NewStats: 3,263,369 , 8,179,926 topics. Date: Thursday, 05 June 2025 at 05:09 PM 2z631

Gov Ugwanyi meets community leaders today

By Emeka Mamah

NSUKKA—Enugu State Police Command, yesterday, arrested about eight persons over the ongoing violence at Alor Uno in Nsukka Local Government Area of the state, following supremacy battle over alleged slavery.

Ugbene and Ejuona communities in Alor Uno have been involved in supremacy battle over who are the aborigines or slaves in the last 40 years.

The matter, however, reached a climax when a young Ugbene man, Arinze Ngwoke, was, on April 11, reportedly chased by youths from Ejuona and attacked with machete for taking a road reserved for the aborigines, Ejuona, who claimed that the Ugbene people are “slaves.”

Ngwoke is the second victim after Izuchukwu Ezema, who was alleged to have been attacked in March and is still in hospital due to machete cuts inflicted on him for ing through the same route.

Weekend, a woman, Onyedikachukwu Omeje was attacked with her three months old baby by some youths, who claimed to come from Ejuona, for also tresing on the same forbidden road. Two other women, Augustina Oke and Chidera Attah, have also been attacked for allegedly committing same offence.

However, in the early morning of yesterday, youths from Ugbene were said to have re-grouped and attacked some Ejuona people suspected to be the ring leaders of their people.

The youths reportedly attacked the house of one Emmanuel Onah among others and vandalised it, prompting policemen from the Nsukka Area Command to arrest some Ugbene people including a heaster, Theophilus Ngwu alias Inter-State, Emeka Enyoka and one Sunday Nwa-Ejor, among about eight others whose sons and daughters were said to have carried out the reprisal attack.

Sources told Vanguard that the suspects, who were with the police, were arrested when their sons or daughters fled the town to evade arrest.

Meanwhile, the Police Area Commander for Nsukka, Mr. Monday Kuryasi, has invited seven leaders each from both Ejuona and Ugbene for a peace meeting with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwanyi at Government House, today.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/8-arrested-enugu-slave-war/

Mynd44, Lalasticlala

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/gunmen-attack-gov-ikpeazus-convoy-aba/

APRIL 15, 2016

By Ugochukwu Alaribe ABA—The increasing state of insecurity in Aba, Abia State, took a new dimension on Wednesday night when Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s convoy was attacked in an encounter with armed robbers, who were robbing commuters along Aba-Owerri Road. This is even as a yet-to-be identified victim was kidnapped at Immaculate Junction, while another is being feared dead after he was hit by stray bullet.

Vanguard gathered that the incident took place near Immaculate Junction along the ever busy Aba-Owerri Road, while the governor was coming back to Aba from Umuahia at 8p.m. Though no life was lost, sources said that the security details attached to the governor fired sporadic shots, which scared the robbers away.

Sources told Vanguard that the gunmen were robbing a suspected Lagos bound bus, when a pilot security van without siren and amber light approached the area. On sighting the security vehicle, the gunmen were said to have opened fire without knowing that it was the governor’s convoy.

According to a security operative in the city, who pleaded anonymity, “the robbers did not know that it was the governor. They thought that it could be the Army or police, but when they discovered it was the governor’s convoy with its full complement of security details, they took to their heels. “I do not think it was the governor that the hoodlums wanted to attack.

It is just that the governor’s convoy that was returning from work without the usual siren and the revolving amber light, ran into them.” ed, spokesman of Abia State Police Command, DSP Ezekiel Onyeke, confirmed the incident, but debunked reports that the gunmen attacked the governor’s convoy. Onyeke added that he was yet to be fully briefed by the Chief Security Officer to the governor over the incident.

http://www.punchng.com/unpaid-salaries-bayelsa-workers-turn-to-begging-for-survival/

April 14, 2016

Some workers in public and civil service in Bayelsa State have turned to begging to survive the hard economic realities in the state.

It was observed that some workers, in a bid to cope with the harsh economic condition foisted on them by unpaid salaries, had devised different means to beg in order to fulfil their financial obligations.

The PUNCH learnt that the civil and public servants being owed about five months’ salaries by the Governor Seriake Dickson-led istration could no longer meet their personal and family obligations.

Many of them were said to be unable to pay their bills, children’s school fees and service their accommodation expenses.

Due to their inability to pay transportation fares, most of them could no longer attend to go to their work places and church activities while persons who managed to go end up begging for fares to go back home.

Some of them said they were dying of hunger, adding that they no longer went to work because of the lack of money for transport and feeding.

They recalled that Dickson had promised to promptly pay salaries of workers, but wondered why the governor, who was no longer executing projects, could not pay workers.

One of them, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said he stopped going to work because the government had not paid him since November 2015.

The source, who is a manager in the government owned Izon Ibe Community Bank, confessed, “I work in the state-owned micro-finance bank, but since November, I have not been paid. I can’t go to work because I need to look for something to do to feed my family. It has been very tough. Surviving in Bayelsa State has become so difficult.

“I wonder why an oil-producing state like Bayelsa cannot pay salaries. We learnt that states like Ebonyi and Taraba, with one of the least allocations, still pay salaries. But here, we are working in an oil-producing state without salaries.”

Also, two ladies working for the state government were sighted on Imgbi Road, on Wednesday, begging ers-by for N100 to go home after attending a morning church programme in the area.

Though many people turned them down, they leapt up in joy when eventually a Good Samaritan gave the duo N500 to go home.

It was, however, learnt that the governor recently approved the payment of a month’s salary for the civil servants, but most of them had no balance left in the s after their banks deducted arrears of unpaid loans.

A food vendor, who identified herself simply as Emilia, said the hardship had affected her so much that most of her customers no longer patronised her.

She said, “Before, my small shop used to bubble with patronage. I would finish selling before 9pm every day.

“But everything has changed. I have reduced the quantity I cook, yet I can’t finish selling my food even up to 12am. I carry them home. I am even considering closing my shop.”

However, most residents have blamed the development on the leadership style of Dickson, saying he stifled the economy on assuming office as the governor for the second term.

An angry resident, identified simply as Emmanuel, wondered why the government was claiming that the state is poor when Dickson said he opened a dedicated “where he saved for the rainy day.”

“The rain is now falling. People expected the governor to start using the savings of the state in paying salaries and rejuvenating the economy. Bayelsa is not supposed to be suffering. It is supposed to be a model state.”

Commenting on the situation, the Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, Bayelsa State, Mr. Ndiomu George-Diepre, said the Congress was disenchanted with the development.

Though he appreciated the economic situation in the country, he, however, appealed to Dickson to pay the workers so that they could meet their personal and family obligations.

George-Diepre said, “The Congress as usual is still on the struggle. Right now, we are on the air, calling on the government to pay the unpaid salaries.

“While we understand the economic situation in the country and how it also affects the states, we are still asking that the government should pay all the outstanding salaries of workers, particularly the pensioners and of course, the local government workers.

“There are also a lot of scams and ghost workers suspected in those areas, and the governor is saying he wants to do verification and after that they will pay. But the Labour is saying that they should be paid because they have suffered for a long time.”

However, a top official in the Governor’s office said Bayelsa State was not the only state that was owing salaries, rationalising that some states were owing between seven and eight months.

The official, who did not want his name mentioned, said, “So, why is Bayelsa State so peculiar that journalists want to do a report on it?

“The Federal Government is owing. You heard the Secretary to the Government of the Federation saying the FG is owing N6bn every month. Is that not scandalous for a nation like Nigeria? Is it not more news worthy than workers resorting to begging? Check the fact, we are owing just three months.”

