Asari Dokubo said he was arrested for being a Boko Haram leader –

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

A former President of  Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, who was arrested last week in Republic of Benin, has accused those opposed to the second term ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan of masterminding his arrest.

Asari, who apparently betrayed emotion on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja,  Friday night, also said he was arrested and interrogated by Benin officials over an allegation from Nigeria that he is a leader of Boko Haram.

Speaking to journalists at the airport, he also described as lies the report that Jonathan sent a presidential jet to fly him into Nigeria from Benin.

His words: “Crisis is normal, it can also happen here in Nigeria, it can happen anywhere in the world. The people and government of Republic of Benin have no problem with me.

But if people alleged that somebody is a leader of Boko Haram, the government of that country will investigate the person.

”The allegation has much to do with 2015 because when you read comments on social media, you find out that people who are against President Goodluck Jonathan said they should vilify me, and make sure I die before 2015.

Asari Dokubo

But they are not going to succeed. I am not going to die. I will be present in 2015, and I will do what I am going to do to ensure that Jonathan wins in 2015. There is nothing they can do about it. This is their last fight and it is so unfortunate that the way they are going with show how immature they are.

“I just arrived from Cotonou. I drove in my car from Cotonou to Lagos airport where I boarded a flight to Abuja. The report is not true. No presidential jet was sent to me.

”I do business in Cotonou, and I have been living in Cotonou since 2008. Politically, people who are in Nigeria are trying to fabricate lies, which are not variable, and send it to Republic of Benin government. So I was taken for interrogation and they found that the allegations were false, and I was promptly released with over 20 of my staff who were also taken in.”

The former warlord, however, said his arrest was a blessing in disguise as he had an opportunity of meeting with officials of Benin after his interrogation. “I have met with the top and powerful people in Republic of Benin. Since I went to that country, I have never had any reason to meet with their government officials, but this crisis has made it possible for me to meet with all top government functionaries of the Republic of Benin. The crisis has raised my profile in that country.”

Asked whether President Jonathan intervened to secure his release, he said: “It is not just only President Jonathan that intervened, Nigerians generally intervened. The number of people that came into Cotonou the day I was taken in, and the following day, were over one thousand.” 

No big deal owing Keshi – NFF

Amidst reports on the failure of the Nigeria Football Federation to pay the monthly salaries of Super Eagles head coach, Stephen Keshi, who is being owed for several months, President of the NFF, Aminu Maigari has explained that the situation in the Glass House was not peculiar to Keshi.

Speaking after receiving the Sports Administrator of the Year Award in Lagos, early in the week, Maigari noted that the financial situation in the Glass House was bleak. “Yes we are owing Keshi, so what?” he asked, adding, “but Keshi is not the only employee in the NFF who has not got his salary.

We have about 11 national teams and all have coaches. It is only fair that we treat them equally. My management staff have not received their salaries for over a year and nobody is making noise about it.”

He spoke further. “We have to be very careful the way we amplify this Keshi salary issue. If this is unduly amplified we will be downgrading our country,” Maigari said, pointing out that “apart from salary, Keshi doesn’t pay for anything.

“The house he lives in is paid for by NFF, the food he eats is NFF, his movement (transport) is NFF. So what are we talking about?”

It has been reported that the NFF’s indebtedness to all the national team coaches amounts to a whopping N77 million out of which N36 million makes up Keshi’s share.

Anambra supplementary poll: APC out to cause mischief – PDP chairman

*PDP, APC agents present at polling booths

By Tony Edike

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Anambra State, Prince Ken Emeakayi has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of causing mischief and deceiving Nigerians.

Emeakayi spoke with Journalists at Akpkogwe polling booth Ogidi ward 1 where he had gone to observe the supplementary election.

He said that despite APC’s call on voters to boycott the election, the party has agents in all the polling units.

He said the APC used the same deceitful tactics to defeat other parties at the election in Obosi on Sunday.

