Nigerian Train Crashes Into Truck

A Nigerian passenger train that took off from Kano and bound for Lagos crashed into a faulty truck late this afternoon (Nigerian time), officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) have confirmed. The accident took place a few meters from the Kakau Train Station in Chikun local government area of Kaduna State.
Two sources said the truck involved in the accident was loaded with human waste, specifically excreta. The truck was reportedly stuck on the rail line as the Lagos-bound passengers train rammed into it.
An official at the North West Zonal Office of NEMA disclosed that the agency received a distress call after the accident. The agency’s emergency response team was then mobilized and sent to the scene of the accident to undertake rescue operations.
Eyewitnesses who spoke to SaharaReporters stated that the faulty truck belonged to Ibe Nigeria Limited. “The truck just broke down right at the rail line.
Then the moving train crashed into it, resulting in the derailment of the train,” one eyewitness said.
Neither NEMA nor eyewitnesses disclosed information about any casualties among the passengers. However, an eyewitness said four passengers sustained serious injuries. The injured were reportedly evacuated to Saint Gerald Catholic Hospital, Kakuri, Kaduna State for treatment. SaharaReporters was unable to obtain official confirmation from the hospital.
Our correspondent said NEMA officials had conducted an on-the-spot-assessment to determine the extent of the damages.

Police kill Bamigbetan’s kidnappers, arrest two

The Lagos State Police Command says it has arrested members of a kidnapping syndicate suspected to have kidnapped the Chairman, Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, Kehinde Bamigbetan.

According to the police, the suspects were arrested shortly after kidnapping an Indian, Vivex Changrani, in the early hours of Monday.

The Commissioner of Police for the command, Umar Manko, said the suspects were not based in Lagos but only operated in the state on weekends after which they would flee to Ghana.

He said apart from Bamigbetan, the suspects had been involved in a series of high-profile kidnapping including that of a Federal High Court judge in Lagos.

He said, “Based on painstaking investigation and tracking of Nigerian kidnappers who kidnapped Ejigbo LCDA Chairman, Kehinde Bamigbetan, a sitting Federal High Court Judge and other notable individuals in Lagos, a team of detectives, led by the Officer in Charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, traced the kidnappers to the Agbara area of Ogun State where the kidnappers have their camp.

“After 72 hours of laying ambush, the policemen stormed the house where the kidnappers were gathered. A gun duel ensued and seven kidnappers were killed. Two of the kdinappers, Ogbonna Emenike and Uchenna Nwanyu, were arrested alive with bullet wounds while four AK47 rifles, 28 AK47 magazines and over 1,000 rounds of AK47 live ammunition were recovered.

“A Honda CRV and a Nissan Pathfinder as well as charms were recovered from them. An Indian national, Vivex Changrani, who was kidnapped at Ikoyi two hours before the operation, was also rescued by the police.”

Manko said the suspects were able to evade arrest for so long because they were in Ghana and due to international law, Nigeria policemen had to collaborate with INTERPOL to track the suspects.

The police boss said the suspects operated in army uniforms which deceived members of the public.

“We discovered that because the suspects operated in army uniform, they easily got away. Sometimes, they could even alight from their vehicles in broad daylight and direct traffic in order to escape,” he said.

According to police detectives, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, the suspects lived flamboyant lifestyles in Ghana.

A police source, said the leader of the gang, Jonah Benjamin  Osinachi aka China, who was killed during a gun duel with the police, owned a big restaurant in Ghana and other investments which he funded with proceeds from his illegitimate business.

He said, “The suspects only struck during weekends after which they would go back to Ghana. For instance, after kidnapping Bamigbetan, they received $50,000 (N8m) as ransom. They went back to Ghana without any money.

“Rather, what they did was to give the money to a bureau de change operator who then helped them to transfer the money through an agent to Ghana.”

The suspects however said they were not members of the gang but only friends to the killed suspects.

Nwanyu said, “I am not a kidnapper, China employed me to manage his restaurant in Ghana and I have been doing that for two years now. I came with China, his wife and two kids on Sunday because they said they wanted to renew their passports at FESTAC.”

Another suspect, Emenike, said he was not part of the gang. He said he was only released from prison last Monday and was only at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Indian victim, Changrani, however identified the suspects as his captors. He commended the police for rescuing him less than five hours after his abduction.

He said, “I have been living in Nigeria for seven years and I work for a plastic-manufacturing company. On Sunday night, around 12am, I was on Gerard Road, Ikoyi, when men in army uniform flagged down my vehicle. They jumped into my car and pushed me into the back seat.

“An hour later, they pushed me into their own vehicle, blindfolded me. After some hours, they took me into their house and locked me in a room and told me to sleep. Around 5am, I started hearing gunshots and when the police identified themselves, I screamed for help and they rescued me. The police did a fantastic job.”

>>> vanguard

DISCOVERY: Women really are more likely to orgаsm if they’re with an attractive man

Some women prefer a sensitive New Man to a rugged brute.  But according to research, they’re missing out between the sheets.

A study of couples’ sex lives has found that women have more orgasms with men they rated as more masculine and dominant. Unsurprisingly, those with good-looking partners also fared better.
A study into sexual relationships found that women had more orgasms, and at the best times for conception, with men they thought were handsome and dominant.
Women who found their partners most attractive were more likely to orgasm at the same time or just after men, which is the optimum time to get pregnant.
In the past, female orgasm has been thought of as biologically useless.
But researchers from Pennsylvania State University claim the findings support the theory that female orgasms have an evolutionary function.
Previous evidence appears to show that it may help retain sperm after sex and promote conception.
This research appears to show that female orgasm could be a way of selecting the best genes for procreation.
The report, ‘Men’s masculinity and attractiveness predict their female partners’ reported orgasm frequency and timing’, were published in Evolution and Human Behaviour.
The authors concluded: ‘Although our results require replication, they are consistent with the hypothesis that female orgasm is a copulatory mate choice mechanism, perhaps for selecting high-quality genes for offspring.’
The researchers interviewed 110 couples from a U.S. university and questioned them on when they experienced an orgasm and whether it was before, after or at the same time as their partner.
Women were asked to rate their own attractiveness out of 10 and how dominant or masculine their boyfriend or husband is. Men were asked to rate their own attractiveness, dominance and masculinity and their partner’s femininity.
The ratings were then compared to ratings on attractive judged by a separate group of people.
They were also rated on objective characteristics such as facial masculinity and symmetry.
Results showed that if the man is particularly attractive or masculine, the woman is much more likely to orgasm at the same time or just after her partner, and thus increase the chance of getting pregnant.
According to the researchers, a woman is more likely to become pregnant if she has an orgasm either one minute before or 45 minutes after a male has ejaculated.
David Puts, lead author, wrote: ‘We found that objective measures of the quality of women’s mates – men’s attractiveness and masculinity – significantly predicted the women’s orgasms.
‘Earlier-timed orgasms suggest more intense sexual arousal and indeed are associated with greater sexual pleasure.’

Security Man Breaks ATM, Steals N12m

A security man and employee of First Bank Nigeria Plc, Jibowu Branch, Seyi Jaiyeola, is standing trial at a magistrate’s court in Ebute Meta for allegedly breaking the company’s automated teller machine and stealing a sum of N12, 533,900.

The bank’s branch Service Manager, Mr. Kayode Aiyewunmi, who gave evidence in court, said Jaiyeola was on a N20, 000 monthly pay and was a member of the Odua People’s Congress.
He said the company had observed that one of the bank’s four ATMs was having a reconciliation problem and had employed the service of an expert to help unravel mysterious disappearances of money.
Aiyewunmi said, “We discovered that there was always a shortage of cash in the machine.
“Despite our reconciliation efforts, the ATM was still having problems and we engaged the service of an expert who submitted his report and said the machine did not have any reconciliation issue.
“He said somebody was breaking into the machine in the middle of the night to steal the cash.
“I reported the matter to my boss, who said I should conduct an investigation into  the matter. “When the last breakage happened, we went to play back the branch’ CCTV, and we now saw Jaiyeola in the middle of the night, opening the window at the back of my office. There’s a control panel which controls the security door, which he touched. So, the CCTV stopped.”
He said it was at that point the company concluded he was the brain behind the theft.
He said after the matter was reported at the Onipanu Police station, and the accused was arrested, he led them to his house, where he allegedly confessed to the crime.
Aiyewunmi said, “When we got to his house for a search, we recovered N243,945 cash. The police then asked him what else he did with the money. He said he bought a car, which was parked at the house there, a Toyota Corolla. Then we recovered a new generator. He also took the police to the building he was constructing which was near completion.” He said after recovering the item, First Bank transferred the matter to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba.
Jaiyeola was arraigned on a five counts of fraud and stealing and was subsequently granted bail in the sum of N1m with two sureties in like sum.
The prosecution counsel, Mr. Ishola Samuel, asked for an adjournment to help source some  legal citations.
The magistrate, Mrs. M.O Tanimola, adjourned the matter till July 15.

