The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has just concluded the airlift of Nigeria pilgrims that performed this year’s hajj in Saudi Arabia. Information reaching Greenbarge Reporters showed that the last flight by maxAir, left Jeddah for Minna, Niger state capital at about 4.37pm today with 509 pilgrims. They are made up of 484 pilgrims and 25 officials, bringing the total of pilgrims and officials airlifted to Nigeria to 63,831. The airlift which began on September 28, was conducted by about four airlines: MaxAir, Medview, Flynas and Kabo.
With 63,831 pilgrims, out of over 66,000 that were airlifted to the Holy Land from Nigeria, over 2,000 are still to be accounted for, though more than about 1,000 Nigerians were confirmed to have died at the Ja,rat stampede. meanwhile, the management of the NAHCON, headed by Abdullahi Muktari, has expressed gratitude to all those who contributed to the successful completion of the airlift. [myad]
The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the judgment, today, of the election petitions tribunal , sacking the state governor, Chief Nyeson Wike as a “travesty of justice, rape on democracy, and a compromised ruling.” The party vowed that despite the judgment, Wike will remain the governor of the state. The state PDP chairman, Felix Obuah, said in a statement that no matter the degree of conspiracy by the All Progressives Congress, APC-led federal government, the falsehood and gang-up against Rivers people will amount to a nullity in the end. He called on the Rivers people not to panic over what he called “pre-empted judgment” which he said had been decided long before the written addresses by the parties. Obuah cited section 143, subsection 1 of the Electoral Act 2010 which guarantees an elected governor to stay in office so long as a notice of appeal is given against the judgment within 21 days, from the date of the judgment notwithstanding the decision of the election tribunal. The state PDP chairman said the tribunal judgment will never stand, saying that PDP will get to any legal height possible to fight the “injustice.” “There is no other reason why the tribunal hurriedly delivered the contraption it called judgment in less than 24 hours after adopting the written addresses on a matter that lasted over four months, than to pre-empt the judgment of the Supreme Court against the tribunal by the PDP which comes up next week Tuesday. “The good thing is that by the hurried judgment, the tribunal chairman has exposed his partiality and shot himself in the leg by defying all legal procedures and going ahead to deliver judgment on the APC petition when there is an impending matter hinging on the appeal at the Supreme Court just as he refused to vacate his seat as chairman of the election petitions tribunal for the State Governorship Election Petitions despite PDP’s resentment on questions of integrity and impartiality. “Notwithstanding all this, in the end we shall have the last laugh. “Men have today Saturday, October 24, 2015 after being compromised serve their immoral judgment, God would soon give justice in the governorship election in Rivers State.” [myad]
Nigeria’s former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Steve Oronsaye has been roped into the controversial N2.8 Billio loot from the pension funds.. This was even as two top managers of Fidelity Bank Plc have been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (INEC) in connection to the loot, even as the principal accuse, Abdulrasheed Maina has disappeared into thin air. The bank managers; the Group Head of Private Banking, Danjuma Zubairu, and an account officer, Abubakar Gwambe were picked up for allegedly assisting the former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, to launder stolen pension funds. Maina, who was alleged to have committed the offence along with Steve Orobsaye, has been declared wanted by the EFCC as he disappeared after the EFCC had filed charges against him for stealing billions of pension funds through a phoney biometric exercise. Zubairu and Gwambe, who work in the Abuja Central Business District Business Unit of Fidelity Bank, were arrested yesterday by the EFCC operatives following fresh evidence that they are managing proxy accounts for Maina. The accounts is said to have over time, witnessed massive in-flow of slush funds, include two corporate and three individual accounts. The first individual account, opened in the name of Abdullahi Faizer, had a turnover of N1.5 billion, while the other operated in the name of Nafisatu Aliyu, recorded a turnover of over N100 million. [myad]
All Progressives Congress (APC), has said that today’s judgement of the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that overturned the election of Governor Nyesom Wike of the PDP is a reminder to Nyeson Wike that electoral hooliganism is over in Nigeria. In a statement in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, stressed that the judgment is a “deadly body blow to impunity and hooliganism.” It stressed that what the judgement showed clearly that the era of impunity and is that the only way for elections to have legitimacy is for them to be free, fair and credible. ”What has come across from this judgement is that there is no shortcut to free, fair and credible elections. This is part of the wind of change that is blowing across the land and touching all arms of government under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. ”Elections are about the expression of the will of the people, and they must always be free to express themselves, irrespective of what some desperate politicians may feel.” APC said that politicians, especially those seeking or occupying elective offices, must realize that they can only derive their legitimacy from the people, and that unless they respect the wishes of the people, they will not go far. The party hailed its governorship candidate in Rivers state, Dakuku Peterside, for his doggedness and strong conviction in the pursuit of his petition against the election of Wike. It urged all APC members and supporters in the state to remain peaceful, even in the face of provocation by those who are now realizing, to their chagrin, that there is always a limit to everything, including impunity and hooliganism. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has suggested a reversion to the old system to residents of Borno, Adamawa and other states being reoubled by Boko Haram, to report any new person arriving in their villages to the traditional rulers ans security agents. The President spoke through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Engineer Babachir David Lawal, who ked a powerful Presidential delegation to Yola to condole with the victims of a series of bomb attacks. A statement by senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity, Garba Shehu said that the President directed all communities in the country to revert to old practices by which new arrivals in their neighborhoods were taken note of by local chiefs and security agencies. Going down the memory lane, the President recalled that these were practices that worked well in the past in securing neighborhoods and local communities. “The ward head, the village head and the local police knew every new entrant into the community. They kept tabs on them and detected traits of criminality before evil-doers got the chance to act against common interest. “We must go back to those rudimentary acts of local policing.” The President reiterated that the job of securing lives and property is too important to be left to security officials alone. “We must help them to do their job. The responsibility of detecting criminals lies with all of us. In this new phase of the war, all of us are generals, all of us are foot soldiers, all of us are intelligence officers.” In commiserating with families who lost dear ones and the in-patients in the hospitals visited by the delegation on his behalf, President Buhari assured of the full support of the government and the determination of his administration to end the menace of the Boko Haram terrorists by the year’s end. In his message at the hospitals, in the, Emirs’ palaces and Government Houses in the two states the SGF delivered the President’s message, saying: “the security situation in the North East remains a great source of concern for me. Although there are clear indications that the military is recording great successes in the theatre of operations, the enemoes have been able to carry out their murderous campaign by attacking soft targets using Improvised Explosive Devices. Their intention is to create widespread fear amongst the civilian population since they cannot subdue our armed forces. “The sporadic tactics used by these criminals is a sign that they are under intense pressure in the forests and in the countryside where they previously enjoyed a lot of freedom of action. “The sheer tenacity displayed by our troops in the last three months has resulted in degrading the capacity of the enemy significantly. I am confident that the ability of the enemoes to attack and seize towns and villages has been virtually neutralized. “Having said that, our people cannot continue to be the victims of a senseless war, living in perpetual fear and denied the right to pursue their legitimate undertakings in peace. As a leader, I want to assure our citizens in every part of Nigeria that the government is doing everything humanly possible to bring to a swift end, the suffering and losses occasioned by this insurgency. I deeply sympathize with the families who have lost loved ones. “As I said a few times in the past, desperate actions such as the detonation of IEDs will take a longer time to eradicate even as our optimism continues to grow that Boko Haram as a fighting force will be crushed by the year’s end. After that, we hope all displaced communities will be returned to their towns and villages. But even when this is about to happen, there will still remain vital tests and challenges. We must work hard to eradicate all forms of extremism. Citizens must join hands with security forces in the effort to detect unrepentant terrorists embedded in our neighbourhoods. We must all be watchful over any suspicious activity and report same to law enforcement agents for their prompt action.” Members of the government delegation that accompanied the SGF included the Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Mala Mai Buni, a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Mohammed Tahir Munguno, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, a Permanent Secretary in the office of the SGF Bukar Maina a leading figure in the APC Alhaji Modi Aliyu Mahmood. Governors of Adamawa and Borno, Senator Jibrilla Bindow and Bukar Shettima as well as their leading Chiefs who received the delegations in their abodes thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for sending the delegation as well as his dogged efforts to end Boko Haram terrorism and securing the country. In his remarks, Governor Shettima commended the President for his interest, saying: “before he assumed the leadership of the country, the state was In a very, very sorry state. “The Boko Haram terrorists had 20 councils under them. Now, all but three have been liberated. Of the over three million citizens in IDP camps, 85% of them are in Borno State. We were left to cater for the IDPs. Now we have NEMA taking care of the camps. “We thank the President for the delegation. We are not used to this. We were left to our own fate for four years under the previous administration. We are absolutely settled that the President is behind us. “We are absolutely settled in the belief he will help us rebuild our communities. By May 29th next year, every son and daughter of Borno will be back in their villages. We will continue to ensure community involvement in securing the environment.” [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has