Delta State House of Assembly reduces punishment for kidnapping from death penalty to life in prison

The Delta State House of Assembly in Asaba on Wednesday, reduced the punishment for kidnapping from death penalty to life imprisonment in the state.

The state Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa in a letter to the House appealed for reconsideration of Section 4, Sub-Section 1 of the Delta State Anti-Kidnapping Law, 2016 which was passed by the House, which made provision for death penalty for anybody convicted of kidnapping.
Mr. Okowa in his letter said:

“The Right Honourable Speaker and Honourable Members of the House are aware that death penalty is globally no longer fashionable as it breaches human right to life and torture, both of which are protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948. Besides, there is heightened campaign and overwhelming support for the abolition of death penalty globally,” said Mr. Okowa.

“Since the world is a global village, Delta State cannot be an exception, hence the passionate call to the House to reconsider the Section under reference and change the death sentence prescribed therein to life imprisonment.

The amended law states:

“Any person who contravenes section (3) of this law commits an offence and shall on conviction be sentenced to life imprisonment without fine.

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U.S. opens investigation after ex Navy Seal dies in a self-driving Tesla car

According to a witness, a former Navy SEAL, 40 year old Joshua Brown, who served in the US military for 11 years, died at the wheel of his self-driving Tesla car while he watched a Harry Potter movie. The self driving Tesla Model S with its autopilot on crashed into a tractor trailer on a freeway in Williston, Florida, in May.

The driver of the truck, Frank Baressi, said the Tesla driver was 'playing Harry Potter on the TV screen' at the time of the crash. However, Tesla denied the claim, saying that movies cannot be played on its touchscreens and police did not mention the driver being distracted by a film in any of their reports.

But, 62 year old Baressi insisted that Brown was watching a movie when their vehicles collided. He said:

'It was still playing when he died and snapped a telephone pole a quarter mile down the road.' 'He went so fast through my trailer I didn't see him,' he added.

Tesla said its autopilot system failed to detect the truck because its white color was similar to that of the bright sky, adding that the driver didn't make any attempt to hit the brakes either.

Tesla said:

"Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied." The high ride height of the trailer combined with its positioning across the road and the extremely rare circumstances of the impact caused the Model S to pass under the trailer, with the bottom of the trailer impacting the windshield of the Model S."

Tesla added that:

"Autopilot is getting better all the time, but it is not perfect and still requires the driver to remain alert. Nonetheless, when used in conjunction with driver oversight, the data is unequivocal that Autopilot reduces driver workload and results in a statistically significant improvement in safety when compared to purely manual driving."

According to reports from the ongoing investigation, Brown had narrowly escaped a similar collision earlier this year, when his car did not notice a white truck turning in on him on the freeway. Tesla confirmed the man's 'tragic' death, but defended its vehicles, saying they were safer than other cars.

In a statement, Tesla said:

'This is the first known fatality in just over 130 million miles where Autopilot was activated. Among all vehicles in the US, there is a fatality every 94 million miles'.

The company claimed that had the trailer crashed into the front or the rear of the Model S, the driver would have survived.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Thursday it is opening a preliminary investigation into 25,000 Tesla Motors Model S cars after Brown's death.

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Police corporal and pastor arrested for armed robbery, confesses to supplying arms to robbery gangs

A police corporal who was recently arrested for armed robbery, confessed to having supplied arms and ammunition to robbery gangs in various states, including Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa states. 

Christ Oboko Onitsha Ugbo, was arrested after he allegedly led his gang on a series of robbery operations in some states in the Niger Delta region. He is currently being detained by the Inspector General of Police’s Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT)

According to Daily Trust, the 36-year-old, until his arrest was attached to a special squad code named C4I of the Rivers State Police Command and was also the resident pastor of a church at Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Oboko, who has also been linked to several violent crimes in Bayelsa, Delta, Imo, Lagos and Edo state was said to have been deployed to C41 from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Rivers State Command, having distinguished himself as a sniper and crack detective.

Prior to his arrest, the office of the immediate past IGP, Solomon Arase received series of complaints about the notorious activities of the gang and subsequently directed the leader of the Special Intelligence Response Team, Abba Kyari, to investigate the matter. Oboko was arrested following the arrest and confessions of one of his gang member identified as one Johnpaul Amandi.

"Aside from supplying members of my gang with police rifles and bullets, I also help keep their guns in my house without the knowledge of my wife and children."Oboko confessed.

"I joined the Nigeria Police Force in April 2003. I served at Borokiri Police Division, from there I went to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad SARS before joining  C4I. I started car snatching in 2015 when I met Amandi, he was our informant. He lured me into robbery. I was only supplying them with arms. It all started when Amandi brought two vehicles. He gave them to one Victor Nwogu to sell. I met them doing the negotiation and from there, I offered to join them.

