UTME: Over 1 Million Candidates Have Registered -Ojerinde

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Registrar of the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Dibu Ojerinde, has disclosed that over one million candidates have registered for the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), with about half that number expected to further register.Ojerinde made this known on Saturday, at a press conference in Lagos, while outlining the achievements of the board, especially the e-testing method that will debut this year.

According to Ojerinde, JAMB had secured 77 centres where the Computer-Based Testing (CBT) would be held. Accoring to him, the CBT was not compulsory, as every candidate would have the opportunity to choose either the paper-pencil testing (PPT) or the dual-based testing (DBT), where candidates would read the question on the computer and answer on the paper with pencil.

Emir Of Kano Attack: Kano Govt Donates Three-Bedroom Flats, N1m To Families Of Slain Aides

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Although no amount of  money can bring back the dead, it can at least help to offset some burden occassioned by the loss of a loved one. Perhaps that was what the Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso had in mind when he donated a three-bedroom flat and N1 million each to the families of three members of staff of the Kano Emirate who lost their lives protecting the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, when gunmen attacked his convoy one week ago.

Nigeria Deploys 300 Airforce Personnel In Mali

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Nigeria’s role in Mali is beyond deploying ground troops from the Nigerian Army to help the West African country in its fight against rebels as the Chief of Air Staff, AM Alex Badeh, has said that 300 airforce personnel have also been deployed.

 

The Air Chief spoke to newsmen during the passing out parade and commissioning ceremony of the Direct Short Service Course 21/2012 Cadets of the 325 Ground Training Group at NAF Base in Kaduna at the weekend.

MEND’s Jomo Gbomo Dismisses Alleged Threat Letter… To Issue Formal Statement On Okah, Others Trial S

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In apparent reaction to the threat letter purportedly signed by one  Comrade Azizi on behalf of Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Jomo Gbomo, who is recognized in media circles as the spokesman for MEND, has dismissed Comrade Azazi as an impostor and disassociated his group from the statements allegedly credited to it.

See his response below:

Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta wishes to advise  Nigerians and the media to disregard the pathetic attempt at propaganda by a  so-called Comrade Azizi and his statements which are not authentic and  statements emanating from  MEND.

300 People Arrested By NRC For Attempted Suicide

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300 people have been arrested by the Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC, in a bid to step up efforts to combat activities of hooligans on its trains. The Assistant Director, Public Relations, NRC, Mr. David Ndanusa Ndakotsu made this known on in response to enquiries from  Vanguard last week.

The NRC official in reaction to the problem of overcrowding on the trains in Lagos where some passengers hang and some sit on the roof, described the act as hooliganism and said the authority has been arresting and prosecuting those involved.

Amnesty Programme: Nigeria Saved N33bn Daily – Kuku

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The Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, has disclosed that the amnesty programme for Niger Delta militants recouped an average of N33 billion into the nation’s coffers, leading to unprecedented successes in infrastructure development. In a briefing weekend, Mr. Kuku said the recouped earnings helped the administration to achieve notable feats in critical sectors such as the Aviation and Railway sub-sectors respectively.

He said: “From a production level of a paltry 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day as at January 2009, the relative peace that now prevails in the Niger Delta has aided the remarkable growth of Nigeria’s oil production to between 2.6 and 2.7 million barrels per day as at today”.

Jonathan Is A War-Time President… He Should Be Appreciated – Aide

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President Goodluck Jonathan has been descried as a war-time president who is facing security challenges as a result of the “ineptitude and tardiness” of his predecessors. The Special Adviser to the President on the Niger Delta, Kingsley Kuku, said this at a media briefing, in Lagos on Saturday.

Kuku lamented the inability of Nigerians to fully grasp the enormous challenges inherited by the present administration and the efforts made at addressing them.

University Final Year Student, 5 Others Arrested For Kidnapping In Ogun

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The Ogun State Vigilance Service, Sunday,  said it had arrested six suspected kidnappers including  a final year student  of Olabisi Onabanjo University, OOU, Ago-Iwoye,  (name withheld) who demanded a sum of N25million ransom from their victim’s family.

Speaking to newsmen in Abeokuta, the Public Relations Officer of the Service, Soji Ganzallo said that the suspects had on Thursday trailed one Aremu Peters from his office located at number 86 Ibadan road,Ijebu-Ode, at about 7.00p.m. and subsequently kidnapped him.

Barbaric: North Korean Man Executed After Eating His Children To Survive

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A starving man in North Korea has been executed after murdering his two children for food, reports from inside the secretive state claim.A ‘hidden famine’ in the farming provinces of North and South Hwanghae is believed to have killed up to 10,000 people and there are fears that incidents of cannibalism have risen.

The grim story is just one to emerge as residents battle starvation after a drought hit farms and shortages were compounded by party officials confiscating food. Undercover reporters from Asia Press told the Sunday Times that one man dug up his grandchild’s corpse and ate it. Another, boiled his own child for food.

Boko Haram commander declares ceasefire

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The second commander of Boko Haram, Sheik Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulazeez, sent a statement to journalists in Maiduguri yesterday Monday January 28th, saying their group has agreed to a ceasefire after talks with the Borno government.

