Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Saturday, 19 July 2014
0
Saturday, 19 July 2014
Kenny Saint-BrownToday, she is one of the artistes responsible for putting gospel music into the mainstream Nigerian music industry. Interestingly, KSB as she’s popularly called by her fans is stepping out for good. She has declared her intention to go into politics.
In this interview with Showtime Celebrity, the 2010 recipient of Soundcity Music Video Awards for Best Gospel video, explains why she wants to vie for a seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly come 2015 and many more…
You said that you are re-channelling all your energies into re-orientating the minds of young Nigerians which are your target audience. How do you intend to accomplish this goal?
I’m still looking at my area of calling which is youth development. I have been involved in youth development programmes in the last 16 years, using our company, Kenny’s Music as a platform.
We have helped in pioneering not just a record label, but a company which has been able to discover raw talents as it developed them to become international acts.
The likes of Tu-face Idibia, Paul Play Dairo to mention but a few are products of Kenny’s Music. We have discovered over fifty artistes and most of these artistes we made them household names. We urged them to go and convert their brands into something else that can generate wealth for them even after they have stopped doing music.
Particularly, I have the ability to discover as well as ascertain how to divert the energies of our youths, especially in the area of entertainment. Since it has added to the GDP of the country.
What am I saying, if you have the kind of rescources that have been pumped into sports development over the years, if only 10 percent of such rescources have been pumped into the entertainment industry, things would have been different in this country.
Talking about Nigerian football for instance, the various teams we have like the Super Eagles, Under 23, Under 20, Under 17, Under 13 and before you know, we are going to have also Under 5. This indicates a system that encourages discovering of young footballers.
The likes of Odegbami, Nduka Ugbade, Jay Jay Okocha and the Kanu Nwankwos were discovered young, before they became international soccer stars. They made mega millions in pounds Sterling, but the British government did not fail to tax them heavily.
So, if 10 percent of what we have been spending on sports were channelled into entertainment you would be sure that Nigeria would become the centre of global entertainment. At the moment, we don’t have such funds in the entertainment industry.
Yet, we have world class entertainers as we are also adding to the GDP of the nation. Don’t you think, it’s high time we begin to put structures in place.
Let’s start from the grassroots by encouraging youth development. It’s obvious now that becoming a graduate does not make one useful. Before now, they used to say that if you don’t have anything you cannot become an artist.
But today, the story has changed. One does not need to be a rich man before becoming an artiste. Look at what MTV is doing in Africa today because of the talents that abound in Nigeria.
The truth is that there are lots of talented youths out there that don’t have the platform to showcase their talents. Oftentimes, either in the Church, or where I’m shopping, I have had to contend with these young talents who would want to give me their CDs and urged me to listen to their works so that I can help promote them.
There are so many of them like that but after listening to them what’s the next thing to do? They cannot afford to pay for air time. In most cases, I have sent so many of them to my brother, Baba Keke.
But it got to a point where Keke called me and said, they are too many. How many of them would I send to radio stations or individuals for assistance? But the money we need to develop these talents is in the hands of the government.
So, how do you intend to help in the area of putting the structures in place?
I can’t work for government at the moment. So, I have to join a political party to let them know what I can do to help the youths.
On which platform are you coming out?
I am contesting under the platform of All Progressives Congress, APC. I have been registered with APC, I’m in ward 4, ward D of Onigbongbo Local Government of Lagos. I’m very active in my ward as well as in my local government.
You are vying for what political office?
I want to contest for the membership of Lagos State House of Assembly.
What made you think that you can achieve all these goals?
Because it’s the legislative arm of government that make bills and laws. And Lagos State is the hub of entertainment; it’s the cosmopolitan city of Nigeria.
It took someone that has an insight into what LAWMA could do and he got into the government and said hey, we can do this! Till date, I still marvel at what LAWMA is doing in Lagos.
The workers keep the streets of Lagos clean. It’s same way I want to become a law maker starting with Lagos State House of Assembly. It is the youth all over the world that my heart is crying for.
Where is your constituency?
Onigbongbo Local Government in Ikeja, Lagos State is my constituency. And guess what! This is the hub of prostitution in Lagos State; Allen Avenue Junction, Opebi road and Doyin.
Why do you think that you are the right candidate to represent your people?
Actually, I have been a youth coach. Few weeks ago, I was at university of Lagos to deliver a lecture on “From Passion to Profession”, which was organised by the Lagos State government.
I was assisting the Senior Assistant to the Lagos State governor, Mr. Akim Animashaun. Recently too, we were at the College of Education, Akoka, where I taught the students on how to regenerate opportunities.
You said that you have been very active in you ward and local government. How active are you in your ward?
About 4-5 years ago, I was the face of education in my local government, the entertainer, as well as the ambassador of change leading the upgrading of public schools to meet up with the standard of that of private schools in my local government.
But until recently, the number of prostitutes on Opebi -Allen axis in the last ten months have increased to over 200 percent. This burden became so heavy in my heart.
You would see a beautiful young girl looking decent in the day time, while in the night, you would see same girl looking half-naked and you’d wonder what has happened to her over night? Isn’t somebody going to show them love and I just can’t fold my arms any more and watch things go wrong in our society.
There’s fire on the mounting, let’s be honest, see what corruption has done to us; see what happens when budget is not meeting project. …So, it’s high time we do something.
To be able to achieve your dreams, you need funds. How prepared are you to play the game of politics?
Well, why should I see problems and not see reasons I should be in the House of Assembly. Where there’s a will, there is a way. Because there is a will for me to help in the area of youth development in Lagos State, there will be a way out to achieve this goal.
Do you think it’s only by becoming a law maker that this particular project can be achieved?
Tell me which other way you can use government money, if democracy is government of the people by the people and for the people, how will the people benefit from the funds belonging to them? Tell me if there’s any other way because if I start an NGO now, you know how people have bastardized NGO’s. You should know that am not hungry. I told someone recently that everything that people have on their lips as prayer points, God has blessed me with. Tell me what is the prayer point now, if I have two cars, is it not only one car that I will drive? If I have a whole house, is it not one bed that I will sleep on? God has blessed me with a son and daughter. I have three degrees and I’m the CEO of my company, KSB International Consulting Company. I’m the vice president of Kennis Music. So, if people want to be famous thank God, I am famous at least for the last 16 years. I have become a household name. So, you can see that I’m a proud beneficiary of these factors in Nigeria. These are some of the benefits that Nigeria has offered me and it’s time for me to help government to transform the country.
Why did you choose APC as your party?
If you see what APC as a party has done in the states where they are controlling, you would be amazed. If you are familiar with how beautiful Lagos State is at the moment, then take a ride to Ogun State where APC is currently in control, and see the massive change that has taken place there. May be, you need to travel to Ibadan, Oyo State and behold the massive changes that have taken place in the city of Ibadan. Or better still, you travel to Osun State and behold what Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is doing in that state. APC signature is change; especially in the south-west. They have done so well in propagating change not just in the environment but also, in education, infrastructure, health, efficiency and many others. So, they are the team I want to work with for now.
What kind of change would you bring about when you eventually become a law maker in Lagos State?
Now, we are talking about funding, revenue and expenditure. You can’t take it away from the fact that Lagos State has about 57 LCDs and the federal government is funding only 27, according to their records. I am not trying to speak for governor Fashola right now, but the truth is that there is so much demand in respect of the amount of money the state is getting from the federation account. I am saying it would get to a point where the federal government would be able to recognise the great work that the Lagos State government is doing with the LCDA that they are not funding. The state government is using the little amount it’s generating internally to fund the other Local Governments.
Being a celebrated music star, are you going to dump music for politics?
I can’t stop singing. Singing is my nature, music is my life. Give me a stage now and I will kill the stage,. I will get you up and get you dancing. It’s a ministry; I am actually the youth pastor in my church, and every Sunday morning, I’m there. I am a professional person, I can’t say because of this I can’t do that. I’m never an idle person and again, I easily get bored doing one thing.
According to Karl Max, “religion is the opium of the people.”
Vanguard
'Why I’m going into politics' -Kennis St. Brown finally Reveals!
Kenny Saint-BrownToday, she is one of the artistes responsible for putting gospel music into the mainstream Nigerian music industry. Interestingly, KSB as she’s popularly called by her fans is stepping out for good. She has declared her intention to go into politics.
In this interview with Showtime Celebrity, the 2010 recipient of Soundcity Music Video Awards for Best Gospel video, explains why she wants to vie for a seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly come 2015 and many more…
You said that you are re-channelling all your energies into re-orientating the minds of young Nigerians which are your target audience. How do you intend to accomplish this goal?
I’m still looking at my area of calling which is youth development. I have been involved in youth development programmes in the last 16 years, using our company, Kenny’s Music as a platform.
We have helped in pioneering not just a record label, but a company which has been able to discover raw talents as it developed them to become international acts.
The likes of Tu-face Idibia, Paul Play Dairo to mention but a few are products of Kenny’s Music. We have discovered over fifty artistes and most of these artistes we made them household names. We urged them to go and convert their brands into something else that can generate wealth for them even after they have stopped doing music.
Particularly, I have the ability to discover as well as ascertain how to divert the energies of our youths, especially in the area of entertainment. Since it has added to the GDP of the country.
What am I saying, if you have the kind of rescources that have been pumped into sports development over the years, if only 10 percent of such rescources have been pumped into the entertainment industry, things would have been different in this country.
Talking about Nigerian football for instance, the various teams we have like the Super Eagles, Under 23, Under 20, Under 17, Under 13 and before you know, we are going to have also Under 5. This indicates a system that encourages discovering of young footballers.
The likes of Odegbami, Nduka Ugbade, Jay Jay Okocha and the Kanu Nwankwos were discovered young, before they became international soccer stars. They made mega millions in pounds Sterling, but the British government did not fail to tax them heavily.