"I robbed the driver of a Toyota Camry at D-line area of Port Harcourt  and we  took the car to Victor in Owerri, I sold the car to victor for N200,000.  We were three and  I took N70,000 and I gave Amandi and Kelvin the balance to share. On the second operation, the three of us went for the job at  D-line and we stole three Camry cars from the park. We sold the vehicles to the same Victor in Owerri and he paid us N360,000. I got N150,000 as my share.   

"We also snatched a Toyota Corolla, from Elelanwan area at gunpoint from its owner and I took the car to Victor and he paid N250,000. I took N80,000 as my share and I gave the rest to Amandi and Kelvin to share.

"We also snatched a Toyota Spider car at GRA from the owner at gun point and we parked it inside Borokiri sand field.  But before we arrived in the morning the car had been removed,"

Lamenting, Oboko said, "I was always going to release them whenever they were arrested by the police and I don’t know what came over me.  I am the resident pastor of a church at Choba, in Port Harcourt. I don’t know what made me join Amandi in his evil business."

The out going Force Public Relations Officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police Bisi Kolawole, who paraded the suspect disclosed that he and members of his gang were terrorizing Port Harcourt.

The gang members enjoyed full protection from Oboko, who bailed and defended them whenever they were arrested by the police. He provided fake vehicle documents for stolen vehicles and altered the vehicle engine and chassis numbers selling them, Ms Kolawole added.

Source: Daily Trust

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Tompolo writes President Buhari another open letter what amazing

Former Niger Delta militant, Government Ekpemepulo aka Tompolo who is currently in hiding, has written another open letter to President Buhari. In his new letter, the ex militant leader asked the president to learn from former President Musa Yar'Adua who in 2009, introduced the Amnesty programme for Niger Delta militants after discovering that attacking the militants was not a good idea. The letter in part reads;

“Today is exactly 31 days after the invasion of the traditional headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Oporoza town, by your military led by Brig. General Faruk Yahaya of the 4thBrigade, Benin City, in search of me, with the allegation that I am the one behind the bombing and destruction of crude oil facilities in the Niger Delta region, and the incident happened in my absence, but I was informed that the army was on the loose, and committed so much abomination in the community. As I said in my previous publications, the military made away with the symbol of Authority of the Gbaramatu people from the Egbesu Shrine, [of] which I am the chief priest. They also made away with other valuables, worth several millions of naira, from the community. We are presently being treated like conquered people because of crude oil.

Mr President sir, please permit me to quickly recall a similar incident that occurred in May, 2009, when this same military invaded several communities in Gbaramatu kingdom, under the command of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Traditional worship centres were desecrated, property were looted and above all, the multi-billion naira ultra-modern magnificent palace of the pere of Gbaramatu kingdom was burned down, and his golden crown was stolen by the military. As peace-loving people, the kingdom approached the courts and demanded compensation for the unlawful invasion and destruction of property, in which the court awarded 99 billion naira in favour of Gbaramatu kingdom. After seven years of that sad incident, the Federal Government is yet to pay the compensation.

This incident also led to the declaration of the Presidential amnesty programme for peace to reign, as the government find out that military action is not the best way to address the Niger Delta question, and the rest become a history in the life of those who led that invasion. I believe Mr President should learn a lesson from the 2009 military invasion and do the needful.

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Man arrested for sleeping and impregnating his 15 year old daughter in Lagos

41 year-old man, Raymond Anyanwu, pictured, has been arrested by the Lagos state police command after it was discovered that he impregnated his 15 years old daughter at their home in Ajao estate Isolo in Lagos.

According to a report by Vanguard, Anyanwu confessed that he had started sleeping with his daughter since January this year after he lost his job. He says frustration drove him to commit the act.

He was exposed after an aunt of the girl suspected that she was pregnant. A test was run on her which showed positive. When she was asked who had been sleeping with her, she said her father.

Confessing to the crime, Anyanwu said “I started sleeping with my 15-year-old daughter sometime around January, after I lost my job. I am a transporter but I took to alcohol after I lost my job and could not meet up with my responsibilities as the head of the house”he said

When his act was exposed, Anyanwu beat up his wife and warned her not to mention it to anyone. The girl's mother quickly arranged for an abortion for her. He was arrested last Wednesday June 22nd after the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development got wind of the matter and alerted the police.

The 15 year old girl is currently in protective custody by the Lagos State government. The case, which is currently being investigated at the Gender Unit of Lagos State Police Command, will be charged to Ikeja Magistrate’s Court today June 28th.

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President Buhari dines with Nigeria's Business Leaders(see photo)

President Buhari broke the Ramadan Fast yesterday evening with Business Leaders; Femi Otedola, Mrs Folorunsho Alakija, Tony Elumelu, Aliko Dangote, Jim Ovia, Wale Tinubu and others, at the State House, Abuja. See more photos after the cut....

