₦98,114,927.39 ($620,000) Fuel Subsidy Bribe: Judge Fails To Rule On Farouk Lawan’s Trial

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Ruling on an application to quash the charges against former chairman of the House of Representatives ad-hoc Committee on fuel subsidy; Farouk Lawan and the committee’s secretary, Mr. Boniface Emenalo, was stalled on Thursday as the trial judge, Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi, could not deliver the anticipated ruling owing to bereavement.

An official of the Abuja High confirmed the development to journalist in Abuja and consequently, May 10, was fixed as new date for ruling on the pending application by Lawan and Emenalo.

The duo seeks to have the court quash the 7-count charge preferred against them by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Nigerian Army Set To Host Combat Sports Championships

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The Nigerian Army has announced plans to host the first ever Combat Sports Championships in Kaduna from the 20th of May with the aim of discovering talents in boxing, judo, wrestling and teakwondo.

Addressing a news conference in Abuja, Commander Infantry Corps of the Army and Chairman, Organising Committee, Major General Kenneth Minimah says the championship will help reposition the Nigerian Army as a major contributor to the development of sports in Nigeria

He added that the army has produced top athletes in the past and are now ready to discover and encourage new athletes to realize their sporting potentials.

EFCC Arraigns Kebbi State Director For Stealing N64m

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a Director with the Kebbi state, Ministry of Finance , Yahaya Saidu Andarai and one  Farouk Abubarka Uduli, before the Lagos  High Court in Ikeja for allegedly stealing the sum of N64million belonging to Coscharis Motors Ltd.

The two men, who were arraigned before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, are facing a 27 count charge of conspiracy , fraud and stealing.

The defendants were accused by the EFCC of  converting the said sum  which is  the proceed of AX motorcycles,  property of Coscharis Motors entrusted to them on behalf of Jega National Union Local Government Employees of Kebbi state.

House To Probe Minister of Petroleum Over “Suspicious Oil Deals”

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The House of Representatives is set to investigate the Minister of Petroleum Resources,  Diezani Alison-Madueke over allegation of suspicious oil deals worth N59 trillion.

Speaking on a matter of public importance, member Representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency in Anambra State, Representative Victor Ogene accused the minister of impropriety and abuse of due process in the transaction leading to the sale of seven oil mining leases.

The matter was brought to the house following a petition by group from oil producing communities in Delta, who alleged that there was a deliberate exclusion of indigenious operators from the exercise.

Just In: Amaechi’s Plane Was Flying With Forged Documents: Ministry Of Aviation

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The Ministry of Aviation has revealed that facts available to the ministry suggests that the operators of the bombardier aircraft allegedly belonging to the Rivers state government obtained several flight clearances from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authorities (NCAA) using forged documentation.

A statement by the Special Assistant on media to the Minister of Aviation on Thursday says that “the said aircraft attempted to and did operate within the Nigerian airspace on the 26^th of April 2013 without any flight clearance whatsoever in total violation of all extant civil aviation laws and regulations.”

Money Laundering: Ibori Loses Appeal Over 13-Year Jail Term

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The jailed former Delta State governor, James Ibori, lost a legal appeal on Thursday against a 13-year prison sentence for embezzling more than $250 million.

Mr Ibori, a founding member of Nigeria’s ruling party and a behind-the-scenes kingmaker who ran Delta State for 8 years, was trying to get his sentence reduced. His lawyers argued that the original judge had indicated the term would be shorter.

Judge Antony Edwards-Stuart rejected that argument at the appeal hearing and also said that money laundering should attract close to the maximum 14-year sentence.

Teachers oppose local government autonomy

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National Union of Teachers has opposed calls for local government autonomy.

NUT National President, Michael Alogba, who spoke in Abuja at a reception for officials of Zambia National Union of Teachers, also blamed the government for the declining education standard.

He said, “The entire teachers of this country are saying no to local government autonomy. Not that we have any fear or any grudge against the policy but because of the fact that local governments had been given such responsibility in the past, they failed woefully. That is the fear Nigerian teachers are entertaining.

“We are aware that the House of Representatives is handling the matter; we pray they represent the entire Nigerians very well. We would not want a situation whereby the recorded gains in the sector will be thwarted by this uncalled for autonomy.”

I ‘ll contest presidential election again in 2015 — Buhari

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Minna—Former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, said he “will surely seek the mandate” of Nigerians in the 2015 presidential election under the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC.

Buhari who lost the 2011election on the platform of Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, however said he was ready to step down for any other better candidate that may emerge under the new party.

He spoke in Minna, capital of Niger State during the maiden edition of Sam Nda-Isaiah Annual Lecture Series, saying that politics should not be seen as a do-or-die affair.

DSS probes death threat to 4 Kano journalists

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KANO— The Department of State Security Service, DSS, has launched a full scale investigation to unravel the death threat to the executive members of Correspondent Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Kano.

The development followed a formal petition  by the Chairman of the Correspondent Chapel on behalf of others whose  lifed came under threat by yet to be identified persons through phone.

The petition entitled ‘’Threat to life” signed by the secretary of the chapel, Alhaji Ibrahim  Garba Shuaibu chronicled a graphic details of how an unknown person claiming to be agents of the Department of State Security had intermittently put  up  calls to officials of the chapel inviting them to the headquarters of the DSS in Kano.

Satellite images show 2,275 burnt houses in Baga, Boko Haram destroyed mobile telephone towers – HRW

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An international rights crusader, Human Rights Watch, on Wednesday described as hogwash, military’s claim that the fires that razed thousands of buildings in Baga, Borno State were caused by rocket-propelled grenades  fired by members of the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram.

