Customs seize ammunition, 117 bags of indian hemp

The 117 bags of indian hemp
|

The Ogun State Command of the Nigeria Customs said on Tuesday in Abeokuta that it had seized 3,000 shotgun cartridges smuggled into the country.

The command also seized 117 bags (392kg) of Indian hemp with a street value of about N1. 7m in the last three months.

The Customs also confiscated 171 vehicles, 2,058 cartons of frozen products, 465 kegs of 25 litres vegetable oil, four drums and 112 kegs of 25 litres of petrol and 567 bags of imported rice.

It also seized bales of textile materials, second-hand clothing, shoes, towels, bags and bedsheets worth N11m from smugglers.

While eight suspects were also arrested by the command in the past three months, six have been arraigned in court and one has been convicted and sentenced to two years in jail with an option of N200,000 fine.

The Area Controller, Mr. Ade Dosunmu, said this at a news conference on Tuesday in Abeokuta where he displayed some of the seized items.

He transferred the seized bags of Indian hemp to the officials of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency while the poultry products were also destroyed and buried at a site.

Dosunmu put the Duty Paid Value of all the seizures made within the last three months by the command at N258.9m. 

He explained that Customs men on patrol in Agosasa intercepted an unmarked Honda CRV conveying the 3,000 Redstar High-speed shotgun cartridges worth about N900,000.

The area controller added that the driver of the CRV however escaped into the bush but was arrested by the patrol team.

He also put the DPV of the 171 vehicles seized by his men in the past three months at N228. 8m.

Dosunmu said, “Sometimes in the process of trying to stop the smugglers, they engage our men. So far I can say with all our efforts, we are ensuring that no life is lost. We have even seized cartridges. I want to assure Nigerians that Customs will only partner with those doing legitimate businesses. We’ll facilitate trade but whoever is involved in illegal trading and does not stop will be brought to book.

“I’ve told my men that if anybody carries turkey or any other contraband, he should be shot on the legs to make sure he doesn’t run away.

“When the cannabis suspects saw us, they took to their heels. My men were actually trapped in the farm and by the time reinforcement came, the suspects had escaped from the farm. It was from the farm that we got all these based on intelligence. The farm is at the Imeko area.”

The area controller also stated that the revenue of the command shot up within the last three months to a cumulative N1.2bn against the N961.2m recorded within the same period last year.

Lagos CJ frees 46 inmates

 

Scales of Justice
|

The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Ayotunde Philips, on Tuesday released 46 awaiting inmates from Ikoyi Prison.

The facility, before Philips’ visit on Tuesday, housed 1,739 convicted and awaiting trial inmates.

The CJ had released 233 inmates from the Kirikiri Maximum and Medium Security Prisons on September 17, 2012.

Philips said on Tuesday that the step was aimed at decongesting  the prisons in exercise of her powers under Section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice Release from Custody Special Provision Act CAP C40, 2007, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

The freed inmates were said to have been awaiting trial in the prisons for a period longer than they ought to have spent.

Among the inmates  who got their freedom was 75-year-old Job Meleb who had been awaiting trial for alleged murder since 2008 when he was arrested for the offence.

Meleb and some of the freed inmates, including Yusuf Oyekunle, 34, who had been remanded since  March 2008 for alleged murder, told our correspondent that they had never been taken to court to face trial since their remand.

Philips admonished the freed inmates to be of good behaviour.

“I release you all from custody today, December 11, 2012, and admonish you to go and sin no more,” she said.

Earlier, the Deputy Controller of the prison, Bamidele Emmanuel,  who commended the CJ for her visit to the prison, called for the state judiciary’s assistance in meeting the prison’s logistic problems.

Emmanuel said, “About 80 to 120 inmates are being taken  to more than 50 courts across different jurisdictions in the state. Our buses are grossly inadequate.

“We beg for a bus to enable us to take inmates to court early.”

Nine-year-old girl, one other need N2.5m to fight cancer

Eniola and Onibudo
|

A lthough nine-year-old Eniola Adepitan and 22-year-old Omolara Onibudo, are not relatives, fate has brought them together in their quest for good health.

Adepitan suffers from cancer of the bone, Onibudo has cancer of the lip.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro on Monday in Magboro, Ogun State, Onibudo said her guardians had spent hundreds of thousands of naira on her yet her problem persists.