So, if 10 percent of what we have been spending on sports were channelled into entertainment you would be sure that Nigeria would become the centre of global entertainment. At the moment, we don’t have such funds in the entertainment industry.
Yet, we have world class entertainers as we are also adding to the GDP of the nation. Don’t you think, it’s high time we begin to put structures in place.
Let’s start from the grassroots by encouraging youth development. It’s obvious now that becoming a graduate does not make one useful. Before now, they used to say that if you don’t have anything you cannot become an artist.
But today, the story has changed. One does not need to be a rich man before becoming an artiste. Look at what MTV is doing in Africa today because of the talents that abound in Nigeria.
The truth is that there are lots of talented youths out there that don’t have the platform to showcase their talents. Oftentimes, either in the Church, or where I’m shopping, I have had to contend with these young talents who would want to give me their CDs and urged me to listen to their works so that I can help promote them.
There are so many of them like that but after listening to them what’s the next thing to do? They cannot afford to pay for air time. In most cases, I have sent so many of them to my brother, Baba Keke.
But it got to a point where Keke called me and said, they are too many. How many of them would I send to radio stations or individuals for assistance? But the money we need to develop these talents is in the hands of the government.
So, how do you intend to help in the area of putting the structures in place?
I can’t work for government at the moment. So, I have to join a political party to let them know what I can do to help the youths.
On which platform are you coming out?
I am contesting under the platform of All Progressives Congress, APC. I have been registered with APC, I’m in ward 4, ward D of Onigbongbo Local Government of Lagos. I’m very active in my ward as well as in my local government.
You are vying for what political office?
I want to contest for the membership of Lagos State House of Assembly.
What made you think that you can achieve all these goals?
Because it’s the legislative arm of government that make bills and laws. And Lagos State is the hub of entertainment; it’s the cosmopolitan city of Nigeria.
It took someone that has an insight into what LAWMA could do and he got into the government and said hey, we can do this! Till date, I still marvel at what LAWMA is doing in Lagos.
The workers keep the streets of Lagos clean. It’s same way I want to become a law maker starting with Lagos State House of Assembly. It is the youth all over the world that my heart is crying for.
Where is your constituency?
Onigbongbo Local Government in Ikeja, Lagos State is my constituency. And guess what! This is the hub of prostitution in Lagos State; Allen Avenue Junction, Opebi road and Doyin.
Why do you think that you are the right candidate to represent your people?
Actually, I have been a youth coach. Few weeks ago, I was at university of Lagos to deliver a lecture on “From Passion to Profession”, which was organised by the Lagos State government.
I was assisting the Senior Assistant to the Lagos State governor, Mr. Akim Animashaun. Recently too, we were at the College of Education, Akoka, where I taught the students on how to regenerate opportunities.
You said that you have been very active in you ward and local government. How active are you in your ward?
About 4-5 years ago, I was the face of education in my local government, the entertainer, as well as the ambassador of change leading the upgrading of public schools to meet up with the standard of that of private schools in my local government.
But until recently, the number of prostitutes on Opebi -Allen axis in the last ten months have increased to over 200 percent. This burden became so heavy in my heart.
You would see a beautiful young girl looking decent in the day time, while in the night, you would see same girl looking half-naked and you’d wonder what has happened to her over night? Isn’t somebody going to show them love and I just can’t fold my arms any more and watch things go wrong in our society.
There’s fire on the mounting, let’s be honest, see what corruption has done to us; see what happens when budget is not meeting project. …So, it’s high time we do something.
To be able to achieve your dreams, you need funds. How prepared are you to play the game of politics?
Well, why should I see problems and not see reasons I should be in the House of Assembly. Where there’s a will, there is a way. Because there is a will for me to help in the area of youth development in Lagos State, there will be a way out to achieve this goal.
Do you think it’s only by becoming a law maker that this particular project can be achieved?
Tell me which other way you can use government money, if democracy is government of the people by the people and for the people, how will the people benefit from the funds belonging to them? Tell me if there’s any other way because if I start an NGO now, you know how people have bastardized NGO’s. You should know that am not hungry. I told someone recently that everything that people have on their lips as prayer points, God has blessed me with. Tell me what is the prayer point now, if I have two cars, is it not only one car that I will drive? If I have a whole house, is it not one bed that I will sleep on? God has blessed me with a son and daughter. I have three degrees and I’m the CEO of my company, KSB International Consulting Company. I’m the vice president of Kennis Music. So, if people want to be famous thank God, I am famous at least for the last 16 years. I have become a household name. So, you can see that I’m a proud beneficiary of these factors in Nigeria. These are some of the benefits that Nigeria has offered me and it’s time for me to help government to transform the country.
Why did you choose APC as your party?
If you see what APC as a party has done in the states where they are controlling, you would be amazed. If you are familiar with how beautiful Lagos State is at the moment, then take a ride to Ogun State where APC is currently in control, and see the massive change that has taken place there. May be, you need to travel to Ibadan, Oyo State and behold the massive changes that have taken place in the city of Ibadan. Or better still, you travel to Osun State and behold what Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is doing in that state. APC signature is change; especially in the south-west. They have done so well in propagating change not just in the environment but also, in education, infrastructure, health, efficiency and many others. So, they are the team I want to work with for now.
What kind of change would you bring about when you eventually become a law maker in Lagos State?
Now, we are talking about funding, revenue and expenditure. You can’t take it away from the fact that Lagos State has about 57 LCDs and the federal government is funding only 27, according to their records. I am not trying to speak for governor Fashola right now, but the truth is that there is so much demand in respect of the amount of money the state is getting from the federation account. I am saying it would get to a point where the federal government would be able to recognise the great work that the Lagos State government is doing with the LCDA that they are not funding. The state government is using the little amount it’s generating internally to fund the other Local Governments.
Being a celebrated music star, are you going to dump music for politics?
I can’t stop singing. Singing is my nature, music is my life. Give me a stage now and I will kill the stage,. I will get you up and get you dancing. It’s a ministry; I am actually the youth pastor in my church, and every Sunday morning, I’m there. I am a professional person, I can’t say because of this I can’t do that. I’m never an idle person and again, I easily get bored doing one thing.
According to Karl Max, “religion is the opium of the people.”
Vanguard
Posted in News
Friday, 18 July 2014
0
Friday, 18 July 2014
Three people have died while one person was serious wounded during clashes between Gwandara and Eggon youths who were protesting over the commencement of impeachment proceedings against Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State on Thursday.
Leadership gathered that some armed Gwandara youths stormed the house of an Eggon man around Old Alamis Market and set it ablaze along with his car. Many governorship posters of information minister Labaran Maku were said to have been pasted on the walls of the house.
The state police public relations officer, Ismaila Numan, confirmed the development, saying the house was burnt in the early hours of the day but he could not confirm who was responsible.
Investigations has however revealed that...
Impeachment of Nasarawa Governor Turns Very Bloody; 3 Men Killed one person was serious wounded
Three people have died while one person was serious wounded during clashes between Gwandara and Eggon youths who were protesting over the commencement of impeachment proceedings against Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State on Thursday.
Leadership gathered that some armed Gwandara youths stormed the house of an Eggon man around Old Alamis Market and set it ablaze along with his car. Many governorship posters of information minister Labaran Maku were said to have been pasted on the walls of the house.
The state police public relations officer, Ismaila Numan, confirmed the development, saying the house was burnt in the early hours of the day but he could not confirm who was responsible.
Investigations has however revealed that...
The impeachment notice served on the governor by the PDP-controlled state lawmakers did not go down well with the Gwandara youths who resorted to violent protests to register their anger over the attempt to impeach their kinsman to pave way for an Eggon man to take over the leadership of the state.
One of the warring youths was seen with a very deep machete cut in the upper arm as he was being taken to the hospital for medication.
The Gwandara are said to be accusing the Eggon elite of being behind the woes of the governor, leading to the impeachment process by the state legislators.
Maku, the information minister, is of the Eggon extraction whereas Governor Al-Makura is of Gwandara ethnic stock; the latter are considered one of the smallest ethnic nationalities in the state.
When Leadership visited the scene of the violence, burnt-down commercial tricycles littered the area even as shops and other business premises hurriedly closed for fear of being vandalized.
Presidency behind my travails – Gov. Al-Makura
Governor Umoru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has attributed his present travails to the Presidency. The governor made the disclosure through his senior special assistant on public affairs, Abdulhamid Yakubu Kwarra, while fielding questions from journalists in Jos, the Plateau State capital, on Thursday.
According to him, this development is meant to destabilize APC-controlled states in the country.
Mr Kwarra said: “They are threatened by the monumental achievements of the APC administration in Nasarawa State; there is no administration that is as corrupt as the present PDP-led government in the country.
“Authorities in Abuja should stop the bull from entering a china shop. They are opening a new war front; they should address the issue of the insecurity and Chibok girls instead of chasing shadows in the country.”
He stressed that they were exploring all the options available to them, pointing out that a situation where some members of the State House of Assembly exercise their power without decorum will be highly resisted.
One of the warring youths was seen with a very deep machete cut in the upper arm as he was being taken to the hospital for medication.
The Gwandara are said to be accusing the Eggon elite of being behind the woes of the governor, leading to the impeachment process by the state legislators.
Maku, the information minister, is of the Eggon extraction whereas Governor Al-Makura is of Gwandara ethnic stock; the latter are considered one of the smallest ethnic nationalities in the state.
When Leadership visited the scene of the violence, burnt-down commercial tricycles littered the area even as shops and other business premises hurriedly closed for fear of being vandalized.
Presidency behind my travails – Gov. Al-Makura
Governor Umoru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has attributed his present travails to the Presidency. The governor made the disclosure through his senior special assistant on public affairs, Abdulhamid Yakubu Kwarra, while fielding questions from journalists in Jos, the Plateau State capital, on Thursday.
