Posted by 9jabook.com on December 28, 2009 at 8:07pm
Deaths as police and sect clash in Bauchi, Nigeria
At least 20 people are thought to have died in clashes between security forces and members of a religious sect in the northern Nigerian state of Bauchi.
Some eyewitnesses said as many as 37 people had been killed.The fighting came after local people told authorities they were alarmed by open-air preaching by the religious sect, which is known as Kala Kato.
Such preaching was banned in the state after an uprising by another sect, Boko Haram, earlier this year.
Hundreds of people were killed in the subsequent fighting across northern Nigeria.
The BBC's Caroline Duffield reports from Lagos that Kala Kato is a non-conformist Muslim sect made up of poor tradesmen, labourers and other working people.
Some residents in Zango, just south of the city of Bauchi, have said that in recent days the mood of their preaching had become aggressive.
The violence there began on Sunday morning. After some initial shooting the security forces retreated, before returning in greater numbers.
Members of the group had armed themselves with machetes and cutlasses, and appeared ready to fight armed police and soldiers, she adds.
A spokesman for the Bauchi state governor said the local military had been deployed, though other accounts spoke of a feared police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
The Associated Press news agency cited Bauchi state official Mohammed Maigari as saying sect members had gone on the rampage to demand the release of their leader.
The sect leader had been arrested in connection with the killings of several Boko Haram members, AP reported.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on December 28, 2009 at 12:47am
Detroit terror attack: Second Nigerian arrested on Amsterdam flight
By NICK ALLEN
A second Nigerian man has been arrested on a Northwest Airlines jet in Detroit 48 hours after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to blow up an airliner
unday's flight - Northwest Airlines 253 - was exactly the same route that Abdulmutallab targeted on Christmas Day.
The pilot alerted the authorities and the plane made an emergency landing and was met by police on its arrival in Detroit.
The man, who is in his 30s, reportedly locked himself in a toilet for more than an hour as the plane flew over the US.
Before locking himself in to the toilet the man had already been up and down to the same cubicle several times. Cabin crew became increasingly suspicious, broke the door down and dragged him out. He is then said to have become irate and verbally aggressive.
He was subdued and the pilot contacted the airport to say there was an emergency on board. Emergency vehicles gathered on the runway to meet the plane.
The passengers and crew were evacuated from the plane and the man was formally arrested. Officials said no explosive device had been found on the suspect.
The man had boarded the flight with no luggage.
President Barack Obama, who is on holiday in Hawaii, was informed immediately. White House officials said Mr Obama was to have further talks with his aides over airline security.
However a senior US official told Fox News that the man arrested on Sunday was simply a “sick passenger”.
Another official told CNN the incident appeared to be “non-serious” and that the disruptive passenger “does not appear to be a threat”.
The FBI gave the all-clear within hours of the latest alert.
Like Abdulmutallab, the passenger had flown from Nigeria to Amsterdam and then picked up Flight 253 to Detroit.
Abdulmutallab, who had studied engineering in London until last year, disappeared into a toilet for a long period of time before trying to set off his device.
The flight, which had 257 passengers and 12 crew on board, landed safely in Detroit at 12.35pm local time.
The plane was removed to a secure area of the airport for additional searches by bomb experts.
Police took the disruptive passenger into custody for questioning.
An airline spokeswoman, Sue Elliott, said the passenger was "verbally disruptive".
She added: "Out of an abundance of caution the flight crew asked the plane be met on arrival by law enforcement."
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Super Eagles Vice Captain, Joseph Yobo, on New Year day, got married to former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN), Adaeze Igwe, at the Evangelical Bible Outreach Ministries International (EBOMI) Prayer City, Jos, Plateau State.advertisement hereYobo, who flew into the country for the low-key wedding, took many by surprise, as most of the guests at the Exodus Night Meeting at the EBOMI Prayer City were not aware of his presence at the gathering.General Overseer of EBOMI Prayer City, Prophet Isah El Buba, while officiating at the early morning wedding, which was witnessed by Governor Jonah Jang and top government officials, described Yobo and his wife as new born again Christians who gave their lives to Jesus Christ during their recent encounter with him in London.According to him, the solemnisation of the wedding became necessary as the duo have left their past behind and embraced God, urging them to always remember God first in all they do.He described marriage as something ordained by God, and as such, whoever finds a wife has found a good thing in the sight of the Lord.Buba called on the couple to take marriage with all the seriousness it deserves, insisting that marriage is a glorious thing that calls for tolerance from each spouse.He told Yobo that since he is going to lead his colleagues to South Africa this year for the World Cup tournament, and for the African Cup of Nations in Angola, his wedding has prepared him to go for these two football fiestas with God’s anointed golden legs.In the same vein, Governor Jang, who is an ordained minister at the EBOMI Prayer City, told the couple to show love to each other.Jang advised Yobo to remain steadfast in the Lord with his wife since there are trials in marriage, but assured him that God will see them through.The couple exchanged vows at 3.30 a.m. on January 1 at the prayer meeting amid cheers from well-wishers and relations, who stormed Jos for the wedding despite the timing.The couple had private reception in their hotel room immediately after the wedding.Attempts to speak with Yobo proved abortive as he refused to speak with journalists over his choice of Jos for the wedding.Yobo, born September 6, 1980 in Kano, but grew up in Port Harcourt, is a Super Eagles defender currently playing with the English Premier League (EPL) club Everton.He is the younger brother of former Nigeria international Albert Yobo.Yobo left Nigeria for Belgium to join Standard Liège in 1998. He made his first team appearance in 2000, and went on to appear 46 times for the Jupiler League club. In 2001, he was bought by French club, Olympique Marseille. Soon after making his debut, Yobo was loaned to CD Tenerife in Spain. After nine months Yobo retuned to Marseille, before joining English club Everton, again on loan, in July 2002. A £1million fee was required to register the player, and he became the first signing of new manager David Moyes. An option to make the move permanent was taken up and completed in 2003 after a dispute between Yobo and Marseille was settled, with Everton agreeing a fixed additional fee of £4 million.Yobo became one of the most consistent players in the Everton squad, and was one of only seven players in the entire league to play every minute of every game throughout the 2006/2007 Premier League season.The delay, in 2006, in signing a new contract with Everton led to rumours of a move to Arsenal, but on July 22, Yobo committed himself to Goodison Park until 2010. As of 15 April 2007 Yobo is the record appearance holder for an overseas player at Everton.In 2007, he set up the Joseph Yobo Charity Foundation, to help under-privileged children in Nigeria. As of July 18, 2007 he has handed out over 300 scholarship awards ranging from primary to university level. Yobo has started a football academy in the Ogoni region of Nigeria. He also runs football camps in Lagos, in conjunction with Everton Lagos F.C.Igwe was a student at the University of Abuja, before she became Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria. She pursued her childhood dream by representing Anambra in the pageant with 29 other girls.Apart from winning N5 million, a Hyundai car and endorsement deals, Anambra-born Igwe represented Nigeria at Miss World 2008 in South Africa. She made the top 20 in Miss World Talent, and placed second in Miss World Sports.During her reign, Igwe established her own charity, The Adaeze Igwe Foundation, an organisation, which promotes AIDS and breast cancer awareness and raises funds towards similar causes, including malaria and tuberculosis.She was quoted to have said of her relationship with Yobo: “We are in a relationship and it is not one of those frivolous ones. It is a serious one that my mum even knows about. This is for real.”She is currently attending the New York Film Academy and was at Vivian Fowler Memorial College before the University of Abuja, which she did not return to after she won the MBGN crown.Naija Gays Increase http://tinyurl.com/Gaylifestlyeskidnapping baby on plane http://tinyurl.com/BabyNapperhttp://www.9jamovies.comhttp://www.ask9ja.comRead more…
Senate Presidnet David MarkLAGOS—Sequel to revelations in yesterday’s edition of Sunday Vanguard that the Senate is set to wade into the political impasse over the absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua from office for the past 41 days, there are strong indications that a series of intrigues and power play have ensued in the last 24 hours.
