Gist Arena

There was pandemonium on Saturday in Yenagoa along the Yenezue-Egene area of the state capital when a man, believed to be of Hausa ethnicity, was seen with two bags that evoked suspicion from members of the public. The middle aged man was accosted by some passers-bye who demanded to know what he was carrying. The man reportedly abandoned the bags and fled, raising suspicion in the minds of people that the bags might be laden with explosives. A witness, Tari Bokumo, said that instead of surrendering the bags to the security operatives, the man abandoned them and ran away. "His action led to panic along the road, as people fled the area and there was confusion. "But shortly after that men of the anti-bomb squad of the Nigeria Police arrived the scene", he said. The Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Hilary Okpara, who spoke to journalists late Saturday, asked residents to be calm as there was no bomb. "When I heard of the rumour, I dispatched operatives of t...

A travel agent narrates how her client was disrespected, illegally held in a cell and deported from South Africa after arriving the country yesterday April 18th...because according to SA immigration, the man hadn't paid for his hotel reservation. And we've all heard the stories of how Nigerians and their businesses are attacked in the country. What is going on? Read what she wrote below... "One of my biggest clients, Michael Olusegun Osatuyi decided to spend a weekend break during the Easter period in South Africa to get away from the stress of his job for a while. "He purchased a South African Airways Business Class ticket worth over N500,000 for this purpose and proceeded to set out on Thursday, April 17th 2014. As with all trips abroad he had previously made, he made a hotel reservation via booking.com. When he arrived the Lagos airport, he was informed he could not board the flight unless the reservation had been paid for. This was promptly done on the hotel web...

Found this report on Saturday Sun about how a gang use dating website Badoo to lure men to lonely places where they rob and sometimes kill them. Find the full report below... Members of a five-man gang of kidnappers, including a lady, have given a gory detail of how they lure men through a popular online dating website known as Badoo to a lonely spot where they attack and rob them of their valuables while the unfortunate ones will be strangled. The suspects, Micheal Eneji, his brother, Emmanuel Eneji, Chukwu Chibueze, Gift Princess, and Lekia Emmaden Isaac, were apprehended by the Rivers State police command  days after the family of one of their latest victims, Shola Olaseinde reported the victim missing. Continue... He was later found in a decomposing state in a bush, close to a deserted pipeline area at Eleme, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Few metres away, was also the decomposed body of another victim, who was later identified as Mr. Progress Benin Disi, a staffer of Shell Oi...

Bad news hit Psquare fans yesterday as the manager of the singing sensation, Jude Okoye tweeted a ‘farewell’ message to his 71 thousand Twitter followers. Well, it just got worse. New reports reaching us says there is more, and yes, Jude Okoye was referring to the demise of the duo, Psquare. Peter Okoye and wife Lola Omotayo Peter and Paul Okoye have been in the Nigerian music industry for over 10 years and rose to be Africa’s number one singing group. The brothers are now headed for a split caused by professional and family problems. According to reports, Peter is of the opinion that Jude and Paul liaise between themselves leaving him out of the loop. Peter has moved out of the Omole Estate home all the brothers have been living for years, and is now living in Lekki Phase 1 with his wife Lola Omotoya and their kids. Reports also has it that Peter has involved a lawyer to share their property. Paul Okoye and wife Anita Isama A lot has been going on in recent times. ...

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Onikan Station, Mr. Adekunle Awe for alleged rape and threat to life. Punch correspondent learnt that two other policemen of the rank of inspector were also arrested as part of ongoing investigations. A 31-year-old cook, Idowu Akinwunmi, had accused Awe of raping her in his office on April 15, 2014, Gist Arena

In a clip published by Sahara reporters, A drunken police officer with the Mobile Police, or Mopol, Unit #20, in Lagos, who was later identified as Tafa Mohammed, was caught breaking the law. A citizen video photographer captured officer Mohammed brutalizing two women with a hidden camera, filming this disturbing footage at a safe distance. This illegal action by the officer erupted when a street food vendor would not issue him fish to finish up his beer. The food vendor was said to have declined to sell fish alone, except to those buying food with it, a vendor policy that angered the policeman. Mohammed, a mobile policeman, was reeking of alcohol, say eyewitnesses to this event. Mohammed took on a female customer who was buying food from the same vendor at the time he got there, and threw her into a nasty pond of putrid muddy water. This assault on the two women took place at Lewis Street, Lafiaji, Obalende on the Lagos Island. Mohammed is seen drawing a rifle and pointing i...

Obiano, Umeh about to join PPA, as Obiano's political adviser Onyeka Mbaso was seen in Igbere the home of ex gov Orji Kalu yesterday holding a secret talk to perfect their decamping. Barely 48hours that Chief Maxi Okwu formally took over the APGA National secretariat after chief Umeh's stay of execution was struck out by the Federal High Court Abuja which compounded Umeh's woes in his battle to retain his position as the chairman of APGA, the duo of Umeh and Obiano are set to join PPA. Chief Umeh's lost of grip on APGA started when a federal high court Abuja on January 15, 2014 removed him and reinstated chief Okwu as APGA National Chairman. Umeh who immediately appealed the judgement got another shocker when the Presidency in a letter through the SGF office informed Chief Okwu to submit the names of APGA delegates to the CONFAB. While Umeh wrote petitions in an attempt to stop the nominees of chief Okwu from representing APGA in the Confab which prompted the FG to susp...

