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In the fourth of a series of articles looking at policing in Nigeria, the BBC's Andrew Walker asks what happened to the "Apo Six", the most infamous case of extra-judicial killing in Nigeria's history:

The pictures are truly gruesome - we cannot publish them.

Lawyer Amobi Nzelu spreads the glossy prints out on his desk, covering it with horror.

There is nowhere else to look except at the bodies.

There is a close-up of a face, gaping exit-wound at the temple.

Limbs and torsos covered in blood.

Dead eyes stare upward.

"This is a human being," he says.

"Look what they did."

Apology

The bodies belong to six young Nigerians killed by the police.

Ekene Isaac Mgbe, Ifeanyin Ozor, Chinedu Meniru, Paulinus Ogbonna and Anthony and Augustina Arebu were killed on 7 and 8 June, 2005.

My friend was going to the bush, to go to the toilet, when he saw the police digging a hole and preparing to bury some people Elvis Ozor Younger brother of Ifeanyin

The police tried to say they were armed robbers who had opened fire first.

But a judicial panel of inquiry set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo rejected the police's story and the government apologised on behalf of the police for their killings.

The government paid $20,300 (£13,800) compensation to each of the families.

It recommended the officers be arrested and face a criminal trial.

But nearly four years since the night the Apo Six were killed, the trial has got nowhere.

The public has almost forgotten the case is still going on.

Danjuma Ibrahim, the senior police officer accused of ordering the killings, lives free on medical bail.

And the families of the dead have all but given up on justice.

Tight-knit

Elvis Ozor is the younger brother of Ifeanyin Ozor.

Like his brother, he works as a spare car parts merchant in the Apo mechanics' village, south of the capital, Abuja.

It is a kind of shanty-town of sea crates and workshops where five of the Apo Six worked.

This is a tight-knit community, mostly of ethnic Igbos from Nigeria's south-east.

On 8 June 2005 the Apo mechanics found the police burying their friends in a cemetery that, by chance, was near their workshops.

"My friend was going to the bush, to go to the toilet, when he saw the police digging a hole and preparing to bury some people," Elvis says.

"They recognised my brother. When the police said they were armed robbers, no-one believed them - they knew my brother was not like that."

"When I arrived at work, word had spread, but I didn't know. I arrived and everyone was looking at me," he says.

The story was out, and an angry mob gathered.

There was a riot in Apo and the police shot two more people dead.

Unlike any other case of suspected extra-judicial killing in Nigeria, some of the police broke ranks and turned on the senior officer involved.

The other five officers accused of the murders and eight more police witnesses have testified that Danjuma Ibrahim ordered the killings.

During the judicial panel hearings, some Igbo police officers fed information to Mr Nzelu, who represented the families of the Apo Six.

The panel heard that the six were at a nightclub in Abuja's Area 11 when Mr Ibrahim - then off duty - propositioned Augustina.

She turned him down, according to the testimony of Ifeanyin Ozor's friends.

Ransom demand

Mr Ibrahim went to a police checkpoint at the end of the street and told officers there were a group of armed robbers in the area.

When the six young people came in their car, he drove into them, blocking their way and ordered the police officers to shoot.

Danjuma Ibrahim was a high ranking police officer in the Nigerian Police

Ifeanyin called his friends after he survived the first burst of gunfire, they testified.

Who actually fired the shots is still disputed by Danjuma Ibrahim's lawyers, but four of the six were killed there, the prosecution says.

Ifeanyin and Augustina were taken to a police station.

Officers called Augustina's family to demand a 5,000 naira (then $43, £22) ransom to let her go, according to a report by the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial execution.

Her family could not raise the money.

They were taken to a piece of rough ground outside town where they were executed, police officers testified at the criminal trial.

Augustina was strangled.

Then the police planted guns on the bodies of all six of the bodies and pictures were taken of them in the grounds of a police station by a police photographer.

Danjuma's defence

At the criminal trial, Mr Ibrahim's lawyers maintained that the Apo Six fired first.

He says all of them were killed in the gun battle, and a "home made" pistol and a shotgun were found in the car.