Also, it was learnt that a divide-and-rule approach is being engaged by some powerful forces comprising those who do not want the amendment of Sections 144 and 145 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Vanguard has been reliably informed that whereas some senators are having informal discussions on the way forward, specifically on how to amend Sections 144 and 145, and how to fine-tune their strategy when they resume tomorrow, some powerful individuals, including ministers and some very close aides to President Yar’Adua are attempting to frustrate the move.
Moves to cede power to Jonathan
The kernel of the move is the presentation of a bill seeking to transfer power to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan.
The bill, it was further learnt, would pass through the First, Second and Third Readings expeditiously.
The product of that process would then, most likely, be passed to the state governors to convince their legislatures at the state levels to pass it with the required two-third majorities in at least 24 of the 36 states of the federation.
One of the first steps towards frustrating the move, according to a reliable source, is to use the governors considered very loyal to Yar’Adua not to allow their state houses of assembly to pass the bill into law.
But, a senator (name withheld) insisted that “members of the Governors’ Forum are Nigerians and are as concerned as we senators who are attempting to find a solution to the present problem.
“The way people are toying with the destiny of this nation, this matter that people think is a minor thing has the capacity to completely destroy this country.
“Well, we are very happy that Mr. President has signed the Supplementary Appropriation Act in Saudi Arabia. It is our hope and belief that he would also sign the letter handing over power to his deputy, Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan.”
Although no formal contact has been made with the Governors’ Forum yet, the senator stressed that “all these are the things we would be discussing at our Executive Session when we resume next Tuesday.
“Mind you, we are not interested in the selfish calls in some quarters insisting that the National Assembly should impeach President Yar’Adua. No. That is not what we are trying to do. Anybody can fall sick; the error in this instance is that Mr. President did not write to the Senate President and the Speaker informing them of the necessary transfer of power.”.
Attempts to speak with the Office of the President of the Senate and the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives were unsuccessful.
But a source in Aso Rock Presidential Villa denied that there was move by the National Assembly to amend the constitution expeditiously.
The source told Vanguard that: “it was for the National Assembly to do whatever it believes is within its purview as the legislative arm of government. Whatever they do, so long as it is within the bounds of legality, nobody would question it.”
SERAP drags FG before UN
Meantime, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has dragged President Yar’Adua before the United Nations, UN, over his refusal to hand over power to Jonathan, in accordance with the law, following his inability to perform the functions of his office owing to ill-health.
Yar’Adua is reportedly receiving treatment at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Saudi Arabia over acute pericarditis (inflammation of the heart lining).
SERAP, which tabled the issue before the UN, is contending that President Yar’Adua and his cabinet members, by their conducts, are deliberately raping the 1999 Constitution of the Republic of Nigeria contrary to the Federal Government’s obligation to its citizens.
The non-governmental organisation cited the controversial signing of the 2009 Appropriation Bill and his inability to sign the 2010 Budget as part of the details of the wrongs being perpetrated by the Yar’Adua government.
SERAP seeks special session on Nigeria
In the petition dated January 3, 2010 and signed by SERAP’s Executive Director, Mr. Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation is consequently “urging the HRC to simultaneously hold a special session on the non-compliance by the Nigerian government with its obligations in relation to the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights.”
It also wanted the UN to consider its petition under the HRC new Complaint Procedure, established pursuant to Resolution 5/1 of the HRC, and General Assembly Resolution 60/251 of March 15, 2006.
The petition meets the requirements of the new Procedure and raises issues of importance justifying the holding of a special session on Nigeria.
According to the organisation, “President Yar’Adua’s absence from duty and his inability and failure to empower the Vice-President to act as president pursuant to Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, is obstructing the effective implementation of the 2009 Supplementary Budget and the 2010 budget.
“It also indicates a failure to invest the ‘maximum of available resources’ to realise economic and social rights and to meet core obligations regarding the rights to education, health, food, among others.
‘’At the beginning of 2010, retrogression in the realisation of these rights is apparent.”
“President Yar’Adua was flown to Saudi Arabia on November 23, 2009, for medical treatment, and to date the president has not returned to the country.
“President Yar’Adua reportedly signed the 2009 Supplementary Budget from his sick bed in Saudi Arabia. The National Assembly had in November passed the N353.6 billion supplementary budget, which includes a capital spending of about N253bn, out of which about N114bn was earmarked for the critical “post-amnesty intervention” programmes in the Niger Delta,” the organisation added.
Relying on Section 145 of the Constitution, the organisation also argued that “the President has so far failed and/or neglected to empower the Vice-President as required by the Constitution, thereby starving critical projects such as education and health important funds and precipitating unnecessary delay in addressing the deplorable conditions of our roads, and worsening the security situation in the Niger Delta.
”This situation is also undermining the effective utilisation of a $300million Word Bank (obtained from the International Development Association, an arm of the World Bank) facility for gas to meet the 6,000 Megawatts target.”
The organisation also argued that “Nigeria is a state-party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
“As such, the government has a legal responsibility to use the mechanism of the budget to allocate and spend maximum available resources to ensure the full enjoyment of the rights to health, education, food, water and housing by millions of Nigerians who continue to live in extreme poverty, with barely enough to eat.”
“This situation is worsening the government’s non-compliance with the fundamental principles of progressive realisation according to maximum available resources, prioritisation of minimum core obligations and the duty of non-discrimination.
”Millions of Nigerians remain extremely poor and lack access to basic economic and social rights. Nigerians have suffered and continue to suffer years of failed budgeting and implementation, a critical element of states’ obligations to fulfil economic and social rights,” the organisation stressed.
The organisation added that “the present situation in Nigeria is also contributing to the violation of the fundamental principle of non-discrimination and equality, which is essential to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.
Article 2 (2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Articles 1(3) and 55 of the UN Charter prohibit discrimination in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.
“Under international law, a failure to act in good faith to comply with the obligation in Article 2(2) to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the Covenant will be exercised without discrimination amounts to a violation.”
SERAP on Covenant rights
SERAP further argued that extreme poverty has resulted in pervasive discrimination, stigmatisation and negative stereotyping of millions of marginalised Nigerians, denying them access to the same quality of education and health care as others, as well as to public places.”
The organisation also said that, “Nigeria is obligated not only to refrain from discriminatory actions, but also to take concrete, deliberate and targeted measures to ensure that discrimination in the exercise of Covenant rights is eliminated.
‘’The Nigerian government has a responsibility to ensure that through its budgetary allocations, strategies, policies, and plans of action are in place and implemented in order to address discrimination in the area of the Covenant rights.”
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PHOTO: GOVERNOR BUKOLA SARAKI, CHAIRMAN OF THE GOVERNORS' FORUM.
Investigations has revealed that the Governors of the 36 states will meet on Tuesday to deliberate on the current health and continued absence of the ailing Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and its implications on their political lives should the military intervene.
Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua has been incapacitated for more than 40 days at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Jeddah for various complications resulting from Churg Strauss Syndrome and has refused to transfer power to the Vice President, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan.
The President’s refusal to formally notify the National Assembly of his hospitalization as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution has polarized the electorate that some talk of the possibility of a military coup de tat has started to gain credence.
Last week, the Governors Forum, a group consisting of all the governors, scheduled a meeting at the Kwara State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja but could not hold any deliberations because they couldn’t form a quorum apparently because of the sudden death and funeral of former first lady, Hajiya Maryam Babangida.
our sources gathered that top on the agenda for discussion at the Tuesday meeting will be the President’s continued illness, the lack of access to him or credible information on his health, the implications of his refusal to hand over to the Vice President and also the need to calm the country so that the probability of a military intervention is reduced to zero.
An inside source informed our sources that some governors intend to spell it out to their colleagues that they will not let the selfish actions of the President or a clique ruin their political careers as a result of a military intervention. Some of the governors we gather have already informed their respective members at the National Assembly to begin to make moves towards reviewing the relevant sections in the constitution to enable Vice President Goodluck Jonathan assume Presidential powers.
