Pastor arrested for raping 14-year-old stepdaughter

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 42-year-old cleric, Pastor Chidiebere Ikpa, for allegedly raping his stepdaughter, Ngozi (pseudonym), in the Surulere area of the state.

Ikpa, who denied the allegation, told Journalist that it was a neighbour, whom he identified only as Richard, that defiled the 14-year-old girl, but he decided not to report the matter to the police because he (Ikpa) had a forgiving character.

However, Ngozi, a Senior Secondary class 2 pupil, who eventually reported the incident to the police last Friday, January 15, insisted that she was raped by the pastor on several occasions.

She added that whenever she told her mother about it, she usually shouted her down, and refused to take any action on the matter.

Our correspondent learnt that Ikpa, who hails from the Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, was arrested by policemen from the Isokoko division, while Ngozi was taken for medical examination at the Mirabel Centre, Ikeja.

The test reportedly confirmed that the girl’s private parts had been “tampered with.”

A police source told Journalist that Ngozi reported that Ikpa had allegedly been sleeping with her since she was 10 years old and was the one who deflowered her.

She said, “The victim claimed that the suspect deflowered her when she was 10 years. He had allegedly been sexually molesting the girl since that time.

“The victim’s mother is culpable because she knew about the abuses. The girl said it was when her mother failed to take concrete steps that she came to the police.”

Speaking with Journalists the pastor said he flogged the girl last Thursday and she disappeared from the house, not knowing she came to the police to lie against him.

He said, “The girl started living with me when she was 12 or thereabout. That was around 2012. It is not true that I raped her. I flogged her on Thursday for being rude and she did not return home after school. We did not see her until Friday. She had been with the police.

“The girl has a boyfriend; his name is Richard. He is the manager of a hotel on Rasak Balogun Street. If the medical result shows someone has been sleeping with Ngozi, then it is Richard, not me.

“It is a mystery to me that the girl is claiming that I slept with her. When we caught Richard and confronted him sometime last year, he started begging. The mistake I made was that I did not report to the police.

“My wife got furious and said we must report the matter to the police, but the man started begging, sending text messages to me. I forgave him. I am a pastor.

“I was working under a church, but since I moved to this area, I have not pastored any church.”

The victim, Ngozi, told our correspondent that Ikpa was lying and he had slept with her on several occasions.

She said, “The first time that he would rape me was about five years ago. My mother sent me to give food to him in his own house. I was then staying in my father’s house. That was when he took advantage of me and raped me.

“The man he mentioned is not my boyfriend. Richard was the man I reported to when I told my mother about the rape and she did not believe me. Richard advised me to leave everything to God.

“Sometimes, when everyone was sleeping, he would come to the room where I was with my other sisters and he would rape me. I would be hitting my sisters trying to wake them, but they did not wake at such times.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the pastor’s arrest.

She said, “The pastor’s arrest is confirmed. He was transferred from FESTAC to the Isokoko division for prosecution.”

Leonardo DiCaprio ‘Would Love’ to Play Russian President Vladimir Putin in a Movie

If there’s ever a movie made about Russian president Vladimir Putin, Leonardo DiCaprio wants the starring role.
“Putin would be very, very, very interesting, I would love to play him,” DiCaprio told Germany’s Welt am Sonntag.
The Revenant actor met Putin in 2010 at a conference on protecting the Siberian tiger. “My foundation has provided financial support for several projects for the protection of these big cats. Putin and I talked only about the protection of these magnificent animals, not politics,” DiCaprio explained, according to International Business Times.
At the meeting, Putin gave the actor his manly seal of approval, praising DiCaprio for attending the meeting despite flying through some bad weather. “A person with less stable nerves could have decided against coming, could have read it as a sign – that it was not worth going,” Putin said, adding that DiCaprio is a “muzhik” or “real man,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
DiCaprio, who has two Russian grandparents, told Welt am Sonntag he’s also interested in portraying prominent leaders from the country’s history.
“Lenin, too, would be an interesting film role. I would [like] to play Rasputin too. I believe that there should be more movies about Russian history,” he told the newspaper.
“Russia unites so many stories almost of Shakespearean character. For an actor, it’s extremely exciting,” he said.
DiCaprio is currently nominated for a best actor Oscar for his role in The Revenant.

How I can bring Buhari’s govt. down — Fayose

In this first part of a no-holds-barred interview with PREMIUM TIMES’ Josiah Oluwole in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, speaks about his administration, President Muhammadu Buhari, and other matters.
PT: You have been in office for over one year now? How has it been? What difference have you made in the lives of Ekiti people?
Fayose: You will recall that I am a second term governor and I must have come with some level of experience otherwise we will be in a very serious and a very terrible situation as a government. This is beside the fact that the economy of the state under the last administration was not impressive. The handling of the economy and other things that happened created a lot of challenges for this administration. I employed a strategy to be transparent and took time to engage the people. When you engage the people in the running of your government, it would leave no room for stories and fifth columnists. You will have the people defend you in the event of any misinformation. The other issue that we cannot ignore is the financial inabilities facing my government as a result of the borrowings of the last administration. One, Ekiti earns about the least in Nigeria. Again, Ekiti has low level internally-generated revenue. When you put all this together, it is not an easy run for the government.
The last administration took two sets of loans – the loan from commercial bank and the bond. The bond was for N25billion and the commercial loan was for N31billion, aside from unpaid salaries. These, put together, have handicapped the government from functioning. But it is not enough to tell stories because we told the Ekiti people that we have answers to these problems, so we have to face it. After explaining the cause of the situation to the people, we still have to find solution to the problems. We reduced the size of government. We had about 34 permanent secretaries heading MDAs. We had to cut it down to 25. Of the 25, we have statutory boards like the Teaching Service Commission, Local Government Service Commission, the Civil Service Commission, etc. They are boards you cannot run like the regular ministries. Cutting the size of government and being realistic is important. Before you do that, you have to be an example. You have to run government like your personal business in terms of the fact you have to feel the pains as an individual in order to win the trust of the people.
We ensured the blockage of all wastages. Even at that, the nose-diving of the allocation that comes to the state is another challenge. Between January to October 2014 when (former governor) Fayemi was here and January to October 2015, we had a shortfall of about N11billion of what accrued to the state within the space of 10 months. That made it uneasy for us to run the government. Within the ambit of this, we need to maintain the payment of salaries. One of the things that can cause the downfall of any government is when you cannot pay the wages of your workers or issues that tend to mortgage the future of workers.
PT: Are the Ekiti people following you in the austere measures you are introducing at the moment?
Fayose: The working class is the pulse of the people because the political class is seen as political heads. When you pay salaries it goes down to the commoners. The man that get his wages will have to get his food in the market, he will have to buy pepper, he will buy fuel and all that and in turn the economy expands and the people are reached. One of my strategies is to bring the workers together and declare the earnings of government every month. There is a document from Abuja that says this is your earnings. I give it to them. The state wage bill is supposed to be N2.6 billion but what we got was N1.375 billion.

