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Nollywood actress and former Commissioner in the Peter Odili government, Hilda Dokubo, was, Wednesday afternoon arrested at the Port Harcourt International Airport over her

Dokubo, a passenger in the Lagos-bound aircraft scheduled to take off by 7.30 am, was said to have raised alarm after receiving a text message on her mobile phone allegedly informing her of a bomb inside one of the compartments of the aircraft just as the passengers were settling on their seats.

She promptly informed the captain of the plane who quickly ordered for the passengers to disembark.

The plane was later searched and nothing was found according to one of the security officers at the airport..

Deputy General Manager, Public Affairs of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Mr. Victor Arisa, confirmed the incident.

He also claimed that Dokubo was only invited to brief security agencies on the information she received  and who she suspected was behind message.

Huhuonline.com learnt that immediately the pilot announced a security threat, the passengers scampered with some forgetting their luggage inside the aircraft as they thought it was part of the execution of the threat by the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) which promised to bomb Abuja, Lagos and Niger Delta. 

watch trailer 1

watch trailer 2

"This is a warning to you. It has come to our notice that you have produced a video about the problem in the Niger-Delta without proper consultations regarding the true state of affairs in the area. You are hereby warned not to release that video or be faced with grave consequences.   We are very well informed about your daily routine and that of your child. Your address is 35 Colorado Close, Maitama, Minister's Hill and your child schools at Ecole Francais Marcel-Pagnol d'Abuja, Durumi district,Abuja. Be warned"!   Amata and wife   Those who have watched the movie said it amy have revealed some uncomfortable secrets behind the struggle of the Niger-Delta and how some disgruntled leaders are playing politics with the lives of the citizens. These and more are what the said group does not want to be a public knowledge. The Niger Delta region of Nigeria has 606 Oil-fields and exports 50% of all its oil resources to the United States and is the world's capital of oil pollution. Corrupt government officials, greedy oil companies and violent rebels go on a war path over oil spills and the degradation of the land caused by oil exploration The film x-rays fifty years of uncorrected oil spills and lack of clean-up which has destroyed the environment and ecosystems leaving the area almost uninhabitable while obliterating the livelihood of its residents costing them basic human rights such as health, access to food, clean water, and an ability to work. Black Gold was to be premiered on February 24th at the Silverbird Galleria in Lagos but the latest developments may have distrupted the plans of the movie producers. The film has an impressive casts, starring Mbong Amata, Tom Sizemore, Vivica Fox, Billy Zane, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Sarah Wayne Callies, Razaaq Adoti, Dede Mabiaku, Eric Roberts, Larry Manetti and Michael Madsen. The film produced by Starkid productions owned by American based Nigeria, Ori Ayomike, was directed by Jeta Amata in collaboration with Suzanne DeLaurentiis was shot in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and in Los Angeles, California.

The glamorous lovers’ day celebration on Monday turned bloody at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) when gunmen killed two students. Daily Sun gathered that the clash was between two rival cult groups, namely, Black Axe and the Buccaneers,’ over a female student allegedly snatched by the Capone of the Black Axe for Valentine celebration.

The action of the Capone , the source said did not go down well with the other group leading to the clash.
A student who witnessed the shooting said besides the two cult members who were shot dead, about four others sustained injuries and were ferried out of the campus by their leaders to shield their identity.

The sources said the cult members who carried out the attack were not UNILAG students but members from another campus, adding that the attack was carried out in a commando style with sporadic shooting.
An undergraduate student of English Department told Daily Sun that the Buccaneers’ group attacked the Black Axe members while another student returning from the Mosque said those who carried out the killing were not from UNILAG because they did not cover their faces.

It was learnt that as soon the shooting started, students scampered for safety while others took cover behind the wall and under cars packed around, while others ran into the halls to avoid being hit by stray bullets. 
A senior lecturer who confirmed the killings said the university management had met to curtail any reprisal attack while security personnel had taken over the investigation of the deadly cult clash.
When Daily Sun visited the troubled institution yesterday, there was uneasy calm, as most staff and students rebuffed efforts made by the reporters to get their comments.

However, one of the students who resides at Sodeinde Hall, said there was sporadic gunshots outside the premises which caused panic everywhere. 
It was gathered that the crisis, which erupted when the students were at the peak of lovers’ day celebration, created stampede on the campus as people ran for safety.

One of the victims of the attack reportedly ran into Sodeinde Hall for help, from where he was taken to the hospital.
Although the Hall Master of Sodeinde Hall declined comments on the issue, one of the officials, who wouldn’t want his name published, said the attack could not be linked to any cult group. He said there was increasing speculation that the perpetrators of the attack could be fighting for love. Efforts made by Daily Sun our reporter to ascertain the identities of the victims were unsuccessful.
The news bulletin of the university, Information Flash (ISSN 08195540) also captured the incident, while assuring the staff and students of the university of adequate security.

“The attention of the universities authorities has been drawn to the incident which occurred in one of the Halls of Residence in the late hours of Monday, February 14, 2011 where two persons were reportedly injured in fracas. The university management has commenced investigation into the unusual incident, in particular at a time when preparation for the first semester examinations due to commence on February 21, 2011 are in top gear. Security has been intensified to ensure safety of life and property on campus. Law enforcement agents have been involved to assist the university in this respect,” it said. 
Daily Sun learnt that students are leaving the campus because of the fear of reprisal attack while some parents called their wards on phone to return home until the situation is brought under control. 

