Case Between The Four Niger Delta Farmers Against Shell: The Verdict!

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On Wednesday the Dutch court in their ruling dismissed four out of the five allegations in the case of the four Niger Delta farmers against Shell in The Hague, The Netherlands.

I was at the court as I have always been in the court during the trial period. It was a verdict that lasted less than 30 minutes.

Media:

It was a media frenzy with all of the local, national and international press fully represented. The court room was full of cameras.

My Reaction:

I find the case itself a big victory for our campaign to raise international awareness to the plight of the ordinary Niger Delta people. The fact that the Dutch court in their first ruling on jurisdiction accepted that they have the legal right and competence to handle the case meant the attention of the world will be drawn to the Niger Delta.

LATEST: Farouk Lawan & Boniface Enemalo Remanded in Prison

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Farouk Lawan, the lawmaker and former Chairman of the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy andBoniface Enemalo, former Secretary of the committee have been remanded in prison by an Abuja High Court.

They were arraigned on a seven count charge for allegedly soliciting for and collecting a bribe of $620, 000 from Femi Otedola, Chairman of Zenon Oil.

At the trial which began today, both men pleaded not guilty to the charges. However,Vanguard reports that they were both remanded to Kuje Prison pending the court’s ruling on their bail application.

The court subsequently adjourned till February 8th, 2013 to rule on the bail application moved by their lawyers led by Rickey Tarfa and Mike Ozhekome, both senior advocates of Nigeria.

Oprah Winfrey Hurt By Tyler Perry’s Birthday Gift

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Oprah Winfrey was hurt by Tyler Perry’s birthday gift… literally.

The 59-year-old TV veteran strained her back when trying to lift the huge flower arrangement Perry sent her.

“I like to send really large flower arrangements to people for whatever occasion,” the 43-year-old actor, director and screenwriter wrote on Facebook. “Well, I sent one to Oprah yesterday for her birthday. She strained her back picking it up. No joke!”

“Feel better Oprah. Happy birthday. Sorry,” Perry added. “Next year I’m sending her one rose.”

Watch Wizkid’s Interview With BBC

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One of Nigeria's hottest stars, Wizkid visited BBC Africa's studios in London earlier this week, where Komla Dumor asked him some few interesting questions.

Pastor Arrested For Raping Church Members

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A pastor with a Pentecostal church has appeared in court for allegedly raping two women from his church on separate occasions.

Greatness Tapfuma (31), a Zimbabwean, allegedly raped a 25-year-old congregant twice and another one who is aged 22 once.

It is alleged that he would invite them to his house or go to their houses on the pretext of holding prayer sessions and eventually rape them. Tapfuma has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Robbers Kill Choir Master In Adamawa

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Suspected armed robbers on Thursday shot dead the choir master of Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN) in Girei, headquarters of Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa.

Some residents of the town told reporters that the incident occurred in the morning when the hoodlums, numbering about seven, forced their way into the deceased’s compound.

The inhabitants said the gunmen had robbed a bakery manager in the compound of N200,000 before entering the choir master’s residence.

Lagos State loses N56 milion cable to vandals

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Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola has said that the state lost N56m worth of electricity cables in 2012 to thieves.

Fashola, who spoke at a lecture organised by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in Abuja, said it was appalling that many Nigerians destroy rather than protect public property.

His words: “Let me quickly deal with the meat of the matter, which is the impact of poor conservation and protection. In 2012 alone, about N56m worth of power cables for lighting were stolen in Lagos.

Mother Kills Her 4-Month-Old Baby By Hitting Him On The Head With TV Set

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A woman whose four-month-old son died when she knocked a five-stone television set on to his head while she was high on drink and drugs has been jailed for 15 months.

Natalie McMillan, 25, put her 'self-indulgent drugs lifestyle' ahead of the welfare of her son, Kian, who died from 'catastrophic injuries', said the Recorder of Preston, Judge Anthony Russell QC.

The baby was lying on his changing mat at the family home in Burnley, Lancashire, when the defendant attempted to move the TV to plug in a scart lead and watch a DVD.

Brazil Nightclub Tragedy: Lessons For Nigeria

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On Sunday, January 27, a fire swept through the packed, popular Kiss Nightclub in Santa Maria, Southern Brazil, killing over 230 people - enough to fill a large airliner. Brazilian authorities have said that of the 143 people still hospitalized  more than 70 are in a critical condition

The Kiss Nightclub is popular with young people in Santa Maria, which is home to a number of universities and colleges, including the Federal University of Santa Maria. At least 80 of those killed were students from that University, Brazilian authorities disclosed.

Nigeria Starts Dismantling Its Plane 'Graveyard'

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LAGOS, Nigeria — Landing in Nigeria's largest city, one of the first thing visitors see as they peer out of their airplane's windows is the moss-covered metal carcasses of what used to fly in Africa's most populous nation.

Workers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos call it "the graveyard," an overgrown field filled with about a dozen cargo and passenger airplanes long since abandoned and left to rot by insolvent airlines. At least 65 abandoned airplanes, ranging from small commuter jets to one massive Boeing 747, sit at airfields across the country and serve as a haunting reminder of Nigeria's chaotic and disaster-filled aviation history.

Court Jails Two For Driving Against Traffic

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The Special Offences Court sitting in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos has sentenced two people to prison for driving against the flow of traffic and for assaulting government officials.

Mr. Abdulrasheed Maiyaki, a 35-year-old man from Kogi State, was sentenced to 100 days imprisonment without the option of fine for driving against traffic.

The other person, Mr. Tunde Mukaila, 35, who allegedly assaulted government officials in the course of their duties, was sentenced to one year in prison.

2 women caught with cocaine hidden under their pants.