HRW,  in a statement on its website, said satellite images showed that soldiers may have  set the fires that razed  down  “2,275 buildings  and left 125 others”  in the town  severely damaged.

Calling on the Federal Government to impartially probe the incident,   it said that the military was covering up something  going by the fact that it had vehemently refused to allow journalists access into the troubled community.

There had been reports that 187 persons were killed and about 2,000 houses torched during the April 16, 2013 clash.

Man arrested over wife’s death in Lagos

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LAGOS — Operatives at the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigations Department ,SCID, Yaba , Lagos, have arrested a man who allegedly murdered his wife during a scuffle over his alleged affair with his wife’s employee, in Lagos.

The deceased, Endurance Ajisegiri, was the Managing Director of Speech Transition Company Limited.

Vanguard gathered that following the alleged affair with her employee, Endurance left her matrimonial home in Shasha area of Lagos for her parent’s in Ibeju-Lekki area.

R.I.P: Chris Kelly from the rap group Kriss Kross found dead

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Chris Kelly, member of the rap group Kris Kross, is dead, an investigator with the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to the Huffington Post. Kelly was 34. The Medical Examiner’s Office said it could not provide more details about the circumstances of his death at this time. An unnamed source told CBS Atlanta that Kelly was found dead at his Atlanta home.  No further details were immediately released.

Kris Kross is perhaps best known for their 1992 song “Jump,” which spent eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The duo notably also frequently wore their clothes backward, inspiring a fashion trend.

JTF arrests gunmen, rescue 4 women in Kano

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KANO — The Military Joint Task Force, JTF, in Kano, yesterday, said it had arrested seven gunmen and rescued four women.

Capt. Ikediechi Iweha, the JTF spokesman, told newsmen that the gunmen were arrested in Farawa.

He said the women were rescued in Sheka area, in the outskirts of Kano metropolis.

He said the operation was carried out early yesterday morning, followed a tip-off from members of the public.

FG Accepts Responsibility

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THE Federal Government appears to be in a giving mode. Its announced N5.747 billion for disbursement to victims of post-2011 election violence in nine States is another of the series of government ill-thought actions. The move was based on the report of the Sheikh Ahmed Lemu community on the crisis.

Playing videogames slow, reverse ‘mental decay’ – study

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WASHINGTON (AFP) – Playing videogames can prevent and even reverse deteriorating brain functions such as memory, reasoning and visual processing, according to a study released Wednesday.

The University of Iowa study of hundreds of people age 50 and older found that those who played a videogame were able to improve a range of cognitive skills, and reverse up to seven years of age-related declines.

Opposition misinforming Nigerians on Jonathan’s performance – FG

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The Federal Government has accused opposition parties  of  deliberately misinforming Nigerians  about  the performance of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, who  made the allegation  on Tuesday, however said Jonathan was determined to pursue and actualise his administration’s transformation agenda   in spite of the tendency of the opposition to feed the public  with   wrong information.

Anyim  said this in an address he sent to the opening of a one-day workshop on Effective Information Management and Public Communication as a Key Component of the Transformation Agenda.

Half A decade after Ijegun explosion, victims allege neglect

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Victims of pipeline explosion at Ijegun, a suburb of Lagos State, say five years after, they have yet to get compensation from the government.

 The incident claimed the lives of 19 persons while no fewer than 250 persons sustained injuries.

It was learnt that the community had sued Lagos State Government, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Petroleum Product Marketing Company for N97bn damages.

However, the community was said to have reconsidered its decision after a traditional ruler intervened to avoid a prolonged legal battle.

At a negotiation  meeting with the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, the chairman of the Ijegun Fire Victims, Mr. Olaseni Shoewu, said the community decided to withdraw the matter from the court because the government agreed to give financial support to those affected by the inferno.

Family Tragedy: Why These Children May Not Live Up To Their 20th Birthday

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Experts say four children: Tochukwu, 14, Ifeanyichukwu, 11, Vivian and Marvelous, born by the same parents, Mr. and Mrs. Zebulun Onyia-Eburuo, may not live long because of a genetic condition inherited from their parents, known as muscular dystrophy.

Diagnosis reveal that the type, afflicting the children, is Duchane muscular dystrophy. Muscular dystrophy has several types, depending on the part of the body under siege.

The condition has no cure while research shows that sufferers die before they attain the age of 19 or 20 years. The very lucky ones may live up to 30 years.

Appalling state of electricity supply

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LONG-SUFFERING Nigerians, who may have been coaxed into believing that a significant improvement in power supply levels awaits them this year, cannot but be dismayed at the persistently poor output of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria. In spite of claims by government officials of improved electricity supply across the country, the reality on the ground is that very little has changed in the lives of Nigerians, who still have to depend heavily on standby generators as their primary source of electricity. Companies that had long given up on public power supply, because of its erratic nature, continue to invest heavily in alternative sources of power to keep their production lines running in a very difficult business environment created by acute shortage of electricity. Everyone still has to cope with frequent and prolonged power cuts with serious implications for the social and economic lives of the people.

MAY DAY: Workers Endorse Aregbeshola For Second Term

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Workers in the state of Osun celebrated the workers day with an endorsement of Governor Rauf Aregbesola for second Term in Office.

Leaders of the state’s chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC); Comrade Saka Adesiyan and Comrade Oladele Adetunji , while speaking respectively at the celebration of the workers day in Osogbo, the state capital, stated that any government that places the welfare of its citizenry topmost deserves to be supported.