Good News: Yookos launches new API at World Mobile Web W/Africa conference

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To give developers in Africa the opportunity to create applications that suite the trending and emerging social media landscape, Yookos a social network site that focuses on providing users the best platform to connect, share and interact has launched their Application Programming Interface (API) at the World Mobile Web West Africa 2013 Conference in Lagos. The announcement was made during the company’s presentation to key industry leaders as well as various sponsors from every part of the continent.

Senate Passes State Of The Nation Bill

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The Senate on Thursday passed the State Of the Nation Bill into law which compels the incumbent President to present a state of the nation address before the joint session of the National Assembly.

The bill seeks to make the President accountable to Nigerians as represented by the National Assembly and to render an account of the President’s stewardship to the nation.

The bill, which was a product of concurrence between the House of Representatives and the Senate, was first passed into law by the 6th National Assembly but the President; Olusgeun Obasanjo,  withheld his assent from it.

Man arrested with Fake cò-ndòms and drugs worth ₦106 Million

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Culled From Punch Nigeria,

 

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has arrested a trader, Olisaemeka Osefoh, for importation of counterfeit medicines into Nigeria.

The suspect was also arrested with fake Rough Rider cò-ndòms. PUNCH Metro learnt that the estimated street value of the goods was N106, 210, 000.

Some of the drugs seized include, Mycoten cream, Neurogesic ointment and Skineal cream.
In his statement, the suspect said he was in partnership with a cartel based in China, where the products were sourced, before being shipped to Nigeria.
The Director General of the agency, Dr. Paul Orhii, while parading the suspect, said Osefoh was arrested after a tip off.

Senate summon JAMB registrar over mass failure

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Less than 24 hours National Mirror exclusively reported how internet fraudsters contributed to the mass failure of candidates in the last Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, conducted by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the House of Representatives yesterday summoned the Registrar of the board, Prof Dibu Ojerinde, for questioning.

Chairman, House Committee on Education, Hon. Aminu Suleiman (PDP Kano), said the summons became necessary following series of complaints and protests by many Nigerians of the mass failure.

It will be recalled that the result of the exam, released last weekend, showed only 10 candidates scoring 300 marks and above from the possible 400 while a majority scored below pass mark of 180, which is 40 per cent of the total mark.

According to the lawmaker, the House heard that JAMB authorities had formally explained some reasons for the mass failure in the exam but the explanation is not enough if the content of the complaints is anything to go by.

600 ex-militants threaten to Storm National Assembly

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No fewer than 600 ex-militants in the Niger Delta yesterday threatened to invade the National Assembly over the summon of the Chairman of the Amnesty Implementation Committee, Kingsley Kuku and the former militant leader, Mujaheed Asari- Dokubo, over their remarks on the 2015 presidential election.

The ex-militant leaders described the House of Representatives summon on the duo as divisive and attempt to foment trouble in the country. This was contained in separate statements issued yesterday in Yenagoa by the President, Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative LPCDI, Reuben Wilson and a former member of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, Eris Paul alias Gen. Ogunboss.

JUJU: PDP officials accused of oath taking in Enugu

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Crisis is now brewing in Igboeze North Local Government Council of Enugu State over an alleged oath taking by some Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, officials in the local government.

Twenty councillors of the local government have however demanded that those involved be tried and punished. It was gathered that the party leadership in the state has directed the Enugu North Senatorial district office of the party headed by Chief Mike Ejinma, to probe the allegation now rocking the council area.

Tension continues to mount as the councillors passed a resolution condemning the development, while affirming their confidence in the chairman of the council, Mr. Bona Onu who is being vilified along side the council party chairman, Mr. Luke Uroko. Uroko, is being accused of highhandedness and running the party as a personal fief,even as he also alleging that 18 electoral ward chairmen and some ward officials were involved in oath-taking.

Heartless: 6 Year Old Girls Rap-èd by Soldiers

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Congolese troops fleeing the M23 rebels last November rap-èd at least 97 women and 33 girls, some as young as 6, a U.N. report released Wednesday said.

 The U.S. Africa Command trained one of the units involved, Commando Battalion 391, in 2010 to be “a model for future reforms within the Congolese armed forces,” according to the AFRICOM web site.

The U.N. report covered “mass rap-è, killings, and arbitrary executions and violations resulting from widespread looting,” U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters.

Mob Kills Undergraduate Over Alleged Phone Theft

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A SUSPECTED phone snatcher said to be an undergraduate of the University of Calabar, was killed by a mob at about 9 p.m, Wednesday, for allegedly snatching a phone and a lady’s handbag.

The undergraduate said to be operating with someone at large was alleged to have boarded a taxi at Marian Road to Calabar South and when they got to Goldie by Atu Street junction, they asked the taxi driver to stop and while stepping down from the taxi, one of them grabbed the lady’s handbag who sat next to him while the other snatched her phone.

Court Remands 14 NNPC Workers In Prison For Crude Oil Theft

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Fourteen casual workers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) accused of vandalising petroleum pipes to siphon crude oil for sales to foreigners have been sent to Kuje Prison on remand.

The defendants arrested by a unit of the Guards of Brigade of the Nigerian Army with 14 tankers loaded with crude oil were sent to the prison by Justice Evon Chukwu after the federal government put them on trial on economic sabotage related offenses.

R.I.P: Ex-Falcon's coach Jossy Lad dies at 72

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Former Chief Coach of the Super Falcons, Joseph Ladipo, popularly known as Jossy Lad, has died aged 72. Jossy Lad died in his house yesterday Thursday May 9th after a battle with a heart related ailment and prostate cancer. Mr Ladipo died while having breakfast yesterday morning according to his daughter, Bimbo Olalere. May his soul rest in peace. Ase !!!