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Drake's One Dance becomes longest running number 1 single on Billboard

Drake's One Dance becomes longest running number 1 single in U.K.'s digital Era according to Billboard

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why-fayose-should-not-enjoy-immunity-serap

Socio-Economic

Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has stated that “the freezing of Governor Ayodele Fayose’s account by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) is lawful under section 308 of the 1999 constitution and international law particularly the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party.” The group argued that, “The freezing of the account is a preventive measure targeting the rem, which is necessary for the conduct of an effective investigation of allegations of corruption involving former National Security Adviser Sambo Dazuki.” The group in a statement, Sunday, by its executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni stated that, “The freezing of accounts of sitting governors and other high-ranking public officials accused of corruption is essential for the flow of investigation which is allowed under section 308. The investigation is pointless without the freezing of the account.” Fayose The statement reads in part: “Specifically, article 30 of the UN Convention against Corruption entrenches a functional notion of immunity; that is, it attaches to the office and not the office holder. Under article 30, states are required to ensure that immunity of public officials is not used as a ploy to frustrate prosecution of cases involving other persons such as Dazuki, accused of corruption. SERAP believes without the freezing of the accounts of Fayose by the EFCC, the investigation and adjudication of corruption allegations involving the former National Security Adviser may be undermined, which will directly violate article 30 requirements.” “Similarly, article 31 of the convention covers the ‘what’ and not the ‘who’. It allows states to take measures to identify, trace, restrain, seize or freeze property that might be the object of an eventual confiscation order. One such measure provided for under the provision is to ensure that anticorruption bodies such as the EFCC can adopt provisional measures including freezing of assets involved in suspicious transaction reports, at the very outset of an investigation.” “According to the UN Technical Guide on the interpretation of the convention, ‘to be effective, restraint, seizure or freezing measures by anticorruption agencies should be taken ex parte and without prior notice. Where judicial authorization is required, the procedure should be fashioned in such a manner as not to delay the authorization and frustrate the procedure.” “The Guide also provides that ‘under an administrative freezing system, the agency receiving the suspicious report is empowered to decide upon a provisional freezing, and its decision is subject to judicial confirmation. In automatic freezing, the gatekeeper is obligated to freeze the assets involved in the transaction at the time of reporting, without tipping off its client, and for a short period of time within which a competent authority must decide whether to keep the assets frozen or not. In both cases, the decision is moved forward in order to increase efficiency and allow for timely freezing.’” “The objective of this in rem procedure of freezing is a temporary immobilization of any account pending investigation into allegations of corruption cases. Freezing of accounts only covers the rem and is different from confiscation which is linked to the conviction of a defendant that could only be adopted in personam.” “Article 30 and 31 provisions are clearly binding on Nigeria. This is in keeping with the general principles of international law, as provided under customary international law and articulated in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969, which provide that a state cannot invoke domestic law as a defense for failing to implement an international obligation.” “Immunity shouldn’t be available to bar effective investigation of corruption cases including freezing of accounts because such cases are entirely unrelated to the legitimate exercise of constitutional powers by public officials covered under section 308. Immunity doesn’t mean impunity and a licence for serving high-ranking public officials including governors to imply that they are untouchable in cases of allegations of corruption against them.” “In several cases, the Supreme Court of Nigeria has made it clear that immunity under section 308 is not absolute and does not bar investigation of serving high-ranking public officials such as Governor Fayose, including relating to allegations of corruption. International and regional courts have also circumscribed the application of immunity in corruption matters.” “SERAP notes that apart from the UN Convention against Corruption, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption which Nigeria has ratified also includes mandatory provisions requiring states to restrict the scope of application immunity for public officials in corruption matters. The Commowealth has also urged member states to commit themselves to take active steps to ensure the removal of immunity in corruption cases.” “As provided by the UN through the Technical Guide to the UN Convention against Corruption, article 30 of the convention allows for sanctions which take into account the gravity of allegations of corruption and requires states to strike an appropriate balance between immunity of public officials and the need to tackle corruption and achieve effective law enforcement.” “Article 30 even provides for the reversing of burden of proof in order to facilitate the determination of the origin of proceeds of corruption. This is different from a reversal of the burden of proof regarding the elements of the offence which is directly linked with the presumption of innocence.” “The spirit of the 1999 constitution as reflected in chapters 3 and 4 include the prevention of corruption and promotion of transparency, accountability, the rule of law, and good governance. The chapters establish standards of conduct for the correct, honourable and proper fulfilment of public functions. Clearly, these principles are the very antithesis of high-level official corruption.” “SERAP therefore believes that the Fayose case provides an important opportunity for the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami to approach the Supreme Court to test the scope of application of section 308 in corruption matters in light of international consensus and gravity and consequences of high-level official corruption in the country.” “It’s very unlikely that in the current situation of our country the Supreme Court will extend the application of section 308 to grand corruption cases. It would be inconsistent and incompatible with the letter and spirit of the constitution and the principles it entrenches if serving senior public officials suspected of corruption are able to use section 308 to shield themselves from criminal liability.” “It would amount to a travesty of justice for section 308 to be interpreted in a manner that will render sitting governors and other high-ranking public officials effectively above and beyond the reach of the law.” “SERAP also notes the EFCC Report on the investigation of 31 former governors while in office, which was presented to the National Assembly in 2006 by the former Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Nuhu Ribadu. The Report, which was accepted and adopted by the National Assembly, documented the cases and indictments against the former governors. SERAP reiterates its call to Mr Malami to take steps to take over the cases and prosecute all 31 former governors suspected of official corruption while in office

