Cook Of Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue Absconds With $6m In Cash & Jewelry.

A cook who served Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, a Managing Director at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Abuja, has absconded with cash and pieces of jewelry worth $6million, a source told SaharaReporters on Wednesday. It was gathered that the man, identified as Gabel Segbedji, a national of Benin Republic, took off with the loot in a Toyota Camry car which also belonged to her boss, last Wednesday.

It was gathered that the man, identified as Gabel Segbedji, a national of Benin Republic, took off with the loot in a Toyota Camry car which also belonged to her boss, last Wednesday.

Although reportedly devastated by the development, Mrs. Nnamdi-Ogbue did not report the burglary to the police, in the hope of avoiding further attention, as she is already under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Mrs. Nnamdi Ogbue was the Managing Director of the cash-spinning Petroleum Products and Marketing Company (PPMC) before she was moved to Products Retail by then GMD of NNPC, Ibe Kachikwu, in 2015.

Segbedji is said to have been recommended for employment to Mrs. Nnamdi-Ogbue by a close friend of hers, Toke Benson. Our source said the NNPC chief obtained the mountain of cash from kickbacks given by oil marketers

The theft of the stash is likely to affect plans for the wedding of her daughter scheduled for December in Lagos.

http://saharareporters.com/2016/11/02/chef-nnpc-managing-director-esther-ogbue-absconds-6m-cash-and-jewelry

Professor Chukwuka Okonjo Honoured In Ghana

Professor Chukwuka Okonjo, Obi of Ogwashiukwu and NLC Trustee, on October 29 received the highest civil national award from the Government of Ghana.

The award was conferred on him by President John Dramani Mahama in recognition of his stellar and distinguished contributions to the country’s education system.

Mr. Okonjo, father of the two-time former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria, is a renowned mathematician and economist who worked for a long time in Ghana as a United Nations staff and later as a consultant to the Ghanaian Government.
He joined the United Nations System in 1974 as an official based in New York with his duty station at Accra, Ghana as the Director of the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS) at the University of Ghana, Lego, Accra. He worked as a Professor of Economics at the University from 1974 to 1985 at a time the country was going through severe economic and political difficulties.

During that time, Mr. Okonjo installed the first African population information network popularly known as the Population Information and Documentation System for Africa (POSA) valued at $350,000.

He also created a 12 months Master of Arts (M.A) programs, 18 months Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) and 36 months Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) degrees in Population Studies at the University. Over 437 post graduate students successfully completed their studies under his leadership.
Professor Chukwuka Okonjo later left the United Nations in 1985 and worked as the Education Adviser to Ghana’s Minister of Education and Culture where he was instrumental in conceptualizing and implementing several reforms in the structure and organization of the minister.
Some of the reforms include reducing the length of pre-tertiary education from 17 to 12 years, increasing secondary school admission from 26,000 to 260,000 and growing primary school enrolment at a rate of 12 per cent per annum (twice the rate approved by the World Bank for Ghana).


In recognition of his outstanding contributions, Mr. Okonjo was accorded the National Service Award in June 1982 for the support he gave to the National Service Scheme of the Ghanaian Government.
Other renowned persons who also received the honours include Globacom Chairman, Mike Adenuga, Jr. and John Newman.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/214368-okonjo-iwealas-father-honoured-ghana.html

U.S. militia girds for trouble as presidential election nears.

By Justin Mitchell and Andy Sullivan

JACKSON, Ga. (Reuters) - Down a Georgia country road, camouflaged members of the Three Percent Security Force have mobilized for rifle practice, hand-to-hand combat training -- and an impromptu campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

"How many people are voting for Trump? Ooh-rah!" asks Chris Hill, a paralegal who goes by the code name "Bloodagent."

"Ooh-rah!" shout a dozen militia members in response, as morning sunlight sifted through the trees last weekend.

As the most divisive presidential election in recent memory nears its conclusion, some armed militia groups are preparing for the possibility of a stolen election on Nov. 8 and civil unrest in the days following a victory by Democrat Hillary Clinton.

They say they won't fire the first shot, but they're not planning to leave their guns at home, either.

