James Ibori returns to Ogahara (PHOTOS)

The former Governor of Delta State James Ibori has returned to his home in Ogahara after his successful completion of his time in jail.

Check photos after the cut

Korede Bello acquires 33million Chevrolet Corvette 2017

Nigerian singer, Korede Bello seems to have just acquired a new whip! The Godwin singer took to Instagram to share photos of himself smiling as he posed beside a new 2017 Chevrolet Corvette. LIB investigations reveal that the sport car currently retails at over $66k which is over N33 million naira with the current exchange rate. If indeed he just bought the car, we say Congrats!

James Ibori Picked up by DSS Agents

Former Delta state governor James Ibori, who returned Nigeria today after serving a jail term for fraud in the UK, has been picked up by DSS operatives, the Cable reports.

He subsequently taken to the head office of the secret police.

An official said it should not be interpreted as an “arrest”.

“It was pre-arranged that he should have a chat with the DSS director-general, Lawal Daura, upon his arrival. He will not be detained. His appointment was for 12:00 hrs so the operatives went to pick him up and drove him down for the meeting,” the operative said.

Nice lands Multimillion Naira deal with Nigerian Company

This is According to goldmynetv;

‘New things coming in for Gongo Aso crooner, #9ice . . GoldMyneTV can confirm to you that @official9ice has landed a multimillion Naira deal with Nigerian company, “Smart”‘

Congratulations to him

DSS Storms Calabar School, Flogs Teachers in Front of Students

Six teachers at the Federal Government Girls College in Calabar on Thursday alleged that they were beaten in the presence of pupils by operatives of the Department of State Services, Cross River State Command.

They alleged that the armed security officials stormed the school premises at about 10am on the invitation of a female DSS official who had come to beat up a teacher for flogging her daughter.

One of the teachers, Mr. Owai Owai, said he was flogged in front of his pupils by the DSS woman and her husband.

Other teachers, who claimed to have been beaten up when the school later became flooded with DSS officials, identified themselves simply as Ndarake, Inyang, Udoh, Agba, Njor and the college’s Chief Security Officer, John Ikpeme.

A security official, identified as James, said the DSS officials who stormed the school in three vehicles, shot repeatedly into the air before they forcefully gained entrance.

However, the state Director of DSS, Mr. Fubara Duke, said the matter was a case of mistaken identity.

Owai, who teaches Civic Education in the senior class, said trouble started when he flogged some pupils for failing to sweep their classroom.

He said, “I was about to teach when I noticed some junior pupils sweeping the classroom of the senior pupils. I learnt that the senior pupils had imposed it on them. It was a wrong precedent because all the pupils had been told to sweep their respective classes.

“I punished the senior pupils who ordered the junior ones to sweep. I gave each of them two strokes of the cane on their palm and one of them challenged me for flogging her. Before I knew what was happening, she telephoned her mother, whom I later learnt was a DSS official. The mother came to the school with her husband and they started beating me.

“They used my own cane to flog me in the presence of the pupils. My fellow teachers came in to stop them, but they were rebuffed. Later, the DSS woman called her colleagues for reinforcement and that was how the school became flooded with DSS officials. They started beating teachers who ran into them.”

Another teacher, Amos Princewill, said the DSS officials took away two mobile phones, a binocular and N80,000 belonging to his colleagues who were molested.

Breaking: James Ibori back in Nigeria finally

The former Governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori who was released last month from prison in the United Kingdom (UK) has arrived in Nigeria.