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5 men beaten up for allegedly raping an 8 year old girl in Imo

These men are currently being beaten up at Relief market in Owerri, Imo state after they allegedly took turns to rape an eight year old girl selling sachet water in the market. See more photos after the cut.

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reps-okay-10-new-states/

By

Luka Binniyat ABUJA—DEPUTY Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bayero Nafada, who is also Chairman of the ad-hoc Committee of the House of Representatives on Review of the 1999 Constitution, yesterday, said that the National Assembly would create 10 new states, with five from the North and five from the South, by next year. Nafada also said Nigerians should expect an amended 1999 constitution with landmark modification, in May, 2010. The Deputy Speaker, who was fielding questions from National Assembly reporters, however, said the electoral reform would not authorize Nigerians in the diaspora to vote in the forth-coming elections. The House of Representatives had, Tuesday, amended 44 clauses of the 1999 constitution after the Senate had done same last March. According to the Deputy Speaker, the two chambers of the National Assembly would form a joint-conference committee for the harmonization of amendments passed by each House. He said: “Each chamber would pick about five each from its consequence.nal review committee to form the conference committee. That task cannot take more than two days. Transmission of amended constitution “After the harmonization, we would transmit the amended constitution to the 36 States’ Houses of Assembly of the Federation. Before now, we have been meeting with the leadership of the Speakers’ Conference of Nigeria and the seven governors representing the Governors Forum in the review of the constitution led by Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State. “All of them have assured us that it would take only one day for the states to vote either to reject of endorse it. The States Houses of Assemblies are not to alter or add anything new to what the National Assembly had sent them. “They are just expected to vote on it, and when we have two-third of the 36 states voting in favour of the amendments, we would then bring the amendments to the third reading at the Senate and the House of Reps. “If the amendment passes third, it automatically becomes a law, and the amended constitution stands. This is the only law that does not require the assent of the President. It starts and stops here at the National Assembly.” On the creation of new states, Nafada said the National Assembly had agreed that due to the strong agitation for more states, and considering the genuine fact of most of the demands, new states would be created before the end of the current assembly next year. He said: “The creation of new states is not as rigorous as the amendment of the constitution. The Governors Forum and many powerful interest groups have been inundating us with these demands. “There are suggestions that five new states should be created from the North and five from the South, and we are taking that suggestion very seriously. But others are asking that four be created for the North and four for the South, we are also studying it.” He did not, however, gave any hint on which states the proposed ones would be carved out of, but noted, “there is no running from the fact that new states would be created next year.” The deputy speaker told newsmen that the Review of the Electoral Act would kick-off next week, stressing: “We, as a committee, have since finished our work and have submitted to the House. But, by next week, we would commence debate and voting after the consideration of the report, just as we have done on the constitution.” Asked if the new Electoral Act would empower the millions of Nigerians in the diaspora to vote in future elections, he said “No,” adding: “We have weighed the benefit and cost of the exercise and we all agreed that the cost was far above the benefit. “Therefore, we are not going to change that clause in the electoral act to allow Nigerians abroad to vote. And I understand that the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission, INEC, is trying to carry out pilot voting for Nigerians in four countries. If he tries that, he would be doing so against the law, and he must be ready to bear the consequence

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Jonathan has attack-jonathan-misleading-performed-presidency-tells-obasanjo/

