Nigeria regulator says lifts capital market ban on Ecobank

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Nigeria's stock market regulator said on Thursday it had lifted a suspension on Ecobank from capital market activities, imposed last month because of irregularities surrounding a margin loan.

"The suspension on Ecobank has been lifted ... they can now participate in capital market activities," Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) spokesman, Yakubu Olaleye, said.

Last month, the SEC said an Ecobank client Arian Capital Management had used capital from another company as collateral for a margin loan from Ecobank. After suspending Arian, the SEC also suspended Ecobank pending an explanation.

Ecobank said at the time the ban would not affect it because its Nigeria arm no longer deals in secondary markets. The sum of the loan was just 11 million naira ($69,400), the bank said. ($1 = 158.5000 naira) (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; editing by Tim Cocks and James Jukwey

(Reuters)

Shell shuts down Nigeria oil pipeline over thefts

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LAGOS, Nigeria — Royal Dutch Shell PLC says it has shut down a major pipeline in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern delta to remove points that thieves are using to steal crude from it.

Shell said Wednesday that its Nigerian subsidiary shut down the Nembe Creek Trunkline, halting production of around 150,000 barrels of oil a day. Shell said it had issued a force majeure warning on its Bonny Light crude oil exports — meaning that it is unable to meet the contracted demand for the crude.

Despite a government amnesty deal, crude oil thefts continue to rise in Nigeria.

HYPOCRISY: US Supreme Court Rejects Nigeria Shell Rights Case

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The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal courts do not have jurisdiction to hear lawsuits against foreign companies accused of human rights abuses abroad.

In a decision issued Wednesday, the justices ruled unanimously that a federal court in New York could not hear a case involving Nigerian activists who said the Anglo-Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell was complicit in rights abuses committed by the Nigerian government.

The case centered around the killing of Nigerian environmental activists during a crackdown on protesters in the oil-rich Ogoni region between 1992 and 1995.

Nigeria: The Lottery Revolution in Nigeria

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OPINION

The television documentary "Window On Our World: NLRC", produced by Picture Post and aired on NTA International, on Saturday, 6th April, 2013, was a stimulating and informative production. For most Nigerians who knew close to nothing about lottery, it was an excursion into a whole new world of an industry that is just sprouting in Nigeria. Before this documentary, there had been a series of media coverage on the history and operations of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), all leading to the conclusion that lottery will be one of the alternatives to oil in terms of income generation in the country.

Nigeria: Court Grants Nnamani Leave to Travel for Medical Check-Up

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Lagos — Justice Mohammed Yunusa of a Federal High Court, Lagos, on Wednesday granted conditional leave to Chimaroke Nnamani, to travel overseas for a medical check-up.

Nnamani, a former governor of Enugu State, is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alongside seven others, on 105-counts of money laundering.

The others are: Sunday Anyaogu, Rainbownet (Nigeria) Ltd., Hillgate (Nigeria) Ltd., Cosmos FM, Capital City Automobile (Nigeria) Ltd., Renaissance University Teaching Hospital and Mea Mater Elizabeth High School.

Nigeria: Meet Nigerian Who is First African Parliamentarian in Poland

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John Abraham is a Member of Parliament in Poland where he is the chairman of the parliamentary team on Africa, chairman, sub-committee on development of internet technology, chairman, Polish-British bi-parliamentary group, and chair, Polish-Nigeria bi-parliamentary group. The Umuahia, Abia State born Polish MP in this interview reveals to Daily Trust how he climbed the ladder into his various posts and what it's like to be a Polish lawmaker. Excerpts;

Controversy trails N20m seized fake drugs in Lagos

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The last may not have been of a businessman currently held in custody over possession of fake drugs which he, in connivance of others, repackaged and sold to the public.

Already, a drug store operator in Okokomaiko (names withheld) is seeking the protection of law enforcement agents from some of his customers who are allegedly threatening to kill him for selling fake drugs to them.