A member of the Board of Trustees of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and proprietor of Rogenny Tourist Village Oba in Anambra State, Chief Rommy  Onwuka has said that the Abuja bomb blast on Monday, was an indication that Boko Haram insurgents could strike anywhere. Chief Onwuka said in Nnewi, that the incident had gone a long way to show that every Nigerian should be security conscious. He said that it was a warning that members of the Islamist sect must have infiltrated the six geo-political zones. "It is a wake-up call to all security agencies. Nigeria is a country where many people are not security conscious. The Abuja bomb blast should be seen as an eye opener. People of the East, West and South should now know that Boko Haram is not limited to Borno State. They can be experienced in any part of Nigeria", Chief Onwuka warned. He blamed the police for not exhibiting enough intelligence in discharging their duties and a...

The extremist Boko Haram sect has claimed responsibility for Monday's deadly car bomb at Nyanya bus station near Abuja, which killed at least 75 people and injured 124 more. "We are the ones that carried out the attack in Abuja," Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau, was quoted as saying in a new video obtained by the AFP news agency. PREMIUM TIMES has not independently verified the report, but the French news agency has published several videos from the extremist group in the past. The agency said the video was delivered in a manner consistent with previous videos from the Boko Haram sect. In the 28-minute clip, Mr. Shekau is dressed in military uniform and sits with a Kalashnikov resting on his left shoulder, the AFP reported. He spoke in both Arabic and Hausa. "We are in your city but you don't know where we are," the terrorist leader quipped at President Goodluck Jonathan. The Nyanya car bomb targeted ordinary working class people leaving early ...

Retired General Oladipo Diya was accused of planning a coup by the late head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha. In this interview with Punch's Adeola Balogun and Tunde Ajaja, he talks about how he escaped death and opens up on the arrest of late Chief MKO Abiola, his death and other sundry issues. Very interesting: When you became the de-facto second in command to General Sani Abacha, how did you feel? I felt completely fulfilled and satisfied that I reached the peak of my profession which was when I became the Chief of Defence Staff. That was the highest anybody could reach in the Armed Forces, be it Army, Air force or Navy. The post of the Chief of General Staff was a political office. So naturally, I was happy and suffice to say that it formed part of my achievements in life. So, because of ambition to be number one, you decided to plan a coup? If you say I planned a coup, I will order your arrest. Everybody, including the news media, knew and they all described it as a phantom ...

A self acclaimed actor, Onyeke Micheal has been arrested by the detectives in Ondo state Police Command for an attempt to kidnap  two children of the same parents  in Ore area of the state. He was paraded alongside 12 other  armed robbery suspects said to be tormenting the people of the state in recent times. The state Commissioner of Police, Isaac Eke said the middle age actor attempted to kidnap one Yusuf Eniola, aged three years and Aisat Eniola, aged two on the 13th of this month. Eke pointed out that the accused was found with the two children around Eco Bank, Ondo road, Ore and he could not explain satisfactorily how he came about the victims. He said the timely intervention of the Police saved the suspect from being lynched by the mob. But the suspect in an interview said that he was only trying to help the children to cross the road when he was apprehended. The state Commissioner of Police explained that  eight of the armed robbers arrested were living togeth...

Celebrated Nigerian-British actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor was in the country last weekend for the premiere of the blockbuster movie, adaptation of Chimamanda Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun. Showtime Celebrity cornered the '12 Years a Slave' star, who played the lead character in the film as he talks about his involvement in the film, his Oscar nomination as well as his blossoming career. How do you feel playing the lead role in the film adaptation of Chimamanda's "Half of a Yellow Sun," especially when you have not visited home for such a long time? I haven't been out of the country for too long. We shot the film in Calabar  about a year and six months ago. I feel really excited about starring in the film. It is one film that I am deeply passionate about. I've known Biyi Bandele for about twenty years now. We talked often since I featured  in a short film he made some years ago. We talked about wanting to make a film in Nigeria,  trying to comb...

It is no longer news that we the citizens of this country is not safe again, now we don't know if to trust the department who is to safeguard and protect us. The car containing the bombs that exploded at Nyanya Motor Park in Abuja, last Monday, was driven to the park by two men in military uniform. The Head of Operations of Isiyaka Nagode Enterprises, Salisu Mukhtar, disclosed this in an interview in Abuja on Thursday. In the words of Mukhtar: "Somebody that slept there told us he was there when two men in Army uniforms entered and parked a car there. Two of them came in two cars. They parked the car and left in the other car around 2am. The person that saw them could not challenge them because they were in military uniform. They left in the second car. "When he woke up around 5am, he still found the car there. Because he was disturbed, he sent one of his boys to our office but we had not come by then. The bomb exploded when the boy he sent was ret...