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On Friday, July 28th, six students of the Lagos Model Scool Igbonla in Epe, Lagos state were rescued by police in Ondo state. They were kidnapped on May 25th and spent 64 days in the kidnappers' den. Some of the students have recounted their ordeal to The Nation. According to one of them, the kidnappers blindfolded them and subjected them to routine beating "We were blindfolded, kept under the bridge with our legs tied. They fed us eba and crayfish soup. They were beating us. They mixed the crayfish with pepper and water and then gave us to eat with Eba. They were giving us red water to drink. The water had a bad taste but no odour. It was polluted. They kept us under a bridge. They gave us no bed sheets or blankets.” The student said they had only the dresses they were kidnapped in and some fake jerseys provided by the kidnappers as their clothes for the period they were kidnapped. He said he was happy he has reunited with his family.  “I have done my medic...

Former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has said that Nnamdi Kanu’s agitation for Biafra cannot be made possible now. Kalu, however, called on the Igbos to instead channel their energy into fighting for the presidency. He made this statement in Lokoja on Saturday, while delivering a lecture at an Igbo gathering for the inauguration of Igbo Support Group for Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, which he titled: “Mainstreaming Igbo in Nigeria Politics”. “We must fix Nigeria to work for all inclusive of all aspiration of all. We (Igbo) have made progress but it is not yet Uhuru for us. “This is not the time to pop champagne but a time for conscious reflection on the road we have passed, where we are and where we intend to be in the years ahead. “As Igbos, we must stop listening to people who says Biafra is possible. If we want Biafra we must first ensure that referendum is included in the constitutional review. “Nigeria should be thinking of anne...

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has again hit the Minister of Transportation and Former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi describing him as a reckless blackmailer. Wike in a statement signed by Simeon Nwakaudu, his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, was reacting to a statement reportedly credited to Amaechi, where claimed that he (Wike) was forging documents to secure his conviction in a court of law. The governor, while describing the allegation as unfounded, baseless and a figment of the imagination of the former governor, said it was another attempt by Amaechi to distract attention from the crimes he committed against Rivers people, by diverting their resources The statement reads, “The Minister of Transportation also went ahead to falsely allege that the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike bragged that he has the judiciary at the State and Federal level in his pocket to secure his conviction on charges of corruption. “This is another ...

Nigerian singer and boss of Mavin Records, Michael Collins Ajereh better known as Don jazzy has reacted to alleged $90 billion fraud against former Petroleum Minister, Dieziani Alison-Madueke. Just yesterday, popular Nollywood actor, Aremu Afolayan rained curses on Diezani for allegedly stealing such amount of money from Nigeria’s treasury. In the same vein, Don jazzy, writing via @DonJazzy, his twitter handle, wondered if God will ever forgive the former Petroleum Minister for embezzling such amount of money when Nigerians are suffering. Asari Dokubo slams Don Jazzy for criticising Diezani over fraud allegation The music producer wrote, “So if Diezani should say ‘GOD forgive me,’ will her soul be saved last last? Ahh this life?,” Don Jazzy queried, adding, “Sin suppose get level oh.”

American news network, CNN, has mocked Nigeria, asking where is President Muhammadu Buhari. The Nigerian president has not been in the country for over two months and the news television in a query on its website on Sunday asked which “head of state from which country has not set foot in his homeland in over two months?” The mockery came in the latest edition of CNN’s “The Global Public Square (GPS)” show anchored by Fareed Zakaria. In an apparent mockery of Nigeria and her President Muhammadu Buhari, CNN, on its programme displayed at 4:59pm local time on Sunday, asked,“The head of state from which country has not set foot in his homeland in over two months?” It went ahead to tick an option with the name Nigeria as the correct answer. The options were given as Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Nigeria and Syria. A screenshot of the mockery tweeted by Chidi Odinkalu, Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission asked What do you say Nigerians? Recall that Preside...

The Special Assistant to the President on Prosecutions, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, on Saturday, said the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), may report the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu; and Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Ekpo Nta, to the Presidency. He revealed that the heads of the agencies could be sanctioned for insurbodination for withholding the case files of more than 35 ex-governors and senators from the AGF. The case files requested by the AGF in separate letters to both agencies were for ex-governors, including Bukola Saraki (Kwara, now Senate President); Ali Modu Sheriff (Borno); Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia); Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu); Saminu Turaki (Jigawa); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Joshua Dariye (Plateau); Ahmed Yerima (Zamfara); Gabriel Suswam (Benue); James Ibori (Delta); Martin Elechi (Ebonyi...