The list of people calling on the ailing President to either resign or temporarily hand over to the Vice President continues to grow by the day.
The National Assembly is expected to resume this week after the Christmas and New Year break. No one is certain whether the leadership of the National Assembly have had a change of heart considering they had blocked every attempt at debating the President’s absence on the floor of the house. Some legislators have openly criticized the President for heating up the polity over his refusal to hand over to Goodluck Jonathan.
The Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Femi Falana, and some politicians have gone to court to compel the ailing President to cede power. Falana particularly also wants the court to declare every action that the FEC has taken since the President’s hospitalization illegal.
On Wednesday, December 30, 2009, Eight Supreme Court Judges were absent at the controversial swearing-in of Nigeria’s new CJN, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu by Justice Idris Kutigi, who retired a couple of hours later. The NBA also stayed away from the ceremony calling it an “act of illegality.”
The alleged signing of the 2009 Supplementary Budget by the President on his hospital bed has drawn comments and criticisms from a wide range of audience. Many believe the President’s signature may have been forged by some desperados in his ‘kitchen cabinet’. There have been calls for the Presidency to show photo proof that the ailing President actually signed the document himself.
Forgery is a felony in Nigeria punishable by imprisonment under Chapter 44 section 467 of the Criminal Code Act of 1990 which states that:
“Any person who forges any document, writing, or seal, is guilty of an offence which, unless otherwise stated, is a felony, and he is liable, if no other punishment is provided, to imprisonment for three years.”
‘Punishment in special Cases’
(1) If the thing forged-
(a) Purports to be, or is intended by the offender to be understood to be or to be used as, the public seal of Nigeria or of any State of Nigeria or the great or privy seal of any country of the Commonwealth or under the protection of a Commonwealth country, or seal of the President, or a Governor of a State; or
(b) Is a document having on it or affixed to it any such seal, signet, or sign manual, or anything which purports to be, or is intended by the offender to be understood to be, any such seal, signet, or sign manual;
The offender is liable to imprisonment for life.”
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It has been revealed how Super Eagles striker, Obafemi Martins, extranvagantly squandered about N3.1 trillions while a player of Newcastle.MartinsadvertisementHis former management company, NVA Management Limited who has dragged the player to court over breach of contarct, told the jury how the player’s account almost went red because of his lifestyle.Obafemi Martins was paid £75,000, but allegedly squandered the earnings on an extravagant lifestyleA former Premiership footballer routinely blew his £75,000 a week wages in a matter of days and was constantly overdrawn, a court was told yesterday.Obafemi, ex-Newcastle striker 25, was paid the handsome salary after he joined the club for a £10million fee in August 2006.But despite his extraordinary earnings, his former management team yesterday claimed they repeatedly bailed him out after his bank account continually slipped into the red.The High Court heard that the Nigerian international player would withdraw £40,000 in cash from his bank account at the end of the week.But that would only last him two days, the court heard, as he topped up with a further £25,000 on the Monday morning.He was always overdrawn and repeatedly relied upon NVA Management Limited to ‘manage his life’, the High Court was told.Martins, who owned several fast cars including a top of the range Porsche 4X4, spent the money funding an extravagant lifestyle of luxurious penthouse homes and fine dining.He is now being sued by his former management company which claims that he still owes them 300,000 for sorting out his finances.He told the court that Martins would withdraw £40,000 for the weekend, followed by another £25,000 on the Monday.‘Despite earning these vast sums of money he was constantly overdrawn,’ added Mr Tennink.He said the firm, which looks after the affairs of several footballers, film and music stars, said that Martins had agreed to pay them for simply managing his life.It was under their stewardship that Martins agreed a £2million image rights deal ‘simply for being Mr Martins’.It’s claimed Martins was constantly overdrawn despite earning £75,000-a-weekHe also had lucrative sponsorship deals with various companies including Pepsi and Nike but had not been paid.When the company stepped in to run his affairs they sorted the unpaid contracts, bringing in thousands of pounds.They also organised visas when he travelled to Italy, where he once played for Inter Milan, and sorted out his passport, his mortgage and property valuations.They even arranged critical illness cover and were constantly running up and down the motorway from their London offices to Newcastle in a bid to do all that he required.‘But surely these were things a secretary could do?’ asked Judge Richard Seymour QC, referring to the size of fees charged.‘It was a Jeeves-type of role that they performed.’Mr Tennink protested that managing every aspect of his life was just part of what they did, and asked the judge to bear in mind the sort of figures these players earned.He said Martins had come to them in July 2007 and had agreed a fee of around £300,000 plus 20 per cent of any sponsorship monies they managed to acquire on his behalf.“He asked for these services to be carried out,” Mr Tennink told the court.Before they managed his affairs, Martins had not been paid a penny for his image rights for the use of his name on Newcastle shirts and mugs and had received nothing from his sponsorship deals.He could not even find the contracts he had originally signed, Mr Tennink added.Martins paid the company £67,500 in January last year and another £25,000 in April last year.But the question for the court to decide, said Mr Tennink, was whether there was a ‘binding obligation’ for him to pay the outstanding bill of over £300,000.After Newcastle were relegated from the Premiership last summer Martins was sold for £9million to German Bundesliga Champions Wolfsburg.Martins, who once owned a penthouse apartment overlooking Newcastle’s exclusive Quayside, is fighting the claim.The hearing is scheduled to last for three days.Read more…
The senate has confirmed the appointment of Arunma Oteh as the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Also confirmed on Thursday was the appointment of Ahmed Remi Makele as an Executive Commissioner (Legal & Compliance).
Both were nominated by President Umaru Yar’Adua in July this year and their names were forwarded to the senate for confirmation in accordance with the provisions of the Investment and Securities Act 2007.
Following the confirmation, Ms. Oteh will take over from Daisy Ikineh, who has been acting as the commission’s Director General since Musa Alfaki resigned from the position in April this year after he was allegedly implicated in the poor handling of the AP share manipulation saga.
During the screening exercise that preceded her confirmation, senators praised Ms Oteh’s resume. She was described as a “round peg in a round hole”.
“I think that for once we have made a choice based on qualification and not political inclinations,” Victor Ndoma-Egba (PDP Cross River State) said.
The new SEC bosses
Ms Oteh, 41, has over 16 years of capital market experience and is currently the Vice-President (Corporate Services) of the African Development Bank Group (ADB).
Before becoming the vice president of the ADB, she was the Bank’s Group Treasurer for 5 years (2001-2006) with overall responsibility for the Bank’s fund raising and investments in major international capital markets. She has worked variously in ADB as Division Manager Investments and Trading Room from 1997 to 2001, and Senior Investment Officer/Senior Capital Markets Officer from 1993 to 1997. Cumulatively, she has worked with ADB for over 16 years.
Before joining the ADB, the new SEC chief worked in corporate finance, consulting, teaching and research for several institutions, including the Harvard Institute for International Development, USA, and Centre Point Investments Limited Lagos, Nigeria.
She is on the board of a number of organisations, including the advisory board of the African Investor, as well as the International Financing Facility of Immunization (IFFIm), a charity organization.
Ms Oteh has an MBA from Harvard University, USA, and a First Class Honours Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She has received both a Harvard Fellowship Award and a National Merit Award.
Mr. Makele is presently the Associate Director, Legal Risk & Compliance of DTZ Group Holdings Plc, an international corporate finance and investment management company. He has also previously served as the Senior Manager, Regulation & Compliance at Royal Bank of Canada/Dexia Group – one of the World’s top 10 global custodians.
He has worked with other major UK legal and financial companies, as well as the UK Personal Investment Authority (now Financial Services Authority).
Mr. Makele has also consulted domestically for the Investment & Securities Tribunal (IST) and published papers on a number of domestic financial issues.
He is from Kogi State and has a Masters degree in Public International Law from University of Cambridge and BA Honours in Law from University of Sussex, United Kingdom.
He also has a diploma in Regulation and Compliance from the UK Securities & Investment institute and is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.