Malicious websites maped out by Google

SAN FRANCISCO – Google expanded its Transparency Report on Tuesday to include maps of spots around the world where hackers are laying traps or baiting Internet users.
“Two of the biggest threats online are malicious software that can take control of your computer, and phishing scams that try to trick you into sharing passwords or other private information,” Google engineer Lucas Ballard said in a blog post.
“So today we’re launching a new section on our Transparency Report that will shed more light on the sources of malware and phishing attacks.”
Information for the new section comes from a Safe Browsing program Google launched in 2006 to warn Internet travelers when they were heading for trouble such as bogus bank websites or pages booby-trapped with computer viruses.
“We’re currently flagging up to 10,000 sites a day, and because we share this technology with other browsers there are about one billion users we can help keep safe,” Ballard said.
The new section added at google.com/transparencyreport included a map that showed that “malware” hotspots include India and Central Europe.
Google’s Transparency Report also provides information about government requests around the world for information from the California-based Internet giant and demands for removal of content from online properties.
Last week, Google said that it asked a special US court handling national security investigations for permission to publish more open with the public about numbers of requests.
The court filing in Washington came amid a firestorm of protests over revelations that the National Security Agency had accessed vast amounts of data in a surveillance program under the supervision of the secret court.
>>>Vanguard

State of Emergency: CDS Vows to Wipe Out Terrorists in Affected States

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Admiral Ola Sa'ad Ibrahim has vowed that the troops of the Joint Task Force (JTF) deployed to enforce state of emergency in some states of the north would not relent in its offensive until the remnants of Boko Haram insurgents are routed out with peace and stability restored.

Ibrahim stated this through the Nine-Man Defence Headquarters Assessment Team, which returned Tuesday from Yobe and Borno States to update him on the situation in the operational area of the Special Forces operating in the North East.

More to follow...

West Brom: No plans to sell Odemwingie

Osaze

West Brom chairman Jeremy Pearce has insisted that the club will not be forced into a cheap sale of Peter Odemwingie.
The striker is widely expected to leave the club following a season of unrest, but Pearce is adamant the Premier League club will not part company with him unless their criteria are met.
Odemwingie started just 13 Premier League games last season compared to 25 the year before and also halved his goal tally in the English top flight from 2011/12 to five.
The wantaway forward caused a great deal of controversy in the January transfer window when he effectively tried to initiate his own move to QPR, only for it to fall through.
“We have a player who is under contract until the end of the season,” Pearce told the Birmingham Mail.
“Unless something comes in to change our way of thinking he will be back in pre-season and we will deal with that.
“We took a view at the end of January – not only for the reasons of Peter Odemwingie or Queens Park Rangers, also whichever agents were involved who acted disgracefully, but for the long term of this football club that we have to behave a certain way.
“If we don’t do that they will all be knocking on the door. That said, unless we get an offer we’re happy with we won’t sell him.”

Erico applauds Eagles performance

FORMER Green Eagles goalkeeper, Joe Erico has hailed the Super Eagles performance at the ongoing Brazil 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup describing it as a good step to greater things to come.
The former NEPA coach, Erico said the Confederations Cup has given the team handlers the opportunity to really see how far the Eagles can go when they qualify for the World Cup proper billed for Brazil next year. He lamented that the team lacks sharp finishers hence they crashed out of the tournament with only three points after beating the whipping boys of the group, Tahiti.
“The team’s performance at the tournament was quite good , it’s very good for us because it has given us the opportunity to really see how far we can go when we qualify for the World Cup. Luckily, we have the last World Cup qualifier against Malawi here  and the experience from playing against the world’s best  at the Confederations Cup will be of  immense help to us.
Our strikers are lacking in speed off and on the ball. Today’s football requires quickness, a player must be fast and technically and tactically sound to cope. We saw how swiftly  Fernando Torres scored against us. Before our defender could raise his foot, the striker had already nodded the ball into the net. Our attackers require to be fast and sharp”, he said.
The former Eagles goalkeeper trainer, said he is a strong believer in youth development programme and he therefore, advised for the development of the youth by the nation’s football authorities.
He however commended the Super eagles Coach Stephen Keshi saying, “technically, Keshi has done well by bringing the team up-to the level they are now from nowhere.
Nobody gave them the chance against Uruguay  and Spain. So the good thing about this tournament is that they should see it as a pre-World Cup tournament which is going to give them room to improve ahead of the remaining World Cup qualifier”

FRSC introduces e-ticketing for traffic offence

Abuja – The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in partnership with the United Bank for Africa (UBA), on Tuesday, inaugurated e-ticketing to facilitate easy booking of motorists for road traffic offences.
Speaking at the inauguration, Mr Osita Chidoka, the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, said the bank had donated the first set of 60 hand-held devices for the e-ticketing.
According to him, 10 other devices have been donated by another bank for the programme.
Chidoka said the e-ticketing would initially take off as a pilot scheme in Lagos, Rivers and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He said that with the introduction of the system, the FRSC would gradually move away from the conventional method of booking traffic offenders, which he described as obsolete and time-consuming.
The corps marshal said the new system would enable the FRSC to track habitual offenders, improve data management and reduce time spent in booking offenders.
“It will also enhance the capacity of the FRSC to confront road traffic offenders,’’ he added.
He said the commission was in partnership with UBA in sensitising motorists to the dangers of receiving or making phone calls and sending messages while driving.
Mr Kennedy Uzoka, the Deputy Managing Director of UBA, said that the bank was ready to work with the FRSC to save lives.
“We have been looking for partners to save lives and we found the FRSC; we chose the FRSC because of its impact at the national level.
“We can use technology to change the way people behave but texting while driving is very dangerous,” he said.
In an interview with newsmen, Prof. Robert Boroffice, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology, urged motorists to desist from using the phone while driving as the habit was a major cause of road accidents.
“If you take the statistics of lives and property lost on the road you will find out that the number is even more than the number of lives lost through AIDs and other pandemic diseases,’’ he said.
Boroffice commended the FRSC for introducing the e-ticketing, saying it is in line with the cashless policy of the present administration.
“The system will also reduce fraud, so the issue of somebody shortchanging the Federal Government or the FRSC does not arise. It is a good initiative.’’ (NAN)
>>>vanguard

Uduaghan sends football champions abroad

Ogedegbe Primary School in Warri could soon be more than a Primary school. Kids from the school won this year’s Channels Kids Soccer Competition in Lagos.
And for that Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan , in line with his sports development programme, plansd to transform the school into a special football nursery that will also take their school work seriously.
Interestingly, Dr. Uduaghan was a special guest in the final of the competition with Babatunde Fashola, the Governor of Lagos State.

He watched the team from his state lift the trophy and he invited them to the Governor’s Cup final in Warri, May 29.
And yesterday, he visited the school during the inspection of ongoing projects in Delta State. He expressed delight that the school, which produced the likes of Wilson Oruma, has been some kind of a breeding ground for football and said the following to them:
‘’I want to thank you for making Warri proud when you won the Channels Cup which was live on television. I decided to visit you during break time in order not to disrupt your school programme. You played good football during the competition.
I followed you throughout and watched the final. You made us proud. I want to assure the kids that the government will encourage any one who wants to take to football as a career. We will expand your football field to make it a standard one, help in training the kids and boost the football tradition here.
We will send the Channels Kids to a summer school abroad where they could train and also do summer school work. It is part of the training and exposure that I hope will help in developing the kids.’’
Uduaghan promised to pay stipends to the parents of the players to assist in providing them good nutrition for good growth.
Headmistress of the school, Philomena Onoherhe thanked the Governor for his leadership qualities and said that they have been inspired to do more in the area of sports and academics.