The Deputy Registrar Information of UNILAG, Mr. Dare Adebisi refused to pick his calls or replied to text message sent to his phone.
When the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Samuel Jinadu (DSP) was called thrice, he promised to contact the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the area and did not call back as at the press time....

• 'Unlicensed medical practitioner' sought for administering silicone injection which killed Claudia Aderotimi
• Transgender woman suspect 'well known' in Philadelphia and believed to have had similar procedure during sex change
• Tip off came after police raided home of 'fixer' in New Jersey who introduced student to 'doctor'
• 20-year-old believed to have met surgeon on chat forum for people interested in plastic surgery
• Injection was a ‘top up’ for previous procedure had in November
  

Detectives are hunting a transgender woman in connection with the death of a British student who died after a botched 'butt enhancement' operation.

Claudia Aderotimi, 20, is believed to have had the illegal procedure carried out by an unlicensed medical practioner in a hotel room in Philadelphia after meeting her in a plastic surgery chat room.

The transgender woman, in her 30s, had a similar procedure herself as part of a sex change operation to become a woman.

'Russian Roulette': Claudia Aderotimi, 20, is believed to have had silicone injected into her buttocks by an unlicensed medical practitioner

Sudden death: The London student had travelled to Philadelphia for a 'butt enhancement', which is illegal in the U.S. and UK

Police have established the identity of the suspect after raiding the home of a 'fixer' in New Jersey who had introduced the London-based student to the 'doctor'.

She is said to be well-known among the Africa-American community in Philadelphia, where 'butt enhancements' are popular.

A police source told the Evening Standard: 'There is a thriving trade in these sort of procedures and the injectors travel from state to state.'

Legitimate surgical techniques including silicone implants cost around £7,000, leading some to seek out cheaper injections. The procedure is illegal in the U.S. and UK.

If convicted, the suspect faces involuntary manslaughter charges which could lead to 10 years in jail.

Image conscious: Friends said Miss Aderotimi was desperate to obtain the perfect curvy figure and had been rejected from one Hip Hop video for wearing padded trousers

Aspiring dancer: Friends claimed Miss Aderotimi was the victim of social pressure to have a larger bottom

Miss Aderotimi have believed a 'bigger booty' would help her wish to appear in more music videos, according to her distraught friends.

The aspiring dancer - stagename Carmella London - was dropped from one shoot because directors discovered she had been wearing padded trousers to help enlarge her bottom.

Talent scout Tee Ali, who met the Thames Valley University student when she filmed a video, told The Sun: 'The problem was she didn't have no butt, and she wanted a butt.

'She went to audition for one video shoot wearing fake booty pants and she got all the attention.

'But when they found out it was fake she didn't get asked back.'

Miss Aderotimi developed chest pains and struggled for breath 12 hours after she had the illegal silicone injections at the budget hotel.

She was rushed to hospital, but could not be saved.

Aspirations: The student had hoped to become a Hip Hop star and had previously auditioned for parts in music videos

Botched: The 20-year-old died after the silicone leaked into her bloodstream, resulting in heart failure

A preliminary examination found the silicone filler had leaked into her bloodstream, leading to heart failure.

Detectives are investigating whether she was treated with cheaper 'industrial' silicone, normally used as a sealant, rather than the medical-grade material used in breast implants.

It was not the first time she had undergone the procedure. She is believed to have been treated in November and the latest injection on Monday may have been a 'top-up'.

Bootylicious: Nicki Minaj has become almost as famous for her posterior as for her voice

She had travelled from London to Philadelphia with three friends for the treatment, thought to have been an early present for her 21st birthday.

Buttock enhancement surgery is becoming popular in the U.S., among women who aspire to the shapely curves of Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce and singer Nicki Minaj.

Minaj has become almost as famous for her posterior as for her voice, and rumours have spread across the web that the Massive Attack singer underwent surgery or uses pads to boost her bum, especially on urban gossip sites such as Bossip and mediatakeout.com. She denies having had surgery.

The illusion of a larger backside has become increasingly more fashionable among young women since the rise of the 'Hip Hop Honey' phenomenon.

A bigger behind has become almost a prerequisite for any aspiring dancer wanting to make it on the music video scene.

But the hip hop industry has come under fire for objectifying women in music videos where dancers - or Hip Hop Honeys - chasing fame can often leave themselves open to financial and sexual exploitation.

And in their desperation to beat off the competition, many resort to surgery to get ahead.

'Top up' procedures are only legal when the silicone gel is contained and sealed within an implant. But illegal injections of the material are also widely available from unlicensed back-room medics.

Last night one expert said having a direct injection of silicone gel – long outlawed in the U.S. and Britain, even for breast surgery – is 'like playing Russian roulette'.

One of Miss Aderotimi's friends is said to have had the same procedure but survived. Experts warned the silicone could still prove lethal for her in the future if not removed.

Death: The woman died at the Hampton Inn in Philadelphia after having an injection in her buttocks

Investigation: A Philadelphia detective leaves the hotel where Claudia Aderotimi was staying, clutching an envelope with mugshots inside

Tragedy: One of Miss Aderotimi's friends also underwent a similar procedure, but survived

Last night more than a dozen distraught friends and family gathered at Miss Aderotimi's home in Hackney, East London.

Her sister Vivian was in tears as she said: 'We found out on Tuesday. We're still in shock. We need to think about what we have to do.'

Miss Aderotimi had the buttock injections on Monday – thought to have cost around £1,300 – while her friend had the same procedure along with a hip enhancement treatment.

