Keneugochukwu's Blog

Some robbery suspects engaged in a war of words on Thursday at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters. The suspects, who were recently arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, traded blames over who caused their arrest. PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspects, Fatai Balogun, Wale Oluwatosin and Gbenga Olusanya, were arrested shortly after robbing a family in the Iju, Ishaga area of the state. Police authorities said after the robbery, the suspects shared the loot and went their separate ways.

The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has said the country lost about N776bn between 1980 and 2010 to corruption under the old fertiliser distribution policy. Adesina, who stated this at the end of a three-day Food and Agriculture China South-South High Level meeting in Abuja, noted that the loss translated into an average of N26.3bn annually. Before the inauguration of a new fertiliser policy under the Growth Enhancement Scheme, the Federal Government had bought the product from contractors and distributed same to farmers. Only few farmers reportedly had access to the agricultural input.

One of Saudi Arabia's top conservative clerics has said women who drive risk damaging their ovaries and bearing children with clinical problems, countering activists who are trying to end the Islamic kingdom's male-only driving rules. A campaign calling for women to defy the ban in a protest drive on October 26 has spread rapidly online over the past week and gained support from some prominent women activists.

President Goodluck Jonathan has reaffirmed the vibrancy of Nigeria’s economy while fielding questions from a select panel of journalists during the presidential media chat in Abuja. Asked about the true state of the nation’s economy, the president said “sometimes people play politics with serious things”. He added that “To say Nigeria is broke, there must be some parameters.

A few hours after Jim's deliverance pictures at the Synagogue Church of all nations went viral. The actor delivered the message below on twitter.

President Goodluck Jonathan will host another edition of the Presidential Media Chat on Sunday, September 29, 2013 at 7pm. President Jonathan will in the course of the programme, answer questions from a panel of journalists on current national issues and events, as well as policies and actions of his administration. Members of the public who have questions they will like the President to respond to on the programme may send them in via Twitter to @mediachatng1. The programme will be broadcast live on the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and the Voice of Nigeria (VON).

A French hostage kidnapped by members of the Ansaru Islamist group in Rimi town, Katsina state, northwest Nigeria, has asked for the help of the French and Nigerian government in securing his release. Agency reports indicate this in a video released by his captors, which appears to be the first visual sign of life from Francis Collomp since about 30 gunmen stormed his compound last year.

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola today tendered an unreserved apology to the Ndigbo community segment that misunderstood him, whom he referred to as his ‘kindred’ in a recent action of his administration, even as he insisted that there was a need to discuss factors that could be responsible for under-development in the South East.

Ifeanyi, Tony, Henry, Jude, Peter and Paul of Psquare posted a picture of themselves when they were boys… The Square brothers look funny in this picture!

The Ogun State Government in western Nigeria and a Chinese Construction Company, the Citic Construction Ltd. have signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of 2,000 housing units. The Investment Manager, Citic Construction, Robert Xu, made the disclosure in Abeokuta, after a meeting between representatives of the company and Gov. Ibikunle Amosun. Xu explained that the project would commence soon and it would be financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF).

Suspected Boko Haram Islamists on Thursday opened fire in a church in Nigeria’s restive northeast, killing the pastor and his two children before setting fire to the building and fleeing, the military said. Boko Haram, which has said it is fighting to create an Islamic state in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria, has repeatedly attacked churches in its four-year insurgency

The National Youth Service Corps on Wednesday in Minna, the Niger State capital, presented N26.7 million cheques to the families of the two corps members killed in the 2011 post-election violence in Niger State. Sixty-one other corps members who were injured during the violence are also to benefit from the gesture. Alhaji Saidu Kpaki, the Secretary to the Niger State Government, who presented the cheques on behalf of the government, advised youths against being used as thugs by politicians.

Armed policemen on Wednesday dispersed newly-employed  teachers who gathered  at the Liberation Stadium in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to receive their deployment letters. The teachers, numbering 13,000, were invited to the stadium by the state government to receive their letters of postings and to be addressed by the state Commissioner for Education, Alice Lawrence-Nemi. While some of the teachers, who came into the stadium as early as 7.30am, were chased out by the police, others that tried to gain entrance into the stadium were stopped from entering the arena.

Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Julius Okojie, says he is confident that the protracted strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities will soon be called off. Okojie, who spoke on Wednesday in Abuja at a meeting with journalists, said the commission had been doing everything within its powers to ensure a speedy resolution of the issues raised by ASUU so that students could return to school.

Senate President David Mark has called on lawmakers to proffer legislative solution that would end the protracted industrial action by university lecturers. Speaking at the first conference of National and State Assembly Committees on Education in Abuja, Senator Mark who was represented by the senate minority whip, Solomon Ganiyu, noted that the persistent strike actions by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)have had tremendous impact on the quality of education.

Ishola Ebenezer the President of Faculty of Social sciences (UNILAG) has come out to say that students of the University of Lagos were not in anyway involved with yesterday's  Student's protest. Read his tweets below, after the cut.  

The gates leading to the University of Lagos have been cordoned off, by a team of Policemen, deployed yesterday to foil the planned students protest which has finally kicked off today. Students mobilized themselves via social networks and are currently protesting without fear of the presence of armed personnel. 

According to Huffingpost, a Catholic priest has been arrested for molesting a 15-year-old boy. Police revealed that 56-year-old Father W. Jeffrey Paulish was caught in the act as they found the boy (who was not wearing pants) in a car on a University campus. When he was caught, the priest initially said he was working on his homily on campus when he met the boy, who he said was in emotional distress and needed counseling. Police say he later admitted that he met the teen through the "casual encounters" section of Craigslist. Paulish also said he asked the boy several times if he was above the age of 18. Paulish was charged with a felony count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse as well as unlawful contact with a minor. He was also charged with three misdemeanor counts: indecent contact with a minor, indecent exposure and corruption of a minor.

A tenant of a house on Asuquo Eyo Street, Ifa Ikot Okpon, Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, identified simply as Ime, aka Shawa, has been accused of killing his landlord and the wife and also setting the house ablaze. It was said that Ime, 40, had attacked his landlord, Mr. Edem Akpan and his wife, Affiong, with matchete before setting the house on fire. One of the daughters to the late couple, Ms. Emem Akpan, told our correspondent that trouble started when her father gave Ime a quit notice.

Tragedy struck on Monday on the Funsho Williams Avenue bypass, Surulere, Lagos State, after a yet-to-be identified soldier was crushed to death by a LAGBUS, one of the buses in the state mass transit scheme. Commuters plying the bridge could not help but watch in horror as the mangled body of the soldier was cut into two by the bus. Eyewitnesses said the  victim, who was riding a motorcycle, was also carrying a woman on the back seat.

A team of Policemen were stationed at the gates leading into the University of Lagos(UNILAG) as early as 7 am this morning. According to one of the Policemen who pleaded anonymity, "we got a hint about the planned protest by students and ASUU members, so we were ordered to come down here and ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order". The policemen who are about 40 in number are heavily armed and no one knows how long they will remain at the gates. More pictures below

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has blamed the rot in the Nigerian university system on the Executive Secretary of the National University Commission, Julius Okojie, saying his failure to insist on quality has bastardised Nigerian universities. The lecturers also vowed to continue their strike unless the federal government honours the 2009 agreement it had with the union. In a statement signed by its University of Ibadan branch chairman, Olusegun Ajiboye, ASUU renewed its call for the scraping or a total overhaul of the regulatory institution if the nation wishes to get it right in university education management.

Manchester United boss David Moyes believes his players had “no reason” to perform poorly in Sunday’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester City. The reigning Premier League champions suffered a demoralising loss at the hands of their local rivals at the Etihad Stadium, as a Sergio Aguero double and further goals from Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri did the damage. And, despite Wayne Rooney netting a late free-kick to ensure Moyes’ first Manchester derby did not end in complete humiliation, the Scot was at a loss to explain his side’s lacklustre showing.

