Sunday 21 July 2013

EXCLUSIVE: Lagos Police Arrest One, Rescue Kidnapped Briton

Lagos Police PRO, Ngozi Braide
Four days after he was abducted by members of a kidnap  gang in Lagos, the victim, a Briton was yesterday rescued by police operatives attached to the  Lagos State Police Command after detailed investigation led to the discovery of the gang's hideout. 

The state command had on Friday expressed optimism that the Briton who was abducted on Wednesday along the Murtala Mohammed Airport Road, Ikeja, would be rescued going by the leads at their disposal.

STEPHANIE OKEREKE RELEASES PREVIEW OF MOVIE 'DRY' TO ADDRESS UNDER AGE-MARRIAGE


At this critical juncture I am now compelled to release the unofficial (raw footage) videos of my upcoming movie, “DRY” to galvanize support from Nigerians and the International community for the revocation of the Senate resolution on under-age marriage.  It’s time to lend your voices and share your thoughts. We need to protect the girl child from incessant abuse. Please watch and share. Click HERE to watch

ABIKE DABIRI SAYS HOUSE OF REP WILL VETO UNDER-AGE MARRIAGE



DABIRI
Abike Dabiri is a former broadcaster and now a member of the Nigeria Federal House of Reps representing Ikorodu Constituency in Lagos State also flayed the under-age marriage issue for girls and said the House of Rep would be sure to veto the order of the Senate. Read tweets below

EXCLUSIVE: Ona Ekhomu Hails Conviction of Boko Haram Terrorists

DR ONA EKHOMU
President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON), Dr. Ona Ekhomu has applauded the conviction and sentencing of four members of the Boko Haram terrorist group for carrying  out multiple bombings and killings in parts of the Federal Capital Territory and Suleja - Niger State between March and July 2011.

Praising the courage and wisdom of the Abuja Federal High Court Judge, Justice Bilikisu Aliyu who sentenced the terrorists to life behind bars,  Ekhomu said terror trial judgments should show the capacity of the judiciary to contribute in combating terrorism.

Dbanj's Sister and Beau, Cool FM Dotun Release Wedding Details


D'banj's younger sister, Taiwo will finally wed her beau, Dotun of CoolFM this month.
While their traditional wedding comes up Wednesday  27th Of July, the white wedding
 will be held on Saturday 3rd Of August. 

Yvonne Nelson's Outfit To Her 'House Of Gold' Movie Premiere

Yvonne Nelson wore this beautiful Mai Atafo black gown to the premiere 
of her movie 'House of Gold' at Silverbird cinemas in Lagos.

Rukky Sanda's Boobs Wadrobe Malfunction

Rukky Sanda and Yvonne Nelson
Nollywood Rukky Sanda had a serious wardrobe malfunction at the premiere of Yvonne Nelson's House of gold movie. while she was laughing hilariously, her boobs which she had opened to the full glare of the cameras almost popped out baring part of her nipple.

Bayelsa Governor Automatically Appoints MGBN Winner SA on Culture and Tourism

The newly crowned Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, Miss Anna Banner, after winning the crown was also named Bayelsa State Governor Dickson's Special Adviser on Culture & Tourism.

EXCLUSIVE: Serial Fraudster Dupes 73year old CBN Retiree

THE SERIAL FRAUDSTER, PHILIP ORJI
Operatives of Special Fraud Unit, SFU, Ikoyi, Lagos, has arrested a serial fraudster, 22-year-old Philip Ikechukwu Orji, who specialises in defrauding unsuspected victims through cloned messages from GSM networks.

Although the suspect was said to have successfully carried out previous fraudulent deals, he was picked up by the police inside the banking hall of Keystone bank as he was about to withdraw the N10million paid into a bank account no 2052312003 by the victim.

It was gathered that the suspect clones text messages from different networks to deceive people on the grounds that they are one of the winners of the supposed promos being undertaken by the network providers.