Extra-judicial killing in the police remains a shockingly common occurrence Eric Guttschuss Human Rights Watch

His lawyer Hyeladzira Nganjiwa says the prosecution dropped charges against some police officers in return for them changing their testimony.

Mr Ibrahim is the fall guy in a government plot to sweep the incident under the carpet, he said.

"I could never have done what they are accusing me of," Mr Ibrahim told the BBC outside the Abuja court where he is being tried.

He was released on medical bail in 2006, after his lawyer said he had a heart condition.

The five other accused - one of whom is now dying of Aids, according to his lawyer - remain in police custody.

That trial has been going on for almost three years.

After hearing the testimony of eight prosecution witnesses, the defence is now cross-examining the first.

Lawyers say the case is being stalled so it will eventually be forgotten, and the charges dismissed.

'Stalling'

In this case people accepted the victims were not armed robbers because they came from a close community.

But in other less high-profile cases, the public turns a blind eye to police killing, human rights advocates say.

The reluctance to punish police officers "emboldens" other officers to kill, says Eric Guttschuss of Human Rights Watch.

But the police say a great deal has changed since Apo Six case.

"The police have a higher respect for human rights than before," says spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu.

"I am not aware of any recent cases of extra-judicial killing."

Divine justice?

Mr Guttschuss of Human Rights Watch, which tracks alleged cases, disagrees.

"Extra-judicial killing in the police remains a shockingly common occurrence."

He says the police lack the capacity to properly investigate crimes, and because of the pressure from society to deal with violent criminals, they simply dispose of suspects without the encumbrance of trials.

"[A] Nigerian's guilt or innocence is immaterial," he says.

Elvis Ozor says he has given up on the judicial system.

"When Danjuma was released, I forgot everything about the case."

"The only way justice will be delivered is from God."

If billionaire Alki David is an honest man, the man who streaked in front of Barack Obama at the president’s rally today in Philadelphia will be paid $1 million for his stunt. The man who
performed today’s stunt, which captured the attention of the Drudge
Report , is 24-year-old Juan James Rodriguez, THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned..

David is a billionaire shipping and bottling magnate who is known to carry out stunts, mainly by paying others to perform them.
"A WACKY billionaire has offered $1million (£638,700) to the first
person who streaks in front of US President Barack Obama. Loaded Alki
David has promised to pay out the cash — providing the streaker writes
the name of his website 'Battlecam' across their chest."

“When I see the video and it’s confirmed...it won’t be check [that Rodriguez receives], it will be cash,” David, reached by phone tonight, told THE WEEKLY STANDARD..

The requirements of the streaking stunt, David told me, are that the streaker must have been within “eye-shot and ear shot of the president, they have to scream the name ‘battlecam’ six times, and they have to be nude.”

Two men involved in the stunt, Glen Zolar and Joey “Boots” Bassolino, assured THE WEEKLY STANDARD that Rodriguez met the requirements.

Zolar, who spoke with me on the phone earlier tonight, is a moderator on battlecam.com. Zolar was cruising the website when Rodriguez contacted him and asked whether he’d be able to
facilitate this stunt. Seeking personal gain – primarily, monetary gain –
Zolar agreed.

When asked how much he would get paid from Rodriguez’s payout, Zolar said, “I’d rather not disclose the figure, but it would definitely be more than $5,000 … and less than $25,000.”

Zolar says he has done freelance producing for the Howard Stern Show. Bassolino is a frequent guest on the show, which is well-known for conducting stunts just like the one carried out today in
Philadelphia. Zolar asked Bassolino to film the stunt this evening. The
two say it has been recorded but has not yet been broadcast on the
website. No payment has yet been made, and though it has not yet been
given David’s approval, it appears Rodriguez met all of David's
requirements.

“I am on the record as saying that it needed to be done in a place where it’s legal to be nude,” David said. But “it’s a suggestion, not a rule.”

In that case, the requirements appear to have been met. .

Babatunde Aliyu Fafunwa, former minister of education, died yesterday morning at the National Hospital, Abuja. He was aged 87.