“I am impressed with the level of preparedness of the INEC; they started early enough, the materials arrived on time in all the polling units except one unit, it arrived there at almost 10 am.

“We must have to say that the exercise is going on very well; however, I want to use the same opportunity to commend the Inspector General of Police for the level of security on ground in every polling booth; and every part of this area is well secured. So far, so good, there is no report of violence anywhere”

 ”The PDP was not happy with the Director General of our campaign when he called for a boycott because this place is supposed to be PDP stronghold, so most of our members didn’t get the second message that they must come out to vote; they relied on the earlier call by the DG of our campaign.

“And from what you can see in all the polling units, what we said earlier has been confirmed that APC is only out to cause mischief; they are only trying to deceive Nigerians; while they are out there saying they are not participating, APC agents are everywhere, including this polling unit.

“In fact, yesterday night, (Friday) the APC mobilized people through radio announcement and they were going around with vehicles, motorcycles and town criers, asking their voters to come out and vote for them”.

Three chieftains of APGA, Dr Philip Atanmuo, Chief Ivy Ifeatu Obiokoye and Chief Eric Eboh, who also spoke at the polling booth, expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made by INEC, as well as, the level of participation by voters in the affected areas.

At most of the polling booths in Idemili local government, agents of the APC, PDP and APGA were seen while voters were trickling in to be accredited.

Unlike the November 16 election, voters’ turnout was low as few persons were accredited as at press time.

The supplementary election is holding in 210 polling units in 16 local government areas of the state.

Soldiers mounted roadblocks along major roads within Idemili LGA near the commercial city of Onitsha which has the highest number of voters in the state. SOURCE

My encounter with the Police in Lagos – robbery victim -

By Bimbola Temitope

According to the Holy Bible, the would be disciple was skeptical about his brother’s discovery of the Messiah in Nazareth of all places. He was not scornful in his skepticism. Nazareth of old was not renowned for producing men of lofty deeds, of valor, of reputable disposition. But his brother was  sure of his finding, Jesus Christ, even from Nazareth! The disciple went, saw and believed.

I have my reservation for the Nigeria police, and I am at liberty to be stingy with my sympathy for it. Like most Nigerians, my aversion for the police was borne out of third party narrations. Everybody is talking ill of the police so must I. After all, the organization itself is not so meticulous about its image. Who then am I not to be frugal in my love for its members?

A Yoruba adage says that masquerade is honoured abroad while people are appreciated better on close contact came to the fore recently when I had a close encounter with the Nigerian police. After this incident, I metaphorically fell on my knees asking Father to forgive me for I did not know what I was doing.

At the wee hours of Friday 15th November, 2013, I had an encounter with the men of underworld who snatched my car, a green Infinity G20 saloon car with Reg. No FQ 821 LND in front of my street gate at Onike area, Yaba, Lagos State.   I reported the incident at the Sabo Police Division promptly and was advised to report same at the Control Room at Oduduwa, GRA, Ikeja. That singular action altered my perception of the Nigeria police for live. It was so dramatic that I felt like a Nollywood actor in a ‘B’- rated detective movie.

On getting there, I met with an officer who pitied my plight and promised to “go all out to assist me” by sending a radio signal to all police formations in Lagos State command and environ pronto, if only I could part with the sum of six thousand naira.   I was not disappointed because I wasn’t expecting a more refined behaviour from the police.   I thought it was just ‘normal’ to ‘settle’ before ‘action’.

I hadn’t that much money on me (as every thing had gone with the car.   I therefore promised to bring the money the following day.  He ‘generously’ promised to help me send the signal the following day after the payment of the money.   He gave me his identification and phone number so that I could contact him when coming.   While soliciting for the money, a curious lender asked why I was so anxious for such a meager amount of money.

I told him. He was furious at me and scolded me for being so naive and uninformed about the re-branded Nigeria police. He said I should contact the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO , Mrs. Ngozi Braide, (DSP), for assistance and report the conduct of the wayward police officer who incidentally was a superior officer (Supol) thus expected to know better.