OMOTOLA CONDEMNS CHILD MARRIAGE

Here is the full text of Omotola Jalede Ekeinde's speech yesterday July 20,2013 when she was receiving her award at the most beautiful girl in Nigeria pageant in Bayelsa state

She said,"Let me first and foremost thank The Lord almighty ,my savior and help for this award.
Thanks also to Silverbird group the organizers of MBGN. Thanks to my Wonderful Husband, Capt Matthew Ekeinde,my support and Best friend who is also here tonight. I am Today one of the Most influential person/people in the world because I wasn't given off to marriage before the age of 18yrs.

EXCLUSIVE: Uncompleted Building Caves in, Kills Five, Injures 10 in Lagos

The site of the collapse
Barely two weeks after another building collapsed at the Ebute Meta area of Lagos State, yet another one caved in yesterday at Ishaga, Surulere, killing five persons including a 13-year-old bread seller, and left 10 others with varying degrees of injuries.

This is just as the state building control agency said the agency had sealed the structure about three weeks ago because it was structurally deficient , adding that the owner probably broke the seal and continued construction. 

BOVI CONDEMNS UNDER-AGE MARRIAGE TOO


So Bovi also lent his voice to the campaign against under-age marriage. This is what he tweeted:  "If we can wait for calves to turn to cows, kids to turn to goats and chicks to turn to hens b4 eating them, why can't we do same for girls?" Read the tweet below:

EXCLUSIVE: Lagos Commissioner for Special Duties Chase NEMA Personnel from Collapsed Building Site

WALE AHMED
Drama ensued today at the scene of the building collapse in Ishaga, Surulere, Lagos, which killed five people including a 13year old bread seller, when the commissioner for special duties Wale Ahmed, stormed the scene for an on-the-spot assessment and allegedly asked the personnel of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to leave the rescue operations for the primary responders which are the state Emergency Committee. 

This face- off is coming at the heels of yet another fracas between the Commander RRS,  CSP Akeem Odumosu and NEMA spokesperson, Farinloye, thereby giving the illusion that the agency are not welcome in emergency situations.

Al-Bashir Visit: How AU Took Nigeria Unawares


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Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir
Contrary to insinuations that Nigeria invited Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to attend last week’s African Union Special Summit on HIV/AIDs, Tuberculosis and Malaria, THISDAY can reveal that the AU may have actually blindsided Nigeria in respect of the visit.

The Sudanese leader had arrived in Abuja last Sunday to attend the AU summit, which was to end on Tuesday, but left abruptly on Monday amid calls for his arrest by groups and activists.

POLSCOPE WITH EDDY ODIVWRI: SO WHO KILLED KUDIRAT ABIOLA?

EDDY ODIVWRI
Penultimate Friday, the Appeal Court sitting in Lagos, discharged and acquitted Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, on the grounds that there were no evidences to nail him in the murder of Mrs Kudirat Abiola, wife of late Chief MKO Abiola. It was a truth-plaited judgment  that held many people in stitches, just as it triggered an eerie excitement and jubilation in the camp of those absolved of the crime. The celebrations that greeted the judgement in the camp of Al-Mustpha is better understood, when you recall that just last January, a Lagos High Court had found Mustapha and Lateef Sofolahan guilty of the crime, and pronounced them guilty with the penalty of death by hanging. But that Friday morning, all that changed.

EDDY ODIVWRI: FRAUD: HOW SWIFTLY WE MOVE


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Polscope with Eddy Odivwri; Eddy.odivwri@thisdaylive.com, 08053069356

Sometime last year, I wrote an article where I accused the judiciary of aiding and abetting the high-arched corruption in the country. Both the lawyers and the judges do not seem to understand that in the avowed fight against corruption, that we must rise above the technical legalese which they always cling to in frustrating the prosecution of accused persons. They throw all kinds of spanners into the works to stall the conviction of accused persons. That is why the cases are neither dismissed nor is any progress made on them. They just hang there, year after year, an act that only emboldens corrupt persons.