According to a hospital official, he died a few minutes before 7am. Although the hospital staff refused to disclose the cause of death, it is believed that Mr. Fafunwa had fallen ill during a recent trip to Abuja, where he was expected to deliver a speech at the Open University.

Widely credited as introducing the 6-3-3-4 educational system in the country, the late Mr. Fafunwa was also the first Nigerian to receive a doctorate degree in Education. His teaching career began in 1961 at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Following the advent of the Civil War, he moved to Ife, and taught at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where he remained until his retirement.

Innovative methodologies

He is accredited with introducing several innovative teaching methodologies during his days at Ife. It was his contemporary methods that brought him to national prominence when he served as an education minister for three years under Ibrahim Babangida..

President Goodluck Jonathan had last week blamed him for the failure of the 6-3-3-4 education system.

He is to be buried today according to Islamic rites. He is survived by his wife, Doris, four children, and several grand children.

Fasasi Gbagba, the president of Jama’atul Islamiyya Society, the Islamic sect to which Mr. Fafunwa belonged, said the members were awaiting the body from Abuja. He is to be buried at his residence on Victoria Island, Lagos, today.

The Ogun State government has described his death as the loss of a major pillar of the education sector who worked tirelessly throughout his lifetime for the enhancement and development of the sector.

“A great mentor and outstanding person of character has just left us,” said the cultural activist, Segun Olusola, adding, “His relationship cuts across the entire nation and though a very religious person, he never allowed religion to affect his relationship.”

The Nigerian's sample contained the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine, which was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) list of banned substances for the first time this year.

The 24-year-old's suspension was extended after a hearing on Monday and she will keep her gold medal until after her B sample is tested.

"(The) B Sample result is expected within 48 hours from the time of the request so further details are not expected until Wednesday morning," said a Games Federation statement..

Oludamola took gold after Australian Sally Pearson, who crossed the line first in Thursday's race, was disqualified for a false start three hours after the finish.

Natasha Mayers, who crossed the line third in the blue riband sprint to take St Vincent and the Grenadines' first athletics medal, will be elevated to gold medallist if Oludamola is stripped of the title.

Mayers herself served a two-year doping ban after testing positive for testosterone in 2005.

The online edition of Nigeria's Vanguard newspaper (www.vanguardngr.com) quoted the president of Athletics Federation of Nigeria as saying that they would back the athlete as they believed she took the substance inadvertently.

"She took medication for her toothache and we strongly suspect that it was that which led to her failed drug test," Solomon Ogba told the paper.

'Shocked and disappointed'

Elias Usman Gora, chef de mission of the Nigeria team, told Reuters he was "shocked and disappointed."

"We brought our athletes here to compete and in the right spirit," he said. "It is very unfortunate if the second test also comes out positive.

"We had done out of competition testing on most of our athletes before coming here, except a few who joined us directly from the United States and Canada. Osayemi happens to be one who joined us from the United States.

"She has been a good athlete and had no problems with doping ever. I just don't know what happened."

A world championship 100 metres finalist in 2007, Oludamola reached the semi-finals of the sprint at the Beijing Olympics a year later."Any positive test, whether it is in a high-profile event or not, is something that is very much regretted because we all are striving for clean Games, clean sports and clean competitions," said Fennell.

Organisers have conducted over 950 tests since the start of the Games, Fennell said, with Oludamola's the first positive in more than 700 results.

"We just want to let everyone know that we are very vigilant," Fennell added. "This is something we have to work with and do a part in monitoring and eliminating doping in sports."

-REUTERS

Our correspondent gathered that this new fad is a common practice among youths, especially in tertiary institutions. The reason why youths do this range from their desire to keep their relationships to mischief. During the week, a soft sell magazine published semi-nude pictures of a young actress which a friend of hers circulated over mobile phones without her knowledge. Although she expressed regrets that it was published during an interview with an evening newspaper, she insisted that it was common..

