Gist Arena

Despite its latest status as Africa’s biggest economy, and its government’s claim of improved standard of living, Nigeria was not only one of the world’s least prosperous countries in 2014, but also one of Africa’s poorest beaten by smaller nations like Niger, Benin, Mali and Cameroun, an annual global prosperity survey released this week has said. The report, published by UK-based Legatum Institute, a research organization that documents annual prosperity indicators around the world, listed Nigeria as the 125th out of 142 countries surveyed. Remarkably, Nigeria failed to make the list of Africa’s top 10 most prosperous countries, a league dominated by Botswana and South Africa. Other countries in that bracket, listed from third and below, are Morocco, Namibia, Tunisia, Algeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, and Senegal. Nigeria fell to 27 in Africa in 2014, nose-diving 22 places from its ranking in 2011, the report said. In between the top 10 countries and Nigeri...

Hours after soldiers of  the 7th  Division of the Nigerian Army celebrated the killing of over 70 Boko Haram terrorists after repelling attack on a village near Maiduguri, the insurgents have launched fresh attacks on two towns near Potiskum, residents have told PREMIUM TIMES. The attacks are still going on as the time of filing this report, witnesses said. The two towns under attacks are Damagum in Fune local  government  area and Mamudo in Potiskum local government. came under heavy attack of suspected Boko Haram terrorists when residents of the neighbouring towns were about to retire back to their homes on Friday. Mallam Yahaya, a business merchant in Damagum, informed PREMIUM TIMES on telephone that he and other residents began to hear gunshots at about 6p.m. “The shooting started at about 6p.m shortly after the late evening prayers; we didn’t know what was happening but when it became persistent as we continued to hear ...

The Police in Lagos on Friday docked a 37-year-old Yinka Daudu, who claimed to be a spiritualist, for allegedly stealing N3.5 million belonging to one Monday Jatau. The accused was charged before a Shomolu Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on a three-count charge for stealing N3.5 million from Jatau, under the pretext that he will solve his spiritual problem. Mr Thomas Muhammed, the prosecutor, an Inspector of Police, told the court that the accused conspired with others now at large to steal the money, without offering solution to the complainant’s problem. Muhammed said the accused committed the offences on Aug. 24, at 11.15 a. m. at No. 6, Adenekan St., Bariga in Lagos. He said that the offences committed contravened Sections 409, 312 (a) (2) and 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2011. Daudu, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge. The Magistrate, Mrs B.O. Osunsanmi, granted the accused bail in the sum of N300,000 with two sureties in like sum. Osunsanm...

United States said on Friday in Abuja that it remained committed to helping the Federal Government in tackling the threat of Boko Haram and other extremist organisations to the country.  This is contained in a statement issued by the Public Affairs Department embassy in Nigeria. It said the U.S. government has also restated its commitment to support Nigeria’s efforts to” rescue the abducted Chibok girls and all others who have been abducted in various communities”. It particularly condemned in the strongest terms the attack on Gumsuri village, Borno , which was reported to have been perpetrated by Boko Haram. “We are aware of reports from persons who fled the scene of the attack that suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnapped more than 100 women and children and killed 35 people. “We abhor such violence, which continues to take a terrible toll on the people of Nigeria, and we extend our condolences to the victims and their families. “Boko Haram has shown...

The Defence Headquarters has released a statement saying they are investigating reports of 185 women and children abducted by Boko Haram men in Gumsuri village in Borno state on Sunday Dec 14th. Find the statement below... "Troops are patrolling the general area of Gumsuri in search of terrorists who were said to have attacked the community last weekend. Although it has been confirmed that some people were killed by the terrorists during the attack, efforts are ongoing to verify the reported abductions from credible sources in the community in view of claims by unidentified sources being quoted in some foreign media. Some of the villagers who fled during the attack have started returning to the village. Normal life has also returned to the area. The surveillance and patrol of the area by air and land forces has been stepped up to secure the general area. Troops have been ordered to sustain an aggressive patrol over the area and the surrounding communities in o...

New single Amber Rose spotted backing it up on Chris Brown on the dance floor at Supper Club in LA last night. They are both single and knowing Hollywood...won le rira later. More pics after the cut

Who ever convinced the APC leaders and gladiators to adopt Yemi Osinbajo as vice presidential candidate to General Muhammadu Buhari deserves an award. He is the masterstroke APC needed for 2015! With the choice of the frontline Lawyer/Pastor as General Buhari’s running mate, PDP chiefs have rushed back to the drawing board, giving the caliber of men the APC has put forward for the election. The PDP and Presidency are said to be jittery over the choice of the Professor of Law and former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State. A top source said: “ There was gloom in PDP on Wednesday, following the announcement of Osinbajo . The calculation was that APC will be plunged into a crisis on the choice of its running mate, but that was not the case." The ruling PDP, The Nation learnt, was building its campaign against the APC on the pillars below: •If the APC goes for a Moslem-Moslem ticket, it (the PDP) will brand the opposition part...

Can you all see Iyabo Obasanjo? She's sitting to Obasanjo's right. His first wife Remi Obasanjo is sitting to his left...