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Yevgeny Moskalev, a resident of Saint Petersburg, invented a technique that allows turning alcohol into powder. The good news is that the new technique allows doing it to any kind of alcohol, including whisky, cognac, wine and beer.
Yevgeny Moskalev, professor of Saint Petersburg Technological University, had his own reasons for the invention. In Soviet times, the scientist used to work for the defense industry and during perestroika he had to start freelancing.
“We made powder glues, worked with resins, and once we were asked to invent a device for capsulation. We assembled the device but the client never paid. We would have given up, but an accident helped us. One company had to capsulate water- and spirit- based extract of an animal medication. Animals do not like the smell of spirit and in a capsule form it could be added to their food. As a result, we developed a technology that allowed us to turn any solution into powder,” the scientist said.
The technology was tested on 96% spirit, and the know-how was patented. Moskalev learned to “can” ethanol drops into capsules. He does it by adding alcohol into melted wax in the process of mixing. Then the solution is dissipated, drops of wax harden and retain spirit molecules inside. This is how the idea of the experiment with Russian favorite drink was born. The powder version of vodka became popular since it was easier to carry and harder to break. “Dry” vodka can be wrapped in paper and carried around in a pocket or a bag. Vodka in a form of a pill would come handy at partiers when “consumers” would be able to calculate their exact required dosage. Yet, no vodka pills should be expected in near future.
“Unfortunately, spirit can be only retained in capsules made of stearic acid, so powdered vodka tastes like a candle. Generally, an unpleasant taste could be easily removed with flavoring agents. To be honest, I did not like vodka in pills. It is much better to eat it with a dessert spoon, although you can’t eat more than three or four spoons and the effect is weak. So, vodka is best consumed the old way,” the scientist explained.
Moskalev himself prefers the classic scheme – a shot glass and a pickle to chase it with. Yet, he understands that powdered alcohol could be interesting for bakers who have to use it for baked goods and ice cream all the time. The method can be also favored by pharmacists because it allows getting the exact dosage.
By the way
We already wrote that the British invented “carbonated vodka.” The process took them 18 months. This vodka is sold in Europe, so Russian tourists will be able to toast with sparkling vodka instead of champagne. However, they should be careful as the effect can surpass all expectations.
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Outrage and amazement are some of the emotions currently on display in Yola, Adamawa State, after the startling revelation contained in a letter addressed to a radio station in the state capital, Radio Gotel, by a lady who claimed to be an undergraduate of the Federal University of Technology Yola (FUTY).The lady, in the letter which was sent to the producer of the programme, "Heart to Heart", said she contracted the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) from her student boyfriend and has, in revenge, willfully slept with some 124 students and lecturers at the school.
The letter also contained the writer's threat to make public the names of those who have had sex with her "on the notice board." This has led to panic and spirited discussions among the male population in Yola, especially within the school community. The school's authorities, however, claim to be unaware of the letter, but promised to look into it.
The letter reads, in part: "I have a well-documented report of all those guys and lecturers who crossed my path, since I got infected with this deadly disease in the campus. So far, I have had 124 students and lecturers; out of these, only six (6) used condoms".
On a revenge mission
Continuing, she said in the letter, "I owe nobody an apology and am still on a spreading till I spread it no more."
The writer, who did not hide the trauma and disappointment she faced, explained in the letter that her first impulse upon the discovery of her HIV status was to take away her own life.
"I, however, did not confide my status to anyone until today (i.e the disclosure via the letter)," she said. "Since 2006, I promised myself that it's in the university I got it and here I will leave it. I have indeed lived to keep my promise.
"I was in year three when a student on his attachment in our school proposed for a relationship. He had all the qualities a woman would want in a man so I gave in. He told me all a girl would want to hear. In my innocence and naivety, I succumbed to his pressure to have sex with him. Consequently, I lost my virginity to him.
"After his placement, he reported for his final year and we still had contacts. I visited him on a number of occasions, I have even lost count the number of times I visited him. He was my first and only love and, therefore, hanged on every word he told me.
"My boyfriend later graduated and we lost contact until last month when his sister told me about his whereabouts. Before registration in the faculty of science, I went for medical test as is the requirement. I then opted for an HIV/AIDS test, which unfortunately turned out to be positive.
"It then dawned on me that I have traded the rest of my life for a university student who had deliberately and intentionally preyed on my innocence".
Danger of casual sex
A medical worker, who gave her name as Agnes, said the only lesson from the letter is that people should be careful about casual sex.
"Whatever you think, it is a fact that casual sex is very popular and for a lot of people, it's something that either satisfies a desire or serves a purpose," she said. "It is, therefore, an issue that affects many young people today, as they patronise casual sex under the various terms like ‘No strings attached' and ‘the one night stands' culture gaining foothold in our social life."
According to the United Nations AIDs agency, a vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in lower and middle-income countries. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are25.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on November 19, 2009 at 8:48pm
Warning some photos may not be pleasant to the eye .
Scramble for 404 meat as vehicle with 500 dogs crashes
When an articulated vehicle from the north loaded with about 500 dogs crashed at the main entrance to Calabar, residents of Ikot Effanga Mkpa gleefully helped themselves to free dog meat but the traders are still ruing the losses incurred.
Dog meat is a delicacy in Calabar. It is eaten by both sexes and is easily used to woo a woman. But it is expensive as dogs are brought into the state from the northern parts of the country.
The lorry was almost at its destination, when it was involved in an accident along the Murtala Mohammed Highway near the main gate of "Welcome To Calabar" and somersaulted, upturning the dogs on the road and killing 200, while others sustained life-threatening injuries.
Apart from the dogs, other passengers in the vehicle also sustained injuries in the accident believed to have been caused by loss of concentration by the driver who obviously was tired following the long journey.
When the accident happened, the residents of the area and passerby were attracted to the scene only to have their attention diverted by the dead dogs by dragging them away as if in competition. Some ran home and came back for more.
One of the passengers of the ill-fated lorry who simply identified himself as Bassey wondered why the accident should occur at the main gate to Calabar after travelling over 1000 kilometers from the north.
Mr. Bassey nevertheless thanked God that none of the passengers died in the accident like their cargoes and described the rush for body parts of the dead dogs by some of the onlookers as unsympathetic and unbecoming of the people of Calabar.
‘Don't eat dogs'
But a medical doctor with the General Hospital Calabar, Edet O. Edet, said it was not hygienic for people to eat meat mangled as a result of accident and which flies had perched on for some hours.
Though not a veterinary doctor, Mr. Edet explained that meat not from a slaughter house was not fit for human consumption as animals killed there are certified healthy for consumption before being killed.
"In the first place, dogs ought not to be eaten," Mr. Edet said.
"Have you seen a slaughter house for dogs? Besides, these dogs were caught from the northern parts of the country and taken to where they are considered a delicacy. And without any examination by a veterinary staff, they are slaughtered for human consumption", Mr. Edet said.
Mr. Edet added that dogs killed under such circumstances emit toxic chemicals that are harmful to human health and attributed the rush for dogs involved in a motor accident to poverty and called for a sensitization campaign on the effect of such meat.
But opinion sampled from some residents of Calabar differed from that of the medical doctor. They said there was nothing harmful in dog meat as dogs are slaughtered unlike some animals that are strangled in the bush after being caught by the traps set for them.
In the city, dog is carefully prepared and spiced with some vegetable that gives the meat a tempting aroma. In Calabar, it is common to see joints with sign boards reading: "Plantain plus 404 ready". This combination is washed down with palm wine.
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Hundreds of lives would have been lost yesterday in a near collision of aircraft when the communication and radar system of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) broke down, leaving a dozen aircraft hovering in the air for several hours at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
Ethiopian Airlines, carrying 180 passengers on its way to Lagos from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, demanded emergency landing when its aircraft was running out of fuel as it hovered for several hours, waiting to be directed to land by the Air Traffic Controllers at the airport.
Also, a Qatar Airways aircraft with about 190 passengers also requested precautionary landing at about 2.30 pm after hovering for a long time as the aircraft was exhausting its fuel.