It was gathered that two of the children of the consumers are currently ill in a private hospital at Iba area of the state after being administered with the drugs.

Ibeabuchi, an eight-year-old girl, is reported to be hospitalised following a drug her father purchased from the shop of the drug dealer and the same fate now befalls one Abigael, a 10-yearold girl.

Estate agent, 35, arraigned for alleged cheating

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A 35-year-old estate agent, Olowude Akeem, on Friday appeared in a Kubwa Senior Magistrates’ Court for alleged cheating. The Police Prosecutor, Mr Igonor Ocholi, told the court that the case was reported to the Kubwa police station on Jan. 15 by Ifeanyi Tobi.

“Tobi, a resident of No.2, Billing way, Oregun, Lagos, told the police that the accused, resident in Gado Nasko Road, Kubwa offered him a one-room self-contained apartment in Kubwa at N270,000 per annum.

“After collecting the money, the accused failed to remit same to the landlord,” Ocholi alleged. He said that failure of the accused to remit the money made it impossible for Tobi to occupy the room.

YouTube Views Added on whenever You Buy YouTube Views

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Well, here's the deal - your dream of becoming the next big YouTube star could become a reality!  if you're amazed how that's possible, on any occasion your channel or music video doesn't even get a distinct view in a day, the answer lies here - buy YouTube views In Nigeria.
YouTube is one of the most useful marketing tools out there. Many people from young also old tune in to watch the assorted videos that people upload on to the web. Blogs are another useful tube in marketing, especially if enclosed on the blog are videos. This could build up the views and traffic on to YouTube.

Teacher helps her students cheat because they are dumb

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Students are known to try cheating during a test, but to see a teacher help them cheat was unheard of until now.According to reports, a fifth-grade teacher, who allegedly helped students cheat, excused her behavior because they were "dumb as hell."

Atlanta, Georgia mathematics teacher Shayla Smith appeared before a three-person test-cheating tribunal. The court upheld her termination to the Dobbs Elementary school board after an hour of deliberation. The school board has not yet voted whether Smith's contract will be renewed. The Atlanta Public Schools system got the court to investigate Smith. Approximately 180 teachers are accused of dishonesty.

As Many As 8,000 Snakes Stuck In Basement Of Burned-Down Home

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A fire has completely destroyed a home in Brighton, Colorado Thursday morning and has displaced two adults, five children and as many as 8,000 snakes and reptiles.

The owners of the home are reportedly breeders of rare snakes, Fox31 reports, and also own a pet store in Thornton. Incredibly the majority of the snakes, which were in crates in the basement, appear to be in good condition.

Firefighters are now working with the homeowners in an effort to get the snakes out of the basement and into a new home.

2011 Xmas day bombing: Court sends Sokoto to prison

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• FG wants secret trial for suspect

• Lists 8 witnesses to give evidence against him

• Sokoto pleads not guilty, seeks bail

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday issued an order remanding Mr. Kabiru Sokoto, the suspected operation arrow-head of the dreaded sect, Boko Haram, in Kuje prisons.

That was moment after the federal government arraigned Sokoto before the court over alleged questionable roles he was said to have played in the bombing of St Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger State and a couple of attempts to bomb police headquarters and other governmental institutions in Sokoto State.

Woman arrested for urinating on sleeping man

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Sometimes when women take revenge, things get ugly. Alcohol may have played a role in the ugly incident, where a 40-year-old woman in western Sweden took revenge by urinated on a sleeping man as well as on his sofa.
The incident took place on one Friday night. A woman and her two male friends hung out at an apartment. At some point during the evening an argument broke out among all three of them, at which point the two men decided to go to sleep. 

But the woman, who was still angry decided to crawl into bed next to one of the men, aged 21, where she urinate on him as he slept. Then she went to the sofa and continued to urinate there, leaving a bad smell and a big ugly stain on both the bed and the sofa.  When the 21-year-old man awoke all wet and saw the mess the woman made he called the police. She was arrested, and is facing criminal charges of assault and malicious damage of property. 