More Details coming soon

How God saved me Yesterday from the hands of Kidnappers from Ore to Ibadan - Tkomzy

A popular Upcoming Artiste Tkomzy whose name is Komolafe Toluwa narrated his encounter with the kidnappers on his way to Ibadan from Ore.
See what he wrote below:

"It was a funny experience and i have never experienced this kind of thing before in my life I only hears everyday that people are been kidnapped.
I was on my way to Ibadan from Ore Ondo State, So I entered this car to minimize cost and time, While we were going the driver with his friend sitting beside him stopped to pick another passenger making us to be four inside the Toyota carina car.
When we got to the entrance of Ondo town the driver suddenly saw a thin, dressed in a very dirty clothes carrying a Ghana must go bag calling Ife Ife. So when the driver stopped and picked him they both came in and the driver told us he's afraid to carry the guy cos what's inside the bag is money because he don't want problem for him and for us. Hearing this my ears first start drumming as if I was in a movie, the passenger quickly denied it saying it wasn't money that was there but his bags and shoes. The diver then told him to go out cos he won't be able to carry him cos of police wahala. We later advised the driver to carry him but the problem is we all don't want police wahala for ourselves so how are we going to do it is the problem on ground.
After many talks, the driver asked him to put his bag inside the booth back and he should enter then the driver asked his  friend to go back and the other passenger he picked from Ore to come to the front sit. Then we keep moving slowly discussing on the money matter. Later, the guy with the bag later confessed that it's money that it was his Hausa Oga that died and everyone started carrying whatever their hand could carry that he don't know how to drive so that he would have carried car that's why he went inside his Oga room to carry one bag of money that he saw 7 bags inside his room.

Fear start catching me small small, So the driver asked him how much is inside the bag and he said the money is 1 million dollars. 1 million dollars ke i opened my mouth hearing this and quickly asked how did the driver see this, the driver said the Ghana must go bag is worn out. Later on, the driver now said he should not worry that none of us is going to tell anyone but he will have to give us our share the guy now replied that he's not saying he's not going to give us our share but there is (Tira) this Muslim things on top the money that it's only a powerful church that can remove the Tira.

We then asked him how much he's going to give us if we get the Tira removed he said he's going to give us 10,000 dollars each... This time my ears start blowing like say am in a forest reserve area. The driver now said but who knows anyone that can remove the Tira from the money, I brought an idea to first find somewhere to sit they didn't buy it, I still brought idea to go to a nearby celestial church they didn't buy the idea. The other man that was sitting in the from before now said, he knows one powerful woman not far from here that she once healed her sister of one ailment that the woman can do anything that was how we all subscribed to it and the driver immediately turned left before we reach Adeyemi University of Education. We didn't move up to 1km before the other passenger they picked from Ore said his mind is not going anymore that they should drop him, Hearing this not wasting time i quickly said they should drop me too that my mind is not through with it that they can share the money we never saw. The driver immediately packed and said Okkkk you people can come down but why are we not going again but no one could answer him we only asked for our change but he drove off angrily without giving us our change"

“Most Dangerous Place For Christians in the World” is Nigeria - US Congress

The United States House of Representatives says Nigeria has been cited as the most dangerous place for Christians in the world.

The Chairman of its Sub-committee on Africa, Global Health, Human Rights and International Organisation, Christopher Smith, stated this in a letter inviting former President Goodluck Jonathan to make a presentation to the Sub-Committee on the challenges faced by Christians in Nigeria and the Niger Delta issue.

Smith, in the letter made exclusively available to THISDAY, said: “My subcommittee has broadly investigated the crises facing Christians in Nigeria today. My staff director, Greg Simpkins and I have made several visits to Nigeria, speaking with Christians and Muslim religious leaders across the country and visiting fire-bombed churches, such as in Jos. Unfortunately, Nigeria has been cited as the most dangerous place for Christians in the world and impunity for those responsible for the killing of Christians seem to be widespread.

Although, the event held on the 1st and 2nd February, the actual content of the letter is only just revealed with its labelling of Nigeria as the most dangerous country to be a Christian.

Bovi, Stella Damasus, Others to Boycott Tuface Idibia's Protest

Tuface Idibia may have the support of Nigerians for the planned anti-government protest but some of his colleagues in the entertainment industry will be boycotting the protest.

Some of the celebrities that will be boycotting the protest include:

1. Bovi - The Comedian wrote on Social network, “Boycott is too strong a word to describe my not attending. I won’t be there. Simple. It doesn’t define whether I support it or not. I am not joining the protest, and stop saying ‘we’ and ‘us.’ You don’t belong…..my life is not governed by your opinions of me."