That is about half. They know that this government is transparent. I make public announcement. I declare the assets of government. The standing committee of the labour, the NUJ, and all that, come together and I ask them to look into the balance and see how we can pay wages. Actually, if they see that what you earn is not up to what you will pay, they know that it is not the fault of the governor. But what we try to do is to ensure that whatever comes is used judiciously for the benefit of everybody. So communication is important. Many people do not know the purpose of the austere measures. They don’t know the price of oil. They only know the status of their stomachs and so you have to educate them. My style is a government that is in tune with everybody. I am a governor that goes to everywhere and every home. I call the different segments of the society and intimate them. They are happy and they know I am giving my best.
PT: What differences can you spot between your first tenure in office and now?
Fayose: Let me tell you this that it is on record that I took over government in 2003 when the economy was at its lowest ebb. Workers were owed salaries. I recall that I paid all the salaries. At my departure I left over N10billion in the coffers of government. We spent N1.14billion as part of contribution for the recapitalization of Wema Bank, among the states of Oodua. And in the entire tenure, I did not borrow a dime to run the state. Far reaching projects that touched the lives of the Ekiti people were carried out under my government. Forget about politics of blackmail and all the noise. There was no road in Ekiti that was dualised before my coming in 2003. I had to summon courage to demolish houses and pay compensation. I did Ikere to Ado-Ekiti, from Ado-Ekiti up till the state hospital. I did Irona, that is, Mathew Street junction up to Ilawe. I was the one that did Adebowo to the police headquarters. I built the Governor’s Office, the fire station. I built the popular Ayo Fayose Market. Even if you don’t like my face, you have to call that market. I built the road from Ikere to Igbara-Odo, from Igbara-Odo to Ikogosi, from Ikogosi to Aramoko, from Aramoko to Efun-Alaye, and from Ado to Afao. I recall that I built the road from Afao to Ire, and so on. I did a lot you cannot forget so soon.
PT: Why are you not able to do the same now?
Fayose: We are doing our best within available resources. We just dualised Awodele and we are doing many more. But it is more challenging now because of the debt profile of our state. We are going to continue to service it until the year 2036. It is more challenging. They have committed the state so badly. If I come here and tell you that it is not challenging I will be deceiving you. The difference is that we are carrying the people along so they can understand where we have found ourselves. Up till the time the bailout (funds) provided the leeway, it was not easy at all.
PT: Your brand of politics is that of controversy. You cut an impression of a very controversial personality. You raised a lot of controversies in your first tenure leading to your impeachment and now it is almost the same, why is it so?
Fayose: I am like that. Everybody is peculiar. You become an issue when you are not a conformist. I am a very clear person. The style in Nigeria and the world over is to lie. It is to do a make- belief. It is to deceive the people. It is to promise change, when you know it is only a “one chance” promise. I am not a man like that. I am not a perfect man, but the path of a righteous man is always a challenge. They know that l represent light. Let me explain to you – have you ever seen in Nigeria where any man will leave office in those challenging situations and will come back again, eight years exactly. I was forced out of government at gunpoint under the Obasanjo administration on the 16th of October 2006. I came back on the 16th of October 2014, exactly eight years. Analysts told me that I took oath of office at exactly the same minute. Let me tell you the truth. There is a way truth catches up with people and there is a way posterity judges you right. Posterity is judging me right because I have dominated the politics of Ekiti State in the last 15 years. Nobody can controvert that. The denominator in politics is the people, not propaganda. If the people can say this man come back in a falling state…I am the issue in Ekiti politics and by extension Nigerian politics. I am the longest serving Nigerian governor. I served in the Obasanjo administration. I was in the same tenure with (Bola) Tinubu, with (Adamu) Mu’azu and others. I was in the same administration with former President Goodluck Jonathan and am now in Buhari administration.  I am a major force, I am a factor; you cannot ignore me. If you ignore me, it is at your own peril.
PT: You just mentioned that you were forced out of office under the Obasanjo administration…..
Fayose: (Cuts in) I don’t want you to ask that question yet. I just want to round this one off. I want you to take note. I am the first Nigerian governor to defeat two incumbent governors at two different attempts, landslide. I did not only defeat them, I defeated them in their homes, in their wives’ bedrooms, in their sitting room, everywhere. They were badly defeated. They have all the forces, they have all the money, and they have the contacts. It shows with all the noise, all the controversies, I am the issue there. I served in the south west 12 years ago, and with all due respect to all my former colleagues, I am still a factor and a force they cannot forget in Nigerian history. All politics are local. Without this fact that I am strong at home, nobody will remember me today. I defeated Adeniyi Adebayo; I defeated Kayode Fayemi and they all came together to face me and by the grace of God, I defeated them. That shows you that this man has a backing beyond normal. Let me tell you – it is not easy. They cannot come out to say why is my “wife” beating me all the time? They can only come out to cover their tracks. They are not on ground here. In Nigerian politics I only say the truth. They took me to EFCC for eight years. I was detained in Ikoyi prison for 45 days. My wife was detained for 33 days and I won all litigations against them. They went to harass my wife at home and I got judgment against them for N10 million. They went to the Court of Appeal, I defeated them. They went to Supreme Court, I defeated them. I am waiting to collect my money from them now. You see you cannot get it more right than I am getting it. Whether you like me or you don’t like me, it is either you like or you hate. I too I don’t like you if you don’t like me. I am not sorry for you. I told Nigerians that they should not vote for Buhari and that Buhari will not do well. My name is Ayo Fayose. He will not do well. The attitude of a man can only be corrected when you are still young. The older you get….
PT: Your Excellency let me guide you….
Fayose: (Cuts in again) Don’t guide me…the older you get, you will continue to exhibit your traits. That is why I told you Buhari is a dictator; he can never lead a people or a government without being dictatorial. Ask another question.
PT: Why have you been frontal in your attacks on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government?
Fayose: You see, the power of Buhari is not more than to kill somebody. He can send soldiers to you to come and kill you but people will know that the killing is not normal. It must be a high-wired killing. I am not afraid of him. The power of Buhari is not more than you go and lock somebody up. I am not afraid of him. I am not in the calibre of politicians who are saying, ‘ah don’t let me die o! Don’t let my mother die o,! You don’t take the inheritance of your father if you are not sure you are ready to take it. I am not in that category. Most noble men today have gone underground for fear of the unknown. And in times like this, when you train a lion, when you keep a lion in your family house, those of you promoting that lion will end up in his stomach one day. The same thing we were telling Obasanjo that time. We said Obasanjo was a dictator. Obasanjo consumed most of them who were promoting him that time. I have never minced words, before the campaign…I am not a sycophant to say that it was after Buhari became president that I started praising or talking against him.. I started from day one.
I was 24 years old when Buhari was head of state of Nigeria. We were daily being beaten in Ibadan when we queued up for essential commodities. I remembered how he stopped import duties and did a lot of things damaging to the economy, the same way he is still doing it today. God raised Joseph at a given time. God raised Moses to warn Pharaoh of the consequences of his leadership, until he perished. I have said it clearly that any attempt to confront me and attack my government will bring Buhari’s government down. My name is Ayo Fayose, I mean every word I am saying. As powerful as God has made the snail, he warned the snail to beware of salt. God gave the snail a protected shield behind him and told him to crawl all over the world, but warned him to be mindful of salt. I am salt. He should be mindful of me. It doesn’t matter his might, we have seen presidents before. We were here when Obasanjo was here. We were here when other presidents came and we will still be here when he will leave. I am not a coward. Call me controversial if you like. Men that will make history will be very controversial. Courageous people will be controversial. The bible makes it very clear that the righteous will be as bold as a lion.

