Abdul's Blog: 02/27/18

Tuesday, 27 February 2018

Two Men To Pay N1m For Blocking Governor Yahaya Bello's Convoy

Two men, Ahmed Abdullahi, and Nura Musa were on Tuesday arraigned in a Wuse Zone 2 Magistrates’ Court, Abuja, for allegedly blocking the convoy of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.

Abdullahi, 37, and Musa, 23, both of Asokoro, Abuja, are facing a count of public nuisance.

Manchester United board members met with rival Premier League executives last week and privately confessed to regretting signing Alexis Sanchez, according to Metro UK report.

The Chilean moved to Old Trafford in a straight swap with Arsenal for Henrikh Mkhitaryan in January, and was handed a mammoth contract that makes him the highest-paid player in the Premier League.

A report by The Sun UK has shown that a woman has been mauled to death by a lioness. The sad incident happened at a private game lodge in South Africa.

The unnamed victim, 22, was attacked by the big cat at a reserve in Hammanskraal, a small town in Guateng.

The number of billionaires from the shores of Africa has risen to 23 in January 2018, and atop that list sits industrialist Aliko Dangote.

Three Nigerians feature in Forbes’ 23 African Billionaires list, Dangote retaining the throne for the 7th year in a row with $12.2 billion.

Troops of 23 Brigade deployed Wukari on Ex-Ayem Akpatuma and team of Department of State Service from Jalingo during an Operation, arrested 3 suspects in connection to the kidnapping and murdering of Hon. Hosea Ibi, a member of Taraba State House of Assembly and Mr. Chidiebere who was later released after a ransom was paid.

A statement by the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Col Ogunsanya said, “The suspects are Jaka Ejukun (24years), Peter Isaga (33years) and Arachukwu Bedforth (21years).

The police on Tuesday arraigned a woman, Esther Nnachi and a man, Moses David, in a Karmo Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, over alleged N1.6 million visa fraud.

Nnachi of 22, Kukwaba St., Kubwa and David of 96, New Maitama Juji St., Kubwa, are facing three-count charge of joint act, criminal breach of trust and cheating.

A former Governor of Cross River State, Mr Donald Duke, on Tuesday said he had not backed down on his presidential ambition.

Duke made the statement in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said the speculations that he had dumped the aspiration were untrue.

Two Nigerian soldiers were killed and four injured in an ambush by Boko Haram militants in the country’s northeastern state of Borno, the army said on Tuesday.

The attack on Monday happened as soldiers were travelling between the towns of Biu and Damboa.

The President, Nigeria Youth Organisation(NYO), Abdullahi Wali, says he will sue President Muhammadu Buhari if he refuses to contest in the 2019 presidential election.

Wali, in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja, said he was reacting to a statement credited to Buhari during a meeting with APC governors.

The Federal Government has released a new directive on how President Muhammadu Buhari should be addressed at formal functions, henceforth.

The new directive was given by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, in a circular sent to ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government.

It has been widely reported that the wedding of the daughter of the richest man in Africa, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, to the son of the former Inspector General of Police, Jamil Abubakar will hold in March.

And information coming from the family of the bride indicates that the father will not allow the consumption of alcohol at the wedding.

Strong indications have emerged that the ten pro- Muhammadu Buhari Senators who had last week Wednesday, kicked against the new sequence of elections adopted by the apex legislative chamber, following amendment of the 2010 Electoral Act, will be suspended for one year.

According to a source in the Senate, the Senator Samuel Anyanwu, PDP, Imo East led Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions is set to meet this week on the matter, just as the source said that the 10 senators who opposed the bill could be placed on one year suspension.

Italy goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon confirmed on Tuesday he is ready to come out of international retirement if he is called up for friendlies against England and Argentina.

Buffon called time on his international career after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia, losing a two-legged play-off to Sweden to miss the tournament for the first time in 60 years.

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has called on struggling manager Arsene Wenger to step down as reports suggest succession planning at the club has already begun.

The Frenchman, under contract at the Emirates until 2019, is under increasing pressure after his team’s abject display in Sunday’s 3-0 League Cup defeat against Manchester City — their sixth loss in 12 games this year.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, party has extended the tenure of its National Working Committee (NWC) and other executives by one year.

While announcing the extension at the party’s end of the year meeting on Tuesday in Abuja, the APC NEC held that the extension is effective from June this year.

South African organisations continue to report the highest instances of economic crime in the world, with economic crime reaching its highest level over the past decade, according to PwC’s biennial Global Economic Crime Survey released Tuesday (today).

South African organisations that have experienced economic crime are now at a staggering 77 per cent, followed in second place by Kenya (75 per cent), and thirdly France (71 per cent).

Taliban militants whipped a man and a woman for marrying without their family’s approval, and for eloping from Afghanistan’s northern Faryab province, an official said on Tuesday.