2. Stella Damasus - The Nollywood actress believes that the protest is pointless. "That time I will use to protest and talk, I will use it to do something good for the people I can help. Before protesting anything, you have to have a clear focus,” she said.

3. Funke Adesiyan - For this beautiful actress turned politician, protesting solves nothing. She said "When people ask me why I joined politics, I tell them from the truest of my heart that it is because I got tired of how things were being done in my country. It’s not enough for us to protest, it’s more important for us, youths of this beloved nation, to get involved in governance. You could try many times before you achieve it.”

4. Blackface - Why didn't you lead a protest against these governors who mismanaged the Buhari bailout funds and the Paris Club refund money? Why did you not protest against GEJ's looting of N51 trillion naira and the Godswill Akpabio alleged looting of over N1 trillion naira from the Akwa Ibom state treasury for which he is being prosecuted by the EFCC? Why didn't you protest Akpabio's alleged corrupting of a Supreme Court justice who is currently being tried for corrupt practices on the bench? Is it because you are a corruption apologist?" he asked.

5. Femi Kuti - Though he has not clearly stated that he won't be marching, his words suggest that he's against the protest. "I hear say they want to do protest here, they even choose the day Sunday, Sunday is my day. So I was thinking, 2face say some people come meet am say make he broadcast am, so no be him sit down for him house com plan am, I for no vex. Who be the people wey come meet you?" he asked.

Full text of what Goodluck Jonathan told US lawmakers about his administration

The immediate past President, Goodluck Jonathan has disclosed some of the achievements and challenges faced by his administration.

Addressing the United States, US, Sub-Committee on Africa, the former President also highlighted measures put in place to curb some of this menace which has aggravated since he left office.

See full text of his speech below:

A Presentation by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Chairman of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation to the U.S. House Sub Committee on Africa, February 1, 2017

Let me start by thanking Congressman, Christopher H. Smith, Chairman U.S. House Sub-Committee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations for inviting me to share my views on the crisis facing Christians in Nigeria today and the Niger Delta question. The U.S. Congress is a powerful institution not just for good governance in the U.S. but also for global peace and development. Over the years, the U.S. Congress has shown consistent interest in African affairs and I thank you for this and for showing interest in Nigeria.

Congressman Smith has personally visited troubled spots in Nigeria and especially those geo-political zones that are considered the frontline of ethnic and religious conflicts. He has also visited the Niger Delta. I sincerely thank him for these efforts.

In your invitation letter, you highlighted a number of very sensitive issues you wanted me to touch on. I group all these issues under ‘Challenges Facing Nigerian Christians and the Niger Delta Question’. A full discussion on even one of these issues may take a minimum of two hours, but here, I am expected to be very brief. I will therefore present a bird’s eye view, but when next your committee visits Nigeria, even more detailed presentations will be made by other stake holders.

Nigeria and the World
I read a paper presented by Princeton N. Lyman, a former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, suggesting that Nigeria is no longer strategic to U.S. interests in Africa and the world as it used to be. Ambassador Lyman may have had valid reasons for such a view point, but I make bold to say that the relationship between the U.S. and Nigeria has come a long way since Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa’s State Visit to the U.S. in July of 1961 and that relationship should not only endure, but be built upon.

Nigeria, as a nation, is relevant to the U.S. in my opinion especially when you consider such parameters as:

Mineral Resources

Economy/Trade
Biotic Resources
Population/Human Resources, etc

Nations such as Nigeria can impact the globe positively when things are handled properly. They may also affect the world negatively if things go wrong. It is not in the best interest of the U.S. and indeed the international community to ignore Nigeria.

Killing of Christians in Nigeria

Your invitation letter profusely highlighted the issues of the killing of Christians in Nigeria, the last major incident being the recent killings in Southern Kaduna in Kaduna state, and I do not need to elaborate on that. The challenge is how do we stop that from recurring. How do we ensure that Christians and Muslims cohabit peacefully in Nigeria and practice their religions freely without discrimination, molestation and killings?