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• ABUJA—FOR scoring the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan below average, the Presidency Sunday took a swipe at former President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying his comments at an event, weekend, where he rated Jonathan’s performance “below average” were not only untrue, but also misleading. In a statement, last night in Abuja by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, the Presidency said former President Obasanjo’s comments do not in any way tally with the facts on ground, boasting that President Jonathan had performed more than Obasanjo and other presidents in Nigeria’s history. President Jonathan and Gen. Obasanjo (Rtd) Okupe, who chronicled Jonathan’s achievements in all sectors such as aviation, industrialisation, railway, power, transportation and insurgency among others, said: “Our attention has been drawn to comments made by a former President of this country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, regarding the performance of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. We aver that Chief Obasanjo’s comments are untrue, misleading and clearly do not tally with the facts on the ground. No administration did as much as Jonathan “We, therefore, wish to assert without equivocation that in terms of performance and achievements, no administration since 1960 when Nigeria gained independence from Britain, has done as much as that of President Jonathan. Every discerning and unbiased Nigerian will definitely attest to this fact as the evidence stare all of us in the face. “Contrary to Chief Obasanjo’s position, the Federal Government under President Jonathan has performed excellently given the prevailing circumstances and resources available. An assessment of key sectors of national life under the Jonathan administration will definitely controvert Chief Obasanjo’s argument that President Jonathan has not performed well. “While it is true that Nigeria has been faced with incidents of insurgency and terrorism especially in the last few years, it is also true the Jonathan administration has successfully contained the initial wide-spread and limitless activities of the insurgents which were prevalent in 12 states of the North including the Federal Capital, Abuja. “While it is true that the present activities of the terrorists in the three North Eastern states have become more deadly in mindless killings, kidnappings and supposed territorial seizures, government has made giant diplomatic strides with our neighbouring countries in order to checkmate the criss-crossing of the insurgents. “The military and other security agents which have engaged the insurgents since inception have done a great job in spite of recent challenges. The truth of the matter, which we must know and accept, is that we have an internal enemy supported by internal and external resources waging a major warfare against our nation. We want to state that the government is doing everything possible in every area of engagement of this war and will certainly, sooner than later, Nigeria will overcome and win this war. Quality leadership “In spite of this war, however, and in view of the other giant strides and achievements recorded in other sectors, it beats the imagination that anyone would say that President Jonathan has performed below average in office. On the contrary, he has provided quality leadership and exemplary vision in transforming the Nigerian nation and giving hope to Africa’s most populous nation. “We assert that for a fact a lot has been done. We may not have reached the desired destination yet, but surely we are on the path to getting there. There is no doubt that by the time the Jonathan administration runs its full course, Nigeria would have moved further in its quest to join other world giants and the quality of life of Nigerians would have improved greatly. We will all have cause to continually give glory to God for bringing the Jonathan administration on board.” Giant strides in power supply On power, he said: “Before President Jonathan came on board as President of this country in 2010, Nigeria faced serious challenges with generation, distribution and transmission of power. Nigeria had challenges with both generation of power and the installed capacity to ensure effective power supply. As a matter of fact, the total amount of power generated nationwide stood at 2550 megawatts; today it is over 4,000 megawatts. “In terms of installed capacity, there has been remarkable improvement. In 2011, our installed capacity to generate electricity stood at 5,900 MW. By December 2013 it had increased to 6,953 MW. This impressive achievement was due to the completion of all the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) plants, which for reasons only he can explain, Chief Obasanjo had abandoned during his tenure. “The moribund state-run power corporation was successfully privatised by the Jonathan administration in a process highly rated and commended by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies for its high level of transparency and professionalism. “This was a very critical programme in solving our power problems which other administrations could not achieve for decades. Today, Nigeria is a recipient of billion-dollar foreign investment in the power sector which is the much needed elixir for a stable, sufficient and efficient power system. This feat cannot be an evidence of a below-average performance as painted by Chief Obasanjo.” Jonathan’s agricultural revolution In Agriculture, Okupe said: “Since President Goodluck Jonathan launched his transformation agenda in the agricultural sector, this most important sector which provides employment for over 70 per cent of the population has recorded unprecedented growth resulting from a number of reforms and innovations. The revolution the Jonathan administration has engineered has not only empowered millions of farmers in the country but has equally saved Nigeria billions of naira and dollars, which in times past had been lost to fertilizer racketeers and food importation. “Nigeria’s food production has expanded by 21 million metric tons; three million farm jobs have been created and more importantly, our import of food has declined by 38 per cent from N1.1 Trillion to N635 billion in 2013.” “Before the Jonathan administration came on board, major agricultural produce like cotton, sorghum and groundnut, which were the bedrock of the economy of northern Nigeria, were practically extinct. Considering the fact that Nigeria imported N500 billion worth of rice in 2011, no one was in doubt that a radical approach to the problem was needed. And this is exactly what has been happening. “In 2013 with the Federal Government providing leadership and direction, 14 new rice mills with capacity to process 240 metric tons of rice were set up by the private sector while in addition, a sum of 1.2 billion dollars was secured by the Federal Government to install 100 large scale rice processing mills to produce 2.1 million metric tons of rice annually. Today, Nigeria has reached an unprecedented 60 per cent sufficiency in rice production, a feat, which the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) recently described as capable of raising world rice output to a record high in the next 12 next months. Nigeria is already on its way to self-sufficiency in rice production as sizeable chunk of its 167 million populations are currently feeding on rice grown and processed locally. “This and other initiatives of the Federal Government have resulted in the creation of about two million new jobs among rural dwellers. The Federal Government has also implemented a Young Graduates Commercial Farmers Scheme, with the capacity to absorb 780,000 graduates in its first phase and provide an estimated four million jobs in the agricultural sector in the first year. “In the same vein, the Jonathan administration has restructured and recapitalized the Nigeria Agricultural Bank to provide loans to peasant farmers at single digit interest rates. This represented the most remarkable fund injection initiative ever undertaken by any government to empower rural peasant farmers and create wealth for rural dwellers. ‘’Export of dried cassava chips began in July 2012 and this represented the first time that Nigeria would achieve commercial scale export of dried chips, which will earn $136 million annually in foreign exchange. Also, improved cotton seedlings, which have been provided free of charge to farmers especially in the Northwest and Northeast geo-political zones, will result in the resuscitation of the upstream and downstream cotton/textile subsector. “Other impressive achievements by the Jonathan administration in the agricultural sector include: Ending 40 years of corruption in the fertilizer sector. The Old System of Government Direct Procurement and Distribution of Fertilizer was manifestly corrupt and led to annual incidence of “fertilizer scam” where less than 11 per cent of farmers received these fertilizers. Over N776 billion ($4.8 billion) was estimated to have been lost to corruption or an average of N26 billion ($162.5million) annually. The system displaced the private sector and Nigerian farmers lost dignity. Today, things are different. ‘’The administration has built a national database of 10.5 million farmers and increased participation in farming in every state of the federation; the launching of the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) programme, which has increased farmers’ getting fertilizers from 11 per cent before the programme to 92 per cent; delivering 1.3 million metric tons of fertilizer to farmers; making available 55,000 metric tons of improved seeds to farmers; making Nigeria the first country in Africa to deliver inputs to farmers at scale through e-wallet; reaching 2.5 million women farmers through e-Wallet by 2014 up 287 per cent from 2012; making Nigeria the biggest producer of cassava in the world; Rice Paddy Production has witnessed rapid increase; number of states growing rice in dry season rose from 10 in 2012 to 24 in 2013; six million farmers reached with improved varieties and two million hectares of additional rice cultivated; and we have reduced our wheat importation and increased export of cassava chips.

