A Federal High court sitting in Lagos set a N500 million bail on the former head of Intercontinental Bank who faces charges of mismanaging the lender in the run-up to last year's N620 billion sector-wide bailout.

The figure is five times the amount set for the heads of four other lenders rescued alongside Intercontinental.

Erastus Akingbola was sacked by the central bank a year ago along with the four other bank chiefs and charged with graft and money laundering in absentia after leaving for Britain, where he had remained until the start of this month.

The cases against the bank chiefs are seen as a litmus test of Nigeria's ability to prosecute influential figures accused of financial crimes. The country is regularly ranked one of the most corrupt in the world by transparency watchdogs.

Bail conditions included securing three guarantors who own properties in the commercial hub of Lagos with evidence of their tax clearance.

"I think the bail condition is fair having regards to the facts of the case," Rickey Tarfa, a lawyer for Akingbola told reporters outside the Federal High Court in Ikoyi.

The bail was set high because unlike other bank chiefs, Akingbola left the country after last year's bailout.

Tarfa said Akingbola would remain in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) until the bail conditions were met.

Censorship chief escapes lynching for soliciting sex from minor

The director general of the Kano State Film and Censorship Board, Abubakar Rabo Abdulkarim, was nearly lynched over the weekend when a mob attacked him for soliciting sex from an under-aged girl.

Mr. Abdulkarim, the former Hisbah commander was trying to escape from a patrol team which had accosted him when they saw his car parked in a secluded environment - with a young girl inside - when he ran into a motorcyclist. Other members of the Okada union quickly surrounded him and he was only saved a lynching by the police who had been in pursuit of his car.

The censorship board, under his leadership, has waged a scorched earth campaign against actors, musicians and producers in the state for allegedly promoting immorality. As a result, many artistes fled the state and now ply their trade elsewhere..

Mr Abdulkarim, who insisted that the girl he was found with was his niece, said he was not having an affair with her. But when the former enforcer of Sharia law discovered he could not convince the contingent of policemen on night patrol on the propriety of having an under-aged girl in his car at such an odd hour, he panicked. The whole thing looked even more suspicious because for some curious reason he had parked behind a shopping complex along Maiduguri Road that night.

A police source said when the patrol team attempted to arrest Mr Abdulkarim he took flight in his car.

Double trouble

While trying to escape however, he knocked down an official of the Kano History and Culture Bureau who was riding on a motorcycle. This incurred the wrath of Okada riders, who thought that he had knocked down a member of their union and promptly proceeded to give him a thorough beating.

Ironically, it was the patrol team that he had been trying to avoid that finally came to his rescue, although by then the okada riders, who saw he had a girl with him, had damaged the car and were already on the verge of beating him to death.

He was later taken to the Hotoro police division where he was made to write down a statement.

Not a wayward one

When contacted, Mr Abdulkarim said members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, and film practitioners, were responsible for his ordeal.

The man, who has been having a running battle with film makers and writers in Kano in his attempt to force them to comply with the Sharia legal code, spoke to NEXT before he travelled to Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj.

“The girl found in my car was my niece and not a wayward one as insinuated,” he insisted.

Spokesperson of the Kano State police command, Baba Mohammed, said he was not aware of the incident because he was in the hospital at the time. The police commissioner, Mohammed Gana also said he couldn’t speak on the matter because he just returned from Saudi Arabia. He however promised to find out the details from his men at the Hotoro Police Division.

Delta Airlines on Monday said a female passenger was found dead on one of its flights from Atlanta, United States to Lagos.

Delta sources said the 57-year-old passenger was accompanied by her son when she died on Monday. The Associated Press quoted the American carrier’s Corporate Communications Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Ms. Olivia Cullis, as saying that the passenger was found unresponsive early Monday aboard Delta Flight 53, about an hour out of Atlanta and about 11 hours from the time it took off.