CAF Appoints Keita For Eagles/Elephants Match

The Confederation of African Football, CAF, has appointed Malian official, Mahamadou Keita as centre referee for the 2014 African Nations Championship qualifying match between Nigeria and Ivory Coast, billed for Saturday next week in Kaduna.

Keita, 30, became an international referee in 2009.
He will be assisted by compatriots Moriba Diakite, 33 (Assistant Referee 1), Nouhoum Bamba, 35 (Assistant Referee 2) and Ousmane Sidibe, 39 (Reserve Referee).
The Match Commissioner is Idrissa Sarr, a renowned former FIFA-graded referee from Mauritania.
For the return leg in Abidjan on July 27, CAF has appointed officials from Morocco to take charge. Noureddine el Jaafari, a 35-year old who became an international referee only this year, will be at the centre, to be assisted by compatriots Bouazza Rouani, 39 (Assistant Referee 1), Youssef Mabrouk, 38 (Assistant Referee 2) and Khalid Ennouni, 40 (Reserve Referee).The Match Commissioner will be Kossi Adjodo from Togo.

2014 CHAN: Keshi calls up Agbim, 23 others for Ivory Coast Tie

Keshi

Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Stephen Keshi has swiftly turned his attention to the 2014 African Nations Championship qualifying match against Ivory Coast, by calling up 24 home boys for the game billed for next weekend.
Even as the African champions were ruing several missed chances in the 3-0 defeat to World and European champions, Spain at the FIFA Confederations Cup tournament in Brazil, Keshi pencilled down goalkeeper Chigozie Agbim, defenders: Azubuike Egwuekwe, Godfrey Oboabona, Solomon Kwambe and Benjamin Francis, midfielders: Emeka Eze and Sunday Mba and forward: Muhammad Gambo from the squad that were with him in Brazil, he added 14 more from Nigeria’s top flight and two from the lower division.
Others in the squad are goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi, defender Kunle Odunlami and striker Obinna Nwachukwu and Gomo Onduku who were part of the team’s training camp in Germany ahead of the international friendly with Mexico in Texas, USA.
Defender Chibuzor Okonkwo, no stranger to the senior team camp, is joined by familiar faces Umar Zango and Ezekiel Bassey, Ayo Saka and Anthony Okputu.
Nigeria Professional Football League top scorer, Dele Olorundare of Sunshine Stars is joined by former junior international midfielder, Olufemi Oladapo.
New faces are: Mohammed Ajia of Bayelsa United, Enyimba FC’s Ifeanyi Edeh, Pius Samson of Ranch Bees, Festus Ajah of Union Bank FC and Warri Wolves’ Etebo Oghene.
The players are expected to report at the Bolton White Apartments, Abuja on Sunday, 30 June, 2013.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has announced that the match will be played at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna on Saturday, 6th July.
“We are happy for the favourable response from the Kaduna State Government, and we have also approached the National Sports Commission for permission to use the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna for the encounter.
“The grass is excellent and the entire facility is so well-maintained. The Super Eagles will find the place comfortable,” Barrister Musa Amadu, NFF General Secretary who was in Kaduna on Monday, said.
LIST OF INVITED PLAYERS:
Goalkeepers: Chigozie Agbim (Warri Wolves); Daniel Akpeyi (Heartland FC).
Defenders: Azubuike Egwuekwe (Warri Wolves); Godfrey Oboabona (Sunshine Stars); Benjamin Francis (Heartland FC); Kunle Odunlami (Sunshine Stars); Ezekiel Bassey (Lobi Stars); Umar Zango (Kano Pillars); Solomon Kwambe (Sunshine Stars); Chibuzor Okonkwo (Enugu Rangers)
Midfielders: Sunday Mba (Enugu Rangers); Ayo Saka (Enyimba FC); Olufemi Oladapo (3SC); Emeka Eze (Enugu Rangers); Mohammed Ajia (Bayelsa United)
Forwards: Muhammad Gambo (Kano Pillars); Obinna Nwachukwu (Heartland FC); Gomo Onduku (Bayelsa United); Ifeanyi Edeh (Enyimba FC); Anthony Okputu (Lobi Stars); Pius Samson (Ranch Bees); Festus Ajah (Union Bank); Etebo Oghene (Warri Wolves); Dele Olorundare (Sunshine Stars)

Robbers kill Ogun Vigilante Services operatives

A gang of suspected armed robbers on Friday night killed five operatives of the Ogun State Vigilante Service at Onihale, Ifo in Ifo Local Government Area of the state.

The operatives were said to be part of the security personnel guarding a filling station at Onihale area, a satellite town of Ifo.

A witness, who pleaded anonymity said the robbers, numbering about 20 who operated in an unmarked lorry caught men of the vigilante services unawares.

It was learnt that some policemen attached to the State Anti-Robbery Squad arrived the scene and exchanged fire with the robbers.

Two of the dead vigilante operatives identified as Nurudeen Kasali, the leader of the team and one Akeem popularly called Omo Iya Laja had already been buried in Ifo on Saturday while the identity of their three other colleagues had yet to be revealed as at press time.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the robbery attack but said only two persons were killed.

Adejobi, a deputy superintendent of police, added that the robbers escaped with varying degrees of bullet wounds which they sustained during the gun duel with policemen.

The PPRO also said items recovered from the vehicle abandoned by the fleeing robbers following included one pump action gun, two double- barrelled guns, one phoenix pistol, 34 live ammunition of the pistol, five empty magazines of AK 47 rifle, a sledge hammer as well as three cars.

Adejobi also said 250 expended shells of AK47 rifle were recovered from the scene of the robbery.

The police however appealed to all medical practitioners, both traditional and orthodox, to inform the police in case anybody approaches their hospitals to treat bullet wounds.

Maku mourns Daily Trust MD; says death a huge loss to journalism

ABUJA—Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, has described the death of the Managing Editor of Daily Trust Newspaper, Mallam Suleiman Mohammed, as a huge loss to the journalism profession.
The minister stated this in Abuja when he paid a condolence visit to the management and staff of the newspaper.
He said the deceased worked hard to uplift the standard of the profession and showed exemplary character as well as uncommon commitment to journalism.
He remarked that the people of Nasarawa State, where the deceased hailed from also share from the loss, as a young state that is in need of manpower, especially in the media to complement the projection of the image of the state and its citizens.
The minister also condoled the family of the deceased and prayed God to strengthen and give them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

JTF nabs eight suspects over SPDC pipeline inferno

YENAGOA — The Joint Task Force, JTF, in the Niger Delta code-named Operation Pulo Shield, Sunday, said its operatives have arrested eight persons in connection with the recent fire outbreak at a Shell Petroleum Development Company, SDPC, pipeline in Bodo West, Gokana Local Government Area, Rivers State.
Also, five suspected crude oil thieves were nabbed in two separate raids in the creek of the delta.
Spokesman of the Task Force, Lt. Col Onyema Nwachukwu in a statement in Yenagoa said the arrest of the eight suspects was effected by troops of 146 Battalion of Sector 2 of the JTF.
Nwachukwu said the troops who sighted the fire at about 1.30 am on Wednesday mobilised to the scene where they found the suspects in two tug boats.
He said the suspects upon interrogation,  claimed to be employees of Steve Integrated Technical Service and Sege Marine hired by Shell Petroleum Development Company to fix broken pipelines in Bodo.
The suspects, he said, are currently in Sector 2 Headquarters for preliminary investigations, adding that they will be handed over to an appropriate prosecuting agency if found culpable at the end of the investigations.
Also, troops deployed at Sanbarth have arrested two suspects who specialized in vandalising oil pipelines along Kalamabo and Opukula communities in Akuku Toru council area of Rivers State.
The suspects, Fineface  Shedrack and Solomon Doutimiti, identified as serial pipeline vandals and illegal oil distillers, according to the JTF spokesman, were arrested by troops of 130 Battalion of Sector 2 after three nights of ambush.
According to Lt. Col Nwachukwu, the suspects were hacking into Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) pipelines located in the said community when they were nabbed.
Items including an open boat containing pipe hacking equipment were recovered from the suspects, he said.
“The Commanding Officer who conducted the operation, Lt Col Caius Baushe, has called on SPDC to conduct an assessment exercise on the pipeline, noting that the level of excavation and possible touch on the pipeline cannot be ascertained due to high tide that covered the entire area,” he said.
On its operations in the Western Delta he said, its operatives deployed in 3 Battalion of Sector 1 of the JTF also nabbed three suspects running 3 illegal oil distillery camps in Opumani Gbekebor, Beneth Island of Warri South Local Government Area of Delta state and Agbede forest in Edo state.
He said the suspects were arrested during an anti illegal oil bunkering operation with 4 metal tanks, 236 drums and 13 pumping machines at the illegal oil distillation sites.
According to him, five dug out pits used by the oil theft suspects to store stolen crude oil at the illegal distillation camps were also sealed up by the troops.
The suspects, Samson Kristo, Lawrence Pius and Powede Clerk, who are currently helping in preliminary investigations at the Headquarters 3 Battalion he said will be handed over to the appropriate prosecuting agency.
“During the operation, the troops also intercepted twenty seven open boats used by oil thieves to convey illegally distilled products along Chanomi West in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta state,” the JTF Spokesman said.