She said, “In May 2010, I discovered that I had a wound on my upper lip then I started bleeding from the affected lip. I sought medical attention at the Epe General Hospital, Epe, Lagos State, before I was referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

Striking workers raze Plateau commissioner, lawmaker’s houses

|

ANGRY striking workers in Langland South Local Government, Plateau State, on Tuesday razed houses belonging to the Commissioner for Youth Development, Mr. Barko Donfa; representative of Langtang South in the House of Assembly, Mrs. Joyce Ramnap; and the Chairman of the Transition Committee, Mr. Nanman Darko.

The workers joined others in the state to paralyse business activities as they made good their threat to embark on total strike over wage dispute with the state government.

The workers had given the state a 10-day ultimatum to pay their salary arrears as well as implement the new national minimum wage.

The ultimatum expired on Monday.

Gates to government offices and banks were locked in obedience to the order of the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state, Mr. Jibrin Bancir.

In a statement in Jos on Tuesday, Bancir said the state government had refused to yield to the workers’ demands.

Ex-gov Audu to be declared wanted by EFCC

 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday said it had concluded arrangements to declare Kogi State ex-governor, Alhaji Abubakar Audu, wanted over alleged N4bn fraud.

A statement by the spokesperson for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said the decision followed alleged evasion of arrest of the embattled former governor.

EFCC said he “fled when operatives of the commission stormed his 32 Suleiman Barau Street, Aso Villa, Asokoro-Abuja residence in the early hours of today.”

The Charles Okah prison letter

 

Several Nigerian-related websites and the social media are awash with what has come to be known as the Charles Okah Prison Letter.The handwritten letter, about five pages in length, was addressed to His Eminence Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, the Archbishop Emeritus of Lagos. Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Bishop of Abuja Diocese were also copied. How the letter was smuggled out of the Kuje Prison, is gradually becoming the stuff of legends.

Smuggling letters out of prison is not new. From the moment governments and governing authorities began constructing and imprisoning people, detainees and their sympathisers have been smuggling letters and other items in and out of those confinements. Contrary to what the Nigerian government tells the public, prisons are not the place people go to get rehabilitated. In many cases, it has nothing to do with justice.  In fact, many of the underclass of our society who are sent there go there to suffer, to get dehumanised, and or to die (mentally or physically). Often, government sends individuals to jail without a just cause. And they sometimes do so using the cover of the judiciary.

Gunmen kidnap Gen. Oluwole Rotimi’s wife

General Oluwole Rotimi, whose wife was kidnapped
|

Titilayo, wife of a Miltary Governor of the old Western Region, Brig-Gen Oluwole Rotimi (retd.), has been kidnapped by gunmen in Ibadan.

It was learnt that Mrs. Oluwole was kidnapped around 6.30pm on Monday in front of her company, AOK Logistics Limited.

Mrs. Oluwole, whose husband was also a former Ambassdor to the United States of America between 2008 and 2009, was abducted by four armed men while leaving her office.

When visited on Tuesday, the Ikolaba, Ibadan residence of the Rotimis was deserted.

The Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Police Command, Mr. Ayodele Lanade, confirmed the incident.

“It is true that the woman (Titilayo) was kidnapped on Monday at about 6.30pm. I can tell you that our men are currently on the trail of the criminals,

“We leant that she was taken away in a green Nissan Primera belonging to the suspected kidnappers.” he said.

He, however, said  no arrest had been made in connection to the incident.

It was learnt that the case, which was reported at the Egbeda Police Station, had been transferred to the state Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, Ibadan.

Our correspondent learnt that the police raised questions on the manner in which the woman was abducted.

A source, who craved anonymity, said, “The kidnappers drove into the gate and forced their victim into the car while her driver merely looked and allowed them to whisk her away without any resistance.”

Lanade explained, “The manner of arrest is strange when compared with similar cases of kidnapping.

“We found out that there is a rift between the woman and her workers over three months salary which led to agitation by the aggrieved workers.”

Nollywood Star-Stella Damasus spots with Engagement Ring at the 2012 Mode Men of the Year Awards

Is Nollywood gearing up for another celebrity wedding? We just have to wait and find out about this one.

On Sunday 8th December 2012, Nollywood star, Stella Damasus, sparked up wedding rumors at the 2012 Mode Men of the Year Awards spoting a diamond engagement ring.