It wasn’t until Sunday evening that I had time to call the PPRO with the motive of persuading her to use her position to compel the desired action. I never bargained for the result that I got from her.   She pleaded with me to come to her office the following morning (Monday). On getting there,   she made me narrate the story again and she promptly sent for the officer but changed her mind and asked if I could present marked money to the officer, saying that the Command was desirous of weeding itself of all bad eggs. Hardly had I given the marked money to the officer than he was promptly arrested by the men of the X Squad who were lurking nearby.  We were both taken to the presence of the Commissioner of Police ( Umar Manko), who asked us to narrate what happened.

The arrested officer corroborated my statement but countered it by saying that he only asked me to come back the following day to “show appreciation” with the six thousand naira (N6,000.00). The CP tongue lashed him before ordering his detention.

My car was later found at the LASTMA office, Iponri.   Investigation revealed that the LASTMA officers towed it from the road side where the thieves abandoned it. It had been ticketed N30, 000! The police went further to write LASTMA to release the vehicle to them for further investigation, arguing that it was a stolen vehicle. We are still awaiting the reaction of LASTMA on this latest development. SOURCE

Oshiomhole explains encounter with widow, says “I regret my action”

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has apologised to the widow whose wares were confisticated at the Oba Ovonramwen Square, Benin City last week.

Speaking to a delegation of Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria in Government House Benin City, yesterday, Oshiomhlole said “I regret my action”.

According to the Governor:  “Last week, I had an encounter with a young lady at Oba Ovonramwen Square by Mission Road. She was trading on the road and too many people have been doing this. They block the road with their wares. Part of the problem of Benin before now is that it is so difficult to drive round the City.

“That also affects the economic, social and commercial life of the City. The people cannot move from one place to the other. Where you could have spent thirty minutes, you are spending hours. We have various officers we have assigned to keep the roads clean, to keep the walkways clean so that people can walk. As you may have noticed in the past, there is no street in Benin City that had a walk way.

“But you find some of our women; they just convert the road to trading post. For years we have been sermonizing. I came across this young lady who choose to put her wares right on the road thereby creating blockade and obstruction. We are all human and in my anger I said to her, how would you be doing this?  I asked them to confisticate her wares”, he said.

Explaining further Oshiomhole said ”She told me ‘I am a widow’ and I said if you are a widow must you do things that would make other women widows. By this obstruction you have caused, you could cause accident. You could actually get knocked down.

“In the process I probably said something that I should not have said. I want to say that I do appreciate that I come from a very poor background. I understand the pains of the poor. We also need to be careful so that the poor do not create more problems.

“Just to say to our women that I regret having said what I said to her. But I am troubled by what I see sometimes. We spend tax payers’ money to build roads so that people can walk and yet some of these things happen. I regretted that particular action but help us to preach to our women to try and respect the right of way”, the Governor urged the FOMWAN officials.

The Governor further charged the women thus: ”I would encourage you to propagate the virtues of Islam and as mothers you should preach peace and love which Islam represents. By your actions you are helping people to recognize that we are all brothers and sisters belonging to one large family”

Oshiomhole admitted that this is a difficult time for Nigeria; the level of poverty is high, adding that a lot of women are challenged as single mothers and the challenge of modern societies have thrown most women to become breadwinners.

Earlier, the President of the Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN) Hajia Amina Omoti expressed delight at the amazing transformation in the state in the last five years and commended the Governor for turning Benin City into a modern city.

She disclosed that FOMWAN is involved in the improvement of the socio-economic status of women, youth and children through training, provision of qualitative education and micro-enterprise schemes and community advocacy.    SOURCE

Here are Gideon & Chibuisi, Mr. President,

*CP Mohammed Katsina addressing the boys

A SCARY but heart warming incident happened in Imo State on September 27, 2013. Two teenagers, Gideon Emenike and Chibuisi Nwafor, aged between 16 and 17 years, performed a feat which not only shocked their rural community of Umuchima Ubaha, Okigwe LGA, but the whole state. It also had the state Police Commissioner, Mohammed Katsina, scampering to the community. The teenagers launched a rocket, which both of them fabricated, into space.