PT: You talked very courageously and when men do that they always have some backbone or alternative power support, what is yours?
Fayose: Let me tell you the truth, the bible says before we were born, we were known by God even in the womb of our mother. Today this is the way God has made me. Anybody can trace my background, my father and the kind of family I come from. I have God’s backing, and above all, I have a wonderful wife, a woman of God. Aside that those who put their faith in the Lord, they can never be denied. We cannot all be in the same party. We cannot all be afraid. There must be one or two of us who will be very conscious in very bad weather. So I don’t have alternative medicine. I only have God.
PT: So having said much about the Buhari’s person, what is your assessment of the administration in the last seven months?
Fayose: I am not impressed. I am not impressed. Buhari administration has shown the hallmark of a very vindictive leader. Let us reflect carefully on Jonathan. A leader needs all the peace to run a country. Part of the hallmark of a good leader is to be able to rally everybody in times like this. Look back. Jonathan was magnanimous. He could have said I am a sitting president and cause the country headache, but he did not do that. He willingly relinquished power because of the overall interest of the country. Instead of Buhari coming…….you begin to vilify everybody. You begin to do factional pursuance of the fight against corruption. It doesn’t work like that. Go and look at Buhari’s antecedent. I stand to be corrected. It doesn’t matter how many people are feeding under him now, I can always tell you that those who are rearing this lion will end up in his stomach. There is nothing new in governance. We were young here before. We were kids, we became boys, we became men and we became average aged men now. We know that the rate at which Buhari is going, he is going to destroy this country.
There is no hiding place for dictators. The only thing binding us together in this country is the constitution. How can the president begin to incarcerate and take away people’s rights because you are president today? It’s not right. That era is gone. I was listening to the president on the television. He said somebody stole and some people are somewhere suffering. Is the president now a law unto himself? Is he a judge in his own matter? For every matter you in the executive find wrong, you present it to the judiciary? Why would you judge them on the television? That’s not right. Let me give you an instance, this young man in South Africa that was said to have killed his girlfriend. He was granted bail. He killed. Everything the law says you are entitled to bail. If you say no, you are a dictator. Imagine somebody that you locked up, gave several charges, the court gave conditions for bail, he met the conditions, he came out, and you rearrested him. Those who are promoting this lion will end up in his stomach.
PT: You have recalled your forceful removal from office through the use of federal might. You have also described Buhari as a vindictive person. Don’t you envisage a repeat of the 2006 experience where the president organized your removal if you continue your attacks?
Fayose: If nobody had done anything against me at that time, maybe I would not be as visible as I am now. Everything works together for good. You may have power, you may use power, but there is a certain beginning for a man and there is a certain end. Again as I told you, the worst of situation is death, I am not afraid of that. The more you pursue me, the more you will run into trouble. Don’t forget that after nine years my removal was upturned by the tongue-lashing of the justices of the Supreme Court against my adversaries. It doesn’t matter what you suffer today because you are saying the truth. Those who stood by the truth in the bible excelled in the long run. The story of Joseph is fresh in our memories. The story of Daniel is fresh in our memories. Nothing lasts forever, I am not afraid of Buhari.
PT: You have consistently criticized Buhari for his lopsided fight against corruption. Does the recent arrest of his associate, Jafaru Isa by the EFCC not change your opinion on his anti-corruption fight?
Fayose: That is cosmetic. They should tell us the account where he paid that money. I read in papers today that they will not release Olisa Metuh until he pays. So if the man says I have a right to be heard in court to defend myself, you will force me to go and pay. It was in the days of Obasanjo that you believe you can incarcerate people for as long as you want because you want them to even lie against themselves. That Jafaru or Kafaru or whatever you call his name…you can’t cover your tracks. The fact that he returned N100million – does that mean he cannot be charged to court. Everybody is still in the face of the law, innocent. You know, they will be searching for my name now to find out whether Fayose’s name is in that scandal. I am here, I can’t go anywhere. This country is our home, our father’s land. God has produced me at this time for his purpose and I am telling them to do whatever they like but I am going higher.
This is not my stopping point. No matter the persecution, I will remain resolute. You fight corruption within the ambits of the law. You don’t take away human rights. Taking away human rights and trampling on the constitution and the rights of people is worse than corruption. If you look very closely at what the law says. The law says it is better for nine bad people to be set free than for one innocent person to suffer. People should be given the benefit of the doubt. When you were reading my story in the papers those days with headlines like ‘Ayo Fayose stole N1.3billion’ ‘Ayo Fayose carted away poultry project money’…… I am the one still sitting down here as governor of Ekiti State without apologies to them. I’m still alive when the Supreme Court gave this judgment. It is fair to give people fair hearing. Most of the people that fought against me that time are now my friends. They have seen the light. They have realized that what they did to me was most unnecessary. God fights the battle of the man that believes in the truth.