One school of thought believes that these killings reoccur because of impunity. Security and law enforcement bodies unfortunately have a history of failing to apprehend the culprits of previous killings and disturbances and punishing according to the law. Such impunity has emboldened and encouraged persons with such tendencies.

Indeed, though there have been over 10 major incidences of ethnic and religious conflagration in the frontline state of Kaduna since 1979, there has only ever been one incidence where the authorities took action, according to the law, to punish the culprits of the disturbances. This was in 1992, after the Zangon Kataf riots in which the official death toll was 300. The military administration of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida constituted the Civil Disturbances Special Tribunal to try arrested persons and a total of 14 persons were sentenced to death, although the Babangida administration commuted the sentences to five years imprisonment.

Within the period I served as a Vice President and later as President, it became very clear to me that if the issue of religion is not handled properly, the unity of the country would be in great jeopardy. Religious and other ethnic issues were becoming a stumbling block towards societal cohesion and economic development. I therefore set up a National Conference with the mandate of looking into all the grey areas militating against the peace, progress and development of Nigeria. On the issue of religion, let me quote unedited the position of the 2014 National Conference. Nigeria has over 350 ethnic nationalities and that:

‘“This multi-ethnicity has been compounded by pronounced religious differences, exploited usually for political considerations by avid political classes in contexts of extreme poverty and very low educational development among the mass of the populace. Whereas Nigeria is supposed to be a secular state,” one nation bound in freedom, peace and unity”, the prevalence of religiosity and its related nepotism at all levels, has effectively undermined the objectivity which secularity would have ordinarily imbued in national politics.”

The Conference further stated that:

“In view of the fact that religion plays a vital role in many aspects of our national life especially in the aspect of national security and national unity, it is highly imperative that it be singled out from other fundamental rights and given a special attention via the creation of an Equity Commission whose sole mandate will be to focus on religious rights and their promotion. This is in line with best global practices as many advanced democracies have special legal and institutional arrangements for some very sensitive aspects of their national life. Examples of such specialized agencies from other countries are presented below:

a) In the United Kingdom, despite the existence of the UK Equal Opportunities Commission (UK-EOC), a Commission for Racial Equality (created by the Race Relations Act, 1976) which existed alongside UK-EOC for many years. This was done because at the time, issues of racial discrimination were very sensitive and crucial that it was thought necessary to create a special commission for it.
b) In the United States, despite the existence of the US State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, it has other special human rights enforcement agencies created to promote specific rights. One of such agencies is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) which is a federal law enforcement agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, genetic information, and retaliation for reporting, participating in, and/or opposing a discriminatory practice.

c) Canada has a similar arrangement to that of the United States. The Canadian Human Rights Act has long prohibited discrimination on the basis of gender, PREMIUMTIMESNG.COM FINAL CONFERENCE REPORT PAGE 433 race, ethnicity, and certain other grounds. In 1986, the Canadian government passed the Employment Equity Act which was meant to protect certain restricted vulnerable categories of persons. The Canadian Human Rights Act continues to be in force alongside the Employment Equity Act.

d) In Australia, there are 3 different commissions addressing the issues of human rights, namely: Human Rights Commission, Anti-Discrimination Commission and Equal Opportunities Commission”

I totally agreed with the 2014 National Conference on the need to establish the Religious Equity Commission that will have powers to arrest and prosecute those who contravene the law. If, as a nation, we do not kill religious persecution and extremism, then religious persecution and extremism will kill Nigeria. The potential danger associated with the level of conflicts going on across the country is so glaring that no sane mind can ignore.

Even before I set up the National Conference in 2014, my government took certain initiatives to end impunity and reorient the minds of Nigerians. First was education. I established twelve conventional Federal Universities and two specialized universities. Nine of the twelve Federal Universities were located in those states in Northern Nigeria that previously did not have any Federal University. The Specialized Police University was located in Kano state, also in the North, bringing the total number of universities I established in the North of Nigeria to ten. The Specialized Maritime University was located in the Niger Delta.