Mynd44, Lalasticlala

Gold Price Per Ounce - $ 1,219.13

Gold Price Per Kg - $ 39,195.94

Nigeria loses 100kg of gold daily to illegal miners – Fayemi (30,000kg monthly)





April 3, 2016 Press Release

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Kayode Fayemi, has challenged security agencies in the country to come up with technology that could be deployed to track the use of explosives for which permits were given in the country.

The minister who disclosed that part of his tasks as minister in charge of solid minerals development is to sign explosives permits for use in quarries and mining sites, said it is important to also track their use as part of efforts to curtail activities of insurgent groups and violent crimes in the country.

Mr. Fayemi who spoke as a guest lecturer at the National Defence College, Abuja on Friday, said there should be a technological approach to tracking the use of explosives by those who sought and obtained permit for its use so that it does not end up in the hands of those who would use it for criminal purposes.

The Minister also assured the gathering that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s istration is committed to ensuring that the Ajaokuta Steel company works, in order to boost the country’s technological development.

“This will also help us in the areas of arms and ammunitions. And the defence industry will also benefit from this when we get it right”, he added.

The Minister who spoke on “Solid Minerals and National Development in Nigeria”, lamented that the country was losing a lot to illegal mining activities, being carried out by some citizens aided by some foreigners.

He said the ministry was collaborating with relevant security agencies to ensure that the ugly trend is stopped.

Specifically, he pointed out that about 100 kilogramme of gold leaves the country everyday without any record, adding that there is need to deploy technology, build capacity of staff of the ministry and get the required assistance from the security agencies to check the situation.

He disclosed that part of the efforts of the ministry is to also educate security agents on how to identify these minerals.

“Many of them do not recognise these minerals. So, in most cases they do not know the value of what the person is taking out illegally.

“so we are partnering with security agencies, the customs, immigration, police, civil defence, to assist us.

http://www.timesng.com/news/more-news/201196-nigeria-loses-100kg-gold-daily-illegal-miners-fayemi.html

http://tribuneonlineng.com/ibadan-punch-lands-nurtw-ticketing-official-in-morgue

The rivalry among commercial motorcycle operators in Ibadan, Oyo State, over hip of different unions in charge of Okada riders, resulted in tragedy on Tuesday, as a deadly punch was allegedly thrown at a ticketing official of the motorcycle arm of the National Union of Road Transport Union (NURTW), Sodiq (surname unknown), by an Okada rider, at NNPC area of Ibadan.

The Benue State-born Okada rider, who gave his name as Igor Jabless, allegedly dealt Sodiq the deadly punch at about 7.30a.m. over payment for a ticket issued by the deceased.

The Nigerian Tribune learnt that Jabless told Sodiq that he was not ready to pay because he belonged to the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners and Riders’ Association of Nigeria (ACOMMORAN).

But there were different versions of the incident that led to Sodiq’s death, as some eyewitnesses said that Jabless did not return any of the jabs thrown at him by the deceased, because of the way NURTW officials were dreaded by drivers and Okada operators.

“In the process of throwing punches at the Okada rider, the NURTW official’s cap fell off. As he bent to pick it, he just slumped,” a witness said.

However, another version of the story had it that the refusal of the Okada rider to pay for the ticket given to him led to an argument which made the deceased to hit him severally.

According to the witness, “when the fight between Sodiq and Jabless ,started, Sodiq had an upper hand, as he dealt the okada rider several blows. Jabless succeeded in returning a punch, but Sodiq slumped immediately it landed on him.”

The Nigerian Tribune further gathered that Sodiq was rushed to a nearby private hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

When ed, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO),in Oyo State, Adekunle Ajisebutu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, confirmed the story, saying that the suspect had been arrested while the remains of the deceased had been deposited in the mortuary at State Hospital, Ring Road, Ibadan.

Ajisebutu added that the state Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, had directed that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku for investigations.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/03/02/dangote-adenuga-otedola-alakija-rabiu-make-forbes-world-billionaire-list/

Five Nigerians including Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga; Femi Otedola; Folorunso Alakija and Abdulsamad Rabiu, were named in the Forbes 2016 World’s Billionaires’ list that was released on Tuesday.

The latest Forbes World Rich list profiled 1,810 billionaires across the globe.

While Dangote retained his number one position as the richest man in Africa, he was ranked 51 in the world. The value of Dangote’s wealth was put at $15.4 billion. Also, Adenuga with total wealth of $10 billion was ranked 103 richest person in the world by Forbes, just as Otedola, whose wealth was valued at $1.8 billion was ranked 1011 richest person in the world.

In the same vein, Alakija was placed 1121 on the list with her wealth put at $1.6 billion, just as Rabiu was ranked 1577 richest person in the world.

Meanwhile, Bill Gates topped the list of the world’s richest billionaires for the 17th time in 22 years. Though the 60-year-old Microsoft head is $4.2billion poorer than 2015, his net worth of $75billion put him in the top spot of the Forbes’ World Billionaires list for the third year in a row, after dethroning Mexico’s Carlos Slim Helu in 2014. Helu came in fourth in Forbes’ 2016 list of 1,810 billionaires, behind Gates, Zara’s Amancio Ortega and business mogul Warren Buffett, respectively.

Others who made the top 10 include Amazon’s Jeff Bezos at fifth on the list, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook at sixth, Oracle’s Larry Ellison at seventh, Michael Bloomberg at eighth, and tied for ninth are David and Charles Koch.

Forbes noted that Volatile stock markets, cratering oil prices and a stronger dollar led to a dynamic reshuffling of wealth around the globe and a drop in ten-figure fortunes for the first time since 2009. They explained: “For our 30th annual guide to the world’s richest, we found 1,810 billionaires, down from a record 1,826 a year ago. Their aggregate net worth was $6.48 trillion, $570 billion less than last year. It was also the first time since 2010 that the average net worth of a billionaire dropped – it is now $3.6 billion, $300 million less than last year.

“Behind these figures is a story of huge upheaval, as 221 people fell off the list, while 198 newcomers ed the ranks; another 29 people from 2015 died while 29 who’d previously fallen off climbed back on. Of those who were billionaires both years, 892 are poorer while 501 added to their fortunes.

“The reshuffling starts at the top. Only two people in the top 20 managed to hold onto their ranks. Bill Gates remains the richest person in the world with a net worth of $75 billion, despite being $4.2 billion poorer than a year ago.

He has been number one for three years in a row and topped the list 17 out of 22 years. (In the 30 years FORBES has tracked global wealth, only 5 people have held the title of richest person on planet; 3 of those 5 still rank among the 4 richest in the world including Warren Buffett and Carlos Slim.)

“Another new entrant worth mentioning is Zhou Qunfei, whose $5.9 billion fortune from smartphone screens is enough to make her the richest self-made woman in the world. She is one of 190 women in the list, down from 197 last year. Among the notable drop-offs are fashion designer Tory Burch, Sam Adams chief Jim Koch and Dick’s Sporting Goods head Edward Stack.”

The US had 540 billionaires on the list, more than any other country in the world. It’s followed by mainland China with 251 (Hong Kong has another 69) and with 120. Russia has 77, ten-figure fortunes, 11 fewer than last year, while Brazil is down 23 to 31.

Mynd44, Lalasticlala

http://tribuneonlineng.com/i-was-not-drunk-says-cocaine-suspect-who-broke-through-airport-glass-wall

The suspected drug trafficker who broke through a glass wall at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja has told officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) that he was not under any influence of drugs and that he was only trying to evade arrest.

Michael Nwobodo made a scene by breaking through a glass wall all in a bid to escape arrest. The 31-year-old technician, who was immediately apprehended, concealed 81 wraps of cocaine in Parker Whisky packs along with boxes of chocolates inside a duty free bag. The hard drugs tested positive for cocaine with a total weight of 1.350kgs.