Operators assess Dangote’s leadership and market development

The Nigerian Stock market has improved  in the last one year as performance indicators, market capitalization and All Share Index moved up by about 76 per cent each.
This is coming barely one year after Alhaji Dangote Aliko, returned as President of Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
An analysis of the market as at the end of trading  Thursday last week  showed that the market capitalization closed at N11.875 trillion while the All share Index ended 36,963.77.points, while market capitalization stood at N6.56 billion.
In the period between August 5, 2010 and June 18, when there was an interim president, Mallam Ballama Manu, there was a huge sell down due to high level of investors’ apathy. The NSE All-Share Index lost 18.2 per cent, falling from 25,715.39 to close at 21,028.37.
The height of uncertainty in the market was said to have led to the sell-down observed during this period. However, the trend changed after Dangote resumed. The first three months in office saw the Index rising  by 21.6 per cent.
Global comparison
On global scale, Nigerian market topped other global indices in the green zone during the Dangote’s regime; leading the continent with  89 per cent  followed by Kenya with 56.20 per cent  of one year return.
Furthermore, African continent rode on the back of these performance to close with one year average return of 30.12 per  cent  gain. Among other continents, Asia recorded lowest one year average returns of 4.55 per cent while the advanced countries (G7) recorded one year average gain of 19.10 per cent to close second.
Shareholders’ remarks
In his own assessment, the President of Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders, Dr. Faruk Umar, said “Dangote’s ability to support the election of a first vice president, who may likely succeed him, indicates the kind of solid foundation Dangote is laying. The fact that he is the richest person in Africa and the 25th richest in the world gives international investors the confidence to invest in the Nigerian capital market.”
Similarly, the President, Proactive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Oderinde Taiwo said the performance is worth celebrating because while the market capitalisation rose by 77 per cent, there are some other stocks that have recorded higher growth within one year that Dangote assumed office.
He added that “the growth recorded so far came from positive initiatives supported by the Council led by Dangote. These include the reconstitution of the Council members. A market segmentation exercise from 33 to 32 sectors was completed to rebrand and reposition Nigerian stock market among its counterparts. A series of new products were introduced. Among them are the SIM Capital Alliance Value Fund, the ABSA NewGold ETF and the NSE-Lotus Islamic Index.

One Year After: Dangote and the stock market upward swing

Investors and other stakeholders could not have had a better yield than they are presently enjoying in the stock market, following the return to the full grip of the bulls on the market from the bearish era after a long spell of lull.
Many investors lost hope following the global financial meltdown which ravaged economies across the world in 2008, and Nigeria not immune, as the downturn wiped off almost 70 per cent of the value of the market. Since then, the market has been struggling to recover.
However, investors began to have hopes rekindled when the market began to bounce back. In the second half of 2012, the market recorded a record growth of 34.5 per cent. The market began the upward swing precisely after the President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Aliko Dangote, resumed office on June 19, 2012 after an interregnum.
Dangote, a former Vice President of the Exchange, had been elected the President. He had barely assumed office when his election became a subject of judicial dispute. He was however returned to the office after 22 months following the ruling of the Court of Appeal. His resumption, stakeholders claimed, opened a new vista in the life of the market which hitherto had been comatose.
Prior to his assumption of duties, the implementation of government policy on fuel subsidy in January of 2012 had stalled economic activities at the beginning of the first quarter, the result of which was felt in the capital market through the first half of the year.
However, there was more excitement in the second half of the year with steady growth across most sectors, and the inclusion of selected government bonds in the JP Morgan Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM). Consequently, international institutional investors flocked to the bond market, while local institutional investor” appetite for equities was reawakened.
After a superlative growth of 74.7 per cent in 2007, the market dipped by 45.7 per cent in 2008, 33.7 per cent in 2009. It recovered by 18.9 per cent 2010 before falling again by 16.3 per cent in 2011. Towards the end of 2012, the market growth, measured by the NSE. All-Share Index (ASI) was already over 33 per cent. The President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Ariyo Olushekun, assured that there was no likelihood of any major negative development in the market that could reverse this performance and make the market to close negatively in the year.
Given the efforts of regulators aimed at repositioning the entire financial system and the capital market in particular, market analysts were optimistic that a positive growth would be recorded this year; however, they never expected the magnitude of growth that was about to manifest. In the beginning of 2012, analysts from three leading investment banking firms, FSDH Securities Limited, Meristem Securities Limited (MSL) and FBN Capital Limited, projected a growth of below 15 per cent for the year.
For instance, analysts at FSDH Securities Limited projected that the market would close at 13.3 per cent. Those at MSL envisaged 13.5 per cent while FBN Capital Limited projected a growth of 14 per cent. In projecting the robust outlook for 2012, analyst at MSL said their bullish sentiments were driven by expected performance of the financial service (majorly banks) sector of the market among others. Meanwhile, as at last week, the quantum leap in the performance of the market was beyond their expectation.
Most investors and other stakeholders are of the view that the business acumen, good leadership qualities and international contacts of the Exchange President combined have impacted positively on the stock market which grew by 77 per cent in capitalization within one year of his return to NSE.
In the last one year, capitalization of the NSE has soared by N5.202 trillion, while the Exchange,  All-Share Index rose by 76 per cent. Specifically, the market capitalization rose from N6.712 trillion to N11.914 trillion by the close of trading on Monday. In the same vein, the ASI grew from 21,028.39 to close at 37,085.11
Market analysts and operators said the leadership of Dangote has created harmony in the Council and good atmosphere for the management of the Exchange to implement strategies which have taken the market to the new levels.
Dangote had last year, promised to support the management and work with all council members to ensure restoration of investors confidence.
He, pledged that during his tenure as NSE president, he would be guided by five key elements: Transparency and improved governance of the market; improving the liquidity, turn-over and size of the market; enhancing market efficiency by ensuring clearer and updated rules, processes and procedures; provision of world-class infrastructure and technology for our market and massive capacity building and rapid skill enhancement of the staff of the stock exchange and investor education.
He promised not only to turn around the market but also to ensure it becomes the leading light in Africa.
The NSE President said: “We are one of the best in the sub-Sahara Africa. In fact we are number three in Africa but we are targeting to be number one and we will soon get there.”
Analysts said the NSE has made progress in achieving some of these milestones. The Exchange has improved disclosure and governance level in the market, introduced market making, retail bond trading and raised the level of investor education.
Commenting on the performance of the market under Dangote, the Chief Executive Officer of Lambert Trust and Investment Company Limited, Mr. David Adonri, said the NSE has undergone transformation from a mono-product capital market to that with multiple products offering.
“Dangote has successfully restored a firm order to affairs of the NSE within the past one year. The Board room crisis that he inherited from the previous Council has become a thing of the past. The NSE is once more poised to taking its rightful position in the process of capital formation for the Nigerian economy,” Adonri said.
Another broker and Chief Executive Officer of Investment Centre Limited, Mr. Ifeanyi Odunwa, said the market has done exceedingly well in terms of restoration of investor confidence, quantum positive leap in market indices and return of local investors back to the market in the past one year under.
“The market that defiled various corrective policies put in place since the meltdown years suddenly started responding positively on a sustained basis since his return as the NSE President. Dangote’s personifies investment, hardwork, integrity, resilience, humility, the Nigerian can-do spirit, goodwill, transparency, trust and confidence which are necessary ingredients that positively drive a stock market”, Odunwa said.
“It is not a surprise that his experience, charisma and global contacts were brought to bear on the market coupled with the professionalism and hard work of the NSE management led by Oscar Onyema that ensured the implementation of world-class policies and best practices which finally turned the market around”.
Chairman of Lagos State Pension Commission, Tunde Dabiri said he was not surprised at the exploits of Dangote’s leadership at the Exchange because of his ability, doggedness and antecedent. “I am not surprised at the extent of his success in the last one year at the Exchange.
He is a well-focused business man and he knows what he wants at any particular time”, Dabiri stated.“His presidency is beneficial and don’t forget that he has a stake and he has to make sure the system works and improves. I wish him all the best as he continues to be a major driver of manufacturing in Nigeria. We can only encourage him to do more.”

