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I remember sitting in Mr. Kayode’s geography class in secondary school, an atlas in hand looking at political boundaries; countries beyond my sphere. “I will reach the North Pole,” I often said to friends and family, oblivious to the fact that I was sitting in tropical sub-Saharan Africa and had nev

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A London woman who sent her teenage son to their native Nigeria because she disapproved of his lifestyle has been jailed for eight months, the BBC reported.

Edirin Onogeta-Idogun, 17, from Newham, flew from the UK to Nigeria last July.

His parents Lydia Erhire and John Idogun were issued with a court order to return the boy, who is believed to be with his father in Lagos.

When they failed to do so, Mrs Erhire was convicted at the Old Bailey of being in contempt of court.

Edirin was born in Nigeria but moved to London with his mother seven years ago.

He had been studying for his GCSEs and had been due to transfer to a college in Hackney to study business and media.

Last year he feared he may be taken to Nigeria and forced to marry against his will, his solicitors said, and a Forced Marriage Protection Order was issued on 8 July.

He attended school for the final time on 12 July and it is thought he flew to the African country about four days later.

The High Court ruled Edirin was a resident of England and was entitled to continue to live there.

Photo:Missing: Edirin Onogeta-Idogun, 17, claims he was beaten and forced to undergo exorcisms because his mother disapproved of his lifestyle

His removal from England was contrary to the protection order and he was at “significant risk” while in Nigeria, it decided.

The Boys Story:

The mother of a teenager who claims he was forced to undergo exorcism to purge him of his disobedience has been jailed.

Lydia Erhire has become the first person in the UK to be jailed under forced marriage laws after Edirin Onogeta-Idogun, 17, was sent to Nigeria on holiday and is still there.

He claims he has been subjected to beatings and religious-style ceremonies in the African country to get rid of his behaviour which his mother did not approve of.

Erhire is a devout Christian who had tried to instil a strong sense of discipline in her child and does not approve of his lifestyle, the court heard.

The 17-year-old is still being held against his will – and it is unclear exactly where he is, the High Court in London was told.

His mother was ordered to have her son brought back to Britain but she obstructed efforts and was jailed for eight months yesterday.

Edirin had flown out to Nigeria, where his father John Idogun is a special adviser to the governor of the Delta State, in July.

The teenager, from Newham, east London, was expected back in August to start a college course in Hackney.

He had been given a protection order under forced marriage laws by a judge last year and provided with emergency accommodation before he disappeared.

Mrs Justice Macur said: 'Edirin told his litigation team he had been forced or subjected to procedures which were meant to exorcise him from his disobedience to the will of his parents and to remove him from what they regarded as unsatisfactory friendships.'

In November, after a hearing before another judge, Mrs Erhire signed a letter instructing her sister to facilitate the return of Edirin from his Nigerian boarding school.

But it later emerged that she had immediately sent another letter countermanding the demand.

In February, Edirin attempted to leave Nigeria but was intercepted by immigration officials and taken off his British Airways flight from Lagos.

Mrs Justice Macur ruled Mrs Erhire was not responsible for the February incident but had found she was complicit in November in ‘thwarting’ the court's efforts to have Edirin returned.

Members of the Urhobo tribe appeared before the court and said that his mother was concerned he would become involved in gangs.

The teenager was issued with a Forced Marriage Protection Order last July because he feared he was going to be sent to Nigeria for an arranged wedding.

Jailing the mother for contempt of court, the judge said: ‘I am not satisfied that she is truly remorseful for the imperilment of Edirin's welfare..

‘I am not satisfied that she has shown any indication of a willingness to co-operate on anything but her own terms.

‘The chronology has shown beyond peradventure that this woman only co-operates in the face of a prison sentence and then begrudgingly.’

She ordered that Mrs Erhire should be committed to Holloway Prison immediately for eight months, but said she would have the opportunity to apply to purge her contempt.

The student, who was due to study business and media after finishing his A-levels, came to Britain with his mother in 2004 and had settled in Newham.