FG launches special military operation to tackle pipeline vandalism

The Federal Government has launched a special military operation code-named operation AWATSU against pipeline vandals in the country.

The operatives of the special task force have also arrested 25 members of the gang of vandals operating at the Arepo in Ogun State and parts of Lagos State.

The Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, who stated this in an exclusive interview with Saturday PUNCH, said that the operatives also seized 50 vehicles belonging to the vandals in the ongoing operation in Lagos.

He said that the military was taking proactive steps to curtail the activities of the vandals in the Lagos axis.

Last year, the military took a decision after a meeting between the leadership of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation to maintain a presence at the Arepo area following the killing of four policemen and 11 officials of the Department of State Services by suspected vandals.

Abubakar said that the arrests and the seizures made by the military were responsible for the recent call by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, for the establishment of special courts to try vandals in the country.

He also stressed that the military had done adequate deployment to ensure the protection of the nation’s pipelines in the country.

He said, “You see, we are taking proactive measures. As I speak to you, there is an operation called ‘Operation AWATSU.’ We are doing enough in that place, if you follow what has been happening, there has been serious arrests and seizures.

“Just of recent, about 25 persons were arrested with 50 vehicles in Lagos. This operation is ongoing until we sanitise the whole general area and I believe we will do that because this is a very important axis that cannot be neglected, and whoever is doing this kind of thing is not a true Nigerian.

“And some of them were arrested and we will continue to do that. That is why the chief of Naval Staff canvassed for a special court to try such persons, so as to serve as a deterrent to others and that is the position of the Armed Forces.”

The Defence spokesperson urged the people of the host communities to the pipelines to cooperate with security operatives in protecting them.

APC demands Bayelsa Speaker’s arrest for defying A’Court judgment

The All Progressives Congress, Bayelsa State chapter, has called for the arrest and prosecution of the Speaker, State House of Assembly, Kombowei Benson, for disobeying Appeal Court ruling nullifying his election.
It also condemned the Peoples Democratic Party-dominated state House of Assembly for allegedly aiding and abetting illegality within its fold.
The APC noted that it was “undemocratic and dishonourable” for the House to have allowed its Speaker, Mr. Kombowei Benson, whose election was nullified by the Court of Appeal, to remain in office, over 40 days after the court’s ruling.
The APC, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Panebi Fortune, said it was irresponsible, ironical and unacceptable for a law-making House to treat the sacred pronouncement of the third arm of government with disdain.
The party said it took public outcries and efforts of whistleblowers, including the legal team of the state APC, to unearth the illegality perpetrated in the House.
It called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Speaker for contempt, adding that Benson should be convicted and committed to prison for disobeying court order.
The party also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission to investigate the illegal financial dealings of Benson within the period he disobeyed the court order.
The APC said the anti-graft agencies should arrest Benson to account for December and January salaries and allowances he collected including other disbursements he made against the provisions of the constitution.

Man, 51, dies of Lassa fever in Lagos

A 51-year-old man has died of Lassa fever at the Mainland Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.

The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, confirmed that the patient who was initially admitted at Divine Medical Centre, Ikoyi, may have contacted the disease after attending a wedding ceremony in Edo State in December.