Thirty minutes, and over five kilometres later, it crashed into the backyard of Augustine Eke, a pensioner. The sound was deafening. And the villagers did an Usain Bolt.

The first report Katsina got was that a bomb, the handiwork of some hoodlums, had exploded in the area. So, he went prepared. But on arrival, he was taken aback. Hoodlums were not at work. It was two gifted teenagers, putting their God-given talents into practice. Katsina described their action as “excessively reckless,” but noted: “It was an exercise into the world of science and technology by some adventurous, skillful, and intelligent young boys with incredible creativity.”

Secondary school graduates

Here is the story of Gideon and Ndubuisi. The two are secondary school graduates who passed out in 2012. Due to financial constraints, they have not been able to go further. The road to their feat, according to one of them, Gideon, who attended Federal Government College, Okigwe, started when he was still in school. While in SS1, he was asked to do a school project. He built a helicopter. In SS2, he built a rocket which he took to a national competition in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. He was adjudged the second best. At another competition organised by the Society for Science and Technology, he again came second. At an Olympiad competition, he also came second, and was told that he would represent Nigeria at a competition in Brazil. That never happened. His school principal, he said, called him one day and told him he was no longer going to be Nigeria’s representative. He holds it against the principal. “I still dont know why the principal cancelled the trip. This frustrated me somehow, but later, I picked up from where I dropped, and started again,” he says.

*The CP holding aloft the rocket after it crashlanded

The courage to pick up and continue brought him in contact with Chibuisi Nwafor, a like-mind, with whom he launched the rocket. The two pooled their brains together. Gideon: “That was how we planned to build a rocket and a satellite, and send it into space. It was an amateur satellite.” CP Katsina says simple components, including sugar and computer accessories, were used. Mercifully, there was no casualty. And mercifully, again, on deactivation, it was  found it had no toxic or radioactive materials. But more heart-warming: The boys did not intend any mischief.  They were just two adventurous young boys, driven by a zeal to excel. Gideon said he was challenged that other countries were launching satellites into space.

Let me commend these two teenagers. What they did proves, just in case anybody was doubting it, that raw talents abound in Nigeria. What Nigeria lacks is the will to put them together and propel our country. Nothing confirms this unwillingness than the deafening silence from both the state and federal governments that has greeted the feat of the young boys. That is why I thought the attention of President Goodluck Jonathan should be drawn to it. In drawing his attention to the teenagers, I am protesting the conspiracy of silence and wastage of talents. This is a government which says it is hunting for gifted men and women with very special attributes and yet…. These young boys are from Imo State, a state which its governor claims to have been investing in education long before he became governor. And yet…. So, how come neither the state government nor the federal government has tried to locate these teenagers, ask them questions, and encourage them? Where is the Federal Ministry of Technology? Didn’t anybody in that ministry read the story? Or, is it that the boys came from the wrong state and/or the wrong part of the country? If the boys were from the South-west or the South-south, for example, would it have been different? I think so. Here is why.

In the South-South, ex-militants are being sent to different parts of the world, to some of the best schools, to put their talents into use. Some of them have been trained as pilots and aeronautical engineers. And just a couple of months ago, a teenage stowaway on an Arik Air flight from Benin Airport to the local wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport was treated as a hero. For embarking on a dangerous, criminal act, he became an instant celebrity, and hero (emphasis mine), with Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, and the MD of FAAN George Uriesi, posing for photographs with him. He has since been granted scholarship from secondary to university level by the Edo State government. For now, he is in the boarding house of one of the best secondary schools in Benin.