Trump's populist campaign has energized militia members like Hill, who admire the Republican mogul's promise to deport illegal immigrants, stop Muslims from entering the country and build a wall along the Mexico border. Trump has repeatedly warned that the election may be "rigged," and has said he may not respect the results if he does not win. At least one paramilitary group, the Oath Keepers, has called on members to monitor voting sites for signs of fraud

Armed paramilitary groups first gained prominence in the early 1990s, fueled by confrontations in Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Waco, Texas, culminating in a militia sympathizer's 1995 bombing of a federal office building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people.

Their numbers dwindled following that attack but have spiked in recent years, driven by fears that President Barack Obama will threaten gun ownership and erode the power of local government. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, estimates there were 276 active militias last year, up from 42 in 2008.

In recent years, armed groups have confronted federal authorities in a series of land-use disputes in the western United States. Federal officials fear more clashes could come after seven militants were acquitted on conspiracy charges for occupying a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon.

Many fear Clinton would push the county further to the left.

"This is the last chance to save America from ruin," Hill said. "I'm surprised I was able to survive or suffer through eight years of Obama without literally going insane, but Hillary is going to be more of the same."

EXTREMIST GROUPS EMBOLDENED

The Oath Keepers, a prominent anti-government force that sent gun-toting members to the 2014 race riots in Ferguson, Missouri, called on members last week to monitor voting sites on election day for any signs of fraud.

An hour south of Atlanta, the Three Percent Security Force started the day around the campfire, taking turns shooting automatic pistols and rifles at a makeshift target range. They whooped with approval when blasts from one member's high-powered rifle knocked down a tree.

The group operates independently, but is affiliated with a national armed movement that calls for members to defend individual rights in the face of what they see as an overreaching federal government. The movement draws its name from the notion that no more than 3 percent of the American population fought in the Revolutionary War against Britain.

Amid the war games, Hill weighed plans for a possible armed march on Washington if Clinton wins.

He said he doesn't want his members leading the way, but they will defend the protesters if need be. His group will not hesitate to act if a President Clinton tries to disarm gun owners, he said.

"I will be there to render assistance to my fellow countrymen, and prevent them from being disarmed, and I will fight and I will kill and I may die in the process," said Hill, who founded the militia several years ago.

Trump's candidacy has emboldened extremist groups to speak more openly about challenging the rule of law, said Ryan Lenz, a researcher at the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"Prior to this campaign season, these ideas were relegated to sort of the political fringe of the American political landscape," he said. "Now these ideas are legitimized."

Over the past week, some prominent Trump supporters have hinted at violence.

    "If Trump loses, I'm grabbing my musket," former Illinois Representative Joe Walsh wrote on Twitter last week. Conservative commentator Wayne Root fantasized about Clinton's death while speaking at a Trump rally in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Back in Georgia, the Three Percent Security Force wrapped up rifle practice in the midday sun. They then headed further into the trees to tackle an obstacle course with loaded pistols at their sides, ready for whatever may come.

"We've building up for this, just like the Marines," he said. "We are going to really train harder and try to increase our operational capabilities in the event that this is the day that we hoped would never come."


SOURCE

Supreme Court Justices under probe withdraw from sittings.

Ade Adesomoju, Abuja

The two Justices of the Supreme Court, Sylva Ngwuta and Inyang Okoro, who were among some judiciary officers recently arrested by the Department of State Services on corruption allegations, have voluntarily withdrawn from further participating in the proceedings of the apex court.

The PUNCH learnt on Sunday that the two senior judiciary officers would no longer sit until when they were able to clear their names.

It was also gathered that both Ngwuta and Okoro had not been sitting since they were released after their arrest along with some other serving and compulsorily retired judges between October 7 and 8.

The outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, was said to have disclosed this at a meeting, which he held with a delegation of the Nigerian Bar Association in his chambers last Thursday.

According to a source, who attended the meeting, the CJN ruled out the call for the suspension of the two justices of the apex court or any of the other arrested judges.

The CJN was said to have told the NBA delegation that the affected Justices of the Supreme Court had, on their own, decided to withdraw from further sittings of the apex court.