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aah see- Jennifer Hudson has lost a ton of weight

Jennifer Hudson looks amazing these days. She shared the photo (on the right) on her IG to show off her stunning body transformations...

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President Buhari has said he regrets the resignation of British Prime Minister David Cameron, which will come into effect in October. In a statement released by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Shehu Garba, President Buhari said Nigeria has enjoyed remarkable goodwill, support and understanding under the capable leadership of the outgoing Prime Minister over the years.

The President said Cameron’s resignation in response to the outcome of a referendum that supported Britain to leave the European Union “was a demonstration of courage by a democratic leader who respects the will of the people, even if he didn’t agree with their decision.” President Buhari noted that by ‘‘putting the will of the people before his political future, the Prime Minister proved himself to be a selfless leader with respect for democracy and voter sovereignty.’’

The President expressed hope that Nigeria looks forward to greater cooperation and consolidation of shared interests with Britain, despite the outcome of the referendum.

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Ohaneze youths kick against arraignment of Saraki/Ekweremadu, says their "son" should not be unduly humiliated & embarrassed

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Ohaneze Youth forum, an Igbo socio-cultural group, have released a statement kicking against the planned arraignment of Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, over the alleged forgery of the senate order during the senate's election in June last year.

In the statement released today, the group said 'their son' Ekweremadu, is occupying the highest political office in the South East and should not be unduly humiliated and embarrassed. Full text of their statement after the cut...

"The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council is alarmed by the sudden resurfacing of the arraignment of the Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu over the purported forgery of the Senate 8th session rules. In as much as we do not condone any act of illegality, from any quarters, we make bold to state that the present attempt to arraign Senator Saraki and Ekweremadu is ill -motivated and politically induced. The issue at stake has been investigated by the Senate and the duo found guiltless in the past. The Senate is the highest law making body in the country and the principle of separation of power confer on them the privilege to internally investigate and even discipline any of their erring members. Also the principle of Separation of powers presupposes that the three arms of government viz, Executive, legislature and the Judiciary have a reasonable level of independence, though working in synergy. If the Senate has not found the duo guilty, is it the Judiciary or the Executive that should do so. We therefore advise the AGF representing the judiciary and the Executive arm to allow and respect the principle of separation of powers. In particular our son Senator Ike Ekweremadu is occupying the highest political office in the South East and should not be unduly humiliated and embarrassed by these recurring antics. We shall no longer take this lightly. We shall mobilize other like groups all over the country to resist the tyranny of democracy in our country” the statement read 

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Pregnant woman dies as roof of theatre caves in during live surgical operation in Ghana

The surgery theater at the Effia-Nkwanta regional hospital in Takoradi in the Western region, Ghana, caved in during a live surgical operation.