Delta said it could not provide the passenger’s identity due to privacy restriction laws. Cullis added, “Approximately an hour from Atlanta, the crew of Flight 53 alerted flight operations that a passenger was unresponsive and had no vital signs. The flight landed normally and we are coordinating with medical authorities. Delta extends its sincere condolences to the passenger’s family.”

A statement by the Senior Manager, Media Relations, Delta, Susan Elliot, said the airline was working with medical authorities to determine the facts in the case..

AP quoted Atlanta’s police spokesman, Otis Redmond, as saying that foul play was not suspected. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner’s investigator was sent to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Atlanta, according to the report.

Atlanta police spokesman Otis Redmond told AP that foul play was not suspected in the woman’s death. Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said the woman’s body was taken to a crime laboratory for an autopsy.

Bankhead said the FBI was investigating the matter because the death occurred on an international flight.

How to make a crocodile smile: Swim in a pool full of deadly salties with just a perspex cage for protection

Tourists to this unusual theme park are sure to get some holiday snaps with a difference.

Inspired by the popularity of cage shark-diving, a tourist attraction has opened that allows adrenalin junkies the chance to swim with killer crocodiles.

And, as these incredible pictures show, participants can get up close and personal with one of the worlds deadliest creatures.

Definitely no running, ducking bombing or petting in this pool: Face to face with one of the 125 stone monsters

All that separates thrill-seekers from the huge saltwater crocodiles is a five-inch thick perspex box that has, we are assured, undergone 'extensive' safety testing.

Fearless participants climb into the clear container - nicknamed the Cage of Death - which is suspended on a monorail track that runs above four crocodile enclosures.

Two grated doors lock into position on the top of the 10ft tall box which is then lowered into the water and comes to rest 2ft beneath the surface.

To ensure that the paying customers get their money's worth, chunks of meat are tied to the bottom of the cage. The crocodiles instantly drawn to it when it enters the water.

The results vary from the crocs 'eye-balling' the swimmer, rubbing against the cage or going into a full on 'aggressive attack' against it.

Snappy snaps: Holiday photos from this resort will be just a little different

Customers pay about £100 to spend 20 minutes swimming alongside the crocs; the largest of the beasts measures a whopping 18ft and weighs over 125 stone,

One of the mighty reptiles at the Crocosaurus Cove park in Darwin, Australia, is named Burt. Film buffs might remember him from the first Crocodile Dundee movie - he's the one who nearly ate Linda Koslowski's character.

Sallie Gregory, spokeswoman for the park, said: 'Many people find the opportunity of getting to within a few inches from the jaws of these crocodiles exhilarating.'

'People often get activity ranging from an aggressive attack to a casual eye-balling and swim past where the crocs are so close that they rub against the cage.'

'Most of the women who take part say they are happy just to watch the crocodiles while guys tend to want the action and attack.'

Smile please: Two thrill-seeking tourists get up close and personal with one of the saltwater crocodiles at the Crocosaurus Cove park in Darwin, Australia

She added: 'One of our directors who has extensive experience with crocodiles wanted a concept that allowed people to get up close to these ultimate predators in a safe environment.'

'The cage runs on a overhead monorail system, suspended over the enclosures and is lowered into up to four separate enclosures as part of the 20 minute experience.'

'The perspex is about 135mm thick and extensive testing in both the manufacturing and the way the crocodiles would react to the cage were carried out prior to the testing team entering the cage.'

The 'Cage Of Death' has been extensively tested for safety. With one of these prehistoric killers just inches away, one might hope so..

'The top of the cage has two grated doors to stop anything entering the cage and a back up motor and separate chain operates to ensure that in the event of a malfunction, the cage can continue to operate.'

'The cage generally allows about two feet from the surface of the water though this can be adjusted if people are not strong swimmers and would prefer to keep their head above water.'

Among the crocodiles people can swim alongside are the mating pair of Houdini and Bess as well as Chopper, Denzel and of course movie star Burt.

But one of the most popular crocs is Wendell - he's the biggest and is named after muscular Australian rugby star Wendell Sailor.