THISDAY investigations revealed that both communication and radar systems of NAMA were down at the airport and the controllers could not direct aircraft to land, which led to a crowded airspace – a critical safety situation.
With the near crash situation, other aircraft in the airspace had to give way for Ethiopian Airlines to land.
One of the pilots of the aircraft that hovered at the time told THISDAY that there was a point it became unsafe to remain at the airspace around Lagos and he requested to divert his aircraft to another airport.
Almost all other aircraft had lost so much fuel because they had all waited for more than two hours.
“We waited for hours and there was a time there were more than 15 aircraft in the airspace, which was risky, so I requested that I wanted to divert my aircraft to another airport. Already, our fuel for the flight had finished. We were waiting on endurance fuel,” the pilot said.
The Director-General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr Harold Demuren, acknowledged the incident and said he did not have the details yet but he had directed his officials to investigate.
The pilot also told THISDAY that the safety consequence of the incident was that there were so many “air misses” (near collision) of aircraft as many of them converged on the same flight level.
“The long hours spent hovering exhausted the fuel of almost all the aircraft and because we were all converging almost on the same level it gave rise to many air misses, so many lives would have been lost if there were crashes,” he said.
The pilot said NAMA should have contingency plan whenever the radar fails, so that this kind of incident would not happen again.
“What happened today exposed the danger of not well-managed airspace; there would have been at least a collision and you know the consequence of that, but when the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft declared emergency so we had to allow it to land otherwise it would have crashed,” the pilot told THISDAY.
The radar in Lagos has just been installed as part of the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) project, which went on stream a few months ago. Analysts found it surprising that it could break down so soon.
But THISDAY learnt from a NAMA official that power outage aborted the operations of the agency in Lagos and this lasted for several hours as there was no immediate alternative power source.
Although the agency has about two generators at the MMIA, Lagos, for three hours yesterday none was working when the public power supply from Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was cut off.
THISDAY also learnt that since August this year the agency had been powering its facilities in all the airports in the country.
“This is why we said that the airlines should pay us all the charges they owe us because we need the money to provide them service,” the source said.
The Secretary-General of African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Nick Fadugba, had warned of the danger of allowing airlines to hover around the Lagos airspace waiting with the poor communication and radar system in the Nigeria, noting that it is tantamount to endangering people’s lives.
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Posted by Politics X on October 29, 2009 at 6:46pm
Oil major, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, said it is cutting 5,000 jobs to deal with the harsh economic environment.The cut is part of a larger "Transition 2009" restructuring programme. It envisages that 10 per cent of the company's 102,500 global workforce will be affected."We continue to focus on improving our competitive cost position, simplifying Shell, and increasing personal accountabilities. The Transition 2009 programme, which I announced earlier this year, is progressing well, and will be completed by the end of 2009. Some 5,000 employees are leaving Shell as a result of these changes. This represents around 10 per cent reduction in employees in the redesigned divisions and corporate functions," Peter Voser, Shell's new chief executive said in a statement on the company's website.Peter Voser Shell's new CEOImpact on Nigerian personnelBut it still remains unclear how much the job cuts will affect Shell Nigeria operations. Shell spokesperson in the country was yet to respond to enquiries about the impact of this on the local workforce as at press time.More than a thousand Shell workers in Nigeria have lost their jobs since the violence orchestrated by militants against the oil industry escalated in 2006. The company is worst hit by the militants' assault. The oil giant's onshore output currently stands at 120,000 barrels per day, down from about 300,000 barrels per day before the violence increased in the Niger Delta.Global operationsThe Anglo-Dutch oil giant reported that its quarterly profit fell sharply, and warns that the outlook remains "very uncertain".The company said profit for the three months to September, fell 73 per cent to $3 billion compared to $8.45 billion in the same period of last year.Shell said its oil and gas production for the third quarter was 2.9 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, similar to the same quarter last year.Excluding one-off and non-cash items, the result was $2.62 billion, slightly ahead of an average forecast of $2.55 billion according a Reuters poll of eight analysts."We see some indications that energy demand and pricing are improving, but the outlook remains very uncertain, and we are not expecting a quick recovery," Mr. Voser said on Thursday, in a statement.The results and pessimistic outlook contrast with third quarter earnings from London-based international oil company, BP Plc, which smashed forecasts by 50 per cent, lifting sector shares on Tuesday, on hopes the industry would weather the economic slump better than expected.They also follow renewed fears the global economic recovery may be more protracted than some had thought, a factor which weighed on crude prices on Thursday.Shell's London-listed A shares traded down 3.0 per cent at 1,853 pence early Thursday, while Eni's shares dropped 3.1 per cent to 17.02 Euros against a 1.0 per cent drop in the DJ Stoxx European oil and gas sector index.The same for EniItalian oil giant, Eni, also warned of a slow recovery, highlighting weak energy demand and operational challenges, as their profits slumped.The Milan-based Eni predicted European demand for natural gas and fuels will continue to shrink, and said it is cutting its production target for the year.Eni's third-quarter adjusted net profit, which also strips out inventory gains and non-operating items, fell 60.5 per cent to 1.15 billion Euros.
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WORLD football governing body, FIFA, may penalise the Royal Dutch Football Association following its U-17 team's unlawful act at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu after their 0-1 loss to Iran in the last game of Group C.advertisementThe Guardian learnt that in protest over the way the referee handled the game, a Dutch player with an official of the team went on rampage, breaking one of the windows at the stadium as FIFA officials watched in amazement. The FIFA official eventually called his colleagues to take photographs of the scene for onward report to the centre's FIFA co-ordinator.The official confirmed to The Guardian that violence was been preached against in football, wondering why it should be extended to a youth championship. Though the head of the Netherlands delegation, Piet Hubers, regretted the act, he nonetheless condemned the away the Guatemalan referee handled the match that sent his team out of the competition.Meanwhile, having been eliminated from the championship, the Netherlands officials are in dare need of buyers who would pay for the large quantity of food items they brought for the games. It will be recalled that the Dutch came in with preserved food items such as meat, fish, beverages, tomato pastas, fruits, cartons of indomie, spaghetti, fruit drinks and chocolate cheese, as well as a cook.An official of the team confirmed that they would want to dispose off the food items to recover some of the money they had spent in bringing them to the country. He added that it would make no sense going back to their country with the items.It was further understood that the officials had reached agreement with the management of Nike Lake Resort, Enugu, where the team camped, as well as the officials of the Turkish team, who would be playing their second round match in Enugu tomorrow, for the purchase of the items.An official of the Turkish team told The Guardian at the Nike Lake Resort that the items would be shared between his team and the hotel, stressing that they would require more food items since they did not envisage moving beyond the first round of the championship.
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Posted by Jane Okinedo on October 24, 2009 at 1:30am
ABOUT 58 Nigerians were yesterday morning deported from Dublin, Republic of Ireland.ADVERTISEMENTThe deportees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos aboard an Air Italy chartered flight with registration number 1924.Italian law enforcement agents accompanied the deportees on board the aircraft, which landed at the airport at 05.25 hours.Immigration sources said of the 58 deportees, 28 were males while 12 were women. The rest were children.The deportees allegedly committed immigration offences in the foreign country.Most of them were let go by Nigerian law enforcement agents, who received them at the airport, as they were not found guilty of any offence.Over 3,000 Nigerians have been deported from various countries in the last three months.Yesterday's deportation came a few days after 734 Nigerians were returned from Libya by the Muammar Gaddafi-led government.On September 27, 2009, Libya deported 150 Nigerians all males aboard aircraft with registration number SUBME.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on October 24, 2009 at 12:49am
The foreign media has been rightly accused of always blowing our ugly sides out of proportion while conveniently keeping mum on our good sides. Any time you hear the name Nigeria mentioned in any foreign media, especially CNN, chances are that it will be in the negative. Most times, even a good story about Nigeria is ended with one negative comment or the other.
But in the last few weeks, some young Nigerians were featured in great light to the delight of those who truly love Nigeria. First it was Nigeria’s actress Genevieve Nnaji that was featured on the high-profile The Oprah Winfrey Show. Then it was the award-winning novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie that was featured on CNN’s as the Connector of the Day.