According to him, this development is meant to destabilize APC-controlled states in the country.
Mr Kwarra said: “They are threatened by the monumental achievements of the APC administration in Nasarawa State; there is no administration that is as corrupt as the present PDP-led government in the country.
“Authorities in Abuja should stop the bull from entering a china shop. They are opening a new war front; they should address the issue of the insecurity and Chibok girls instead of chasing shadows in the country.”
He stressed that they were exploring all the options available to them, pointing out that a situation where some members of the State House of Assembly exercise their power without decorum will be highly resisted.
Source:leadership
Posted in News
0
At Last! The Lagos state government has accepted that Boko Haram has infiltrated Lagos. To this effect let us all be cautious of the following.
1: Please don't buy "Suya" in public places again, the plan is to poison the spice sprinkled on the Suya ".
2. Watch the shoemakers, Cloth menders "obioma", that you call into you premises.
3. If your generator goes off at midnight within an unsecured premise or neighbourhood, Please don't go there to restart.
4. When you go to public places e.g Shoprite, be careful where you park, Government is advising Lagosians to stay clear of such places at night, be mindful of major bustops at night, Obalende, Oshodi, mile2, Ojota, Ojuelegba. Etc.
Local government officials will be going round to collect personal ID's and passport photographs of all gatemen in lagos in a bid to trace suspected Boko Haram members, Please ensure you know and have d personal details of your gatemen, pay close attention to their movement during the day and at night.
Please Let's Keep circulating.
It may seem like a joke but being security conscious never killed anyone.
[MUST Read] BOKO HARAM: Security Alert in Lagos!
At Last! The Lagos state government has accepted that Boko Haram has infiltrated Lagos. To this effect let us all be cautious of the following.
1: Please don't buy "Suya" in public places again, the plan is to poison the spice sprinkled on the Suya ".
2. Watch the shoemakers, Cloth menders "obioma", that you call into you premises.
3. If your generator goes off at midnight within an unsecured premise or neighbourhood, Please don't go there to restart.
4. When you go to public places e.g Shoprite, be careful where you park, Government is advising Lagosians to stay clear of such places at night, be mindful of major bustops at night, Obalende, Oshodi, mile2, Ojota, Ojuelegba. Etc.
Local government officials will be going round to collect personal ID's and passport photographs of all gatemen in lagos in a bid to trace suspected Boko Haram members, Please ensure you know and have d personal details of your gatemen, pay close attention to their movement during the day and at night.
Please Let's Keep circulating.
It may seem like a joke but being security conscious never killed anyone.
Posted in News
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
0
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Not the real pic
This is Too bad! Masquerade Causes 5month Old Baby To Fall Inside Big Boiling Soup Pot
Not the real pic Panic struck Amakohia Ubi community in Owerri West Council Area of Imo State on Monday, as a five-month-old baby boy slipped
from the hands of his minder, a 10-year-old girl, who was being chased by a masquerade and fell inside a large boiling pot of soup.
An eye witness told our correspondent that the 10-year-old girl, who also suffered severe injuries, was fleeing from one of the “ Owu” masquerades that had chased her in front of a house while carrying the deceased toddler and as she ran to the back of the house, she stumbled and the toddler slipped from her hands and fell into a pot of soup being prepared by a food vendor.
According to the witness, the masquerade, on realising the havoc caused, took to his heels.
However, efforts to revive the baby proved abortive as the baby was pronounced dead by a doctor, after some good Samaritans rushed him to a nearby hospital.
When NEWS MEN visited the scene, parents of the deceased baby were still in a state of shock and refused to speak to the press as sympathisers besieged their residence.
The Amakohia masquerade festival also known as “Owu” is the most dreaded festival in Owerri West Council as it is characterised by display of charms, constant flogging and harassment. Meanwhile, the festival, which normally lasts a month, has been temporarily suspended as a result of the incident.
Source: Daily Sun
Posted in News
0
The Defence Headquarters has announced the arrest of a man who specializes in creating pandemonium by sending out text messages threatening attack by Boko Haram terrorists.
Ugwu Lawrence who was tracked by security operatives after dispatching text messages of impending bombings of some hotels in Abuja, confessed that he employed the gimmick because the management of one of the organisation failed to offer him employment.
The suspect further confessed that his motive was a ploy to instil fear in the mind of the management’s chairman, and pleaded that he is actually not a terrorist. The suspect is still undergoing further interrogation preparatory to prosecution.
Security operatives arrest Fake Boko Haram Member! [Photo]
The Defence Headquarters has announced the arrest of a man who specializes in creating pandemonium by sending out text messages threatening attack by Boko Haram terrorists.
Ugwu Lawrence who was tracked by security operatives after dispatching text messages of impending bombings of some hotels in Abuja, confessed that he employed the gimmick because the management of one of the organisation failed to offer him employment.
The suspect further confessed that his motive was a ploy to instil fear in the mind of the management’s chairman, and pleaded that he is actually not a terrorist. The suspect is still undergoing further interrogation preparatory to prosecution.
Posted in News
Tuesday, 15 July 2014
0
Tuesday, 15 July 2014
US actress Angelina Jolie on Tuesday condemned as “unthinkable cruelty and evil” the kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria by Boko Haram Islamists.
The star was speaking in Paris about the themes of her latest film “Maleficent” for Disney, in which she plays a vindictive fairy driven to curse an infant princess.
“Sadly of course there is real evil in the world, you watch the news and you see all of the people suffering and so much cruelty,” she told a news conference.
“And it’s unthinkable cruelty like these girls that were kidnapped in Nigeria. Unthinkable cruelty and evil,” she said.
A total of 276 students were kidnapped in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state three weeks ago when Boko Haram stormed their school under the cover of darkness and loaded them onto trucks. Several managed to escape but over 220 girls were still being held, according to police.
In a video message obtained by AFP on Monday, Abubakar Shekau, the head of the Islamist group which has killed thousands in a five-year uprising, said it was holding the girls as “slaves” and threatened to “sell (them)”.
#BringBackOurGirls!: 'Unthinkable cruelty and evil – Angelina Jolie
US actress Angelina Jolie on Tuesday condemned as “unthinkable cruelty and evil” the kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria by Boko Haram Islamists.
The star was speaking in Paris about the themes of her latest film “Maleficent” for Disney, in which she plays a vindictive fairy driven to curse an infant princess.
“Sadly of course there is real evil in the world, you watch the news and you see all of the people suffering and so much cruelty,” she told a news conference.
“And it’s unthinkable cruelty like these girls that were kidnapped in Nigeria. Unthinkable cruelty and evil,” she said.
A total of 276 students were kidnapped in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state three weeks ago when Boko Haram stormed their school under the cover of darkness and loaded them onto trucks. Several managed to escape but over 220 girls were still being held, according to police.
In a video message obtained by AFP on Monday, Abubakar Shekau, the head of the Islamist group which has killed thousands in a five-year uprising, said it was holding the girls as “slaves” and threatened to “sell (them)”.
Posted in News
0
44 Years Later, Igbo Demand N2.6tr From Federal Government As Compensation (Civil War)
Igbo delegates have asked the Federal Government to pay N2. 6 trillion as reparation and compensation for the destruction of Igbo lands during the civil war which took place between 1967 to 1970.
According to them, millions of their people were killed and many of their states destroyed which brought hardship to Igbo survivors.
In a document titled: “Atrocities and Injustices against Ndigbo: Ohaneze demand for Reparation” which was circulated with the amendment to the proposed National Intervention Fund, the delegates demanded that the Federal Government pay a total sum of N2.6trillion to South East States.
“The federal government should pay N400 billion each to the five states of the South East as compensation to those who lost loved ones and properties and those still suffering dislocation today in Nigeria. The same amount should also be paid to the government of Delta State for the benefit of Anioma area of the state”, they asked.
The motion was sponsored by former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gen. Ike Nwachukwu, and 14 others. The Igbo stressed that the demand became imperative following the “atrocities and injustices committed against Ndigbo in Nigeria over a long period.
Source: punchng
Posted in News
Monday, 14 July 2014
0
Monday, 14 July 2014
Islamic sect, Boko Haram, has claimed responsibility for June 25 bomb attacks in Lagos and Abuja which claimed several lives.
Five persons died in the Lagos explosion which occurred very close to Folawiyo tank farm while that of Abuja which went off in a shopping mall killed 22 persons.
Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, in a 16-minute video obtained by AFP yesterday also mocks the social media and protest campaign, BringBackOurGirls, which emerged after the Islamists kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls on April 14 from Chibok.
The girls, whose abduction has drawn unprecedented attention to Boko Haram’s five-year rebellion, are not pictured in the video, which was given to AFP through similar channels as past messages.
One previous recording showed more than 100 of the hostages, some of whom are Christian, reciting Muslim prayers. Shekau also said his loyalists carried out twin car bombings in May in Jos and a June attack at a college in Kano.
Shekau claims Abuja, Lagos bomb attacks
“We were the ones who detonated the bomb in filthy Abuja,” Shekau said in the video referring to a June 25 attack on a popular shopping centre in Abuja that killed at least 22 people.
Later that day a huge explosion also rocked the Apapa, which the authorities blamed on a cooking gas explosion, with no casualties.
“A bomb went off in Lagos. I ordered the bomber who went and detonated it,” Shekau says in the video, which shows him flanked by at least 10 gunmen in front of two armoured personnel carriers and two pick-up trucks. “You said it was a fire incident,” he added. “Well, if you hide it from people you can’t hide it from Allah.”
Shekau, in boasting about the Lagos attack, incorrectly identifies the Governor of Lagos State, taunting Adams Oshiomhole, who is in fact the Governor of Edo State. Lagos State is governed by Babatunde Fashola.
Declared a global terrorist by the United States and sanctioned by the UN Security Council, Shekau is thought to have previously claimed credit for attacks that he did not directly order.
