MASSOB- Operation Python Dance, another dimension of war against Ndigbo.

THE Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, yesterday, described the military’s declaration of Operation Python Dance on Igbo soil as another dimension of war by the Buhari-led administration against Ndigbo.

According to the group, the action of the military also amounted to political declaration of state of emergency in South-East geopolitical zone.

In a statement issued in Abakaliki by the  National Director of Information of MASSOB, Comrade Samuel Edeson, the group alleged that the action of the military was intended to maim the people of Biafra and prevent them from returning home for the Christmas celebration.

The statement read in part: “The leadership of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, after our National Executive meeting today at MASSOB headquarters, Okwe, Onuimo Local Government Area, which also coincided with first anniversary of the new leadership of MASSOB under our amiable leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu condemned in totality the recent declaration by Nigerian Army of Operation Python Dance in Biafra land.

“The meeting which was presided over by our leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu at Okwe resolved as follows: “That Operation Python Dance is another dimension of prosecution of war by Buhari-led administration against Ndigbo. It also amounts to political declaration of state of emergency in South-East states.

“That Army headquarters, with their ulterior negative motives, started this annihilating operation on November 27, without any public enlightenment and orientation in order to maim the people of Biafra.

“That the primary target and reason of this operation is not against pro Biafra groups, as we have no public functions in this Christmas season. It is against the people of Biafra, mostly the Igbo during this Christmas period through intensive pressurized monetary extortion, harassment, mesmerization and secret/extra judicial killings of Ndigbo because of current Biafranization of Igboland and Ndigbo.

“That Christmas season is a period of Igbo gathering with much concentration in Igboland, so to the military, it’s a fertile land and opportunity for creating fears/tensions among our people which they thought will derail the love, confidence and consciousness of Biafra.

“That this is an extension of Buhari-led administration’s forceful islamisation of Igboland through military fears and religious intimidation. This operation is also designed to demoralize the people of Biafra from returning home for Christmas celebration.”

Crippling S-East economy

Similarly, the South-East Coalition of Human Rights Organizations has called for the dismantling of the newly established Operation Python Dance by the Nigerian Army in the South -East, arguing that the exercise would cripple and strangulate the social and economic activities in the zone.

A statement issued by 10 groups under the coalition said that apart from scaring investors away, the exercise would also chase away traders coming to patronize South-East economy, cripple leisure, recreation and other cultural activities, as well as turn the South-East roads into extortionist money-making arena by way of what they described as structured or organized and open ended extortion.

Uwazuruike laments arrest, detention of members

Meantime, the leader of Biafra Independence Movement, BIM, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has decried the arrest and detention of six members of his group, who were on their way to Owerri, to attend the memorial celebration of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.

Uwazuruike, who spoke through his Director of Information, Mazi Chris Mocha, gave the names of those under arrest as Usulor Luke, Ngede Emeka, Agbem Chukwuma, Martin Ejiofor, Theophilus Ononiba and Anslem Madu.

Giving a graphic account of how the pro-Biafra activists ended up in detention, Uwazuruike said: “Our members boarded a chartered Mitsubishi L300 bus with registration number, Anambra HBE 184 YD, from Anambra West local government area of Anambra State, to attend the memorial day celebration of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in Owerri last weekend.”

Uwazuruike said some soldiers, who were operating in a Toyota Hilux vehicle, marked NA 302, Team 62, drafted from 302 Artillery regiment, Onitsha, chased the vehicle on sighting it. “The soldiers forced the Mitsubishi commuter bus to a halt at Amazu, along the Onitsha-Owerri road and arrested six of the occupants, while the others scampered into safety,” Uwazuruike said. While urging security agencies to form the habit of charging pro-Biafra loyalists to court of competent jurisdiction, instead of incarcerating them endlessly in their inhuman cells, Uwazuruike however recalled that Amnesty International recently accused the security agencies of extra judicial killing of 150 MASSOB/BIM loyalists. “Keeping pro-Biafra loyalists in Army cells since last Saturday, without handing them over to the police is illegal, offensive, inappropriate and reprehensible”, Uwazuruike said.

AT LAST: Federal Executive Council Approves 2017 Budget..

After missing the September target for the presentation of the 2017 budget to the National Assembly, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) wednesday finally approved the 2017 Appropriation Bill.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, who briefed State House correspondents after wednesday’s FEC meeting, said that the budget details would be revealed when the president presents the bill to the National Assembly, but did not give a date for its submission.

He said: “With regard to the date, the president will be communicating to the National Assembly and, of course, it will be at the National Assembly’s discretion ultimately.

“The president will write to them and after they confirm, then the president can come to address them.”

On the implementation of the 2016 budget, he said that even though it had been affected by revenue constraints, the government was able to release N800 billion for capital projects and had also met 100 per cent of personnel costs.

