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12166295695?profile=originalIt 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.

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50 Cent lost a lot of weight for his upcoming movie "Things Fall Apart". In the movie 50 Cent plays a football player diagnosed with cancer.
He dropped from 214 pounds to an astonishing 160 with a liquid diet and three-hour-a-day treadmill walks for nine weeks.

"I was starving." Now he's back on tour and says, "I've been eating. I'll be back in shape in no time!"


These shocking pictures look like a homeless man who has not eaten for weeks.

But they are actually photos of multi-millionaire rapper 50 cent, who lost a staggering 54lbs in just nine weeks for a film role.

The hip-hop star went on a liquid-only diet and worked out for three hours a day to achieve the staggering weight loss.


He is due to play a cancer-stricken American football player in a forthcoming film and wanted to look authentic for the part..

In the past 50 cent has made much of his muscular body, often appearing topless in videos and showing off his huge frame.

The 34-year-old is starring and co-producing 'Things Fall Apart', which will also feature Ray Liotta and is directed by Mario van Peebles.

Soon after the dramatic weight loss pictures were posted on his website, 50cent.com, rumours swept the internet they were a hoax.




But in a statement the star, real name Curtis Jackson, said they were true.

'I was starving,' he said, adding that now he is back on tour, 'I've been eating. I'll be back in shape in no time!'

'50 Cent lost a lot of weight for his upcoming movie Things Fall Apart,' said the text between the pictures of him.


'In the movie 50 Cent plays a football player diagnosed with cancer.

He dropped from 214 pounds to an astonishing 160 with a liquid diet and three-hour-a-day treadmill walks for nine weeks.'

The rapper's achievement still does not top that of Christian Bale, who lost 63lbs for his role in the dark mystery film 'The Machinist'.

Bale went from 185lbs to 122lbs to look like he 'had not slept for a year' and did it by cutting out most foods and relentlessly exercising.







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IS THIS FAIR ? One Man and his cohorts in Bank PHB have disrupted the careers and livelihood of over 1000 staff and their families fired recently !

EFCC seizes Atuche's multibillion naira assets *N50bn cash, 18 firms, 15 houses, 17 bank accounts
Written by Lanre Adewole
Friday, March 5, 2010

EMPOWERED accordingly by a federal high court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has seized over N50 billion, 18 companies and 15 houses from the sacked Group Managing Director of Bank PHB, Mr. Francis Atuche.


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Atuche was sacked along with heads of other nine banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the wake of the discovery of alleged fraud in the banking sector running into one trillion naira.

Seventeen bank accounts belonging to him were also frozen.

In one of the accounts domiciled with the bank, N25.95 billion cash was said to have been found.

The commission will also this morning commence the sealing off of all the houses traced to him.

Commission's spokesperson, Mr. Femi Babafemi, confirmed the commencement of the exercise.

The commission had attached all the property traced to Atuche, who is standing trial for his alleged role in crippling the bank, to the Notice of Attachment placed before the trial judge, Justice A.O Ajakaye, who issued the order of temporary forfeiture on March 1, 2010.

Apart from the cash found in his bank account, Atuche also reportedly invested N1.5 billion in Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, N305,889,418 million in Arik Ltd and 500 million units of shares in Afribank Plc.

The houses traced to him are in Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Surulere, VGC Lekki, Ibusa, Delta State, Asokoro, Abuja, with a sole property at 59, Avenue Close, Avenue Road, St. John's Wood, London.

Some of the companies listed as alleged fronts in siphoning depositors' funds included, Guesstrade Services; Sentron Trading; Montra and Investico; Claremount Asset Management Limited; Arabian Probity Management; Clareville Trading and Service Limited; Commerical Trading and Services Limited; Afco Associates Limited; Trenton Trade Limited and Consolidated Business Support Limited.

He was also said to have used 15 fronts, including his wife, children and relatives.

The names listed in the court order included Elizabeth Atuche; Grace Atuche; Victor Udeh; Michael Atuche; Anthony Grace; Joseph Atuche; Nkeolisakwu Atuche; Mrs. Mariam Okonmah; Patrick Atuche and Kemi Ojelabi.

