EXCLUSIVE: Armed Gang Robs, Kill Man in Lagos

LAGOS CP, MANK

By Chiemelie Ezeobi

A four-man armed robbery gang, Monday, struck at Agunlejika Street, IJeshatedo, Surulere area of Lagos, shot a resident simply identified as Segun dead and went on to steal an undisclosed amount of money from his wife.

The incident which happened at about 11pm threw the entire neighbourhood into panic as residents and motorists fled to safety. According to eyewitness account, the armed robbery gang had allegedly trailed the couple to their house at Ajijedidun Street, probably on a tip off that they were in possession of a large sum of money.

FULL TEXT OF PRESIDENT JONATHAN'S SPEECH

Here is the full text of President Goodluck Jonathan's speech this night. Dear compatriots,

1.    It has become necessary for me to address you on the recent spate of terrorist activities and protracted security challenges in some parts of the country, particularly in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Kano, Plateau and most recently Bayelsa, Taraba, Benue and Nasarawa states.  These unfortunate events have led to needless loss of lives and property of many innocent Nigerians including members of our security forces.

2.   The recent killing of security operatives by a cult group in Nasarawa state is particularly condemnable. I have directed that no effort or expense be spared in identifying and bringing to justice all those who had a hand in the killing of the operatives.

Flooding: School Children Escapes Death

By Chiemelie Ezeobi

Tens of Ogba Primary School pupils were yesterday saved from a near-death experience when they were released by the school authorities after a flash flood  submerged the school property. The Agege Community had a bitter experience yesterday after the torrential rainfall caused a heavy flooding in the area, submerging properties and cars.

Some of the affected areas were Akilo, Sowonuola, Lagos, Abiola Market, Ijaiye, Olarenwaju and Adeyemi Streets. According to the residents,  they had not witnessed this  kind of flooding in over 30 years. However, areas like Sowonuola, Akilo, Lagos Street and Abiola Market were the most hit by the flood that followed the torrential  rainfall.

N107 Million Scam: Ogbulafor Admits Receiving N2 Million To Campaign For PDP Post

A  former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Vincent Ogbulafor, who is facing fraud charges has told an Abuja High Court that he collected the sum of N2 million from one of his associates as donation for his party’s campaign fund

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), is prosecuting Mr. Ogbulafor, who was Minister of Special Duties, along with Emeka Ebilah, who was a member of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (NEIC), and Jude Nwokoro, on a 17 count of conspiracy and award of fictitious contracts amounting to N107 million.

FG Pays Pregnant Women to Attend Hospitals

Minister of State for Health, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate

In a bid to drastically reduce child and maternal mortality, the federal government monday  paid various sums of money to pregnant and nursing mothers to encourage them to go for ante-natal care in government health facilities and to allow their children to be immunised against the childhood killer diseases.

Administered by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the funding of the project, known as Conditional Cash Transfer, is done by the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).

FG Declares State of Emergency in Yobe, Adamawa, Borno States

The federal government Finally declared state of emergency in Yobe, Adamawa, Borno States due to the incessant insurgency. 

Nigeria: Pirates Release Five Polish, Russian Crew

Nigerian Navy ship

Pirates have released five Polish and Russian crew members they kidnapped from a cargo ship off the coast of Nigeria last month, the vessel's management company said. Piracy is increasing in the west Africa's Gulf of Guinea, an important exporting region for oil, cocoa and metals, and insecurity is driving up shipping costs.

The hostages were taken when the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged MV City of Xiamen container ship was attacked late on April 25 about 100 miles (160 km) off Nigeria's coast, reports Reuters.

OKEY IKECHUKWU: Mismanaging Orji Uzor Kalu

Edifying Elucidations By Okey Ikechukwu. Email, okey.ikechukwu@thisdaylive.com

As far as an evaluation of actors in the public space go, it is fairly obvious that neither Nigeria norNdigbo know exactly what to do with (or about) Orji UzorKalu, the former Governor of Abia State.But he is doing something with himself, with Ndigbo and with Nigeria, so it is impossible to write him off. To pocket him is out of the question. To use him without his having a say in the matter is not to be contemplated at all. that is why many have said ‘we don't know what to do with that Orji fellow’, with a mixture of dismay and consternation.