Crocodile attacks in the wild are quite rare these days. However, during the Japanese army's retreat from Ramree Island in February 1945, saltwater crocodiles are thought to have been responsible for the deaths of 400 Japanese soldiers. .

British troops encircled the swampland through which the Japanese were retreating, resigning the Japanese to a night in a mangrove swamp which was home to thousands of saltwater crocodiles.

The Ramree crocodile attacks are listed as 'The Greatest Disaster Suffered from Animals' in The Guinness Book of Records

Saltwater crocodiles are the largest reptiles on the planet. Their main habitat is northern Australia and New Guinea, Indonesia and Borneo. They have been known to kill and eat horses, water buffalo, and even sharks as well as the occasional human.

BOYCOTT AIT NOW ! In the early 1990’s, as a result of the historic National Broadcasting Commission decree, according to Muyiwa Oyinlola (2004) Nigerian media was dominated by the government only.Information was only made possible from government owned broadcasting firms. However, the Head of State then General Babangida, issued another decree which allowed private broadcasting in Nigeria. After this decree came the first private television network in Nigeria, Africa Independent Television (AIT). AIT was pioneered by High Chief, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, and was also Africa’s first satellite T.V. station.^[1] Today Dokpesi is regarded as the media guru of Nigeria. Some also refer to him as the Ted Turner of Nigeria. Dokpesi not only pioneered the first satellite TV but also the first privately owned radio station in Nigeria. According to the journalist Kolapo (2006), Raymond claims that AIT set the standard for salary structure in the media industry in which Nigerian Television Authority imitated),^[2].

THE race for 2011 presidency gathered momentum Thursday, with ex-President Ibrahim Babangida raising a 10-man campaign organisation.

The ex-President is expected to make a formal declaration of his plan to run on September 14 and 15, which had earlier been set aside by the strategists of President Goodluck Jonathan for the same purpose.

It was also learnt that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors have decided to keep their game-plan on a consensus presidential candidate under wraps.

A statement by the Director, Media and Communications, of Babangida Presidential Campaign Organisation, Prince Kassim Afegbua, said the ex-military president would unveil his blueprint during the declaration.

The statement said: “In furtherance of the presidential aspiration of His Excellency, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, GCFR, the following persons have been appointed and accepted to serve in the Presidential
Campaign Organisation in the various categories of the campaign.

“They are High Chief Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi,OFR (Director General); Senator Kanti Bello (Deputy Director General); Alhaji Sada Ilu (Director, Security &Intelligence), ex-Minister of Health, Prof.
A.B.C Nwosu (Director, Research &Planning); a former Minister of
Information, Prof. Sam Oyovbaire (Director, Policy &
Strategy);Prince Kassim Afegbua (Director, Media and communications);
Mrs. Remi Adiukwu-Bakare (Director, Women Affairs); Alhaji Farouk
Bibi-Farouk(Director, Youths Affairs); Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam
(Director, Contact & Mobilisation); and a former Minister of
Justice, Hon Musa Elayo (Director, Legal Services).

“The comprehensive list of the Zonal and States’ Coordinators will be announced in due course. The temporary Campaign Office is located at 77B, Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama Abuja.

“The formal presidential declaration ceremony will come up on the 14th and 15th September, 2010 at the Eagle Square, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The event will avail Gen Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida,
the opportunity to unveil his blueprint to members of the public.”

As of press time, it was learnt that the Campaign Organisation of President Goodluck Jonathan might change the date of his declaration to avert any clash.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “With Babangida’s camp choosing the same dates proposed by our team, we may either ask the President to declare on or before September 12 or a day after
theirs.“All I can tell you is that we will coordinate our campaign in a
manner that the nation will not be heated up unnecessarily.”

There were strong indications yesterday that PDP governors are keeping their game-plan on a consensus candidate for 2011 presidential poll to their chest.

According to findings, five Northern governors were considered as leading candidates on Tuesday.

The governors are Dr. Bukola Saraki (Kwara); Alhaji Danjuma Goje (Gombe); Admiral Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); Ibrahim Shema (Katsina); and Sule Lamido (Jigawa).