The 'doctor' who injected the silicone left soon after and was not there when Miss Aderotimi began complaining of chest pains.

Yesterday detectives raided the home of a woman they believed set up the illegal operation.

Computer files, emails and telephone records were seized from the house in Bergen County, New Jersey.

Emails from Miss Aderotimi arranging the procedure were among the material seized, but police said no formal arrests had yet been made.

Dr Rajiv Grover, president-elect of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said: 'Buttock augmentation isn't a very commonly done procedure here, which is probably why these girls have resorted to going abroad.

'If correctly done, it involves implanting solid silicone implants into the buttock just like breast implants.

'The correct procedure would be done in a fully equipped, sterile surgical theatre in a hospital and the patient would be fully anaesthetised.'

Lagos residents returning home after work were today held up in endless traffic congestions following the closure of all key roads, which lead to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport from Victoria.

The roads closure was traced to the visit of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR) to Lagos metropolis, a situation which sparked anger and pain among Lagos residents who were returning after their stressful day. .

There were fierce-looking officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) at different junctions of the closed roads, especially those leading directly to the popular Third Mainland Bridge, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway and Funsho Williams Avenue.

we gathered that the closures started more than one hour before the convoy of President Jonathan passed through the routes.

The roads were closed at about 6:15 p.m. by security operatives but were not opened until about 7:33 p.m. after the convoy of President Jonathan and his entourage had driven through the Third Mainland Bridge heading to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport.  

Thousands of road users and motorists, who were held in the traffic, were visibly furious and angry; bitterly lamenting that such blockage or closure was unnecessary during a democratic dispensation.  

Precisely around 7:28 p.m. after the convoy had passed, a good number, who had alighted from their respective vehicles, were angrily booing President Jonathan, though security operatives scared them away. .

Before the roadblocks were dismantled, we spoke with a number of road users, who were held in the traffic jam, which covered a distance of more than five kilometers and in some cases more than that.

A banker in one of the new generation banks, who plead anonymity for security reasons over the situation, saying he was fortunate to have closed early, but the hold-up had shattered the plan of being with his family on time.

The banker expressed concerns about the capacity of President Jonathan “to guarantee fundamental human rights in different spheres of life. The idea of blocking roads because of the president is uncalled for.”
 
Another resident, Mr. Segun Balogun told us that the visit of the President to Lagos metropolis “has always been a source of concern and worry due to the tradition of road closure.”
 
Balogun condemned the tradition, which he said, had put road users and motorists under unnecessary stress.

In his response, Special Adviser to Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) on Transportation, Comrade Kayode Opeifa appealed to Lagos residents to bear with the state government after the hold-up eased few hours later.

Opeifa added that traffic congestion experienced “all around Lagos roads was due to road closure from Victoria Island to Murtala Mohammed International Airport arising from presidential visit and the consequent closure of Lagos roads by the security operatives of the Nigeria Police.”
 
The special adviser asked Lagos residents to be patient, saying the roads would be opened as soon as the convoy of President Jonathan passed through the Victoria Island en route the airport.

culled and adapted rom thewill

Military authorities handling the peace operations in Plateau State have announced the arrest of five soldiers over Tuesday's attacks on Kuru-Tasha village in Riyom Local Government. Charles Ekeocha, the spokesman for the Special Task Force (STF) charged with maintaining peace in Jos said on Wednesday that the attacks carried out by unidentified persons between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. left some 13 people dead and many others injured.

The military spokesperson, who confirmed that the soldiers were just few metres away from the scene of the attack, but chose to be unconcerned and "refused to act as expected," said the military authorities were shocked by the soldiers' behaviour and promptly reported the matter to the Defence Headquarters, who ordered their arrest, detention and investigation. "We have also arrested five soldiers for ‘laxity' during the attacks.

They have been locked up and are being investigated. They shall be court-martialed if we have found them truly culpable. That prompt action only shows that the military authorities cannot condone such behaviour by its men. If they are indicted, you can be sure that they shall be dealt with decisively," he said. Mr Ekeocha, however, rejected the suggestions that the soldiers took part in the killings.

He also denied allegations that soldiers were using maximum force on helpless civilians and also dismissed as "simply impossible" the allegations that the soldiers were "bias" in the handling of the crisis. Political crisis
The governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang described the recent spate of bombings across the country as political. He also said those behind the crime are only trying to paint a picture of insecurity to achieve political gains.

Speaking to journalists at the presidential villa, yesterday, Mr Jang painted a picture of a secure state, stating that security operatives are looking into all the security issues and hopefully they will come out with measures to apprehend those behind the atrocities. Speaking on the turn of events in the state, the governor said those behind it intend to make the country ungovernable for the government.

"Let me just say this, these bombing across the country is deliberate, to create an impression that the country is ungovernable so as to stop the general election," he said. "It is the plan of some desperate politicians who feels that if they don't get it, the whole country should go down but I can assure you that the government is in control." The governor, who also admitted that there is still some element of suspicion in the state assured that the situation in the state is getting better as calm is gradually returning to the once peaceful state.
Meanwhile, a Magistrate's Court on Wednesday granted bail to seven officials of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) who were arrested and charged to court over Saturday's violence in Jos. They were arraigned on a five-count charge of unlawful assembly, falsehood, public disturbance, negligence and conspiracy.