Demure in a black floor length dress, she rocked her trademark long wavy locks and accessorized with ivory platform sandals. According to a source at the event, the star was flaunting her big sparkler while hosting and mingling.

 The star didn’t deny the rumor. When asked if she is actually wearing an engagement ring Stella said “It’s a simple thing, I am refusing to talk about, my private life”. She later said “If it looks like it then it is. It does abi, then it is. For me to boldly wear this, I know what it would cause, so I am saying let them talk”

So is it for real or it is just a stylish accessory? She finally agrees that she is wearing an engagement ring. “Yes I am wearing an engagement ring, whether it is for fashion or for real nobody knows. It is left for you to decide whether it is for real or I am wearing it for fashion or I am simply looking for trouble”.

Well from what we hear and pratically see, it is definitely an engagement ring. Congratulations to the star actress.  View more shots of Stella at the event and her diamond ring.

Filipinos stunned by Pacquiao loss

Manny Pacquiao
|

Filipinos jumped from their seats and watched in horror as Manny Pacquiao fell face first to the canvas after being knocked out by Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Cinemas, hotels, public parks and even army bases across the Philippines fell silent on as Pacquiao, the only boxer to win world titles in eight weight divisions, tasted his second straight defeat this year.

“I’m so shocked, I can’t believe it when Manny was ahead on points,” barber Pedro Varela told Reuters after watching the fight at a cinema in a Manila shopping mall.

“It was a good fight, Manny gave it all. He was impressive, It was one lucky punch from Marquez.”

The 39-year-old Marquez, who had lost twice and drawn once in their three previous meetings, sent Pacquiao crashing to the canvas with a stinging right hand with a second left in the sixth round of their non-title welterweight bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Social media sites were abuzz after the fight, with fans praising both fighters while there was also outpourings of disbelief that Pacquiao lost.

Sports Festival ends as Team Delta reclaim title

•Delta State athletes celebrating their victory at the 2012 National Sports Festival, Eko 2012, during the closing ceremony at the Teslim Balogun stadium, Lagos ... Sunday.
|

The 2012 edition of the National Sports Festival ended on Sunday with Delta State leading the table as President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by the Vice President Namadi Sambo on the opening day, was absent. He was represented yesterday by Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi.

Delta State won 116 gold, 97 silver and 75 bronze medals to beat last edition hosts and champions Rivers State, which finished in the second place with 76 gold, 71 silver and 71 bronze medals.

Hosts Lagos finished in the third place with 65 gold, 47 silver and 71 bronze medals while Edo State finished in the fourth position.

Victory will come as a relief for The Team Delta as they battled back to the top after losing their title to Rivers in 2011. It was also a result that confirmed their dominance of grassroots sports in Nigeria, moving them to a fifth title at the event.

Council boss ordered attack on me – Youth leader

|

Youth leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria in Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area, Lagos, Adedeji Oshinowo, has accused the Chaiman of the council, Mr. Abdulfatai Oyesanya, of orchestrating an attack that left him with eight machete cuts.

Forty-three-year-old Oshinowo told PUNCH Metro on Saturday that his problem with the council boss had to do with the fact that he did not belong to Oyesanya’s political camp.

Our correspondent learnt on Thursday that there were sporadic shootings at Ketu area around 9pm.

Findings later revealed that a man (Oshinowo) was attacked in the area by thugs who came in a white van marked, Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area, Lagos, and a Volvo car.

At a hospital where Oshinowo was being treated, he gave an account of the attack that landed him in the emergency ward.

Couple arrested for dumping day-old baby inside bush

 

Man with handcuffed
|

The police in Ekiti State have arrested a couple, Mr. Dada Ojo and his wife, Adejoke, for allegedly dumping their newborn baby inside a bush.

Our correspondent learnt on Sunday that the woman and her husband were arrested on Friday.

A source in the community said the cry of the baby in the bush attracted residents of the area, who alerted officials of Ikere Local Government Area.

It was learnt that Adejoke, 26, gave birth to the baby at home last Wednesday without anybody’s assistance because she could neither afford hospital bills nor patronise the local birth attendants.

She was said to have dumped the baby inside a bush in Ikere-Ekiti where the couple lives.

The woman reportedly blamed her action on poverty, saying the family was having great difficulty raising the three children they already had before the arrival of the new baby.

Ojo, a commercial driver, reportedly told the police that his wife did not inform him of her plan.