NASIR EL RUFAI: Soludo's Solution of Anger and Innuendo

Long before the publication of The Accidental Public Servant, I had decided to resist joining issues with whatever commentators wrote in response to the book by way of either attacking the author or its contents. It is a narrative of my experiences and views, and I would simply invite others to document theirs. Many of those that commented on, or 'reviewed' the book had not even read it in full. Others had decided long before it was published that they would attack El-Rufai and whatever he writes, while a few others were simply going to be unhappy with how they were presented in the book as being less than perfect. When one writes a 700-page book, one has to take a deep breath and allow others the slack to write a few pages in response, however disagreeable or abusive.

NAF Helicopter Crash Due to System Failure

Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Alex Badeh

The Nigeria Air Force (NAF) has released the preliminary investigation report into the Mi-24B Helicopter that crashed on May 9 at the NAF Base in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with the crews escaping unhurt.

The verdict of the report, which was disclosed in a statement signed Monday by the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Yusuf Anas, stated that the crash occurred due to a system failure.

Angelina Jolie Has Double Mastectomy

Angelina Jolie says she hopes her story will be helpful to other women

Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie has undergone a double mastectomy to reduce her chances of getting breast cancer. The 37-year-old mother of six has explained her reasons for having the surgery in the New York Times, reports the BBC. She said her doctors estimated she had an 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer. "I decided to be proactive and to minimise the risk as much I could," she wrote. She said the process began in February and was completed by the end of April.

In an article entitled My Medical Choice, Ms Jolie explained that her mother fought cancer for nearly a decade and died at the age of 56. She said she had sought to reassure her children that the same illness would not take her away from them, "but the truth is I carry a 'faulty' gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer".

Jet Li Opens T'ai Chi School in China

Jet Li

Movie star Jet Li has joined up with renowned Chinese internet entrepreneur Jack Ma to open a t'ai chi school in a bid to promote the traditional exercise. Ma is founder of the world's biggest online retailer, Alibaba, where he stepped down as chief executive last week saying he wanted to do more in education and the environment, reports Sky News. He is a keen devotee of t'ai chi, and has made references to Chinese martial arts in business strategy and corporate culture.

Li rose to fame for his kung fu skills and has starred in such films as the Chinese historical epic Hero and the Hollywood blockbuster The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Body of Missing 78-year-old Woman Found in Son's Bedroom, 10 Years After

IGP, MOHAMMED ABUBAKAR

For 10 years, they had searched in vain. During that period, family and friends were thrown into confusion over what fate had befallen a 78-year-old woman, Mrs. Lucy Osigweh, whose whereabouts remained unknown for that long. Was she  kidnapped? But even if she were, the kidnappers should have made a demand for ransom since then.  With the intense search for her not yielding any result, the people of  Ejemekwuru community in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State in 2003 had declared Osigweh  missing. But that did not resolve the puzzle over her whereabouts.

The puzzle was resolved yesterday as the embalmed body of Osigweh  was found inside a wardrobe in her eldest son’s room. The bizarre action of her son and retired school principal, Dr. Chimezie Osigweh, prompted his arrest by the police to explain why he kept the body of his mother in the wardrobe and for that long.

Iranian Gets 17-Year Jail Term for Arms Importation

Symbol of justice

Justice Okechukwu Okeke of the Federal High Court in Lagos monday  sentenced an Iranian national, Azim Aghajani, and his Nigerian counterpart, Ali Jega, to 17 years imprisonment each for their involvement in the importation of firearms into Nigeria.  

Justice Okeke while delivering his judgment, held that he was not in doubt that the 13 containers loaded with arms were imported into the country, contrary to the claim by the accused persons that the containers contained building materials meant for construction in Banjul, the capital of The Gambia.