“With respect to implementation of 2016, as you are aware, we had revenue constraints. Nevertheless, as we have been briefing regularly, we are up to date with personnel costs. We have paid salaries up to date,” Udoma stated.

The minister also said that the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) sent to the National Assembly ahead of the presentation of the 2017 budget was not bereft of information, insisting that it was well prepared.

The Senate had picked holes in the document sent to the National Assembly October 4, 2016, alleging that it did not contain the details of the fiscal proposals and described it as “empty” and not worth consideration.

But Udoma disagreed with the Senate, saying that the MTEF was prepared by experienced experts after extensive consultations.

He, however, admitted that the estimates contained in the document at the time it was submitted, were bound to change because of the changes in the exchange rate.

He said: “The MTEF was a very well prepared document after extensive consultations. We consulted the private sector and the non-governmental organisations (NGOs), etc.

“But the assumptions of that MTEF were assumptions which were true and correct as of the time it was prepared in August.

“Naturally, every time you improve on your assumptions based on the latest estimates. For instance, one of the issues they raised was about the exchange rate; that we used $290 as the exchange rate, and that was the exchange rate of the time.

“So, you only use the exchange rate that is valid at that time. Naturally, by now, you will change that.

“As such, whenever we appear before the National Assembly, we will engage them and take them one by one through each item.

“But that MTEF was extremely well prepared, consistent with the best possible methods of preparation by people who are very experienced in preparing the document.”

Also speaking, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said FEC approved the business case for the concession and development of the Ikere gorge dam in Oyo State to generate 6 megawatts (MW) of hydro-powered electricity, the Bakolori dam in Zamfara for 3.2MW, Jibiya dam in Katsina for 4MW, Zobe dam in Katsina for 0.29MW (290 kilowatts), Kampe Omi in Kogi for 2MW and the Doma dam in Nasarawa for 1MW of electricity.

This, he said, was in furtherance of the administration’s incremental power initiative and rural electrification initiative.

“Not only do these projects further our quest for incremental energy, wherever there is legitimate opportunity, they further our quest for renewable energy as well, because hydro electricity is clean energy,” Fashola explained.

He said council also approved the commencement of the Federal Secretariat complex in Ekiti State and the furnishing of the one in Gombe State.

Fashola explained that even though the Ekiti project was conceived in the year 2000, funding was not provided for it.

IGBO Youths Protest Against Patience Jonathan’s Trial..

A group, Concerned Igbo Youths, yesterday blocked some major streets in Enugu, protesting against the ongoing probe of former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.

Led by their coordinator, Victor Ezenagu, they said the probe, which had led to the freezing of her bank account, was aimed at humiliating former President Goodluck Jonathan.

They marched to the Enugu office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) where they submitted a petition titled “Unjust persecution and desperate plan to humiliate former President Goodluck Jonathan,” to the South East zonal head of the commission, ‎Mr. Johnson Babalola.

According to the youths: ‎”‎While we salute the commitment of the present administration towards fighting corruption in the country, we, however, express our disaffection WITH the manner the war is being prosecuted by the commission.

“It is quite condemnable that having sacrificed his ambition for the sake of Nigeria’s future, Jonathan’s family is being visited with such cruelty from the commission.”

They added that while they were not against the anti-graft war, “it should be done within the ambit of the law. It is not proper for the EFCC to punish the family of the former president and freeze their account over mere allegations.”

Meanwhile, Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo said the January 12, 2017 handover date to new national executives remains sacrosanct despite the delay in the constitution of the electoral committee.

The four-year tenure of the incumbent leadership of Chief Gary Igariwey would elapse by January 12, 2007 to pave the way for new officers.

IPOB Accuses Government Of Launching Military Operation Against Their Members.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said the launch of Operation Python Dance is a ploy by the Federal Government and south east governors to exterminate pro-Biafra agitators.

The army authorities had through its spokesperson, Col. Sagir Musa on Monday announced the intention of the military to commence “Operation Python Dance” from November 27 to December 27 to check criminal activities in the south east.

However, IPOB in a statement by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, expressed fears that the exercise was targeted at Biafra agitators.

IPOB said: “We are going to hold the south east governors responsible if anything happens to any body in the south east because the Federal Government and the Nigeria Defence headquarters cannot afford to deploy its weapons in all the parts of south east without the consent of the state governors.”

According to IPOB, “The governors of Anambra, Imo and Abia are now together with their counterparts in Enugu and Ebonyi States to kill their kit and kin this time because they feel they are no more relevant in the face of general public in the land. We are going to hold you people responsible if anything happens to any person here.”

IPOB insisted that Nigeria is not in a military era. “The governors should go back to their masters in Abuja to tell them to recall and remove all the military equipment stationed in all the parts of south east, whether they call it “Operation Python Dance” or what. We must hold them responsible for these atrocities committed in our land.”

The group urged the international community and other relevant human rights organizations in the world to take note “because our lives are in danger.”

What You Need To Know About Bitcoin (cryptocurrency).