A 26-year-old student of one of the federal universities in the South West, who pleaded anonymity, said, “My current relationship is about one and half years old. Though I have never sent my girlfriend any nude picture of myself, she sent me hers. I had a nude picture of myself on my phone which she saw. It was after that she sent me a nude picture of herself.”

“The final year Political Science undergraduate also admitted sending her sexually explicit text messages. According to him, ”If we are not together, we need to make each other happy. Texting nude pictures and suggestive SMS is a way of keeping the relationship going.”

Another student of a state university in the Eastern part of the country said she went along with the sexting tradition to please her boyfriend. “My relationship is about a year old. Though we have never sent nude pictures to each other but we do text sexually explicit messages. My boyfriend started it and I went along to make him happy.” The final year computer science student however admitted that sexting was among girls. “Most of them do it to keep their boyfriends happy.”

Twenty-nine year-old student of another federal university in the East, who also pleaded anonymity, said, “I am not currently in a relationship but in my last relationship, I sent my girlfriend sexually explicit text messages. I did it each time I missed her, kind of like an emotional eruption.”

Very few, it seems, consider the fate of the nude pictures when the relationship goes awry or the phone gets stolen as was in the case of the scandal last year where some nude pictures of a couple working in a major telecommunications firm was published on Facebook. There is always the danger, of course, of such pictures going into the wrong hands like the case of Natasha Obetan, a Port Harcourt ex-beauty queen whose nude pictures made the rounds.,

“I don’t know of any guy who used his girlfriend‘s nude pictures against her. The only person I know of that did something akin to that, his ex-girlfriend wasn’t even aware of what he did. She thought he had deleted all her nude pictures but he had one left. It was his friends that got to see it,” the student from a federal university in the South West said.

A psychiatrist at the Federal Psychiatrist Hospital, Yaba, Dr. Oladapo Adepoju sees the practice as a reflection of the moral decadence in the society. “Sexting is a social ill. It just shows that young people have taken romantic involvements to another level. I cannot call it a sexual disorder, except if it causes the person to harm himself and others too. On the other hand, however, deriving sexual satisfaction from viewing nude photos is a sexual disorder.” Disagreeing with the idea that sexting keeps the flame of love burning, he said, ”Sexting does not promote faithfulness in the long run. The danger of sexting is that both parties are likely to get sexually aroused. By the time this happens, they will want sexual satisfaction. If your partner is absent, the person might then resort to masturbation or engage any willing member of the opposite sex to achieve that sexual satisfaction.”

A concerned parent who didn‘t want to be named said, ”I have a teenage daughter in school. I would be very sad if I find out she is doing something like that. You really don‘t have to send amorous text messages or nude pictures to keep any relationship alive. There is a time for everything. All sexting does is to distract the parties involved from what they should actually be doing which is studying.”

(CNN) -- At age 13, Hope Witsell struggled in middle school. Not because her class work at Shields Middle School in Ruskin, Florida, was challenging, but because Hope was being bullied.

Her friend, Kyla Stich, told CNN that fellow students would "walk up to her and call her 'slut,' 'whore,' and they would sometimes, they would call her 'skank' and just be really cruel to her.".

Another friend, Lexi Leber, said, "We had to make like a wall, we had people surrounding her, and she had to be in the middle because people would come by and try to hit her and push her into a locker or something.

"She was afraid to walk alone, she was afraid someone would do something to her, like verbally attack her, so she would always have someone with her," Leber added.

This all started in the spring of 2009 during the last week of school.

Friends and family say Hope had "sexted" a picture of her breasts to her boyfriend. Another girl from school, they say, got her hands on the photo and sent it to students at six different schools in the area.

Before Hope could do anything to stop it, that photo had gone viral.

The school alerted Hope's parents. Her mother, Donna Witsell, told CNN how she learned about the photo.

"The assistant principal had a meeting with my husband and I and pretty much told us that he did not see the image but that he had heard that it was Hope and when he confronted Hope, Hope did not deny it. She wasn't proud of it but she didn't lie," Hope's mother said.

Mrs. Witsell says she had warned her daughter about the dark side of technology, about "some of the pretty sexual images of young girls and guys."