Arrest me if you can, Asari Dokubo dares IG, Reps, others

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ABUJA – Angered by the arrest calls that trailed his comment, Monday, that peace will elude Nigeria if President Goodluck Jonathan is not returned in 2015, the Niger Delta frontline Activist and Leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari has dared the House of Representatives and the security agencies to arrest him if they can muster the courage to do so even as the former Governor of old Anambra state, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife opined that arrests should start with people who had made similar
comments in the past.

U.S. to maintain 9 bases in Afghanistan after 2014

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The United States will maintain nine military bases in Afghanistan after NATO’s troop withdrawal in 2014.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai confirmed on Thursday that the bases, including in Kabul, Bagram, Mazari Sharif, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Herat, would stay because that was in the interests of Afghanistan.
The U.S. will cut its Afghan troop contingent from about 66,000 now to between 3,000 and 9,000 after 2014.

‘Juju’ Worshippers Kill 20 Policemen In Nasarawa

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The deadly militia group popularly known as Ombatse on Tuesday killed at least 20 police officers in an ambush, 10 kilometres from Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital, Nigeria’s north central region.

Aside those killed, nine others were critically injured by the militia and eight out of 11 operational vehicles set ablaze by the militia in the village.The state police commissioner, Abayomi Akeremale, who spoke with newsmen on the attack, said the large contingent was on a mission to raid the shrine.

He said: “We decided at the State Security Council meeting, because of the frequent attacks on churches and mosques by this particular group, who are forcing people to swear an oath at the shrine, that we carry out an operation and arrest the perpetrators for prosecution; less it turns into a religious crisis.

How Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission Defrauded Me – Pilgrim

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A lawyer and Nigerian pilgrim, Efunbola Coker has described her trip to Israel as ‘horrible,’ stating that the services she paid the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) for were far from standard.

Mrs Coker while speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily chronicled the events surrounding her journey to the holy land which she said was ‘horrible’.

The lawyer, who disclosed that she paid the sum of N406,450 for the trip, added that the services provided by NCPC especially the hotel accommodation were far below standard.

Nigerian Travellers Still Groan Despite ₦1.414 Trillion Spent On Road

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igeria has about 35, 000km of federal roads in its network. However despite N1.414 trillion expended on their maintenance since 1999, the roads remain death traps.  From Shagamu-Ore to Benin, Onitsha to Owerri, Gombe to Potiskum, Abuja to Lokoja, Ibadan to Ilorin among others, travellers suffer untold hardships as greater portions of the road network are in deplorable condition. These roads are ridden with potholes and gullies. Watch the video below and share your thoughts by dropping a comment on how Nigeria can improve the state of its roads and other infrastructure.

UTME UPDATE: Mass failure aided by fraudsters – Investigation

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…candidates paid N2000, N3000 to get answers from Internet

* How officials, invigilators, parents help students cheat in WASSCE

SAM EFERARO ASSISTANT EDITOR The mass failure of candidates who wrote the April 27 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, has been traced to the widespread cheating recorded in many centres across the country, National Mirror can authoritatively reveal. The result of the examination released last Friday at a news conference in Abuja by the Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojediran, showed that only 10 candidates scored above 300 while only 127,017 candidates scored between one and 159.

Turkey would support US-led no-fly zone in Syria

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Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would support a US-enforced no-fly zone in Syria, and warned that Damascus crossed President Barack Obama's "red line" on chemical weapons use long ago, according to an NBC News interview released Thursday.
A no-fly zone to prohibit Syrian military aircraft from hitting rebel targets has been mentioned by American lawmakers as one option the US could use to put pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
But setting up a no-fly zone would require US air strikes, and possibly forces sent into Syria, at the risk of casualties. There is little chance the United States would undertake that anytime soon, US security officials say.
Erdogan also said Assad has fired missiles with chemical weapons at his opponents, crossing Obama's so-called red line a "long time ago."
The US says it wants proof before taking any action.

YouTube Now charging viewers for Some Programs

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YouTube, the world's largest online video portal, from now on will start charging viewers for some programs. A monthly subscription will be starting at $0.99 a month.
For the new pilot program the Google-owned video portal selected a small group of partners such as Sesame Street, which will make full episodes available on its paid channels, while the Ultimate Fighting Championships will make full fights available. There will also be children’s programs by National Geographic Kids and sports video-lessons by iAmplify.

Police officers gang rap-e woman then charged her with indecency

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A woman who was r-aped by police officers was charged with indecent exposure after she filed a police complaint against the police officers.  After learning about the charges, outraged Tunisians took to the streets to this week, angrily protesting the treatment of a woman who was r-aped allegedly by police and later charged with public indecency when she filed a complaint.

"By persecuting the victim of r-ape by the police rather than protect her against intimidation and stigma, highlights the deep flaws in Tunisian law and the criminal justice system," Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy of the Middle East and North Africa Amnesty International said.

Heartless: Christian Musician Hires Assasin To Kill His Wife

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The lead singer of Christian heavy metal band “As I Lay Dying” tried to hire a hit man to kill his estranged wife, authorities said.  Grammy-nominated rocker Tim Lambesis, 32, was arrested in a sting operation 2 p.m. Tuesday in Oceanside, Southern California.

 Authorities said they sprang into action after hearing Thursday how he wanted someone to murder Meggan Lambesis — the mother of his three adopted children.

 “The information came to us late last week. We acted quickly on it. I believe we averted a great tragedy,” said Jan Caldwell of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.