The suspects were said to be responsible for the violence that rocked parts of Jos in the last four days. The Chief Magistrate, Ishaku Kunda, who granted the suspects bail, adjourned the case to February 10.
The suspects include: the state's CPC Chairman, Mudashiru Aliyu; Deputy Chairman, Sunday Dul; Vice-Chairman, Henry Nenyel; Secretary, Johnson Podak and Legal Adviser, Paul Kopdin. Others include Assistant Publicity Secretary, Jamilu Baba, and the Organising Secretary, Mr Labaran Antashi.
The counsel to the suspects, Garba Pwol, described the ruling of the court as "very fair."

thousands of travellers have been stranded at Heathrow airport overnight, and hundreds more at Gatwick, as snow continues to disrupt much of the UK.

There will be no flight arrivals at Heathrow on Sunday and only a handful of departures, while many Gatwick flights are affected.

Problems persist at airports UK-wide, while the Met Office is warning of icy roads across much of England and Wales.

More heavy snow is expected in eastern Scotland and north-east England.

Up to 10cm of snow are expected in these areas, and up to 20cm in hilly areas.

Forecasters said the UK was hit by extremely low temperatures overnight, with most parts of the country struggling to get above minus 5C, while fresh snow fell in eastern Scotland and north-east England.

Hundreds of thousands of Britons had been due to fly this weekend, according to travel association Abta, which estimated that four million people expected to go abroad..

Heathrow airport told the BBC that "a few thousand spent the night in the terminals" but said just four short-haul and three long-haul flights would leave on Sunday morning. It hoped to be operational on Monday.

Sue Kerslake spent the night on a terminal floor with her three young grandchildren after their Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong was cancelled.

Having arrived at the airport at 0800 GMT on Saturday, they sat on a plane for seven hours before being told it was not taking off.

"There were thousands of people in departures overnight and it got quite intense at times. The bars were open and some people were drinking and got quite nasty," she said.

Stuart Gash, from Swindon, who had been due to fly to New York for a Caribbean cruise with his wife and two children, said UK airports seemed unable to cope at the first sign of snow.

'Miserable'

He said: "There was no more than two inches of snow and yet the runway is totally covered. Why aren't they ploughing it, why aren't they gritting it, why aren't they salting it?"

Andrew Teacher, from Heathrow operator BAA, said it had invested more than £6m in the last year in technology to move snow and de-ice runways and that staff had been working through the night.

But he said: "There comes a point where you cannot do any more; when you're moving snow and it's freezing behind," adding that many planes had been frozen into parking spaces.

He apologised for the "miserable" situation but said problems had been caused by "an extreme amount of snow in a very short space of time" and safety had to be prioritised.

"Overnight we had hundreds of people drafted in to focus on helping passengers who have remained in terminals. We've given them blankets, water and food and are trying to make people as comfortable as possible."

The Independent's travel editor Simon Calder said very few of the 400,000 passengers due to fly out of Heathrow this weekend would get to their destinations. At Gatwick, the BBC's Helen Fawkes said 90,000 people should fly out on Sunday but that there had already been 50 cancellations.

A Gatwick spokeswoman said it was doing everything it could to "get passengers on their way".

"Passengers must check with their airline before setting out for the airport to reduce congestion and avoid disappointment," she said.

Airports in Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands are also suffering cancellations and delays.

Stansted, Luton, Exeter, London City, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol and Southampton airports said flights would be subject to delays and cancellations throughout Sunday, while the runway at Jersey Airport was closed until at least 0915 GMT.

Infrastructure 'seized up'

Ryanair has cancelled 84 flights to or from UK airports, mainly in the London area.

In Northern Ireland freezing conditions continue to make travel difficult following some of the heaviest snowfall for 25 years - with more forecast.

Belfast International Airport has reopened, although knock-on effects have caused delays.

Monarch Airlines managing director Tim Jeans said reassessment of the UK's transport infrastructure was needed.

"We have not coped well. The infrastructure - not just at the airports but the road infrastructure - completely seized up. The M25 going towards Heathrow and Gatwick virtually impassable within an hour of the snow starting to fall."

On what is one of the busiest weekends of the year for travel and shopping, other problems caused by the weather include:

• The AA said it dealt with 16,000 calls on Saturday, compared with 9,000 on an average pre-Christmas Saturday
• There was some disruption to South West Trains and First Capital Connect services, although most other routes were now operating normally, according to National Rail Enquiries, which has provided a new passenger phone number - 08453 017 641
• Sunday's sporting schedule was again badly affected, after wide postponements of football, rugby union and horse racing fixtures on Saturday
• An urgent appeal is being made for blood donors, particularly those who are O negative, as stocks are running low
• Companies have warned of a backlog of deliveries which may not reach customers before Christmas

On Saturday, Jon Caudwell, from the Highways Agency, said they were doing their best to keep major roads in England clear but needed help from motorists who should "really seriously consider" whether they needed to go out.

He said he was surprised at the level of traffic on the roads, given the advice not to travel. He said in some areas abandoned vehicles and jack-knifed lorries had blocked access for gritters.

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "The weather over the last 24 hours has been exceptionally severe. Government continues to monitor all aspects of the situation."

Three Nigerians were yesterday jailed for a total of 18-and-a-half years for setting up a fake educational institution, called Bogus Colleges, to help illegal immigrants remain in the United Kingdom. The UK Border Agency’s London Immigration Crime Team, told the prosecution that its investigations revealed the dirty deals of the three, which include a husband and wife, Tiamiyu and Christiana Bello, aged 75 and 67 respectively, and a 39-year-old solicitor, Adeyinka Adeniran..