Before the Edo State offer, a Foundation linked to the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, had also offered him scholarship. And that’s for embarking on a dangerous adventure which dented Nigeria’s image. Even his mum became a celebrity, granting several interviews, and asking the government to take over the welfare of his other children. See?

Now, compare him to these two teenagers from Imo who are truly gifted and have the potential of putting Nigeria, positively, on the world map. Nobody is publishing their photographs. Nobody is talking to them or show-casing them. Nobody is celebrating them. It is as if they don’t exist. It is as if they did nothing. Where are the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, and his government? And where are the Federal Government and its Ministries for Education and Science and Technology?

For the records, there are many Gideons and Chibuisis in Nigeria. Young people with raw talents and a burning zeal to be of use to their country. But nobody cares. If these  teenagers were armed robbers, kidnappers, thugs, cultists, assassins or terrorists, somebody would have taken note.

Mr. President, I present to you these two gifted teenagers, Chikodi Chiadikobi Emenike and Chibuisi Nwafor. They say they want to study aeronautical engineering. Gideon throws a challenge. “If the federal government can sponsor us, we can take Nigeria to any level they want.” I believe him. Take up the challenge, Mr. President. A directive from you to the appropriate ministries will make them realise their dream. And it will be for the good of our dear country, Nigeria. SOURCE

Oshiomhole apologises over comments to a widow

Benin – Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo on Friday apologised for the comments he made to a widow in Benin during an inspection tour on Mission Road, in the state capital, a fortnight ago.

Oshiomhole said that he now regretted the comments which had become the subject of discourse in the social media.

The Governor, however, noted that he made the comments in anger.

Oshiomhole’s apology was made when the leadership of the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), paid him a courtesy visit in Benin.

He noted that though the challenge of modern times had bestowed on the shoulders of some women and single mothers the status of bread winners of their homes, such should not be used as an accuse to flout the laws.

The Governor urged the Muslim women leaders to use their offices to propagate the essence of healthy living among children and women in the nation and the need to maintain proper sanitary conditions in their neighbourhoods.

Oshiomhole lamented that the challenge of widowhood had also exposed children to different temptations, adding that there was the need for society to be careful, to avoid unwittingly creating more problems for the nation.

He noted that money was not the best thing that guaranteed ones happiness, “but honesty and selfless service.

The Governor added that if Muslims and Christians were adequately committed to their religious doctrines, the world would be a better place.

He urged the women to propagate the message of Islam through the nooks and crannies of the nation, and to also inculcate the values of honesty in their followers.

Oshiomhole, however, assured the association of government’s support in ensuring that its present leadership made remarkable progress and also consolidated on the successes of their predecessors.

Earlier, the FOMWAN National President, Hajia Amina Omoti, urged the state government to look into the issue of the teaching of Islamic Religious Studies in public schools in the state.

Omoti also solicited for government’s moral and financial support for the effective running of the association. (NAN)   SOURCE

Ubah Sets up Committee to Recover Vehicles, Money

The candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Chief Ifeanyi Ubah has set up a committee charged with the task of recovering all the campaign vehicles and monies he gave out to his directors, coordinators and agents in the state’s 21 local government areas, wards and the three senatorial zones during the campaigns for the election.

THISDAY checks revealed that Ubah who came fourth with 37,565 votes in the already announced results of the election was taken aback and felt aggrieved that majority of his campaign workers betrayed him and worked for rival candidates in the election.
Thus, the setting up of the committee, THISDAY learnt had caused many of these campaigns workers to go underground around the state.

For instance, a source said some of his agents went as far as negotiating with coordinators of his rivals to trade off their support for him on the election day and looked the other way while the election was allegedly being rigged to the detriment of their principal’s interest.

“Ubah was particularly peeved that these directors, coordinators and agents betrayed the trust and confidence he reposed in them,” the source said, adding that retrieving his vehicles was like a way of getting back at them.