US hacks Chinese mobile phone messages: Snowden

HONG KONG  – The United States government hacks Chinese mobile phone companies to gather millions of text messages, former CIA agent Edward Snowden said in a report published in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Saturday.

The former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor has been hiding in Hong Kong since revealing a massive electronic spying programme by the US and was charged with espionage on Friday.

The latest claim comes after Snowden told the SCMP that network backbones in China and Hong Kong were targeted hundreds of times by the NSA.

“The NSA does all kinds of things like hack Chinese cell phone companies to steal all of your SMS data,” the former CIA technician said in the latest report published on the SCMP’s website late Saturday, which quoted the 30-year-old in an interview conducted on June 12.

Snowden “claims he has the evidence to prove it” the paper said, without elaborating or citing supporting documents.

Government data cited by the paper show that the Chinese exchanged almost 900 billion text messages in 2012, up 2.1 per cent from the year before.

The report did not spell out how the alleged hacking took place, but said Chinese cybersecurity experts have long been concerned about “backdoor” attacks using foreign-made components.

The report came shortly after the the ex-intelligence technician claimed Britain’s electronic eavesdropping agency had gained secret access to fibre-optic cables carrying global Internet traffic and telephone calls.

The Guardian said that Government Communications Headqaurters (GCHQ) had started processing vast amounts of personal information – including Facebook posts, emails, Internet histories and phonecalls — and is sharing it with its US partner the NSA.

The SCMP said that its Sunday edition would contain further revelations relating to hacking of a premier Chinese university and the hacking of the Hong Kong headquarters of Pacnet, which owns fibre optic submarine cables in the region.

Hong Kong officials remained tight-lipped on Saturday as to whether they will hold Snowden after Washington charged the former CIA contractor with espionage, theft and “conversion of government property”.

The SCMP also said that Snowden remained “safe” in Hong Kong and had not been detained by local police.

The city of 7 million people has maintained a degree of autonomy since its handover to Chinese control in 1997 and operates a different legal system.

The former British colony has a long-standing extradition treaty with the US, but Beijing, which has control over the city’s defence and foreign affairs, can veto any ruling. Legal experts have said that any attempt to extradite Snowden could last several years.

$32 BILLION JAPANESE GRANT Nigerian mining sector can benefit – Ekosin

That Nigeria is highly endowed with a large volume of solid minerals is no news.  However, the sector has not made significant contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product owing to a variety of factors.  In this interview, Mr. Sunday Ekosin, who has been in the mining business for over 20 years, explains what is wrong with the sector; how to remedy the problems; and how Nigeria can benefit from the $32 billion Japanese African Development Fund

Excerpts:

You have been advocating for a Presidential Standing Committee on Mining to be set up. What does this mean to the Nigerian economy?

Like we have been advocating, mining is central to national development. When you talk about industrialization, economic growth, mining is central. It is a catalyst that affects other sectors of the economy. It is like a spiral that spreads to agriculture, telecommunication and to industrialization.

All sectors of the economy one way or the other is affected by mining.  But the unfortunate thing is that after decades of mining operations in Nigeria, the Nigerian mining industry is still at the scratching level, without mechanised operations.

The reason for this is not far-fetched. A country that is standing on one- legged economy basically, standing on mono- economy of oil and gas, there is no way it can survive under such situation. We must look at other sectors of the economy, if we must have a sustainable growth.

Unfortunately, the situation in Nigeria is such that attention is so much focused on oil and gas to the detriment of other sectors of the economy. But thank God that this government recently started to come up with good policies and advocacy for the sector. To a great extent, they seem to be making some impact.

Like we all know, before the discovery of oil, it has always been agriculture and mining.  And so, if you are taking agriculture, it must go together with mining. But without political will to pay attention and focus on the development of mining, the sector, for a long time to come, will be in the doldrums.

When you say mining is central, how do you mean?

Organic fertilizer, for example, is got from limestone, which is industrial mineral. So, you produce this from mining. If you talk about metallic minerals, the raw materials used in cell phones and televisions and other electronic gadgets are got from ore and niobium.

It is so central and you can’t talk about industrialization without looking at iron ore for road construction, fabrication of machines and machineries.  As it now, Nigeria is more or less a dumping ground, where all manners of imports come in, whereas, from mineral products, we could produce most of these things imported for consumption by industries in Nigeria.

You just returned from a summit in Japan for development of Africa. How can the Nigerian mining sector benefit from the Japanese grant?

I was in at theTokyo International Conference on African Development, TICAD. It is a programme that started in 1993 by the Japanese government. It was an initiative to forge a collaborative partnership between Japan and the people of the African continent.

It is a programme that comes up once every five years and this is the fifth edition and the twentieth year. The conference was well attended. We had about 51 governments from African nations represented and Presidents from Africa were about 10 physically present. The Vice President represented the Nigerian President and led the team that attended the TICAD conference.

The Japanese government is very interested in minerals from the Africa continent. They are looking at the continent as the nucleus that will sustain the world in terms of natural resources.  From their findings, they believe that Africa holds the key to raw material in the world, and, as such, two major countries were very prominent in their discussion with the Japanese government: South Africa because of the zirconium product they have and then the Congo because of cobalt.

The unfortunate part of it is that the Nigerian mineral products are not well known to the Japanese. And because they are not well known, the information available to them as investors is so skeletal.   Statistics by the Japanese government showed they identified that Africa accounts for 89 percent of the world total reserves of platinum, 60 percent of diamond, 53 percent of cobalt, 37 percent of zirconium and 35 percent of chrome.

When we look at the enthusiasm of the Japanese government, we found out that these people are not interested
in container- load or shipment of any raw material from Africa. About two of the companies that had discussions with us were more interested in large volumes that the capital outlay will be in the region of at least two million dollars.

I can tell you that among all the indigenous miners in Nigeria, none has that capacity. Even when we have the natural resources available, we do not have the financial capacity and infrastructural capacity, including the equipment to meet that demand.

We now see a very great gap between us, the Nigerian miners and the Japanese end-users. By and large, I came to a summation that that if we must move from the current level of scratching the earth to beat poverty, which we are currently doing, we must go to the next level of small scale and medium scale operation. We need a special intervention and this is where the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, comes in. The collaboration with the private sector is invaluable.

Since you have the raw materials buried in the ground and you have the market, why don’t you collaborate with Japanese investors by way of equity investment, so that you can make these raw materials available to them?

That is where the missing link comes in. The way you lay your bed, that is the way you will lie on it. Charity they say begins at home. When somebody has got resources and is unable to harness the resources and to produce a meaningful quantity that is visible to whoever the investor would be, nobody would believe him.

We must do something that will boost the confidence of foreign investors to bring in their money and technological knowhow to be able to add value and produce the quantity that will meet their requirement. That is why I said the NEPC must come in.

The NEPC is so critical. The Export Promotion Council of Ghana went to TICAD with 40 of their people, I mean the private sector and non-governmental agencies, took them there, paid everything on their behalf because they understand that the private sector is the driver of everything.

The government’s duty is to create a conducive environment, formulate the policy while the private sector drives the economy. In our own case, we (miners) were 10 percent of the people that went from Ghana, not minding that we are the largest population on the African continent.

We were four private operators that went from Nigeria with God knows how many that represented the Nigerian government in the TICAD. And this is where the missing link is and I ask some of the officials of the NEPC, why is it that you were not able to carry your exporters to this programme? They said the problem is that they are poorly funded.

NEPC should be properly funded to be able to promote and carry out its mandate of promoting exportable products of Nigerian origin to the international world.

Don’t the exporters have the capacity to attend such important summits on their own bill?

These are functions of information. These are also functions of  a conducive environment. Where these two are missing, there is nothing anybody can do. The information must be available to you and the agency to promote the exporters. They are mandated by law establishing NEPC to add value and fund the exporters.  If mining is to be properly developed in Nigeria for local consumption and for export, then the Federal Government must properly fund the NEPC.