In addition to these, I also established 165 Almajiri elementary and high schools in each of the nineteen states of Northern Nigeria to combine Islamic education with Western education.

In the area of law enforcement, it was quite challenging, but we were determined. When the Boko Haram Islamic terrorists bombed St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, in Niger state of Nigeria on Christmas Day of 2011, I physically visited the scene of the bombing at which 44 people died on Saturday the 31st of December 2011 and I promised Nigerians that those responsible for that heinous act would be brought to book.

That promise was fulfilled on the 20th of December 2013 when Kabiru Umar, aka Kabiru Sokoto, was sentenced to life imprisonment after my administration investigated that crime, identified him as the mastermind, arrested him and diligently prosecuted him and some of his associates.

Might I add that this was the first and only successful prosecution of a crime of deadly terrorism against a religious place of worship inspired by religious extremism since Nigeria’s return to civil rule in 1999.

Before then, my administration had also diligently carried out the first successful prosecution of terrorists of the Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram, for another terror attack, but this time not in a place of worship but on the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission also in Madalla, Niger state, an act which led to the deaths of sixteen persons on April 8th, 2011.

We were in the process of prosecuting Aminu Ogwuche, the mastermind of the April 14, 2014 Nyanya bombing in Nasarawa state which killed 75 people but unfortunately that prosecution was ongoing as at the time I left office in 2015.

But the point I want to emphasize by citing these incidences is that my administration had the political will to halt impunity in Nigeria and that is why killings due to religious extremism was localized to the Northeast with occasional killings in other zones of the North.

And even in the Northeast, we had rolled back the Islamic terrorist sect, Boko Haram, by the end of the first quarter of 2015 after we were able to get weapons to arm our military.

The killings did not spread to the mainly Christian south and I believe that the fight back against impunity by my administration was the main reason for this.

Of course, there were other reasons for this. For instance, through my personal reach out to the then President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, I was able to persuade the Body of Christ in Nigeria not to engage in any retaliation or reprisal killings. My job was made easier in this regards when the Christian Association of Nigeria saw a genuine desire on my part to bring religious extremists to book.

Using the same approach with the head of the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, I was able to get the mainstream of the Islamic faith to publicly condemn Islamic extremism in Nigeria. This was important to show that a clampdown on Islamic extremism was and is not a clampdown on Islam.

Going a step further, I worked through a body known as the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) to bring Christian and Muslim leaders together so they could talk to each other not at each other.

To summarize on the issue of ethnic and religious conflicts, I recommend the establishment of the Religious Equity Commission, enforcement of our laws without fear or favor and maximum cooperation by all Nigerians especially our revered religious leaders and clerics.

The Niger Delta Question

The issue of the Niger Delta is an issue of exploitation of natural resources, economy and development. The complaints and restiveness is not unique to the Niger Delta of Nigeria alone. In most African nations where resources are domiciled in minority regions and the control of such resources are in the hands of majority regions, such agitations are commonplace.

The people in these regions feel that though they suffer from the environmental hazards of the exploitation of the God given resources, they do not commensurately benefit from the exploitation of these resources.

In the Niger Delta, these agitations predate Nigeria’s existence in 1914. Oil palm produce (palm oil and kernel) were major raw materials that fed the growth of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, and they largely came from the Niger Delta. Various tribal kings and chiefs such as King Jaja of Opobo and Nana Olomu, resisted British exploitation of these resources and were both arrested, deposed and exiled to the West Indies (King Jaja) and the Gold Coast (Nana) by the British Imperial Government as punishment for their agitations. Let me add that the punitive measures against these kings did not end the agitations.

With the discovery of petroleum, in the Niger Delta, similar agitations surfaced. On February 23, 1966, these agitations culminated in the declaration of the first secessionist state in post independent Nigeria, the Niger Delta Republic, proclaimed by Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro. His twelve day revolution was crushed by the Federal Government. It is instructive to note that Isaac Boro declared the Republic of the Niger Delta a full year and three months before May, 1967 when then Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu declared the secession of the Eastern Region to form the Republic of Biafra leading to the thirty month civil war.