A member of LP who craved anonymity told THISDAY in Nnewi yesterday that they have heard about the formation of the committee but felt it was a way of losing badly and a sign of political immaturity.

“It depends on what he is talking about anyway. Did his campaign workers ask him to give them bribe or vehicles to work? He voluntarily gave out vehicles and no one forced him. If he is recovering vehicles, it smacks of ingratitude because those people rendered services to him during the campaigns.

“Can he quantify their services in monetary terms except unless there was a written contract he had with those people before the election,” he said.

But the Media Director of Ifeanyi Ubah campaign organisation, Mr. Afam llouno, said what his principal did was not setting up a debt recovery committee but a general stock taking after the election, adding that “he wanted to know what happened, the area he did well and where he didn’t,”

The committee he said was in line with his principal’s avowed practice of accountability which he had been doing even before his foray into politics.

“Even when he was running his campaign organisation, he was very prudent and if you are given a task, you report back and render account of your stewardship. After the election, he called his coordinators in the wards, local governments, state and the senatorial zones to try to establish and know how things went down the line but people started blackmailing him. It is not a new thing to people that work with him except those who want to be funny,” he said.  THISDAYLIVE

How I co-ordinated Lagos Black Sunday robbery – Godogodo -

LAGOS — Sunday, September 9, 2012, will remain indelible in the minds of some families in LagosState, who lost their loved ones to the brazen attack of a gang of heavily armed robbers, who laid siege to strategic points in the state, killing at least three policemen and several other citizens, while scores sustained injuries.

Godogodo and his gang: From left: Leke, Yinusa, Adelawo and Godogodo at the Police Command Headqauters, Ikeja, Lagos, Wednesday.

But the arrest  of all the members of the gang that operated that day, including the notorious South-West robbery czar, Abiodun Ogunjobi, aka, Godogodo, would bring relief to relatives and friends of those killed or injured during the encounter.

Meanwhile, Godogodo, who was arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, led by SP Abba Kyari, on August 1, 2013, has revealed how he coordinated the bloody  operation. Bureaux de change  robbery

He gave chilling details of how he led members of the gang to cart away millions of dollars from bureau de change operators in Agege and Gbagada areas of Lagos. According to Godogodo, “ On that fateful day, I called one of my boys, Sayeed Omolopa, to meet me at AlfaBeach in Ajah, and some other boys led by Kasali and Ejike. “They were about seven and my boys were five. Yemi Boss, who came with Ejike, said we should go to Agege and rob some bureau de change operators.

The agreement was that everyone will get what he lays his hands on. “We used two vehicles and over nine AK-47 rifles. When we got to Agege, some bureau de change operators that saw us ran to us thinking we wanted to change money and we opened fire on them and ran into their shops to pack all the money we found. “In fact, we robbed from shop to shop and we also shot sporadically to scare people. We shot at people who tried to block the road and prevent us from moving.

I can’t count the number of people killed in that operation. “Wherever people tried to block the road, we opened fire on them. The boys that went with me for that job were notorious, they were difficult to control but they all feared me. We made a lot of money from the operation “While we were trying to escape, we met a team of policemen attached to the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, and we thought  they were after us.

On approaching them, we opened fire on the van and killed all the police in it and collected their rifles and escaped through Lagos-Abekuta road. “Money was not shared after the operation because everyone took whatever he was able to grab. When I got home I realised that I made over N500,000, but some days later, I was informed that one of my boys, Tosin, made over N6 million from the operation.

“Everybody made a lot of money from the operation. I didn’t border to read the newspapers the next day to know the extent of damage but I knew many people lost their lives in that operation. You know, as robbers, we do not go for operations to kill but we kill when we don’t have option.” Why we killed policemen Godogodo also narrated how he and members of his gang killed four policemen at Ajah, in February 2013, snatching three AK-47 rifles from them.