The couple were arrested following a raid on a property on New Cross Road in South London in July 2007, while Mr. Adeniran was later arrested following a search of his office on Old Kent Road. The sentence yesterday followed an 11-week trial at Croydon Crown Court, where the Bellos were found guilty of conspiring to assist unlawful immigration and conspiracy to possess articles for use in fraud. They were both sentenced to five years in prison each. Mr. Adeniran was also found guilty of conspiring to assist unlawful immigration, which the judge described as a “disgrace to his profession.” He was sentenced to eight and a half years behind bars..

Revelations

The UK Border’s Agency said its raid on Mr. And Mrs. Bello’s office, which was registered to the address of “Academic College of Education” and the “Academic College of Training and Recruitment”, institutions for which the Bellos were the principals, led to the seizures of documents.

“During a search, a large number of documents were seized, including letters purporting to be from the Academic College of Education and counterfeit qualification certificates. Many of the files seized from that address contained documentation from the Bellos’ college. Officers soon discovered that the building was a collection of bedsits and there was no evidence of lessons being taught there,” the agency said.

UK officers told the court that though the scam had been on for many years, the entirety of the business structure totally, “involved the supply of fake qualification documents which were then used to support visa applications to the Home Office. Many applicants were then represented by Mr. Adeniran through his legal practice.”

The scandals unveiled by London’s Sunday Times and the Panorama, broadcast on BBC on Monday, cost England as it was beaten to the 2018 World Cup bid by Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Photo: FIFA President Sepp Blatter hands over the World Cup trophy to Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov (R) after the official announcement that Russia will host the 2018 World Cup on December 2 Photo: REUTERS

It was supposed to be a return to the “motherland of football” as Joseph Blatter, FIFA President, said on the podium moments before the envelope of the winning bid was passed to him. When the winning bid was announced, there were about eight Russians in the hall with the others in apparent shock. Russia won against all expectations but it could have been swung in their favour by the words of Putin, Russia’s President, who on Wednesday criticised England over the FIFA exposes. “I would like to note that recently we have watched with disappointment as an obvious campaign was being unleashed against members of the FIFA executive committee,” he said. “They are being smeared in dirt and compromised. I consider it as part of unscrupulous bit of competition in preparations for the selection of the host-country for the World Cup.”..

The politics of the 2018 bid

England was said to have had the best technical bid but Russia trumped all the stats by promising to inject over $10 billion to host the world. Russia will also be hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Spain/Portugal bid President, Angel Villar Llona, in his presentation on Thursday said: “I love FIFA dearly but those I love the most are my colleagues in the Exco. Recently we have been criticised by many media outlets. Unfortunately for them, FIFA is a clean institution.” The defeat will be made more unpalatable as the England bid had been described by Blatter as being both excellent and remarkable. But it was not remarkable enough to be chosen. In revelations after FIFA’s members had voted in a secret ballot, it emerged that England did not make it to the second ballot.

Last minute attempts by Prime Minister, David Cameron, Prince William and David Beckham to persuade the football’s world governing body executive members came too late to douse the embarrassments suffered by these members by the revelations of the BBC and London Times. Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii, the two FIFA executive members named in cash-for vote scandal, had been suspended and fined some sums of money following the revelations by the London Times that both members were ready to sell their bidding votes to the highest bidders. There will be recriminations from the British press but many observers feel that England shot itself in the foot by being “undiplomatic.”

Qatar trumps the USA

Qatar became the smallest country to be awarded the hosting rights of a FIFA World Cup by snagging the 2022 World Cup. The Qatar bid committee used French football legend, Zinedine Zidane, as a goodwill ambassador and said in their presentation that the World Cup project of hosting the world in 2022 could help unify the region. There was also the promise to overcome overwhelming heat by air conditioning the stadia it will build. Sheikh Mohammad bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar’s bid chairman, sounding all exultant after the pronouncement said: “Thank you for believing in change, thank you for believing in expanding the game, thank you for giving Qatar a chance. We will not let you down. You will be proud of us, you will be proud of the Middle East and I promise you this.”

And in what could be a final word to the backlash that will definitely come forth after the England snub, Llona had this to say, “You have already heard enough slander in the media, the bidding process is clean regardless of what they say.” The world will converge in Russia in 2018. And as the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Shuvalov, was handed the World Cup by Blatter, he celebrated by saying: “You have entrusted us with the FIFA World Cup for 2018 and I can promise, we all can promise, you will never regret it. Let us make history together.”

History will definitely be in the making as the Eastern European giants host the greatest single sport fiesta in the world while Qatar’s 1.7 million people prepare to welcome the world in 2022.

A member of the House of Representatives, Patrick Obahiagbon [ACN Edo] narrowly escaped suspension yesterday over his disagreement with the plan to make lawmakers automatic members of parties' National Executive Committees (NECs).

Mr Obahiagbon, who last week briefed journalists about his reservations concerning the amendment bill seeking to alter the 2010 Electoral Act to make members of the National Assembly part of the NEC of their parties, was verbally lampooned by his colleagues on the floor for describing them as "legislative tyrants."

But for the careful handling of the matter by the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, the House of Representatives would have suspended Mr Obahiagbon over his stance against the proposed amendment. Trouble started for Mr Obahiagbon as soon as Mr Bankole announced the commencement of business of the day, and Igochukwu Aguma [PDP Rivers] interrupted the Speaker with a point of order.