Some of the frozen accounts are SA-400221000004, 2190001272, 1160000011, PNA 0010184100002 and CA 001040100000, all domiciled in Bank PHB as well as A/C Nos; 10100061705 and CA 001020102315 belonging to Elizabeth Atuche.

Some of the houses are 2b Falomo Close, Ikoyi; 21 Kingsway Road, Ikoyi (hotel known as Clonades), 41B Anifowoshe Street, V.I, 11 Raymond Njoku Street, Ikoyi, 2000M 2 Plots of land at Ibusa, Delta State, 46 Mamman Nasir Street, off T.Y Danjuma, Asokoro, Abuja, among others.
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Highlight: As The Age reports today, federal police are investigating whether Securency bribed Nigerian officials to win a bank-note contract. The probe centres on a series of multi-million-dollar payments made by the company into an offshore tax haven account of two UK-based businessmen, Benoy Berry and Mike Harding, who boast high-level political connections in Britain and Africa. The men were paid to help Securency win a 2006 contract from the Central Bank of Nigeria to print its polymer notes. An Age investigation unearthed evidence the firm paid millions into a tax haven bank account belonging to Dr Berry, while an overseas-based source claims Securency paid $1 million into accounts tied to two companies overseen by Mr Harding. Our investigation also found that Mr Harding directs some of his companies' earnings into a tax-free business zone at Sharjah airport in the United Arab Emirates. The RBA declined to answer questions about Securency's activities in Nigeria, in the same way it kept mum last month when Securency's Africa manager, Peter Chapman, resigned and the company's convicted South African middleman, Donald McArthur, was sacked. The sacking took place only after The Age revealed McArthur had pleaded guilty last year to reckless trading involving fraudulent transactions. Again, the details of Securency's engagement with McArthur raise questions of the RBA Complete Story: For obvious reasons Australians are entitled to expect their central bank to comply with the highest standards of probity, transparency and good governance. This includes an assumption that the Reserve Bank, as chief custodian of the nation's financial system, would apply proper scrutiny to the activities of its subsidiary companies, especially when those companies seek contracts, however lucrative, in corruption-riddled parts of the world. And yet as The Age continues to expose a worrying trail of dubious deals struck by the RBA's half-owned subsidiary Securency, the Reserve has maintained a somewhat undignified silence on the subject. We acknowledge the RBA acted properly in initiating a federal police probe - and KPMG audit - into commission payments made by Securency to politically connected foreign middlemen. We would not expect the RBA to say anything that cuts across those inquiries. But the silence is beginning to smell like an unwillingness to face facts and to act on them. Securency's operations, namely the engaging of middlemen with shady pasts and the payment of commissions into offshore tax haven accounts (contrary to RBA rules) and the curious size of those commissions, raise serious questions about the extent of the RBA's knowledge and the quality of its oversight. At the very least, we deserve some kind of explanation about why, in the Reserve's recent annual report, governor Glenn Stevens expressed confidence in the way the bank had supervised Securency's activities. The bank has effectively opened the door on its own probity through this extraordinary assertion. The Reserve's failure to stand down officials within Securency while the company remains under investigation - a convention of good governance - is also mystifying. Nigeria: As The Age reports today, federal police are investigating whether Securency bribed Nigerian officials to win a bank-note contract. The probe centres on a series of multi-million-dollar payments made by the company into an offshore tax haven account of two UK-based businessmen, Benoy Berry and Mike Harding, who boast high-level political connections in Britain and Africa. The men were paid to help Securency win a 2006 contract from the Central Bank of Nigeria to print its polymer notes. An Age investigation unearthed evidence the firm paid millions into a tax haven bank account belonging to Dr Berry, while an overseas-based source claims Securency paid $1 million into accounts tied to two companies overseen by Mr Harding. Our investigation also found that Mr Harding directs some of his companies' earnings into a tax-free business zone at Sharjah airport in the United Arab Emirates. The RBA declined to answer questions about Securency's activities in Nigeria, in the same way it kept mum last month when Securency's Africa manager, Peter Chapman, resigned and the company's convicted South African middleman, Donald McArthur, was sacked. The sacking took place only after The Age revealed McArthur had pleaded guilty last year to reckless trading involving fraudulent transactions. Again, the details of Securency's engagement with McArthur raise questions of the RBA. And there's more. Why did Securency in 2003 engage an arms dealer linked to the supply of weapons to Latin American drug gangs to help it win a bank-note printing deal in Paraguay? Why did Securency discuss its bank-note technology with Sudanese central bank officials last year? Doing business with Sudan would not violate Australia's international obligations under the UN sanctions regime, but should an RBA subsidiary even be talking to a country backlisted by the US for supporting terrorism and ranked among the world's most corrupt by Transparency International? And, while we're at it, why did the RBA pay $500,000 to a self-styled ''white witch'' to oversee an ultimately disastrous workplace overhaul at the fully owned Note Printing Australia, Securency's sister company? On the other hand, perhaps a consultant with special powers may have helped Securency's officials better appreciate the risks of using agents in corruption-prone countries. Government agencies and departments must also account for their knowledge of Securency's activities, and their action, or inaction, as a result. But first, we wait for our bank to speak.
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Naira'sSharp Drop to dollar pounds ! Why ?

