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Amnesty International at its International Council Meeting in Dublin, Ireland today Tuesday August 11th voted in support of policy calling for decriminalization of prostitution despite strong opposition from religious leaders and celebrities. Amnesty International's secretary-general Salil Shetty in a statement said, "This is a historic day for Amnesty International. It was not a decision that was reached easily or quickly and we thank all our members from around the world, as well as all the many groups we consulted, for their important contribution to this debate. They have helped us reach an important decision that will shape this area of our human rights work going forward. Sex workers are one of the most marginalized groups in the world who in most instances face constant risk of discrimination, violence and abuse"                                    Official Public State...

Singer, Majek Fashek pictured at an Abuja based rehabilitation center where he is receiving treatment for his drug/alcohol addiction. More photos below. Photo credit: Monica Omorodion..

The president met with some members of the National Peace committee at the state house today. More photos below

Rasim Aliyev, a 30-year-old photo and video journalist died from internal bleeding in Azerbaijan on Sunday morning August 9th after he was brutally attacked by relatives of a famous footballer on Saturday August 8th. Rasim, in a Facebook post said that the football player, Javid Huseynov, should be banned from European football for making an obscene gesture at a referee. "I do not want someone this amoral, impertinent and unable to control himself, represent me on European soccer fields" he wrote According to reports, Aliyev was lured to a meeting by alleged relatives of the footballer where he was severely beaten up. He was helped by others who rushed him to hospital. He died the next day! It wasn't the first time Mr Aliyev criticized Javid. He had previously accused him of being ‘immoral and ill-bred’ after he waved a Turkish flag during a Europa League match in Cyprus. Javid who currently plays for the Azerbaijan Premier League side Gab...

A LagBus lost control at Igbo-Efon Roundabout, Lekki-Epe Expressway this afternoon. More photos below Photo Credit: Bizmanlove & Sharon Ogunleye

The Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has appointed four new Group Executive Directors to man the four new Directorates that have been approved by the Presidency. The new Group Managing Director, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, disclosed that the new appointments are in line with the Federal Government’s aspiration to transform the Corporation into a lean, efficient, business-focused, transparent and accountable national oil company in keeping with international best practices. The appointments, which were approved by President Muhammadu Buhari, include Dr. Maikanti Baru, Group Executive Director, Exploration & Production; Mr. Isiaka Abdulrazaq, Group Executive Director, Finance & Services; Engr. Dennis Nnamdi Ajulu, Group Executive Director, Refining & Technology; and Dr. Babatunde Victor Adeniran, Group Executive Director, Commercial & Investment. A new Company Secretary/Legal Adviser and Managing Directors have also b...

The National Peace Committee on Tuesday dismissed reports that it was lobbied by former President Goodluck Jonathan to stop President Muhammadu Buhari from probing his administration. Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, a member of the committee chaired by retired Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, dismissed the report while answering questions from State House correspondents after the committee’s closed-door meeting with Buhari in Abuja. According to him, though everybody is free to contact the committee to intervene in promoting peaceful coexistence in the society, the former president never talked to the committee for any form of intervention. “Anybody is free to come to our committee, but President Jonathan never by telephone or by any other means sought to see the committee. “We went to see him, but that was after we had already seen members of the political parties; we saw a few members of the civil society; we planned to see the speaker because we couldn’t see him yeste...

He shared the photo of his meeting and wrote " with the vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria discussing Youth Initiatives. He said he can't wait for the album any longer. #Baddest. #September"

An Ikeja Chief Magistrates' Court on Tuesday remanded 45-year-old Santana Obend, charged with rape of a minor at Kirikiri Maximum Prison in Lagos. The Chief Magistrate, Mr Tajudeen Elias, ordered the remand of the accused in prison pending the determination of his bail application on Sept. 18, 2015. The accused, a security man who lives at 9, Ajegunle Close, Isheri, a suburb of Lagos, was accused of abducting and raping his neighbour's 14-year-old daughter. He is facing a two-count charge of abduction and rape. The police prosecutor, Sgt. Jimah Isegede, had told the court that the accused committed the offence on Aug. 7, 2015, at his residence. "The accused abducted his neighbour's 14-year-old daughter for three days in his apartment and unlawfully had sexual intercourse with her several times. "All effort for the victim's parents to see their daughter proved abortive until she was sighted by another neighbour in the apartment of t...

President Muhammadu Buhari said Tuesday in Abuja that the prosecution of persons who have stolen national resources will begin in a matter of weeks. Speaking at a meeting with members of the National Peace Committee led by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar in the Presidential Villa, President Buhari declared that his administration was irrevocably committed to doing all within its powers to break the vicious cycle of corruption, unemployment and insecurity in Nigeria. "Nigeria has to break this vicious cycle before we can make progress," the President said, adding that his administration was diligently getting facts and figures pertaining to the nation's stolen funds, before proceeding to the prosecution of identified culprits. President Buhari told General Abdulsalami and members of his committee that the Federal Government, under his leadership, will not only ask for the return of stolen funds that have been stashed in foreign banks, but will also ensur...

CAN President Ayo Oritsejafor, former military leader Abdulsalam Abubakar and other members of the National Peace Committee for the 2015 General elections met with President Buhari at Aso Rock today August 11th. At the meeting, the group appealed to Pres. Buhari to be fair in his fight against corruption and ensure that due process is followed in the proposed probe of the last administration. Speaking to state house correspondents after the meeting, Rev Kukah who was part of the delegation said "It (the way corruption war is being fought) is not heating up the polity. In our conversation with President Jonathan and members of the parties, I don’t think any Nigerian is in favour of corruption or is against the President’s commitment to ensuring that we turn a new leaf. I think what we are concerned about is the process. It is no longer a military regime and under our existing laws, everybody is innocent until proven guilty. Again, our own commitment is not to i...