NDLEA intercepts 8,400kg of heroin at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, a passenger, Nwobodo Ikechukwu, 32, nabbed

A passenger, Nwobodo Ikechukwu, 32, on Emirate flight from Bangladesh has been nabbed in connection with unlawful importation of 8,400 kilogrammes of substance that tested positive for heroin at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

His arrest came few days after officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) discovered 110 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos.

The drug that was concealed in a false bottom of his luggage was the largest seizure at the airport this year and had an estimated street value of N42 million in Lagos..

NDLEA Commander at the airport, Alhaji Hamza Umar said the suspect had given useful information to a team of investigating narcotic officers. Hamza expressed optimism that more arrests would be made in connection with the seizure he described as exciting. “The drug was discovered during routine check of passengers. I can tell you that the seizure is an exciting experience for us in the new year. The suspect is assisting investigators,” Hamza stated.

Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade stressed that the target of the agency was to incapacitate drug trafficking cartels. According to the NDLEA boss, “we have understudied the trend of drug trafficking and our target is to systematically incapacitate drug trafficking cartels.” Giade reiterated his operational promise that the agency’s undercover monitoring shall lead to the exposure of more drug barons within the year.

The suspect, Nwobodo Ikechukwu who was an amateur footballer lamented his arrest, saying he had disappointed his late father. “I have disappointed my late father. Before he died, he entrusted me with his responsibility of sustaining the family. I have been a dedicated and hardworking person all my life. My family look up to me for hope. My dream of becoming a professional footballer is being threatened,” he stated. He hails from Enugu.

It was surprise galore on Thursday at the Ogun State Police Command Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, when a 15-year-old boy, Wasiu Odunewu confessed that he cut off the head of the immediate younger brother of his father, Odunewu Ojo and sold it for N8,000...



The suspect confessed that he was forced to commit the crime due to financial constraints. "It was a week to the just concluded Ileya festival and I needed money to buy clothes and to entertain my friends. So when my friend brought the 'business', I quickly accepted it to raise money for the festival."

Police source at the Eleweran told Sunday Tribune that the suspects have confessed to the crime and investigations on the matters would soon be completed. The suspects - Wasiu Odunewu, Toibu Babalola, 23 and Shakiru Tiamiyu, 17 - are currently cooling their feet in one of the cells at Eleweran..

Speaking on what led them into the crime, one of the suspects, Toibu Babalola told Sunday Tribune that It was his immediate elder brother, Yusuff Babalola that requested that he should help him get a human head. "It was about a week to Ileya festival, I cannot remember the exact date when my brother came to our village from Lagos. He told me that I should help him get a human head, either fresh or dry. He promised to pay any amount. My brother is working in Lagos. When he gave me the assignment, I told him to give me sometime. I contacted my friend, Wasiu Odunewu about it and he (Wasiu Odunewu) agreed to get it at the cost of N10,000.00. I called my brother on his mobile phone to inform him about the development and he agreed to pay N10,000. To carry out the deal, Wasiu also informed his other friend, Shakiru Tiamiyu about the deal. So, we all agreed to carry out the assignment."

On how they carried out the deal, Toibu told Sunday Tribune that it was agreed among three of them that it would be very difficult to get a fresh human skull and that since the alleged receiver, Yusuff Babalola was not keen on whether the head should be fresh or dry, it was agreed that the suspects should dig a grave and cut off the head. Wasiu quickly suggested that he would lead them (suspects) to the grave of his uncle "when we agreed to carry out the assignment, Wasiu told us he would lead us to where his uncle Odunewu Ojo was buried. The three of us - Wasiu, Toibu and Shakiru left for their village in Debari in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State. We carried out the assignment in the night around 9.00 pm. But before then, we had gone to the burial site in the afternoon to survey the area. When we went to cut the head, we dug the ground and quickly remove the head and to avoid suspicions we covered the grave and left."