put to lie the news making the rounds that he has endorsed the candidature of All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Abubakar Audu for the November governorship election in the state. This is even as the President has given order to Prince Audu and his campaign team to remove his (Buhari’s) pictures from his (Prince Audu’s) campaign materials. “He has directed the Director General, Prince Audu Abubakar Campaign Organization to comply with this directive effective immediately.” A statement fby special adviser to President Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina said that the President has not endorsed the candidature of both the APC Bayelsa and Kogi governorships. “He is yet to do the official endorsement pending when all the conditions of His Excellency are met.” Only recently at an APC stakeholders meeting, the president backed out of the National campaign committee of Prince Abubakar Audu based on the integrity of the candidate and his unconvinced answer to the allegation of unaccounted 11 billion naira by the EFCC.” Adesina added: “The attention of the president has been drawn to the pictures and news flying around that President Muhammadu Buhari has adopted the candidature of Prince Audu Abubakar. “Let it be known that the President has not endorsed the candidature of both the APC Bayelsa and Kogi candidates; he is yet to do the official endorsement pending when all the conditions of His Excellency are met.” It would be recalled that Vice President Yemi Osibanjo was said to head the National Campaign Committee for the coming Kogi governorship election for APC but he opted out at the last minute of the inauguration of the committee in Abuja. This is even as the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, has appointed Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State as the chairman of the campaign committee to replace the Vice President. It was learnt that Prince Audu is not sure that his party members who contested the party primaries with him will not be spoilers as most losers do during elections in the country. It was learnt that before the primaries, no fewer than 10 of the aspirants accused Prince Audu of cloning permanent voters’ cards to hand over to his loyalists for proxy vote. While it is possible that members of the group were overwhelmed by the former governor’s charisma, it does not rule out enemy action from some of them just as others may have since accepted the result of the primaries in good faith. [myad]
A man in Meaux, North of Paris, France has reportedly made over $400,000 from allowing men to sleep with his wife for ten years. The couple were said to have been married for ten years.
According to a French online portal, the 46-year-old woman whose identity was hidden for legal reason, was providing sexual services in their family house, while her husband, 53, and their child, 5, were sitting in the car outside.
Emmanuel Dupic, the woman’s prosecutor said: “the husband exercised a psychological power over his wife, preventing her from stopping to submit herself to the sexual needs of customers who were sometimes very tough.”
The man was searching for clients at various websites and arranging meetings by text messages.
He was said to have been making an average of $8,000 per month even as he now faces a decade behind bars for pimping. [myad]
Emina Crescent, off Toyin Street, Ikeja has been identified as being notorious hide out where no fewer than 13 teenage Chinese prostitutes are being allegedly camped by Chinese couple for hire-out to top Nigerian politicians, business executives and expatriates for sex at the cost of between $1,000 (about N200,000) and $2,500 (about N500,000).
Information reaching Greenbarge Reporters showed that more than 40 teenage girls were brought into the country and camped in the said apartment and that the cartel is being run by Chinese couple named Sun and Yin Li.
It was gathered that the couple have been operating the cartel for a while even as a source in the know said the business was booming and the couple were in the process of importing more girls before they were raided by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service, working on tip-off.
During the raid, the officers were able to pick up 13 Chinese girls from the apartment while the Chinese couple and some other girls managed to escape from the apartment and are now in hiding.
Spokesman of the Immigration Service, Joachim Olumba has confirmed the arrest of the Chinese teenage prostitutes and that they are now in the custody.
He said that his men are on the trail of the kingpin of the sex ring and that after investigations, they will either deport the girls or hand them over to their embassy here in Nigeria for appropriate action. [myad]
Two pastors, Chief Marshal Nwankwo and Emeka Okoye in Dikeukwu community of Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State have been nabbed for conspiring to allegedly bury alive a 67-year old hunchback, Mr. Ukata Iheme, on their church site to grow their church membership.
Both Nwankwo and Okoye were reportedly running a joint ministry before they allegedly committed the evil act.
The incident was said to have sparked off pandemonium in the host village as enraged youths went on rampage, torching the buildings of the suspects.
Although details of what actually transpired between the alleged pastors and the hunchback before he was allegedly buried alive were sketchy, a village source, however, said that the hunchback, late Iheme, must have suffered an unimaginable agonising pain before he gave up the ghost.
The source explained that at the time the corpse of Iheme was excavated from the church site, his private organ and his hunchback were missing, suggesting that his assailants probably made him to undergo a ‘hot’ death.
The police have arrested one of the suspected pastors who is presently ‘singing,’ even as the late Iheme’s corpse has been recovered and presently kept at the morgue.