A source said: “It is not as if the governors do not have a mindset on where they are going but they have kept their game-plan secret because of certain political developments, especially consultations with
some stakeholders.

“At the right time, the governors will come up with a position on a common candidate. Just wait and see.”

To deal with a problem, the first thing we have to do is to understand the problem. This means that we have to be able to measure all meaningful aspects of the problem. If we consider the problem of online fraud, it is encouraging that there has been substantial progress in understanding phishing and how malware is used to steal credentials, documents and money. But, strikingly, almost nothing is known about Nigerian scams (also known as advance fee fraud and 419 scams - 419 is a section under the Nigerian Criminal Code Act that prohibits obtaining goods by false pretences). This makes it harder to defend against this increasingly common type of fraud, and almost impossible to predict the extent to which it may become worse onwards.

We designed and performed an experiment that allows us to take the pulse on Nigerian scammers. Are the scammers really from Nigeria, you may begin to ask? What do they want, and how do they get it? What are their strengths, what are their weaknesses? Are they at the peak of their success, or should we fear that they can become dramatically better at what they are doing? What can organizations do to secure themselves and their users?.

Here is the experiment in a nutshell. Imagine a camera that sells for $750 new, and I offer one for sale on Craigslist for $250. Only used for a few weeks, in perfect condition. Good deal, right? But what if I instead were to ask $750 (or more) for it used? Not so hot, you might say. It makes more sense for you to buy it in the store. You would not bother contacting me.

But fraudsters would.

They may contact me and ask to buy it - even at a premium. They will tell me where to ship it, and they will send me a payment. Or rather: something that looks like a payment to a would-be victim, who would not realize that it really was not a payment until after the camera was shipped.

We used the technique of offering too expensive merchandise to find fraudsters without bothering honest people. In fact, we used it to make the fraudsters find us, while avoiding everybody else. Then we acted as would-be victims, and paid attention to what happened.

Here are some of our findings:

Nigerian scams are aptly named. Indeed, almost all of the fraudsters we interacted with wanted us to ship our merchandise to an address in Nigeria. Knowing this may help a little in designing countermeasures, whether legal or technical.

Most Nigerian scammers "pay" using PayPal. Then they send an email that looks a lot like a PayPal payment notification. But, interestingly, they do not spoof emails. If they were, which would be very easy, they would no doubt increase their yield.

Some Nigerian scammers "pay" using Western Union. Then they send a confirmation code that lets the seller pick up the money - but with some digits starred out. "When you send me the tracking number, I will send you the missing part, and you can pick up the payment."

Some Nigerian scammers "pay" using Credit Cards. They request the victim's credit card details so that they can "transfer" the money to his or her account.

Nigerian scammers are bullies. As a would-be victim has agreed to sell, but then expresses second thoughts, the scammer becomes mean and threatening. He sends angry emails in all-caps; tells the would-be victim that he or she will be blacklisted or reported; he even sends a notification from a payment provider, stating that the would-be victim's account has been revoked. (This can only be undone by responding to the notification with your password.)

Nigerian scammers know what they want. They want fancy cameras, but do not care as much for laptops, and do not give a darn about refrigerators and other bulky electronic appliances. It makes sense: The merchandise needs to be shipped to them, and then be resold in Nigeria.

Knowing that the scammers remain in business, we can infer that they are reasonably successful. In fact, we see more and more Nigerian scams. So we can conclude that there are enough people who are not very careful, and that bullying them pays off. This is not about people lacking technological skills, it is about them not thinking critically. User awareness and education campaigns could change that.

Of course, Nigerian scams are not limited to Craigslist, nor to frauds in which they try to obtain people's cameras for free. Our experiment only gives us a glimpse at one particular type of scam at one particular point in time. But it gives us hope that it is possible to create a taxonomy of scams and scammers, and develop tools and campaigns that hurt their bottom line.

A four-time presidential aspirant, Sarah Jubril, has again declared her intention to run for presidency in 2011, on the platform of the ruling People’s Democratic Party.