The man who found himself, his bed and his sofa drenched and stinking as a result of the woman's urine attack is also seeking $1,885 in damages.

100-year-old driver hits 9 children walking on a sidewalk

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A very old man lost control of his vehicle and hit as many as nine children on a sidewalk outside school.

A 100-year-old man backed up his car back onto the sidewalk and hit 11 people, including nine children, from a primary school in South Los Angeles, California, just after classes had ended on Wednesday, authorities said. Four of the children were in critical condition when firefighters arrived, but were stabilized and were in serious condition at a hospital, fire Capt. Jaime Moore said. Everyone was expected to survive, he said.

The powder blue Cadillac backed slowly toward the group of parents and children who were buying snacks from a sidewalk vendor, and the crowd hit his window and yelled at him to stop, but not before some of the children became trapped under the vehicle, witnesses said. Backpacks of children, shoes, sweets and loose change were strewn about the scene behind a grocery store across from Main Street Elementary.

IRAQ: Suicide Bomber Kills At Least 27

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A bomb exploded on Thursday night in a popular coffee shop in western Baghdad, killing at least 27 people and wounding 51 others, city police officials said.

The bomb was hidden in a plastic bag and then put in a cafe in the Iraqi capital’s al-Amriya neighborhood, where it detonated around 10 p.m., according to police.

They estimated the device contained about two kilograms of highly explosive material.

The explosion ripped through the three-story building, which also includes an ice cream parlor on the first floor and medical offices on the second floor.

The capture of 2nd Boston bombing suspect, Dzhorkhar Tsarnaev

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The 19 year old terror suspect was cornered on a small boat in the back of a house and captured alive Friday night. Dzhorkhar was found by a man who discovered blood trails to a boat at the backyard of a home in a Watertown neighborhood. The man looked inside the boat, noticed movement, and called the police.

An hour later, a seriously injured Dzhorkhar, who escaped an overnight shootout with police that left his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev dead, was captured and taken to the hospital, bringing an end to one of the the biggest manhunts in recent US history. Five days after the bombing, one suspect killed, another captured. Just five days! Nigeria needs to learn a thing or two from this.

Treason: Uwazuruike, 6 others must face trial –Supreme Court

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Attempts by the leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazurike, and six other members of the organisation to prevent their being tried for treason were quashed yesterday when the Apex Court by a unanimous judgment okayed their trial.

The order followed the dismissal of an appeal filed by all the accused persons in the case to quash the charge and terminate their trial. Lagos lawyer and Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN) teamed up at one point to prosecute the appeal.

The apex court which dismissed their appeal yesterday for want of merit also returned their case file to the Abuja Federal high court and ordered that their trial should be commenced promptly and conducted with dispatch.

Second Earthquake Hit Iran In Just Days

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Just days after a deadly temblor struck near Iran’s border with Pakistan, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake hit northwestern Iran on Thursday, media reports said, citing the seismological centre at Tehran University.

No immediate reports of casualties or damage have been reported in the latest quake which struck at a depth of 8km in the town of Tassouj.

“So far there are no reports of damage. We are in touch with the prefect of Tassouj and local authorities stand ready,” to deal with any crisis, ISNA news agency reported quoting Khalil Saiie, a local official from East Azerbaijan province.

Alleged money laundering: Ladoja’s appeal suffers setback

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For the second time, in less than two weeks, the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, yesterday refused to hear the appeal instituted by former Oyo State Governor, Rasheed Ladoja, challenging the competence of corruption charges levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The appeal which was earlier fixed for definite hearing could not be heard as a result of a defective application filed by counsel to the appellant, Dr. Dapo Olanipekun, from Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) chambers.

Imo State: Two women arrested for stealing 3-day old babies ( Video)

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