From the end of the civil war to date the Federal Government has come up with many interventionist initiatives to pacify the Niger Delta. I was a pioneer staff and worked as an Assistant Director of Environmental Protection at one of these early interventionist agencies called the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), set up by the military administration of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. With the advent of democracy in 1999, then President Olusegun Obasanjo established the present body, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The greatest stumbling block of these interventionist agencies was lack of continuity, resulting from an over politicization of projects as each successive management awarded new contracts rather than continue with those awarded by their predecessors and as such, the Niger Delta is littered with many abandoned projects with very few completed projects to show for the huge monies spent.

During the Obasanjo era, the Federal Government, in line with our constitution and revenue laws, set aside 13% of oil revenues to be paid as derivation funds to oil producing states and shared on the basis of proportion of oil they produce. As a person from the Niger Delta, I can say that the 13% derivation has benefitted Niger Delta states and their people more than the interventionist agencies. For example, those who knew Akwa Ibom state before the 13% derivation become law will agree that the derivation fund has changed the face of that state making it almost overnight one of the most developed states in Nigeria. The same is true with other oil producing states though with varying degrees of development.

From the foregoing, the only option that will solve the agitation in the Niger Delta is true and Fiscal Federalism as practiced in the United States from whom we copied the Presidential model of government. States should be allowed to exploit their natural resources as they deem fit and pay adequate taxes to the Federal Government. This is also the position of the 2014 National Conference. The Conference strongly recommended the adoption of Fiscal Federalism as the only panacea to these agitations and other challenges.

The Role of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation
Resolving both the religious crises and the Niger Delta question requires a new legal framework, thus the Federal Government and the National Assembly have major roles to play. The Goodluck Jonathan Foundation working with Elder statesmen and Civil Society groups can, through dialogue and advocacy, encourage religious leaders, traditional rulers, youth groups and women groups to participate in the formulation of a new legal framework. They will also be impressed upon to abide by these laws when put in place.

Without a new legal framework, successes by any advocacy group will at best be transient, it will not endure. Also, the military crackdown in the Niger Delta will not end the agitation there. It will have the opposite effect of provoking the youths which will cause them to seek to acquire sophisticated weapons to defend themselves and their communities. This may in turn lead to secessionist movements and the reincarnation of the Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro led revolution and the Biafran Civil War. The Federal Government and the international community must work to avoid this.

Global Terror and Boko Haram in Nigeria

The Boko Haram Islamic terrorist sect has been classified as the most deadly terror group in the world by the Global Terrorism Index. Herdsmen operating in and around Nigeria are listed as the fourth most deadly terror group. However, I do not intend to discuss global terror because it is a subject well known to all and the U.S. government has been working hard with various governments to address these issues. My belief is that the day the U.S. government and the Russian government decide to work together, that will surely mark the beginning of the end of global terror.

Conclusion

In my capacity as head of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, I visited former Nigerian leaders to call for unity of purpose to fend off some of these challenges I have listed above.

And finally today I am here, calling on this august body and the new American administration of President Donald J Trump, of whom we are very confident, to please work with the government and people of Nigeria by way of capacity building and intelligence gathering and sharing and indeed in any way possible to bring an end to religious extremism in Nigeria.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my ideas on these sensitive subject with you.

If you don’t like Buhari, wait for 2019 election – Obasanjo tells Nigerians

Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that Nigerians should stop praying for President Muhammadu Buhari’s death.

He said they should rather wait for the next general elections in 2019 to vote him out if they don’t like him.

This was contained in a press release issued by his media aide on Friday in Abeokuta.

Obasanjo described those behind the rumoured death of Buhari as wicked, callous and treacherous.

He added that all the President needed “are our prayers and best wishes, which will ginger his morale to come back more stronger and better.”

Obasanjo also recalled that he has also been a victim of such rumours when he was president and stated that “no normal human being will wish an elderly person dead irrespective of their differences.

If you don’t like him, wait for another election, not going about to say he is dead. No matter his health situation, we should pray for him to recover quick and come back more stronger and better. For anyone wishing him dead, such person or group of persons are callous, wicked and treacherous.