She unfolded her plans at a news conference on Thursday, in Abuja, joining three other presidential hopefuls that have already declared interest to contest for the PDP ticket in the next dispensation.

Mrs Jubril joined the likes of former head of state, Ibrahim Babangida; former vice president, Abubarkar Atiku; and the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, who is slated to officially announce his ambition after the Ramadan fast.

Mrs Jubril said she made up her mind to join the race based on the premise for quality economic development and improved citizenry. According to her, most of the crises facing the country resulted from absence of good character in most people occupying public offices in the country and she pledged to address the quality of citizens through an improved system in the family, the communities, professions, economy, politics, governance, infrastructure, and diplomacy.

She also pledged to provide “rescuer-leadership”, to refocus and raise the country from “delayed development to steady wealth and rapid development.”

“Hence, I remain with an unquenchable spirit that I can and with all of us, can re-teach and re-nurture Nigeria back to sanity, orderliness, serenity, peace, and systematic discipline in all sectors..

“The president that Nigeria needs very urgently is the one who can roll up his or her sleeves to teach good character or ethics in the pursuit of excellence in every area of our quest, goals, and vision,” she said.

However, Mrs Jubril stated that the battle of liberation from stagnation, frustrations and mediocrity to celebration of excellence, must be won if Nigeria and Africa must achieve rapid development.

Commenting on zoning, she said the controversial arrangement in PDP was for “political convenience,” adding that there were over 450 ethnic groups in the country which the zoning formula intended to give sense of belonging.

For better for worse

She berated the performance of state governors, saying that majority of them had not in any way addressed the yearnings and aspirations of the electorate and that their interference with the allocations of the local governments was a failure of governance at the grassroots.

According to her, this has made it difficult for the councils to care for their people.

She, however, promised not to pull out of PDP, if she failed at the primaries, saying she would remain steadfast in the party, irrespective of the outcome of the presidential primaries.

This, however, marks the fifth time Mrs. Jubril is joining the race for the highest public service office in Nigeria.

She was an aspirant in the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1993, which was presumably won by the late Moshood Abiola. She was also an aspirant in 1998 on the platform of PDP, losing to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

In 2003, Mrs. Jibril took her ambition to the Progressive Action Congress (PAC) and later returned to PDP, to jostle for the party’s ticket in 2007. She scored four votes at the convention which was won by late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

Thousands of people, including governors, top government functionaries, politicians, cultural dancers, and sundry airports users, today gathered around the presidential lounge of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos to receive President Goodluck Jonathan who is in Lagos to unveil his roadmap for the power sector..

Mr. Jonathan, whose presidential aircraft touched down at about 10.16am waved to the cheering crowd as he disembarked, and was escorted to his car by governors, ministers, heavily armed guards, and fans who sang his praise till he left the VIP lounge with his convoy.

Politicians role call

Those on ground to receive Mr. Jonathan include Babatunde Fashola, Lagos State governor; Gbenga Daniel, Ogun State governor; Yayale Ahmed, secretary to the government of the federation, and Olusegun Aganga, minister of finance.

Others are Musiliu Obanikoro, Nigeria's high commissioner to Ghana; Samsudeen Ade Dosunmu, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial aspirant for the 2011 elections; some heads of local governments; former minister of aviation, Babatunde Omotoba; heads of various airports authorities; and other political heavyweights.

Weird MC, one of Nigeria's foremost female hip hop star, provided entertainment, cheering the crowd and praising Mr. Jonathan.

Scenario at airport

All roads within and around the airport were blocked, and traffic got snarled despite the heavy presence of officers from the Nigerian Army, the Police, the special anti-bomb squad, Aviation Security operatives, and other State security personnel.

Flags of the Peoples Democratic Party were flown by party faithful; hundreds of women were seen in diverse traditional attires as they chanted songs praising Mr. Jonathan.

Mr. Jonathan, however, did not speak to journalists upon arrival, as he left the presidential lounge for Eko Hotel for the unveiling of the power roadmap.