6 killed, 25 injured as driver tries to avoid potholes

Click banner for more info

Bindawa (Katsina State) -  No fewer than six persons perished while 25 others were injured in a ghastly motor accident in Bindawa local government area of Katsina State on Sunday.

An eyewitness told a correpondent who visited the scene that the accident occurred at about 2 p.m. when a truck with registration number BRE 06 XN crashed along Bindawa-Charanchi road.

According to the eyewitness, the accident happened when the driver of the lorry carrying 40 passengers and 15 cows from Baure town to Charanchi market in Charanchi local government area of the state, lost control.

Prosecutor: Farouk Lawan’s Trial Starts This Week

Click banner for more info

After several months of delays, criminal charges will be filed against the former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Education, Farouk Lawan, the prosecutor, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), has informed THISDAY.
Lawan, who was also the Chairman of the House Ad Hoc Committee on the Monitoring of the Fuel Subsidy Scheme, had been accused by the Chairman of Zenon Oil and Gas Limited, Mr. Femi Otedola, of demanding and accepting a bribe of $620,000 to alter the report of the committee, in which Zenon had been indicted.

Daughter exposes father whose gang killed four policemen

Click banner for more info

A17-year-old girl identified simply as Simi has exposed the hiding place of her robber father to the officials of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, Lagos State Police Command.

Her father, Ife, was the alleged leader of a 10-man robbery gang that killed four policemen in Ajah during a robbery operation two weeks ago.

THE PUNCH had reported on January 15, 2012 that the dead policemen were responding to a distress call when they were ambushed by the robbers.

Simi did not give her father up easily. She gave the information the police needed to arrest her father after a four-hour non-stop interrogation.

2015: Asari, Boyloaf, Ateke, others cannot blackmail Jonathan – Ajube

Click banner for more info

As intrigues preceding the 2015 presidential election continued to play up, strong indications emerged weekend that the Presidency has succeeded in splitting the ranks of the leadership of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND.

 Asari Dokubo, Ebikabowei Victor-Ben(Boyloaf), Ateke Tom and Pastor Reuben, in the past three weeks, have expressed misgivings about the reported aspiration of President Jonathan to seek re-election in 2015, saying the President had done little or nothing to deserve a re-run in the next presidential election.

Lagos State Assembly to regulate activities of fast food producers

Click banner for more info

Suuru Avoseh, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, says that the House will soon enact a law that would check the excesses of fast food producers.

Avoseh, who is the Chairman of the House Committee on Health Services, told said on Sunday in Lagos that most of the foods prepared by various restaurants were ``junk foods. ``And these junk foods are harmful to human health,’’ he stressed.

See How Much Money Police Colleges Got In 2012

Click banner for more info

Almost half a billion naira was budgeted for the upgrade and rehabilitation of facilities at police colleges across the country in 2012,  investigations by SUNDAY PUNCH have shown.

A breakdown of the N307bn budget of police formations and commands, obtained from the Budget Office of the Federation, Ministry of Finance, showed that N296.75m was budgeted for the upgrade of facilities in the following police training institutions – Detective College, Enugu State, PMF training schools, Gwoza (Borno State) and Ila-Orangun (Osun), ATS Training School Nonwa-Tai, (Rivers) Police colleges, Ikeja (Lagos), Kaduna, Maiduguri (Borno), Oji-River (Enugu),  PTS Iperu (Ogun),  Ibadan (Oyo), Oyin-Akoko (Ondo), mounted and dog training schools, communication training schools, Ikeja and Kaduna.

Former Delta State University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ekoko, Kidnapped

Click banner for more info

Abedgnigo Ekoko, a former Vice Chancellor of Delta State University, was abducted this morning as he left a church service in Uzere, Isoko South Local Government Area.

It was gathered that Prof. Ekoko, who is the current chairman of the governing council of Delta State Polytechnic in Ogwashi-Uku, was snatched shortly after coming out of St. Paul Anglican Church.

Ogwashi-Uku, it would be recalled, was the scene of a recent similar drama when the mother of Coordinating Minister and Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was kidnapped in the royal palace. The police at that time claimed to have swept up all known kidnappers in the area.

Finally Kidnappers freed Lagos School Boy after N5m ransom settlement

Click banner for more info

Its quite disturbing to hear about the increased reported cases of kidnap across the country, and even more sad that the perpetrators of this heinous crime chose an innocent two-year old boy as their victim.

A two-year old boy was recently returned to his parents by kidnappers after his family paid N5 million ransom. According to PM News,  Emmanuel Alonge was kidnapped by yet to be identified gunmen on Monday at Iju area of Lagos State and was taken to an unknown destination.

The kidnappers had earlier demanded for N150 million, which they later slashed to N100 million and then to N20 million and later to N5 million.

Maku advises MEND not to make trouble over Okah’s Conviction

Click banner for more info

Abuja – The Minister of Information, Mr Lebaran Maku, said in Abuja on Sunday that it would be wrong for any group to foment trouble in Nigeria as a result of Henry Okah’s conviction in South Africa.  A South African court convicted Okah for his involvement in the Oct.1, 2010 bombings in Abuja.

After the court’s judgment, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) threatened to attack South Africa and cause trouble in Nigeria.

Maku said it would be wrong for any group or individual to have anything against Nigeria as Henry Okah was tried and convicted in South Africa.