Citing Order 5 Rule 1 of the House of Representatives' standing rules, and relevant sections of the Legislative Houses Privileges Act, Mr Aguma said Mr Obahiagbon had during the media briefing and at another appearance on a television programme, referred to his colleagues as rascals, arguing that his personal privileges and that of the House, including that of the Speaker had been breached...

He urged Mr Bankole to immediately refer this matter to the Ethics and Privileges Committee of the House which is the internal disciplinary organ of the House. Mr Bankole, who called for understanding from members who were in support of Mr Aguma, yielded the floor to Mr Obahiagbon to defend himself.

The lawmaker explained that he was only calling on the National Assembly to take a second look at the proposed amendment and what he said was that (quoting from the text of the press conference) "it would amount to legislative rascality, if it goes ahead with the amendment." The Speaker said Mr Obahiagbon had not denied making the statement, and then offered him the opportunity to speak again, which he said would equally influence his decision on the matter.

Mr Obahiagbon later tendered an unreserved apology after repeated persuasions by the Speaker.

But he was also made to withdraw the statement before Mr Bankole convinced his colleagues to pardon him, and then hit the gavel amidst verbal protests.

Inciting Nigerians

But not satisfied with that, Cyril Maduabum [PDP Anambra] who co-sponsored the controversial bill, raised another point of order and launched another round of verbal attacks on Mr Obahiagbon whom he accused of calling on Nigerians "to rise up in arms against the National Assembly," if it did not drop the amendment bill.

"I listened to Patrick Obahiagbon on AIT's Focus Nigeria where he openly called on Nigerians to rise up in arms against the National Assembly, rise up in arms. He was inciting Nigerians to cause violence...Is it because he thinks he can speak English?

"My privilege was breached and Obahiagbon should be held responsible for anything that happens to me and my children," Mr Madaubum stated.

Mr Bankole appealed to members that there was so much to be done and time should not be wasted on trivial issues.

"Most of us here have decided to choose this [lawmaking] as business and I can understand the passion you have demonstrated. But I urge you take this as part of the hazards of this job. Obahiagbon has made the unfortunate comments but we should not give unnecessary attention to statements that don't mean much after today," he said.

DECEMBER IS APPROCAHING ! THE months when Accidents occur . BE WARNED ! PICTURE ADVISORY

Road accidents have continued to claim several lives despite intense road safety campaigns. Weekly Trust reports on why the scourge has not calmed down.

At the trailer park in Gusau, a group of men were busy loading cattle into a trailer, preparing the cattle for the trip from the north to the south where they would end in the various abattoirs where they would be butchered for meat. And just as they finished loading the animals and began to leave, some twenty-three men began climbing aboard the trailer, jostling for space with the cattle. Some improvisations were introduced with long planks placed on top of the trailer to provide more space for the humans looking for opportunity to hitch a ride with the animals...

Some hours into the journey, maybe it was just minutes (eye witnesses account differ), the humans in the trailer would share the fate of the cattle: butchered, not in the abattoirs, but on the highway together with the cattle when the trailer was involved in an accident at Gidan Kano village, along Sokoto-Gusau Road. Eyewitnesses said the driver lost control when he approached a very sharp bend at high speed at Gidan Kano and could not negotiate it. The articulated vehicle skidded off the road and somersaulted. Twenty of the passengers, some of whom were hanging on the side of the trailer, died on the spot while three others died in the hospital. Sixteen other passengers sustained various degrees of injuries.

That was in December last year, precisely on a Wednesday evening on the 23rd. Just two weeks ago, another reenactment of that gory incidence where the fate of humans is indistinguishable from the fate of cattle took place in the same state, Zamfara, where 20 persons were confirmed dead and 33 others sustained serious injuries at Kaura-Namoda Local Government Area of the state. This time around, the vehicle was carrying more than 100 bags of potatoes with 42 people on board hitching a ride together with the potatoes, all coming from Sokoto. Just like the cattle driver, the potato driver was over-speeding when the trailer had a burst tire and skidded off the road, said the FRSC Assistant Corps Commander of the Kaura-Namoda Unit to newsmen, Sani Abdussamad.

The mass deaths are not confined to heavy vehicles only. On the same day, 20 kilometres from Kaura-Nomada at Kaura-Shinkafi Road, a Peugeot 505 salon car had a head-on collision with a Toyota Carina II vehicle where 11 people, mostly women and children, were burnt beyond recognition. Eight others were taken to the hospital with various degrees of injuries.

Wastage of human lives, butchered with such careless abandon by a combination of reckless driving, overloading, poor and narrow roads occur on all Nigerian highways, not just on the Sokoto-Gusau axis. The Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, had said recently that road accidents kill 14 people daily on Nigerian roads, totaling on average over four hundred deaths in a month. “Out of this number,” said a Commander of the Corps, Kayode Olagunju, “tanker driver-induced accidents claim at least three lives every day.”

The tanker drivers are road cousins of the trailer drivers, a law unto themselves on the road. Speeding with the latest consignment of fuel from the south to the north, just as the cattles and potatoes make the journey from the north to the south, the tanker drivers are kings of the road because of the essential importance of the commodity they transport: petroleum. Nothing embodies this pompous status more than at Tafa, a village located some few kilometers from Abuja where both shoulders of the highway have been appropriated by tanker drivers, who despite causing so many accidents and so many deaths over the years, remain untouchable. “I always remind myself that I am approaching a danger zone whenever I drive close to the village,” said Ashafa, a salon car driver at the Jabi Park in Abuja who plies the road daily on his way to convey passengers from Abuja to Kano.