Corroborated account had it that the victim, Mr. Ukata Iheme, a father of seven said to be in his late 60s, suddenly went missing on Saturday, October 10.
Following his disappearance, youths of the village organised themselves into several search parties but were unsuccessful to trace his whereabouts.
His disappearance was then reported to the police while announcement was later placed on local radio stations, the source added.
The source said that the youths later got information on Monday that the victim was last sighted in the company of one of the suspects, Chief Marshall Nwankwo who claimed to be a pastor .
Following the information, the youths immediately stormed the residence of the pastor who denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of the missing hunchback.
Not satisfied with his incoherent answers to questions put to him by the curious youths, the key suspect was later handed over to the police for further interrogations.
The youth leader in the community, Mr. Chukwudi Egwu, said that the suspect when confronted had told the youths that he went to Benin on the day the victim went missing contrary to his wife’s earlier account that he went to Lagos.
“We got information that the suspect was seen on that day at Dubai market, Onuimo, drinking wine with the pastor. Some people also said they later came to a beer parlour at Dikenta village drinking together. But the pastor denied that he set eyes on him that day.”
The youth leader said that suspecting a cover up, they decided to visit another pastor friend of the suspect, Emeka Okoye to see if they could get any clue on the whereabouts of the victim.
On sighting the youths, Okoye allegedly took to his heels.
Okoye, according to an account, was not an indigenes but migrated to the community from Delta State, and had since , been parading himself as a pastor even though his behaviour especially his marital relationship allegedly cast much doubts to his pastoral claims.
Aftermath of the encounter the youths had with Okoye, they decided to privately probe the incident further.
The youth leader said: “It was at this point that some of us decided to go and comb the site where both pastors are building a church.
When we got there, we saw a pair of shoe which the son of the victim confirmed belonged to the father.
“This boosted our morale and we continued combing the area. We also saw his shorts in a nearby cassava plantation. It was at that point that we combed the entire place and saw amount of red soil which we strongly believed must be a grave.
“We, therefore, decided to contact the police who came and we opened the shallow grave and found his decomposing body inside”, he said.
According to the youth leader, the private parts of the victim as well as his hunchback were all removed by the suspects.
He recalled that the suspects who had been operating a joint church ministry in the community had before now boasted that their ministry would grow beyond the church of a popular Lagos Pastor, T.B Joshua.
Ostensibly peeved by the suspected dastardly act of the ‘evil pastors,’ the irate youths went on rampage, burning down two private buildings belonging to the suspects.
They also demolished an abandoned structure bordering the shallow grave where the suspects were said to be using as the new site for their ministry.
In the violence, the burnt structures – a duplex belonging to Nwankwo, and a bungalow owned by Okoye were touched and smoldering with smoke. Some dead poultry birds and pigeons were also sighted at Okoye’s house.
Youths armed with clubs and machetes were also observed around the burnt structures and the said church site destroying what remained of the property of the suspects.
Another source said there were other suspected graves at the site where the suspects intended building their new church structure.
Meanwhile the Police Public Relations Officer in Abia sate, Mr. Udeviotu Onyeke, has confirmed the incident and said the key suspect has been detained.
Onyeke said that the suspect was picked up on the theory that he was alleged to have been sighted last with the victim before his disappearance.
He said that the suspect during interrogations made useful statements that led to the discovery of the grave where the decomposing corpse of the victim was exhumed on Tuesday evening.
Onyeke said the body had been deposited at the mortuary for preservation and autopsy while a manhunt had been declared for the fleeing suspect.
He appealed for calm while thorough investigations into the dastardly act were going on. [myad]
Two polytechnic lecturers and four students of the Adamawa State polytechnic have been identified as among 33 people that were killed by Boko Haram suicide bombers yesterday in Yola, the Adamwa state capital.
According to the officials of the Red Cross, Aliyu Maikano and that of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Sa’ad Bello, the injured ones have been evacuated to various hospitals in the state.
This was even as the Presidential Committee led by the Secretary to the Government of the federation, Babachir David, had visited the victims of the bomb blast at the Specialist Hospital and Federal Medical Center in Yola.
Babachir David who commiserated with the people and government of the state, assured that the government of Muhammadu Buhari is doing everything possible in conjunction with the military to fight insurgency, adding: “we are positive that this madness will end soon.”
He advised the people of the state to always be vigilant as he said, these bad elements are living with them. [myad]
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The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has just concluded the airlift of Nigeria pilgrims that performed this year’s hajj in Saudi Arabia.