According to the commissioner, the patient died on January 18 before the result of the laboratory test that confirmed him positive of Lassa fever was received at the Infectious Diseases hospital in Yaba.

Idris noted that another 36 -year -old lady,  a native of Kogi State,  who had tested positive to the disease  was currently on admission at the Mainland hospital while the health ministry had begun tracing 438 contacts related to the three index cases  that were recorded in the state.

He stated, “Lagos State has three confirmed cases out of the 14 suspected cases of Lassa fever. Two of them are responding well to treatment while one of them died.

Eight samples tested negative while we are awaiting results for the remaining three suspected cases.

“The Ministry has listed 447 contacts of the confirmed cases and 438 of the contacts are currently being monitored.

We have made available drugs and other materials at our designated facilities; and isolation centres have been prepared to manage suspected and confirmed cases.”

The commissioner  called on residents and health workers to  adhere to infection control measures in their environment and hospitals  to prevent an outbreak in the state.

Surrender to EFCC, Bayelsa APC elders tell Tompolo

Elders in Bayelsa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress have advised that a repented Niger Delta militant, Mr. Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo), should surrender himself for questioning by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over N13bn fraud.
They also demanded an apology from the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Timi Frank, over his comments against the party leadership in the State “in his own interest.”
The PUNCH had reported that Justice Ibrahim Buba of a Federal High Court in Abuja had granted an order compelling him to answer an amended 40 counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering levelled against him and a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Patrick Akpobolokemi.
But shortly after the court order, militants attacked oil installations, fuelling speculations that his ‘boys’ were responsible.
However, Tompolo in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, accused the candidate of the APC in the Bayelsa State governorship election, Timipre Sylva, of trying to link him to the renewed vandalism of oil facilities in the Niger Delta region,  saying he (Sylva) was the one responsible.
But a member of the Bayelsa APC Elders, Chief Arerebo Bodi, at a reception organised in his honour on Saturday in Abuja, said it was important for Tompolo to honour the request of the EFCC, rather than blame Sylva and other APC leaders in the State.

Metuh kept with 419 suspects, gets N600m fresh bail

There are indications that the Peoples Democratic Party spokesman, Olisa Metuh, is being kept in a prison cell where financial scammers and those who had committed frauds were being held.

It was learnt that Metuh, who was remanded at the Kuje Prisons, Abuja on the order of a Federal High Court, was isolated from other awaiting trial inmates to protect him from being harmed.

Our correspondent learnt that the prison officers were also keeping a tight watch over him to prevent any foul play.

The court had on Tuesday granted the PDP chieftain bail over a seven-count charge of corruption, but he had yet to meet the bail conditions.

Less than 48 hours after, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Thursday morning slammed a fresh two-count charge on him before Justice Ishaq Bello of the FCT High Court over attempt by the politician to destroy a confessional statement made to its operatives.

Sources said that the prison authorities usually isolate high profile inmates from other criminals who had committed violent offences like armed robbery, murder and other heinous crimes.

It was gathered that the prison authorities were following the standard laid down protocol in Metuh’s case by shielding him from violent inmates who could attack him at night.

The source further explained that Metuh had not been eating prison food, adding that he had made arrangement for his feeding, which he said was allowed.

A source said, “The prisons service has a standard procedure they follow when it comes to high profile inmates or VIP detainees as you call them. One, we don’t allow them to mix with other inmates for safety reason. Secondly, we don’t keep them in crowded cells, but they are kept with those who may have committed a similar offence or offences.

“In Metuh’s case, we are observing the same protocol; he is being held in a cell where people who had committed similar offences were being kept, that is, those who did not commit violent or capital crimes and we are keeping a serious watch over him to prevent any foul play.”

When asked if the prison service was giving Metuh special treatment, the Nigeria Prisons Service Public Relations Officer, Francis Enobore, said all inmates were treated fairly and equally, stressing that “there is no VIP treatment for anyone in prison custody.”

He said that Metuh like any inmate involved in a high profile criminal case, was kept with inmates who had allegedly committed similar offences, adding that this is according to laid down criteria in the prison system.

Enobore said, “When an inmate is brought to the prison, the age, criminal records and type of offence he committed are considered before we place him in a cell. When VIPs are sent to us, we isolate them from criminals who are in prison on account of violent offences like armed robbery, murder and other heinous crimes.

“We send them to a cell that houses people of similar offence record. We do what is called classification and this is according to laid down criteria. And what are the criteria? Age comes to play here, criminal record is considered and the type of offence. We try to group people.”

Pro-Biafra Group Protests Again In Asaba

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Monday in Asaba, south-south Nigeria, staged another protest, calling for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, whom they claim is the leader of the group.
Protesters in the hundreds gathered in the early hours of the morning, chanting songs in solidarity with the IPOB.
During the protest, the Biafra supporters stormed the Asaba-Benin expressway, blocking one part of the road for several hours from the Federal Road Safety Corp junction through Summit Junction in Asaba the capital of Delta State.
The mass protest forced many transporters to make a U-turn, diverting into Asaba main town, thereby causing a gridlock with the state capital.
However, Police patrol teams were spotted controlling vehicular movement to ensure the protest does not in any way hinder free flow of traffic in the area.
Mr Kanu is still in the custody of the Department of State Services, after a three count charge of criminal conspiracy, intimidation and belonging to an unlawful society was brought against him.
His prosecutor had withdrawn the charges, with a Federal High Court in Abuja granting him bail on December 17.
But he has not been released.

Bill Clinton Question 'Annoys' Bernie Sanders

Bill Clinton is regularly mentioned on the debate stage and along the campaign trail, and Sunday night was no exception.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was asked at the Democratic debate in South Carolina whether he regrets having said that Bill Clinton’s past sexual indiscretions were “deplorable.” Sanders was not amused by the question.

