Gist Arena

A police corporal who was recently arrested for armed robbery, confessed to having supplied arms and ammunition to robbery gangs in various states, including Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa states.  Christ Oboko Onitsha Ugbo, was arrested after he allegedly led his gang on a series of robbery operations in some states in the Niger Delta region. He is currently being detained by the Inspector General of Police’s Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT) According to Daily Trust, the 36-year-old, until his arrest was attached to a special squad code named C4I of the Rivers State Police Command and was also the resident pastor of a church at Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Oboko, who has also been linked to several violent crimes in Bayelsa, Delta, Imo, Lagos and Edo state was said to have been deployed to C41 from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Rivers State Command, having distinguished himself as a sniper and crack detective. Prior to ...

Pictured is Businessman and former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu at a road side buka (canteen) today. According to him, he stopped with some friends to celebrate a birthday. More photos as you continue...

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that its strategy to fund capital intensive projects in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry has begun yielding fruits with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with some Chinese companies worth $50 billion for infrastructure development. The corporation said in a statement in Abuja that the deal was part of recent landmark strides by its management to bridge the infrastructure funding gaps in the Nigerian oil and gas sector. The companies involved in the deal include China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO Group), China Cinda Asset Management Company Limited (CINDA), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation/Addax petroleum (SINOPEC/ADDAX), International Chamber of Commerce/ China’s National Development and Reform Commission (ICC-NDRC), among others. The corporation said the MoU was coming as a fall out from its on-goi...

The Minister of Transport, Mr Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, yesterday disclosed that General Electric, GE, would invest $2 billion in the country’s rail projects. Amaechi in an interview with CNBC monitored by Vanguard in Abuja, said the Federal Government was in search of Public-Private Partnership, PPP, funding in the Nigerian transportation sector. He said: “GE is already in, we are trying to get the government agencies to allow us negotiate with GE. The company is going to bring in over $2billion in the Nigerian railway sector, in which they are going to revive the Lagos-Kano narrow gauge and revive the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri narrow gauge by private investment. “It is good that such kind of funds will come into the economy, it will create employment, it will increase business and everybody will be part of the process.”  “The government does not need to bring all the funds. What government is doing here is to initiate it, there are two things we are doi...

Mr Onyekachi Ubani, a former Chairman, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, says the Certificate of Return given to Mr Sampson Ogah of the PDP as the governor-elect of Abia by INEC is in order.  He said the incumbent governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, in the eye of the law was not qualified to run as governor in the 2015 poll. Ikpeazu won the Peoples Democratic Party’s ticket for the election. “It is an invalid order, one which I will describe as a ‘black market order’ especially as it was granted after a court of competent jurisdiction had given an order that Dr Okezie Ikpeazu was not qualified to run for elections in the first place.  “Both the FCT High Court and the State High Court are courts of coordinate jurisdictions and one cannot set aside an order given by the other.  “The order given by Justice Okon Abang of the FCT High Court cannot be set aside by the Abia State High Court.  “In the absence of any other valid order oth...

A Peace mass transit bus enroute Bayelsa State from Enugu was involved in a fatal accident   at Okogbe town, along Emezi Road which claimed the lives of all passengers in it.  According to eye witnesses, Some unknown men drove in after the accident and tried to clean the name of the bus but hurriedly left when people started to gather.  Another source claimed that everybody in bus died while other sources claim that a baby survived while the other 19 lost there lives

Three suspected Islamic State (ISIS) suicide bombers who killed 43 people in a gun and bomb attack at Istanbul's main airport this week were Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz nationals, a Turkish government official said on Thursday June 30. The suicide bombers opened fire to create panic outside, before two of them got inside the terminal building and blew themselves up. The third detonated his explosives at the entrance. At least 239 people were wounded in the attack. According to Reuters, the Turkey official who confirmed the terrorists' nationalities, declined to be named because details of the investigation have not yet been released. Forensics teams had been struggling to identify the bombers from their limited remains, officials said earlier.   "A medical team is working around the clock to conclude the identification process," one of the officials said. Interior Minister Efkan Ala told parliament that evidence continued to point to ISIS resp...