Nowadays, Bitcoin is being discussed aloud in the cyber space. So, for your knowledge, let me tell you that Bitcoin is just a virtual currency and not in the physical existence. Various websites accept this currency for online shopping. A Japanese computer programmer invented the currency in 2009.

Bitcoin is the series of characters and numbers, which can be placed safely inside a virtual wallet. No central bank issues this currency and no government agency manages the Bitcoin.

How Bitcoin is created

New Bitcoins are created using an open source software and this process of creating new virtual currencies is known as mining. Everyone can perform mining to create Bitcoins. But, to create Bitcoins, it is necessary to have high speed Internet and high performance computer power.

Recently, the world’s first Bitcoin ATM came into being in Canada. Using this ATM, any official currency can be converted into Bitcoin.

According to a survey, more than 1.1 Crore (approximately 55000 Crore Indian Rupees) Bitcoins are available in the world. In case of India, approximately 21 million Bitcoins are hidden across the Internet. These Bitcoins can be bloomed around 2040.

Bitcoin is pure, unregulated, and open 

Pure may sound like a nebulous idea, but it isn’t. In regards to Bitcoin, it means that the price is regulated by pure supply and demand. Without any demand, the price will drop. This also relates to commodities in that sense. Ever since governments stepped in, it seems that it’s doing worse and worse.

This also means that Bitocin’s openness allows people to create their own unregulated ways to utilise it. Whether it be peer to peer lending, to stock markets of Bitcoin service companies, Bitcoin creates an economy of its own, by the people, for the people.

According to cryptocrooks.com, Bitcoin will never die as long as individuals run the Bitcoin software. Typically, an Internet wallet has servers that run the software, but that’s a bit more complicated to describe. If someone wants to become a Bitcoin node, they run the software and start to process transactions.

Bitcoin embodies the Internet culture

It is open, free, “unbreakable” and decentralised. The Internet was started to share information, and Bitcoin is a revolution in that idea. Bitcoin is an idea, firstly, that financial property can be directly controlled by its owner. As we mentioned, banks own the money under deposits, they’re free to do whatever with a percentage of all deposits. When someone owns a Bitcoin, it operates similar to cash in the fact that the one in possession of the private key has the ability to do with it what they please. Bitcoin is a decentralised cryptocurrency, meaning that it cannot (easily) be shutdown.

SAD: A Female Corps Member Dies In Bayelsa Camp

Fear has gripped corps members at the Bayelsa State Orientation Camp at Kaiama, Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area of the state following the death of a female member of the National Youth Service Corps, who reportedly died in a mysterious circumstance.

The female corps member, whose name was given as Miss Elechi Chiyerom, aged 27, was confirmed dead on Tuesday. She reportedly bled and vomitted  on arrival at the camp.

Elechi, a graduate of the Ignatius Azuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was confirmed dead about 9pm on Tuesday five days after arriving at the camp.

Some corps members claimed the deceased on arrival at the camp last Thursday looked “terribly sick” and could not participate in some opening sessions at the camp.

Some officials of the NYSC claimed that the development was a case of “non-disclosure” of state of health by the corps member.

It was learnt that a search on her hostel section showed signs of excessive bleeding with her clothing and sanitary pads soaked in blood.

It was also learnt that the deceased corps member reportedly relapsed into ill-health and was rushed to the sick bay of the camp at about 8pm on Tuesday.

A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “The doctor at the NYSC camp’s clinic immediately referred her to the state-owned Diette-Koki Memorial Hospital in the Opolo area of Yenagoa, the state capital, where she was confirmed dead.”

Pro-Jonathan Protest Rocks Enugu State.

Igbo youths took to the streets of Enugu on Wednesday in protest against the alleged “persecution” of Patience Jonathan by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Some bank accounts, reportedly belonging to the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan had been frozen by the anti-graft agency.

The protesters, under the aegis of Concerned Igbo Youths, said Patience’s travail was an attempt to humiliate the former President  Goodluck Jonathan.

Brandishing placards and chanting solidarity songs, the group, led by its coordinator, Victor Ezenagu, marched to the Enugu office of the EFCC, where they submitted a petition to the South-East zonal head of the commission, Mr. Johnson Babalola.

Some youths also protested in front of the Enugu State Government House.

In the petition entitled, ‘Unjust persecution and desperate plan to humiliate former President Goodluck Jonathan,’ the youths demanded an immediate unfreezing of Patience Jonathan’s accounts.

The petition read in part, “While we salute the commitment of the present administration towards fighting corruption in the country, we express our disaffection to the manner the war is being prosecuted by the commission under your watch.

“Some of the actions of the commission in recent time leave no one in doubt that certain persons have clearly been singled out to be humiliated.

“A case in point is that of a former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, who is currently being prosecuted by the EFCC. We see the freezing of her personal accounts and ongoing prosecution as an attempt to discredit former President Goodluck Jonathan.”