The seizure was made during screening of engers on an Emirates airline flight from Dubai and the NDLEA commander at the Abuja airport, Mr Hamisu Lawan said that the suspect was taken to the hospital for further medical test on Tuesday.

According to Hamisu: “Though the suspect was treated for the injuries he sustained while attempting to escape on Monday, we had to take him for medical examination again. This is to ensure that he is strong and medically fit to undergo trial. Investigation has commenced into the case.”

The suspect told investigators that he ran away because he was afraid of arrest. “I am not under the influence of drugs. I was only scared of arrest. I live and work in Dubai. I came to Nigeria for my father’s burial but decided to bring the drugs because I needed money for the burial rite. When the drug was discovered, I felt so disappointed and confused. I was ashamed of myself and never wanted to be associated with drug trafficking that was why I had to run.”

Commenting, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Colonel Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah said: “The Agency will continue to work very hard in ensuring that drug traffickers are arrested and prosecuted. We are prepared to adopt new and sophisticated strategies in winning this important fight. I am pleased with this arrest and I thank the officers and of the airport community for their .”

This is the second case of a suspect creating a scene at the Abuja airport in less than four weeks.

The first was a 48-year-old woman, Saidat Hassan that allegedly vomited 15 wraps of white powdery substances that tested positive for cocaine.

The mother of three was arrested at the central screening section of the departure hall during outward screening of engers on an Egypt Airline flight to Jedda, Saudi Arabia, en-route Cairo. She also ingested 80 wraps of cocaine weighing 904 grammes.

Mynd44, Lalasticlala

http://www.punchng.com/guards-accused-of-stealing-n500000-tithes/

Four security guards, who allegedly stole the sum of N500,000 from a tithe box, were on Monday brought before a Tinubu Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the accused, who pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy and stealing, are Amos Danjuma, 20; Taiwo Akintola, 39; Bright Innocent, 28; and Tajudeen Shoni, 64.

The prosecutor, Inspector Richard Odigie, told the court that the accused committed the offences on January 25, at about 4am.

Odigie said the accused conspired to steal N500,000 from the tithe box belonging to Ascension Anglican Church at Alasia bus stop, Badore Road, Eti-Osa, Lagos.



“They were guards employed to secure the church. The first and second accused persons were on night duty while the third and fourth were on morning duty,” he said.

The prosecutor said that the offences contravened sections 309 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

Counsel for the accused, Mr. Ademola Owolabi, applied for their bail in liberal .

The magistrate, Mr. L. A. Owolabi, granted each of the accused N50,000 bail with two sureties each in like sum. He adjourned the case till March 22 for hearing.

Mynd44, Lalasticlala

http://tribuneonlineng.com/ohanaeze-fires-back-at-promoters-of-radio-biafra

Written by: Jude Ossai - Enugu

THE Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Monday night, tongue-lashed promoters of the Radio Biafra, saying that they were deliberately feeding the people with falsehood.

In a statement issued by the organisation’s Secretary General, Dr. Joe Nworgu, he rebuked the Radio Biafra promoters over what he described as “their penchant for telling lies and causing disaffection among the people.”

Dr Nworgu expressed dismay that rather than feed the people with the truth, the station had continued to saturate the airwaves with hate messages and lies aimed at inciting the Igbo people of the South-east and South-south geo-political zones against themselves.

Consequently, Ohanaeze cautioned those behind Radio Biafra to apply decorum and project the truth in their struggle for Biafra, stressing that their penchant for lies and deceit would never help their struggle.

The group's position followed the news that had saturated the airwaves by Radio Biafra since Saturday that Ohanaeze leadership had aborted the actualisation of Biafra.

The station was further quoted to have said that “some white men from America who came to deliver the United Nation’s certificate of recognition and independence of the Republic of Biafra had after meeting with Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu last Friday, withdrawn the certificate."

Reacting to the development, Secretary General of Ohanaeze, Nworgu, described the purported visit of the delegation from the United Nations as a ruse, stressing that the meeting the leadership of the body held in Enugu had nothing to do with the independence of Biafra.

“Since a few days ago when Radio Biafra carried the news item that the Ohanaeze Ndigbo had aborted the actualisation of Biafra as a country, numerous text messages and telephone calls have been received by the Secretary General, Nworgu.

“The alleged visit by some white people from America to hold a meeting with Ndigbo through Ohanaeze with the intent of delivering a United Nation’s certificate of recognition and independence of the Republic of Biafra is a ruse. The news item is a mere fabrication and is ill-motivated,” the statement said.

Ohanaeze explained that on Friday, February 26, “the new United States Consul General in Nigeria, John Bray and his team had a meeting with Ohanaeze Ndigbo at Nike lake hotel. This was part of His Excellency’s familiarisation tour of the country. He was in the southeast.

"He had meetings with the governors in the various states. In Enugu, the headquarters of Ohaaneze, he had a meeting with us on Igbo perception of Nigeria. This meeting is what has been distorted to be 'some white men from Africa came to give Biafrans independence. Of course, this cannot be the process of granting anybody independence.'"

Appealing to the radio station and Igbo youngmen and women to be analytical in their utterances and be cautious in their actions, he stated that the US Consul –General had visited other zones before the southeast, insisting that youths of the areas visited never misread the visit.

It stated that neither the President of the youth wing of Ohaaneze, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, was in the meeting nor any other youth of Igbo extraction.

“The Radio Biafra people should please take time to investigate before airing. It is wrong to air outright falsehood and outright fabrication. This is not the way forward. He who goes to equity must come with clean hands. Radio Biafra should not air untruth,” the statement added.

It stated that Ohanaeze Ndigbo had also not had any meeting with the President on Biafra, while restating her earlier stand for the unconditional release of Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kalu.

Ohanaeze called on the promoters of the Radio Biafra to tender an unreserved apology to the person of Dr. Joe Nworgu as well as retract the libel for their uninvestigated intemperate outburst.

Super1759:
Please I need his address for sharp supply

#madeinNigeriaONLY#

Shop 13 & 15, Greenfield Plaza, beside Ance Roundabout, Magazine Road Jericho, Ibadan Oyo State. Tel: +2348112600111 Email: [email protected]

http://www.ynorth.com.ng

http://www.punchng.com/wont-congratulate-ikpeazu-otti/

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance in Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, has said his party would provide a virile opposition to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the state to ensure that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu delivers on the social contract with Abia people.

He also said he won’t congratulate Ikpeazu.

Otti said the state government must understand that democracy thrives on virile opposition and Abia must have such opposition.

“The days where everyone would queue behind one person and sing his praises are over in the state,” he stated.



Otti, who spoke on Thursday in Aba, the commercial hub of the state, at a thanksgiving rally organised by the state chapter of APGA, noted that having accepted the Supreme Court judgment without minding its flaws, he still wanted the governor to succeed for the collective interest of Abia people.

He said, “To Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, let me state unequivocally that we have nothing against him as a person but the system that imposed him against all democratic norms and practices, which attached more value to his ambition than to the lives of innocent Abians.

“But for the governor to succeed, he must not only repent but also purge himself of those primitive and primordial practices that have continued to present the state as theatre of absurdities.

“He must stop the payment of monthly stipends to some lazy and jobless persons masquerading as godfathers, leaders and stakeholders. We believe that such act is evil and should not continue in the state.”

According to Otti, agents of the PDP and Abia State Government who desperately want to hear him congratulate Ikpeazu in the spirit of sportsmanship are ignorant of the meaning of sportsmanship.

He said, “While we have accepted the unpopular judgment that injures the sensibilities of Abians, we cannot congratulate you as that would amount to endorsement of criminality. So, rather than arrogantly demanding for unjust and undeserved congratulatory message from me and my party, the PDP should rather express remorse, seek repentance, and be humble enough to seek for forgiveness from God and Abians.”