The source stated, “The CJN made it clear that the NJC could never have suspended the arrested judges in the absence of any evidence presented by their accusers.

“The CJN said the DSS, which levelled allegations against the judges, had not presented any evidence against them to the NJC on which any possibility of suspending them could be based.

“But he said the two affected Justices of the Supreme Court had, on their own, recused (withdrawn) themselves from sitting until when they are able to clear their names.

“The CJN made it clear that the two Justices of the Supreme Court were not on suspension.”

The NBA President, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), was said to have led the lawyers’ delegation, comprising some national officers of the association, to the meeting with the CJN.

The meeting of the CJN, who is retiring on November 10, with the NBA delegation, was convened to harmonise the seeming contrasting stances of both parties on the fate of the judges arrested by the DSS.

While the NBA president had reportedly called for the suspension of the judges pending when they would be able to prove their innocence, both the NJC and the CJN, who is also the Chairman of the NJC, had separately said they did not have the power to suspend the affected judges.

Our correspondent, however, gathered that both the CJN and the NBA stuck to the positions they had held before the meeting.

But the source described the meeting as “fruitful” as both parties were said to have been able to understand each other’s positions better.

The source said, “They were able to explain the positions they each took to each other more clearly.

“The CJN explained why the NJC could not suspend the affected judges in the absence of any evidence.

“The NBA president, on his part, also explained that he actually did not call for the suspension of the judges but that he only called on the affected judges to recuse themselves until they were able to clear their names.

“The NBA president said the association’s position was to save the institution because having judges with corruption allegations hanging over their heads or even arraigned for criminal offences still sitting, would cause a lot of collateral damage to the institution of the judiciary.

“But the NBA stuck to its condemnation of the procedure adopted by the DSS without recourse to the NJC.”

The CJN was also said to have told the NBA delegation that the NJC sometimes was not getting sufficient cooperation from some state governors to discipline judges.

The source added, “The CJN cited an instance when the NJC recommended to a state governor the compulsory retirement of a judge, but the governor never approved the recommendation.

“At the end of the day the judge remained on the bench until he attained his statutory retirement age and he is now entitled to getting his full retirement benefits.”


SOURCE

No nepotism, detention of critics under me – Jonathan.

John Alechenu, John Ameh, Friday Olokor and Olalekan Adetayo

Former President Goodluck Jonathan said decisions taken by his administration were guided by the overall interest of the nation and not ethno-religious or personal considerations.

Jonathan said this during the Nigerian Lawyers Association’s annual dinner and merit awards ceremony held in New York, on Saturday.

He noted that Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians and as such leaders must resist anything that might want to make them pursue a regional or narrow agenda.

The former President’s whose comments were tweeted on his tweeter handle @GEJonathan, also reeled out what he said were his administration’s achievements in promoting democracy and the rule of law.

Jonathan, who spoke on the theme, “Diversity as our Bridge to Tomorrow,” said in one tweet, “No matter what my critics said about me, I ensured that there was both freedom of speech and freedom after the speech.”

In other tweets he said, “Under my watch, not a single Nigerian was sent to prison because of anything they wrote or said about me or the administration. Nigeria had neither political prisoners nor political exile under my administration. We enacted the Freedom of Information Act and by that we tore the veil of secrecy covering governance.”

Perhaps in a veiled reference to the face-off between security agencies and some judges over allegations of corruption, Jonathan said, “We gave institutions unlimited freedom and ensured that the NBA (Nigerian Bar Association) and other professional institutions were devoid of any government influence, we enacted the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 to promote efficient management of criminal  justice institutions in Nigeria.”

He also used the opportunity to tell his guests that he could not be accused of nepotism because “most of my principal aides in government hailed from different ethnic nationalities.”

On appointments into the nation’s electoral management body, Jonathan said, “We ensured that appointments into INEC were not based on personal relationships.”

He enjoined Nigerians in the Diaspora especially those in the United States to continue to give support to democratic governance back home.  Although Jonathan did not mention any Nigerian being incarcerated for holding an opposing political view to the administration which succeeded him, it is common knowledge that several of his former aides and political associates are currently in custody on corruption related charges.