Oprah Winfrey featured Genevieve as one of the Most Famous People in the World. Hate her or love her, Oprah Winfrey is the presenter of the show that is acknowledged as the highest-rated programme of its kind in living history. She is also rated as the most influential woman in the world. Any book she talks about on her programme becomes a bestseller. She was one of those who called on Barack Obama to run for president when he was just a fresh Senator, and was said to have delivered over a million votes to Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic Party’ primaries.
Unconfirmed reports also have it that she said a few years ago that Nigeria is a nation of fraudsters.
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Also given that the world of most United States ’ citizens starts with the U.S. , touches some part of Europe and ends with Asia , it was pleasantly surprising for Oprah to add a Nigerian lady on that list. That was good public relations for the country, no matter how small it was.
Then last week, CNN featured Chimamanda Adichie as the Connector of the Day on Becky Anderson’s Connect the World. All the questions asked were mainly about Nigeria. In addition to all the awards she had previously won through her two novels Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun, Adichie was recently awarded one of this year’s MacArthur Foundation fellowships, popularly known as “genius grants”, which come with an obligation-free annual grant of $100,000 for a five-year period. That award was highlighted in that interview. The good thing about that interview was that it was part of the international news bulletin, rather than the Africa-focused programmes: Inside Africa and African Voices.
There are a few points to note about these positive achievements recorded by these Nigerians. The first is that none of them is a politician or a government official. Secondly, they are both women. Thirdly, they are of the same generation (the under-40 generation). Fourthly, they were both born and bred at home (in Igboland) before they got international fame.
This goes to prove that even in this unfriendly environment, one can rise to international acclaim. It is also a pointer to the fact that Nigerians as a people are winners in whatever field they may find themselves. They are very intelligent, skilful, resourceful and diligent. It is therefore ironic that while Nigeria as a nation is always rated lowly in all world rankings, her citizens are rated highly in whatever competition they participate in.
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Posted by 9jabook.com on November 5, 2009 at 8:00pm
More outrage greets Ojukwu’s war threat
BY OUR REPORTER
More Nigerians have continued to express their disgust over the comment credited to Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu that there would be war in the country if the Appeal Court rules in favour of Andy Uba.
Uba, the 2007 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had approached the court to seek a validation of the mandate handed to him in the April 14, 2007 election on the strength of which he was sworn in as the governor of Anambra State. Ruling on the matter has been reserved for today.
Ojukwu, who was the presidential flagbearer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2007 election, had, in what many had criticised as potentially treasonable and threat to national peace, warned the court not to grant the petition of Uba.
The threat had since sparked off a flurry of open rebuke from eminent Nigerians, particularly sons and daughters of Anambra who feared such remark from a man who spearheaded a civil war in the country that claimed millions of lives was capable of inciting the public and consequently create an atmosphere of chaos to undermine the democratic process. advertisement
The latest of such rebuke came yesterday from Anambra True Democrats (ATD), a group of progressives from across the various political parties in the state. In a statement signed by its National Co-ordinator, Chief Bernard Odenigbo, the group said it was riled by the chants of war from the man who allowed his ego and personal ambition to rule his head and in the process dragged the Igbo people into war against a country their sons and daughters laboured so hard to build.
The group also warned those who predicted that victory for Andy Uba would create constitutional crisis to have a rethink, stressing that Nigerians should start imbibing the virtue of respecting judgement of courts even when it hurts them. “To say that victory for Uba would create constitutional crisis is tantamount to judicial ambush and intimidation and we urge the court to do what it considers the right thing. In any sane society, the law is not interpreted to suit the caprice of an individual or group of individuals who think they have the machinery for propaganda; the law is as spelt out by the court of law. To do otherwise, amounts to judicial thuggery and this is what Ojukwu and his tribe of war-mongers and violence brewers are trying to do. We condemn it,” the statement said.
“The case of Anambra is very tricky because politicians of lewd moral values have succeeded in fouling up the environment. It is, therefore, in the interest of Anambra people that a bit of judicial activism is deployed to stave off the crisis which the likes of Ojukwu and a few other politicians in the state are plotting to forment during the February 6, 2010 governorship election. We believe the judiciary can help clean up the mess by giving the judgement that is both expedient and logical,” the statement said.
In a veiled response to the Soludo Campaign Organisation and the Coalition of Human Rights Organisations in Anambra State, the group said as true democrats we have no choice but to obey the decision of the court, adding that it was the same court of law that made Peter Obi governor.
“If Peter Obi became governor on the strength of pronouncement by a court, why can’t the same Peter Obi and his supporters believe in the ruling of the same court of law when it hurts them? “Selective obedience to the ruling of a court is not acceptable to the people of Anambra State and to all true democrats in the country”, the statement said
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True to its vow at a world press conference held in Lagos on July 14, the coalition of major associations in the Nigerian music industry has begun the mobilization of stakeholders throughout the country for the commencement of an indefinite mass hunger strike to draw the attention of the world to the intolerable amount of piracy that is devastating the music industry in Nigeria. The mass hunger strike is planned to commence on August 25. As a prelude to the strike, there will be an important rally of stakeholders in the Nigerian music industry at the premises of the National Theatre, Lagos at 10.00am on August 25. The rally will offer an opportunity to artistes and investors across the industry to network and devise strategies to frontally attacking the piracy scourge that is plundering the Nigerian entertainment industry.Further to the hunger strike, the coalition has resolved that a powerful delegation of industry stakeholders will proceed to the National Assembly in Abuja on September 1 to express the frustration of the industry over the lukewarm and ineffective attitude of the government to attacking the piracy cancer that is fast eating away the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of Nigerians and destroying the Nation’s image. The coalition is also requesting all broadcast organizations in the country to show solidarity with the plight of the Nigerian entertainment industry by observing September 1, 2009 as “NO MUSIC DAY”. Consequently, broadcasting stations across Nigeria are requested not to broadcast music between the hours of 6 am and 6 pm on September 1. Artistes across the country are also requested not to engage in any musical performance on “NO MUSIC DAY”It will be recalled that at the Press Conference held at Protea Hotel, Ikeja on July 14, the coalition had called on President Yar’ Adua to declare a State of Emergency with respect to the fight against piracy in Nigeria and to muster the necessary resources to eradicate the monster. The coalition had also called on the President to take the following specific actions:-1. Set up a Governing Board made up of Nigerians of proven commitment and integrity to design and supervise the activities of the Nigerian Copyright Commission in accordance with the Nigerian Copyright Act as the records show that for more than five years, the Nigerian Copyright Commission has only had a Board for a period of a few months in 2005.2. Direct the Nigerian Copyright Commission to immediately put on hold the process of approval of any new copyright collective management organization pending the IMMEDIATE convening of a stake holders conference on Collective Management to ensure that the process receives input from the stakeholders that will earn any organization emerging from the process the support of the industry.3. Direct the Inspector General of Police to serve a warning to the traders at Alaba International Market in Lagos, the world’s biggest hotbed of piracy, that if within a specified period the traders do not clean up the market, the government will shut Alaba market down.At the massively attended Press Conference, the coalition had noted that whatever efforts made so far to fight piracy in Nigeria had failed and rather than piracy being controlled or reduced in Nigeria, it was ravaging an entire generation of creative people. The coalition also warned that in desperation, practitioners in the Nigerian entertainment industry may soon be forced to take the laws into their hands in a desperate attempt to safeguard their investment and this may result in otherwise avoidable bloodshed.The coalition made up of Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Nigerian Association of Recording Industries (NARI), Performing & Mechanical Rights Society Ltd/Gte (PMRS), Association of Music Business Professionals (AM.B-Pro), Music Label Owners & Recording Industries Association of Nigeria (MORAN), Music Label Owners Association of Nigeria (MULOAN), Gramophone Records & Cassette Dealers (AGRECD), Music Advertisers Association Of Nigeria (MAAN). Audio /Video CD Sellers Association of Nigeria (AVCDSAN) also reminded the government that Nigeria may face sanctions from the international community because of the glaring failure to meet the nation’s obligations under the different conventions and treaties signed by our country to protect intellectual property rights of citizens of other nations which are wantonly infringed upon in Nigeria alongside those of Nigerian nationals.All artistes in music film, comedy, drama, literary works and all friends of the entertainment industry are invited to storm the historic rally at the National Theatre Lagos on Tuesday August 25 at 10 amEfe OmorogbeFor: The Nigerian Music Industry Coalition
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Lawmakers are going for the jugular of Education Minister, Sam Egwu, 48 hours after the Trade Union Congress (TUC) demanded his sack for the shoddy way he has handled the strike by university lecturers.