Near the beginning of the video, Shekau calls several of the world’s most prominent Islamist extremists his “brethren.”
“May Allah protect you,” he said, listing IS chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Al-Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahiri, Taliban leader Mullah Omar and several others.
Speaking in English, Shekau recited the BringBackOurGirls slogan used by activists to press for the release of schoolgirls.
“BringBackOurGirls… bring back our army,” he says, in what may be reference to a previous offer that the hostages could be freed if Nigeria releases Boko Haram fighters held in custody.
B’Haram blows off Maiduguri-Biu road bridge
Meanwhile, some gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members weekend planted Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs under the popular Madafuma bridge linking 185km Biu-Damboa- Maiduguri federal road where it exploded and damaged some remarkable portion of the bridge leaving motorists and passengers stranded.
The road has remained a death trap for the past two years with terrorists ambushing motorists and passengers leaving hundreds dead and the kidnapping of innocent civilians.
A few days ago, there was an ambush on the road where the terrorists sacked 195 Battalion of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, after killing the Commanding Officer along side a Divisional Police Officer and over 15 soldiers and six policemen.
The bombing of the bridge, according to Mallam Musa Yakubu, took place on Saturday at about 2 a.m.
He said: “We heard a loud bang on Saturday and on Sunday morning when we gathered in Madafuma village to find out what happened, we found out that the bridge linking us with Biu Local Government Area and MA Dara Girau has been blown off.
“All motorists heading to Maiduguri from Biu especially long vehicles had no option than to turn back to Gombe while small vehicles had to maneuver the remaining tiny portion of the road which had not been affected by the blast, but it is very risky.”
'If you hide Lagos bombing from people you can’t hide it from Allah'– Boko Haram Leader, Shekau Reveals!
Islamic sect, Boko Haram, has claimed responsibility for June 25 bomb attacks in Lagos and Abuja which claimed several lives.
Five persons died in the Lagos explosion which occurred very close to Folawiyo tank farm while that of Abuja which went off in a shopping mall killed 22 persons.
Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, in a 16-minute video obtained by AFP yesterday also mocks the social media and protest campaign, BringBackOurGirls, which emerged after the Islamists kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls on April 14 from Chibok.
The girls, whose abduction has drawn unprecedented attention to Boko Haram’s five-year rebellion, are not pictured in the video, which was given to AFP through similar channels as past messages.
One previous recording showed more than 100 of the hostages, some of whom are Christian, reciting Muslim prayers. Shekau also said his loyalists carried out twin car bombings in May in Jos and a June attack at a college in Kano.
Shekau claims Abuja, Lagos bomb attacks
“We were the ones who detonated the bomb in filthy Abuja,” Shekau said in the video referring to a June 25 attack on a popular shopping centre in Abuja that killed at least 22 people.
Later that day a huge explosion also rocked the Apapa, which the authorities blamed on a cooking gas explosion, with no casualties.
“A bomb went off in Lagos. I ordered the bomber who went and detonated it,” Shekau says in the video, which shows him flanked by at least 10 gunmen in front of two armoured personnel carriers and two pick-up trucks. “You said it was a fire incident,” he added. “Well, if you hide it from people you can’t hide it from Allah.”
Shekau, in boasting about the Lagos attack, incorrectly identifies the Governor of Lagos State, taunting Adams Oshiomhole, who is in fact the Governor of Edo State. Lagos State is governed by Babatunde Fashola.
Declared a global terrorist by the United States and sanctioned by the UN Security Council, Shekau is thought to have previously claimed credit for attacks that he did not directly order.
Near the beginning of the video, Shekau calls several of the world’s most prominent Islamist extremists his “brethren.”
“May Allah protect you,” he said, listing IS chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Al-Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahiri, Taliban leader Mullah Omar and several others.
Speaking in English, Shekau recited the BringBackOurGirls slogan used by activists to press for the release of schoolgirls.
“BringBackOurGirls… bring back our army,” he says, in what may be reference to a previous offer that the hostages could be freed if Nigeria releases Boko Haram fighters held in custody.
B’Haram blows off Maiduguri-Biu road bridge
Meanwhile, some gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members weekend planted Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs under the popular Madafuma bridge linking 185km Biu-Damboa- Maiduguri federal road where it exploded and damaged some remarkable portion of the bridge leaving motorists and passengers stranded.
The road has remained a death trap for the past two years with terrorists ambushing motorists and passengers leaving hundreds dead and the kidnapping of innocent civilians.
A few days ago, there was an ambush on the road where the terrorists sacked 195 Battalion of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, after killing the Commanding Officer along side a Divisional Police Officer and over 15 soldiers and six policemen.
The bombing of the bridge, according to Mallam Musa Yakubu, took place on Saturday at about 2 a.m.
He said: “We heard a loud bang on Saturday and on Sunday morning when we gathered in Madafuma village to find out what happened, we found out that the bridge linking us with Biu Local Government Area and MA Dara Girau has been blown off.
“All motorists heading to Maiduguri from Biu especially long vehicles had no option than to turn back to Gombe while small vehicles had to maneuver the remaining tiny portion of the road which had not been affected by the blast, but it is very risky.”
Posted in News
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Sani Abacha’s daughter Zainab welcomes baby boy! [Photo]
One of the daughters of the late military head of state Sani Abacha, Zainab Abacha welcomed a baby boy today July 14.
Her elder sister Gumsu Sani Abacha announced this on her facebook page.
Congratulations to them!
Posted in News
0
Some suspected Boko Haram men over the weekend bombed a bridge linking Maiduguri with Biu and Damboa using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
A large portion of the Madafuma Bridge was damaged, thereby making it impossible to link Maiduguri from Biu, Garkida, Numam and parts of Taraba.
A resident, Mallam Musa Yakubu, said the incident took place on Saturday at about 2am.
Boko Haram Bombed the Only Bridge Linking Maiduguri, Biu & Damboa, Villagers areTrapped! [Photo]
Some suspected Boko Haram men over the weekend bombed a bridge linking Maiduguri with Biu and Damboa using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
A large portion of the Madafuma Bridge was damaged, thereby making it impossible to link Maiduguri from Biu, Garkida, Numam and parts of Taraba.
A resident, Mallam Musa Yakubu, said the incident took place on Saturday at about 2am.
“We heard a loud bang and when we gathered in Madafuma village we found out that the bridge linking us with Biu Local Government Area and MA Dara Girau had been blown off. Motorists heading for Maiduguri from Biu especially long vehicles, had no option than to turn back to Gombe. Small vehicles managed to pass through the remaining thin portion which has not been affected by the blast.”
Posted in News
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BREAKING NEWS: Man Caught Red-Handed With Explosives at Awo Hall in OAU [Photos]
According to eyewitnesses, the man pictured above identified as Rasaki Adebayo was on Wednesday July 9th caught inside the Awo Hall of the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife in Osun state, trying to set up explosives. He was caught with what looked like petrol mixed with chemical. The students said he was trying to blow up a block in the hall. The man was immediately arrested and is still in police custody
Posted in News
Sunday, 13 July 2014
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Sunday, 13 July 2014
The literati and arts enthusiasts across the world will today roll out the drums in celebration of Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in Literature, Prof. Wole Soyinka, who turns 80. He was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State on July 13, 1934.
Series of stage plays, conferences and discourses in celebration of the life of the distinguished bard holding globally are expected to reach their crescendo today. In Nigeria, among other events, the living literary legend is being celebrated via a project tagged WS Open Door Series, an international cultural exchange.
Earlier, all for the new ‘octogenarian status’ of the revered Nobel laureate, there were exhibition tours to Abeokuta, Osogbo, Port Harcourt, Lagos and Jos. Some of Soyinka’s plays such as Alapata Apata, Death and the King’s Horseman, Madmen and Specialist, Dance of the Forest, including Lanke Omu and Oba Koso, are being performed to the delight of theatre lovers.
Besides, 80 poets drawn from Nigeria, US and Jamaica have exhibited their creative impulses at a gathering tagged ‘The Soyinka Impulse and Education-Path to Freedom and the Future’ held in Lagos. This is in addition to the deluge of encomiums that continue to pour in for Soyinka from his admirers.
Soyinka, whose oeuvre persistently interrogates core human issues, has constantly expressed his disdain for tyranny. The playwright has continued to speak against many of the problems plaguing the country and proffer solutions as appropriate. Lately, he renewed his condemnation for the raging insurgency confronting the country including other mind-boggling challenges.
Though the playwright, essayist, poet, activist and critic has felt the jackboots of the military for daring to query its excesses, he remained undaunted in pursuing a cause he believes in.
From The Man Died (1971) which documents his 22-month incarceration, The Swamp Dwellers, A play of Giants, Kongi’s Harvest, Requiem for a Futurologist, Season of Anomy, A Dance of the Forest to The Lion and the Jewel among numerous others, Soyinka unveils his literary preoccupation and exceptional style.
President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday congratulated Soyinka for reaching a ‘landmark age.’
In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Dr. Reuben Abati, Jonathan said, “As Soyinka’s enters the elite club of the world’s highly revered octogenarians and very special people who have made very significant and indelible contributions to their countries and humanity, the President joins Prof. Soyinka, his family, friends, associates, readers and fans across the world in giving thanks to God Almighty for his glorious life of service to the arts, his nation and mankind at large.”
The statement indicated that Jonathan lauded the playwright’s life-long dedication and commitment to promoting democracy and good governance in Nigeria.
“On the happy occasion of the Nobel laureate’s 80th birthday, President Jonathan applauds his life-long dedication and indefatigable commitment to using his acclaimed genius and talents, not only in the service of the arts, but also for the promotion of democracy, good governance and respect for human rights in Nigeria, Africa and beyond. The President assures Prof. Soyinka that he will always be celebrated and honoured by his proud countrymen, women and children for his famed literary works and for his exemplary career, which has inspired others to take up a life of selfless service to humanity.