Otti also cautioned his ers who might be disappointed with the turn of events to hold their peace.

Mynd44, Lalasticlala

http://tribuneonlineng.com/how-i-discovered-my-ion-for-shoe-making—bamiro


Babalola Seun Bamiro is the Chief Executive Officer of YNORTH Shoes, a Nigerian-made shoe company based in Lagos State with branches across Nigeria. In this interview with SEGUN ADEBAYO, he speaks about his mission and vision for the company and how he intends to remain on top of his game.

Excerpts:

How did you conceive the idea of making shoe?
The journey started in 2010, but before then, we have attended a lot of programmes and trainings that are related to what we are doing today. The story of YNORTH actually started when my girlfriend, now my wife, bought me a pair of leather slippers some years back. I noticed that everywhere I wore the slippers to, people kept asking me where I got it from and begging me to get one for them. So, I told my wife to invite the man who made the slippers for her. The man produced about five slippers for these people and before I knew it, more people kept requesting for more. So, I was forced to call the man to see how I could partner with him. I asked him how I could be making #500 from every production he makes for people through me. That was how the journey started for YNORTH, and we are grateful to God for how far we have come.

How did you come about the name YNORTH?
When I told the man to stop using a foreign name on home-made product, we started thinking about a name we could give our brand. We came up with different names, but at the end of the day, we settled for YNORTH. We actually started production in 2010 at the Redemption Camp where we sold a lot of products to the congregation. After the massive sales at Redemption Camp, we started going to supermarkets and stores to sell our shoes. Since then, we have taken our shoes to virtually every part of the country.

How is your relationship with the man who introduced you into the business?
When we started in 2010, he was producing for us, but when the market expanded, we started our own production professionally. We don’t have to wait on them to produce for us anymore because the quantity of what we are producing now is higher than when we started. The man does not have the capacity to produce the massive production that our market demands now. I had to travel to get some machines, employ more hands and start producing on a bigger scale. Today, we have several people who now produce for us because we have the market but they have the machinery.

What are the challenges you are facing producing made in Nigeria shoes?
One of our major challenges is getting to higher people who will buy into your idea. It has not been easy producing Nigerian-made shoes that can compete with foreign brands. Another problem is in the area of finance-buying the equipment that can enhance our production has been a big challenge for us. We need to get a bigger machine to produce. Even though we have all the equipment and machinery at our disposal, the epileptic power supply is seriously affecting our business. It is very worrisome that despite our efforts to give Nigerians something they can be proud of, power supply has never been regular. Fuelling our generating set is a big problem that is draining our finance. When I am thinking about buying a bigger machine, I am also thinking about buying a bigger generator to power the machine. Of course there is joy in delivering our products to people, because by and large, more people are beginning to buy from YNORTH shoes. We have moved up the ladder. The sales have increased but the pains and stress of getting the shoes ready are better imagined.

You once said that you are not competing with any Nigerian shoemaker but you are looking at how you can make your shoes compete with other foreign brands. How realistic do you think that is?
We have come a long way in shoe production and I can tell you that YNORTH has moved on. I don’t see us competing with any Nigerian-made shoe manufacturers, but the foreign brands. If we have the necessary machinery that produces what we want, nothing stops us from calling the bluff of foreign brands. As I speak with you, YNORTH has the largest fan base in Nigeria today. In fact, we are struggling these days to meet up with the demands people are placing on a daily basis. If we are able to get the machines and import the raw materials, I strongly believe that we have the market already in Nigeria. When we concentrate on our locality, we will win over other areas. We are not having problem with made in Nigeria products.

How well do you think Nigerians have accepted your products?
Honestly, we are doing very well in the Nigerian market and I don’t think we have competitors in Nigeria today. I don’t think we have competitors in Nigeria as I speak with you. The rate with which Nigerians have come to accept our shoes really amased me but I believe we have earned our place in Nigeria. The capacity of what we produce and the branding of our products is one of our unique selling points. The marketing arm of our business is not something most of our competitors can beat. I am actually thinking big right now, because we have seen what others have been doing and I can tell you that we have sured that state. The branding, production, capacity and marketing of our products stand us out.

Is it true that you dropped out of school because of your ion for shoe making?
I saw a post on twitter that I dropped out of school but people don’t understand it. I am an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) holder in Computer Science. I did my OND at Lagos State Polytechnic. I didn’t drop out of school. It is true that I have not gone back for my Higher National Diploma (HND), but I have not seen where anybody would say that an OND holder is a drop out. In fact, I decided to study computer science because I was influenced by Bill Gates. You know that those days, we were made to believe that you can be as rich as Bill Gates if you study computer science. But when I was in school, I got to know that there was much behind being a student. When I was in school, I got to know that Bill Gates didn’t just become the richest man in the world because he understands all the elements of computer, but he understands the business side of the job. I have always been a business person. I have always known that I would not seek for a white collar job, no matter what happens. I had set my mind at the bigger picture which I am seeing today. I actually started business by selling Tampico drink on the tarmac in Ikorodu before I switched to a networking marketing business.

http://www.punchng.com/we-sell-n15000-heroin-every-day-20-year-old-drug-peddler/

If 20-year-old Ridwan Aliyu had known that trying to make ‘quick’ money could land him in jail, he probably would have thought twice before becoming a drug dealer.

Aliyu and one Williams Amah, 32, were among the suspected criminals paraded by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad at the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja.

Sitting on the floor and looking quite frightened and confused, Aliyu, who said he just came to Lagos four months ago from Ibadan, said he was arrested at Lagos Island, the first day on his job.

Aliyu said he had gained ‘freedom’ as an apprentice clothes merchant and needed money to set up his own business but that money had been scarce.

“A friend of mine came to Ibadan and told me that he would introduce me to a business in Lagos and I would make quick and big money if I could be a part of it. He painted the business so well that I had no choice but to him,” Aliyu said.

Aliyu said when he found out that the business his friend was talking about was drug peddling, he had to jump at it in order to make money he said he required to set up his trade.

Unfortunately for him, the day he started the job was the day he was nabbed by the police.

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have agreed to this. It was actually my first day on the job that I was caught. We sold between N10,000 and N15,000 worth of heroin every day. I don’t even use the drugs. My job was to sell to the s but I hadn’t even sold any that day. People who don’t have money would come and drop their phones in exchange for the drugs,” he said.

Holding a palm-size scale used to measure the drug, Aliyu said one gram of heroin sells for as much as N7,000.

Amah, his partner who was also arrested looked unperturbed as he sat on the floor at the police command.

While itting to our correspondent that he had been a heroin for the last 15 years, the 32-year-old Abia State indigene claimed he was not an armed robber.

“I was caught and arrested where I was smoking. My wife knows I use drug. They (police) just came and arrested me while I was sleeping. I didn’t steal. Nobody caught me with any arms. I don’t sell; I only smoke drugs. I am a trader; I hawk clothes in any part of Lagos. I am not a thief, I can never be a thief,” he said.

The police said they were arrested after a robbery. Some items, which they allegedly stole from their victims, were found in their hideout, according to the police.

http://www.punchng.com/i-kidnap-people-to-raise-money-for-my-girlfriends-bride-price-suspect/

Uzordima Chukwudi, 29, was a lotto operator before he took to kidnapping, a trade he was into before he was arrested by the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, led by CSP Abba Kyari.

Chukwudi was arrested alongside some other of the group, including Joseph Chiaotu, aka Ejima, 21, Anozie Chinonso, 25 and 27-year-old Chukwuma Agim, who is a prison official, in connection with the kidnap of a woman in Imo State.