The youths said they were miffed that Jonathan was being victimised by the EFCC, even after sacrificing his ambition “for the sake of the country’s future.”

The petition also read, “It is quite condemnable that having sacrificed his ambition for the sake of Nigeria’s future, Jonathan’s family is being visited with such cruelty from the commission.

“We say this because Mrs. Jonathan is not the first person to have occupied the office of First Lady in Nigeria. Yet, none of the other former occupants of that office is under probe, let alone trial.

“Following from the above, it is also not out of place to state that the current administration is indirectly prosecuting and persecuting Jonathan.

“We are sending a clear message that this unjust persecution, under whatever guise, will not be tolerated against a family that sacrificed so much for this country.”

The protesters further alleged that the former First Lady was being persecuted for being Igbo.

“The Igbo youths are, therefore, demanding that every action against her should be suspended as we are ready to take this mass action higher if our demands are not met.”

But responding after receiving a copy of the petition, the EFCC South-East zonal head, Babalola, said the matter was already before the court.

He urged the youths to redirect their protest to the appropriate quarters.

Babalola equally appealed to the youths to partner the EFCC to rid the country of corruption.

“The EFCC is not embarking on a witch-hunt of the former first family or anybody else as you said in your petition. The commission is only trying to rescue the nation; what we are doing is in the interest of the nation,” Babalola told the youths.

SEE THIS: MASSOB Declares Fast for Kanu, Others

                           

The leadership of the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra has urged Igbo to fast and pray for the release of pro-Biafran agitator, Nnamdi Kanu, and others being detained by the Federal Government.

Kanu and others would appear in court on December 1.

The Leader of MASSOB, Uchenna Madu, in a statement on Monday, called on Igbo to intensify the efforts towards the release of Kanu and other detained pro-Biafran agitators.

Madu said all MASSOB members in Imo State would converge on the group’s headquarters in Okwe, Onuimo Local Government Area of the state for the prayer session.

The MASSOB leader also stated that other pro-Biafran groups, including IPOB remained the pride of the Ndigbo.

He noted that the emergence of groups such as Oodua Peoples Congress, Niger Delta Avengers and Boko Haram had shown that the country was not united.

J.Mourinho Targets Mikel

Jose Mourinho  is set to make a shock move to land former player  Mikel Obi from Chelsea.

Mikel, 29, has not played under new Stamford Bridge manager Antonio Conte and there are no plans to renew his contract which runs out this season.

Now the Manchester United boss is ready to take advantage with a cut-price New Year offer for the player the Red Devils thought they had signed ten years ago.

Mikel had just turned 19 when the Old Trafford outfit announced on their website that they had signed the teenager on a four-year contract from Norwegian club Lyn Oslo.

The £4m transfer was done directly with the player and his club — bypassing his agents and he was even pictured in a United shirt.

But Chelsea angrily claimed they had an agreement with the agents to buy him.

The midfielder is yet to make an appearance for the Blues this season

Things turned nasty when it was reported Mikel  started to get threatening phone calls and ended up having to take refuge in a safe hotel with a security guard.

He then went missing from Lyn amid stories he had been kidnapped.

The Nigeria captain  had actually travelled to London where he went on Sky Sports TV to claim that he had been pressured into signing for United, something they denied, and he wanted to join the Blues.

The matter was resolved when Chelsea paid United £12m and Lyn £4m.

So it will be the second time Mourinho has signed Mikel, who he believes can play in a defensive midfield role in front of the back four.

He needs that type of player to give £89m Paul Pogba freedom to roam.

Bale Undergoes Ankle Operation

                               

Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale underwent an operation on Tuesday in London on his injured ankle that will likely see him ruled out of action for two months.

“Our player Gareth Bale has successfully come through the operation he underwent today after suffering an injury to the peroneal tendons in his right ankle,” the Spanish giants said in a statement.

“The operation was carried out at London’s King Edward VII Hospital by Dr. James Calder and Real Madrid Sanitas’ Dr. Mikel Aramberri, under the supervision of Dr. Jesus Olmo, head of Real Madrid’s medical department,” it added.

Bale was forced off just before the hour mark of Real’s 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon on November 22 as the European champions secured their place in the last 16 of the Champions League for a record 20th consecutive season.

The Welshman was diagnosed with a “traumatic dislocation of the peroneal tendons in his right ankle”.

Spanish media reported at the time that he would be out for at least two months.

It means Bale will miss the rest of 2016, the Club World Cup in Japan and probably the first leg of the Champions League last 16 tie.

READ THIS: Ex-Polytechnic Rector Dies During Sex Romp with Teenager in Hotel

There was pandemonium at a hotel in Ughelli, Ughelli South local Government Area of Delta State yesterday as the former Acting Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, Bayelsa State, slumped and died during an alleged love session with an unidentified female teenager.