As at the last count, the nation’s former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), his spokesman, Reuben Abati, ex-National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh and a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, are being detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on corruption charges.

There have been cases of bloggers  and a print journalist in Kaduna who were detained on charges bordering on their views considered critical to those in power.

The Leader of the opposition in the House of Representatives, Mr. Leo Ogor, in his reaction to the development said Nigerians had come under threat since President Muhammadu Buhari came into power.

He alleged that there was also “abuse of the judicial process,” which he said, had resulted in disobedience to court pronouncements.

However, the Executive Director of the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education, Dr. Ibrahim Zikirulahi, expressed a different view.

He said,  “Ex-President Jonathan claimed there was more freedom under his regime. Is it freedom to steal our collective wealth? Is it freedom to criminality and terror or freedom to political assassination? With the heinous crime committed against the Nigerian state under Jonathan’s watch, it is shameless on the part of the ex-President to make those provocative statements.

“There are no political detainees and no political exiles in Nigeria today. What we have are those hunted by their corrupt practices while they were in office under ex-President Jonathan.”

Attempts to get a reaction from the Presidency did not yield results. The Special Adviser to the President (Media), Mr. Femi Adesina, told one of our correspondents that he was boarding a flight and was not in a position to speak.

Calls to the mobile telephone of the Senior Assistant to the President (Media), Mallam Garba Shehu, were neither picked nor returned as of the time of filing this report.


SOURCE

Recession: Ford stops exportation of 500 vehicles to Nigeria.

Rasheed Bisiriyu

There are indications that Ford Motor Company has suspended its planned exportation of 500 units of vehicles meant for the Nigerian market owing to the current economic recession.

The United States automaker was said to have assembled the vehicles in its South African factory and completed all arrangements to ship them to Nigeria before halting the decision.

Prof. Okey Iheduru of the Arizona State University, United States, hinted at a forum in Lagos that Ford had dismantled over 500 units of vehicles meant for the Nigerian market because the Coscharis Group, its local representative, could not accommodate them.

The General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Services, Coscharis Group, Mr. Abiona Babarinde, who confirmed this in an emailed response to our correspondent’s enquiry, attributed the development to “forex-related issues.”

He said the vehicles were “to be imported as SKD (semi-knocked down) kits for (auto) assembly but got stuck in South Africa because of slow sale of what we already have in stock in Nigeria.”

Ford recently discontinued its business relationship with one of its two partners in Nigeria, RT Briscoe, leaving only Coscharis Motors as its sole representative in the country.

A statement from the Ford Motor Company of Sub-Saharan Africa sent to our correspondent via email said tough economic climate arising from the fall in oil prices, foreign exchange shortages and rapid devaluation of the naira was adversely affecting its operation in the region, including Nigeria.

The statement, which was sent by its spokesperson, Chipo Punungwe, read in part, “We continue to work through a tough economic environment in the sub-Saharan African region, including various economic factors such as lower oil prices, foreign exchange shortages and the rapid devaluation of local currencies, which have led to higher than normal inventory levels.”

Assemblers and dealers in new vehicles have complained about a drastic drop in vehicle sale this year due to recession.

A number of the companies, it was learnt, had to lay off some of their workers as their annual capacity utilisation had dropped by 97 per cent, from 500,000 to 15,000 vehicles.

The 15,000 new vehicles currently being produced in the country are less than what Toyota Nigeria Limited alone sold in 12 months some years ago.

Notwithstanding the current economic situation, Ford said it would continue to work with its partner, the Coscharis Group, to deliver quality vehicles and improved auto service to its customers in Nigeria.

“With Coscharis, we will continue to manage our business, review and optimise the movement of stock to ensure that we have a sufficient supply of vehicles to fulfil customers’ needs,” it stated.


PUNCH

Suspended Anselm Aidenojie Reconciles With Woman Whom He Allegedly Assaulted.

