impunity despite military efforts to clamp down on their bloody insurgency. On Sunday local police said one of their officers was killed during an attack on the village of Nariki, 500 metres from Boko Haram’s Nigerian stronghold of Tarmoa, adding to scores of deaths from raids on local towns this month. The militants have long used Cameroon to launch attacks on Nigeria as the border between them is extremely porous, with no buffer-zone clearly separating the two countries. Earlier this month they stole a pick-up truck and weapons in a raid on a police post in Bomberi, Ca...

World renowned Afro-beat and Juju musical legend — King Sunny Ade recently had new in-laws as he gave his daughter out in marriage. The traditional wedding happened at his house this past weekend in Ondo State. I wish her and husband a happy married life. Enjoy the lovely photos below: -

Fast rising singer, Yetunde Agboola has explained why she now exposes are b**bs on stage. According to her, exposing of b**bs is now in vogue and she is doing it to please her fans. Hear her; “I expose my chest for the sake of my fans. And that is what is in vogue now. So there is no big deal in me exposing my b**bs”

An explosion has rocked central Kaduna killing at least 10 people, according to a report by PREMIUM TIMES. The blast which occurred Wednesday afternoon along Isa Kaita road that leads to the popular Murtala Square, is believed to have been targeted at the convoy of a prominent Islamic cleric, Sheik Dahiru Bauchi, who was on his way to the Square. According to a witness, Hassan Mohammed, the bomb, concealed in a red Volkswagen golf car parked by the road side, was detonated as the cleric’s convoy drove past. However, the Islamic cleric escaped unhurt, Mohammed said. “As I speak to you now, I can see many bodies on the ground”, Mr. Mohammed told PREMIUM TIMES. Wednesday’s blast is the second targeting Sheik Bauchi, who is a vocal critic of the Boko Haram sect. Last month, an explosion occurred near his house in Kaduna State injuring one person. It is however not clear whether the terrorist group is responsible for the attack although it has all the trademarks of a Boko H...

After taking control of Mosul, Iraq's largest city last month, the extreme al Qaeda splinter group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams) are continuing their New Iraqi Order. This time, instead of telling women to stay inside, they are covering the faces of mannequins. According  to NBC News, Mosul shop keepers say they've been instructed to drape the heads of not only their female mannequins but also their male mannequins in black cloth. Some ISIS members feel this demonstration strictly upholds Shariah law, which "forbids statues or artwork depicting the human form." It may seem extreme, but just last month the same group advised women to "dress decently and wear wide clothes. Only go out if needed." What's the definition of if need be? Groceries? Air? ISIS also banned drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and public gatherings, probably where people would do all of the above. But hey, prohibition worked so well in America that time! Photo Credit: AP...

It was not until after accepting an assignment that would take me to Lagos that I bought a copy of The Rough Guide to West Africa . The Nigeria section was prefaced with remarks by Nigerian writer, the late Chinua Achebe: "Listen to Nigerian leaders," he wrote, "and you will frequently hear the phrase 'this great country of ours'.  "Nigeria is not a great a country. It is one of the most disorderly nations in the world. It is one of the most corrupt, insensitive, inefficient places under the sun. It is dirty, callous, noisy, ostentatious, dishonest and vulgar. In short it is among the most unpleasant places on earth." Not the best of introductions, but there was no going back. A contract had been signed, airline ticket issued, hotel reservation made. I'd grown up in Tanzania and was confident I could handle whatever Lagos had to offer. The flight landed at midnight local time. Immigration procedure was an unnerving bl...

A 24-year-old man has impregnated his  elder sister , 25, in Ajegunle area of Lagos State. According to LEADERSHIP Their father popularly known as Papa Akpan is a steward in Ikoyi area while his wife, Mama Akpan is a staff of a private company in Apapa where she works as a cleaner. Sources said the parents usually leave their children, Akpan and Ime alone in their one-room apartment when going to work and the siblings are said to be fond of each other but nobody suspected an amorous relationship between them. LEADERSHIP gathered that when their mother suspected that Ime was pregnant, she asked her but she denied one month later, it became obvious that Ime was pregnant and the woman had to tell her husband about the situation. Last Friday, at about 4am, Papa Akpan was said to have woken Ime, her mother and Akpan up to discuss the issue and had pulled out a machete and threatened to cut Ime down if she failed to say who was responsible for her pregnancy. A neig...

When singer Roomie saw a viral video showcasing 19-year-old Sara’s ability to sing in 14 different genres, he decided to show the Internet what he’s got too. Watch the video above to see him impersonate the voices of 14 different singers. He does everyone from Bon Jovi to Rick Astley to John Legend to Fall Out Boy to Imagine Dragons. It’s pretty darn impressive. Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNdg3F686hg

The nak'ed man pictured above is a respected businessman tycoon based in Benue State, Nigeria. The man name withheld was caught in the bush with a young girl old to be his daughter getting along. Eyewitness saw them then called the police and the man was arrested and taken to the police station. See more photos of the shameful act below...