She added, "Hope was very aware of that, of inappropriate dress and most definitely posing."

Still, because of that photo, Hope had become a target for 11-, 12-, and 13-year-old bullies.

But she didn't share her pain with her parents.

Even when bullies wrote horrible things about Hope on a MySpace page called the "Shields Middle School Burn Book" and started a "Hope Hater Page," the young girl kept silent.

Summer provided a bit of a break, but when the new school year began, the taunting was even worse.

On Saturday, September 12, 2009, Hope Witsell helped her father mow the lawn. They cooked a special seafood dinner together as a family. Then Hope disappeared to her room upstairs. Her parents stayed downstairs and watched TV.

Donna Witsell will never forget the moment she went to say goodnight to her daughter.

"I went upstairs to go in her room and kiss her goodnight. That was when I found her. I screamed for my husband. And started doing CPR."

It was too late. Hope was already dead. She had used her favorite scarves to hang herself from her canopy bed.

After Hope died, her mother learned her daughter had been summoned to meet with a school social worker. A spokesperson for the school says the social worker was concerned Hope might have been trying to hurt herself, so she had Hope sign what's called a "no harm" contract in which Hope agreed to talk to an adult if she wanted to harm herself..

Hope's mother says she was never told about the contract, which she found crumpled up in the garbage in her daughter's bedroom after she died.

School officials told CNN they believed the social worker had tried calling Hope's mother to alert her but weren't sure if she had left a message.

"The school dropped the ball," Donna Witsell said.

"The school did not call. We have the digital telephone; we have the cell phones that indicate when there was an incoming call and what number was calling in. We have a house phone, I have a cell phone, my husband has a cell phone. We have emergency contact numbers at the school which was my sister-in-law and her husband. There was no indication that the school called any of those numbers," Hope's mother said.

Days after Hope died, her older sister, Samantha Beattie, discovered the bullying was still going on. Even in death, Hope could not escape it.

"I knew she had MySpace and Facebook. There were people putting comments on there: 'Did Hope really kill herself?' 'I can't believe that whore did that.' Just obscene things that I would never expect from a 12-year-old or a 13-year-old," said Samantha.

In the year or so that has passed since Hope Witsell took her own life, her mother has started a group called Hope's Warriors. She hopes it will help combat bullying and save other moms from feeling the horrendous pain that she feels.

Donna Witsell has a message for parents: "It happened to my daughter, it can happen to yours too. No one is untouchable. No one is untouchable."

Justice Served ?Armed Robber Robs a Bank Get Executed ,Bank MD Robs Bank Gets Six months.

Cecilia Ibru, the former managing director of Oceanic Bank PLC, is to spend six months in jail and forfeit over N150 billion naira in assets and cash.

The former managing director was convicted of bank and securities fraud earlier today by a federal high court in Ikoyi, Lagos, presided over by Justice Dan Abutuin .

The judge said Mrs. Ibru will not get one month credit for time already spent in EFCC custody during her arrest and interrogation. Her six months jail time would run concurrently. She was convicted on several counts of bank and security fraud.

Mrs. Ibru has vast assets throughout the world and some of the properties at stake include:

1. Good Shepherd House, IPM Avenue , Opp Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos (registered in the name of Ogekpo Estate Managers)

2. Residential block with 19 apartments on 34, Bourdillon Road , Ikoyi (registered in the name of Dilivent International Limited).

3. 20 Oyinkan Abayomi Street, Victoria Island (remainder of lease or tenancy upto 2017).

4. 57 Bourdillon Road , Ikoyi.

5. 5A George Street , Ikoyi, (registered in the name of Michaelangelo Properties Limited),

6. 5B George Street , Ikoyi, (registered in the name of Michaelangelo Properties Limited).

7. 4A Iru Close, Ikoyi, (registered in the name of Michaelangelo Properties Limited).

8. 4B Iru Close, Ikoyi, (registered in the name of Michaelangelo Properties Limited).

9. 16 Glover Road , Ikoyi (registered in the name of Michaelangelo Properties Limited).