Members of the House of Representatives crafted a motion on Monday, to be tabled at plenary this week, to probe his alleged spending of N120 million to celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary.
All the heads of tertiary institutions who participated in the lavish gig will also be investigated.
The motion, sponsored by Halims Agoda, wants a mandate for the Education Committee to inquire into the sources of the N120 million.
It also wants the Committee to probe the sources of funds "used by university administrators, Provosts of colleges of education, Rectors of polytechnics and heads of parastatals of the ministry of education who attended the wedding anniversary in terms of expenses on transportation, travelling basic allowances, and other logistics, including media coverage, and recommend appropriate action to the House of Representatives."
The motion demands "an immediate and an unconditional public apology from Egwu to university students and their parents and guardians for conducting himself in a manner suggestive of disregard for the current plight of students."
It asked lawmakers to call on President Umaru Yar'Adua to "re-engineer his cabinet in order to give purposeful leadership to the country by cautioning his appointees whose conduct, actions or inactions portend a frontal onslaught on the sensibilities of the Nigerian people."
The motion noted that Egwu ought to proffer immediate and workable solutions to the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) now threatening the survival of the university system.
It lamented that "without due regard to this basic fundamental of (his) responsibility, (Egwu), in a brazen show of contempt, insensitivity and a breach of acceptable social values, rather than get himself concerned with and involved in getting our universities re-opened, felt that it would serve greater public interest to tell Nigerians that his marriage is 25 years old with lavish celebrations."
Egwu had argued at the weekend that take it or leave it, the government has conceded enough, and shot down further demands by university lecturers who have been on strike since June 22.
Both TUC President General, Peter Esele, and General Secretary, John Kolawole, reacted on Sunday by saying that "the latest utterances from Egwu are a pointer that he is not capable to lead the education sector. We therefore call on the government for his immediate removal or face the wrath of Labour."
The ASUU itself on Monday accused the Federal Government of insincerity, despite its offer of 40 per cent increase in the salary of lecturers.
ASUU National President, Ukachukwu Awuzie, told journalists in Abuja that the lecturers are not in a hurry to end the strike, saying the government has abandoned agreements reached in negotiations.
His words: "You must have also heard the Minister of Labour, Hassan Mohammed Lawal, unilaterally pronouncing dead the ASUU-FG negotiation process that had reached its conclusion stage.
"(Lawal) declared strangely that those academics who left Nigeria for foreign countries did so, not because of lack of attractive conditions of service, but because they did not love their country."
ASUU Chairman at the University of Ibadan (UI), Abiodun Aremu, also accused the government of insincerity, and urged the public not to take Abuja seriously.
''ASUU has only one demand, which is for the government to sign an agreement we both freely reached as far back as last year. It is just engaging in mere propaganda and we are not moved," he said.
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A NEW dimension was added to the armed struggle of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) last Sunday night extended its theatre of battle to Lagos, Nigeria's commercial nerve centre, with an attack on an offloading jetty gantry and Naval base that left about nine people dead and property damaged.Destroyed Receptor pipeline for refined petroleum products at the Atlas Cove Jetty which is responsible for 35% of the nations daily consumption of petroleum products by MENDAn unconfirmed report said three three Naval personnel-an officer and two ratings- as well as six civilians lost their lives.The Guardian gathered that MEND used dynamite in the operation which also left Naval offices shattered and windows smashed.It was also learnt that the incident which occurred at about 8.00 p.m. affected the main manifold of the Atlas Cove jetty gantry used for offloading of imported petroleum products as well as vessel onsite.The militants were said to have come in three speed boats and after about an hour gun battle, they wreaked the havoc on the oil receptor facilities as well as the Naval office at Lagos Naval dockyard.A statement by MEND's spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, said: "A boardroom or creek battle of epic proportion which will either emancipate the Niger Delta from over 50 years of tyranny or subject her to perpetual slavery was flagged off tonight by Hurricane Moses with a plague of warning attacks."Led by a pillar of fire, heavily armed MEND fighters today, Sunday, July 12, 2009 at about 2230 Hrs carried out an unprecedented attack on the Atlas Cove Jetty in Lagos State. The depot and loading tankers moored at the facility are currently on fire."The two-pronged approach of combining dialogue and intensifying attacks throughout the course of negotiations, will be the unique characteristics of Moses."The Aaron team that will be put together after due consultations with stake holders from around the globe, militant commanders and Henry Okah, will present the time framed demands of the Niger Delta region to the President through the Timi Alaibe-led Federal Government of Nigeria delegation."MEND will as usual update the public on the progress being made as well as plagues being delivered."We want to assure our people and well wishers that we will not sell our birth right for a bowl of porridge because we are not committed to anyone but the people of the Niger Delta"The mother of all plagues will be used as a last resort if the Nigerian Pharaohs show stubbornness over reasoning just as Moses did with the plague on the firstborn in ancient Egypt and the Americans with the plague of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki."We sincerely hope for the sake of avoiding a total calamity that Egypt will not harden its heart and the exodus of our people to the promised land can commence as soon as possible."God save Nigeria. God bless the Niger Delta. God bless our Freedom Fighters."Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) officials who visited the scene of the incident yesterday morning told The Guardian that oil operations have been suspended at the Atlas Cove Jetty/Depot as activities for receiving petroleum products have been shifted to Apapa depot."We cannot pump fuel to our other depot now; it is also not possible to receive fuel through Atlas Cove jetty because of destruction to the main mani-fold... we have directed other import vessels to Apapa jetty," an NNPC source said.