“That question, annoys me,” Sanders said. “I cannot walk down the street, Secretary Clinton knows that, without being told how much I have to attack Secretary Clinton.”

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Sanders chalked up his previous comments to the goading he faces to attack Hillary Clinton, something he says he’s trying to avoid. But Sanders doubled-down Sunday night on his previous comments at an Iowa town hall that the former president’s comments were “disgusting.”

“Yes, his behavior was deplorable. Have I said a word? No, I have not,” he said on stage Sunday night. “I'm going to debate Secretary Clinton, Governor O'Malley on the issues facing the American people, not Bill Clinton's personal behavior.”

Early in the debate Sunday night, Secretary Clinton said again that her husband, Bill Clinton, would, indeed, advise her if she were to win the White House.

“Well, it'll start at the kitchen table, we'll see how it goes from there,” Clinton said jokingly before taking a more serious turn. “I'm going to ask for his ideas. I'm going to ask for his advice and I'm going to use him as a goodwill emissary to go around the country to find the best ideas we've got.”

Both Bill and Hillary Clinton joined supporters at a debate-watch party following the debate.

Richest 62 People Control Same Wealth as Poorest Half of World's Population, Report States

The richest 62 people in the world control more than half of the world's money, according to a new report.

That means that those 62 people have the same collective wealth as the world's poorest 3.6 billion people, and the gap between rich and poor is growing wider, the report released by Oxfam states.

The report was released Sunday in the lead up to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which is scheduled to start on Wednesday.

"While such extreme inequality is bad for all of us, it's the poorest among us who suffer the grimmest consequences," President of Oxfam America Raymond C. Offenheiser said in a statement.

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The report released by Oxfam, an organization dedicated to fighting poverty, states that the poorest 50% of the world's population is worth an estimated $1.76 trillion, which is also the estimated net worth of the richest 62 people in the world. Their report did not name names, but based their selection on reporting by Forbes.

Oxfam

According to Oxfam, this undated graph shows the wealth of the richest 62 individuals continues to grow, while that of the poorest half of the world stagnates.more +

One of the biggest areas of concern in the report is that the group of the ultra-wealthy are getting wealthier, making the gap between rich and poor more distinct.

Just five years ago, the majority of the world's wealth was controlled by 388 people. That means that in those five years, the majority of the world's wealth has been consolidated into the hands of less than one sixth of the number of people who used to control it.

Agitation for Biafra hopeless – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday dismissed the current agitation for the resurrection of the Biafra secessionist agenda as a hopeless and futile exercise.
Obasanjo said this while presenting a paper entitled: “Resurgent Biafra agitation: Born in error, ignorance and frustration” at a public discussion on Biafra organised by Nextier Advisory in Abuja.
He advised Nigerians especially the people of the South- East, not to take the secessionist agitation or agitators seriously as doing so would only lead to disaster.
According to him, Biafra as a secession issue is dead and nobody should tread that path.
He, however, said he considers the current agitation as more of a cry for attention, amelioration and improvement of socio-economic conditions and situations, especially of the youth in Nigeria in general, but in the South East in particular.
The retired army general-turned-politician said, “No right-thinking person who has experienced the horror or war will ever agitate for more war.”
Obasanjo said, “Biafra agitation as a means of calling for secession or severance from Nigeria is a hopeless and futile exercise on which nobody in seriousness should embark.
“However, I see it as a symbol of desperation, despair and frustration of the youth being expressed by them for all to hear and redress in the South East and elsewhere in the county. But Biafra, never again! And we must avoid the coalition of the unwilling but forced by circumstances.”
He explained that the country currently had enough problems, saying, “Nigeria cannot afford to go from Boko Haram insurgency to any other insurgency under any guise. And on no account should we wittingly or unwittingly allow this to happen again.”
The former President maintained that the solution to the current agitation lies in a collaborative effort between genuine leaders and elders in the South East and a purpose driven leadership at all levels of governance.
He explained that Nigeria must consider youth education, welfare, well-being, empowerment and employment as a lifelong collective duty, obligation and responsibility.
Obasanjo noted that much as the youth have rights to express their frustration, such rights do not include embarking on wanton and wicked acts of destruction of the property ordinary men and women in the markets to make the situation even worse for poor and helpless citizens.
“Bitterness, anger, destruction and wickedness can only worsen an already bad socio-economic situation. That will be unwise,” he said.

Poor teacher quality killing Nigerian public schools – Ezekwesili

A former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has identified poor quality of teachers as one of the factors contributing to the continued decadence and loss of confidence in the Nigerian public schools.
According to Ezekwesili, qualified and competent teachers are the bedrock of quality education in any society.
The former minister, however, lamented the Nigerian situation, where corruption had engendered a steady and continuous decadence in the public school education system.
Ezekwesili was the guest speaker at the 12th Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture held in Lagos on Friday by the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch.
She spoke on the topic “The collapse of public education and the past, present and future prospects of the Nigerian state.”
She emphasised that “no matter the structure or the building, no matter the amount of textbooks you put in the schools, no matter the information technology gadgets, no matter the funding you provided, if the quality of the teacher is poor,” every other investment in public school would be a waste.
Ezekwesili went to tie the nation’s economic prospect to its ability to not only fund education but to ensure that such funds were appropriately applied.
She said, “Our acceleration in economic growth depends on how many people are educated. Funding education is different from investing in education. An average Nigerian child has everything the society needs to make them compete with the rest of the world.”
She advocated better commitment on the part of the government to reviving the public school.
“The public education system is a principle of right to ensure total inclusion and equity. There is no society that can make progress without anchoring it on education. We must have series of action oriented dialogue to improve our education system,” she said.
In his own subsmission, popular poet, Odia Ofeimun, who was also a guest speaker at the event, said education was at the root of civilisation and an investment in tomorrow.
He called on the government to do invest more for the education sector, saying that “any government that fails to give education to its people will always have xenophobia, tribalism and racism.”
“We need politicians who are not afraid to die for what they believe,” Ofeimun said.
Speaking on the state of the nation, the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch, Mr. Yinka Farounbi, said if the iconic human rights lawyer  “Gani were to be alive,  he wouldn’t have been surprised with all revelations on corruption now.”
“He knew the high level of corruption in government when he was alive and he fought against it through court cases. This annual lecture is done to commemorate the achievements of the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi who was a renowned anti-corruption crusader. Fawehinmi used his position to fight corruption instead of amassing immense wealth for himself,” Farounbi recalled.