What would you say made the Ghanaian delegation to TICAD different from that of Nigeria?

The issue of patriotism and nationality has been at the public domain over a period of years. When you say you are representing your country and you go to such an event and you are representing yourself instead of your country, to me, that is lack of patriotism and nationality.

The whole issue to me is very painful. But, I think that whoever it is, no matter how highly placed you are, for the fact that you come from a nation called Nigeria,  and you go out there with tax payers money, the number one thing in your mind should be the nation that brought you to that place.

You said that Nigerian mining products are not known to Japanese investors. Why?

The fact is that the products leave Nigeria without value added. Most of the time, they end up in China or India, where they will now do some upgrade. But Japanese, because of the advanced nature of the country, they want value added products.

They are so concerned about environmental factors and other effects that result from mining, which developing countries can condone, which they can’t condone. And because of their land mass, all they require is value- added products and the interesting thing in dealing with the Japanese is that, they are very straightforward and have human face unlike the Chinese and the Indians.

I have always made my position known that they – Chinese and Indians – are not investors. They are more like ravenous wolves. They are just ravaging our landscape. What they do is to cart away as much as possible the resources until the sector becomes sanitised.

That is why we are advocating to the President that he must of urgency and necessity set up a Presidential Standing Committee to drive and to harness the enormous wealth that we have in mining. The earlier this is done, the better. The eyes of the developed nations are on African nations for their raw materials requirement.  And if we miss it now, we have missed it forever. Our children will be the ones to pay for it and at the end of the day they will curse every one of us for not setting the standards that would enable them develop the God- given wealth in years to come.

There is a ministry of solid minerals. Why can’t the ministry make sure that those who are in the mining sector play according to internationally acceptable standards?

A situation whereby there is no synergy between the public and the private sector, what do you expect? A situation where major stakeholders are excluded from the scheme of things because they are vocal, because they are talking about things that need to be put right in order for the sector to be developed..

This why we say, possibly, the ministry that has been in existence since 1995 might have run out ideas and, if that is the case, the President needs to step in. And that is why he is the Commander-in-Chief. He has to step in as a commander and straighten out whatever is wrong in the sector and ensure that the sector contributes generously to the economic development of Nigeria.

The intervention of the President in the sports sector is very interesting because he passionately intervened and we are now seeing the dividends coming out.  In fact, we are not saying that the standing committee should be for the boys. It should be men and women, who are patriots; there should be no salary paid to them.

He should make the committee act decisively and correct the things that need to be corrected in the sector. What is needed is just the platform, forget about the money. With time, from the operations of the committee, money will come. $32 billion from Japan as a grant to African, 10 percent of that will take us far. If we have $3.1 billion in Nigeria and you give $1 billion to mining sector, I can tell you that Nigeria will be on the world map of mining. We will turn the entire economy of the nation around for the better.

N710,000 Fraud: Choir Director At Chris Oyakhilome’s Church To Face Charges

An Ogudu Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Friday struck out an application for the withdrawal of a N710, 000 fraud charge against a Choir Director of the Christ Embassy Church, Lagos.

The police had on May 15 arraigned the director, Sunday Eboh, who allegedly defrauded another member of the church, David Egaifa, under false pretences of helping him to purchase a Toyota bus.
Chief Magistrate Omolade Awope struck out the application when Egaifa exhibited ignorance of implications of the withdrawal.
The complainant, who had earlier agreed with the accused to withdraw the suit, told court on Friday that he was not properly enlightened on the implications of withdrawing the case.
Mr. Egaife made this known after the prosecutor, Corporal Adekemi Adeniran, told him that he would not be able to bring back the case once withdrawn.
“Madam, it is during this section that I learnt I can’t come back for the same case after withdrawal, but I was told that l can re-arrest Eboh if he refuses to pay my money.
“My Lord, I don’t want withdrawal again. I withdraw my application,” Mr. Egaifa said.
The choir director, who lives at No. 11, Church St., Ketu, Lagos, is facing a two-count charge of false pretence and stealing.
He had pleaded not guilty on arraignment, and was granted bail in the sum of N200, 000 with two sureties in like sum.
The prosecutor said that he committed the offences in February, 2012 at 12:30 p.m., at the Christ Embassy Church, Ketu, Lagos.
“The accused told the complainant that his relatives are living in United Kingdom and that they frequently sent cars home for sale.
“The complainant was not totally convinced, so he asked the accused to deposit his B.Sc certificate and his NYSC discharge certificate, to be turned to him when he brings the bus. After collecting the money, the accused ran away until last week when he turned up to demand for the certificates,” Ms. Adeniran said.
She said that the offences contravened Sections 285 and 312 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
Section 285 prescribes three years imprisonment for stealing while Section 312 provides for 15 years imprisonment for obtaining by false pretences.

Shocking: Female lautech student killed; eyes, brains, private parts removed

Reports reaching DailyPost from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, has it that a female student of the institution, identified as Seun was found dead around 10 pm on Friday with her brain, eyes and breasts removed. The hair on her private part was equally shaved too.
DailyPost gathered that the deceased’s mutilated body was found along Under-G Student Area of Ogbomosho, behind Jastok Guest house.

It was gathered that, the late 100 level student of Transport Management Department was declared missing by her friends and room mates after she was last seen four days ago.
However, following the discovery of her body, some of her close friends were forced to disclose that she left the hostel days ago for a party and hadn’t returned since then, leaving many to suggest that perhaps she was raped to death and eventually used for some rituals.
The deceased’s boyfriend has been arrested and handed over to the police as the prime suspect.
More details later.

Nigeria’s 4x100m men blow last chance

The 2013 Cross River/All Nigeria championships ended yesterday with the Nigerian men’s  4x100m falling short of the required performance that will launch them into the World Championships billed for August in Moscow, Russia.
It was one of the last opportunities they had to make the difference as they chased the 39.00 seconds cut off mark. The team struggled to find their rhythm and coupled with strong winds blowing from the direction of the finish line, it was always going to be a herculean task for the team to rise to the occasion. They finished at 39. 61 seconds, a far cry from the 39. 16 seconds they did at the Warri Relays.
In the other closing events of the day, Blessing Okabgare completed a treble when she took the women long jump and 200m. Okagbare who is the world leader in the 200m, finished 22.61 seconds. She was followed by Miriam Bassey of Cross River State who clocked 23. 17 seconds while Ghana’s Janet Amposah was third with 23.79.
In the men’s 200m, Elvis Ukale ran 21.16 seconds to clinch his first championships title. He denied Noah Akwu the opportunity to complete a 400m and 200m double. Akwu finished 21. 34 seconds, while Tamunotonye Briggs was third with 21.34 seconds.
Okagbare, who earlier in the month jumped a wind assisted 7.14m, raked up 6.68m while junior athlete Ese Brume jumped 6.42 just as Doris Chinazom Amadi came third with 6.31m
“It has been an exciting trial and hopefully we should be able to present a good team for the world championships in August. Our major concern now is how to raise funds so that we can have a training camp to prepare, most especially our relay teams,” said AFN president, Solomon Ogba.

Why I hate Nollywood – Tayo Elesin, British-Nigerian actress

Tayo Elesin is a British-Nigerian actress. She also prefers to be referred to as a “storyteller.”  Famous for her roles in some BBC TV productions including Casualty, Law and Order, Doctor, among others, Tayo has also acted in the critically acclaimed play by late Ola Rotimi ‘Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again’ produced last year by Lookman Sanusi. While in the country recently, she paid a courtesy visit to the Vanguard corporate office, where she spoke passionately about playing the role of younger Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala whenever a biographical film is done about her. She also disclosed  why she hate the name ‘Nollywood’; and how to reposition the Nigerian film industry, among other issues. Enjoy!
Tell  us how you came about the coinage, Brigerian?
It’s simple, I’m British and I’m Nigerian. I merged the two words and came up with “Brigerian.” I identify with the two countries.
Do you have any intention to work with Nollywood stars?
I don’t like the word, Nollywood. I really don’t like it.
Why?
There are several reasons. One of which is, when I think of the word, Nollywood, quite frankly, it reminds me of a mimicry, if you will, of Hollywood. Now, Hollywood is the home of the  American film industry. It’s actually a location in Los Angeles. I have found nowhere in Lagos or in Nigeria called Nollywood. Except if you are telling me it’s located in the Mushin or Ikorodu area of Lagos.  But I’m yet to see  such a place in Nigeria.