He claimed that he returned home in the evening and observed that her wife had given birth and asked her about the baby but she simply told him that the baby was dead.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Victor Babafemi, confirmed the arrest when he was contacted.

He said that the couple was arrested but added that the wife had since been released to the Welfare Department of the state Ministry of Women Affairs where she and the baby were being given treatment.

“The man is still with us but the mother and child are being taken care of by the welfare department. The authorities of Ikere Local Government Area and the ministry are involved. They will take over the welfare of the baby,” Babafemi said.

ACN, ANPP, CPC to form new party in 2013

Buhari, Tinubu and Onu

THREE  major opposition political parties   -  Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change and the All Nigeria Peoples Party  – may drop their identities by April 2013, when talks  on  their proposed merger are expected to be completed.

The merger of the parties  is  one of the strategies being canvassed by some  politicians to defeat the ruling Peoples Democratic Party which has dominated power since the advent of the present democracy in 1999.

Analysts are of the opinion that any genuine and honest cooperation among opposition parties for the 2015 general elections could make the election tough for the PDP.

The  Chairman of the ANPP National Rebuilding and Interparty Contact Committee, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, told journalists in Abuja on Sunday, that the merger talks between the three ACN, CPC  and ANPP had reached the last stage.

 Shekarau, a   former Governor of Kano State, added that the chieftains of the three  parties had decided to forget their individual ambitions to make the fusion a success.

Okada rider electrocuted to death in Lagos

 

A man suspected to be an okada rider was on Saturday evening electrocuted to death in Ejigbo, Lagos State.

The deceased, identified as Oche Samuel, was said to have met his death at the shop of a motorcycle mechanic in the area.

It was learnt that the deceased had taken his bike for repairs before the sad incident.

An eyewitness, who identified himself only as Kayode, said as Samuel entered into the shop, a Power Holding Company of Nigeria high tension cable sparked and fell on Ailegun Road, off Ronik College.

Kayode said when the incident happened, tension was heightened in the area, resulting in residents running helter-skelter.

He said in the ensuing confusion, Samuel marched on some of the fallen cables and he was electrocuted.

The eyewitness said fear of being electrocuted prevented sympathisers from giving Samuel first aid.

He said by the time an official of the PHCN arrived the scene for on-the-spot assessment, Samuel had died.

Kayode said it was through the deceased’s mobile phone they were able to get his brother.

He said when the deceased’s brother came, he took the corpse to the mortuary.

As of 8.30pm on Saturday, the fire on the pole was still not put out.

Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Police Command, Ngozi Braide, who confirmed the incident, told our correspondent on the phone on Sunday that the deceased was an okada rider, who went to repair his motorcycle when the incident occurred.

“The man, an okada rider went to a mechanic workshop to repair his motorcycle. It was during the time that the electric pole started to spark. In the process, he was electrocuted. His corpse has been deposited at the morgue of General Hospital, Isolo,” she said.

The spokesperson said investigation on the matter was ongoing.

Gunmen kidnap Okonjo-Iweala’s mother

PROF. Kanene Okonjo, mother of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

PROF. Kanene Okonjo,  mother of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was on Sunday abducted at the gate of the palace of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, Prof. Chukwuka Okonjo, who is her husband.

The 82-year-old monarch’s wife was said to have been abducted at about 1.47pm by a gang of armed men who seized her at the gate of the palace at Ogbe-ofu and took her away, when her husband travelled out of the town.

But the Police command in the state has said a man, who was said to have left the palace a few minutes before the incident, had been arrested.

The man was said to have informed the housemaid that he was in the palace to take the octogenarian to somewhere in the town.

The kidnappers, numbering about 10, were said to be lurking around the palace until the woman and her maid came down to offer some drinks to workers at the gate.

Eyewitness said as soon as the woman came down from the main building, towards the gate, the criminals also moved in from the gate to grab and push her into a waiting Golf Volkswagen car.

A source said, “The abductors were heavily armed. They were about 10. They bailed up the men fixing the interlocking tiles and asked them to lie face down.

“Immediately they saw her (the King’s wife) they bundled her into a waiting Golf car while another car was parked outside.”

It was learnt that one of them went upstairs to collect the woman’s handbag. The eyewitness said another maid, who sighted the kidnappers upstairs, hid herself in the kitchen.

The atmosphere at the palace was gloomy on Sunday as many sympathisers and well wishers, including members of the community vigilance group, gathered to discuss the development.