“The incident happened in the Bandar area of Kohistanat district, an area under the control of Taliban,” provincial police spokesman Karim Yurish told dpa.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned a banker, Nsa Ayi, before Justice Mojisola Dada of a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja for fraudulent and false accounting to the tune of N700m.

He was also said to have altered instructions and falsified signatures of customers to transfer money into various accounts outside the bank.

A Chinese female cyclist, Huang Shuang, who rode from Morocco to Lagos, Nigeria, within five months, says she is convinced that anybody can achieve anything he or she determines to do.

Huang, also known as CICI, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday that she was inspired to embark on ‘`cycling around the world’’ after riding around her country.

Troops deployed to Yelwata under the ongoing Exercise Ayem Akpatuma (Cat Race) have arrested 10 herdsmen destroying farmland at Tse-Tigir and Tse-Ndugh villages of Benue.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Texas Chukwu, in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, said the suspects fled into the bush when they sighted the troops.

“While in the act of destroying the farmland, the herdsmen sighted the aggressive troops and fled into the bush.

Lawmakers sHUt down a bill that would have banned semi-automatic 'assault' weapons such as the AR-15 used in the Parkland school massacre.

However, they did agree to raise the legal age for purchasing a firearm to 21 as well as approve legislation that would give teachers the right to carry guns in school.

Some parents in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have admitted that they pay extra fees for their children to learn how to speak with British accent.

The parents, who spoke in separate interviews with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), gave several reasons why they felt having British accent would help the children, with some regarding it as proper education.

On Sunday during the final of the League Cup at Wembley, Arsene Wenger saw the board for extra minutes read three and asked the fourth official, Graham Scott, why it was just three minutes. Scott answered, “Why do you need more time?’

And that is the question many angry Arsenal fans will be asking their boss of 21 years right now. Is there a need for more time for him on the job?

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed that it was investigating former First Lady Patience Jonathan for her alleged involvement in money laundering activities.

It added that the investigation was informed by its discovery that she allegedly laundered money and bought property beyond her legitimate earnings.

The army and the police yesterday disagreed over who should carry the can for the February 19 abduction of 110 Dapchi schoolgirls.

The Army said it “formally” handed over security in Dapchi to the police as its men moved to another operation, but the police said there was no such handover.

Commission says it is standing by its decision to hold the 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections on the same day while the governorship and state legislative elections will come next.

The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this at the quarterly consultative meeting with the media in Abuja on Monday.

Image result for Yusuf Buhari Returns To Nigeria Following Further Treatment In Germany

President Muhammadu Buhari’s son, Yusuf, has returned to Nigeria after undergoing further treatment for the head injuries he sustained in a motorbike accident he was involved in late last year.

According to This Day, the gentleman returned to the country yesterday February 26.

Yusuf had broken a limb and sustained injuries to the head in an accident when himself and his friend were having a motorbike race in Abuja.

A girl who lost both of her parents some years ago – has been given a reason to smile again. “I had lost all hopes, nobody was willing to help me and my two siblings, nobody wanted to associate with us.

For years, we suffered terribly without help,” these were the words of Victoria. Victoria the star price winner of the #Rochasfoundation 20th Anniversary giveaway.

The United States President, Donald Trump will host French President Emmanuel Macron for a state visit on April 24, the White House has said.

“The president and first lady will welcome President and Mrs. Macron of France to the White House on April 24,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters.

The United States will overtake Russia as the world’s biggest oil producer, if not this year, by 2019 at the latest, as it oil import dropped to its lowest level since 2001.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said this at an event in Tokyo that United States would overtake Russia as the biggest crude oil producer “definitely next year”, if not this year.

“U.S. shale growth is very strong, the pace is very strong … The United States will become the No.1 oil producer sometime very soon,” he told Reuters separately.

In the deliberate policy to give more freedom to women, Saudi Arabia has permitted the enlistment of women in the army.

The country continues to enact reforms granting females more access to a wide range of previously forbidden careers.

South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday demanded a 30-year-jail sentence for former president Park Geun-hye for corruption and abuse of power.

Park, 66, was sacked by the country’s top court in March last year over a wide-ranging corruption scandal and has been held in custody for almost a year now.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI underwent successful heart surgery in France on Monday, state news agency MAP said.

The 54-year old king was treated at a Ambroise Paré Clinic in Paris after suffering from a “heart rhythm disorder” on Jan. 20, the agency said, adding he had been diagnosed with an “atrial flutter”.

Paris Saint Germain has now confirmed that Neymar Jr.’s injury on Sunday was more than a sprain of the ankle and it has ruled him out of the Champions League match against Real Madrid next week and Brazil’s friendly matches, in March.

There are even fears that the talented Brazilian attacker will have a race against time to be ready for the World Cup in Russia in June.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday urged the Federal High Court in Lagos not to unfreeze a Unity Bank account with a balance of N1,902,673,399.93 belonging to a business woman, Hajiya Bola Shagaya.