The Onojie of Uromi, His Royal Highness, Anselm Aidenojie, has reconciled with Mrs. Betty Okoebor, after his suspension following his alleged attack on her. The state government had on Thursday suspended the monarch for his alleged attack on Mrs Okoebor and failure to respond to the query issued to him by the state government.

The government statement further threatened to depose the Onojie if after seven days he fails to tender apologies to the victim and the state government.

Mrs Betty Okoebor and family members in company of some notable Uromi sons and daughters were present at the reconciliation..

Source; http://www.nationalhelm.net/2016/10/onojie-of-uromi-suspended-edo-monarch.html

Manufacturers Return To Black Market For Forex

The scarcity of foreign exchange from the official window has compelled some manufacturers to source funds from the black market in order to keep their business going.

In the coming months, affected manufacturing firms say consumers may have to pay about 100 per cent more than what they currently pay for locally manufactured products.

Some manufacturers say they have been on queue to access forex for a period ranging from six months to one year without making any progress.

“While you wait endlessly like this, your production suffers and you do not have products to sell to your customers,” the Managing Director of Mojec Metering, Chantel Abdul, said.

When In June, the Central Bank of Nigeria dropped its fixed exchange rate strategy and adopted a flexible exchange rate, the move was seen as one that would bring enough supply of forex.

Although the new official rate was put at N280, the President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Frank Jacobs, agreed that though it was high but that there should be more dollars in circulation than in the previous months.

The Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said of the policy, “The Chamber believes that this policy choice offers an improvement in the efficiency of foreign exchange allocation in the economy, improvement of liquidity in the foreign exchange market, reduction in the current trade arrears, reduction in the arrears of remittances.”

Contrary to all expectations, however, the foreign exchange market has become very illiquid and all efforts made to redeem the situation by the apex bank have yielded no respite to the manufacturing sector.

It was gathered that the CBN’s directive that 60 per cent of the forex supply in the system should go to the manufacturing sector had failed as manufacturers are unable to benefit from the policy months after the apex bank initiated it.

A reliable source in one of the commercial banks told our correspondent that banks were under a lot of pressure because of high forex demand from customers.

“There is very limited supply of forex and a lot of people are coming for the supply. The banks do not even have the forex not to talk of giving 60 per cent to a particular sector,” the source said.

An analyst and professor of Economics, Leo Ukpong, explained that the situation could not be helped, adding that the dollar was a foreign currency that Nigeria had no control over and so could not determine its supply or rate.

Already prices of some household items that are manufactured locally have been rising almost every day following the increase in the cost of production.

For instance, a tablet of toilet soap, which sold for between N25 and N30 a few months ago, was offered on Friday for N100; while the price of 1kg of Omo sachet had gone up to N600 from N350 two months ago.

A major household products manufacturer, PZ Cussons, said sometimes in April that it was producing with dollars sourced at the parallel market rate of N320, at a time when the Federal Government pegged the official exchange rate of the dollar at N197. The dollar currently exchanges for N450 to N470 at the parallel market.

PUNCH

Robbers Attack Union Bank In Delta With Dynamite, Cart Off N25m.

UGHELLI—DARE-devil robbers, weekend, attacked an Ughelli branch of Union Bank, and carted away N25 million after blowing up the bank’s vault with dynamite.

It was gathered that the hoodlums, who were dressed in army camouflage, used dynamite and welding tools to break into the ATM inside the bank and the bank’s vault, where a bulk of the cash was kept.

An auditor of the bank, who was sent from the Benin regional office for the regular auditing of the bank’s branch, estimated that about N25 million was stolen from the bank.

Confirming the incident yesterday, a staff of the bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the bank’s manager and some senior staff were arrested and taken to Asaba for questioning in connection with the incident.

Giving details of the incident, the staff said: “The security guards were tied up while the operation lasted.

“Though they spared the ATM outside the bank premises, they used dynamite to blow up the ATM inside the bank and drilled their way through into the bank’s vault.”

SOURCE

Mavins Record Officially Signs Iyanya (photos).