Sierra Leone ebola case reignites fears

A woman who died of Ebola this week in Sierra Leone potentially exposed at least 27 other people to the disease, according to an aid agency report, raising the risk of more cases just as the deadliest epidemic on record appeared to be ending.
Just a day ago the World Health Organization declared that "all known chains of transmission have been stopped in West Africa", meaning that the region was officially free of the disease after a two-year epidemic that killed more than 11,300 people.
It warned, however, of potential flare-ups, as survivors can carry the virus for months.
The new case in Sierra Leone on Friday is especially disquieting because authorities failed to follow basic health protocols, according to the report compiled by a humanitarian agency that asked not to be named.
The victim, a 22-year-old female named Mariatu Jalloh, began showing symptoms at the beginning of the year, though the exact date is unknown, the report states.
A student in Port Loko, the largest town in Sierra Leone's Northern Province, Jalloh travelled to Bamoi Luma near the border with Guinea in late December.
Sierra Leone's northern border area, a maze of waterways, was one of the country's last Ebola hot spots before it was declared Ebola-free on November 7, and contact tracing was sometimes bedevilled by access problems.
By the time she travelled back to her parents' home in Tonkolili district, east of the capital Freetown, using three different taxis, Jalloh had diarrhoea and was vomiting, the report said. She was nursed by members of a household of 22 people.
She sought treatment at a local hospital on January 8 where a health worker, who did not wear protective clothing, took a blood sample.
It was not immediately clear whether the sample was tested for Ebola.
She was treated as an outpatient and returned home, where she died on January 12.
Health workers took a swab test of Jalloh's body following her death which tested positive for Ebola.
Asked about apparent errors in handling the case, Sierra Leone health ministry spokesman Sidi Yahya Tunis said that the patient had been tested for the virus and had received treatment in a government hospital.
He did not give further details.

Buhari’s budget, a carbon copy of Jonathan’s budget – Soludo

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has stated that the 2016 budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari failed to make a departure from the budgets of the past administration, noting that it was almost identical to the one presented by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
According to Soludo, the present budget was a carbon copy of the one by Jonathan’s government, adding, “Defeating old bad ideas could be better that initiating new ones.”
He said this while speaking at the 13th Daily Trust Dialogue in Abuja yesterday.
Soludo expressed concern over where the nation would be by 2050, saying Nigeria had underperformed despite earning over one trillion dollars from oil over the years.
He regretted that the money earned from oil has only kept the looting elite united and organised while the nation is now the fifth among states classified as failed states.
He said the Nigeria constitution was designed for sharing and consumption regarding the nations oil wealth and not necessarily for the development of the country’s dysfunctional system.
He regretted that the nation has been taking ten steps forward and eleven steps backward and urged the leaders to rise to the challenge posed by the fact that the period of oil boom is over.
Soludo said Nigeria has the potential to rise, but depended largely on the choices made by the leadership, arguing that he expected the 2016 budget to be more innovative to defeat our old bad ideas.
He said the budget had a historic 37 per cent deficit to make recurrent expenditure higher than total revenue, pointing out that it is not the way to go for a government with “change as its mantra”.
“The present budget is more of the same to the previous ones. Mr. Vice President (Prof. Yemi Osinbajo), if you scale your budget on the scale of GDP, it is almost the same with the previous government.
“It has a historic 37 per cent deficit as we never had it before. The truth is that you are borrowing 37 per cent with only 30 per cent allocated to capital projects.
“To craft the new agenda, we must defeat the old agenda. We cannot make progress in the country with the tools and agenda of the old,” Soludo said, adding that the APC-led government was over-following the fall in the price of crude oil globally.
He said the present administration needed to evolve a coherent economic plan and agenda as well as the right political architecture, stressing that anything less than this would mean that the leaders are building on a quicksand.
He regretted that 35 per cent of Nigeria land was already under threat of desertification which would affect agriculture, stressing that 11 to 12 states in the same zone are facing the problem of Boko Haram.
He warned that there would be unchecked migration by 2050 if oil and gas, agriculture, and solid minerals have limited impact on employment and urged the federal government to begin to take steps to improve manufacturing and skills acquisition for Nigerians.
He added that Nigerians needed skills and where to use them and praised the administration for the preliminary steps it has taken to dismantle some of the things that strangulated the economy in the past few months.
Professor Soludo who was the last speaker at the event, said the 2016 budget represented a missed opportunity for the government to set new standards for a post-oil economy, urging the government to take bold and audacious steps to make changes happen.
In his response, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said that President Muhammadu Buhari and himself were prepared to serve with their integrity intact than any desire to make money in government.