10. 35 Cooper Road , Ikoyi, (registered in the name of Michaelangelo Properties Limited).

11. Property situated at 3 Okotie-Eboh, SW Ikoyi. 12. 35B Isale Eko Avenue , Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi.

13. 38A Isale Eko Avenue , Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi (registered in the name of Meeky Enterprises Limited).

14. 38B Isale Eko Avenue , Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi (registered in the name of Aleksander Stankov).

15. Multiple storey multiple user block of flats under construction 1st Avenue , Banana Island , Ikoyi, Lagos , (with beneficial interest therein purchased from the developer Ibalex).

16. 226, Awolowo Road , Ikoyi, Lagos (registered in the name of Ogekpo Estate Managers).

17. 182, Awolowo Road , Ikoyi, Lagos , (registered in the name of Ogekpo Estate Managers)

18. 12-storey Tower on one hectare of land at Ozumba Mbadiwe Water Front, Victoria Island .

19. 5, Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island, Lagos (registered in the name of Casi Properties & Investment Ltd).

20. 18A, Adetokubo Ademola Street , Victoria Island, Lagos (registered in the name of Casi Properties & Investment Ltd).

21. 270, Ozumba Mbadiwe , Victoria Island, Lagos (registered in the name of Casi Properties & Investment Ltd)

22. 270, Ozumba Mbadiwe , Victoria Island, Lagos (registered in the name of Ogekpo Estate Managers Limited).

23. 15,000 square metres of land at Okunade Water Front, Lekki Peninsula .

24. 7,000 square metres of land at Okunade Water Front, Lekki Peninsula - (registered in the name of Melake Properties Limited).

25. 8,000 square metres of land at Okunade Water Front, Lekki Peninsula - (registered in the name of (Casi Properties Limited). 26. 1,000,000 square metres of land in Lekki.

27. 101 hectares of land along Lekki Expressway behind Chevron Nigeria .

28. 103 hectares of land bought from Dom Gas

29. Plot 5, Igbo-Efon, Off Lekki/Ajah Expressway, Victoria Island, Lagos by 1004 (registered in the name of Casi Properties & Investment Ltd)

30. Block 6, Flat 1 &2, Femi Okunnu H/Scheme Phase IV- Lekki (registered in the name of Oceanic Homes Savings & Loans Ltd)

31. One storey building at 50 Marina , Lagos .

32. 10 storey building at 60 Marina , Lagos .

33. 60, Marine View, Apongbon, Marina , Lagos (registered in the name of Dele Oye & Associates)

34. 10, Sobo Arobidu Street , Ikeja, GRA (registered in the name of Jeedab Fibre Limited).

35. Property at 10A Sobo Arobiodu Street , Ikeja (registered in the name of Chiaroscuro Limited).

36. AP Filling Station (Beside Former Hotel Bobby) Onipanu Lagos , (registered in the name of Vivi Oil Investments Limited).

37. Building at 154, Ikorodu Road , Lagos (registered in the name of Casi Properties & Investment Ltd).

38. Ilemba Hausa Road , Ajamgbadi, Lagos (registered in the name of Vivi Oil & Gas Company Limited).

39. Land at Iyana Ipaja Round About, Iyana Ipaja, Lagos , (registered in the name of Vivi Oil Investments Limited).

40. Building at 7, Randle Road , Apapa, Lagos , (registered in the name of Ogekpo Estate Managers Limited)

41. Block 34, Flat 6, LSDPC Housing Estate, Ebute-Metta Lagos (registered in the name of Ogekpo Estate Managers Limited)

42. Three residential towers at Port Harcourt , GRA. 43. 22 Sani Abacha Way, Port Harcourt, GRA (registered in the name of Velvox Investment Company Limited).

44. Metro Plaza Building , 991/992 Zakari Maimalari Street , Central Area, Zone 5, Abuja , (registered in the name of Abinof Food Company Limited).

45. The 4 Floor Building at Herbert Macaulay Way , Wuse Zone 6, Abuja (registered in the name of Casi Properties and Investment Ltd).