The ex-Rector, Chief Udele Emuhohwo was said to have slumped in his room at the hotel located at Onoharigho Street, Ughelli and was rushed to a private clinic, a few kilometers from the hotel where he was confirmed dead on arrival.

Sources at Ughelli Police Area Command told US: “He had gone to the hotel in company of a female teenager and booked a room for an hour of love session with the girl.”
Speaking further, the source said: “The girl raised an alarm when the chief slumped but absconded following reports that the victim was confirmed dead.

Though no arrest was made in connection with the incident, a female manager of the hotel was said to have been arrested for questioning but had since been released.

Suspecting foul play over the incident, a family member who spoke to journalists at the ex-Rector’s Upper Agbarho residence said: “We are having a meeting with elders of the family if an autopsy would be conducted after which we would take a stand on the matter.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Celestina Kalu, could not be reached for confirmation as she refused to pick her calls or respond to the text messages sent to her mobile phone.

READ: NAFDAC Raids Onitsha Shop

                             

Officials of the National Agency for Food Drug and Administration and Control (NAFDAC) yesterday arrested three persons in connection with the sale of fake cosmetic products, including Ozone hair relaxer.

The officials stormed the popular Ochanja Market in company of security operatives, where they raided a shop in the market, which they claimed was reported as the source of the suspected fake cosmetic products and arrested three persons.

According to the leader of the NAFDAC group, Uche Chidi, who is a Chief Regulatory Enforcement Officer, their action followed an intelligence reports after a similar raid in Naka, Benue State, where a suspect was arrested and confessed he sourced the illicit product in Onitsha.

Uche maintained that their primary mission was to get to the source of the faking of the particular product whether the suspects were producing or Importing it and punish those behind it.

Meanwhile, a consultant to the owners of the brand being faked who pleaded anonymity said that any product seen to be in high demand in the market is usually a target of fakers
He regretted the penchant of people to ride on the back of established names to claim what they do not produce.

Ahead of Dec 1st ruling for Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB leader: MASSOB calls for prayer, fasting

                        

The Leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Comrade Uchenna Madu, Tuesday, urged the pro-Biafra agitators in the country to pray ahead of the Federal High Court ruling on the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on December 1st.
 This statement was contained in a release issued to newsmen in Owerri by Madu. He said, ''Ndigbo shall not abandon their own son because of individual personal interest. As Nnamdi Kanu and others will appear in court on Dec 1st, MASSOB urge the people of Biafra all over the world to observe praying, fasting and supplication for our brothers and Biafra heroes.”
“MASSOB members will engage in charismatic prayer meeting at MASSOB headquarters, Okwe on Dec1st.

 As MASSOB demand for the release of Nnamdi Kanu and others, we shall maintain our non violence principles” “Until Igbo leaders understand the efficacies, potencies and political value of MASSOB, IPOB and others, they will never progress politically in Nigeria.”

 “Today, major Igbo leaders have abandoned Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Nwawuisi and Madubugwu of IPOB, Innocent Orji, Sabastine Amadi, Uchenna Nicholas and 17 others of MASSOB and Benjamin Onwuka and others of BZM because they thought that these men pose threat to their political adventures in Nigeria or economic interest.”

SO BAD!!: UNN Student suicide note: ‘My fellow gamblers, I am sorry’

                       

The Enugu Police Command on Tuesday commenced an investigation on alleged suicide by a University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) student.

In a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Mr Ebere Amarizu, the command said that the deceased, identified as Mr Tobechukwu Okeke, was a final year student of Agriculture Economics and a native of Awgu in Enugu State.

It said that Okeke was seen in his room lifeless with a blue rope on his neck hung on the ceiling fan’s hook on Nov. 27.

The command said that a note written by the deceased to his friends and relations was found at the scene of the alleged suicide.

“Some of the excerpts from the note read as follows: “I got it all wrong when I rejected Jesus. God gave me wisdom, God gave me all I needed to succeed. I rejected Him.

“My fellow gamblers, I am sorry; my fellow lions, I am sorry; my family, I let you all down,” it said.

The command noted that the body of the late student had been deposited at the Bishop Shanahan Hospital Mortuary, Nsukka.

SEE THIS: Teenager Arraigned For Procuring Abortion Drugs for 14-year-old lover

A 19-year-old man, Olamilekan Yusuf, was on Tuesday arraigned in Lagos for allegedly procuring abortion drugs for his 14-year-old girl friend.

Yusuf, who resides at Turner Eradiri Street, Ajegunle, Lagos, is facing one charge of procurement of abortion drugs at an Apapa Magistrates’ Court.

The Prosecutor, Sgt. Olusegun Kokoye, told the court that the accused committed the offence on October 27 at his residence.

He alleged that the accused, who was having affair with the 14-year-old girl, had slept with her on several occasions.

kosoye said the accused and his lover were neighbours.