He said he killed the policemen because he wanted to recover his nine rifles seized by the SARS operatives from one of his boys, Tosin. Narrating the incident, Godogodo said: “After SARS operatives collected nine of my rifles, I was left with only two AK-47 rifles and a pump action rifle. “On that fateful day, we went to rob residents of Awoyaya area in Ajah. I was with Odun, Oluwole,Yinusa and Sayeed Omolopa.

“We robbed house-to-house and on our way home, we saw a police van and a policeman behind the van was sleeping, Odun suggested that we attack them and collect  their rifles and I obliged. “We drove a Sports Utility Van and approached them, opened fire on the patrol van and it veered off the road. We went after it and killed all the policemen in the van and collected their rifles. After that operation, we went to AlfaBeach to cool off.” The Abule Egba killings Godogodo also narrated how he killed a Police Inspector and a corporal at Abule Egba area of Lagos.

According to him, “Ife and Oleh brought the job, they told me that we should go and rob a man who had just returned from London with huge sums of money and some drugs. “We went to his house and discovered that he was not at home and we left in annoyance and went on to rob some people from house-to-house.

“On our way out, we spotted some policemen at Oko-Oba police station, they didn’t know that we were robbers.  We killed them before collecting their rifles. “Some few months later, we snatched a white Range Rover Sport in Ikeja and two of the occupants escaped with their phones.

“We suspected that they were going to call the police. On arriving Agidingbi Road, we spotted two RRS men on a motorbike and we thought they were coming after us. We slowed down, by the time they got very close to us, I opened the window and fired rapid shots at them, they fell into the gutter with their motorbike and I sent my boys to get their rifles before we drove off. “When we got to Coca-Cola junction, there was serious traffic and we decided to make a turn. When we got to the spot where the policemen fell, we saw some people who were trying to help them and my boys opened fire on them again.

“We managed to make our way to Medical Road, close to ComputerVillage, but by then, the policemen there had received message of our operations and the moment they sighted us, they opened fire and damaged our tyres. “We managed the tyres up to Capitol Road. There was traffic and I came out of my vehicle to  clear the traffic and there was this Toyota Camry following us.

I didn’t know that there was an armed mobile policeman in it. When I returned I discovered that Kasali was struggling with the mobile policeman who was carrying a rifle. “I fired some shots at the policeman. He attempted to run away, I chased him and killed him on the spot before picking his rifle.  We snatched another vehicle and abandoned the Range Rover Sport before we escaped.”   VANGUARDNGR

What a shame! Gov Oshiomhole tells a crying widow to 'go and die'!

"You're a widow, go and die!" That's what Governor Adams Oshiomhole said to widow during a sanitation exercise of Benin City with some state officials recently. The woman was hawking on the road side which is illegal in the state but to tell her to go and die after she knelt in front of him, crying and begging him not to seize her little means of livelihood, is just cold-hearted.

Shame on you Mr Governor! I'm so mad at the way he treated this woman. Wasn't he once a labour leader? Are these the kind of leaders we have? No compassion, no kindness? What a damn shame! See the video after the cut...