Ashafa said: “Most of the tanker drivers are just boys, they think the machines are toys, something they could play with. But a trailer or tanker is not just a mere toy; the slightest carelessness will cause so much pain and anguish. So many families are robbed of breadwinners and loved ones.”

The Lokoja-Abuja Road, a link road between the north and the south, where daily hundreds of trailers, tankers, trucks, salon cars and buses hurry with passengers and goods is a hot spot that brings into relief how government failure to construct new roads and rehabilitate old ones have contributed to the statistics of deaths from road accidents in the country. One of the country’s busiest roads, it is nevertheless the narrowest. A road contract awarded since 2005 to dualise the road has mostly seen work move at the pace of a snail. But the devastation wrought by the road on human lives comes very easily and fast. In the month of October only, the road has claimed about 59 lives. Just some few months ago in July about fourty people had lost their lives at a go when an accident occurred on the road. The road has been eating lives, and still counting.

Statistics from Koton Karfe, Abaji, and Yangoji as well as Gwagwalada unit commands of the FRSC shows that 39 vehicles were involved in accidents in which 236 people sustained various degrees of injuries between the months of October till November, 12, 2010. Twenty-two out of the 39 crashes were fatal mostly occurring as a result of wrongful overtaking, a mistake which the narrow road does not forgive.

Other causes of crashes on the road from the FRSC statistics include, lost of control, tire burst, over-speeding, obstruction, fatigue, dangerous driving as well as break failure.

Abaji unit commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Mr. Joseph O. Ezeh said the state of the Abuja-Lokoja Road has contributed to some of the accidents along the road where some drivers who are in the process of trying to avoid a pothole crash into an oncoming vehicle from the opposite direction.

While the physical factors that contribute to the scourge of accidents on the roads is taking a long time in being addressed by the concerned authorities, the FRSC unit commander of Yangoji, Abdullahi Umar, has introduced a way of taming the human elements, mostly recklessness, that contributes to the spates of accidents on the road. The command has adopted a system where any driver arrested for reckless driving is taken to the command for education for 45 minutes and in the process shown pictures of corpses of accident victims on the road with the hope of using fear to educate him on the hazard of reckless driving. “These drivers never care to stop when we observe some recklessness in their driving and this is why we have devised another method,” Umar said.

On a nationwide scale, the FRSC Corps Marshal, Osita Chidoka has introduced a system of reward for Corp officers who were able to reduce the accidents in their units to the barest minimum. He said: “The commission’s gesture is to create a kind of competition among all the 36 state sector commands of the FRSC in redoubling their efforts in reducing accident and at the end reward the best command. And we are involving the state government. Infact, the state governors will be the chairmen of this committee so that they can be able to partake and as well monitor the performance of every sector command.”

It remains to be seen how far the new initiatives will go in curbing road accidents as the recklessness has somewhat been taken to a new level, especially by salon drivers who enact the human/cattle scenario by filling their car boots not only with luggages and sacks but with humans. This is after packing the front of the car with three or four passengers including the driver and the back seat with four passengers or more supported on human laps.

The culprits in this practice are the new crop of commercial drivers who favour using the Volkswagen Golf because of its speed and lightness. The practice is common along rural roads and roads linking one local government area to the other where few FRSC officers are on watch. The few police manning the various checkpoints, as usual, stretch their hands for the usual bribe and look the other way.

Salihu, a driver in Jabi Park Abuja blames the practice on passengers who often prefer to pay less than the standard amount for a ticket. “The boots cost less, sometimes half the price of a seat inside the car. In addition, the more people you carry inside the car whether in the back or front seats, the less the passengers pay compared to when you take only one passenger in front and three passengers in the back of a salon car.”

When accidents occur in such instances identifying the identities of the victims becomes a problem because such vehicles are either boarded on the highway or in illegal parks were passengers’ manifest are not kept before boarding. In Yobe for example, where two buses had a head-on collision last week where 33 people were burnt beyond recognition, identifying the victims was a big problem as their identity cards were also burnt save for one passenger whose identification survived the fire. In the end, all the victims were buried in a mass grave since relatives could not be contacted to identify their corpses.

Statistics made available to Weekly Trust by the FRSC’s Media Assistant to the Corps Marshal, Sani Abdullahi, shows that within the last three months of September, October up to 7th November this year a total number of 1,053 crashes took place. The number of vehicles involved in the crashes within the same period is 1,722; number of people killed in the crashes is 820 while the number of injured victim is 3,366.

The FRSC claims there have been an improvement. Based on its analysis it says comparison between incidence of accidents between last year and this year in a three months review shows that while 1,357 cases of road crashes were recorded in 2009, 939 were recorded within the same period in 2010, representing a reduction of 44.52 per cent. The figures also claim that while 4,167 people were injured in the same period in 2009, this year the figure dropped to 2,981, representing a reduction of 39.79 per cent.

The figures do not show improvement in the number of persons killed within the period under review. While 744 people were killed last year within the same period, this year 759 deaths were recorded, representing an increase of 1.97per cent.

The FRSC says it research has shown that the increase in fatality was as a result of more accidents involving 14-seater buses carrying 18 passengers and incidences of crashes involving tankers who claim many lives at a go.

The passengers hitching a ride with cattle and potatoes may have thought they were paying less, but as the inevitable happened they must have realized that they have sold their lives cheap....