“When the accused discovered that his girl friend was pregnant, he convinced her to take abortion drugs, since they were not both ready to cater for a child now.

“The young girl started having severe stomach pains after taking the abortion drugs and she was also bleeding.

“The parents of the 14-year-old girl discovered that their daughter was acting strange and was also in so much pain, they decided to take her to the hospital for medical attention.

“The girl later confessed to her parents that Yusuf, who was responsible for the pregnancy, gave her drugs to terminate it.

“The case was reported to the police and the accused was immediately arrested,’’ Kokoye told the court.

He said the offence contravened provisions of Section 145 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Magistrate, Mr M.A Etti, admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N100,000 with one surety in like sum.

Etti adjourned the case till January 12, 2017 for further hearing.

Xmas: Army Warns Pro-Biafra Agitators

                             


Barely a week after the Amnesty International (AI) declared that the Nigerian Army killed 150 Biafra agitators and the army’s denial, the army, yesterday, in Awka launched “Operation Python Dance” in the South East and warned  secessionist groups against  threats to Nigeria’s sovereignty.
The army which also targets armed robbery, kidnapping, abduction, herdsmen-farmers clashes, communal clashes among others in the one month exercise said it would not hesitate to deploy troops on internal security operations and deal with secessionists and other trouble makers as appropriate.
The Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa, said the operation which would last from November 27 to December 27, 2016, had become necessary in anticipation of  rise of violent crimes during the Yuletide period.
In  a statement, the army said the operation would be multi-agency in nature as it would collaborate with other security agencies.
The statement read in part: “It would be recalled that the  Chief of  Army Staff, having painstakingly appraised the myriad of security challenges and scenarios across the country, directed on the conduct of both command post and field training exercises as a way of enhancing troops preparedness across the spectrum of contemporary challenges.
“Similarly, Exercise Python Dance has been planned for the South East Region from November 27 to December 27, 2016.
“The prevalent security issues such as armed robbery, kidnapping, abduction, herdsmen-farmers clashes, communal clashes and violent secessionist attacks among others would be targeted.
“In this wise, the exercise would be multi-agency in nature, whereby the Nigerian Army and other security agencies are expected to synergise and collaborate extensively.”
Furthermore, it disclosed that an elaborate civil-military cooperation line of operation had been planned for operation.
It said: “ Nigerian Army Corps and Services would conduct activities such as medical outreach, repairs of roads, schools, and other infrastructure across the South-East region.
“The Chief of Army Staff has, therefore, directed that a contingent of durable mechanism be imbued in the overall planning as well as execution of the exercise to achieve a hitch free Yuletide for the entire region.”

Street Carnival: Lagos To Shut Major Roads On Victoria Island....

The Lagos State Government yesterday said it would shut down Ahmadu Bello Way, Tiamiyu Savage, Akin Adesola and Bishop Oluwole as it holds the maiden edition of its street party next Saturday and Sunday.

The state government, therefore, urged all residents and visitors to use alternative roads it had already provided to avoid traffic congestion and gridlock on Victoria Island and its adjoining neighborhoods.

The acting state Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Olarenwaju Elegushi, disclosed this at a news conference he addressed alongside his information and strategy counterpart, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, and Special Adviser on Arts and Culture, Mrs. Adebimpe Akinsola, among others.

Elegushi said the whole stretch of Ahmadu Bello Way would be closed to vehicular movement between December 3 and 4 and would lead to Tiamiyu Savage, Akin Adesola and Bishop Oluwole and Ahmadu Bello Way being condoned off as a result.

He added that all traffic into the venue of Lagos Street party would be condoned off at Bishop Oluwole, noting that all with participants parking at Eko Atlantic premises and traffic within Victoria Island would be diverted.
On traffic diversion, the commissioner urged the motorists “to connect to Karimu Kotun and further to Oloosa Street with that journey terminating at the Ocean View end by Eko Hotels. Those coming from Ligali Ayorinde and Ajose Adeogun will also terminate their journey at Eko Hotels.

“Even those from Civic Centre and Ozumba Mbadiwe will also terminate the journey at Eko Hotels. For those existing Eko Hotels, they will travel through the Roundabout to connect Sanusi Fafunwa through Akin Adesola.”
He explained that those returning to Ahmadu Bello “will use Akin Adesola from where they could connect to Falomo, while those going to Falomo would use Akin Adesola to connect Falomo Bridge through Saka Tinubu through Karimu Kotun and Olosa Street.

“Since we are taking this route and restricting movement we feel duty bound to provide information on alternative routes that people can take on the two days of the party. It is our plan to mount and deploy adequate traffic diversion signs and personnel to monitor and montage traffic.”

Also at the conference, Ayorinde said the state government had provided alternative routes for motorists, saying businesses in Victoria Island would not have to close down because of the street party.

He said about 500,000 participants were expected on each day of the Lagos State Street Party, adding that adequate security had been put in place for safety of lives and property.