46. Metro Plaza Building, ANNEXE B, Zakariya Maimalari Street, Cadastral Zone, AOO, C.B.D, Abuja (registered in the name of MST Properties West Africa Ltd).

47. Flats 1-4, Block D33, Abuja Games Village , Abuja (registered in the name of Convent Trade & Services Limited).

48. Block D33 (Flat 1-4) Games Village , Abuja (registered in the name of Casi Properties and Investment Ltd).

49. Block B40, Flat 5 & 6, Zone 3, Gymnastic Games Village (registered in the name of Oceanic Homes Savings & Loans Limited).

50. Executive Guest House, 4 bedroom Bungalow, Ndanuba Street , Maitama, Abuja (registered in the name of Ogekpo Estate Manager Limited). 51. Executive Guest House, Ali Akilu Crescent , Asokoro, Abuja , (registered in the name of Ogekpo Estate Managers Limited).

51. 29 Real estates in Dubai

52. Seven residential properties in Dubai

53. 15 Real Property in South Africa

54. Other properties in London, England

55. Abridged Shares In listed Nigerian Companies without limitation:

..

The former attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Michael Aondoakaa, has been barred from using the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN)..

The decision was taken by the legal practitioners privileges committee of the Nigerian Bar Association.

The Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Sunday Olorundahunsi, at a press conference in Abuja, said the committee took the decision at a meeting held yesterday.

He confirmed that Mr. Aondoaka had been suspended from the rank, following consideration of the former AGF’s response to a petition written against him by the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR).

“...the committee, after due consideration of the said response, has decided in its wisdom, to suspend him[Aondoakaa] from the use of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria and all other privileges attached to that rank, pending the outcome of the investigation by the sub-committee set up by the legal practitioners privileges committee,” Mr. Olorundahunsi said.

Amongst a number of allegations, the petition accuses the former justice minister of using his position to “emasculate the anti-corruption institutions.” He is also accused of “lying and deception” in an attempt to bury corruption charges brought against James Ibori, the former Delta State governor, and his associates.

The petition goes on to say that Mr, Aondakaa was guilty of “deliberate mis-interpretation, mis-application, and incompetence.” He also showed “an inadequate knowledge of the law,” the petition read.

Travel ban

The decision to suspend Mr. Aondoakaa as a SAN follows a travel ban to the United States earlier this year, due to allegations of obstruction of justice during his time as a minister.

Additionally, a Calabar High Court also recently barred him from holding any public office, following a lawsuit that accused Mr. Aondoakaa of impeding judgment during an election hearing.

Mr. Aondakaa was one of the more vocal members of the late President Yar’Adua’s cabinet. During the former president’s absence from the country, Mr. Aondakaa repeatedly told Nigerians that governance could continue as usual.

Several notable high profile cases, such as Halliburton and Siemens, were not given due attention during his three-year stint as a minister.

One of President Jonathan’s first actions was to strip him of the justice portfolio and assign him the special duties ministry, a position he refused to serve in.

A NEWBORN baby has been killed in Malaysia by a monkey which snatched it from its home, bit its face and neck and then dropped it from a rooftop.

The four-day-old baby girl was sleeping in the living room of her family's home in Seremban, a town southeast of the Malaysian capital, when the macaque sneaked in and grabbed her.

The mother, 26-year-old V. Revathy, discovered the child missing and after a search found her body outside the house with serious bite and scratch wounds.

"We frantically searched all over the house and saw her body covered in blood lying outside the house," the child's grandfather A. Valayutham said according to the Star newspaper.

State wildlife and national parks director Ishak Muhamad said the monkey responsible was located and shot dead shortly after.

"We suspect the macaque was rummaging for food inside the house. It could have taken the baby to the roof thinking the newborn was food," he told the newspaper.

"The baby died when it fell to the ground. The monkey had apparently released the newborn, probably because it was alarmed by the parents' shouts,'' Ishak said.

Monkeys are common in urban areas in Malaysia, particularly macaques which can be aggressive, and bold enough to enter homes to search for food.