Gist Arena

 Scene of a Boko Haram attack in Nigeria Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, has come under attack from insurgents believed to be members of the extremist Boko Haram sect, residents have told PREMIUM TIMES. Two thunderous explosions, suspected to be from detonated bombs, were heard in the city at about 6:15 p.m. The blast occurred at an area called Ngomari area of the capital. Yahaya Adamu, a mechanic living in the area, told Source on telephone that “There is heavy dust and smoke everywhere now, and I am running home now to see if my family are safe”. It cannot be ascertained immediately if the blast was targeted at civilians. No one could also say if there are casualties yet. The spokesperson of the state police command, Gideon Jubril, could not be reached to comment for this story. His telephone was switched off when our reporter called.

The Nobel laureate said he rejected Nigeria’s centenary award bestowed on him because of the inclusion on the honours list of the late Nigerian tyrant, General Sani Abacha and other known killers and looters of Nigeria’s treasury. In a rejection note headlined ” The Canonisation of Terror ”, Soyinka observed that the inclusion of Abacha on the list does not only show a failure of a moral rigour but it calls into question ” the entire ethical landscape into which this nation has been forced by insensate leadership ”. He reminded those who have forgotten so soon that General Sani Abacha was a vicious usurper under whose authority the lives of an elected president and his wife M.K.O and Kudirat Abiola were snuffed out. It was under Abacha, he said, that assassinations became routine, that torture and other forms of barbarism were enthroned as the norm of governance.

Nollywood actor, Jide Kosoko was lucky to escape death on Wednesday, February 26th, 2014, while driving around the Ikeja Shopping Mall, his car lost control due to brake failure and it was a miraculous survival for the former president of the Association of Nigerian Theatre Practitioners (ANTP)  He was helped medically by the Emergency unit of 7-Up with the kind support of LASTMA officials. He did not suffer any major injury neither was there a casualty but the car was badly damaged, just few weeks ago the actor celebrated his 60th birthday anniversary.  A statement has been released which reads "This is to say a big thank you to all concerned about Prince Jide Kosoko and to confirm that he is in sound health after God saved him from an auto crash at Alausa, Ikeja, yesterday…he is in sound health, having sustained no injury from the mishap. 

The Vatican is about to unveil a Facebook page for Pope Francis, as part of its strategy to expand the Catholic Church’s presence on social media, according to reports yesterday. The pope already has nine different-language profiles on Twitter, attracting more than 12 million followers. His predecessor, Benedict XVI, opened the accounts in December 2012. “Francis will soon have his very own profile on the world’s favourite social network.” “ The Vatican is just working on some final technical aspects before the Pope’s Facebook page is made visible to the public,” specialised website Vatican Insider said. The Vatican was not immediately available for comment. The report added that IT experts are working to prevent offensive or inappropriate messages appearing on the pope’s Facebook page before it is opened to the public. In January, Francis said that the internet can help spread God’s message, noting that it offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity Source

There have been rumours that the deal between D'banj and Kanye West was over after he recently removed G.O.O.D Music from his Twitter bio which raised eyebrows but his D’Banj's Manager has come out to clear the air on the deal. Some people even claimed that the partnership got bitter since what D’banj could gain from it was Kanye’s appearance on the Oliver Twist video, a verse in the Scapegoat remix and a not more than three seconds appearance in the Mercy video. In a chat with Saturday Beats, D’banj’s manager, Tony Nwakolor, claimed the news was false. He said.: “It is a lie that D’banj has left G.O.O.D music. He changed his bio on his twitter account and people started forming all sorts of story. He is still with Kanye West,” Source: Yaw's Blog

Nigeria has been classified as a corrupt country with a poor governance record, while discrimination against women, the less privileged, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people is common place. This is coming on the heels of the disclosure by the Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mr. Emeka Ezeh that N95.79 billion was saved through the implementation of due diligence in public contracting and procurement in the fourth quarter of last year. United States Secretary of State, John Kerry made the corruption allegations on Thursday in his well- advertised “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices” which he presented at the Press Briefing Room of the State Department in Washington.

If you’ve run out of church-appropriate outfits or just feel like clothes are hindering you entirely, good news – you can ditch the threads full stop at the  White Tail Chapel . For this is where worshippers are invited to bare their souls, and the rest, just as God made them. Services are presided over by Pastor Allen Parker who has decided clothing requirements at other churches are “pretentious.”.  see photo after the cut

Barrister Ayodele Owoka The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested a legal practitioner, Barrister Ayodele Owoka, 47, over allegations of bribery. He was arrested on Thursday, February 27, 2014 at the Commission’s office in Ikoyi, Lagos as he attempted to bribe a team of operatives investigating a case of contract inflation, abuse of office, stealing, embezzlement and misappropriation of funds at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State. Upon his arrest, the suspect confessed that he offered the operatives N1.2 Million which was allegedly given to him by the Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. O. A. Omotosho, to bribe the team to soft pedal on their investigations. Ayodele confessed that Omotosho gave him a total sum of N1.5 Million but that he kept N300, 000 for his personal use and offered the operatives the balance of N1.2Million as bribe. The EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest and indicated that the suspect would soo...

For the first time in recent times, all living former heads of government of Nigeria on Friday gathered under the same roof to join President Goodluck Jonathan in celebrating the 100 years of the nation’s amalgamation. The venue was the Presidential Villa, Abuja where the centenary anniversary presentation and award night/dinner was held. 100 persons, both living and dead, believed to have contributed meaningfully to national development, were honoured at the colourful event. The well-attended programme was witnessed by Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd.), former President Sheu Shagari,  Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), Chief Ernest Shonekan, Gen. Abdusalam Abubakar and former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Buhari, Babangida, Abdusalami and Obasanjo were on Thursday absent at the international conference tagged “Human Security, Peace and defelopment Agenda for 21st Century Africa” held in Abuja as part of activities marking the centenary anniversary.

There are strong indications that Nigeria and Cameroon may clash over Boko Haram as the Federal Government accuses Cameroon of harbouring members of the militant Islamic sect. Saturday PUNCH learnt on Thursday that the Federal Government was becoming increasingly frustrated by the refusal of Cameroon to cooperate with Nigeria in its efforts to combat the militant Islamic sect. A top source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who confided in one of our correspondents in Abuja, said that President Goodluck Jonathan would report Cameroon to relevant agencies in the United Nations. Part of government’s strategy is to adopt the policy of hot pursuit, whereby Nigeria’s military will chase the insurgents into their hideouts and flush them out while those in the diplomatic circles will continue with diplomacy.

A letter written by founder and deposed Group Managing Director of defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, Dr. Erastus Akingbola, to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan details how suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Senator Bukola Saraki and Mahmoud Lai Alabi fraudulently took over the bank. In the document, Akingbola reveals private conversations he had with Aliko Dangote, Senator Saraki and Mallam Sanusi before he was taken out of the bank. The 7-page letter dated February 9th 2014 was published by  The Will : Se it after the cut