Presidency faults Ezekwesili on alleged misuse of $67b reserves

Click banner for more info

CITING misinformation, the Federal Government at the weekend debunked the allegation made by the former Vice-President World Bank, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, that the Presidents Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan administrations squandered the $67 billion reserves (including $45 billion in external and $22 billion in the excess crude account) left behind by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Also, Ezekwesili has charged Nigerians not to be afraid to demand accountability and good governance. She said good governance increases service delivery and provides strong leadership, adding that governance was considered to be okay when it was free from corruption and accountable to the people.

Virginity Test: Ogun State Government, Police Disagree

Click banner for more info

Government and the police on Sunday disagreed over the delay in police investigation of the principal of Ajuwon Senior High School, Ajuwon, Rev. Olufunke Aladeojobi, who allegedly conducted virginity tests on pupils of the school.

 A senior police officer attached to the Ogun State Police Command, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told our correspondent on Sunday that the government had yet to hand over Aladeojobi to them.

R.I.P: Nigerian Hangs Himself In UK Over Fear of Deportation to Nigeria

Click banner for more info

Riliwanu Balogan was found hanged at Glen Parva Young Offender’s Institute in Leicester in 2011, a day after his 21st birthday.

The inquest heard he had told staff he had nothing to live for. The hearing coincided with the release of a report which said the centre had improved but there were still problems.

Photos from AGN tribute night for late veteran actor, Pete Eneh

Click banner for more info

18+ Only: Husbands Use Love-making to Reconnect

Click banner for more info

Things that husbands wish their wives knew about séx:

Séx is not optional in his mind - To a husband, séx is about right up there on the list with eating and breathing. Can he survive without it? Yes, but it’s not fun at all. Séx is to the man, what talking/ communication is to the woman. If you would ask several wives if it would be ok if their husband didn’t listen or communicate with them for weeks at a time – well, you get the idea. Frequent séx = happy, attentive, listening, cuddling, caring, talking husband.

74 passengers escape air crash, after Abuja-bound plane develops fault 15 minutes after take-off

Click banner for more info

What would have been another air disaster was on Sunday, averted by whiskers as an Abuja-bound aircraft made a dramatic return to Lagos when one of its engines developed a mechanical fault mid-air.

On board the aircraft which belongs to Med-View Airline were 73 passengers including Mr. Donald Ojogo, the newly appointed Politics Editor, Abuja, of the Independent Newspapers Limited, publishers of Daily Independent, Saturday Independent and Sunday Independent.

Drug Abuse: Cough Syrup With Codeine To Be Restricted To Hospitals Only – Minister

Click banner for more info

It is not uncommon this days to see empty bottles of cough syrup with Codeine and Benylin lying carelessly around our environments because such syrups, which are often obtainable over the counter and are meant for the treatment of cough, has been abused. Young persons especially those who don’t want alcohol to be perceived in their breathe, find this syrup a veritable alternative – it can’t be perceived in its user’s breathe but supposedly gives the ‘highness’ associated with alcohol consumption.

This much was attested to by Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, an Orthopaedic Surgeon and Minister of Health in an interview culled from The PUNCH.

Terrible Sunday: At-least 245 killed In Brazilian NightClub Fire

Click banner for more info

Sao Paulo, Brazil -- A fire swept through a popular nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing at least 245 people, state media reported, citing police. The death toll was expected to climb as firefighters continued to pull bodies from the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, said Col. Adilomar Silva, the regional coordinator of civil defense.

Most of those killed appeared to have died of smoke inhalation, Silva said. Hundreds are believed to have been injured, though an exact count was not immediately available.  Many people were trampled in the panic to leave the club, one security guard tell us  The fire started "from out of nowhere" on a stage at the club and quickly spread to the ceiling, witness Jairo Vieira told Band News.

10 Things You Might Not Know About Love

Click banner for more info

1. It can be hard to talk about love in scientific terms because people have strong pre-existing ideas about it.

The vision of love that emerges from the latest science requires a radical shift. I learned that I need to ask people to step back from their current views of love long enough to consider it from a different perspective: their body's perspective. Love is not romance. It's not sexual desire. It's not even that special bond you feel with family or significant others.

And perhaps most challenging of all, love is neither lasting nor unconditional. The radical shift we need to make is this: Love, as your body experiences it, is a micro-moment of connection shared with another.

Check out 5 Ways To Stay Healthy When Fasting

Click banner for more info

When NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony announced earlier this month he was just finishing a 15-day fast, it caught even his closest allies off-guard. Everyone from New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson to teammate Amare Stoudemire said they had no idea Anthony was on a special diet. Others were skeptical: Could a professional athlete really survive, much less perform, without eating for 15 days? 
It turns out, he probably didn't. Anthony cut out meat and carbohydrates but did take in some calories, according to media reports. Nutritionists say he was pushing his luck, even with that modified version.

12 year old boy get 4 years jail for raping 11 year old girl

Click banner for more info

A 12 year old schoolboy is one of the youngest in the country to have ever been convicted of rape and get such a harsh punishment.  Two girls claimed that the boy raped them. One is an 11-year-old girl and the other girl is only 7-years-old. 
The boy was sentenced to four years in prison. He had to also register himself as a sex offender.

The court heard that the victims have been psychologically affected by the ordeals. The older girl tried to commit suicide and the seven-year-old girl has been having nightmares.   At the sentencing of the boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, Judge Mark Brown pointed out that he came from a broken home and his parents had a difficult relationship.