FRSC To Raise Driver’s Licence, Number Plate’s Fees.

                                         


The Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi, has cried out to the Joint Tax Board (JTB) to facilitate the payment of over N700 million owed it by various states in the country.
He also said the commission was tinkering with the idea of increasing the cost of procuring the driver’s licence and vehicle plate number, stressing that the current rate of N6,000 and N12,000 for both items respectively, was no longer sustainable judging from the hike in operational cost.
Speaking at the 136th meeting of the JTB held in Abuja yesterday, the Corps Marshall said the debt was crippling its operations nationwide, adding that its running cost keeps swelling as many states have failed to supply generators to the FRSC offices where vehicle plate number plates and drivers licence are procured.
He however hailed some states like Anambra and Delta for offsetting their debt, even as he urged others to toe the same path.
“FRSC is owed N700 million. I’ve written to the JTB. We need this money badly because it’s hurting our operations. Some states have credit balance of millions. We offer credit facilities but paying for service rendered is now very key. I hope the JTB intervenes”, he said. On the plate number and driver’s licence, Oyeyemi said the FRSC was spending much more to produce the two items due to recession, a development that is forcing the commission to push for an increase in the cost of procuring them.
“N6,000 to get a driver’s licence and N12,000 for vehicle plate number is too poor. We are spending so much to produce them. I’m running over 200 in stations across the country. I shouldn’t be providing that. The states should.
“When I came in last year, the popular Mikano generator was N1.5 million, now it’s N3.8 million. Only Kwara State provided a generator. Majority of the states defaulted in providing that. All states should have secured offices. They should own these stations and I want to relocate workstations there. I want to stamp out corruption. Enough is enough.
“So, for us, our running costs is too high and the states should help us. We can be collecting N1,000 on every plate number and N500 on every licence as commission. That will help us a great deal”, he stated.
The Corps Marshall also hailed its collaboration with Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in the vehicle registration process, pointing out that such cooperation has helped it detect about 43 stolen vehicles which people tried to re-register.
“Some used fake Customs papers. Others were fake clearing agents and all that. So, we detected them and this year has the highest record of such. We need to strengthen this collaboration because government is losing revenue through leakages. Interestingly, we’ve developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and it’s remaining for our sister agencies to sign. We’re involving the DSS on that. we need to collaborate to become more efficient and have government’s revenue increased especially now that we’re diversifying from oil’, he stated.
Oyeyemi also said plans were afoot to ensure more vehicles are carrying the new plate number, as records show more vehicles still adorn the old plate number.
“We’ve 12 million vehicles in Nigeria from our database. Only about 4 million vehicles are registered in the new scheme. Others are old. We need to harmonise this”, he said.

MTN Meets SEC on IPO, Seeks Concessions to Fast-track Listing

                      

Nigeria’s biggest telecoms provider, MTN, has met with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss a possible initial public offering (IPO) of its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and how it wants to structure the share sale.

According to Reuters, SEC Director General, Mounir Gwarzo, said MTN had discussed the possibility of issuing various classes of shares to targeted investor groups. He said the telecoms firm was looking at three different classes which would be new in Nigeria.

Gwarzo said the SEC was willing to support the share sale as long as it was within local laws and advised the telecoms firm to ensure retail investors were protected.

THISDAY checks further revealed that at the meeting, MTN also discussed the possibility of getting some concessions that will speed up the listing.

It was gathered that the joint financial advisers and issuing houses to MTN on the proposed IPO and listing – Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, Citigroup Global Markets Limited and Stanbic IBTC – accompanied the management of the company to the meeting with SEC.

“I can confirm to you that the management of the MTN Group and its advisors met with the SEC management. The main purpose was for them to ask for details of the procedure to embark on the IPO and the possibility of getting some concessions to fast-track the offer process.

“The commission is willing to assist the company to achieve its objectives,” a SEC source told THISDAY yesterday.

According to the source, the IPO would likely come up in the first quarter of 2017, depending on the economic situation in the country.

The meeting with SEC, notwithstanding, MTN is yet to formerly submit an application to the regulator for the IPO and listing of its shares.

MTN is the largest mobile phone operator in Nigeria with 57 million subscribers, and Nigeria accounts for a third of its revenue.

Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator had agreed to list its shares in Nigeria as part of a deal to pay a N330 billion ($1 billion) fine in cash to the Nigerian government for missing a deadline to disconnect 5.2 million unregistered subscribers.

Preparatory to the listing, MTN last month announced the appointment of Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, its affiliates — The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and Standard Advisory London Limited — and Citigroup Global Markets Limited as its Joint Transaction Advisors and Joint Global Coordinators, with Stanbic acting as Lead Issuing House.

MTN had said in a statement in July that it was targeting 2017 to list its shares on the NSE.

“MTN Nigeria is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has resolved to proceed with preparations for a listing of MTN Nigeria on the NSE as soon as commercially and legally possible and has established a management task team with the responsibility to guide the company towards a listing.