Governor Amaechi accused the Rivers State commissioner of Police, Mr Joseph Mbu of mingling with criminal elements in the state. The governor stated this while giving his opening address at the Rivers State Fashion week yesterday in  Portharcourt. Governor Amaechi has been at crossroads with the commissioner of Police, since he fell out of terms with President Goodluck Jonathan. He further went to say that he would fight criminality in the state with all his might in the interest of the people. While in other quarters, it has been alleged that Governor Amaechi has been calling for the change of  CP Joseph Mbu, because he has been unable to use him like a stooge.

It seems the PDP and the New PDP saga is beginning to tear the National assembly, as the Federal Government on Saturday ordered the withdrawal of all diplomatic passports of National Assembly (NASS) members, including that of Senate President David Mark and Speaker of the House, Aminu Tambuwal.  The relevant Federal Government offices responsible for implementing the directive are already in the know.

In the past, part-time prostitution, popularly called runs, and a degree or certificate were not synonymous; but not anymore. It is a part-time job for some female undergraduates. These commercial sex workers popularly known as ‘Olosho’ among female undergraduates are the big girls.  Their pastime has become even more compelling on campus due to the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.

A mild drama ensued in the Orokam, Obadigbo Local Government area of Benue State on Thursday 19th September, 2013, when a cheating couple was forced to parade the whole town naked in full glare of the public.

The Peoples’ Democratic Party in Anambra state has reaffirmed support for President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2015 Presidential election. In a rally at Awka, the state chairman of the party, Prince Ken Emeakayi, also announced the end of the rancour and division that nearly consumed the state branch of the party and called for a collective effort  towards taking over the state from the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, come November 16, in the governorship election.

A father strangled his three month old boy to death for money rituals in a quest for instant wealth and power, while another beat his two-year old girl to death for wetting the bed in Plateau state. Plateau state police command in its resolve to rid the state of crime and criminal activities have arrested the murder suspects and some other individuals for various offences ranging from criminal conspiracy to armed robbery and car snatching.

Popular Nigerian pop star, May D has now joined the list of artistes who live big as the ‘Ile Ijo’ crooner recently acquired a duplex in Magodo, a high brow residential estate in Lagos, Nigeria. Born MayokunAwodunmila, May D who recently returned from his trip to United States of America, just released the video of his hit song “Get Down” last week.

So small you are, but with your pinions, you feed mighty oceans, and conquer great lands, You fall from above, but we can't see your gates, even when you come in drizzles, we don't know from whence,

A 40-year-old man, Toyese Kehinde, who allegedly died in the cells of Benin Central Prisons in the early hours of 9 September, 2013, was buried by authorities of the prisons authorities without the consent of his family members. Kehinde, a musician and father of six children, was sentenced to two weeks imprisonment following his failure to pay the N5,000 fine option granted him by Egor Magistrate’s Court 1, in Benin City, southern Nigeria, over environmental Offense. The family allegedly got to  know about his fate through a friend of the late Kehinde who informed them of his arrest and imprisonment.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested two young men who claimed to be undergraduates of the University of Jos, Isaiah Friday and Azzaior Samuel, for an alleged N2.05bn fraud. Two bureau de change operators, Salihu Mahmoud and Dan Ibrahim, were also arrested in connection with the alleged crime. The suspects were also accused of being members of a syndicate that specialised in breaking into the computer data base of financial institutions to carry out dry posting of funds.

An earlier report on Twitter from Samsung Nigeria confirmed that BlackBerry’s popular BBM messaging platform will be coming to Android and iOS quite soon. Although it won’t be a three-month exclusive to Samsung as was initially speculated, BBM could hit Google Play and the iOS App Store as early as this Friday. BBM Communications Director Victoria Berry had this to say on the impending launch:  “The excitement around the upcoming BBM launch on iPhone and Android devices seems to know no bounds. Although I’m a big fan of this passion, I want to clarify that no one will have an exclusive on offering BBM. We’ll be bringing the app to Android and iPhone users across the globe soon.”