Speaking to journalists during the week, Chukwudi said he was studying Mechanical Engineering at Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Imo State before he dropped out in his final year. “What led me into kidnapping was unfortunate,” he said.

He explained that the pressure to raise the bride price of his pregnant girlfriend lured him into the crime. He said, “My girlfriend is pregnant and I have been under pressure to pay her bride price but I had no money. She told me that since she became pregnant her mother had been ostracised by her fellow women in their village. The pressure was too much that I needed to look for money by all means.”

On how he came across the other suspects, Chukwudi explained that when the pressure became unbearable, he ed two of his friends; Nnamdi, who is now in prison, and Chiboy, who later introduced him to Agim for the trade.

He said, “Agim, being a prison official, was the one making way for us whenever we approached a police check point but our first operation was not successful because the person we targeted escaped. But on the second operation, Chiboy went with a policeman and they kidnapped the woman.”

He said for his involvement in the deal and for taking food to the victim in the bush, he was given N100,000 as his share. He said, “Chiboy told me that he got only N1.1m from the woman but when we were arrested, the woman told us she paid N3m as ransom. The moment I got my own share, I gave my girlfriend part of it to start the preparation (for the wedding) while I went to the market to buy drinks. That was when I got a call from Agim and when I met him I was arrested.”

Agim, a prison official from Imo State who said he was lured into the trade by an inmate, Nnamdi, told journalists that even though he was able to buy clothes, settle his debts and fix his car with his N100,000 share in the ransom paid by the victim’s family, he regrets his involvement in the act.

He recalled that when he was posted to the Owerri prison, his mother, who was also serving in the prison, warned him to be wary of one inmate, named Vampire, and his friends so as not to get into trouble. He maintained that he was reluctant when Nnamdi approached him but that he later found the offer attractive.

He began, “I was in my final year student in Imo State University where I was studying Insurance. I was earning N43,000 monthly as a prison official and I was even thankful because I didn’t the Service with a first degree.

“When I came for industrial attachment last year, our chief warder told us that there was a notorious kidnapper called Vampire who was arrested and would be brought to Owerri Prison. Early this year I met Nnamdi who was in the same cell with Vampire. Nnamdi first asked me to get him a phone and he offered me N3,000 but I refused. So, he met another officer who got him the phone. They kept pressurising me that they wanted us to be friends.

“So, one day, we sat behind the food store and they told me several stories about their escapade in kidnapping and I found it attractive. They told me they were rich people and they used to visit several popular bars in major towns in the South East and South South states and that when they observe rich people leaving the bar, they go after them and kidnap them.”

He said at the end of the conversation, they gave him a number and that with that he was able to link other , including Chiboy, aka Eze Ekudeley, whom he called a big kidnapper, Ejima and Chukwudi.

He said they used to work with a policeman and that on the day they went to pick their victim, a woman, she wasn’t the main the target but she was traced to her house where she was picked.

“It was Nnamdi who called me to and look after the woman in the bush. I borrowed money from a friend and used it to buy food for the woman. I gave the food to Uzordima to give to the woman. I learnt the woman stayed for two days. I was given N100, 000 after the N1.1m ransom was collected. I bought clothes, settled my debt and fixed my car.

He said he was arrested few days after the operation. “It was Ejima who led them to me. I regret getting myself into this mess he lamented,” he added.

On his part, Ejima said his share of the ransom was N70,000, out of which he used N10,000 to buy shoes and clothes. “I don’t know how the police heard about what I did; they came after me and arrested me. I led the police to arrest the prison official and four other of the gang, but we were unable to arrest Chiboy. He noticed the presence of the police and he attempted to escape. He ran into the bus and the police fired several shots at him but he wasn’t hit.

Chinonso, who also hailed from Imo State, said poverty led him into kidnapping. “All I was looking for was a little money to buy a bus on hire purchase because the one I had got spoilt. I met Ejima recently and I told him I needed assistance because I had no job. He promised he would help me.”

He explained that he participated in the kidnap and that his share was N100,000 but that he was arrested when he was about hiring a bus. “It was poverty that led me into this crime. I am a very poor person struggling for myself and my family. I have no one helping me and my mother is a very old woman. I pray this woman (the victim) and her family would forgive me, he said.

EasternActivist:


You sure say you know idiom.

How do you your waec Sef??

Nwa'ne, it's no biggie really, just catching fun. I guess you meant to say "in droves". It's o.k really because nobody is above mistake.

EasternActivist:

Because they fail every year in grooves??

Guy, just type in igbo coz your 'Engrish' na embarrassment. Which one be 'grooves'? You sure say you WAEC?

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/02/kidnapping-in-festac-igbo-factor-and-police/

By Clement Udegbe

AN Igbo proverb, says that when the birds start flying without perching , hunters learn how to shoot and hit, without aiming, and that is the origin of the name “ Ogbanufe” meaning, one who shoots and kills birds as they fly.

This is exactly what the police in Festac Town has started doing now, under the Area and Divisional Police Commands, to face the new double barrel challenge of criminal gang robberies, and kidnapping. Some time in 2012, a criminal gang came up around Amukoko and Ajegunle areas of Lagos state. They were called the “Million Men” . These criminals would number over 100 persons and descend on an area visiting from house to house along streets in the area, stealing cash and light items like laptops, mobile phones etc. Where they do not find money with their victims, they would rape the women, force parents to have sex with their children and vice versa, or force them to perform all sorts of atrocious sexual acts with them, or for them, and if the victims refused, they would simply kill someone in the family, and move to the next.

They were known to operate for hours, from midnight till about 5am, when and where they struck. Cooperation between the police, community leaders, and politicians in these areas helped to chase them away, combined with the political campaigns which kicked off as early as 2013. With the conclusion of elections in 2015, the Million Men are back! Last month they communicated the Ira quarters, at Agric Bus stop, near Volks, along Badagry Express way to expect them.

The Bales are worried, no one knows when they will strike. The Million Men, is one of the recent headaches of the Police area and divisional command from Festac down to Badagry. But their greater palaver is that of Kidnapping which has strong links with the Igbo people who appear predominant in the area, especially Festac Town, where some of the rich ones seem to prefer. Festac Town, was one of the best designed estates under the post civil war government of General Gowon. It had a proper layout plan for water and power supply, drainage system with generous open spaces. Efficiently managed by the then Federal Housing Authority, Festac was a place to be. It was beautiful and relatively crime free.

With the Military coup of 1984 by General Buhari as he then was, mismanagement,corruption,and share incompetence replaced excellence, and continuously, Festac gradually deteriorated. Open spaces were sold off, water systems collapsed, electricity became a whole nonesence, and politicians came in 1999 and killed Festac finally with their ethnic conundrum. Those who knew Festac in the early 1980s wonder continuously over what Festac has become, because when planning and efficiency departs from any settlement, poverty, disorderliness and crime, creep in to assume greater prominence. The movement by the more affluent people away from Festac is the result of a carefully planned programme by Alausa since the past 16 years. First is the fight between the Federal and Lagos State governments over who will control tenement rates and land charges in Festac Town.

The Festac Residents Association,FETRA, is still in court against the Lagos state government over this matter, and now that APC is at both levels, with a President that has listed the Judiciary as part of his problems, while the Party Chairman wants the Judiciary investigated, FETRA needs urgent and fervent Prayers!

Second, is the obvious continued neglect of the Badagry Road axis, from Festac Town by the state government, with very bad roads, poor road linkages, and persistent traffic snarls, with the effect that very many vehicle owners do not drive out because it takes about two hours to link from Festac to other parts via Mile 2. Third, their agencies, LASTMA and VIOs chose to check for ‘vehicle particulars’ during work peak periods in the mornings, calculated to frustrate the settlers along this axis because they are mostly Igbos!