“I was also rumored to have died almost 12 times. I don’t know what they derive from doing so, but, they should seek for forgiveness.

“Even if we know that the President is sick, he is in a better position to know what to say or what to do and not wishing him dead. We should just stop politicizing everything, especially with the elderly in the country.”

Buhari is currently on a 10-day vacation in the UK, where he is expected to undergo medical check-up. He is expected to return next week.

2face Idibia’s African Queen to wed ‘HUSH’ actor today

2face Idibia’s ‘African Queen’ video vixen, Yvonne Jegede will be getting married today, February 4 in Surulere, Lagos.

Tkomzy Blog exclusively gathered that the actress is ‘happy’ about exchanging vows with ‘Hush’ actor, Abounce in front of family and few friends.

Kunle Fawole proposed to his lover in August 2016, two months after his mother Bukky Ajayi – a veteran Nollywood actress – passed on.

‘She has always been there for me even when I didn’t expect her to. We have been friends for over ten years,’ the actor who’s more popular for his role as Ruffy Jackson on ‘Hush’ TV series told Tkomzy Blog

EFCC re-arraigns Atewe, Akpobolokemi over N8.5b alleged fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday re-arraigned Maj-Gen. Emmanuel Atewe and three others before a Federal High Court, Lagos over N8.5 billion alleged fraud.

Atewe is charged alongside the former director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi, and two other staff, Kime Engonzu and Josephine Otuaga.

The accused are standing trial on an amended 22-count charge bordering on the offence.

Their re-arraignment was sequel to the transfer of the former trial Judge, Justice Saliu Saidu, from Lagos to the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court.

The accused were, therefore, re-arraigned before a new Judge, Justice A.O. Faji, and their pleas taken afresh.

After their re-arraignment, defence counsel had prayed the court to allow the accused to continue on the earlier bail granted by the previous Judge.

Based on the applications of defence counsel, the Judge allowed them to continue on the earlier bail granted.

On the agreement of counsel, the court fixed February 13 and 17 for commencement of trial.

At the last adjourned date, the EFCC had examined a prosecution witness, Adamu Yusuf, who told the court how the accused converted about N4.9 billion into United States (US) dollars.

Yusuf had told the court that the accused used different companies and accounts to launder billions of naira from the account of the Joint Task Force Operation.

The witness further testified that during investigation, letters of request were sent to GT Bank, Heritage Bank, Diamond Bank, Stanbic IBTC bank and First City Monument Bank (FCMB), demanding for account statements of beneficiaries of that account.

In the charge, the anti-graft agency alleged that the accused conspired to defraud NIMASA of N8.5 billion, using six companies- Jagan Ltd; Jagan Trading Company Ltd; Jagan Global Services Ltd; Al-Nald Ltd; Paper Warehouse Ltd; Eastpoint Integrated Services Ltd and De-Newlink Integrated Services Ltd.

The EFCC claimed that the accused committed the alleged fraud between September 5, 2014 and May 20, 2015.

The offence is said to have contravened the provisions of Section 18 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012, as well as Section 390 of the Criminal Code Act Cap C. 38, Laws of the Federation, 2004.

Tu Face, Police Reach Agreement on #IStandWithNigeria Protest

The Lagos state police and Pop star Tu Face have reached a compromise concerning the upcoming #IStandWithNigeria protest, scheduled to hold on Monday.

Both sides met yesterday and according to Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni, the police were concerned about the safety of residents of Lagos , including the protesters and would not want anything untoward to happen to them.

“We had a meeting with the protesters and we explained to them why we advised against the protest. A pro-government group wants to protest that same day and we don’t want a situation where there would be friction.

“We also don’t want hooligans to hijack the process and injure the protesters.

“ After explaining to them, they said they will go back and discuss with others. They said if they decide to go ahead, they won’t demonstrate but would assemble at a point and read their demands.

“That notwithstanding, we have resolved to provide security for them. It is our responsibility and we won’t shy away from it. We will ensure trouble makers do not hijack the process.”