The development caused a temporary hold up on three ongoing operation and doctors had to transfer the patients to Kwesi Mintin Hospital for the process to continue. One of the patients, a 31-year-old pregnant woman died. Her death are being attributed to the incident. 
 


According to local media, she died due to unavailability of blood transfusion equipment or 'giving set' at the hospital. But the medical Director of Effa Nkwanta Hospital, Dr. Kwau Ntodi in an interview with Joy News correspondent Francis Whajah denied the report. He said the lady could have died even if the incident had not happened because she had a ruptured uterus.

Her death, he said, could not have been as a result of the movement from the hospital to another. The medical officer who attended to the deceased on arrival said the baby had already died before they arrived at the hospital.

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Ekiti state residents cheer Fayose when they spot him on the street(see photo)

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• After residents came out to protest against their governor this afternoon, some residents of the state were later seen cheering Fayose as he went for some road inspection this evening. More pics after the cut...
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16 Pictures That Prove Australia Is the Craziest

And what’s more, Australia’s crocodiles aren’t afraid to leave their aquatic habitat. Though the water remains their primary hunting grounds, crocodiles are certainly comfortable enough on land to get out and explore, occasionally clashing with humans in the process. For example, this croc was killed in a Northern Territory town after his presence there was deemed threatening to humans. Threatening? Yeah, I’ll say…

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Six DIG’s to be retired as Arase bows out.

Following the appointment of Ibrahim Idris as the new Inspector General of Police, the six Deputy Inspectors General of Police who served under IGP Solomon Ehigiator Arase are to be retired. The six DIG’s are Dan-Azumi Job Doma, DIG in charge Finance and Administration (A) department, DIG Sotonye Wakama, DIG in charge Operations (B) department, DIG Ibrahim Mamman Tsafe, DIG in charge Logistics and Supplies (C) department. President Buhari with L-R Outgoing Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase, New Acting Inspector General of Police Mr Ibrahim Kpotun Idris and Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari as President Buhari congratulates New Acting Inspector General of Police Mr Ibrahim Kpotun Idris in Statehouse on 21st June 2016 Others are DIG Kakwa Christopher Katso, DIG in charge Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID), DIG Cynthia Amaju Onu, DIG in charge ICT, DIG Jubril Olawale Adeniji, DIG Research and Planning According to Vanguard’s investigation, ten Assistant Inspectors General (AIGs) of Police under the former dispensation were senior of the new IGP. They include former AIG zone 2 Lagos, Ibrahim Manko, AIG in charge Force Secretary, AIG Patrick Dokumor, AIG in charge Zone 7, Abuja, AIG Balla Nasarawa, AIG Tambari Mohammed, AIG Bala Hassan, AIG in charge Zone 2, Lagos, AIG Yahaya Ardo, AIG Musa Daura, AIG Baba Adisa Bolanta, AIG Usman Gwary and AIG Tunde Ogunsakin. It was gathered that the status of this set of Assistant Inspectors General of Police, will be decided by the Federal government, who will determine those among them to be appointed Deputy Inspectors Generals of Police and if the rest should continue or be asked to proceed on retirement. The appointment of the DIGs will however reflect the six geo-political zones of the country. The input of the new IGP will however play a key role in the determination of the positions to be given the senior officers.

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two men where arrested by purchasing-car-fake-bank-alert

Two men, who specialize in defrauding car dealers in Lagos by issuing fake bank cheques and fake bank alerts, met their waterloo yesterday, when one of their victims, identified as Ifeanyi, raised the alarm when he discovered that an alert he got for the payment of the vehicle sold to the suspects was not genuine. The suspects. Photo: Bunmi Azeez. Vanguard gathered that the suspects, who claimed they were sent by their boss, had succeeded twice in issuing fake bank alerts and stealing cars from dealers at car marts before yesterday’s attempt was foiled. Ifeanyi became suspicious of the transaction after he allegedly received bank transaction alert for the payment of the vehicle. His suspicion paid off after his assistant, who was sent to the bank to confirm the payment, informed him that the said transaction did not reflect in their bank account. Another car dealer, who spoke in confidence, said yesterday was not the first time criminals were using fake bank alerts to purchase vehicles from the park and getting away with it. He said: “God has exposed them today. The last time it happened, the bank server was down so they just allowed them to go. Later we found out that it was a fake alert.” The suspects, who were almost lynched by the dealers, confessed to have succeeded with two vehicles sometime ago from the same New Way Park Berger, via same method. The suspects were later taken to the police station. When contacted, Lagos State Police spokesperson, SP Dolapo Badmos, said the case was not reported at kirikiri police division 