Fourthly, the Igbos themselves do not seem to look beyond their nose in these matters. The so called rich ones among them, will neither help FETRA financially, nor assist the police to the system to continue to work properly.Their blind competitive spirit make them not see the bigger picture, and now the brigandage among them seem to help to fuel kidnapping in the whole area. Since 2012, when kidnapping came into Festac, most victims are from Alaba International Market, Balogun and ASPAMDA markets in the Trade Fair Complex.

They have not paused to consider that the Kidnapper hates their successes, and that they have to deploy their funds to assist the police and security system to secure the area. Instead they ship out of the area, and point accusing fingers at the police, when they refuse to volunteer information to the appropriate quarters to fight kidnapping. How far can they really run, when their offices are still within the area? It surely would have been better to spend just a small percentage of the money used for relocation to Lekki and other destinations, to get Alausa, to plan better for the area, like they do for Lekki etc, but where the government has a plan against an ethnic group what you find is the situation in Festac and Badagry Road axis, today.

When our leaders create problems like they have done in Festac, they leave us to blame our Police officers for everything. Typically, police officers justle for posts and postings, and the usual Pull Him Down Syndrome sets in, while we completely overlook the source of the problem, which is the Politicians. Blaming the Police over the situation in Festac is simply myopic, because crime rates in those areas where Alausa is interested in is very low, such areas include, Lekki, Ikeja,Opebi, Maryland, Anthony, Ojota, Ogudu, Yaba, Suru-Lere, to name a few. Police officers in Festac are changed regularly, so they are not different from those in other areas. The problem is the lack of will by the Lagos state government to plan for Festac Town, while we must learn on our part to share information with the Police.

*Mr Udegbe, a lawyer, can be reached at [email protected].

http://www.punchng.com/traders-throng-aba-onitsha-lagos-kano-markets/


Nonye Ben-Nwankwo, Success Nwogu, Gbenro Adeoye, Armstrong Bakam and Nosa Akenzua

The scarcity of dollars in the country has left traders with no option than to be thronging some commercial cities in the country to buy goods in order to remain in business.

Some of the traders, who are majorly importers of textiles and other materials, resorted to thronging Aba, Onitsha, Lagos, and Kano markets, among others, due to the scarcity of dollar in both commercial banks and the black market.

According to the traders, the scarcity has continued to affect their businesses.

The traders claimed that they decided to buy from the local markets in order to meet the demands of their customers and to “avoid being pushed out of their sources of livelihood.”

The Managing Director, Ziza Cosmetics, Bauchi, Mrs. Christabel Rowland, said the dollar scarcity had almost “ruined” her business before she resorted to buying goods from the Kano market.

She said, “Apart from the scarcity of dollar, the exchange rate is just rising with no sign of it dropping.

“I can’t buy anything abroad presently. If I should buy, my customers may not afford to buy them because the goods will be very expensive.

“Anybody who travels now to buy goods abroad will only waste his money and make losses because it is not advisable to bring imported goods to Nigeria now with the high exchange rate.

“It is better to buy in Kano or Lagos in order to minimise cost. I can’t imagine buying goods abroad at this critical time.”

Also, a bank customer, Alhaji Jimoh Obasa, said his international business had suffered a huge setback because of the scarcity of dollars.

He said since he could no longer discharge his responsibilities with his clients, he decided to temporarily close his operations while hoping that the situation would improve.

A businesswoman, Mrs. Joy Ajayi, who usually buys goods from Dubai, and the United States, said her hitherto booming business had been undergoing serious challenge as she could no longer get enough dollars to import goods.

Ajayi said she decided to buy from Aba, a commercial city in Abia State.

Alhaja Afolasade Olalere has also stopped travelling to the United Kingdom, her favourite destination for the purchase of lace fabrics, as a result of the situation.

According to her, she is not considering travelling abroad to buy goods until there is drastic reduction in the exchange rate and availability of dollar.

“The scarcity and the exchange rate are needless because many businesses are going moribund,” she said, adding that she had decided to buy from the local markets anytime she got orders from her customers.

However, Saturday PUNCH learnt that some traders have been relying on influential Nigerians to access dollars at commercial banks.

An Ekiti State-based businesswoman, Mrs. Victoria Adeolu, told one of our correspondents that she used the influence of a member of the House of Representatives to get dollars.

“Funny thing is that even the lawmaker is complaining that it is not easy for him to get dollars from banks anymore. But when I hit a brick wall, I always call upon the lawmaker to help get the dollars,” she said.

Adeolu added that she was already thinking of patronising the local markets, preferably Kano to buy goods.

Bukola Adetoun, another Lagos-based businesswoman, said she might quit her clothing and gold business if the economy did not improve.

She said, “I feel like crying as I am talking to you. I go to the market with N2m and it is as if it is just N200, 000. If I increase the prices of my goods, who will buy them? Before I travel, I usually tell my customers to place orders on what they want. Now, more than 89 per cent didn’t get back to me. It is very unusual.

“I am taking a big risk in this trip I intend to make. If I come back and I am not able to make any profit, I have to quit.”

A dealer in Senegalese wears, Mr. Ngozi Eze, said business had been slow in the last few months as a result of the economic crisis caused by the high exchange rate and scarcity of dollars.

She said, “Each time I travel to Senegal, I always come back with four sacks of clothes. But the last trip, I could only come back with one and half bags for the same amount of money I have been using to buy clothes.

“Each of my wears costs not less than N25, 000. So, how will I tell my customers to buy same for N50, 000 if not more? At the end, the traders are the ones losing. I wonder what will happen in future.”

Attempts by a Delta State-based textile trader, Mrs. Eunice Ogbodo, to buy $8,000 have hit brick wall.

She said, “The scarcity and the high exchange rate have badly affected my business. I can no longer travel to Dubai for obvious reasons; I cannot afford N370 to a dollar. I have struggled to buy $8,000 with no success.

“I may soon resort to buying goods from local markets to keep myself in business because nobody knows when this ‘madness’ will stop.”

A Lagos-based dealer in motor vehicles and electronics, Mr. Olubukola Adeosun, shared similar experience.

Adeosun said he had not been able to buy some of the products that he wanted to import into Nigeria since January due to the scarcity of dollar.

He said apart from the scarcity, it was not wise to import capital goods into the country now due to the fall in naira value.

Adeosun said, “Things are difficult right now. I have some goods that had already been picked for me in the US since January for import into the country, but I have not been able to pay for them due to dollar scarcity.

“The scarcity has also led to an insensible rise in the dollar value. I am even being cautious right now because if I should get the dollars by all means, it will be too expensive and this will translate to the goods that I want to sell to be too expensive for Nigerians.

“There are still some vehicles that I imported since last year and they have yet to be bought. I want to sell them first before I import the ones that have been picked for me over there.

Mynd44, lalasticlala. FrontPage to promote this indigenous effort?

http://thenationonlineng.net/firm-invests-400m-in-vessel-fabrication-integration-yard/

February 16, 2016

The Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL) base and Samsung Heavy Industries have invested $400 million in a vessel fabrication and integration yard in Lagos, The Nation has learnt.

Additional $200 million will also be injected in the yard in the next few months.

The yard, it was gathered, has the capacity for Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) integration and conversion.

The $600 million LADOL free zone within the Apapa Pilotage District is a world-class facility. Access to the place is restricted.

It has extensive infrastructure and equipment layout, making it an ideal environment for vessel integration, offshore oil and gas mega-fabrication, pipe coating, engineering and agricultural processing centre.



The facility is fenced round with adequate lighting, close circuit television (CCTV) and port . Security operatives patrol the base.

A senior official of the Federal Ministry of Transport (FMoT) told The Nation that the base, a wholly indigenous organisation, has created jobs in the offshore logistics sector. On completion, he added, it will promote local content.