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Two ladies from the Bronx have been caught smuggling six and a half kilos of cocaine hidden in 'diapers' under their pants.

Returning to New York's JFK on a JetBlue flight from the Dominican Republic, Priscilla Pena and Michelle Blassingale were relying on the cocaine girdles to give off a natural appearance.
However, Customs and Border Protection officers were alerted to the pair who had flown in from Santo Domingo when drug-sniffing dogs started to go wild.

Seven Reasons Why She Won’t Sleep With You

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According to some very questionable statistics, it takes a woman only 30 seconds from meeting a guy to know if she’s ever going to sleep with him

I say ‘questionable’ because let’s face it, women are known for changing their minds faster than you can say ‘quick’. I do think the statement has some merits though, because women are approached by a lot of guys, and over the years, it begins to take them lesser time to come to the conclusion of whether or not he’s worth their time, plus we got that other thing called ‘female intuition’.

Beyonce Comes Clean: Admits To Lip-Syncing On Obama's Inauguration

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Beyonce answered critics of her Inauguration Day performance the best way she could - with another sterling performance of the national anthem. The difference?

On Thursday, it was live: She admitted during her Super Bowl news conference that when she performed for President Barack Obama and the nation, she decided to sing to a prerecorded track because she didn't have time to practice. Calling herself a self-proclaimed ''perfectionist,'' she said wanted the day to go off without a hitch.

''I practice until my feet bleed and I did not have time to rehearse with the orchestra,'' she said, adding that she was also emotional that day. ''Due to no proper sound check, I did not feel comfortable taking a risk. It was about the president and the inauguration, and I wanted to make him and my country proud, so I decided to sing along with my pre-recorded track, which is very common in the music industry. And I'm very proud of my performance.''

Lucky :How Nicki Minaj evaded arrest in Dubai

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Nicki Minaj was at the Jimmy Kimmel Live show and disclosed how she almost had herself arrested in Dubia for hugging a police officer

“I went to Dubai. I almost got in so much trouble because the guys in Dubai are so cute. It’s not even funny. One of the rules [is] you can’t hug a man if you’re not married to the man. And so when we were leaving, there was this one guy that was so freaking cute, I was like, ‘Bye!’ because I just wanted to have this one last moment to…savor the moment with him…”

7 Ways to Tell Someone "I Love You"

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Want to tell that special someone how much you really like them? Everyone has their own ideas on the ‘perfect’ way to make the confession, but you’re sure to find a technique that suits you in this list of seven ways to tell someone you love them.

How to express your love, tip 1: Add a little humour

The words “I love you” can be spruced up with all sorts of poetic techniques that don’t sound like they’ve come straight from one of Shakespeare’s classics. Why not add a light sprinkling of humour to your love confession through a creative analogy? Think of something you couldn’t live without and compare the one you love to that. You can make your analogy as silly or as serious as you like and your other half will appreciate the amount of thought you’ve put into your confession. “You are the cream to my coffee, the lamb to my farm, and I love you to little bits” – aww!

Senate Queries N4 Billion Earmarked For First Lady Patience Jonathan’s House

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The upper house of the National Assembly of Nigeria has expressed concerns over the N4bn budgeted for the construction of a mission house for the First Lady, Patience Jonathan listed in the 2013 Budget of the Federal Capital Territory. Senators described it not only as scandalous but an endorsement of illegality.

It also queried the expenditure of N7.5billion for the management of  the city as well as the spending of N150million for the renovation of the Guest House of the Vice President in Asokoro, Abuja.

It considered for second reading on Thursday the budget of the FCTA totaling N253.199billion, of which N48.034billion is for personnel cost; N49.504billion is for overhead, while the balance of N155.66billion is for capital projects for the service of the FCT

Senate Queries N4 Billion Earmarked For First Lady Patience Jonathan’s House

Click banner for more info

The upper house of the National Assembly of Nigeria has expressed concerns over the N4bn budgeted for the construction of a mission house for the First Lady, Patience Jonathan listed in the 2013 Budget of the Federal Capital Territory. Senators described it not only as scandalous but an endorsement of illegality.

It also queried the expenditure of N7.5billion for the management of  the city as well as the spending of N150million for the renovation of the Guest House of the Vice President in Asokoro, Abuja.

It considered for second reading on Thursday the budget of the FCTA totaling N253.199billion, of which N48.034billion is for personnel cost; N49.504billion is for overhead, while the balance of N155.66billion is for capital projects for the service of the FCT

Senate Queries N4 Billion Earmarked For First Lady Patience Jonathan’s House

Click banner for more info

The upper house of the National Assembly of Nigeria has expressed concerns over the N4bn budgeted for the construction of a mission house for the First Lady, Patience Jonathan listed in the 2013 Budget of the Federal Capital Territory. Senators described it not only as scandalous but an endorsement of illegality.

It also queried the expenditure of N7.5billion for the management of  the city as well as the spending of N150million for the renovation of the Guest House of the Vice President in Asokoro, Abuja.

It considered for second reading on Thursday the budget of the FCTA totaling N253.199billion, of which N48.034billion is for personnel cost; N49.504billion is for overhead, while the balance of N155.66billion is for capital projects for the service of the FCT

Interview With Nollywood Actress Mimi Quaker: I’m Not a Lesbian, I Only Organise Girls…

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Mimi Quaker isn’t really a rookie anymore, since featuring in “Evil Mind” some two years ago. The beautiful, curvaceous girl from Port Harcourt has got enough under her belt to rub shoulders with the very best in the industry. Unlike most of her peers, she has seen the two worlds of music and movie. Having featured in close to ten movies, Mimi also has a stake in the music world as a music video vixen. In fact, she was named as one of the top ten video vixens in 2012 by a popular blogger.