Mavins record boss, Donjazzy just tweeted what you see below and Iyanya also confirmed. First Iyanya signed a management deal with Temple Productions. Now he's apparently left his own Made Men Music Group label to join Mavin Records.

http://www.lailasblog.com/2016/10/mavins-record-officially-sign-iyanya.html

Army Orders 50,000 Aba-Made Boots - Receives Praise.

Saraki lauds Nigerian Army for buying Aba-Made Boots

By Henry Umoru.

ABUJA – SENATE President Bukola Saraki has hailed the Nigerian Army for its decision to purchase 50,000 pairs of shoes from local manufacturers in Aba for the use of officers and soldiers. According to him, the move shows that the military was living up to its billing as an institution that can play vital roles in boosting the national economy, adding that the military’s decision to patronise Made in Nigeria footwear was a good example which shows the force as a pace setter and a truly national institution which is ready to contribute its quota in ending the present economic recession in the country.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki who is a long-time champion of the Buy Made in Nigerian campaign and has been a major supporter of the Aba local manufacturers, however urged all the other military and para-military forces like the Air Force, navy, police, civil defence corps and the National Youth Service Corps to emulate the army by immediately banning the purchase of all imported foot wears in preference for locally produced ones.

Saraki who urged the military and paramilitary agencies not to limit their patronage and promotion of Made in Nigeria goods to only shoes but to other items that can be sourced locally, also praised the Air Force for the co-operation as it was forging with the Innoson Motor Group in the area of manufacturing of some air plane parts. He said, “This is the essence of the amendment of the Public Procurement Act by the Senate since June. The new law compels all Ministries, Department and Agencies of government to compulsorily give preference to goods and services which can be sourced locally.

We believe one of the gains that our country will derive from this recession is to make our people look inward and patronise locally made goods. “Patronage of Made-in-Nigeria goods is an obvious panacea for our economic problems. We will by doing that increase our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), empower our youths, challenge their creativity, increase revenue generation ability of state governments and improve on the sense of self pride and patriotism of Nigerians.”

The Senate President who advised state and federal governments to encourage local manufacturers by providing them with necessary infrastructure, soft loans, patronage and helping them to improve on the quality of their goods as well as facilitating their ability to access the export market, also implored organised groups like the National Economic Summit Group (NESG), associations in the field of marketing communications and others who can help in the areas of goods packaging, sales promotion and quality enhancement to engage the local manufacturers and see how they can help them broaden their reach and produce goods that can be sold across the world. He said, “We have an opportunity to turn our challenge to prosperity. We can create mass employment and make the private sector centre of our economy if we can make our small and medium enterprises to prosper. This is a task for all of us and this promotion of Made-in-Nigeria is a cardinal point in the Agenda of the present Senate.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/10/saraki-lauds-nigerian-army-for-buying-aba-made-shoes/

Man treks from Lagos to Zaria for lover

Samson Folarin

A 26-year-old man, Tunde Agbaje, has reportedly trekked from the Ketu area of Lagos State to Zaria in Kaduna State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Agbaje, who is the cousin of a former People’s Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate in Lagos State, Jimi Agbaje, went on the adventure to prove his love for a lady, Sharon Donald.

Our correspondent gathered that 26-year-old Donald is the daughter of a former governor of a state in the South-South and had recently travelled to New York, United States of America.

It was learnt that Agbaje and Donald had met in Ikoyi, Lagos State, and had been friends for the past six years, but she had turned down his marriage proposal several times.

Agbaje said he decided to trek to Zaria to prove his love for Donald, adding that he was on the road for 19 days.

The Lagos State indigene was reportedly received on Friday, October 21, by the Chief Security Officer of the Ahmadu Bello University, Col J.K. Tukur; and the protocol office of the Emir of Zaria.

He was later taken to a hospital where he was reportedly treated for the injuries he sustained during the trek, which was monitored by a GPS tracker.

Narrating how he met Donald, Agbaje said, “I was with my friends sometime in 2010 and while we were discussing about ladies, I said I wished God would just show me my wife anytime soon.

“About five minutes later, we were hungry and I went to get food on Awolowo Road. It was my first day at that eatery. I was waiting to be served when she walked in. Coincidentally, that day was also her first day there.  I observed that there was a love image at the back of the trousers she put on.