todays Quote "Education like Money can be hoarded ,corrupted and worshipped but unlike money you can never lose it " A lot of us might think we do not need to know about the performance of the dollar against the naira since we do not get paid in hard currency but as Naija is a cash/foreign goods commodity market it is the Lifeblood of our economy ! With a Bank and a church on every road in lagos It is time for a school to be added into this equation or what do you think ? The Naira yesterday depreciated heavily against the British pounds and euro, losing an average of 700 kobo against the two currencies in the parallel market. Investigation revealed that the exchange rate of the pounds shot up by 600 kobo to N260 from N264 on Monday. Similarly, the exchange rate of the Euro rose by 800 kobo to N228 from N220. Parallel market operators attributed the sharp depreciation of the naira against the two currencies to the recent depreciation of the dollar. This, they said, diverted foreign exchange demand for the dollar to the two currencies.The exchange rate of the two currencies had remained stable in the market for some time due to weak demand. But yesterday, the situation changed as more and more foreign exchange end-users demanded the two currencies. It would be noted that the naira has persistently depreciated against the dollar since the reintroduction of Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) last July 13. Yesterday, the naira depreciated further by 50 kobo at the official market where the exchange rate rose to N150.25 per dollar from N149.75 per dollar. Prior to WDAS, the exchange rate was N146. Hence, with the increase to N150.25 yesterday, the naira has depreciated by 425 kobo under WDAS. At the inter-bank market, the naira depreciated by 866 kobo as N156.84 exchanged for one dollar last week as against N148.17 at the beginning of the month. Last week the naira lost 400 kobo to the dollar at the parallel market as the exchange rate rose to N158 per dollar from N154 per dollar. The persistence depreciation of the naira is however attributed to foreign exchange speculation resulting to increased demand for foreign exchange at the official market. Analysis of the foreign exchange demand and sales in the six auctions conducted by CBN before and after the introduction of WDAS shows demand for foreign exchange shot up by 351 per cent to $3.16 billion from $861.8 million. Total amount sold also rose by 56 per cent to $1.19 billion from $$764. Average demand per auction session went up by 313 per cent to $526.7 million from $127.4 million, while average sales rose by 38 per cent to $198.4million from $143.6 million. Foreign exchange operators attributed the speculative activities to belief that given the continued decline in the nation’s external reserve, the Central Bank of Nigeria would not be able to sustain the current exchange rate of the naira hence further depreciation of the naira is inevitable. But the apex bank on Tuesday moved to forestall speculation with foreign exchange purchased from the official market. It barred interbank trading of foreign exchange purchased from the official market. In a circular to banks titled, “Non Transferability of Funds from Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) Among Authorised Dealers”, with reference TED/FEN/FPC/GEN/01125, the apex bank said that banks can no longer use foreign exchange sourced from the official market for interbank trading. Such funds, it said should only be used to meet customers demand for foreign exchange. It also directed that banks should keep separate books for their interbank foreign exchange transactions and WDAS foreign exchange transactions, and make the books available to it examiners.
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