The President prays that God Almighty will grant him many more years of good health and strength to continue with his devotion to making the world a better place for his people and all who live in it,” the statement added.
As continuation of the celebration of Soyinka’s graceful attainment of 80, a leading African Literature Scholar and Provost, College of Humanities at the Kwara State University, Prof. Abiola Irele is expected to speak on the theme, ‘Wole Soyinka and the Moral Burden of Literature’ at the 6th Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series in Lagos today.
The forum, which hopes to draw attention to the diverse ways literature mirrors and impacts on the society, will also dwell on the lessons from the life and works of Soyinka.
Scholars and poets such as Prof. Ropo Sekoni, Odia Ofeimun and Dan Izevbaye are expected to also participate in the discourse.
World celebrates Prof. Wole Soyinka at 80!
The literati and arts enthusiasts across the world will today roll out the drums in celebration of Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in Literature, Prof. Wole Soyinka, who turns 80. He was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State on July 13, 1934.
Series of stage plays, conferences and discourses in celebration of the life of the distinguished bard holding globally are expected to reach their crescendo today. In Nigeria, among other events, the living literary legend is being celebrated via a project tagged WS Open Door Series, an international cultural exchange.
Earlier, all for the new ‘octogenarian status’ of the revered Nobel laureate, there were exhibition tours to Abeokuta, Osogbo, Port Harcourt, Lagos and Jos. Some of Soyinka’s plays such as Alapata Apata, Death and the King’s Horseman, Madmen and Specialist, Dance of the Forest, including Lanke Omu and Oba Koso, are being performed to the delight of theatre lovers.
Besides, 80 poets drawn from Nigeria, US and Jamaica have exhibited their creative impulses at a gathering tagged ‘The Soyinka Impulse and Education-Path to Freedom and the Future’ held in Lagos. This is in addition to the deluge of encomiums that continue to pour in for Soyinka from his admirers.
Soyinka, whose oeuvre persistently interrogates core human issues, has constantly expressed his disdain for tyranny. The playwright has continued to speak against many of the problems plaguing the country and proffer solutions as appropriate. Lately, he renewed his condemnation for the raging insurgency confronting the country including other mind-boggling challenges.
Though the playwright, essayist, poet, activist and critic has felt the jackboots of the military for daring to query its excesses, he remained undaunted in pursuing a cause he believes in.
From The Man Died (1971) which documents his 22-month incarceration, The Swamp Dwellers, A play of Giants, Kongi’s Harvest, Requiem for a Futurologist, Season of Anomy, A Dance of the Forest to The Lion and the Jewel among numerous others, Soyinka unveils his literary preoccupation and exceptional style.
President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday congratulated Soyinka for reaching a ‘landmark age.’
In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Dr. Reuben Abati, Jonathan said, “As Soyinka’s enters the elite club of the world’s highly revered octogenarians and very special people who have made very significant and indelible contributions to their countries and humanity, the President joins Prof. Soyinka, his family, friends, associates, readers and fans across the world in giving thanks to God Almighty for his glorious life of service to the arts, his nation and mankind at large.”
The statement indicated that Jonathan lauded the playwright’s life-long dedication and commitment to promoting democracy and good governance in Nigeria.
“On the happy occasion of the Nobel laureate’s 80th birthday, President Jonathan applauds his life-long dedication and indefatigable commitment to using his acclaimed genius and talents, not only in the service of the arts, but also for the promotion of democracy, good governance and respect for human rights in Nigeria, Africa and beyond. The President assures Prof. Soyinka that he will always be celebrated and honoured by his proud countrymen, women and children for his famed literary works and for his exemplary career, which has inspired others to take up a life of selfless service to humanity.
The President prays that God Almighty will grant him many more years of good health and strength to continue with his devotion to making the world a better place for his people and all who live in it,” the statement added.
As continuation of the celebration of Soyinka’s graceful attainment of 80, a leading African Literature Scholar and Provost, College of Humanities at the Kwara State University, Prof. Abiola Irele is expected to speak on the theme, ‘Wole Soyinka and the Moral Burden of Literature’ at the 6th Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series in Lagos today.
The forum, which hopes to draw attention to the diverse ways literature mirrors and impacts on the society, will also dwell on the lessons from the life and works of Soyinka.
Scholars and poets such as Prof. Ropo Sekoni, Odia Ofeimun and Dan Izevbaye are expected to also participate in the discourse.
Posted in News
0
This heartbreaking story is about an elephant Raju from India that had an incredibly rough life. After being poached from his mother he was thrown from one owner to another, until he was left living in terrible conditions with no shelter at night, being used as a beggars prop all day long. Raju survived only from passing tourists and sometimes had to eat plastic and paper while being chained 24 hours a day. A wildlife organisation SOS-UK could not stand the injustice and decided to save him in a daring midnight rescue operation.
The elephant, realizing he was being saved, started to cry: “It was incredibly emotional. We knew in our hearts he realised he was being freed” – claims Pooja Binepal, one of the rescuers in an interview with Presspeople. “Tears began to roll down Raju’s face. Some no doubt were due to the pain but he also seemed to sense that change was coming. He felt hope for the first time” – says another rescuer Kartick.
Raju spent his whole life in captivity entertaining tourists and guests of his owner. After realizing that his suffering will soon be over he cried tears of joy.
Elephants have a very large hippocampus, a brain structure linked to emotion which is much bigger than that of any human. While we are not 100% certain, scientific research supports the view that elephants weep as part of an emotional response.
He spent 50 years being shackled in chains, sometimes having to eat plastic and paper to fill his stomach.
Thankfully, after long years of suffering Raju was saved in a courageous midnight rescue operation by Wildlife SOS UK.
Raju’s owner tried to prevent the rescue, putting chains on his legs and shouting commands to terrify him. But the rescuers stood their ground. As they did, tears began to roll down Raju’s face. “He felt hope for the first time”, says Kartrick.
The chains were so tightly wrapped that it took 45 minutes to liberate him.
Raju was driven to the sanctuary by brave rescuers 350 miles to the charity’s Elephant Conservation and Care Centre at Mathura.
The elephant was so exhausted he could barely move.
Raju took his first steps of freedom at one minute past midnight on July 4, finally tasting what independence feels like.
The charity is certain that Raju will spend the rest of his life free from suffering.
Heartbreaking Story! Elephant Cries After Being Rescued From 50 Years Of Suffering In Chains! [Photos]
This heartbreaking story is about an elephant Raju from India that had an incredibly rough life. After being poached from his mother he was thrown from one owner to another, until he was left living in terrible conditions with no shelter at night, being used as a beggars prop all day long. Raju survived only from passing tourists and sometimes had to eat plastic and paper while being chained 24 hours a day. A wildlife organisation SOS-UK could not stand the injustice and decided to save him in a daring midnight rescue operation.
The elephant, realizing he was being saved, started to cry: “It was incredibly emotional. We knew in our hearts he realised he was being freed” – claims Pooja Binepal, one of the rescuers in an interview with Presspeople. “Tears began to roll down Raju’s face. Some no doubt were due to the pain but he also seemed to sense that change was coming. He felt hope for the first time” – says another rescuer Kartick.
Raju spent his whole life in captivity entertaining tourists and guests of his owner. After realizing that his suffering will soon be over he cried tears of joy.
Elephants have a very large hippocampus, a brain structure linked to emotion which is much bigger than that of any human. While we are not 100% certain, scientific research supports the view that elephants weep as part of an emotional response.
He spent 50 years being shackled in chains, sometimes having to eat plastic and paper to fill his stomach.
Thankfully, after long years of suffering Raju was saved in a courageous midnight rescue operation by Wildlife SOS UK.
The chains were so tightly wrapped that it took 45 minutes to liberate him.
Raju was driven to the sanctuary by brave rescuers 350 miles to the charity’s Elephant Conservation and Care Centre at Mathura.
The elephant was so exhausted he could barely move.
Raju took his first steps of freedom at one minute past midnight on July 4, finally tasting what independence feels like.
The charity is certain that Raju will spend the rest of his life free from suffering.
Posted in News
0
Violence linked to Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad, known by its Hausa name, Boko Haram, and with foothold in north eastern Nigeria, north Cameroon and Niger Republic, has left at least 12,000 people dead, 8,000 people crippled while several thousands have been displaced.
Founded by a former Borno State native, Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf, in 2002, the organization seeks to establish a “pure” Islamic state ruled, thus an end to what it deems as the westernization of Nigeria.
Nigerian Muslim leaders have condemned the group and its ideology.
Chairman of Northern Governors’ Forum and governor of Niger State, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, said, “Islam is known to be a religion of peace and does not accept violence and crime in any form” and that Boko Har?m does not represent Islam.
In a similar development, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’adu Abubakar III, the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims, called the sect “anti-Islamic” and “an embarrassment to Islam”.
The Coalition of Muslim Clerics in Nigeria (CMCN) the Islamist group’s members to disarm and embrace peace. Boko Haram has ignored these appeals and intensified its terror campaign giving rise to the speculation that either the military is ill-equipped to stop it or the group has infiltrated the rank and file of the armed forces.
The abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State and the interception of about 33 mini-buses in Abia State suspected to be carrying hundreds of the Islamist group’s members have necessitated concerned Nigerians committing time and resources to seek peace in the nation and suggesting ways to put an end to the Boko Haram terror.
Mr. Zanna Bukar Mustapha, who owns a Maiduguri-based foundation, The Future Prowess, said leaders of Boko Haram belong to a movement with headquarters in the Islamic holy land and the best way to end the insurgency therefore is to involve clerics from Saudi Arabia.
He is sceptical about the involvement of the US and other western powers in the attempt to end the insurgency.
The best way to end the terror, he said, is to bring clerics from outside Nigeria “who are of the same faith, who may have a better understanding of the faith which the insurgents believe in, so that they can sit with them”.