Ibn Abdulazeez said he had "the consent and approval of our leader Abubakar Shekau and I call on all members to stop hostilities".

The commander said their group was serious about the ceasefire, and security agencies are free to arrest any of their members that violates it once the ceasefire has been fine tuned.

“We are going to comply with the cease- fire order and by the time we are done with that, then government security agencies can go ahead to arrest whoever they find carrying arms or killing under our name,”  he said.

France Bans Twitter Term ‘Hashtag’

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The French government has included the Twitter term ‘hashtag’ in a list of words to be avoided in order to protect the national language.

The Académie Française is responsible for maintaining standards of French and has identified the English social networking term as a word that undermines linguistic purity, The Mirror reports.

Women Lagging Behind In Internet Use, Research Reveals

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Women and the Web; a new study carried out by Intel Corporation and Dalberg Global Development Advisors reveals that women and girls are far behind in Internet access.

With over 40 Million Nigerians on the Internet, there are yet no statistics on how many of them are women or girls, but experts say there is a serious gender inequality in Internet access, not only globally, but also in developing countries such as Nigeria.

Lifeless Body Of Man Found Hanging From Mango Tree

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Mando Afaka area of  Kaduna State was Monday morning thrown into a gloomy state when the lifeless body of a middle-aged man was found dangling from a mango tree. The victim whose name could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report, is suspected to have hanged himself. However, men of the Kaduna state police command have retreived the body and taken it to a hospital for further examination. The victim’s mobile phone was also retrieved from his pocket while efforts were made to establish contact with his relations. More details later.

Masquerade Arrested By Police In Abeokuta For Murder

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The ancient city of Abeokuta was thrown into pandemonium on Monday after a masquerade allegedly shot dead an Islamic cleric identified as Lateef Sabiu during Egungun festival.

The attack on the Islamic cleric led to a reprisal attack as Islamic youths allegedly razed down a building belonging to traditional worshippers in protest against the murder of one of their members.

The 22-year Islamic Cleric was allegedly shot dead Sunday evening while he was on a motorcycle during a ‘stop and search’ in Ijaye area of the city.

Assassins Attach Rapper Rick Ross

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Early Monday morning, Rick Ross' silver 2011 Rolls-Royce was the apparent target of a drive-by shooting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to multiple reports.

Shots were fired at the artist's Rolls-Royce, causing the driver of the Ross' vehicle to make a turn and crash into an apartment complex, the Sun-Sentinel reported. "An unknown vehicle shot a couple of rounds," a police spokesman told the newspaper. "The [Rolls Royce] was not struck."

NBC Denies Banning Music Videos After P'Square Lashes Out

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The Nigerian Broadcast Commission, NBC, and National Films and Video Censors Board, NFVCB, on Monday denied banning the broadcast of some musical videos by Nigerian artistes.

Mrs Maimuna Jimada, the Acting Public Relations Officer of the Commission, disclosed in Abuja that the commission was not aware of the ban.

According to her, NBC was not in charge of banning musical videos. “NBC has not banned any videos as we are not in-charge of placing a ban on music videos.”

Anambra’s Floating Bodies

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MORE than a week after bodies were found floating on a river in Amansea, Anambra State, the security agencies appear helpless about identifying the bodies or making any headway about the cause of their death.  Governor Peter Obi’s promise of N5 million to anyone with information that could help unravel the “mystery” has yielded no results.

A few more weeks and the event would be off the news radar until a deadlier incident, when this one would be used as a reference. It is a shame that such low levels of performances are associated with the security agencies and the public accepts them.

Coscharis Boss Cosmas Maduka retires from Access Bank’s board

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By Omoh Gabriel & Peter Egwuatu
LAGOS — The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has sanctioned Access Bank Plc for violating the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, BOFIA, 1991 in 2011.  This came as Dr Maduka Cosmas has retired from Access Bank’s Board of Directors.

The apex bank, in the sanction, fined Access Bank N3 million for violating its rules and regulations on granting of loans.

However, CBN told Vanguard, yesterday, that the issue at stake is not new. The CBN official said the said sanction was based on the examination the CBN carried out on the bank on September 30, 2011.

Concede presidency to S-East – Ohanaeze

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LAGOS—Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo weekend, said the turn of the Igbo to occupy the Presidency had come, warning that any attempt to rip the South East of its due after President Jonathan’s tenure would be resisted.

This came on a day former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, insisted that it was the turn of Ndigbo to produce the president of Nigeria in 2015, urging the people to work hard to actualize it.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos, new National Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prince Osita Oganah, stated emphatically that Igbo Presidency was not negotiable and, therefore, called on the Igbo to begin to prepare themselves towards achieving the goal.

Boy Buries His 7 Years Old Younger Brother In Beach Sand While Playing

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A seven-year-old boy has died after being buried alive by his younger brother as they played in a pile of sand at their rural home.

Wyatt McDaniel was pulled unconscious from the mound of sand after his five-year-old brother alerted their father.

Despite desperate efforts by Charlie McDaniel to revive his son with CPR and later by paramedics the boy went into cardiac arrest.

McDaniel was pronounced dead after being airlifted by helicopter from the family's horse farm in Bexar County, Texas.