He snatched my wife, two kids, says Yatim

Juliet and Wood
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• I’m only assisting her, he couldn’t pay kids’ school fees -Wood
A battleline has been drawn between a Lebanese and a Briton resident in Nigeria. Their quarrel is over a Nigerian lady, Juliet and her two children, who the Lebanese is laying claims to. The Romeos are really at war with each other over Juliet. The angry Lebanese, Walid Yatim, is alleging that the Briton, Mike Wood, snatched his wife and took custody of his two children.
He has even threatened a showdown, with the ‘intruder’ if he fails to hands off and let his family be. According to Yatim, he married Juliet on March 24, 2005, at Apapa Marriage Registry, Lagos. The marriage is said to have been blessed with two girls, Serina, four, and Sonia, two.
The aggrieved Lebanese said he was ready to call it quits with the marriage but vowed not to allow another man to adopt or claim his children while he is still alive. He narrated how his estranged wife, on two occasions, attempted to use scissors and razor blade to kill him.
“I was sleeping one day and woke up to see her holding a razor blade, which she wanted to use to attack me. I managed to collect it from her. She used a plank to hit me on the head. Another problem I had with her was as a result of the children. She was not taking care of them. One day, she told me how people were making jest of her, saying she married a white man and had nothing to show for it. So, I gave her N50, 000 to buy things for herself.
“That was when she was pregnant of my first daughter. I had to rent a flat for them. I even assisted her brothers and sisters, when they needed some money. She fought me everyday and threatened to kill me. But I must say that I had both good and bad times with her.
“Our problem began when Juliet failed to treat me as her husband. Strange visitors, both men and women, usually filled her room. “I go to work at 1 pm and returned at about 4 am. I tried to stop them from visiting her but she told them not to listen to me, saying I was a stupid man. I took her to Lebanon and we spent about N1.5 million. I need my children. She made the children to bear another surname. They can bear Walid or Yatim but not Vincent. Vincent is my wife’s surname. I don’ t understand the meaning of that,” Yatim fumed.
The marriage certificate with registration number 103262 made available to Daily Sun showed that it was actually contracted at Apapa Local Government, Apapa, Lagos on March 24, 2005. Juliet, who is playing the cupid, has, however, debunked the allegation of attempted murder against her. Daily Sun also went to Apapa police station to inquire if Yatim reported any case of attempted murder or threat to his life against Juliet. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Mr. Mohammed Ali, a Chief Superintendent, who identified the couple, explained that it took him time to make peace between the couple.
Narrating what transpired between them, Juliet told Daily Sun on phone that Yatim abandoned her and the children and travelled to Lebanon where he stayed for about two years. According to her, during that period, he never cared to know whether the children were feeding or going to school. But Yatim denied the allegation, saying he was always giving her a monthly allowance of $700, which he claimed to have sent through the Western Union Money Transfer.
But when she was asked how she spent the money. Juliet screamed: “Yeeeh! Jesus Christ o! Which dollars? It’s a lie (laughs). Why did he treat me like that? Is it because I’m a Nigerian woman that made him think he could do anything and go scot-free?”
She continued: “When people come to Nigeria, they treat our women the way they like. I’ve not even seen him (Yatim) for four months now. Any way, if God says I will marry Mike Wood, why not? I will go ahead and marry him, he’s a good man.”
Meanwhile, Yatim has written a petition through his lawyer, George Ohioma Chambers, Apapa, to the office of the Special Adviser, Ministry of Youths, Sports and Social Development, Ikeja, dated November 26, 2010.
The letter, entitled: “Act capable of moral destruction of minor”, signed by the principal counsel of the chambers, George Ohioma, reads in parts:
“Our client informed us that the marriage which is blessed with two (2) children, namely, Serina and Sonia that has hitherto, been blissful suddenly got dramatic turn, when Mrs. Juliet Walid began to have extra –marital affairs with Mike Wood. Our client verily informed us that against his advice and or counsel, Mrs. Juliet Walid with other young girls, she termed sisters and or relations…smoking cigarette …doing other things and or act (s) in the presence of these minor is beginning to affect them negatively.”
When Daily Sun approached Mike Wood, a fleet manager in a company located on Wharf Road, Apapa, Lagos, he claimed that Juliet and her kids were abandoned by Yatim, when he travelled to Lebanon. He berated Yatim for allegedly abandoning his wife and two children. According to him, he only assisted Juliet and her children and prevented them from further sufferings. He claimed to have paid the children’s school fees, fed them and their mother, as well as provided a comfortable house for them to live in.
The Briton also disclosed that he bought one Honda CRV for Juliet. “I’ve been working here for the past 17 years. It’s very sad that he is making such allegation against me. We even discussed him at home. I’ve not even met him. The woman is very nice. She’s faithful and truthful to me. I’ve rented a house for her and the children. I ’m a good person.
They were married before and lived together but the man abandoned her and stayed in his country, Lebanon, without caring for his wife and children. The woman has found someone else. I did not know her until they parted ways for close to two years now. The woman has been taking good care of the children as far as I’m concerned. I’m helping her. I will continue to assist her. I love her. We will get married after she must have divorced the Lebanese.
The most important thing for the children is to get good education. That man couldn’t even pay their school fees. I’m a divorcee. I married in England. I’ve three children, two females and a male. They are all happily married,” he said. The Lebanese claimed to have arrived Nigeria six months ago, only to hear what he described as ‘rubbish’. And he said it was as a result of that, that he stopped giving his wife money. He has, however, vowed not to allow anybody claim his children in form of adoption as he has enough money to send them to school and feed them.