Abdul's Blog: 12/22/17

Friday, 22 December 2017

Police arrest 7 for sale of Naira notes, confiscate N4 million

The Police in Anambra State have arrested seven persons in Onitsha and its environ for hawking and sale of naira notes.

Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Mr Garba Umar, who paraded the suspects before journalists, said the suspects were engaging in an act that was illegal and punishable under the Central Bank of Nigeria act.

45-year-old Pasquale Pagano, who played Santa at a Christmas school party in Southern Italy, has died. Pagano died while handing out presents.

Statement from Gino Rossi Vairo institute in Agropoli said are clueless as to what led to Pagano’s death, however a mother of one of the pupils reported said his face turned blue, suggesting that Pagano might have had a heart attack.

A white Zimbabwean farmer evicted by gun-wielding police and a mob associated with the ruling party has returned to a hero’s welcome, in a sign that the new president is charting a path away from predecessor Robert Mugabe on an issue that had hastened the country’s international isolation.

With a military escort, Robert Smart made his way into Lesbury farm about 200 kilometers (124 miles) east of the capital, Harare, on Thursday to cheers and song by dozens of workers and community members.

Amid the global outcry over hellish migrant camps in Libya, many African leaders have accused the country of racism and crimes against their African “brothers”.

But for those who have returned from the living hell, it’s not only the Libyans who are profiting from the “migrant business”. Illegal migrants are also the prey of sub-Saharan mafia groups, especially Nigerians.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said his administration had ushered in a new era of accountability and responsibility by auditing and correcting the many wrongs of the past that crippled the economy and created an exclusive class

In a statement by his special adviser media, Femi Adesina, he said the long-suffering, commitment and sacrifices of all his supporters over the years will be remembered by posterity, urging them to remain steadfast in pursuing the overall good of the nation.

Innoson Nigeria Limited and its Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, on Friday withdrew an ex parte application they filed against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The other defendants in the ex parte application filed before the Federal High Court in Lagos are the Federal High Court, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector-General of Police and Guaranty Trust Bank.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane insisted Cristiano Ronaldo is 100 percent fit for Saturday’s huge El Clasico clash against Barcelona despite playing a limited role in training this week.

And the Frenchman urged Ronaldo to put his perceived desire for an improved contract from the European champions on the back burner to help Real get back into the La Liga title race.

The Kogi State Government on Friday commenced the payment of workers’salary arrears from September to December by 60 per cent.

This is contained in a statement signed by the state Commissioner for Finance, Mr Idris Asiru issued to newsmen in Lokoja.

Officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority in Abuja on Friday paid a courtesy visit to human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), according to a report by Punch.

The FCDA officials were led by General Counsel/ Secretary, Legal Services at the secretariat, Mohammed Umar. He appealed to Falana to drop the N100m suit he filed against the FCDA at an FCT High Court about four weeks ago.

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has been named in a police report investigating Catalan independence.

The police report will now be passed to the investigating Supreme Court judge, Pablo Llaren.

Here's how he shared his story and photos on Instagram;

**************

"8th of November 2017 was a day I will never forget in my life, the day that could have been d end of my life journey but the omnipotent saved me! I was heading to ilorin for a movie shoot on that fateful day with my friends, on getting to eye-nkorin (3mins) drive to ilorin town.

Liberians will go to the polls on Tuesday for the presidential runoff vote that pits former international footballer George Weah against incumbent Vice-President Joseph Boakai.

Weah, representing the Coalition for Democratic Change, won 38.8 percent of votes in the October 10 first round, while Boakai came in second place with 28.8 percent.

The men who kidnapped Mrs. Tina Inegbagha, the wife of Paramount ruler of Ayakoro community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, have demanded a ransom of N100m to free her, Punch Metro reports.

The unknown gunmen had, on December 16, 2017, invaded the coastal settlement, abducting the monarch’s wife as well as the principal of Government Craft Development Centre, Ayakoro, Mr. Egele Jack.

Pictures of the woman who was brutally stabbed to death in a shop after refusing to marry her boyfriend have emerged.

According to Dailymail, the woman identified as Shaknoza Abdikayumova, 23, was stabbed 17 times by her boyfriend Ali Kulbaev, 26, before he turned the knife on himself but failed to commit suicide in Ufa, Russia.

Out-of-favour Super Eagles forward Anthony Ujah says he is “unbelievably happy” to return to his former German Bundesliga club Mainz 05 from Chinese side Liaoning.

And Nigeria defender Leon Balogun is over the moon about his countryman’s return to the club he joined from Norwegian outfit Lillestrom in 2011 before joining Cologne, where he played on loan for a season before making sealing a permanent deal with the Billy Goats in 2013.

Following the alarming rates of drug abuse in some parts of the country, the House of Representatives at plenary yesterday, asked the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC, to immediately place a ban on the dispensing and sales of codeine across the counter nationwide.

The House also told the agency to ensure that the drug was sold on prescription.

A set of conjoined twins, James and John Ugwoke, have undergone a successful surgery at the Narayana-Health-Mazundar Shaw Medical Centre, Bangalore, India.

According to the parents, Obinna and his wife Amarachi, the children were born joined at the stomach on May 8, 2017 at the First Covenant Hospital, Satellite Town in Lagos.

Some Nigerians deported from Libya have tested positive for HIV/AIDS. Screening was carried out by Edo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (SACA).

Alarmed by the discovery, the state said it has begun the process of recalling Libya returnees to make them undergo HIV/AIDS screening.

Three armed men on Wednesday snatched a seven weeks old baby at Okungbowa Street, Uselu quarters in Egor local government area, Edo.

The men were said to have stormed the residence and asked everybody to lie down at gunpoint before snatching the baby.