Tayo

That’s why I don’t agree with the word, Nollywood. Incidentally, the word, Nollywood was not actually created by a Nigerian, but by a newspaper publication back in the States which started to identify Nigerian films as Nollywood. But when you read through that article, it wasn’t used respectfully like Nollywood. Rather, it was used to describe the film industry in Nigeria in a mocking way.
But Nigerians took it up and turned it the other way. But for me, Nigeria is a big country with a flourishing film industry. It doesn’t need to mimic the word, Hollywood. Also, there are films from countries like Finland nobody calls such films Fin-wood, or British-wood referring to films from Britain. It’s called British films. What I want to see is a Nigerian film to be called a Nigerian film. There is no need for the mimicry at all. We don’t need it.
You have such an interesting body of work, both on stage and on screen. How do you combine the two genres conveniently?
I always tell everybody I’m a storyteller. That’s what got me into this career-storytelling. Storytelling in a different medium namely; radio, television, stage and musical. A storyteller is a storyteller no matter the medium you adopt to tell your story. A true mark of a storyteller is one that can actually do different things using different mediums.
One thing about screen acting is that it requires you not over-act as being natural because the camera picks up everything. But in stage acting, you can afford to go forward and backward. While voice-over is all about the voice because nobody can see you as it is peculiar to radio. But the mark or testament of any good actor is one’s ability to tell a story in whatever medium. I can do anything using any of the mediums.
But which do you feel more comfortable doing?
There is something about the stage because it’s live and you cannot afford to miss your lines. But for screen, they can cut, stop and edit. Everything is done in the editing room. To be honest, screen is not for the actor. It’s for the DOP, directors and editors, those people have fun because they cut and paste as they wish. But on stage, there is no cut and paste. You are either there or not, you know your lines or you don’t. You either tremble or you stand. There is something electrifying about that. And most good actors will tell you that there is something about the liveliness of the stage. But the thing about screen is that it pays your bills. Television and films in the UK pay a lot more money than stage. You can do a TV commercial and you significantly get a lot of money.
There is this film you acted in called “Moremi”. How challenging was the role you played in the film?
I played the role of Moremi herself, and I love the film. It was produced by Spectrecom Studios and had Joachim  Adenusi as the Executive producer. Actually, it was not a full-length film. I want to say something at this juncture; What really angered me about the Nigerian film industry is that Nigeria as a country is rich with stories. Why has nobody done a biographical movie about Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, for instance? Why is it that other people are taking our stories and telling them in the western world anyhow they deemed it fit? I don’t understand.
Moremi is a fantastic story. Outside the world, other people are appreciating our art. Why are our film makers not taking advantage of this global appreciation of our work of art?  I’m a bit worried because a lot of our film makers have not explored this opportunity to make great movies about their country.
You have volunteered to play a young version of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. What is the attraction?
What  attracts me about Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is her level of education, her poise and what she has actually achieved as a woman in the financial world. It is not easy for a woman anywhere in the world to occupy such a powerful position let alone, in an African country. It’s even ten times harder and the fact that she has maintained it and has also retained it even up till today is absolutely admirable. I think, if you look into her life, one will be surprised to come up with an interesting story about her upbringing.
Recall that Ngozi Okonjo Iweala attended Harvard University at a time, I’m sure it was not easy for a black person to be there. If Hollywood film makers could do a film about Abraham Lincoln and are also talking about doing a biographical film about Obama, why can’t Nigerian film makers do a biographical film about Ngozi Okonjo Iweala who is a major female figure in the African financial industry? I’m sure if I conduct an interview with her right now, there will be a story about her life that has not been unravelled. This is because I suspect she wouldn’t have gotten to where she is today overnight.
What would you say actually prepared you for what you are doing today?
I don’t know what actually prepared me for what I’m doing today. But I would say that ever since I was a child between the ages of 13 and 14 years, I knew I was a great communicator. And for me, it was either going to be between acting and studying Law. Actually, I was qualified for both professions but I have a strong passion for acting. I didn’t just wake up and say, I’m going to be an actress. I wanted to communicate to my audience, and I found out that acting is a good medium to communicate through the story telling device.
I wanted to tell the story of a prostitute, a Christian woman, the poor and the rich people. That’s what artistes do. We tell stories with the hope that such stories will entertain and morally instruct the people. That’s the main purpose of any work of art. I hope that all the work that I do will portray all these ingredients.
What was the first production that brought you to limelight?
It was a TV programme called “Casualty” by BBC.
I played the role of a Bully. I also acted in other BBC productions like “Doctor”, “The Journey of Alfred Small”. But “Law and Order was the production that made me. I have done all the stuff. I did Musical Theatre which involves singing, dancing and acting but I look forward to acting more than others. I’m still working to build up my career. I’m not an established household name yet,and that’s what I’m working towards achieving at the moment.
While in the UK, have you experienced any kind of racial discrimination?
Yes. It’s not easy for a person of colour living in the UK or USA to work at the highest level. Yes, racism is inevitable. However, like I always say, talent supersedes anything. It may2 take you a longer time but with talent combined with enough hard work and dedication, this is something that is beatable. I’m not held down by the fact that I am black. In fact, I know that I’m black and I don’t need anybody to tell me I am.
For me, I go to auditions and I look at myself the same way the white woman there will at herself. I apply for the same role. If they take me or they don’t take me, that’s not important, but I’m not scared ever applying for any role because of my colour. I don’t believe in judging somebody by the colour of his or her skin.

Tayo

Also, I don’t think I have had any bad experience so far. But dealing with the press can be an experience on its own. Obviously, there are times when people want to know more about your personal life and things like that . I try as much as possible to protect myself from such things. Yes, I’m a celebrity but it’s not everything about my life I would want to put in the public domain.
Would you want to star in Nollywood films?
I intend to tell good stories. I’m a story teller. If a good story comes from Nigeria, South Africa, Italy or from any part of the world, I will do it. The thing here is that a good story is a good story irrespective of wherever it’s emanating from. If a Nigerian film maker has an excellent story and it’s directed by a tested hand, why not? I will do it. But I don’t think I can answer the question; ‘do you intend to be part of Nollywood’ because of the fact that I don’t agree with the word, Nollywood.
What’s your assessment of films    from Nigeria?
I think Nigerian movies are getting better and better every day. This is an industry that is about 20 years old and it has recorded remarkable progress in the time frame. I think, with more training for actors, producers, directors and structure put in place, the industry has the ability to make more progress in future. For instance, we need agents and managers who will deal with contracts so that artistes don’t have to be bogged down by these things.
A producer and a director should not be having a meeting with me about my fees. They should be talking to my agent and manager. Over here, they talk to artistes directly. That’s not how it’s meant to happen. An actor is a creative person. What I want to deal with is the story and not discussing my fees. That’s left for my agent to handle. Also, there is need for structural things like casting directors.
The casting directors are people who cast the right actors to the right roles. For example, if they are looking for a 50-year old Igbo man, a casting director will go all out in the search for an Igbo man within the age bracket of 50 and 60 years and bring them in for audition and choose the right one from the lot. But, it’s not so. A director should be a director, a producer should be a producer while a casting director should be a casting director.

Okagbare: Nigeria is not doing much for me

Blessing Okagbare

Sprint star, Blessing Okagbare has declared that Nigeria owes her a lot following the countless accolades she has brought to the country at international events.
Okagbare is seen as a pampered athlete by many of her contemporaries and her outburst here at the Cross River/ All Nigeria Championships came as rude shock to athletes and observers alike.
 “Nigeria is not doing much for me. All I have been doing since becoming an international athlete has been by my personal effort.  “As the world championships is coming up, I am not expecting anything from the country,” said the athlete.

However, athletics officials reasoned that the Delta-born athlete had no reason to complain as she has been well taken care of, much to the envy of other Nigerian athletes.
“If Nigeria is not taking care of her, we have Nigerians who are taking care of her needs.
“She should have been more tactful with her comments. If not for the efforts of certain individuals who supported her, she wouldn’t be where she is today. There are many others who, if given the same opportunity, will even do better than she is doing,” said an athletics official at the U.J Esuene Stadium, venue of the championships which ended yesterday.
Okagbare is aiming to win her first gold medal at the world championships. Her only recognizable medal so far, is the bronze she won in the long jump at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
She failed to qualify for the final of the same event at last year’s Olympics. However, she has shown good running form this season.