“She approached me and asked what she could buy and I advised her. We later exchanged contacts and became friends. That was how my love for her started growing. We met several times afterwards.”

Agbaje said some months later, he decided to open up on his feelings for Donald, but she turned him down.

He said he persisted, adding that when Donald didn’t bulge, he decided to do “what no man can do for her.”

“I chose to trek to Zaria because her parents dated for six years in ABU, Zaria, before they got married. I didn’t let my parents know and to ensure I was not disturbed, I changed my SIM card. I took a tracker along with me to monitor my movements. I never took a bus at any time. It was a tough task and I even collapsed some of the times. I took off from Ketu on October 2 and arrived in Zaria on Thursday, October 20, around 4.15pm.

“I have no regret for what I have done. I have proved my love for her, even though she didn’t reciprocate my feeling. I believe even if she gets married to another person, nobody will ever be able to do what I did for her,” Agbaje added.

Our correspondent was told that the CSO of ABU, Tukur, called Donald to ask if she was aware of Agbaje’s adventure, which she acknowledged.

She, however, didn’t state if she would accept his proposal.

The head of the protocol office of the Emir of Zaria, Mr. Abubakar Ladan, told our correspondent on the telephone that Agbaje was received at the palace. He added that the emir had stepped out when he arrived.

“I had a brief chat with him and after telling us his mission, we prayed for him and wished him the best,” he added.

When our correspondent contacted Donald, she said she knew Agbaje was embarking on the trek, adding that she warned him against it.

She said she had never had any relationship with him, describing him as a stalker.

She said, “Tunde (Agbaje) has been harassing and stalking me for the past six years and as far as I am concerned, this is just a new escapade in a series of his harassment.

“I met Tunde at a church when I was living in Lagos and we were both part of the youth ministry. He never had a friendship, let alone a relationship, with me. I was in a music group and some of the youths had my phone number, including him.

“He later found out where I lived and came to my house. My mum warned him to leave me alone, but he refused.   I changed my phone number and moved to the US, but I don’t know how he got my contact. I have stopped picking calls from Nigeria because of him.

 “He later called me and said he was going to trek to prove his love for me in a non-violent way and I told him not to do it because he could die. I said that not because I cared, but just for Christian charity. This guy is mentally unstable, because how can you still be stalking a woman who has turned you down for six years?”


PUNCH

Edo court convicts 245 sanitation offenders

Alexander Okere, Benin.

NO fewer than 245 persons have been convicted by mobile courts for various sanitation offences in Benin, the Edo State capital.

 It was learnt that the convicts were arrested during the monthly sanitation exercise on Saturday and arraigned before the mobile courts, which sat at Ramat Park and Sapele Road.

While some of the offenders were convicted for wandering during the monthly exercise, others were convicted for preventing sanitation officials from discharging their duties.


The offences were said to have violated the Edo State Sanitation and Pollution Management Law No. 5 of 2010.

 A senior state counsel in the Ministry of Justice, Samson Erhaze, said 52 out of the 58 persons arraigned at Ramat Park were convicted while six were discharged.

“The accused were either sentenced to three days imprisonment or made to pay N2,000 fines as option,” Erhaze added.

According to the Head of Legal Services in the state Ministry of Environment, Pius Oiwoh, a total 193 offenders were convicted by the mobile court on Sapele road.

A Director in the state Waste Management Board, Geoffrey Ehon, noted that the conviction would deter others who chose not to comply with sanitation laws.

“Offenders were prosecuted at mobile courts to serve as deterrence to others,” Ehon added.


SOURCE

How soldiers foiled suicide bomb attack on IDPs camp.

The Nigerian Army on Sunday foiled another attempt by a suspected suicide bomber to attack the Bakassi Internally Displaced Persons camp in Maiduguri, its spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement.

Usman said, “At about 9.00a.m this morning, troops of Operation Lafiya Dole deployed behind Bakassi IDP camp, Damboa Road, Maiduguri, on security duty, intercepted a suspected male suicide bomber.