The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki has said devolution of power to states has not been foreclosed in the ongoing constitutional amendment exercise. Saraki told journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital that many senators were still consulting with their constituents on the issue. He added that the clause on the devolution of power did not scale through because some of his colleagues misread, misunderstood or were suspicious of what the devolution was all about. The senate president noted that the lawmakers who voted against it were not sure whether it was the same thing as restructuring. Saraki said, “Nothing is foreclosed in this exercise; you don’t foreclose passage of a bill. We must have a good understanding of how parliament works; it is not foreclosed. It has been defeated as of that day, but it does not mean that it would be defeated when it comes tomorrow.” Source: PUNCH

Ex-Niger Delta militant leader, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, has lampooned Mavin Records boss, Don Jazzy, for condemning former petroleum minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke, over what he described as unconfirmed reports that she stole “$90 billion”. Mr. Asari-Dokubo blew hot in a video published on Facebook, where he also branded President Buhari and his cabinet members liars. He said, “May God punish that useless dirty Don Jazzy, abundantly, for speaking about Diezani’s alleged loot.” Don Jazzy weighed in on the alleged stolen funds reportedly diverted by Diezani, on Friday on his Twitter page. The record label boss tweeted that he wanted to know “if God forgives people like the ex-minister.” He asked a question on Twitter which read, “So if Diezani should say ‘God forgive me’ will her soul be saved last last?. Ahh this life.” Don Jazzy is yet to respond to Asari- Dokubo’s rants. A visibly angry Dokubo also accused President Buhari of stealing N2.8 billion during h...

A nambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, was Sunday afternoon confronted by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The incident took place at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Ekwulobia, Anambra State. It was gathered though the scene was tensed, security operatives exercised restraint and caution “Governor Obiano had gone to the church to worship, only to be embarrassed by IPOB members in their hundreds, if not thousands, who stormed the church in buses. “They were chanting ‘No election in Anambra on November 18’. The Governor had to be smuggled out by his security details,” an eyewitness told News Express. IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, had declared that the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra will not hold. But Obiano recently fired back and warned IPOB not to cross the line by attempting to stop a constitutional process. Source: Dailypost

E ighteen persons died in an accident involving a tipper and a J5 bus on Gumel-Gugunju road in Gumel Local Government Area of Jigawa State yesterday. The Sector Commander of the Federal Roads Safety Corps in the state, Mr Angus Ibezim, disclosed this to newsmen in Dutse. Ibezim said the driver of the tipper with Reg. No. XY 744 GRK abandoned the vehicle on the road after it broke down. He said the driver of the bus hit the truck from behind, which resulted in the mishap.  He said 15 of the occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, died on the spot while three others died in the hospital. He said the command has commenced investigation to ascertain the main cause of the accident. “We are trying to find out the main cause of the accident. The first thing we suspect is that the driver of the tipper did not place any caution sign to indicate that the vehicle was faulty. “Secondly, we also suspect that the driver of the J5 bus was on speed," Ibezim...

R esident doctors have threatened to down tools in the next 21 days except the federal government meet their demands. The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) also referred Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole; a former health minister, Dr Onyebuchi Chukwu, and one other, all life members, for sanction for carrying out activities and actions inimical to welfare and progress of the association. In a communiqué at the end of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the association in Calabar by its president, Dr Onyebueze John; Secretary General, Dr Aneke Emmanuel and Publicity Secretary, Dr Asinobi Ugoeze, the resident doctors demanded their immediate enrollment on the IPPIS platform without further delay. Other demands include, according to the communiqué, “The circularisation of house officer entry point despite various collective agreements on same. “The plan of the Federal Government to stagnate the promotion of resident doctors. “The delay...

The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Sunday gave strict orders to operatives of the Nigerian Army to rescue all those abducted recently by the Boko Haram sect while carrying out oil exploration researches in the Lake Chad Basin Frontier Exploration. The order was contained in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande. Akande quoted the Acting President as saying that those who carried out the ambush which he described as a. unacceptable and criminal conduct must be brought to justice. He said Osinbajo, after an emergency meeting with military chiefs on Thursday, issued fresh directives to the Nigerian military and all security agencies to immediately scale-up their efforts and activities in Borno State in order to maintain a strong, effective control of the situation and secure lives and property. The statement read, “While commending the military for t...

The leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, on Friday, said that the secessionist group will send the governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, back to Jos in 2019, Punch has reported. The report stated that Kanu revealed this after he arrived the state where he was welcomed by hundreds of thousands of his supporters. He insisted that there would be no election in Anambra State in November and in the other four the South East States in 2019. According to Kanu, a Sovereign State of Biafra was the only solution to the problem facing the country and not power devolution to States nor restructuring. He urged the relevant authorities to call for a referendum before it is too late. According to Kanu “We are in the land of Biafra. I have come to Owerri to spread the good news of the coming of Biafra Republic. I don’t want you people to be deceived. Restructuring does not have any meaning and I want you people to go and tell Ohanaeze Ndigbo.” “There is no free...