Godwin Emefiele The Flexible Exchange Rate Inter-bank Market policy is on trial, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said yesterday. It will make room for more stakeholders, including bureaux de change (BDC) operators, to participate, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele said. He spoke at the interactive session between the BDCs and the CBN on the new policy and the state of the forex market, The Nation reports. He assured the BDCs that they will be factored in while acknowledging their impact on businesses. The broad framework and guidelines of the Flexible Exchange Rate Inter-bank Market was released by the CBN on June 15 during which it restored the automatic adjustment mechanism of the exchange rate with the re-introduction of a flexible inter-bank exchange rate market. The CBN said the workings of this market will be consistent with its objectives of enhancing efficiency and facilitating a liquid and transparent Foreign Exchange Market. Emefiele, w...

Ivory Coast professor Honore Kahi, who was pictured carrying a student's baby on his back in class said being a mother should not stop women getting an education, BBC reports. Prof. Kahi said he offered to take the baby because he was crying and preventing the mother from sitting in class. He said his students were surprised, began to laugh and then took pictures.  Some of those who shared the photos on social media showered him with praises, describing him as a hero. Mr Kahi, who teaches communications at Ivory Coast's Bouake University, said that women should not be discouraged by people's perceptions of what they should be able to do. "What prevails here is... male chauvinism, he said. and then quoted an ancient philosopher in his interview with BBC Afrique. "It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare. It is because we do not dare that they are difficult.' In our environment we let ourselves be discouraged by others....

Popular Enugu-based Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, has denied claims by some people that he said President Muhammadu Buhari will not recover from the E.N.T ailment which triggered forced him to embark on asudden 10-day vacation to the United Kingdom for treatment. Mbaka accused some mischief makers of trying to tarnish the cordial relationship that exists between him and President Muhammadu Buhari. He made the statement on Thursday. Mbaka who is in charge of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Nigeria, spoke through his Spokesperson, Ike Ugwuoke, insisting that some Nigerians were trying to cause disaffection between him and the presidency.  According to him,  “‎our attention has been drawn to a report in a section of the media alleging that Rev Fr Ejike Mbaka the Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria said that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has slim chances of surviving from his ill health.  ...

The EFCC today secured the conviction of Idris Buhari pictured above, a resident of durimin iya quarters kano, who was arraigned before Justice J K Omotosho of Federal High Court 3 Kano, on one count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence.  Idris was arrested by EFCC operatives following a complaint brought against him by Abdullahi Salisu Muhammad of popular kwari market, Kano, alleging that he gave the convict, who is a school teacher the sum of #500,000.00 for the processing of Hajj ticket in April, 2012. He said the convict  told him that he is a registered travelling agent, but to his greatest surprise, was unable to provide the said Hajj ticket and diverted the funds to his personal use. All effort to recover the money from him or get the ticket as agreed proved abortive, as the convict claimed that the monies were lost to armed robbers.  In the Judgement, Justice Omotosho convicted and sentenced the convict to...

Former Governor of Abia state, Ojo Maduekwe, today paid a condolence visit to the widow of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ojo Maduekwe who died in Abuja yesterday June 29th.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, this afternoon failed to appear before the Senate Committee on Legal Matters, Judiciary & Human Rights where a public inquiry into the case of alleged forgery of senate order filed by Malami's office against the Senate President Bukola Saraki, his deputy Ike Ekweremadu and two others was to be held.  The Special Adviser to President Buhari on prosecution at the Ministry of Justice, represented Malami and informed the committee members that the Attorney General was out of the country. A member of the committee, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, said this is a slap on the face of the senate.  More tweets below...

Earlier today, INEC issued a certificate of return to a member of PDP, Uche Ogah, following an order by the Abuja Federal High Court on Monday June 27th, mandating the electoral body to immediately issue Certificate of Return to Ogah who came second at the PDP primaries in the state in 2014. The state governor, Okezie Ikpeazu has released a statement reacting to the development, According to him, he remains the Governor of the state since he has filed an appeal against the ruling.  Read his statement below I have received with concern, report of the purported issuance of Certificate of Return to Mr. Uche Ogah by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as governor of Abia State, despite dependency of a notice of appeal and motion for stay of the orders made by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja. Our laws are clear on this matter. No one may be issued with a certificate of return let alone be sworn in as governor, when there is a...