The ruling PDP appears to still be winning supporters as Mohammed Abacha, son of the former military head of state, General Sani Abacha, has decamped from the defunct Congress For Progressive Change (CPC), to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), while efforts are still being made to resolve the internal crisis in the party. Mohammed Abacha, a staunch politician in Kano who in 2011 was denied the governorship ticket of the CPC after having won the primary of the party. Speaking at the national headquarters of the party in Abuja, Mohammed said he left the PDP due to lack of internal democracy but is now convinced his return to the party is the best move right now. http://www.rss.firetoms.com/#article.php?siteName=ChannelsTvNigeria&origLink=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.channelstv.com%2Fhome%2F%3Fp%3D81156

Nigeria and some other countries will no longer be eligible to participate in the America Diversity Visa lottery programme. Information from the United States Department of State sighted on Sunday said Nigerians and citizens from few other countries were not eligible for DV-2015 The department said Nigeria was excluded since over 50,000 Nigerians had immigrated into the United States in the last five years. The department listed other countries not eligible as Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador and Haiti. Others are India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

An Arik Air flight with over 100 passengers en route to London Sunday was forced to make an emergency landing in Palmas, Spain, as a woman went into labour and gave birth while the aircraft was airborne. The pilot was said to have requested the emergency landing on the advice of two doctors who were on board the aircraft and had helped the mother deliver the baby. When the passenger went into labour, the cabin crew asked that doctors on board the flight to identify themselves.

A four-day-old baby boy has been gruesomely murdered by his own mother who fed him with a N40 rat poison. Binta Shuaibu, 20, conspired with her friend, Hindatu Umar, 27, to commit the dastardly act in Dan Amarya village, Danja Local Government Area of Katsina State. The mother and her co-conspirator are now answering to the wicked act in police custody. What could make a mother willfully kill her own baby? The suspect, Binta tells her story "I was born in Layin-Ruwa, Kafur Local Government Area Katsina State. I got married 11years ago and my husband, Inusa later forced me to divorce him.

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested 38-year-old wanted kidnap suspect, Okafor, a graduate of Mathematics from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Okafor popularly known as Igwe did not only fall afoul of the law as a kidnapper, he also messed up the temple of God by keeping his victims in a church and sharing his loot with the pastor. Once on a mission to collect N5 million ransom from the family of victim in Asaba, Delta State, he was rounded up by crack policemen and locked up in a cell. Okafor, however, escaped through the window of the cell to continue his evil trade until the hardworking members of the State Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Anambra ended his reign of terror.

The Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji, has given out N20 million as donation to the endowment fund established by the state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party in honor of the eight members who died in an auto crash during the Anambra State Gubernatorial Primaries in August. The governor made the donation during the commendation service held at the Indoor Sport Hall of Umuahia Township Stadium, in honour of the late men. The service, attended by the families, friends, well-wishers and presided over by the State President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, ArchBishop Goddy Okafor, was organised so last respects can be paid to the fallen men. The state chapter of the party also opened an endowment fund which has received donations from the Anambra, Imo and Ebonyi state chapters. As part of efforts to ensure that the families of the lost men are comforted, Governor Orji also offered immediate employment to members of the bereaved families. The names of the eight who died on ...

PLEASE WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

A group of Medical students of the University of Lagos have discovered their musical creativity, thanks to the ASUU strike. They created their own skelewu video in other to vie for the mouth watering $3,000 that Davido has promised to offer the winner of the Skelewu contest. Its the best skelewu video I've seen so far, its a  must watch. If you cant view the video, click  here

Tune in to AIT, to watch a live discussion with Governor Gabriel Suswam  over the ASUU strike.

The sword rests briefly on his neck as a blindfolded man kneels under a clear blue sky. Moments later, the executioner raises his right arm, slashes downwards and the prisoner is dead. The barbaric episode is watched by a crowd of jeering men, many of them armed. And sitting on a low wall only a few feet from where the wretched captive died so violently is a line of young boys. They were still there as the dead man’s head was dumped on his body. Another child, even younger, was led by the hand past the corpse.The public execution was the last of four that took place on August 31 in the town of Keferghan in the north of the country. More photos when you continue

The Rivers state police command has refuted the claims that it stopped Governor Chibuike Amaechi from gaining access to the government house yesterday. Police spokesperson in the state, Angela Agabe, told Channels Television that the only action taken by law enforcement agents was aimed at preventing the breakdown of law and order at the secretariat of the new PDP. Governor Rotimi Amaechi and his entourage were returning from an outing when they were stopped from entering the government house by a team of policemen. It would be recalled that earlier yesterday, Mufty-wearing police officers led by Sam Okaura disrupted the secretariat flag off ceremony of the Baraje –led faction of the PDP, in Port Harcourt the Rivers state capital.