LADOL, the official said, has the biggest vessel fabrication and integration yard in the region, with capacity for FPSO integration and conversion, top-side FPSO modula fabrication, large offshore fabrication and range of general steel construction at a rate of 10MT per year. LADOL has also expanded its fabrication capacity from 10,000 tonnes to 40,000 tonnes to service FPSO, oil rigs, ship repairs and maintenance.

“The move is to concentrate on mega oil and gas and maritime fabrication jobs for West Africa in the country. Several countries in Africa, such as Sao Tome, South Africa, Ghana, Angola, Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea currently look up to the facility for the discharge of oil and gas cargoes.

“The issue of security risks in the business of discharging oil and gas cargo has been addressed by the promoters of the facility because they have complied with the International Ships and Ports Facility Security (ISPS) code which is being implemented in the country by the Nigerian Maritime istration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

“The width and draft of the Lagos channel which is now around 13.5 meters makes it possible for the base to handle FPSO operations. The minimum 600 meters radius for turning basin for FPSO operation has already been addressed

“Also, the fear that the facility would create an un-conducive operating atmosphere to terminal operators and that the economic interest of other s of the channel may be jeopardised, are mere delusion and figment of imagination of those raising the issues.

To make the nation’s ports Africa’s hub, improve LADOL, it was gathered, has acquired giant cranes described as the first in the country.

The acquisition of the equipment, may lead to a “vigorous market share battle” in the maritime and oil and gas industry.

An official working at the facility who identified himself as Mr Sunday said: “It is certainly something that has been needed for quite some time. It will bring more business to the port and more work hours for those engaging in the maritime trade. In future, the larger cranes may require rail lines and that the channel be widened and deepen by the NPA so that modern larger vessels can transit the waterway.”

The cranes, he said, were imported, to take care of heavy industries machines and other equipment that are needed in the maritime and oil and gas industry.

“The cranes were also purchased to attract big vessels and heavy cargo. The company is ready to deal with big capacity vessels that would bring in oil and gas cargoes, automobile parts, and heavy industrial materials,” he said.

LADOL Managing Director, Dr Army Jadesimi said the free trade zone would provide 5,000 jobs inside the company; 100,000 would be created outside the base.

“LADOL is the only 100per cent Nigerian logistics base owner in Nigeria and the only one to develop a facility from a zero value Greenfield NPA site into a $600 million world class base,” she said.

http://thenationonlineng.net/you-must-marry-your-wifes-corpse/

Hours after the birth of her twin girls, Margaret Emmanuel gave up the ghost, leaving her husband with the twins and their three grown-up siblings. To make matters worse, Margaret’s family in Ebonyi are demanding that Emmanuel fulfils a vital aspect of their culture before the burial ceremonies even commence. Taiwo Abiodun reports.

At first it was congratulations and celebration galore as Madam Margaret Emmanuel was delivered of a set of beautiful twin girls. But few hours after, the joyful mood turned sour and mourning took over, as news filtered in that mother of the twins had ed on. She gave up the ghost on her way to the hospital, living the twins behind without the very vital motherly care. It also marked the beginning of the trauma of her husband and father of the twins, Mr. Adejo Emmanuel. Aside being shattered by the news, he was suddenly faced with a somewhat insurmountable challenge of weaning two infants alone. But the trauma did not end there, only Emmanuel didn’t know at this point in time.

While lamenting his predicament, Emmanuel said, “My life is like a balloon that was punctured with a pin, which immediately deflated it of all the joy. When a woman is pregnant the prayer is to hear the babies’ cries and that of the mother’s joy; but now the mother is gone, leaving the babies,” Emmanuel said, sobbing.

That was the story of the Emmanuel family last December 21. As if the agony was not enough, the deceased’s family sent a message to the husband that he has to obey their custom and tradition by performing certain rituals and rites. Chief amongst these rights includes performing the mandatory marriage ceremonies with the deceased wife, an activity the couple had failed to perform while the late Margaret was alive. Without that, they told him that he is barred from coming to his wife’s village in Akenze, Ebonyin State, let alone, burying the corpse.

Emmanuel, a peasant farmer in his mid-50s is thus being called upon to go through wedding ceremonies with his late wife’s corpse. Coming from Emmanuel’s Igala ethnic background, this is rather bizarre and unimaginable. He lamented, “I don’t know what went wrong and I don’t know my sin. Like any other fellow Christian, when everybody was preparing for Christmas, I was preparing as well, both for a merry Christmas, safe delivery for my wife and a successful naming ceremony for the babies; not knowing that I had another thing coming.”



Late Margaret’s last moment

Narrating his wife’s last moment, Emmanuel said he suddenly saw his wife at Ugbagbo farm in Owo, where he was working unannounced. “When I saw her, I scolded her and asked why she came all the way to the farm, because she was already heavy and ready to deliver. I also asked why she did not go to the hospital instead of coming to the farm to meet me. Of course, this was not her first pregnancy, as she had previously had four children before this pregnancy. To compound matters, there was no vehicle to take her back to town that evening. We therefore waited till the second day. However she went into labour in between and was delivered of the twin girls. She was attended to by Traditional Birth Attendants, but the placenta did not come out. We quickly got her into a vehicle and headed for the General Hospital at Oke-Ogun in Owo. Unfortunately she did not make it, as she gave up the ghost at the entrance of the hospital. I noticed that her condition had worsened and she was getting dizzy. She thus got to the hospital, dead. To say the least, I was devastated. I became confused and almost ran mad. The nurses, who knew her, were surprised that she went to the farm instead of the hospital. She was well known at the hospital, because that was where she had all her children. She had also attended antenatal there.”

Twins under custody

Honourable Segun Obasekola, a Councillorship aspirant in Igboroko Nla Street, Owo and landlord of No 44, Igboroko Nla Street, where the family resides, said he pitied the man, Emmanuel for losing his wife at childbirth: “When they approached me for a room and I discovered they had no money, I have no choice but to allow them use the room free-of-charge. I did not know anyone of them, but as a community leader and a man with milk of kindness, I think this is one way I can render help. Here a Good Samaritan, Mrs. Femisola Akilamilo is taking care of the twins. Mrs. Akinlamilo, a prophetess who is also called Mother of Children (Iya Ewe) in her Cherubim and Seraphim Church.”

When The Nation got to 44, Igboroko Nla Street, the woman and the babies were found in a room, where she takes care of them.

Speaking, the twins’ guardian Madam Akinlamilo said she was called by a church member to come and assist the motherless children who had just been delivered. She said: “My cell phone just rang last December 23 (2015), and a friend broke the news that a mother of twins had just died and there was nobody to take care of them. She added that since I am a mother of kids in the church, I should try and assist in taking care of the babies. He also said I would be given stipends. So I obliged. I am a widow, I have four children and my last child is 11 years old. Since I am not under any man’s roof, I gladly accepted the role of a guardian, as God sent me.”

Asked if she breast-feeds the babies, the woman declared in a touching voice, “There is no milk in my breasts anymore, but the nurses and doctors have recommended their food (SMA). They consume a tin of the baby food within three days, but their father is a poor farmer; so when I ran out of their food, I went to Alhaji Jamiu Ekungba, a gubernatorial aspirant in Ondo State and narrated the story to him in order to solicit his to assistance. I also met one Mr. Jide Tububo, who advised me to go to the press and do the necessary legal papers, for I was ignorant of all such stuff. As I speak, we have no food to give them today, because they have exhausted what we had in stock.”

