Gist Arena

This was how I knew Jos from childhood – the ecumenical heart of Nigerian humanity.  It was this distinct, all-embracing character that family and friends rhapsodized about the city and her laid-back disposition, as they returned home for periodic family reunions, trading sorties, and seasonal festivals. There were no strangers in Jos: that was the summative, unstated ethos. It was in this condition that I reconnected with Jos at the end of my studies abroad half a century ago – traders, teachers and students, tailors, carpenters, petty contractors, long distance drivers, railway workers, photographers and of course, expatriates. This was the city of open arms that I crisscrossed as I toured the nation (and West Africa) in pursuit of indigenous theater traditions. Only Kaduna came a close second. Jos was the pre-eminent choice for extended school excursions and casual retreats, its lush hills, its temperate weather, shimmering plateau, but above all, its benign, neighborhood hu...

Three persons, including a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, and a corporal, Abu Haruna, Solomon, respectively have been arrested for illegal trafficking of arms and ammunition. The third suspect, Onuwa Attaka, is the driver of the arms laden vehicle. DailyPost gathered that their confession showed alleged involvement in supplying of arms to insurgents in the Northern Nigeria. The three suspects, who were heading to the North from Imo State, were intercepted in Nsukka by officers and men of the Nigerian Army while traveling in a bus. Items recovered from them include- 40 AK47 magazines, 4 boxes of AK47 live ammunition, 100 pieces of live cartridges, one piece of Denin Mopol khaki and charms concealed in a cap. One of the army officers who spoke to DailyPost under anonymity disclosed that a police corporal serving in Imo State Police Command was also involved in the arms running. He said, “When we asked the occupants of the vehicle to come down, we discovered a...

Two men – children of the unidentified elderly woman who was almost lynched by a mob in the Ajegunle area of Lagos after being accused of witchcraft(Read HERE ) – have identified the victim as their mother. They said the octogenarian was not a witch, but a victim of the nature and had been missing from home. PUNCH Metro had reported on Wednesday that the elderly woman was attacked by a mob which accused her of being a black bird that transformed into a human being. It was alleged that while being beaten, the woman confessed that she was a witch and had flown to Ibadan, Oyo State for a meeting but got tired on returning from Lagos and fell from the sky. The woman was subsequently rescued by the police and taken to the Area B Command. However, sources at the command told PUNCH Metro that two sons of the victim came to the command on Thursday after seeing their mother’s picture in the newspapers. The source said the two men explained that their mother had wandered off some d...

For how long will this killings continue, it is now a routine that souls will be lost on a daily bases. Even with the presence of the military, this ruthless guys are still having an upper hand in terror. *smh Over 34 persons were killed in three separate Boko Haram attacks in Borno State villages on Thursday, sources have told SaharaReporters. The militants extended their rampage in the state to Kerenuwa in Marte, Kimba in Biu and Kukumba in Chibok. There is as yet no comment from Nigeria's military, which is known to have deployed widely in those areas.

Well he will say this because his country is not going through what we are going through here in Nigeria. Let him pray so that no form of terrorism will spring up in his country. While speaking at a campaign rally yesterday, Uganda’s President, Yoweri Museveni mocked President Jonathan for accepting foreign assistance to help fight Boko Haram. The former guerrila fighter said he'd rather commit suicide than ask the international community to protect his people against terrorists “I have never called the United Nations to guard us. Me, Yoweri Museveni to say that I have failed to protect my people and I call on the UN: I would rather hang myself. We prioritized national security by developing a strong Army, otherwise our Uganda would be like DRC, South Sudan, Somalia or Nigeria where militias have disappeared with school children. “It would be a vote of no confidence in our country and citizens if we cannot guarantee our security. What kind of persons would we be?” He ...

Captain Kenneth Onubah and his colleagues were killed by Boko Haram militants in an ambush last Wednesday. He was from ifite Oraifite in Anambra state Nigeria. May his soul rest in peace...amen.

Yesterday, after a lady attacked Adaeze Yobo on instagram, claiming her husband was sleeping around, Tonto Dikeh reposted the photo above and the timing made many assume it was directed at Adaeze..Here is her response @tontolet: "Hello people,Stayin Xtremely calm while I do this..I Reposted a post yesterday n it waz never intended for d Adaeze lady in question..I dnt knw her n we ve Neva crossed parts before to deserve such Harshy from mii..If ma post was a sub, d people involved understandz it perfectly... No1 deservez ma explanation but am a woman n I knw how this can hurt... #GudMrng #Worldpeople" She also posted a photo feeding her baby monkey

Fragmentary evidence” and a sense of inevitability that Boko Haram may be planning an attack on U.S. interests in Nigeria has intelligence and counterterrorism officials in Washington on alert. U.S. intelligence officials, speaking with NBC News on condition of anonymity, declined to characterize the nature of the evidence, other than to say it was recent and non-specific. But they said it is prompting efforts to locate the terrorist group’s “military assets” and identify other senior leaders beyond Abubakar Shekau. They also said that Boko Haram’s desire to strike against a U.S. target apparently has been heightened by the increasing U.S. involvement in the hunt for 276 missing Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by the group last month, though the goal itself is not new. “Boko Haram has a long standing interest in this,” said one senior U.S. counterterrorism official when asked about the possibility of an attack. “… It’s consistent with what we've seen from them. Broadly speak...