A customer, who allegedly hacked several Unity Bank accounts and stole $64,822.97 (about N23.3million) with an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card, has been brought before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.

Adeagbo Samson Bayonle, 37, was accused of committing the alleged crime in connivance with one Dayo Ogunseyitan.

A Nurse, Hadiza Ndayebo have given birth to quadruplets at the Jumai Babangida Aliyu Maternal and Neonatal Hospital in Minna after 17 years of infertility.

However, one of the quadruplets died immediately after delivery. Hadiza said that she had to get pregnant through artificial insemination after waiting for many years without getting pregnant.

A former deputy governor of Osun State, Mr. Iyiola Omisore, has said the Peoples Democratic Party in the state will unite to stop the ruling All Progressives Congress from destroying the state.

Omisore, who said this at the factional secretariat of the PDP in Osogbo on Thursday, stated that the crisis rocking the party would be resolved within the next one month.

Bitcoin prices plunged by a quarter on Friday as investors cashed out just before Christmas after the wildly volatile currency’s stratospheric rise in recent weeks.

The precipitous drop comes after a series of warnings by analysts and governments about a bubble that could burst at any moment as investors, many inexperienced, piled into the unit hoping to enjoy some of the eye-watering gains.

In unrelenting efforts to rid Bauchi State of crime and criminality, the Command under the leadership of CP SANUSI N. LEMU, psc had through a coordinated operation smashed different criminal syndicates who specialized in perpetrating various crimes in the state as follows:

After several unsuccessful interventions to save an 11-year-old marriage, an Igando Customary Court in Lagos has dissolved the union of Mrs Adeola Olalere and her husband, Amidu, over constant battery.

The President of the court, Mr Akin Akinniyi, said while delivering judgment in the case on Friday that the petitioner was adamant despite all mediation by the court and family members.

The Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has directed that the civil servants in the state to vacate for the Christmas holiday on Friday, December 22, 2017.

They will resume on Monday, January 8, 2018.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe has revealed how he trekked a distance of 30 kilometres to cross the Zimbabwean-Mozambican border amid “threats to his life”.

Mnangagwa made the revelation when he addressed some Zimbabweans while on a working visit to South Africa.

The Anambra Police Command yesterday paraded seven persons allegedly involved in the sale and hawking of mint naira notes.

The suspects made up of six males and a female were arrested at Ogbogwu and Building Material’s market in Onitsha while two others were said to be on the run.

The federal government has listed its $3 billion Eurobond and $500 million diaspora bond on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Patience Oniha, director general of the Debt Management Office (DMO), disclosed this on Thursday.

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta hopes to welcome Philippe Coutinho to the club during the January transfer window.

The La Liga leaders are expected to renew their interest in the Liverpool playmaker after having multiple bids turned down in the previous window.

The Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), on Thursday said he didn’t know why the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arrested the Chairman of Innoson Motors, Innocent Chukwuma.

Malami said this while answering questions from State House correspondents at the end of a meeting of the Federal Executive Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

A South Carolina math teacher and tennis coach who apparently, is a mother of one, was arrested earlier this week after her 17-year-old student said he had a sexual relationship with her, authorities said.

Jennifer Danielle Olajire-Aro, 27, faces one count of sexual battery with a student 16 or 17 years of age, according to court records. She was arrested on Monday and has been ordered not to have contact with the victim, his family or students at the school.

Religion is one subject that never fails to tickle Nigerians. I could set up a school where I teach children that the earth is flat, that climate change is a farce concocted by western scientists, and that religion is superior to science and I may never get a single visit from a concerned parent.

The management of Dangote Industries Limited has again rejected BUA Group’s claim to being the rightful owner of Mining Lease No 2541.

Dangote, in a statement yesterday, said its reaction became necessary as a result of its status as a publicly quoted company and to further re-assure its shareholders, the regulators and members of the public that the company is and remains a responsible corporate citizen.

Following the controversy generated by the arrest of the Chairman of the Innoson Group, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has waded into the dispute between the businessman and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank).

Presidential Political Adviser Senator Babafemi Ojudu has reflected on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying that he left the ruling party because he could not realise his presidential ambition.

He chided the Waziri Adamawa for twisting facts and wiping up sentiments against the Buhari administration and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for partisan reasons.

The remains of Olori Kudirah Aduke Adetunji, wife of the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji, were buried yesterday amid tears.

The olori died in the morning and was buried according to Islamic rites at the Popoyemoja palace of the Olubadan.

Truck operated by one of the ground handling companies yesterday hit and damaged an aircraft belonging to Air Peace at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, disrupting some of its flights.

The incident occurred in the morning during the loading of passengers’ luggage into the cargo hold of the aircraft scheduled to service the carrier’s Lagos-Uyo route.

The Federal Government has explained why it is probing the purchase of the official residence of the Senate President by Senator David Mark.

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN) and the Chairman, Special Presidential Investigation Panel for Recovery of Public Property (SPIPRPP) Okoi Obono-Obla, explained that the investigation was informed by information to the effect that Mark, a former Senate President, unlawfully acquired the property in 2011, without being reflected in the Federal Government’s gazette as required.

Iraq on Thursday took the first step towards taking over the giant Majnoon oilfield following the pullout of Anglo-Dutch giant Shell, Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi said.

Luaibi said a committee was formed to “start taking over all responsibilities and documents from Shell which decided to withdraw from the field” in southern Iraq.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested Dr. Ngozi Olojeme, the Deputy Chairman, Finance Committee of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation in the 2015 presidential election, The Punch has learnt.

The suspect, who served as the Chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund from 2009 to 2015, was, in June, declared wanted for allegedly diverting N69bn from the agency.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari is planning to be the sole candidate in 2019.

Although there are indications that Buhari may seek reelection, the president is yet to make a clear statement on 2019.