Mustapha explained, “These clerics can find a way of engaging them, not with arms but academically, because they have very superior arguments in judgment, in knowledge and in what the doctrine stands for.
“Muhammed Yusuf, (Abubakar) Shekau and all the rest are of the movement. And when you talk of the movement, you have to go to Saudi Arabia to get them. When you get them, you can find an international organization to organize advanced contact that will bring the movement’s members in Saudi Arabia to go to the prisons and meet the insurgents held by the Federal Government.
A former Head of State and convener of Nigeria Prays, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), likened the Boko Haram terror to the Nigerian Civil War of 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970, when several Nigerians, even in the military, believed that the war ,which claimed over one million lives, would end within 48 hours, but that was not to be.
One of such military officers who believed that Nigeria could overrun Biafra within 48 hours was Gen. Hassan Katsina. Addressing newsmen in Lagos, Gowon urged Nigerians, especially opposition politicians who use every opportunity to berate President Goodluck Jonathan’s handling of the security threat, to “remember the problem we had during the civil war”. The war time Nigeria leader went on: “Of course, everybody was saying they were expecting it to be resolved within 48 hours. Gen Hassan said that we were going to finish it in 48 hours.
”Of course there’s nobody who is responsible who won’t feel concerned about the problems we are having in the country presently; especially the security problems. No matter how weak the opposition is, you can be rest assured that it takes a very long time before we are able to resolve the problem”.
He, however, assured that the president is doing everything he could. “Of course he’s had some disappointment from what we’ve had either because of lack of expertise from the security forces to deal with the situation; but one thing I know is that we who are the good will overcome the evil that is there at the moment. And I want to assure the people of Nigeria that the president has to employ all manner of methods of dealing with it.
”Yes, you use force where it is necessary, but you also use diplomacy where it is also possible to resolve the issue,” Gowon said, adding that he was in Kano where the state government was organizing separate interactive sessions with Christian leaders, pastors, bishos, as well as did the same thing with the Muslim.
”So they approached us (Nigeria Prays) if we could do the same thing for the Christian group but I said I would prefer that we have the meeting of the two religious groups: Islam and Christianity, so that if we couls frankly talk to each other in order to deal with this particular problem because the problem that we found is that the group that is terrorizing the rest of the country do it in the name of Islam. The Islam that we have in the country, in the north or in the west or in any other part of the country, certainly, will not contribute to the very hostile activity that this other group is doing,” the former leader stated.
‘Giving Islam a bad name’
He enjoined Muslim leaders to be more proactive, saying: “I think they are giving Islam a very bad name and image, and it is the duty of the Muslim brothers to do something about it. If we can join hands together to see if we can convince the other group that what they are doing is not in the interest of Islam or in the interest of the country, they should think of their approach. So all sorts of efforts are being made at various levels: at the heads of state level, at the state level, religious level to stop terror.”
boko-abducted-girlsThe only thing we must try not to do, Gowon pointed out, is to take this problem as a political issue because, once you do that, you will be making a mistake and creating problems for the whole country. So it must not be politicized. “For example, the case of the Chibok girls, it is very sad that some people are trying to use it to blame the president that he is doing nothing about it and they are trying to use politics in order to denigrate the president. It could happen from the other side; and I can assure you that it is wrong if anybody from the other side is criticizing the leadership in that role”, the former Head of State said.
”Let us look at this thing together in the interest of the country. Let us not look at it as a religious thing, let us not look at it as a political thing but as a problem that affects all of us. And we must all put our heads together in order to deal with that particular problem”.
Speaking earlier in the same vein after receiving an award from the Bible Society of Nigeria, National President of Christian Association, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, who expressed joy at the award, said it’s good if outsiders honour “but when your own people honor you, it means a lot more because it’s much more difficult for your own people to recognize anything to honoring you because they are your people”.
Oritsejafor used the opportunity to appeal to Muslim leaders to engage the insurgents to bring about the unity and peace that our founding fathers fought for. According to him, Ramadan is one of the pillars of the Islamic faith, and “I want to believe that it is a season that they value so much. And if they value it, then we also value it with them. I think it is a good time for us to make a passionate appeal to them in love.
”We cannot be against them. They are our brothers. We must work together to make this nation great. We must work together. We don’t have a choice, God put us here together. But at the same time, one of the things that we must do in Nigeria is to tell the truth no matter how painful it sounds. Truth is always the best. The bible says you can’t work against the truth, you can only work for the truth. And what is the truth?
”Boko Haram is an ideology; look at what has happened in Iraq, now an Islamic state has been declared. That is exactly what a lot of these groups are doing all over the world. That’s their aim. This is the first one they have come out to actualize. And that is the aim of Boko Haram, to declare an Islamic state”.
He maintained that but for God, and the gallant Nigerian military, they would have done it in Borno State. “They would have declared Borno an Islamic state by now and from there it will be a base to launch out. But somehow they’ve not been able to do it and that’s the annoyance that they have because that’s what they want to do”, the CAN leader said.
‘Solution lies with three groups’
”That is why we are appealing that just telling us that they are not Muslims is not good enough because it is the Quran they use, they quote it all the time. So you have to match it with a superior ideology of argument. It has been taken to an intellectual level and, from what I hear, they love to discuss the Quran, they love to discuss the doctrines in the Quran. I don’t know anything about the Quran, they won’t listen to me.
So we are appealing to Muslim clerics, Muslim traditional rulers, and Muslim political leaders. These three groups should come together and look at all these doctrines and pick amongst them those that these boys respect because they know them and still respect some of them. Pick them and send them to these people so that they can sit with them and openly, prayerfully, by superior argument begin to change their mind.
”I met a group in Abuja who were sharing something with me, they said that there’s one Muslim leader, he’s late now, that when Muhammed Yusuf was still the leader, he sent for him and he came to meet him in Kaduna and he was asking him saying ‘which is the Haram? Is it the language? Are you saying now that other languages are inferior to Kanuri because you are Kanuri?’
He said, ‘what about the SUV you drove to me meet here, is that Haram? What about the gold wristwatch you are wearing, is that Haram?’ And he began to show him some of these things. According to what they told me, they said when he finished, he begged the cleric saying ‘I’m so sorry, please forgive me. I will go back and try and convince my people’.
”Obviously, Yusuf didn’t succeed in convincing his Boko Haram members but you can see that by superior argument, the Muslim leader was able to calm him down. I believe that there are those of them who can do it. If they do that, we will be heading towards solution to this problem.
Vanguardngr
Boko Haram: The crucial options Jonathan Have' -General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) Reveals!
Violence linked to Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad, known by its Hausa name, Boko Haram, and with foothold in north eastern Nigeria, north Cameroon and Niger Republic, has left at least 12,000 people dead, 8,000 people crippled while several thousands have been displaced.
Founded by a former Borno State native, Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf, in 2002, the organization seeks to establish a “pure” Islamic state ruled, thus an end to what it deems as the westernization of Nigeria.
Nigerian Muslim leaders have condemned the group and its ideology.
Chairman of Northern Governors’ Forum and governor of Niger State, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, said, “Islam is known to be a religion of peace and does not accept violence and crime in any form” and that Boko Har?m does not represent Islam.
In a similar development, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’adu Abubakar III, the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims, called the sect “anti-Islamic” and “an embarrassment to Islam”.
The Coalition of Muslim Clerics in Nigeria (CMCN) the Islamist group’s members to disarm and embrace peace. Boko Haram has ignored these appeals and intensified its terror campaign giving rise to the speculation that either the military is ill-equipped to stop it or the group has infiltrated the rank and file of the armed forces.
The abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State and the interception of about 33 mini-buses in Abia State suspected to be carrying hundreds of the Islamist group’s members have necessitated concerned Nigerians committing time and resources to seek peace in the nation and suggesting ways to put an end to the Boko Haram terror.
Mr. Zanna Bukar Mustapha, who owns a Maiduguri-based foundation, The Future Prowess, said leaders of Boko Haram belong to a movement with headquarters in the Islamic holy land and the best way to end the insurgency therefore is to involve clerics from Saudi Arabia.
He is sceptical about the involvement of the US and other western powers in the attempt to end the insurgency.
The best way to end the terror, he said, is to bring clerics from outside Nigeria “who are of the same faith, who may have a better understanding of the faith which the insurgents believe in, so that they can sit with them”.
Mustapha explained, “These clerics can find a way of engaging them, not with arms but academically, because they have very superior arguments in judgment, in knowledge and in what the doctrine stands for.
“Muhammed Yusuf, (Abubakar) Shekau and all the rest are of the movement. And when you talk of the movement, you have to go to Saudi Arabia to get them. When you get them, you can find an international organization to organize advanced contact that will bring the movement’s members in Saudi Arabia to go to the prisons and meet the insurgents held by the Federal Government.
A former Head of State and convener of Nigeria Prays, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), likened the Boko Haram terror to the Nigerian Civil War of 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970, when several Nigerians, even in the military, believed that the war ,which claimed over one million lives, would end within 48 hours, but that was not to be.
One of such military officers who believed that Nigeria could overrun Biafra within 48 hours was Gen. Hassan Katsina. Addressing newsmen in Lagos, Gowon urged Nigerians, especially opposition politicians who use every opportunity to berate President Goodluck Jonathan’s handling of the security threat, to “remember the problem we had during the civil war”. The war time Nigeria leader went on: “Of course, everybody was saying they were expecting it to be resolved within 48 hours. Gen Hassan said that we were going to finish it in 48 hours.
”Of course there’s nobody who is responsible who won’t feel concerned about the problems we are having in the country presently; especially the security problems. No matter how weak the opposition is, you can be rest assured that it takes a very long time before we are able to resolve the problem”.