“At present, MTN Nigeria is targeting that the listing takes place during 2017, subject to suitable market conditions,” the company had said.

It added that Stanbic IBTC Capital, the Nigerian arm of Johannesburg-based Standard Bank, would be the lead issuing house, while a full syndicate including Nigerian parties would be appointed in due course.

SAD!!: Brazilian Football Team In Colombia Air crash

  A chartered aircraft with 81 people on board, including a Brazilian first division football team heading to Colombia, has crashed on its way to Medellin’s international airport.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team was going to Colombia for a regional tournament final.

Aviation authorities said there are however reports of at least six survivors.

“It’s a tragedy of huge proportions,” an Associated Press (AP) report from Bogota in Colombia quoted the Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez as telling a local radio station.

He was on his way to the site in a mountainous area outside the city where aircraft crashed.

Aviation authorities said the British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane declared an emergency at 10 p.m. Monday (0300 Tuesday GMT) due to an electrical failure.

The plane was operated by a Bolivian charter airline named Lamia,

Authorities and rescuers were immediately activated but an air force helicopter had to turn back because of low visibility.

They urged journalists to stay away from the hard-to-access zone and stay off the roads to facilitate the entry of ambulances and rescuers.

The area has been hit by heavy rains in recent days.

An ambulance transporting a male passenger with oxygen and covered in a blanket arrived on a stretcher to a local hospital, Blu Radio reported. He was apparently alive.

The aircraft, which made a stop in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was transporting the first division Chapecoense soccer team from southern Brazil.

The team was scheduled to play Wednesday in the first of a two-game Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional of Medellin.

The plane was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members, aviation authorities said in a statement.

Local radio said the same aircraft transported Argentina’s national squad for a match earlier this month in Brazil, and previously had transported Venezuela’s national team.

A video published on the team’s Facebook page showed the team readying for the flight earlier Monday in Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport.

The team, from the small city of Chapeco, was in the middle of a fairy tale season.

It joined Brazil’s first division in 2014 for the first time since the 1970s and made it last week to the Copa Sudamericana finals after defeating Argentina’s San Lorenzo squad.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Copa Sudamericana is the equivalent of the UEFA Europa League.

Fayose- Only Igbo can survive a divided Nigeria.... FACT

Ado Ekiti-The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has declared that in the event that the country is divided, only the Igbo nation can survive because of their resilience. The Governor also boasted that there has been no politically motivated killing of anyone under his administration.
Fayose stated this yesterday when the Ndigbo Community in Ekiti conferred him with the traditional title of ‘Nwanne – De – Namba at the Olukayode Stadium, Ado Ekiti during the Igbo Cultural Day. Fayose deployed those he called’ fake political leaders ‘ who are only accessible to the people when they are looking for votes only to buy bullet proof cars and erect artificial walls around themselves so that they would not be accessible to the people after the poll. He said, “whatever anybody says, the Igbos are a unique people in the country. God forbid, if Nigeria should break, they are the only nation that can survive because they are industrious people. ” All the permanent structures found everywhere are owned by the Igbo people. Wherever you go in the country, you will find an igbo man there. “No igbo man can vote for any other party in Ekiti State except the party I belong to because we are bonded with one another “, he said. The Governor lamented that women have been relegated in the scheme of things adding that his administration would provide for them in the 2017 budget of Ekiti State.
 Earlier in his address, the President General of Ndigbo Community in South West, Chief Nathaniel Ezeonu said that the Igbo people in Ekiti State want to have their own market. He added that the traders want to acquire an uncompleted market along poly road Ado Ekiti which the state government has pegged at N380 millions.
 He pleaded with Governor Fayose to rescind the decision to shut down Fayose market believed to be populated by igbo traders selling phones and other accessories. Ezeonu said that the the theme of the Cultural Day titled :Ndigbo and Socio-economic Reality in Nigeria, Which way Forward, was apt because the race have contributed more to the economic development of the country. To mark the occasion, major shops owned by the Igbos in the state capital were under lock and key.
 Those Present at the conferment of the traditional title on the Governor included the state Executives, local government Chairmen as well as traditional rulers in Ekiti and igbo land.

FINALLY: ASUU Ends Strike.

                       

he Academic Staff Union of Universities on Tuesday confirmed that it had ended its one week nationwide warning strike over the non-implementation of its 2009 agreement with the Federal Government.

The President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, who said this in Abuja, urged lecturers to return back to their classrooms.

“We are making progress especially with the intervention of the Senate and in the next one or two meetings, if we are able to get a clear path to the matter, we will avoid the elongation of the strike.

“I have been receiving these reports that ASUU says strike continues, no, the strike ends today (Tuesday). All lecturers are to go back to work on Wednesday morning.”

Ogunyemi said ASUU was hopeful of a positive outcome going by the response coming from the Federal Government.