Kaduna State: Security Operatives Raid Boko Haram Hideout, Arrest 5 People

What could have led to another major attack on the Nigeria Police in Kaduna State was averted yesterday following the arrest of five suspected members of the Boko Haram sect in Kwana Dangora community.

The arrest of the five followed a successful raid on the hoodlum’s hideout by the Joint Security Forces in Kaduna on February 19, 2014.

A top security source, who confirmed the arrest on in Kaduna, said the arrest was carried out by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) in collaboration with the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Police Force, in an operation launched to thwart a planned attack on a police station at Kwanan Dangora area in Kaduna State.

The source said those arrested include a kingpin Bashir Ali, 28, Abdullahi Adam, 21, Adamu Abdullahi, 29,  Abubakar Abdullahi, 32, and Mohammed Umar, 32.

Items recovered from them are primed explosives, one General Purpose Machine Gun, three AK 47 rifles, among others.

Lagos: Man Accused Of Killing Daughter Set Free By Court

A Lagos high court sitting in Igbosere has set free Gbolahan Babatunde who was accused of killing his daughter for want of diligent prosecution.

Gbolahan who allegedly murdered his daughter was arrested in 2009 and has been in prison custody since then.

He was first arraigned in 2012 and later re-arraigned on October 29, 2013.

Presiding over the matter, Justice Aishat Opesanwo said the case had suffered eight adjournments at the instance of the prosecution which failed to call any witness and the court could not adjourn for the ninth time as the prosecution failed again to produce witnesses.

Justice Aishat said, "Given the failings of the prosecution, it was improper to further punish the defendant with detention in addition to the punishment he has brought upon himself by the pathetic circumstances of this case.

She added that the court's decision did not bar fresh prosecution of Gbolahan on the same facts any time the prosecution was ready to go on with the trial.

Lagos State:Father And 8-Months-Old Daughter Burnt To Death

A man identified as Mr. Mathew Adewoye and his 8-month old daughter, Deborah, have been burnt to death after fire gutted their residence in Lagos, southwest Nigeria.

Inside the building after the fire incident

The incident happened early Friday morning at 4, Nubi Close, Ebutte Metta, by Park Lane, Apapa Road.

According to an eyewitness, Mr. Jacob, who lives close to the building, the fire started at 2 a.m. Friday.
“All we saw was smoke followed by fire. All we could do was to evacuate the occupants first before other things could be done.

In the process, we lost Adewole and his eight month old baby called Deborah,” Jacob said. Another occupant of the building, Mr Bello Kabir, lost virtually all his belongings to the fire, including his academic certificates.

He said he could not take anything out of his flat, adding that all he was after was the safety of his family.

Kabir said if not for the prompt intervention of fire service personnel from both state and Federal Fire Service, the two buildings would have been razed completely.

Other neighbours said Adewoye’s wife identified as Rachel, survived the fire incident and has been rushed to an undisclosed hospital for treatment.

The residents said they did not know the cause of the fire disaster.

Ogun State: 26-Year-Old Man Rapes His Friend's 3-Year-Old Daughter

A 26-year-old Welder was on Thursday remanded in prison by a chief magistrate’s court sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta  for allegedly defiling a three-year-old child.

Dare Ojo was ordered to be remanded in Oba Prison by the chief magistrate, Anthony Araba.

The prosecutor, Inspector Banji Sangotokun, had told the court that the accused committed the offence on February 15, 2014, at the Ogunji Estate, Somorin, Abeokuta.

Her father had handed her over to Ojo, his friend, to help take her home but he took her into an uncompleted building and abused her.

“He was caught in the act by a farmer who raised alarm and alerted people close to the building,’’ Sangotokun said.

According to the prosecutor, the offence contravened Section 218 of the Criminal Laws of Ogun, 2006.
Ojo plead not guilty to the charge. Araba adjourned the case to March 6.

BREAKING NEWS: Jonathan Fires Stella Oduah And Three Other Ministers

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday sacked the embattled Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah. Mrs Oduah has been fired alongside Mr. Caleb Olubolade, (Police Affairs); Godsday Orubebe (Niger Delta); and Yerima Ngama (State, Finance).

 

 

According to Correspondents, the President has not given any official reason for their sack.  “They were dropped, they did not resign,” a cabinet source has claimed.

 It is recalled that Oduah’s approval for the purchase of two bullet-proof cars for N255m caused public outrage in the country with many Nigerians calling for her removal and prosecution.

SHOCKING: Boko Haram Abduct 20 Young Nigerian Women For Personal Pleasure

Gunmen from Islamist sect Boko Haram are certainly not waiting for the reward of martyrdom in heaven: the reward of 72 virgins by their creator.

Hajja, once kidnapped by Boko Haram

They are claiming the reward right here in Nigeria. In their latest deadly assault against Konduga, Borno state, the menacing armed men did not just kill between 43 and 51 people, they also abducted 20 young girls from a local school. Another account said the number of the girls taken was 25.

They were said to be keeping the girls as hostages. Dozens of Boko Haram fighters speeding along in trucks painted in military colors and armed with automatic weapons and explosives had stormed Konduga around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, burning houses and shooting fleeing villagers, two witnesses said.