He, however, assured that the president is doing everything he could. “Of course he’s had some disappointment from what we’ve had either because of lack of expertise from the security forces to deal with the situation; but one thing I know is that we who are the good will overcome the evil that is there at the moment. And I want to assure the people of Nigeria that the president has to employ all manner of methods of dealing with it.
”Yes, you use force where it is necessary, but you also use diplomacy where it is also possible to resolve the issue,” Gowon said, adding that he was in Kano where the state government was organizing separate interactive sessions with Christian leaders, pastors, bishos, as well as did the same thing with the Muslim.
”So they approached us (Nigeria Prays) if we could do the same thing for the Christian group but I said I would prefer that we have the meeting of the two religious groups: Islam and Christianity, so that if we couls frankly talk to each other in order to deal with this particular problem because the problem that we found is that the group that is terrorizing the rest of the country do it in the name of Islam. The Islam that we have in the country, in the north or in the west or in any other part of the country, certainly, will not contribute to the very hostile activity that this other group is doing,” the former leader stated.
‘Giving Islam a bad name’
He enjoined Muslim leaders to be more proactive, saying: “I think they are giving Islam a very bad name and image, and it is the duty of the Muslim brothers to do something about it. If we can join hands together to see if we can convince the other group that what they are doing is not in the interest of Islam or in the interest of the country, they should think of their approach. So all sorts of efforts are being made at various levels: at the heads of state level, at the state level, religious level to stop terror.”
boko-abducted-girlsThe only thing we must try not to do, Gowon pointed out, is to take this problem as a political issue because, once you do that, you will be making a mistake and creating problems for the whole country. So it must not be politicized. “For example, the case of the Chibok girls, it is very sad that some people are trying to use it to blame the president that he is doing nothing about it and they are trying to use politics in order to denigrate the president. It could happen from the other side; and I can assure you that it is wrong if anybody from the other side is criticizing the leadership in that role”, the former Head of State said.
”Let us look at this thing together in the interest of the country. Let us not look at it as a religious thing, let us not look at it as a political thing but as a problem that affects all of us. And we must all put our heads together in order to deal with that particular problem”.
Speaking earlier in the same vein after receiving an award from the Bible Society of Nigeria, National President of Christian Association, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, who expressed joy at the award, said it’s good if outsiders honour “but when your own people honor you, it means a lot more because it’s much more difficult for your own people to recognize anything to honoring you because they are your people”.
Oritsejafor used the opportunity to appeal to Muslim leaders to engage the insurgents to bring about the unity and peace that our founding fathers fought for. According to him, Ramadan is one of the pillars of the Islamic faith, and “I want to believe that it is a season that they value so much. And if they value it, then we also value it with them. I think it is a good time for us to make a passionate appeal to them in love.
”We cannot be against them. They are our brothers. We must work together to make this nation great. We must work together. We don’t have a choice, God put us here together. But at the same time, one of the things that we must do in Nigeria is to tell the truth no matter how painful it sounds. Truth is always the best. The bible says you can’t work against the truth, you can only work for the truth. And what is the truth?
”Boko Haram is an ideology; look at what has happened in Iraq, now an Islamic state has been declared. That is exactly what a lot of these groups are doing all over the world. That’s their aim. This is the first one they have come out to actualize. And that is the aim of Boko Haram, to declare an Islamic state”.
He maintained that but for God, and the gallant Nigerian military, they would have done it in Borno State. “They would have declared Borno an Islamic state by now and from there it will be a base to launch out. But somehow they’ve not been able to do it and that’s the annoyance that they have because that’s what they want to do”, the CAN leader said.
‘Solution lies with three groups’
”That is why we are appealing that just telling us that they are not Muslims is not good enough because it is the Quran they use, they quote it all the time. So you have to match it with a superior ideology of argument. It has been taken to an intellectual level and, from what I hear, they love to discuss the Quran, they love to discuss the doctrines in the Quran. I don’t know anything about the Quran, they won’t listen to me.
So we are appealing to Muslim clerics, Muslim traditional rulers, and Muslim political leaders. These three groups should come together and look at all these doctrines and pick amongst them those that these boys respect because they know them and still respect some of them. Pick them and send them to these people so that they can sit with them and openly, prayerfully, by superior argument begin to change their mind.
”I met a group in Abuja who were sharing something with me, they said that there’s one Muslim leader, he’s late now, that when Muhammed Yusuf was still the leader, he sent for him and he came to meet him in Kaduna and he was asking him saying ‘which is the Haram? Is it the language? Are you saying now that other languages are inferior to Kanuri because you are Kanuri?’
He said, ‘what about the SUV you drove to me meet here, is that Haram? What about the gold wristwatch you are wearing, is that Haram?’ And he began to show him some of these things. According to what they told me, they said when he finished, he begged the cleric saying ‘I’m so sorry, please forgive me. I will go back and try and convince my people’.
”Obviously, Yusuf didn’t succeed in convincing his Boko Haram members but you can see that by superior argument, the Muslim leader was able to calm him down. I believe that there are those of them who can do it. If they do that, we will be heading towards solution to this problem.
Vanguardngr
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Governor Fashola on Friday advised Nigerians to vote PDP out, come 2015 if they want stable electricity in our country, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe called him out on twitter saying he has only been able to build 30MW out of the 1000MW needed in Lagos, despite the N3tr he received in revenue and loans.
Lol! Doyin Okupe Fires Shot Back At Fashola!
Governor Fashola on Friday advised Nigerians to vote PDP out, come 2015 if they want stable electricity in our country, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe called him out on twitter saying he has only been able to build 30MW out of the 1000MW needed in Lagos, despite the N3tr he received in revenue and loans.
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According to a Vanguard report, in a new video given to the AFP, the leader of Boko Haram hailed Al-Qaeda, Taliban and the extremist Sunni Islamic State (IS) militant group, which has taken over large swathes of Iraq and Syria.
Listing IS chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Al-Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahiri and Taliban leader Mullah Omar, Shekau said, "My brethren… may Allah protect you."
When Obama labelled the group as terrorists, he said that the group has links with al-Qaeda, and the Treasury Department confirmed this statement saying it has proof of Boko Haram receiving support from the terror group.
In May, when President Jonathan had during the security summit hosted by French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Saturday described the Boko Haram, as the “al Qaeda of West Africa.”
However in reaction to Jonathan’s statement, the government of the United States had said that the dreaded Boko Haram sect, is not a branch of the global terrorist organization, Al Qaeda and should be treated as its ‘own terrorist group.’
Last week Monday, security was reportedly beefed up at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, following report that the global terrorist organization Al-Qaeda might bomb airlines travelling to the United States and other destinations by means of mobile phones or laptops.
Boko haram leader, shekau speaks again in new video!
According to a Vanguard report, in a new video given to the AFP, the leader of Boko Haram hailed Al-Qaeda, Taliban and the extremist Sunni Islamic State (IS) militant group, which has taken over large swathes of Iraq and Syria.
Listing IS chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Al-Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahiri and Taliban leader Mullah Omar, Shekau said, "My brethren… may Allah protect you."
When Obama labelled the group as terrorists, he said that the group has links with al-Qaeda, and the Treasury Department confirmed this statement saying it has proof of Boko Haram receiving support from the terror group.
In May, when President Jonathan had during the security summit hosted by French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Saturday described the Boko Haram, as the “al Qaeda of West Africa.”
However in reaction to Jonathan’s statement, the government of the United States had said that the dreaded Boko Haram sect, is not a branch of the global terrorist organization, Al Qaeda and should be treated as its ‘own terrorist group.’
Last week Monday, security was reportedly beefed up at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, following report that the global terrorist organization Al-Qaeda might bomb airlines travelling to the United States and other destinations by means of mobile phones or laptops.
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Read This Shocking Story! Lady Disappears After Taking N50 from Man Inside Bus In Lagos
This is a story flying around in the media and from what I heard it happened in Lagos. The story below:
My aunt just came back and she is shaking seriously for she witnessed a strange incident some minutes ago. She boarded a bus from her office to drop at Ikotun this evening and unfortunately the bus had no conductor so one woman - one of them (passengers) decided to play the good Samaritan by helping the driver collect the t.fare from passengers.
Everyone co-operated and paid o except for one old man like that. Eventually he brought out his N50 and gave the woman to give the driver. Immediately this woman collected the money, she started shaking like someone that had been hit with 'warapa'...the shaking got so bad that the driver had to pack and everyone started shouting on the old man to undo whatever he had done to the innocent woman after all it was after she collected the money from him that she began shaking.The old man now said they should let him rub the woman's breast so that the shaking can stop. While rubbing her br*ast, they both disappeared like film trick.
Everybody in the bus shouted and scattered o, even the driver fled o. You needed to have seen the commotion. Please help warn Nigerians to be careful, all these kidnappers keep devising new methods everyday, only God knows where that woman is now."
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Read the brief tribute below:
Check-Out Kefee's husband, Teddy Don-Mommoh's touching tribute to her!
Read the brief tribute below:
"You were a woman of principle, straightforward, strong willed and determined. You were the symbol of hope. When I look through your eyes little did I know that the end has come. Death is inevitable but no man desires death at the time it comes. I am consoled by the fact that you are now translated from this sinful environment to a better place where the lord has made for the righteous men of your kind. Farewell my desire. Rest in the bosom of the lord till we meet on the lord's appointed time."
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Operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), at the Lagos state police command, Ikeja has arrested an Islamic cleric, Alfa Rilawan Saula accused of specializing in buying dead bodies especially that of new born for onward sale to his clients. Also in police custody are two nurses Bolaji Fagbemi and Lasisi Olayinka who were alleged to be supplying newborns or unclaimed corpses from their hospital to Saula for a fee.
Bubble busted when the Commissioner of Police, Umaru Manko got information that Saula who has been on the wanted list of the police had resurfaced and still in the same business of selling human parts. He drafted the officer in charge of the SARS, SP Abba Kyari who lured Saula out of his hiding place at Agege.