The anti-graft agency claimed that the N1.9bn was the balance of a total of N3,305,150,000, which Shagaya received as “founder fees” on behalf of an organisation, “Women for Change” being spearheaded by a former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan.

After only two weeks at the box office, Marvel’s superhero flick ‘Black Panther’ has grossed over $700m in worldwide theatres.

With a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it is one of the best-reviewed superhero films ever.

The Ryan Coogler-directed movie remained number one in the US for the second straight weekend, during which it earned over $108 million in North American cinemas.

Zimbabwe’s opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change party led by Welshman Ncube, has reportedly said that former first lady Grace Mugabe must be arrested and prosecuted over her controversially attained PhD.

According to New Zimbabwe.com, MDC spokesperson, Kurauone Chihwayi, said that Grace was “accused number one” in her PhD saga.

Egypt has frozen the assets of leading government critic Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, arrested earlier this month over alleged links to exiled members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, the prosecution said on Sunday.

His February 14 arrest came after he joined a call for a boycott of a presidential election next month that the incumbent, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, is expected to win easily after most rivals were sidelined or withdrew.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who took office 11 days ago, was due to reshuffle his government Monday, according to an official statement, as he draws a line under his graft-tainted predecessor Jacob Zuma.

Ramaphosa was scheduled to announce his new ministers at 9:30pm (1930 GMT) in an televised address from the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the seat of the presidency.

The effort of the Nigerian Army to fish out criminals and protect farmlands in Benue State and it environ in the ongoing Exercise Ayem Akpatuma is yielding tremendous result as troops of Sector 1 Sub-Sector A, deployed at Yelwata, while on routine patrol arrested 10 herdsmen destroying farmland at Tse-Tigir and Tse-Ndugh villages on Monday.

While in the act of destroying the farmland the herdsmen sighted the aggressive troops and fled into the Bush.

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere says it’s “hard to accept” some refereeing decisions in Manchester City’s Carabao Cup final win at Wembley.

Wilshere felt that Sergio Aguero fouled Shkodran Mustafi in the build-up to his opener, while manager Arsene Wenger called Vincent Kompany’s second goal “100% offside” in the 3-0 win.

Atletico Madrid have sold Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco and Argentine midfielder Nicolas Gaitan to Chinese club Dalian Yifang, the Spanish club confirmed on Monday.

Carrasco had started just three times in La Liga since the turn of the year and Gaitan only once this entire season under coach Diego Simeone.

A Nigerian cleric identified as Bishop Sam Zuga of the House of Joy Ministry in Benue state, is currently being bashed and heavily criticized online by some internet users after making a controversial statement on Facebook. The pastor said Muslims are better than Christians as he gave his reasons.

This did not go down well with some Christians who feel that a pastor/bishop is not meant to make such controversial statement most especially publicly due to his status.

Below is what he shared on Facebook;

Angel Christopher speaks on sex and marriage.

A Nollywood actress, Angel Christopher has taken to Instagram in an attempt to change the orientation she believes Nigerians have about sex. According to her, people associate sex with Satan and darkness, whereas the Bible spoke of how sex is holy within the confines of marriage. Read her words below.

The daughter of Bill Cosby, Ensa Cosby is dead. She passed away on Friday night at the age of 44. TMZ reports that Ensa Cosby died in Massachusetts, where the family has a large estate.

A spokesperson for her father, Andrew Wyatt, announced on Monday afternoon that her death was caused by renal disease, with Ensa having suffered from kidney problems throughout her life.

Ring legend Ricky Hatton led the tributes after professional boxer Scott Westgarth died following his fight on Saturday night.

The 31-year-old light-heavyweight was taken ill after returning backstage following his points victory over Dec Spelman at Doncaster Dome.

The Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has reiterated his call for the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The governor cited insecurity and economic problems in the country as “evidence of the President’s cluelessness and inability to steer the ship of the country.”

A doctor at Federal Medical Center,Ebute Meta Lagos - has got herself trending online for urging Nigerian husbands to marry a second wife or an extra wife (as the case may be) if they have the resources. According to her, marrying more wives is better than the irresponsible act of cheating on their wives with other ladies.

Brig.-Gen. Jude Chukwu on Monday assumed duty as the new Director of Army Public Relations.

Chukwu takes over from Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, who proceeds for a course at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPS), Kuru, near Jos.

Troops of 707 Special Forces Brigade conducting Exercise Ayem Akpatuma have on Sunday arrested five suspected cultists in Katsina Ala Local Government Area of Benue State.

Preliminary investigation conducted revealed that the suspects are students of the College of Education, Katsina Ala, who were about to be initiated as new members.

Troops were said to have acted on credible information followed by raid operations, which led to their arrest.