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army-officers-contacted-militants-plot-topple-buhari-militants

WARRI—Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force, NDLF, yesterday, alleged that some top Army officers planning to overthrow President Muhammadu Buhari goverment had approached Niger- Delta militants to continue bombing oil installations to give pretext and justification for a coup against him. The militant group in a statement by the Commander, General Duties, Joint Revolutionary Council, JRC, of JNDLF, General Akotebe Darikoro and others,  said: “We are constrained  to let the cat out of the bag today that President Buhari should be wary about the security of this country as some military men are making moves to remove him from power by instigating civil unrest in the country. “Some top military men through their civil agents approached us to cause and continue the vandalization of oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta region to serve as an excuse to take over the government from democracy to military rule in the country. File: Militants “We said no, as such plan is not in conformity with our genuine desire of agitation. The military want to disgrace him now and let him quickly look into the issues and make pronouncement for his administration to be in peace. “Let the President  analyze certain memo from the military concerning Niger Delta region before taking actions, otherwise the military will use that as a platform to remove him. “We know that the issue of Niger Delta is political and we prefer political solution to resolve it,  but if the president refuses, that is not our problem. “Since some military men want to use various agitations in the country and the President’s probing of the military, which they said exposes the respected uniformed personnel to disrepute and ridicule before the civilian populaces as an excuse to strike. “We received several calls from unknown persons to persuade us to continue the bombing and that when they succeed in overthrowing the government,  we will be in a better position. “We  said capital no, when asked of their names,  they said they are above Major General level. They refused to disclose their names but their intonation seemed like Yoruba and Hausa. “Our agitation is not for selfish interest but for the overall benefit of the Niger Delta region. We will not kidnap any person or kill expatriate in the country but will continue our agitation with clear determination to actualize our cause in Niger.

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fayose-opens-up-explains-how-his-election-was-funded.

Following allegation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, justifying the freezing of Governor Ayodele Fayose’s Zenith bank account over alleged link of funds from the office of the National Security Adviser, Governor Fayose on Wednesday, denied the allegations. Fayose The EFCC had alleged that the funds, amounting to about N4.7billion, was moved from accounts operated by two of Mr. Obanikoro’s sons where it was transferred to Mr. Fayose’s Zenith Bank Account in Ado-Ekiti. But Fayose in a swift reaction said his 2014 election was funded by Zenith Bank Plc, fund raisers, donations from friends and associates, as well as sales of campaign souvenirs. In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Governor Fayose said: “I have no financial transaction whatsoever with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) under Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd) and former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro either by cash, cheque or electronic transfer.” Fayose challenged the anti-graft agency to publish statements made by Musiliu Obanikoro, his son or other persons associated with funds from the NSA’s supposedly used for his governorship election. He said: “EFCC is only acting a movie scripted, produced and directed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of President Mohammadu Buhari just to silence me being a major opposition voice in the country.” On the alleged involvement of President Buhari’s wife, Aisha, in
 the Williams Jefferson bribery scam, the governor challenged the president’s wife to visit the United States of America to convince Nigerians that she was not the Aisha Buhari mentioned in the judgment. “It is on record that the President has visited USA three times and his wife did not travel with him. She ought to have visited USA last year September to chair a United Nation programme but she sent the wife of the Senate President, Mrs Toyin Saraki to represent her. “I advise that they should keep their gun pounder dry and wait till the end of my tenure in 2018 and I want to assure them that I will be available to answer any of their questions, no matter how unreasonable.” He added: “Furthermore, Nigerians should know that I have been persecuted by the EFCC before, using phantom N1.2 billion poultry scam and I came out victorious.  I was not only acquitted, I got N10 million judgment against the EFCC and my impeachment that was orchestrated by the EFCC was quashed by the Supreme Court. “Nigerians should recall that it was part of this plot to get back at me because of my critical stance on Buhari’s government that the Ekiti State House of Assembly was invaded by men of the Department of State Service (DSS), placement of travel ban on me and lately, illegal frozen of my account by the EFCC. “I therefore make bold to state that in the overall interest of democracy and well-being of Nigerians, I will continue to speak my mind on issues bordering on governance in Nigeria. I will not be intimidated.   

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Cristiano Ronaldo breaks record, becomes 1st player to score in 4 European championships

Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has broken another record after his scintillating performance against Hungary in the 3-3 draw last night. He has become the first player to score in four European championships after scoring at the tournament in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016.

Portugal is now set to meet Croatia in the last 16.

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Photos: AMCON take overs Silverbird Galleria

The Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) has taken possession of Silverbird Galleria. AMCON secured an order from a Federal High Court in Lagos, to take over companies owned by Ben Murray-Bruce and his business partners after they defaulted in the repayment of N11bn loan to Banks. 

Photo Credit: @Eloka51

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