Twitter Inc has filed for an initial public offering with U.S. regulators, the company said on Thursday, taking the first step towards what would be Silicon Valley's most anticipated debut since Facebook Inc's last year. The impending IPO of the micro-blogging phenomenon ignited a competition among Wall Street's biggest names for the prestige of managing its coming-out party. Goldman Sachs is lead underwriter, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, which is a major coup for the Wall Street bank. Twitter filed for an IPO confidentially under a 2012 law intended to help emerging corporations with less than $1 billion in revenue go public. Seven-year old Twitter, which allows users to send out streams of 140-character messages, has become an indispensable tool to governments, corporations and celebrities seeking to communicate with their audience, and for individuals seeking both news and entertainment.

 Former Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Agagu, is dead. He was aged 65. Agagu, who returned from the US on Thursday, reportedly slumped in Ikoyi, where he was having a meeting with Ondo indigenes, on Friday evening. Agagu’s former Chief Press Secretary, Yemi Olowolabi, said the former governor was not sick and had just returned from a 20-day trip abroad. Olowolabi, who worked with him for more than four years, described his former boss as “a great man, a first-class intellectual and an astute administrator.”He was born on 16 February 1948. Dr Agagu was the Deputy Governor of the state in the botched Third Republic, when he served with Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua. When Nigeria returned to civil rule in 1999, Dr Agagu was appointed as the Minister for Aviation by former president Olusegun Obasanjo. He was sworn in as the Governor of Ondo State on May 29, 2003, a position he held till February 2009 when the courts ruled that he did not win the 2007 governorship election held in...

Former European Footballer of the Year Andriy Shevchenko struggled on his professional golf debut in Ukraine but Ernie Els gave him 10 out of 10 for effort in what was always going to be a tough task. Shevchenko, the former AC Milan and Chelsea striker who has a handicap of two and plays left-handed, plunged to a 12-over-par 84 in the opening round of the Kharkov Superior Cup in his native Ukraine on Thursday. “He must have had a lot of pressure going in there but he loves the game,” former world number one Els, a four-times major champion, told Reuters after carding a level-par 71 in the opening round of the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship.

A 32-year-old undergraduate  of Fine Art in the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Chizoba Nwabuwa, has been arrested by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for ingesting 25 wraps of male condoms filled with cocaine. In a statement by the NDLEA’s Head of Public Affiars, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, the agency said the arrest was made at the newly upgraded Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu State.

In what is an unprecedented move, the Vatican has opened the door to the possibility of Catholic priests being allowed to marry.  For centuries Catholic Church tradition has required celibacy from priests. The Canon Law of the church states, "Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, and therefore are bound to celibacy, which is a special gift of God by which sacred ministers can adhere more easily to Christ with an undivided heart and are able to dedicate themselves more freely to the service of God and humanity."

Lagos State Task Force on Environment and Special Offences Unit has arrested six people allegedly impersonating Lagos State Traffic Management Authority and the task force officials as well as extorting money from unsuspecting motorists and residents. The task force also arrested 13 underage children who allegedly had been snatching bags and handsets in the Oshodi area of the state. Task force Chairman, CSP Bayo Sulaimon, said the fake LASTMA officials arrested, charged and issued forged receipts to unsuspecting motorists and other traffic offenders.

The King’s College, Lagos Old Boys Association has promised to support the entrepreneurial aspirations of its younger old boys. Its Vice President, Dr. Leke Oshuniyi, said this in Lagos on Wednesday while briefing journalists on the association’s preparations for the school’s 104th anniversary. The initiative, packaged under the auspices of the first King’s College Lions Den Pitch Day, he said, would enable the beneficiaries to interact with a panel of venture capitalists who will invest in them. He said, “The KCLD is a unique KCOBA intervention designed to support entrepreneurial aspirations of the younger KCOBs and investment desires of the older KCOBs.