Asked whether she had intimated the welfare office or the police that she is in custody of the babies, Mrs. Akinlamilo became a bit jittery and said, “I am ignorant of that. I am just acting as a Good Samaritan; I don’t know that I should report to the Welfare Office or the police. Please can you enlighten me more to avoid any problems,” she pleaded with this reporter. Mrs. Akinlamilo said she is appealing to the state government and NGOs to come to the twins’ aide.”

In the course of this discussion, Emmanuel, father of the twins came in with a tin of SMA baby food. He announced with relish that he just bought one tin from the money given to him.

Many rivers to cross

Now the corpse of the late Margaret has been deposited at the mortuary while preparation is on the way to go to Akenze in Ebonyi State to officially announce the news of his wife’s demise and also perform the necessary rituals and rites. But there still is a snag. Emmanuel has no money.

He said: “The family of my late wife have asked me to come and do marriage ceremonies h my wife and come up with the sum of 350,000 naira before anything could even take off. Where would I get the money from? I am confused. They should pity my condition and understand that I’m still taking care of her four children. Three of them are in secondary school, not to talk of the twins,” he said.

So while Margaret’s corpse lies in the mortuary, Emmanuel is confused and disturbed, as he is facing three hurdles: “I have no money to pay for the mortuary; I also have no money to feed the children; and my in-laws are demanding for the death certificate of their daughter, which they say I must bring along whenever I am coming. They also say it is compulsory for me to come over and do a compulsory marriage with her before she could be buried. They say some rituals must be performed and 350,000 naira must be paid to her family as part of her bride-price, before talking about the burial at all. Where do I get the money from? Am I not in trouble now?”

According to Emmanuel, his in-laws don’t even want to entertain or listen to any excuse or explanation; all they care about is for him to fulfil all the necessary requirements.

Asked how he met his wife, Emmanuel replied that, “You can meet your wife anywhere, so far there is love and the woman agrees to marry you. I am from Idah in Igala, Kogi State, and we met here in Owo, Ondo State. I never knew this is what I would face.”

AUTHOR Chukwudi Akasike, Port Harcourt

The General Overseer of Agape Baptist Church, Pastor Oprite Amakiri, has been arrested and detained at the Rumuolumeni Police Division in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The 50-year-old randy pastor confessed to how he deceived a member of his church and raped her 18-year-old sister before he was exposed and dragged to the police.

Amakiri was said to have told about 200 of his church that he had been battling waste pain for the past two years and stressed that God told him that a girl between the age of 12 and 18 years old would be needed to massage his waste for him to be healed.

However, the gullible of the church did not see anything wrong in the randy pastor’s ‘prophecy’ and one of them, the elder sister to the victim (names withheld) decided to make available her 18-year-old sister for the massage job.



The pastor (Amakiri) decided to visit the home of his victim’s sister to get massaged while the owner of the house (victim’s sister), who is a roadside trader, had gone to do her petty trading.

It was learnt that the pastor raped the girl on three occasions and threatened to deal with her if she dared expose his deeds to anyone, including her elder sister.

Not satisfied with the development, the victim (names withheld) slammed the door against the pastor on the fourth day and stopped him from gaining access into the room for another round of sex.

Angered by the girl’s effrontery, the randy pastor put a call across to the elder sister of the victim and told her that the 18-year-old girl was trying to stop ‘God’s prophecy’, an action that forced the naïve victim’s sister to abandon her wares and rushed home with dissatisfaction.

On getting to her house, the rape victim told her sister how she had been defiled on four occasions by the pastor. It was at that point that the trader raised the alarm and Pastor Amakiri was arrested.

Speaking with newsmen, the errant pastor confessed to the crime and said nobody should blame it on the devil and that he (Amakiri) should take the blame because he actually planned and executed the rape of the teenager.

“The elder sister to the girl I raped is a choir member of my church. It was after choir practice one Thursday that I informed the sister that I would like to visit her house for a serious discussion and she obliged me.

“The following day, I paid her the visit and requested that she allow her younger sister (his victim), to massage my waist, that I had been having ache on it in the past two years and every treatment, drugs and injection had failed.

“She then went and discussed with the younger sister, who accepted to help me. So, we had the first massage treatment that day while the elder sister was around and nothing happened between me and the little girl.

“On Saturday, I called her to inform her that I was coming back for the treatment, I got there while she was about to leave for choir practice in the church. While the massage was going on, I had the (sexual) urge. So, I had carnal knowledge of the girl. I have successfully raped her three times,” Amakiri, whose church is located in Rumuolumeni, added.

The cleric, whose wife is a health worker in Degem Locl Government Area of the state, explained that he could not tell his wife to massage him because she only came home from her work place once a week when she was off duty.

Amakiri, who has four children, stated that it was during his fourth attempt at raping the girl that he met a brick wall and since then, he had not regained his freedom.

He said, “It was the fourth time that she (victim) locked the gates against me. So, I had to call her sister on her cell phone and she rushed to the house from her shop and began to interrogate the girl on why she did not want to massage my waist again and she disclosed what has been happening between us.

“I sincerely regret my actions. It is like the ground should open up and swallow me. Don’t blame the devil for what has happened, blame me because I was tempted and I did it,” he added.

The victim, who simply gave her name as Goodness, told newsmen that she never knew the pastor that was respected so much by of his church could think of having sexual intercourse with her.

She said the pastor had warned her on each occasion he forcefully had carnal knowledge of her not to disclose what happened to anybody, including her elder sister.

“I was in the house when the pastor came and asked me to massage his waist. On the first day, I massaged him, nothing happened between us. But on the second day, while I was massaging him, he began to touch my breast and raped me.

“I tried to escape, but he held me and warned me never to tell anybody what he did to me. He has raped me three times,” the victim said, adding that she used vegetable oil to massage the pastor’s waist.

Speaking on the matter, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, said the randy pastor had confessed to raping the girl on several occasions, adding that Amakiri would be charged to court at the end of an ongoing investigation into the matter.

Mohammad told newsmen that the teenager would be taken to the hospital for a comprehensive medical check-up to ascertain that the pastor has not infected her with HIV or any other sexually transmitted diseases.

He cautioned of the public to beware of people, who might want to deceive and take undue advantage of them.

http://www.punchng.com/randy-pastor-rapes-teenager-says-blame-me-not-devil/

AUTHOR: Ogbonnaya Ikokwu, Umuahia

Men of the Abia State Police Command have smashed a child trafficking syndicate and rescued three victims in the state.

The arrested suspects are Chidubem Nwachukwu, (aka) Isaac, Florence Nwokocha, Chukwunonye Emerenini and Onyekwere Okeiyi.

It was learnt that the suspects were arrested following an alarm raised by one of their victims, who was lured from Aba to Umuahia, the state capital, by one of the suspects.

It was also gathered that one of the suspects had promised to marry and take care of the victim that was lured to Umuahia.



The victim, who was said to be begging for alms at a motor park in Aba with her two children aged six months and two years, reportedly followed her lover to Umuahia, where she was reportedly taken to a beauty salon to fix her hair on arrival.

It was gathered that one of the suspects (Nwachukwu) arranged with of her gang and took the children away from the victim while she was away.

Sensing that her children had been stolen, the victim ed the police, who swang into action immediately and arrested one of the suspects.

When ed, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ezekiel Udeviotu, who confirmed the incident, said the victim’s statement led to the arrest of of the gang, including a female amputee who claimed to be a social welfare staff attached to Umuahia North Local Government Area.

Udeviotu added that the suspects made revelations that led to the rescue of the two children of the complainant and one other child who was stolen from the parents at Umudem, Ikeduru in Imo state.

The police spokesman said security agents were on the trail of other of the gang with a view to rescuing more victims and ensuring that the perpetrators of the inhuman act were brought to justice.

http://www.punchng.com/abia-police-smash-child-trafficking-syndicate-rescue-three-children/