The suspect, Toibu told Sunday Tribune that immediately he got the head, he called his brother to come for it. "After carrying out the deal, I called my brother and he came from Lagos to take the head. He gave me N8,000 and I gave the money to Wasiu. He shared it with his friend, Shakiru. My brother must have used the head for the ritual he wanted to perform."

How they were arrested by the Police, Sunday Tribune learnt that some people in the community noticed that the grave had been tampered with and they raised alarm. They contacted the father of one of the suspects. The family of the dead man went to a traditionalist whom employing charms, the suspects confessed to the crime.

Also speaking and how they were nabbed. Wasiu, told Sunday Tribune saying, "You see, on the day of the operation, we went to the burial site of that my uncle in the afternoon and some people saw us. So, when they saw that the grave had been tampered with, I became the first suspect. The people in the community told my daddy about it and he brought out a charm and told me to tell him everything I knew about the missing head. At that point, I told him that I was responsible for it. He was very sad about it because, the head was that of his immediate younger brother whom he was fond of while alive. My father later invited the Police and I was arrested. I later gave the Police all the necessary information that led to the arrest of my colleagues."

All the suspects explained that they used the money realised from the deal to take care of the ileya festival expenses. "The deal came at a time I needed money for Ileya festival, so when he brought the idea, I could not resist it," Wasiu said.

He became the second Nigerian leader to die of natural causes while in office, as the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, who died on June 8, 1998. Other Nigerian leaders who had died in office were Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa Maj.-Gen. Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi and Gen. Murtala Muhammed. They were killed during attempts to overthrow their governments in 1966 and 1976 respectively.

Presidential Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, told The Associated Press that Yar’Adua died at 9pm on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, with his wife, Turai, at his side. Adeniyi, whose voice cracked with emotion as he spoke did not give a cause of death.

By virtue of Section 146 of the 1999 Constitution, Acting President Goodluck Jonathan automatically becomes the President. It reads, ”The Vice-President shall hold the office of President if the office of President becomes vacant by reason of death or resignation, impeachment, permanent incapacity or the removal of the President from office for any other reason in accordance with section 143 of this Constitution.”

THE PUNCH learnt that news of Yar‘Adua‘s death first filtered out shortly after he breathed his last when some presidential aides briefed Jonathan and the National Security Adviser, Lt.-Gen. Aliyu Gusau (retd.), about his death.

The Federal Governmment immediately declared today as a public holiday. It also declared seven days of mourning, during which flags will fly at half-mast.

Yar’Adua spent much of his time as the governor of Katsina State (1999-2007) battling a kidney-related ailment. But his supporters he claimed had recovered sufficiently to contest the 2007 presidential election, after he got a kidney transplant.

At a point during his tenure as governor, Yar‘Adua spent six months at a stretch in a German hospital. But not long after he won the presidential election and was inaugurated, his health failed and he had to be flown abroad on a few occasions for treatment.

Although the exact nature of Yar‘Adua‘s frequent illness was never truly known, as his medical trips abroad were always shrouded in secrecy, the Presidency gave an indication of the nature of the sickness after he was flown to Saudi Arabia on November 23, 2009 for medical treatment.

His personal physician, Dr. Salisu Banye, told newsmen on November 26 that Yar‘Adua was being treated for acute pericarditis, an inflamation of the membrane surrounding the heart.

However, Saharareporters, an online medium, had, in a series of reports, insisted that the President suffered from the terminal Churg Strauss syndrome.

Last November, he was admitted to the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he spent 93 days before being flown back to Nigeria under the cover of darkness.

After his return on February 23, he was kept incommunicado at the Presidential Villa and was shielded from his deputy. In fact, in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation last month, Jonathan said the President‘s family was shielding Yar‘Adua from him.

He said he had only been able to meet with the President‘s wife while attempts to see Yar‘Adua and assess his condition were rebuffed.

Due to the uncertainty that surrounded Yar‘Adua‘s medical condition, the National Assembly on February 9, 2010 passed a resolution declaring Jonathan as the Acting President.