Former president Obasanjo pictured relishing a cup of ice cream at the Green Legacy resort, in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital recently

After days of no explosion in Nigeria, A suicide bomber have attacked a market at Sabon Gari in Damboa, Borno state this afternoon, killing an unspecified number of people. More details later.  

Members of the National Peace Committee for the 2015 General Elections led by a former Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar (retd.), are currently meeting behind closed-doors with President Muhammadu Buhari inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Buhari and former President Goodluck Jonathan signed a peace agreement ahead of the March 28 presidential election at the instance of the committee. Those who are attending the meeting alongside Abubabakar and Buhari include the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’Ad Abubakar III; the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor; Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Revd. Nicholas Okoh; Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan; a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mrs. Priscilla Kuye; and Senator Ben Obi among others. The meeting is coming a few days after Jonathan paid a secret visit to Buhari inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Details later.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo met with Chief Dr. E.O Dimike (Osuofia Ndigbo) who paid him a visit at Aso Rock today August 11th.

Despite claims that Nigeria’s refineries are now operational, the country will have to depend largely on imported petrol in the third quarter of 2015. It was learnt on Monday that import allocation for petrol was given to importers of the product last week. Our correspondent gathered that no refinery had been able to produce petrol in commercial quantity in the past weeks, despite claims by the operators of the facilities that they had started refining crude oil to produce petroleum products. In fact, senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency told our correspondent in Abuja on Monday that tankers still headed for Lagos to load products. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation last month announced that the Port Harcourt Refining Company was ramping up capacity to about 60 per cent of the 210,000 barrels per day of crude capacity, while production from the Warri Refining and Petrochemical C...

Carissa Sharon Oyakhilome, the beautiful daughter of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy is now a gospel singer. Carissa, who turns 22 today, is pictured above singing with a group of other gospel acts at one of their church's programme recently. More photos below

Former President Goodluck Jonathan met secretly with President Muhammad Buhari on Thursday night, with corruption at the center of their discussion, two Presidency sources have disclosed. President Buhari and President Jonathan met secretly last Thursday Our sources disclosed that the meeting between President and the man he unseated in the March 28, 2015 presidential poll lasted from 9-10 p.m. Nigerian time.  Our sources stated that they understood that former President Jonathan did not seek any explicit overtures from President Buhari, adding that they suspect that Mr. Jonathan was at the Presidential Villa to check Mr. Buhari’s temperament regarding the growing probe of sectors of the former president's administration. One source stated that President Buhari and Mr. Jonathan parted on an "amicable note," with both men chatting and laughing. The meeting was kept secret, hidden from the media. Less than 24 hours after the meeting, forme...

The father of a 20-year-old woman who drowned in a Dubai sea reportedly stopped lifeguards from saving her because he did not want her to be touched and dishonoured by strange men. The unnamed Asian man allegedly preferred to let his daughter die than have her 'dishonoured' by rescuers, according to police. Lt Col Ahmed Burqibah, Deputy Director of Dubai Police’s Search and Rescue Department, said the girl got into difficulty on a beach in the city. He  said: 'This is one of the incidents which I cannot forget.  'It shocked me and many others who were involved in the case. 'The Asian father took his wife and kids to the beach for picnic and fun. 'The kids were swimming in the beach when suddenly, the 20-year-old girl started drowning and screaming for help.' Lifeguards tried to rush into the water to help her, but the father became aggressive and pulled them away, Lt Col Burqibah told Emirates24/7. He added: 'There was ...

The Cool FM On air personality was previously one of Donald Trump's critics,especially with his tweets about Ebola and Africans..Now, he seems to have taken a U-turn,expressing his wish that Trump becomes the American President so Nigerians will be forced to return home and fix their country. My next American President! Donald Trump! I hated this guy initially because of his comments on Africa during the #Ebola pandemic. But after the perceived lack of direction (except of course, in the instance of the controversial gay marriage issue), I personally think it's time America elected someone the world can see through, instead of a political facade. When, if at all, he becomes president, I hope he successfully tightens immigration laws, so our Nigerian brothers and sisters there can come back home and #FixNigeria. My opinion is, instead of discarding your sinking ship for a floating one, stay aboard and #FixIt

VENUE: COURT 3 UMUAHIA HIGH COURT , ABIA STATE CASE BETWEEN DR ALEX OTTI THE PETITIONER ,DR OKEZIE IKPEAZU ABIA STATE GOVERNOR IST RESPONDENT , PDP AND INEC 2ND AND 3RD RESPONDENTS PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING ABBREVIATIONS : P = Petitioner, R = Respondent, PW = Petitioner Witness, RW = Respondent Witness, J = Judge. ATTENDANCE/APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL Judges headed by W.B Wakali, (APGA): Lead counsel Chief Akin Olujinmi(SAN), Chief Awa Kalu(SAN) and 65 other lawyers Chief Theo Nkeire is leading the Council for 1st Respondent Ikpeazu today and he is ably supported by Emeka Etiaba. Chief Paul Ananaba, SAN, lead counsel for the 2nd respondent is also present with his team of lawyers S.O Hagla Esq leading the 3rd respondent counsel with his team of lawyers BUSINESS OF THE DAY The Tribunal judge has just announced that the hearing proper commences The judge has ruled that d examination of witness without documents is 5mins and cross examination of witne...