The Guardian learnt that one of the security men at the jetty is missing.The NNPC official who spoke on the basis of anonymity said a vessel was discharging fuel into the Atlas Cove Depot when the incident occurred.Speaking with reporters at the scene yesterday, the NNPC's Group Managing Director, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, said that it was unfortunate that militant groups have shifted their activities to the onshore sector of the nation's petroleum industry.He explained that the attack on the NNPC facility would not stall the distribution of petroleum products nationwide, assuring that the corporation has enough stock of products.He said that this was the first time in the history of Atlas Cove that an attack of such a magnitude occurred.He said that the workers of the corporation were moved to Bonny Camp for safety.His words: "Last night at about 11.50 pm, we were contacted in Calabar, where we have converged with our management staff in the management's retreat on the way forward with the industry reforms. And shortly after dinner, we got an alarm call from our colleagues here in Atlas Cove that some unfortunate incident was going on at that time. And of course, we immediately began to get in touch with authorities including the Chief of Naval Staff, the NPA, Lagos State Government and other agencies for them to arrange for a rapid response, first of all, to save lives of our staff who are on duty and other military personnel particularly the Navy, and the security of this facility which is more or less one of the key sources of supply and distribution of petroleum products in the country."Reports reaching us up to the wee hours of this morning were that the staff of NNPC who were on duty were safely evacuated to Bonny Camp Military Mess. No live was lost; we thank God for that. And the fire itself at the facility was finally put off around 4:10 am."Fellow comrades and countrymen, as far as we are concerned, this is the first time that this type of incident has happened in Atlas Cove and its environment. Therefore, literally, almost everybody concerned was taken by a big surprise, because this facility has been secured on 24 hours basis, seven days a week, we have never had any incident. We have had excellent relations with the surrounding community here who have been extremely helpful to us as a corporation. But it is unfortunate that this incident has happened. I therefore would like to use this opportunity to condole (with) our Chief of Naval Staff for the loss of his gallant personnel."In his own remarks, the Chief of Naval Staff, Ishaya Ibrahim, said that the attack was a surprise to him, pledging that security at the jetty would be strengthened to protect the facility.He noted that the oil and gas sector was the economic energy of the nation, stressing that the militants should graciously receive the amnesty offered to them by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.Ibrahim, however, said the Navy lost two men.The leader of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc Vessel team that put out the fire yesterday, Captain Geofrey Boukoru, told The Guardian that five burnt bodies were found at the scene.He explained that the attackers may have over-powered the securitymen at the depot and gained access to the place adding that his team were able to control the fire.The captain said his men arrived at the scene at 10pm about two hours after the attack.Also commenting after assessing the damage yesterday, the Executive Secretary, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr.Obafemi Lawore, described the development has several implications for the petroleum downstream activities and the economy as a whole.According to him, with this attack getting foreign vessel to bring fuel imported by either the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and MOMAN will be difficult adding that this may also affect adequate fuel supply to domestic markets saying he would not be surprise if Nigeria would not go through lingering scarcity before the situation is stabilised.Lawore disclosed that MOMAN will seek a meeting of key stakeholders in fuel distribution including NNPC,depot owners and the government to design measures aimed at safe guarding oil/depot facilities in Apapa area of Lagos.Also speaking yesterday,Managing Director and Chief Executive of Capital Oil and Gas company limited Mr.Ifeanyi Patrick Ubah said the development does not augur well for private depot owners operation in the area.Ubah said there will be urgent need for the private depot owners and other stakeholders to meet and adopt security measures to check unforseen incidents around their depots or oil facilities.Atlas Cove located on Takwa Bay area of Lagos hosts the foremost oil receptor and depot for all imported fuel into the country as well as products from the refineries meant for South West market including parts of North Central of the country.The Atlas Cove jetty is the hub of NNPC distribution network tagged system 2E which supplies products through pipeline network to NNPC's depots in Ejigbo, Mosimi in Ogun , Ibadan in Oyo State and Ilorin in Kwara State.The 2E distribution network also connects Ore depot in Ondo State."We are aware of the attack on the Atlas Cove Jetty but the details are still sketchy. But we must say that the MEND has exaggerated in its statement," a naval spokesman, Captain Henry Babalola, told AFP."We have heard of the attack but we are trying to get facts surrounding it," Lagos State police spokesman, Frank Mba was quoted to have said.The violence has forced Royal Dutch Shell, U.S. oil company Chevron and Italy's Agip to shut in crude oil production estimated at over 1.3million barrels per day.Within Shell operations alone,MEND attacked the EA field in February 2006 which has capacity for 115,000 barrels per day. In June 2008 Bonga offshore facility was attacked ,the Offshore vessel has capacity for 225,000 barrels production and can store two million barrels of oil.Other attacks on Shell operations include Utorogu-Ups trunk line in January 2009,Amukpe-Rapele manifold also in January,Trans-Escravos-Forcados River manifold in February,Trans-Forcados Pipeline(Chanomi Creek) manifold and Trans Ramos Pipeline both in June 2009.Chevron and Agip have also had their own share of the attacks.President Umaru Yar'Adua has offered a 60-day amnesty programme to militants and criminals in hope of restoring peace to the region.
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In Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Abia State, the situation is becoming one day one trouble. In the city, bad tales are everywhere and people are living in fear: The fear of kidnappers and armed robbers. Also, there is the fear of the vigilance group in the city, the Bakassi Boys, which is now the terror in the city.Governor OrjiIndeed, in Aba, the fear of Bakassi Boys is now the beginning of wisdom.People are arrested by supposed operatives of the vigilance group, tortured and even killed. People who are going home in the night are at the risk of being killed. And dead bodies now litter the streets.sources gathered that Bakassi Boys, who claim to be ridding the city of criminals, are on the prowl again. Like in the time past, when Bakassi Boys terrorized Abia, to the extent that the police high command took action against the group, terror has returned. Criminals are being killed by Bakassi Boys as well as innocent people.One commercial driver painted the picture of what is going on in Aba. He said that the bodies of victims of Bakassi Boys assaulted the sensibilities of residents.He said: “Last week, we came to work to see the bodies of two young men whose throats were slashed like goats and their bodies dumped near the road at York Street. We later heard that the boys were caught by Bakassi Boys smoking Indian hemp and killed. They were killed in the most cruel and barbaric way. Their throats were slit as goats and their bodies dumped in the street.”Indeed, some residents say they can no longer differentiate between the real and fake Bakassi Boys as well as other killers. These days, people are abducted in broad day light by men who claim to be Bakassi Boys only to be found the following day stone dead in a street corner. Others are also snatched by criminals.Recently, in the Ogbor Hill area of Aba, a child was abducted from a church, during service, by unknown persons and the little boy’s body was found two days later with all his vital organs gone.Residents told sources that people are now using Bakassi Boys to settle scores. It was gathered that when people have squabbles, they invite operatives of the group. Also, people now use the vigilance group operatives to collect debts, wherein the debtor is arrested, tortured and stands the risk of being killed.However, there is also the fear of kidnappers and sundry criminals in Aba. It is common, in Aba, for kidnappers to abduct their victims in the day and at night and thereafter demand ransom. In the city, kidnapping is big business. The big time kidnappers go after rich and influential people and draw huge ransom. The small or local kidnappers go for children of their neighbours and demand ransom as little as N10,000.The police in Abia State police, with all their efforts, seem to be scratching the back of the problem. Bakassi Boys and criminals do not fear the police. They operate freely without resistance. In the last couple of days, the police suffered several casualties in the hands of unknown killers in Aba.The Abia State Commander of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Mrs. Florence Dan Archibong, brought a new angle to the menace. She said that the use of drugs had led to upsurge in violent crimes, such as armed robbery and kidnapping.“Cocaine and heroin have become common drugs of abuse with arrests and seizure recorded everywhere in and outside the metropolis. New drug joints are springing up, where criminal activities are planned, perfected and executed. Some streets in Aba, such as York and Park roads have become a no-go area for decent law abiding residents of Aba, as unscrupulous miscreants have turned them into ghettos and haven for hard drugs,” she said.Mrs. Archibong said that criminals take these drugs in whatever form only to go out and unleash terror on innocent people.Incidentally, this is not what it used to be in Aba. In the time past, Aba and its residents were known for courage. Then residents of Aba would rise up in unison to end anything they consider bad. It was the days of men of valour.Now, times have changed. Fear now rules the commercial city and its residents. Gone are the days when men walk the streets of Aba, with safety in mind. Gone are the days when men leave their homes and tell their families to expect them. Insecurity has taken over the town, to the extent that anyone who goes out and comes back safely offers special prayers to God.In Aba, gun shots boom day and night. It’s either that dare-devils are striking or that security agents and vigilance groups are responding. Whichever one it is, there are always casualties. Dead bodies litter the streets and nobody explains what happens.This life of fear was not there in Aba until 2000. Decades ago, Aba was a place of fun. It was a city where people enjoyed themselves. Then Aba residents followed fashion, they wore clothes that were in vogue and attended disco parties. Such hotels as Ambassador and Unicoco, among many others, hosted live bands, which played till dawn and fun seekers paraded the streets in the night without fear. In these hotels, The Apostle, Sweet Breeze, Cloud 7, The Wings, entertained people.
At that time, Aba never tolerated crimes and evil. Criminals got instant justice. And the mob did not forgive.Today, things have changed. Aba is now the centre of crimes. Residents have been cowed by criminals that nobody dares say anything about an obvious wrong. Indeed, the fear that has enveloped Aba residents is like a thick darkness and it makes men and women jittery. It is the type of fear that made shoe makers of Aba to form a vigilance group called Bakassi Boys, to flush out those who were molesting their customers, especially those from neighbouring West African countries. It is the type of fear that made Onitsha people of the 1970s to rise up in an operation tagged boys oye, which enabled them to flush out bad eggs among them.
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