“It is barbaric and unfortunate,” Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima said when he visited the town on Wednesday. “About 60 to 70 percent of the town has been burnt down but we are willing to rebuild it,” he added, pledging to spend 100 million naira ($609,000) on emergency materials.

TERRIBLE: A Nigerian Man Arrested With Hard Drugs Worth $48k In India

A Nigerian national has been arrested by the police in Ankleshwar, India under various sections of Narcotic Drugs and Pyschotropic Substances Act after brown sugar worth Rs 30 lakh, about $48,000, was recovered from him.

Police had detained Kalu Okare Obasi, 36, a native of Nigeria, on January 31 after he was found moving around suspiciously on the national highway 8 on January 31. They had also found two passports from him, one issued in November 2013 from Federal Republic of Nigeria and another from Kingdom of Lesotho where his name is written as Aeshan alias Musongi that was issued on September 18, 2008.

His name, birth date and address are different in both passports. Moreover, he has a valid business visa for both the passports till November 6, 2014. He arrived in India on January 6.

Police also found a parcel acknowledgement of a leading private courier company from him. The description of parcel mentioned the contents as saree. The destination of the courier was mentioned as Title Blue Agency No.13500, MCC Raken Road, Garlfield Heights, OHO 44125 USA.

“When we asked him about the parcel, he said that an unknown woman named Vomica met him at Ankleshwar railway station and requested him to make a courier on her behalf at the mentioned address and he obliged,” said MS Rana, police inspector, Ankleshwar GIDC.

However, police took his version with a pinch of salt and collected the parcel from the courier office in Ankleshwar. On opening the parcel, police found a pink colour chaniya choli, which had a lace at the bottom. The lace contained some white coloured powder, which was sent to Gandhinagar’s forensic laboratory.

The report was received on February 5 and it was revealed that it was 152.8 gm heroin. Bharuch superintendent of police Bipin Ahire told TOI: “We have started investigation about all the places that he visited and lived as well as the documents like passports and visa. We are trying to trace the source of brown sugar as well as his local contacts.”

In another development, another Nigerian was arrested Tuesday night by the Indian Customs (Preventive) Narcotics police at Koregaon Park, near Mundhwa in the city of Pune. The Nigerian was identified as Rotimy(Rotimi) Aziz alias Jojo (32) from Undri. He had on him 75 gm of cocaine worth $5,600.

According to reports, ‘Rotimy’ had arrived on a motorcycle to sell cocaine to a customer around 11.25 pm.
The officials intercepted Rotimy when he reached the spot, took him into custody and seized the cocaine packed in a plastic bag from his trousers. The motorcycle worth $1300 was also seized.

Inspector (narcotics cell) Satish Kulkarni said Rotimy came to India on a business visa in 2000. He had stayed in Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi. Kulkarni said Rotimy got into cocaine sale for quick money in 2008. He shifted base to Undri to expand his network.

SHOCKING: Obasanjo Caused Nigeria's Problems- Fani Kayode

Fani-Kayode who spoke with journalists in Osogbo, the Osun State capital yesterday noted that President Jonathan has failed and disappointed Nigerians, especially the Yoruba nation, saying the alleged incompetence of the president has caused many problems for the nation.

He equally opined that the Yoruba nation had been marginalised by the Jonathan’s administration and thereby called on all Yoruba people to vote out Jonathan in 2015, saying any attempt to allow him stay in office beyond 2015 would spell doom for the Yoruba nation.

Fani-Kayode, a former member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) also said: "President Obasanjo has started cleaning up the mess he caused by putting Jonathan in office."

According to him "Obasanjo is my great leader who I have a lot of respect for and I will continue to respect him but the truth is Obasanjo caused the problem we experience today. The joy of it is that the same Obasanjo who anointed an incompetent leader for Nigeria is now cleaning up the mess.

"The country has five Presidents and they are Mrs. Patience Jonathan, Mrs. Aliezen Madueke, Mrs. Stella Odua, Mrs. Okonjo Iweala and Dr Goodluck Jonathan. All these five presidents control the nation, but the most powerful of them all is Mrs. Jonathan. She is so powerful that no one can control her and whatever she says is final in this country."

The former minister also pointed out that most of the officials in Jonathan’s government, rather than take instruction from the President, take instruction from Mrs Jonathan adding that “the President's wife has done more evils than good for the country."

While speaking on the state of the nation, he said: "Jonathan has disappointed Nigerians in all sectors of the economy and if he should allow to continue in office, this country is heading for serious disaster."

He condemned the administration of President Jonathan, stressing that the Ijaw ethnic nationality which he said was a minority now controls the entire nation without giving considerations to various factors that bind the country together.

"Nigeria is more divided now than any time in our history. We are faced with a government that only believes in Ijaw value. The ijaw people have succeeded in imposing only what favour them over the overall people of the nation," he said.

Fani-Kayode alleged that the boko haram sect has killed more Muslims than Christians in the North, alleging that the activities of the sect may continue until Jonathan leaves office.