State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Charles Muoka, who confirmed the kidnap to our correspondent on telephone on Sunday, said the police had collected information that would be useful enough to track down the kidnappers.

Her husband, Obi Chukwuka Okonjo, a retired professor of Economics, is the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku.

The kidnappers have yet to make contact with the family of their victim.

'She sounds like she has a fifth grade education': Beyonce 'fan' Wendy Williams dubs the award-winning singer unintelligible

With fans like this who needs enemies?

For the second time in as many years TV talk show host Wendy Williams - who claims to be a Beyonce fan - has made a dig at the multiple Grammy winning singer.
The outspoken media personality accused the Halo singer of being unintelligible.

 

 

 

Talking about Beyonce's upcoming HBO documentary Wendy started off by saying she was a fan of the star.

'Some people are saying "Why is she doing a documentary? I know all there is to know,"' she said. 'I am not one of those.'
'I am a Beyonce fan and I am going to be watching this documentary even if she doesn't introduce us to new stuff... I want to watch it.'

Good girl gone mad: Rihanna blasts Chris Brown as he parties in Paris with ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran

Having only recently gotten back into her good books, Chris Brown has already managed to rile Rihanna.
The Bajan singer was furious when she found out that Brown had been partying with his ex girlfriend in Paris, France on Friday night.
Brown, 23, was said to be having a blast with model Karrueche Tran as she joined him after his concert in the city.

 

 

The news that Brown was in the company of many girls didn't go down well with Rihanna, 24, who was seething with anger about his behaviour.

A source told The Sun newspaper: 'She can’t get it into her head that Chris will never change.
'She's given him so many chances since he beat her up in 2009 and he still keeps hurting her by partying with girls.

 

 

 

 

Women of war: Karrueche Tran and Rihanna are both fighting for Chris' affections

'Letting Karrueche meet him is yet another blow for Rihanna that will further disgust her fans. They are already raging that she is back with him.'
Rihanna sent out a series of angry tweets that seemingly were aimed at Chris.
She said: 'Examine what you tolerate', 'Goodbye muthaf*****', 'You give, you get, then you give it the f*** back' and 'Claps for the basic b******'.

 

Fast car: Chris drove a Lamborghini to and from his concert and then partied with his ex girlfriend

Rihanna may now be regretting getting Breezy, which is Chris's nickname, tattooed on her neck.
However, the couple have already kissed and made up since she posted a picture on Twitter of herself lying in his arms.
She captioned the picture: 'Damn....... I miss my n***a #thuglife #BFFlife'.

Sweet thing: Rihanna later tweeted a picture of herself lying in Brown's arms

Seven northern governors battle to replace Jonathan

 

|

 

The North has yet to pick a consensus candidate for the 2015 presidential election because of the jostling among northern governors for the office of the President, SUNDAY PUNCH authoritatively reports.

In the recent past, some northern leaders have reportedly held meetings to strategise on how to present a formidable northern consensus in the next presidential election.

Our correspondent gathered that none of the seven northern governors who had indicated interest in contesting for the presidency had shown any willingness to back down. 

Governors who have their eyes on the position are Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State, Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State.

All the governors are of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to which President Goodluck Jonathan belongs. All of them are also in their second term in office.

Ex-governors Ahmed Makarfi and Ibrahim Shekarau of Kaduna and Kano states  respectively,  are also  said to be  interested in the race.

Nigeria to lose oil revenue to Angola, Ghana

Coordinating Minister for the economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

There are indications that many international oil companies are considering leaving their Nigerian assets for those in Angola, Ghana and some other African countries where they feel the business environment is more predictable and friendly, an investigation has shown.

A top official of one of the IOCs told our correspondent in Lagos on Friday that it now made more economic sense to do business in other African countries than Nigeria.

According to him, there are too many vested interests in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, some of which are diverse, and conflicting.

He said, “We are divesting from Nigeria to countries like Angola and Ghana because it now makes more economic sense to do business there.”

He said the situation in the country had gone so bad that some players, which could not break even, had resorted to cutting corners.

Jaji bomb attack: Army arrests 16 more soldiers

 

Military authorities have arrested 16 more soldiers in connection with the November 25 twin bombing of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State.

Some high-ranking officers were among the freshly arrested soldiers.

Also being detained in connection with the terror attacks are four civilians, including three residents of the Jaji cantonment and one outsider.