Hours after a lady who claimed to be Joseph Yobo's mistress attacked Adaeze on instagram, the couple went out to see a movie together, looking loved up. Adaeze shared the pics on instagram and posted an art work saying 'When life hands me lemons...I make chocolate cake'. Take that @uyyii and co...lol. I love this girl. That's the spirit!

BBA winner Karen Igho showed off a wedding ring last night on her instagram page but I thought she was just being her naughty usual self and didn't take it serious. But when she posted 2 more pics and wrote that she's off the market, it made me curious and I reached out to her publicist who confirmed that Karen is indeed married. Not engaged, but married. "It didn't happen this month or last month, she just chose now to reveal it. Can't say much about it for now though" her publicist told me What I am trying to find out now is, who the guy is, and when they got married. Big congrats to her!

A former Deputy Minister of Local Government, Godfrey Kamanya (pictured above) reportedly committed suicide today May 22nd, barely a day after the Malawi elections results started filtering in showing that he'd lost the parliamentary seat he was competing for in the 2014 Tripartite elections. According to local news report, Mr Kamanya shot himself around  3:30  this morning at his house in Area 10, Lilongwe after losing the Lilongwe Msodzi North Parliamentary elections this week.  "We had to break the door to his kitchen where he had locked himself up," Kamanya's friend also a member of Banda's People's Party - told Zodiak broadcasting. In the suicide note, the former minister reportedly said he took his life because of misunderstandings related to politics and outlined how his wealth should be distributed to beneficiaries. Police are currently investigating the incident.

Nollywood  Icon and filmmaker, Amaka Igwe who passed away on the 28th of April 2014 will be laid to rest on Friday, June 13th 2014 at Ndiuche Arondizuogu in Imo State, her marital home.   Various events preceding her funeral as announced by the family include; A tribute evening and Lagos Service of Songs at Haven Gardens G.R.A Ikeja on the 9th of June, and Enugu Service of Songs at Okpara Square, Enugu on the 12th of June, 2014. Continue...   A tribute website,  www.amakaigwe.ng , has been created for goodwill messages and pictures. The site will also contain tweets and Facebook messages celebrating Amaka Igwe. Past pictures, videos and speeches of Amaka Igwe will also be uploaded onto the site continuously. Amaka Igwe, who is survived by her husband of 21 years Charles Igwe, three children, an aged mother and siblings, died from complications from asthma at the age of 51. She contributed immensely to the development of indigenous television dra...

Barely a year to his exit from office, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State has initiated a law to enable him pocket a whooping N200 million in annual pay after his tenure expires. Mr. Akpabio is also  demanding other benefits including a new house, brand new cars, furniture and luxurious living for the rest of his life. The controversial law, which was exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, is known as Akwa Ibom State Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Bill 2014. If passed by the assembly, the bill would repeal the Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Law, 2006. PREMIUM TIMES is still trying to obtain the 2006 law which was initiated by ex-Governor Victor Attah, also about a year to the expiration of his tenure. To underscore the urgency of the proposed law, the Governor has indicated that he wanted it passed hurriedly so it could come into force on June 1. Mr. Akpabio transmitted the bill to the assembly through a May 15 letter with reference number ...

These are not the best of times for Nollywood bad boy, Jim Iyke as his past is coming to hunt him again. About 3 months Ago, Emma Agu had asked Jim to call him to find out the truth that he has been calling his former lover, Keturah Hamilton, begging her to have him back. The 20 minutes tape where Jim Iyke gave reasons why he won’t ever come back to Keturah Hamilton, will be made public. As strange as it may sound, this is AMERICA, when we have discussions with men with multiple personalities, we must record them. They may wake up the next day to deny you. The American way, we call it investigative journalism. It is an American Standard. On this tape, Nadia Bauri also spoke... For the record, those who made remarks that our organization is looking for fame through this, should google the multiple award winning Emma Agu’s name. This is not about making an additional name but exposing a fraudulent sicko called Jim iyke whose lifestyle has ruined many lives. Nigerian FM has co...

Brigadier General M.Y. Ibrahim, the newly posted General Officer Commanding the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army located at Maimalari Barracks in Maiduguri got a taste of the soldiers’ fury on Thursday afternoon as some angry soldiers stormed his office to demand that he pay their allowances and reinstate motorbikes to transport them and members of their families within the barrack. One of the soldiers who spoke to Sahara Reporters stated that he and his colleagues want military authorities to be more focused in their approach to the war against Boko Haram. “ We can finish them [Boko Haram] without difficulty, but the commanders don’t give us enough weapons for operations . And they send only a few of us to fight hundreds of Boko Haram fighters,” he said. “We no go gree oh, we no go gree!” Sources said the protesting soldiers were upset about the army’s failure to pay their outstanding allowances. They were also annoyed by the decision of the newly posted GOC to ban ...