The news of the President‘s death immediately spread like wildfire across the country, with many Nigerians expressing shock and grief at the 58-year-old President‘s demise. Also, various cable channels across the world broadcast news breaks of Yar’Adua’s death intermittently.

Reactions started pouring in within a few hours of his death. Kwara State governor Bukola Saraki, who is also the chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, said, “As a Muslim, the first reaction is that everyone will pay the ultimate price and death will come when it will come. The passing on of the President at this point in time in our national history is not only tragic but devastating. It‘s indeed a colossal loss to the nation and Africa.”

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, in his tribute, wrote, “What passes for the Nigerian nation is nothing more than a tragic arena, and Yar‘Adua is only the latest tragic figure. The vampires, including those within his own family, turned him into a mere inert resource for their diabolical schemes.

“They have a reckoning with their conscience, assuming they know what the word means. One can only hope that, while mouthing sanctimonious platitudes such as ‘Power belongs to God,’ they have now learnt that the politics of Do-or-Die cannot guarantee who does and who dies. They must stop playing God. I pray for the repose of the soul of their latest, much abused innocent victim. Wole Soyinka.”

In his reaction, Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko described the President‘s transition as a sad loss to the nation. Mimiko, in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kolawole Olabisi, described the late President as an apostle of democracy, who maintained a firm belief in the Rule of Law and fairplay.

In his reaction, Kogi State Governor Ibrahim Idris said in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Richard Elesho, “We would like to keep our fingers crossed, taking into cognisance that the power of life and death are the in the hands of God. We have to accept it as the will of God. We condole with the family and pray God grants them the fortitude to bear the loss. The man suffered for so long. It’s indeed a big loss.”

BEIJING – A former medical worker allegedly stabbed to death eight young children and wounded five others Tuesday in a bloody rampage outside an elementary school in eastern China.

The attacker struck in the morning as students arrived for classes, mingling with parents at the school gates before suddenly pulling out his knife and slashing children, according to witnesses interviewed on local television.

In the aftermath, doctors treated small children and bodies lay covered in bloody sheets after the attack at Nanping City Experimental Elementary School in Fujian province. Police officers manned a cordon around the school. Some comforted distraught parents..

China has witnessed a series of school attacks in recent years, most blamed on people with personal grudges or suffering from mental illness, leading to calls for improved security.

The rampage in Nanping was finally stopped by passers-by and school security guards and the attacker was arrested, the reports said. The suspect was identified as Zheng Minsheng, 41.

Zheng worked as a senior nurse in a community clinic before resigning last June, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing Huang Zhongping, spokesman for the Nanping city public security bureau.

Zheng was known to have a history of mental illness, said a man surnamed Wu in the Nanping city government office, who would not give his full name as is common among Chinese officials.

An unidentified former co-worker interviewed on Fujian television said Zheng was "difficult to get along with."

Eight children were killed, and five were being treated at a hospital, Wu said. Six died at the scene, which was smeared with blood from the sidewalk to the floor of an inner reception room.

The victims' ages were not immediately known, but Chinese elementary schools typically have students ages 6 to 12.

The school was closed and students were sent home for the day. Counseling will be provided for students when classes resume Wednesday, Xinhua said.

Recent school attacks include a July 2007 assault in which a mentally ill man wielding a wrench wounded 18 children and a teacher in a kindergarten in southern China before fleeing on a motorcycle and trying to stab himself to death.

In June the same year, a man slashed four students, wounding one seriously, in a high school in the southeastern city of Fuzhou, while elsewhere, police shot dead a suspected mentally ill man who threatened to blow up a school in southern China with dynamite.

China's worst such incident in March 2001 destroyed a schoolhouse and killed at least 42 people, most of them children. Officials blamed a mentally ill man who charged into the school in Jiangxi province with a bag full of dynamite. Parents disputed that, claiming their children had been forced to make fireworks at the school.