Army to Train 3000 Soldiers on Counter-terrorism

Defence Headquarters

 

The Nigerian Army has disclosed that over 3000 soldiers would undergo further six weeks training on Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency (CT COIN), aimed at transforming them into efficient and effective force able to meet the contemporary security challenges within and outside the country.
The Chief of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Brig-Gen. Ibrahim Atahiru stated this yesterday during the monthly press briefing on activities of the Nigerian Army during the period under review.

Atahiru said that the aim of the Army under the leadership of current Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika was to enhance the operational capacity of the military personnel to handle modern conflict, which was fast tilting away from the conventional warfare.

He said: "The 69 Regular Recruits Intake that passed out from Depot NA on Friday June 1n 2013 are reporting for further CT-COIN in four different NA training institutions.

"This is in pursuance of the COAS vision, which is 'to transform the Nigerian Army into a force better able to meet the contemporary challenges".

"The soldiers training, which is expected to last for six weeks would cover aspects of house breaking and clearing, urban patrol, unarmed combat, skill at arms, international humanitarian laws amongst others. A total of 3000 will be trained", he added.

To further achieve the transformation, the DAPR announced that the Army has reviewed its recruitment procedure to include pre-screening examinations for recruitment and that the first 500 successful candidates would be spread amongst the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)

In this regard, he revealed that Army Headquarters (AHQ) has procured a new. Marking machines to enhance the subsequent recruitment exercise starting with the 70 Regular Recruitment Intake examination on Saturday, June 22,2013.

"All candidates that applied are advised to report to the examination centres in various states, including the FCT. The pre-screening exercise is aimed at selecting the best personnel for NA and thereby enhancing its manpower level and combat efficiency.

"After the examination, the first 500 candidates that passed would be selected from each state of the federation including FCT for final zonal screening from July 22, 2013 at two centre in each geo-political zones. Thereafter, the final list of successful candidates would be published in NA Recruitment website www.narecruitment.org", he explained.

In a related development, the Army Spokesman warned both members of the public and particularly foreign media against believing one 'Major Yahaya Shinko (rtd.), who has been on air disparaging the military activities in the North East.

He described Shinko as an impostor who never attained the rank of Major in the Nigerian Army but was rather dismissed for disciplinary issues.

"The attention of this Headquarters has been drawn to an impostor who claimed to be one Major Yahaya Shinko (rtd.)...parading himself a retired Major and security expert in some international media.

"He had also been discussing the ongoing State of Emergency and military operations in the North Eastern part of the country with some select international media. Please be informed that the officer was reduced to Second Lieutenant on disciplinary ground for Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL) and was subsequently retired from service in 1999 for service no longer required".

"Judging from the circumstances under which the officer left the service, no in-depth analysis and sound judgement on any military operation could come out from such an inexperienced officer", he added.

Hezbollah: FG Files Fresh Charges against Lebanese

Abdullahi Thaini, Mustapha Fawaz and Tahal Roda

  The federal government has filed a fresh six-count charge against three Lebanese - Abdullahi Thaini, Mustapha Fawaz and Tahal Roda - being held over alleged terrorism activities.

Counsel to the State Security Service, Clifford Osagie, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at the resumed trial of the case filed by the Lebanese for the enforcement of their fundamental rights.

Also yesterday, a Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed the no-case submission made by the alleged mastermind of the 2011 Christmas Day bombing at St. Theresa's Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State, Kabiru Umar (aka Kabiru Sokoto).

"Hezbollah has a military wing. In the next few days Nigerians will know more about this," Osagie told a Federal High Court in Abuja while arguing a counter affidavit the SSS filed against an application for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of the detained Lebanese.

Government also said the three belonged to the military wing of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah. The three are being held for alleged unlawful importation and stockpiling of cache of firearms and ammunition.

Osagie said the fresh charge filed before the Federal High Court, Abuja by the Attorney General of the Federation charged the suspects with offences bordering on terrorism.
It was learnt that the charge, which was filed on Thursday, had not yet been assigned to any judge for hearing.

According to him, men of the State Security Service found in the homes of the suspects prohibited firearms and ammunition as against their claim that what was found in their homes were "mere riffles and hunting guns."

Osagie argued that under the Firearms Act, the weapons found in the homes of the suspects "can not be issued without license. The applicants should have exhibited receipts of purchase of the weapons and the license enabling them to carry such deadly weapons."

He urged the court not to serve as refuge for people whose activities allegedly threaten and undermine the nation security.

He denied the applicants' claim that their arrest and detention by the state violated their fundamental right to liberty.

Osagie said the SSS observed due process and procured the necessary warrants from the court, both in Kano and Abuja before detaining them.

He noted that although the detention warrant issued by a Magistrate's Court in Karu, Abuja lapsed on June 19 the suspects were still being held on the order of remand earlier made by the Federal High Court, Abuja.

He urged the court to dismiss the suspects' application for being frivolous; intended to perverse the course of justice, and for "not being in the interest of Nigeria and its national security."

The applicants' lawyer, Ahmed Raji, had while arguing his clients' application, faulted their continued detention.
He faulted the remand warrants obtained by the SSS and on which basis the suspects were detained.

He argued that the warrants, having been issued by Magistrate Courts, were not competent.

Raji contended that since Magistrate Courts lacked the jurisdictional competence to hear terrorism related cases they could also not order the remand of people held for such offence.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola adjourned till June 24 for Raji to reply on point of law to Osagie's argument.
The judge ordered that the suspects be returned to SSS' custody and to be reproduced in court in June 24.

In the case of Kabiru Sokoto, the suspect had, at the completion of the prosecution's case on May 16 argued that no prima facie case was made out against him and asked the court to discharge him.

But in a ruling delivered yesterday, Justice Adeniyi Ademola held that the prosecution had established a prima facie against the accused person through the evidence brought before the court.

He held: "The court having held that a prima facie case had been made against the accused person, his no-case-submission fails.
In the circumstance, the accused person has a case to answer. He is hereby called upon to open his defence."

Defence lawyer, Ibrahim Umar had in his submission on June 14 argued that the prosecution failed to produce sufficient evidence to link the suspect with the charges of terrorism leveled against him.

Counsel urged the court to discharge and acquit him.
He further argued that the proof of evidence before the court did not link his client to the crimes alleged against him.

The defence lawyer contended that the evidence so far led by the prosecution failed to establish any offence against his client.

He further argued that the evidence by all the six prosecution witnesses amounted to hearsay and urged the court to disregard it. 

Prosecution lawyer, Mrs. Chioma Onuegbu, in her counter submission, argued that the state had sufficiently made out a prima facie against the suspect.

Onuegbu asked the court to discountenance the defence counsel's submissions.

Robbers Cart Away Huge Sums in Bank Attack

First Bank Plc

  A ten- man gang of armed robbers  Friday invaded   a branch of First Bank Plc in Agbor in Ika South local government area of Delta State, carting away large sums of money.

The robbery operation that lasted for about an hour forced other banks within the locality to close business    to customers for the day for fear of being attacked by the rampaging robbers who shot sporadically into the air with sophisticated weapons to scare people away   while the operation lasted.

Eye witness who pleaded anonymity told THISDAY that the robbers stormed the bank in a Toyota Hiace bus, at about 10am, soon after the bank bullion van   conveying money arrived the banking premises when customers had besieged the banking hall  to make withdrawal for the weekend  .

He said the robbers who fired sporadically into the air overwhelmed the bank’s security guards and   forced their way into the banking hall   from where they carted away the iron boxes containing large sums of money.  The monies   were   meant for the bank’s day operations.

Delta State Police Public Relations officer, Mr. Lucky Uyabeme (ASP) while confirming the   development said the police were on the trail of the robbers.

He could not confirm if there was any casualty but THISDAY gathered that some bank officers sustained serious bullet wounds during the robbery operation.

It was also gathered that the Agbor zonal coordinators of West Africa Examination Council,  who was conducting junior WASC  examination in a nearby primary school was hit by a stray bullet.

The robbery operation, THISDAY gathered created pandemonium within the ever busy Old Abraka road, the  commercial nerve center of Boji Boji town   sane of the incident  and the entire Boji Boji town,   as traders, market men and  women and other artisans scampered   to safety    for fear of been hit by bullet.