Following a court order, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) today issued a Certificate of Return to Mr Uche Ogah, who came second at the last Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primaries in Abia State.  On the account of allegedly using fake tax returns during the primaries, Justice Okon Abang had stated that the incumbent governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu was never qualified to run in the PDP primaries as a governorship candidate. He nullified Ikpeazu's election and ordered INEC to issue a certificate of return to Ogah.  However, the state government on it's facebook page, Abia Online, published this court injunction secured by the state Gov, Okezie Ikpeazu preventing Abia Chief Justice or any other Judge from swearing-in Uche Ogah as Governor of the state while he remains in office pending the determination of his appeal.

In a statement released by Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), a legal counsel to Chief Olisa Metuh, the embattled  former Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has disclosed that talks have begun between his legal team and officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to facilitate his return of N400million traced to him from Sambo Dasuki, a former national security adviser (NSA). Below is the statement in full: Why Our Client (Chief Olisa Metuh) is Offering To Refund The N400 million – Counsel In the light of the circumstances regarding the case of our client, Chief Olisa Metuh with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), we want to explain the reasons for our client's proposal to refund the N400 million released to him by former President Goodluck Jonathan, and which was expended on a project approved by the ex-President on national issues relating to his Presidency and the Federal Government at that time. 1....

FLASH: @inecnigeria has issued a Certificate of Return to Uche Ogah as the new Gov. of Abia state, but the Chief Judge has gone into hiding — Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) June 30, 2016 Uchechukwu Ogah takes charge , received certificate of return as Governor Abia state in INEC office ABUJA. Legal issues continue as Ikpeazu will have to clear himself of tax forgery / falsification  Details later

File Photo A body which describes itself as the Supreme Council of Elders of Indigenous People of Biafra, SCIPOB, has distanced itself from any alliance with Niger Delta Avengers, insisting that those who preach violence might be infants or not born during the 1967-1970 Nigeria-Biafra civil war.  Deputy chairman of the Council, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, a former president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, who spoke with reporters at Nnewi, was reacting to the claims by some IPOB members and Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, that the groups were aligning with Niger Delta Avengers and other militants in the Niger Delta for a united front.  Ikedife said there was no such thing as an alliance of IPOB with any group, adding that as a man who saw the Biafra war from beginning to the end and witnessed how millions of people were slaughtered and property worth billions of naira destroyed because of the struggle for self- determination, he would neve...

Justice Adeniyi Ademola has struck out a suit filed by Abuja based legal practitioner, Nnamdi Nwokocha- Ahaaiwe, challenging the authenticity of President Buhari's WAEC certificate. The case was struck out following a notice of withdrawal filed by the institutor, Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe. In striking out the case this morning, the presiding judge, Justice Ademola held that by “section 50(2) of the federal high court civil procedure rules the matter is hereby struck out”.

The Federal Government, for the second time in 48 hours, made a statement urging the Senate President Bukola Saraki and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu to face their forgery case. According to the statement, the Federal Government urged the two men to clear their names instead of politicising the matter. Presidential spokesman Femi Adesina on Monday admonished Saraki and Ekweremadu to leave President Muhammadu Buhari out of their fate after Saraki complained that he was being persecuted. It will be recalled that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir David Lawal yesterday said the Senate principal officers should not give the impression that the case against them is an Executive versus Legislature war. The alleged forgery case is not a trial of the Senate or the National Assembly as a body, but that of Saraki and Ekweremadu, Lawal said. But the Senate insisted that the trial is an attempt to intimidate the lawmakers, overwhelm them...

If futurologist Dr Ian Pearson is to be believed, women are set to dump men for robots and the revolution is not so far into the future, just ten years away. In a report he compiled on the future of sex, he claims that in as little as a decade, women will have more sex with cyborgs than with men and the practice will be as common as watching porn. Dr Pearson claims in his report that robot sex may become so popular that it will overtake human intercourse - and will be fully-fledged by 2050. In the report, commissioned by Bondara, the Dr Pearson claims:  "A lot of people will still have reservations about sex with robots at first but gradually as they get used to them, as the AI (artificial intelligence) and mechanical behaviour and their feel improves, and they start to become friends with strong emotional bonds, that squeamishness will gradually evaporate." His reports claims that rather than view these machines as mere sex toys, humans may even fall ...