Borno State: Boko Haram In Military Uniform, Vehicles Unleash Terror On Gulumba, Kahimri And Zangeri Villages

Boko Haram insurgents in full military uniforms and in military vehicles including two armored cars and sixteen military vans  unleashed untold carnage on Gulumba, Kahimri, Zangeri and over ten other villages on Tuesday.

The residents of Gulumba village woke up on February 4 to the sound of gun fire as Boko Haram insurgents attacked in the middle of the night just days after violence was visited on Kawuri and Alau villages in Konduga Local government area of Borno states.

This is the second of such violence on residents of Gulumba village by members of the Boko Haram sect.

Eye witnesses who spoke to News Bytes on condition of anonymity disclosed that the insurgents went on a killing and burning spree razing houses and barns. As at yesterday, nine people have been confirmed dead and scores of Gulumba residents still missing.

Anambra State: Hotel Selling Cooked Human Meat Found In Onitsha, 11 Arrested With Human Heads

According to reports, Onitsha police arrested 11 people after they discovered 2 fresh human heads in a hotel (name withheld) very close to the popular Ose-Okwodu market in Anambra state on Thursday.

2 AK47 rifles and other weapons were also discovered in the hotel. The arrest followed tip-offs from residents in the area on Thursday morning.

The hotel owner, 6 women and 4 men were arrested. After police got access to the hotel, they made a startling discovery of two human heads wrapped in a cellophane bag, two AK47 rifles, two army caps, 40 rounds of live ammunition and so many cell phones.

“Each time I came to market, because the hotel is very close to the market, I always noticed funny movements in and out of the hotel; dirty people with dirty characters always come into the hotel.

So, I was not surprised when the police made this discovery in the early hours of yesterday,” said a vegetable seller in the area.

A Pastor who was among the people who tipped off the police on Thursday said: “I went to the hotel early this year, after eating, I was told that a lump of meat was being sold at N700, I was surprised.

So I did not know it was human meat that I ate at such expensive price.”

Buhari Disappointed In The Nigerian Army, Urges Soldiers To Return To Basic Military Training

Former military ruler of Nigeria, now the All Progressives Congress' chieftain, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) expressed disappointment with Nigerian Army soldiers' indiscipline and apparent inability to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.

On Wednesday, General Buhari gave an interview to the Voice of America Hausa programme.
He advised the soldiers to return to the basics of military training if they want to win the war against insurgency in the country. He lamented that nowadays, the military are accused of collecting bribe, raping women and "wiping out" entire communities as retaliation for killing one of their own.

"That was not known before," Buhari stressed. The former Head of state recalled that in the days of the late President Umaru Yar'Adua, a plane with leaders of Niger Delta militants was sent to Abuja to hold peaceful talks.

"But everybody knows that the Boko Haram leader was arrested and killed. We all know that in times of crisis, the police should do their work, and it is only when such crisis escalates that the military comes in," he noted.

Meanwhile, speaking yesterday at the stakeholders' meeting on security, General Officer Commanding of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Major General Garba Wahab said the military, along with other security agencies, need support in their fight against insurgency in Nigeria. He urged ordinary Nigerians to provide the Army with useful information and not criticize them so harshly.

He assured that the Army and other security agencies remain apolitical.

NNPC Fights Back: Nigeria Oil Money Is Not Missing

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has denied the accusations by the Governor of Central Bank Sanusi Lamido Sanusi that it had not remitted $20bn to the Federation account.

NNPC's Managing Director Andrew Yakubu making a presentation at the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference in Tokyo, Japan. Credit: NNPC

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The NNPC made its position known in a press release on its website. Sanusi on Tuesday told the Senate Committee on Finance chaired by Ahmed Makarfi that out of $67bn of crude oil the NNPC sold between January 2012 and January 2013, only $47bn came to the CBN.

The CBN Governor first raised concerns about the 'missing' revenue late last year in a memo to the President Goodluck Jonathan that leaked to the press.

Back then Sanusi alleged that $49.8bn was not unaccounted for, but the government admitted that $10.8bn was yet to be remitted.

However, the CBN chief still insists that $20bn is missing. 'CBN is not an auditing outfit'. Talking with journalists on the sidelines of the Senate Committee hearing room, NNPC's Managing Director Andrew Yakubu stated that these were "unsubstantiated" claims which demonstrated "a little understanding of the technicalities of the oil industry" by the CBN.

"CBN is not an auditing outfit. But what it is doing is now auditing. We have no problem with auditing, but let the professionals, the certified bodies and agencies that are charged with this responsibility of auditing, to do their work" he added.

Yakubu further said that the issues raised by the CBN boss will be reconciled by the Inter Agency Committee established to settle the $49.8bn saga.

"Our position remains the same and we remain open to all stakeholders. These are issues that are currently before the reconciliation committee and before now it has been a subject of monthly verification before FAAC [the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee] and other stakeholders," he said

Yakubu added that a lot of progress had been made in the reconciliation of the $10.8 billion and expressed hope that by the time the Committee meets next week the final report would be ready, and NNPC will be vindicated.