You can't be a serious politician and ignore the social media, not in this generation. The presidential candidate of the APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, has deployed the use of major social networking sites, to worm his way into the hearts of the electorate ahead of the critical 2015 presidential election. Checks by iPUNCH on Facebook showed that the retired general had begun keeping up with the use of the social service with a view to attracting the support of the younger generation. Although many online analysts might argue that Buhari registered his presence on social media late, the level of followership he enjoys has begun growing in leaps and bounds. Since he emerged the flag bearer of APC rarely a day goes by without a fresh update on his Facebook page. He now boasts a following of over 149,000 people who subscribe to his online posts. However, Buhari’s online standing is a far cry from the influence President Goodluck Jonathan wields there. Jonathan, ...

The latest Beauty and Costume pageantry organized by Pastor Chris Okotie and Household of God Church in Lagos saw this black and beautiful lady, Michelle Isikalu, emerged as winner... Michelle beat 16 other beautiful girls to win the Queen Esther Beauty and Costume pageant which took place last Sunday December 14th at the 24th annual Grace event organized by Pastor Okotie. Congrats!

Youths of Ukwa East and Ukwa West Local Government areas, the place where oil is found in Abia State on Wednesday protested over alleged exclusion of their people from the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The protest created tension in some parts of the state as the youths said they had shut oil wells located in the area and that they would remain closed until the governorship ticket was given to them. The youths numbering over 1,000 had as earlier as 7am converged on the Obehie junction along the Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressway from where they marched round the town, singing war songs before blocking the ever-busy highway, causing gridlock. Not even pleadings of a police detachment could dissuade the youths, who called some Abia government officials and some state PDP leaders unprintable names, from leaving the expressway. The youths marched on the Highway carrying placards with different inscriptions such as, “Jonathan and PDP give Ukwa t...

A Nigerian United Nations peacekeeper infected with Ebola and brought to the Netherlands for treatment has been cured, the Dutch authorities said on Friday. “The Nigerian patient who was admitted on December 6 has been cured of Ebola,” the Dutch public health institute RIVM said in a statement. The soldier was infected while working as a peacekeeper battling the deadly disease in Liberia. He was flown to the Netherlands at the request of the World Health Organisation in a specially equipped plane and treated at the university hospital in central city Utrecht. He was the first Ebola patient to be treated in the Netherlands and will stay at a military hospital until he can return home, the RIVM said. Ebola has killed more than 6,900 people, almost all of them in west Africa. Liberia tops the number of fatalities at 3,290 deaths but Sierra Leone earlier this month overtook it as the country with the most infections. Source: PM News

Reports have stated to gather steam that the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has taken its campaign to a new height by launching a vehicle plate numbers for its members and Igbos who want to identify with their struggle. Daily Times reports that the group launched motorcycle plate numbers early this year. MASSOB urged all Igbos in the country to see the launch of the new plate number as their identity and identify with it as a privilege due to them as citizens of Biafra. Speaking at the launch of the plate number, MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, while urged vehicle owners all over Biafra territory not to be afraid of purchasing it, adding that no security agent will harass or disturb them for using Biafra plate number as they have not committed any offence. Uwazuruike was was represented by the Awka South Regional Administrator of MASSOB, Chief Arinze Igbani said:  “The plate number is our identity and MASSOB ha...

An Egyptian woman who claimed her husband continuously asked her to look like U.S. reality star Kim Kardashian or Lebanese diva Haifa Wehbe has been granted a divorce approval by a Cairo Family court. The wife, Rahma, secured a divorce from her husband using Khula, an aspect of Shariah law which enables women to get divorced in exchange for the dowry paid by the husband, Egyptian news website Masrawy reported on Tuesday. While winning a Khula case is uncommon, the court granted Rahma the divorce. “He cheated on me for no reason. I work and I have a two-year-old child. I did not deprive him of his legal rights, but he wants me to look like Haifa Wehbe and Kim Kardashian, and I am not like these artificial dolls,”  she told the court. “When I knew he cheated on me, I could not continue being with him,”  she said. Rahma added that her husband eventually elevated his demands, with requests that she become a living example of Kardashian and to change he...

She shared the photos on her instagram page. See more photos below

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), yesterday disclosed that the commemorative centenary notes will be circulated from Friday across the country. It would be recalled we published that President Jonathan Will Unveil The New N100 Note Which Will Go Into Circulation On Friday, December 19th, 2014. However, in a statement issued yesterday, the CBN said,  “The commemorative N100 banknote unveiled recently by the President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, goes into circulation on Friday, December 19, 2014. Accordingly, all branches of the Bank have been directed to commence issuance of the currency in their respective locations.”

Fahat Fahat is one of the 64 soldiers sentenced to death for not fighting Boko Haram. He says it's because they were not well equipped.

Rihanna's father Ronald Fenty, 61, who has battled addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine for years, had an exclusive interview with UK Daily Mail this past Tuesday in Beverly Hills shortly before he traveled to Bardados. It was a long interview but below are a few juicy things he said;  Rihanna put him through a $58,000 Malibu rehab program last year to save him from jail after he was arrested during a previous visit to California She flies him to LA every three months for urine tests and has the mini-bar emptied before he arrives He was thrown out of her charity ball this week after getting drunk She has frozen out Chris Brown and ignored him at their last meeting He dislikes Rihanna’s best pal and constant companion Melissa Forde She is still single and unable to find a man She is not pregnant. Read his quotes below About being kicked out of the Rihanna's ball by her mother (above) for being drunk and misbehaving  'I had Johnny Walker Black....