“He had attempted to sneak through the troops’ inner parapet towards the IDP camp before he was shot dead.”

He said that “the vigilant sentry sighted the bomber and lay in wait until the suicide bomber came close.

“The sniper instantly shot and killed the terrorist as he tried to force his way to the western flank of the IDP camp fence.”

Usman said the Improvised Explosive Device vest strapped on the bomber failed to detonate, adding that ‘’a combined team of military and police Explosive Ordinance Device have been called to safely detonate the IED’’.

He said that the situation at the camp and the general area was calm.

On Saturday two female suicide bombers killed nine persons in Maiduguri.

Usman, who confirmed the attacks, said after the first bomber detonated her bomb, the second, in a tricycle, tailed a fuel tanker that was about to discharge fuel at a station.

All three occupants of the tricycle died, the army spokesman said.



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‘Don’t drag Buhari into Judges’ corruption trial’.

The Presidency on Sunday frowned at those individuals or organisations attempting to link President Muhammadu Buhari to the legal travails of some judges facing corruption charges in the country.

A statement issued in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, advised journalists and other Nigerians to stop linking the name of the president to the matter.

Shehu said that Buhari would be “the last person to authorise anybody to induce a judge to pervert the course of justice’’.

He recalled that despite his personal familiarity with some court judges, the president had never used that familiarity to seek favours from them.

According to him, from 2003, 2007 and 2011 when he was challenging the fairness of the presidential election results, from the lowest to the highest courts in the land during the periods in question, he never sought for favour from them.

Shehu also explained that, “as a politician, Buhari had never once ever suggested to his lawyers to approach any judge for assistance to win his cases.’’

According to him, the president lives by this principle and has never deviated from it.

On the fate of the judges facing corruption allegations, Shehu said, “the president doesn’t tell courts how to do their jobs and that anybody accused of corruption is protected by law to defend their innocence.’’

He explained that the purpose of the law was to punish the guilty and acquit the innocent, noting that “the law protects the rights of everyone.

“The president doesn’t have any powers to force any court to convict anybody who is innocent.’’

He stated that in a democratic society, such interference could not happen without resistance by the people.

NAN.



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Niger farmers to produce one million tonnes of rice – CBN.

The cluster of rice farms in Niger are expected to produce one million tonnes of rice through the Central Bank of Nigeria Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, the bank said in a statement in Abuja o Sunday.

The CBN acting Director of Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, said in the statement that the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, made the fact known when he inspected rice farms in some local government areas of the state.

The governor was accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Audu Ogbeh, the Governor of Niger, Alhaji Abubakar Bello, and the Governor of Kebbi, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu.

Emefiele said that over 14,000 farmers in Niger had benefited from the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, with billion naira disbursed from the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund.

He said that the programme’s enhanced funding for agriculture was in line with the bank’s resolve to build a strong and sustainable agriculture sector with integrated value chains.

On his part, Ogbeh said President Muhammadu Buhari was satisfied with the programme and commended the farmers for contributing to efforts to ensure food security for Nigerians.

He assured the farmers that government would provide them harvesters and mills.

Ogbe expressed optimism that the planned installation of state-of-the-art harvesters and mills would lead to increased production of rice in Nigeria.

He also promised that the government would provide them a solar-powered irrigation system to ensure all-year-round farming.

The minister urged farmers to embrace shifting cultivation to ensure the restoration of depleted soil nutrients.

He said that government would soon stop the importation of rice into Nigeria because of increased local production of the crop.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Farmers’ Cooperative in Niger, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed, thanked the Federal Government for assisting farmers in the state.

He cited the lack of mechanised farming and irrigation tools for dry season farming as some of the challenges facing farmers.

Mohammed, however, urged the farmers to remain focused and committed to rice production as government was determined to address the issue of local agriculture production.

President Buhari on Nov. 17, 2015, launched the CBN Anchor Borrowers’ Programme in Kebbi.

The programme has been replicated in 14 states of Adamawa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Plateau, Sokoto and Zamfara for rice and wheat farmers.

The programme aims to upgrade small farmers to commercial farmers, increase food production and create jobs.

(NAN)



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