In the course of investigation, Saula led the police to arrest two other herbalists who claim that they relied on his ability to provide dry human skulls for them. They are Alhaji Surajudeen Faronbi and Taofeek Abidakun who allegedly confessed that they only demand for dried up human skulls which they grind and mix with herbs to cure different ailments.
Still wondering how he fell into the police trap, Saula told Saturday Sun that he delved into the business six years ago when it appeared that there was much demand for human skull. “I am a trained herbalist and I sell roots. Along the line people started demanding for special medicine to cure very difficult ailments and to do that I needed a skull and human parts. Those days, we normally visit burial grounds every Friday to exhume fresh bodies and look for skulls that are dried up.
“To cure stroke, you need to grind the skull and mix them with herbs. This has cured several of my customers. I had to stop the business when the police invaded our shops and arrested us. I was lucky that there was no incriminating thing in the office, so they had no choice but to release me. Although I had stopped, people who knew that I was doing that business kept demanding for human skull. Most especially, they kept requesting for fresh baby skull. The demand was becoming much, so I started sourcing for baby skull in hospitals especially maternities. I knew quite well that most of the new born babies that die are thrown away or burnt. I contacted some nurses especially those working in trado-medical clinics. It was then that I met Bolaji who promised to contact me anytime they have a still birth and she kept to her word”, he explained.
On his arrest, Saula stated that he never knew that the man who offered him N100, 000 for a skull was a policeman. “Bolaji called me that a baby died in the hospital that she was on her way to bring it to me. I quickly called the highest bidder but I never knew he is a police officer. The truth is that we only make use of dead human skulls. The potency of herbs are stronger when you mix it with a human skull.”
One of the nurses and the brain behind the sale of dead children, Bolaji said that she knew Saula many years ago as a herbalist. “He was the one who introduced me to Alahji Hassan Sikiru, the owner of a Ikeoluwa trado medical clinic located at no 31 Kayode Olaniyan street, AIT road, Ayetobi Alagbado, Lagos. I was employed as a nurse and I promised to assist him to get dead bodies especially that of babies whenever it is available.
“On June 16, 2014 one of our pregnant patients delivered an abnormal baby girl and within 24 hours, the baby died. The family begged the doctor to assist them to bury the child. I was asked to go along with Lasisi, but on our way, I was able to convince her to return back that I can handle the burial. Immediately, I rushed to Saula house and delivered the corpse of the baby. We agreed that as soon as the buyers collect the corpse, that I will receive my payment. I was still in the hospital when the policemen came and arrested me,” Bolaji stated.
Begging for forgiveness, Bolaji said that she decided to supply dead new born babies to Saula since the parents do not have need of their corpses. “Most families will always ask us to help them bury or throw away the dead child. This baby girl was born deformed, and within 24 hours she died. We contacted her husband and he told us to go ahead and bury the child. The baby was confirmed dead and the parents gave their consent that she should be buried or thrown into the dustbin. I am sorry that instead of throwing her away, I decided to sell her to the herbal doctor, Saula.”
Weeping and begging that she should not be included in the matter, Lasisi said that she never knew that Bolaji had plans to sell the dead child. “She convinced me to go back when I started complaining that the distance was much. I have been a trado-medical nurse in that clinic for the past six years. At the age of 39, I still have hope that God will send my husband to me. Please do not publish my picture so that men will not run away from me,” She pleaded.
The others, Alhaji Faronbi and Abidakun who are herbal doctors claim that they bought human skulls from Saula many years ago. They also revealed that they’re used to prepare herbal medicine for certain illnesses that are stubborn. “If you have stroke, epilepsy, advanced case of fibroid and so many others, you will need to mix the grinded human skull to the portion to be potent. Sometimes it also takes the water gotten from the grinded skull of a new born baby to get a woman pregnant,” Alhaji Faronbi explained.
“We do not steal them, if you visit the public cemetery; there are so many old human skeletons that were exhumed to give way for the burial of others. We felt that was where, Saula normally gets his supply from,” Abidakun further explained.
Police Arrest Islamic Cleric Who Buys Dead Bodies From Hospitals & Sell Body Parts To Ritualists!
Operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), at the Lagos state police command, Ikeja has arrested an Islamic cleric, Alfa Rilawan Saula accused of specializing in buying dead bodies especially that of new born for onward sale to his clients. Also in police custody are two nurses Bolaji Fagbemi and Lasisi Olayinka who were alleged to be supplying newborns or unclaimed corpses from their hospital to Saula for a fee.
Bubble busted when the Commissioner of Police, Umaru Manko got information that Saula who has been on the wanted list of the police had resurfaced and still in the same business of selling human parts. He drafted the officer in charge of the SARS, SP Abba Kyari who lured Saula out of his hiding place at Agege.
In the course of investigation, Saula led the police to arrest two other herbalists who claim that they relied on his ability to provide dry human skulls for them. They are Alhaji Surajudeen Faronbi and Taofeek Abidakun who allegedly confessed that they only demand for dried up human skulls which they grind and mix with herbs to cure different ailments.
Still wondering how he fell into the police trap, Saula told Saturday Sun that he delved into the business six years ago when it appeared that there was much demand for human skull. “I am a trained herbalist and I sell roots. Along the line people started demanding for special medicine to cure very difficult ailments and to do that I needed a skull and human parts. Those days, we normally visit burial grounds every Friday to exhume fresh bodies and look for skulls that are dried up.
“To cure stroke, you need to grind the skull and mix them with herbs. This has cured several of my customers. I had to stop the business when the police invaded our shops and arrested us. I was lucky that there was no incriminating thing in the office, so they had no choice but to release me. Although I had stopped, people who knew that I was doing that business kept demanding for human skull. Most especially, they kept requesting for fresh baby skull. The demand was becoming much, so I started sourcing for baby skull in hospitals especially maternities. I knew quite well that most of the new born babies that die are thrown away or burnt. I contacted some nurses especially those working in trado-medical clinics. It was then that I met Bolaji who promised to contact me anytime they have a still birth and she kept to her word”, he explained.
On his arrest, Saula stated that he never knew that the man who offered him N100, 000 for a skull was a policeman. “Bolaji called me that a baby died in the hospital that she was on her way to bring it to me. I quickly called the highest bidder but I never knew he is a police officer. The truth is that we only make use of dead human skulls. The potency of herbs are stronger when you mix it with a human skull.”
One of the nurses and the brain behind the sale of dead children, Bolaji said that she knew Saula many years ago as a herbalist. “He was the one who introduced me to Alahji Hassan Sikiru, the owner of a Ikeoluwa trado medical clinic located at no 31 Kayode Olaniyan street, AIT road, Ayetobi Alagbado, Lagos. I was employed as a nurse and I promised to assist him to get dead bodies especially that of babies whenever it is available.
“On June 16, 2014 one of our pregnant patients delivered an abnormal baby girl and within 24 hours, the baby died. The family begged the doctor to assist them to bury the child. I was asked to go along with Lasisi, but on our way, I was able to convince her to return back that I can handle the burial. Immediately, I rushed to Saula house and delivered the corpse of the baby. We agreed that as soon as the buyers collect the corpse, that I will receive my payment. I was still in the hospital when the policemen came and arrested me,” Bolaji stated.
Begging for forgiveness, Bolaji said that she decided to supply dead new born babies to Saula since the parents do not have need of their corpses. “Most families will always ask us to help them bury or throw away the dead child. This baby girl was born deformed, and within 24 hours she died. We contacted her husband and he told us to go ahead and bury the child. The baby was confirmed dead and the parents gave their consent that she should be buried or thrown into the dustbin. I am sorry that instead of throwing her away, I decided to sell her to the herbal doctor, Saula.”
Weeping and begging that she should not be included in the matter, Lasisi said that she never knew that Bolaji had plans to sell the dead child. “She convinced me to go back when I started complaining that the distance was much. I have been a trado-medical nurse in that clinic for the past six years. At the age of 39, I still have hope that God will send my husband to me. Please do not publish my picture so that men will not run away from me,” She pleaded.
The others, Alhaji Faronbi and Abidakun who are herbal doctors claim that they bought human skulls from Saula many years ago. They also revealed that they’re used to prepare herbal medicine for certain illnesses that are stubborn. “If you have stroke, epilepsy, advanced case of fibroid and so many others, you will need to mix the grinded human skull to the portion to be potent. Sometimes it also takes the water gotten from the grinded skull of a new born baby to get a woman pregnant,” Alhaji Faronbi explained.
“We do not steal them, if you visit the public cemetery; there are so many old human skeletons that were exhumed to give way for the burial of others. We felt that was where, Saula normally gets his supply from,” Abidakun further explained.
Posted in News
0
The leader of Boko Haram Islamists has claimed responsibility for a June 25 bombing in the capital Abuja and an attack the same day at a fuel depot in Lagos, in a new video seen by AFP Sunday.
The authorities tried to cover up the Lagos attack, describing it as an industrial accident, but an AFP investigation revealed it was a deliberate explosion.
“I ordered (the bomber) who went and detonated it,” Abubakar Shekau says of the Lagos bomb, while claiming responsibility for the “bomb in filthy Abuja” that killed at least 22 people.
Boko Haram finally Claims Responsibilty for LAGOS Apapa Bomb Attack in New Video!
The leader of Boko Haram Islamists has claimed responsibility for a June 25 bombing in the capital Abuja and an attack the same day at a fuel depot in Lagos, in a new video seen by AFP Sunday.
The authorities tried to cover up the Lagos attack, describing it as an industrial accident, but an AFP investigation revealed it was a deliberate explosion.
“I ordered (the bomber) who went and detonated it,” Abubakar Shekau says of the Lagos bomb, while claiming responsibility for the “bomb in filthy Abuja” that killed at least 22 people.
Posted in News
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