National Identity card to become ATM, travel card

Abuja -  The new national identity card can be used as Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card anywhere there is MasterCard logo in the world, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has said.
NIMC’s Director of Technical Services, Mr Emmanuel Ogungbe, told Journalists  on Thursday in Abuja that the commission had already signed an agreement with MasterCard.
“As opposed to just being an ID card, the card is also a cash card. What that means is you can also use it the way you currently use your ATM card.
I-D-CARD
*The old National Identity Card
“So if you put money on the card, you can withdraw this money anywhere in the world.
“Two, it’s also a travel card. What that means is that very soon, especially within the West African sub-region, you can travel passport-free as long as you have this card with you.
“So this card has multi-purpose use and that is why we are calling it a general-multi-purpose card, it’s not just an ID card.”
According to him, all that a holder of the card needs to do is to present it at the point of entry of any country where it will be swiped.
He said the information about the person, similar to the ones on passport, would come out and the country would allow entry.
Ogungbe said that the new card was error-proof and would enhance the security of the country.
“We have a system called automated biometrics identification system in our data centre that checks information of newly registered people coming into the database against what we already have in the database.
“If there is a hit, that means that person was registered before and of course this means we will deny new registration.
“So, there is no way of beating that system for now; I’m very confident of that. That will ensure that you can only register once.
“What the bad elements do is to hide in a way that you won’t be able to capture them. But we are saying with this (ID) we know who they are and we will be able to very easily locate them,’’ he said.
According to him, if there is a crime and the police are able to lift finger prints from the crime scene and send to NIMC, the commission will be able to give the full details of the criminals.
He also said that the card would reduce incidences of bank frauds as fraudsters would be easily detected and apprehended.
“Talk about even fraud in the banks, where someone will obtain a loan in a particular bank, move on to the next bank without servicing the previous loan to obtain another loan; that will become a thing of the past.
“Because once the bank takes your national identification number, it can see all your various transactions, all various businesses that you have with all the other banks.”
He said that government had asked the commission to “register every single Nigerian and legal residents” but warned the aliens against any attempt to use the card to commit crimes.
“If you are an alien and you think you can continue doing that and go scot-free, then the person’s time is numbered because very soon, we will get to him or her,” he said. (NAN).... SOURCE

Ngige Should Be Watched Closely - Obi's Aide

As the electorate in Anambra State, awaits Saturday for the supplementary governorship election in some polling units, Senior Special Assistant, Media & Publicity to Governor Peter Obi, Mr Valentine Obienyem has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission on how to ensure successful conclusion of the election.

In a Press Release yesterday, Obienyem said the activities of the All Progressive Congress candidate in the election, Dr Chris Ngige, offered home work for the INEC towards concluding the poll. Obienyem said his observation was hinged on the disinformation campaign being mounted by Ngige against INEC and the conduct of the election.

For us in Anambra State, we are familiar with Ngige’s politics of revisionism; we have gotten used to his penchant for transferred aggression each time he loses an election. Till today Ngige has not accepted that he lost the 2003 governorship election. He does not accept that in 2010, Mr Peter Obi beat him again in the governorship poll. Would it not be asking too much of the same man to accept that he has lost this third attempt at the governorship? It is therefore very important that the officials of INEC understand where he is coming from. This insight is necessary to understanding Ngige’s vicious propaganda against those he seeks to blame his defeat at the November 16 election on’, the Release stated.

The governor’s image maker contended that the APC candidate was making all sorts of wild claims on the election for political capital. ‘None of Ngige’s allegations can stand up to scrutiny. What was the worth of the evidence of the 446 witnesses he mobilized to the tribunal in 2004? The tribunal consigned their submissions to the dustbin. Their so – called evidence was calculated to achieve miscarriage of justice. A similar scenario is playing out, designed to deny the APGA and its candidate Willie Obiano of their hard – earned victory.’

Obienyem maintained that since the APC candidate was insisting to be privy to secrets about the governorship election, he should be watched closely by the INEC and security agents as the supplementary election takes place. ‘Ngige should be assisting the security agencies now with explanations on the alarm raised by his Campaign Organization before the election that NYSC and army uniforms were being sewn in the State. Where and how did he discover this development, if it was not a ruse? How did he know that these outfits were to be used to rig election? What was his party chieftain El Rufai doing in Anambra on the day of the election? If there were irregularities in the November 16 poll, did it not follow that the APC whose members were arrested in Owerri for related offences was the party trying to subvert the electoral process?’

 ‘Given the implications of the above, INEC will do well to consider every misinformation by Ngige on the conduct of the November 16 poll as a clue to planned rigging of the supplementary election by desperate politicianss like Ngige', the Release said.

Concluding Obienyem said that even as Ngige was threatening to boycott the election for display sake, that he had directed his members to start campaigning secretly so that, having deceived Nwoye to boycott the election, he would come second.