An Indian restaurant is letting customers dine with the dead after they built their business around an old graveyard. And the owner of the eatery in Ahmadabad, India says the graves are great for business. The New Lucky Restaurant features tables scattered around real coffins which date back to the Muslim cemetery on which the café was built. Owner Krishan Kutti decided to preserve the graves rather than ripping them out to make way for his restaurant. But despite the ghoulish interior, the restaurant has become a popular hang-out. Kutti said: “The graveyard brings good luck. Our business has been flourishing because of these graves. It gives people a unique experience. “We have maintained the graves as they were. Our customers don’t seem to mind.” But Kutti has little idea who the graves belong to. Some locals claim they contain the remains of followers of a 16th-century Sufi saint whose tomb lies nearby. Around a dozen graves lay inside the resta...

Nollywood Actress, Iyabo Ojo is known to be one of the most popular actresses in the English movie genre before retracing her steps to the Yoruba genre, Iyabo Ojo started acting in 1977 when she was introduced to Keppy Ekpeyong by Bimbo Akintola. A graduate of Estate Management from the Lagos State Polytechnic and mother of two, In a recent interview she spoke about her NGO,  her movie ‘Arinzo’ and her views on lesbianism. Read Excerpt Who is Iyabo Ojo? I am from Ogun State, Itoko to be precise, an actress and I have two younger brothers. I am the only girl in my family. My father is late, while my mother Mrs. Olubunmi is still alive. My brothers are based in the United Kingdom while my mother stays here with me. I was born on December 21, 1977. I am a graduate of Estate Management from the Lagos State Polytechnic and married with two children; Festus and Pricilla. Your latest work Arinzo received a lot of kudos. What do you have to say to that? My latest work, ‘Arinso...

A former National President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), on Tuesday rejected the allowance set aside for delegates to the National Conference, which was inaugurated yesterday. It is believed that each delegate would be paid N4 million per month for the duration of the talks. Agbakoba, a former President of the Civil Liberties Organisation and one of the delegates representing Civil Society Organisations, based his decision on the fact that the conference “is a call to service and an opportunity to chart a new course for our country”. This was contained in his letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim, whose office serves as secretariat for the National Conference. The letter, entitled ‘Acceptance of nomination as delegate to the National conference’, read, “I write to accept my nomination as one of the 24 civil society delegates to the National Conference. “I believe the National Conference is a call to se...

The Rivers State Police Command yesterday arrested a 30-year old man for being in possession of a large quantity of explosives, including detonators and a cordless wire. The suspect, who gave his name as Ibrahim Aliyu, was nabbed in Ndele Town in Emohua Local Government Area of the state at about 2.30pm. The State Police Commissioner, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, told newsmen in Port Harcourt, the state capital that the suspect had confessed to being a member of a kidnap syndicate based in Ogbogoro Town in Rivers State. Aliyu, according to Ogunsakin, was also a member of a bank robbery syndicate that shuttles between Port Harcourt and Akwa Ibom State. The Rivers police chief disclosed that the suspect had confessed that though he (Aliyu) purchased the explosives in Port Harcourt, his aim was to take them to one ‘Alhaji’ in the troubled northeastern state of Yobe. “The Rivers State Police Command wished to inform the general public that in its bid to rid the state of undesirabl...

  Fear and panic gripped residents of Luk, a Togolese farming community near Bunkpurugu in Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District of the Northern Region, after a man resurrected seven days after his burial. Konkper-Laar Samuel, 22 was said to have died after a brief illness and was buried at the family mausoleum with a stone and a piece of stick placed on his grave as a symbol of separation of the bond between the living and the dead. According to their tradition, the seventh day was supposed to be marked with a family gathering where issues regarding the deceased’s property and debts, if he had incurred any whilst alive, would be resolved. As members of the family gathered at about 8 o’clock that morning, they were shocked to find the deceased entering the house with the very clothes he was buried with. There was pandemonium as there was a shout of ‘Run for your life’ and everyone was running helter-skelter. Some ran to the grave side to see if it had been opened but ...

A 17-year-old girl Nigerian girl, Forester Samson, has been reportedly stabbed to death in, the capital  of Russia, by yet-to-be-identified Russian gangsters. According to a family source, the perpetrators went further to lock her body in a room and set it ablaze. Though, the police took her to the hospital, it was rather futile. The source revealed that Forester was sponsored abroad by one Mercy who is suspected to be trafficking  Nigerian girls  on the promise that she would assist them  with  decent jobs in Russia. The teenager  without hesitation, but with the approval of her mother jumped at the offer with high hopes. According to the deceased’s elder sister, Sonia Samson, they got a call from  Mercy, on Tuesday March 4,  2014 that Forester had died in an inferno. She added that the family was later told that Forester was stabbed before being set ablaze. Sonia said,  “Her madam is the one that called us on Tuesday and told us s...

By Emeka Mamah, Kingsley Omonobi, Ndahi Marama  & Ben Agande Acts of bravado exhibited by hundreds of Boko Haram terrorists who attempted to rescue some of their detained members inside the military barracks in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, yesterday led to the killing of scores of the terrorists during the ill- fated mission/ attack. Reliable sources said that the suspected terrorists succeeded in freeing some of the detainees but the victory was short-lived as most of them were later killed or re-arrested by troops who were joined by fighter jets from the Air Force to overpower the invaders. Multiple explosions and sporadic gunshots started rocking the troubled city and environs at about 7.30 am when the terrorists reportedly invaded the town in an attempt to destroy the Giwa Military Barracks (Air Defence Unit) where the suspected Boko Haram members were being detained since 2009 when the uprising started in a bid to rescue them. NIGERIA, Maiduguri : This photo...