FEMI FANI-KAYODE: The Perverts and Paedophiles in Us


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Ahmed Sani
Senator and former Governor Ahmed Sani, the Yerima Bakura, has finally had his way. The Nigerian Senate has bowed to his will and agreed to be silent about the age that young girls can get married in Nigeria. What this means once it is followed through and enshrined in our laws and constitution is that girls that are as young as 9 years old, provided they are deemed as having been ‘’physically developed enough’’ by their suitors, could be lawfully bedded and married in our country.
That is the sordid level that we have now, as a people and as a nation, degenerated to. I weep for Nigeria and, perhaps more appropriately, I weep for the Nigerian girl child.  Yet we have no choice but to live with this new reality and to accept it as it is. After all, our representatives in the sacred halls of the Senate were not sensitive enough or ‘’man enough’’ to shoot down the whole thing, to stand firmly against the unholy agenda and to say boldly and firmly that ‘’come what may’’ our children must be protected from sexual deviants and reprobates.

OLAOLU OLUSINA: The Menace of OmoOnile in Lagos


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A house under construction
The extortion of innocent property owners by touts and  street urchins known as OmoOnile or Agajungbale in different parts of Lagos State has brought to the fore the nuisance which the group, which calls itself the “sons of the soil “ and “children of original land owners,” is constituting to the people. But their days appear to be numbered as a Bill seeking to criminalise their activities is currently making headway at the Lagos State House of Assembly. OlaoluOlusina reports
The day of reckoning is definitely drawing nearer for touts and street urchins known as OmoOnile orAgajungbale in different parts of Lagos State. The inglorious era of shameless extortion of innocent property owners by the group, which calls itself the “sons of the soil” and “children of original land owners,” is about to come to an end.

DELE MOMODU: Democracy In Search of Democrats


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Pendulum By Dele Momodu; dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com
Fellow Nigerians, there is no place where democracy is desperately seeking and pleading for attention than our dear country. I will explain and demonstrate what I mean in a jiffy. Nigerians love the good things of life but oftentimes hate the process needed to attain them. We are a nation of miracle-seekers; the reason religion is very attractive here without commensurate piety and Godliness. A man who has just stolen his latest billions is not ashamed to run to his church and Pastor to offer a tithe on his loot. You recognise the important folks in your church as they scramble to take direct positions in front of the pew. Nowhere is ever too sacred for these guys. Their security goons with fully loaded guns often block the front, back and side views of the hapless congregation. This show of pump and power has become a veritable part of the Nigerian man’s appurtenances of office.

SIMON KOLAWOLE: Immunity is Obviously Not the Problem


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Simon Kolawole Live!: By Simon Kolawole, Emailsimon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com
Was I surprised? No, I wasn’t. I always suspected that Major Hamza al-Mustapha would one day walk free over the assassination of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. Lawyers would talk about proving a case beyond reasonable doubt; activists would say it is better to free a thousand guilty men than hang an innocent man; and al-Mustapha’s friends would talk about how unfair and inhuman it was to have put the former henchman of General Sani Abacha on trial for 14 years. I have even heard people claim that al-Mustapha, assuming if he did order the killing of Kudirat, was only acting as a state agent and should never be made to bear individual responsibility for it.

SIMON KOLAWOLE ON UNDER-AGE Marriage : 'ADULTS ONLY'


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Simon Kolawole Live!: By Simon Kolawole, Emailsimon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com
Who is an adult in Nigeria? Section 29 (4)(b) of the 1999 Constitution says that for the purpose of renouncing Nigerian citizenship (not for marriage, as being circulated on the social media), any married woman is considered to be of “full age”. Senator Ahmed Sani Yarima wants the provision retained (he once married a minor). But, as noted in an instructive online article by Egghead Odewale, adulthood is yet to be properly defined in Nigeria. To get a driving licence or register to vote, you have to be 18. The Child’s Rights Act says 18 is adulthood. The Matrimonial Causes Act says 21 is age of maturity. The Immigration Act says 16 is a minor. Something is definitely wrong. I vote for 18.