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He admitted that the nation was passing through a critical and interesting period, but that the President and himself remain committed to take the nation to the next level of social, political and economic development.
Osinbajo, who insisted on staying until the key note speakers made their remarks, said the present administration was taking a holistic approach in tackling the nation’s problems, stressing that Buhari and himself had a duty to put in their best and deliver a nation with the capacity to grow and develop.
According to him the present administration was determined to fix the nation’s justice system to end impunity and corruption, stressing that as things are today, both the rich and the poor escape justice in the country.
He said: “Everybody escapes justice in Nigeria, whether it is the poor or the rich. As of today, we have 12,000 convicted persons in our various prisons across the country in a country of 170 million people, the United States of America with a population of 300 million people have 2.2 million convicted persons in various prisons. With this figure, it is either Nigerians are peace loving or something is wrong with our system.”
On Soludo’s assessment of the 2016 budget, Osinbajo said far from being a budget based on compassion, as alluded by former CBN governor, the budget was designed to address the plight of over 120 million Nigerians who have been alienated from governance and living below poverty level.
 “The budget is about the economic survival of this people, and if we don’t do it, we are only postponing the dooms day. The planned recruitment of 500,000 teachers will fill a huge gap in our education system, it would put people to work and further improve our education system,” the vice-president said.
He said technical and vocational education, conditional cash transfers,emphasis on small and medium scale enterprises, agriculture, especially the issues of erosion and desertification, the use of improved seedlings, and attracting private sector involvement, were all captured in the budget for the betterment of the country.
The vice-president also stated that the federal government was not by-passing manufacturing as some of the step it would take would boost activities in the sector irrespective of the fact that its WTO agreements would be affected but that Nigeria had no choice but to take such step.
He said the federal government decided to increase the coverage of VAT from the current 20 per cent of the economy rather than increase its rate to 10 per cent, stressing that regardless of the size of the budget, the good thing is that it would engender growth and development.
Osinbajo also said that there was the need for elite consensus to decide the future of the country, regretting that it was inconceivable that Nigeria’s best minds would now resort to representing little zones within their states at a time Nigeria is an attractive proposition in the world because of its size.
Others who spoke included General Martin Luther Agwai (rtd) and Dr. Mairo Mandara.
In her remarks, Mandara held the audience spellbound when she insisted that Nigeria needs a self-definition of her own political identity that would address the issues of social justice, inequality, women status, health, education and poverty.
She urged the nation’s leaders to lead by example and place more emphasis on merit rather than surround themselves only with people from their ethnic background at the detriment of quality service and commitment to the growth and development of Nigeria.
Also, General Agwai averred that Nigeria was not making progress in terms of development since it could not match its population growth of 175 million people and other potentials with qualitative development in education, transportation, agriculture, health, political stability, good governance and security

Sean Penn says Mexican government wanted to use him as scapegoat

Hollywood actor Sean Penn has stirred the controversy surrounding his meeting with fugitive druglord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán by claiming the Mexican government wanted to use him as a scapegoat and put him in danger.

In an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, to be aired in full on Sunday, Mr Penn blasted as a “myth” Mexican government assertions that his interview in El Chapo’s jungle hide-out, published in Rolling Stone, led to the Sinaloa cartel boss’ capture.

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“There is this myth about the visit that we made, my colleagues and I, with El Chapo, that it was — as the attorney-general of Mexico is quoted — 'essential' to his capture," Mr Penn said. "We had met with him many weeks earlier . . . on October 2, in a place nowhere near where he was captured."
Asked if, as far as he knew, the meeting had nothing to do with the recapture, Mr Penn told CBS: "We know that the Mexican government . . . they were clearly very humiliated by the notion that someone found him before they did. Well, nobody found him before they did. We didn't — we're not smarter than the DEA [US Drug Enforcement Administration] or the Mexican intelligence. We had a contact upon which we were able to facilitate an invitation."
He was then asked if the government had been seeking, in part, to see Mr Penn put “in the crosshairs” of the cartel and at risk. “Yes,” the actor replied, but he said he was not afraid for his life.
The Mexican government says its intelligence was aware of the meeting between Mr Penn and the drug lord, which was brokered by Kate del Castillo, a Mexican actress who had been exchanging emails with Mr Guzmán with a view to helping him produce a biopic.

Close-range newspaper photographs of the two actors apparently on their Mexican trip have been published in the week since the drug kingpin was recaptured. Officials say the encounter helped Mexican marines close in on Mr Guzmán days later but that recapture attempt failed because he used a girl as a human shield.

The incident, however, helped flush Mr Guzmán out of the mountains and towards the city as he saw security forces closing in, leading to his arrest on January 8 after fleeing a house in Los Mochis. Government officials maintain the recapture was entirely the work of Mexican security and intelligence agents with no involvement from the US.

“The Mexican presidency is not going to get into an argument with this actor,” said one government source, in response to Mr Penn’s CBS interview contradicting the official version of events. His comments “do not warrant a response," the source added.
With Mr Guzmán back behind bars, under 24-hour surveillance, with tightened security and being regularly moved from cell to cell, public attention has ben gripped by the soap opera surrounding his contacts with Ms del Castillo. 

An alleged transcript of the lengthy, flirtatious cell phone messages from the drug lord to the actress has been published by newspaper Milenio as investigations turn to whether the pair had any financial dealings. The government says it is investigating whether any criminal misconduct took place.

The actress has said on Twitter that she will give her version of events “soon”.
Mr Penn, who has faced an outpouring of scorn over his lowball questions in the Rolling Stone article, lashed back at his detractors as jealous “green-eyed monsters”.
But he told CBS that his interview, which he said was based on the simple idea that he could “begin a conversation about the policy of the war on drugs”, had failed.

Alleged N400m fraud: Metuh in Kuje prison custody

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has remanded the ‎embattled National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Olisa Metuh in prison custody‎.

 Metuh was remanded in Kuje Prison, Abuja, after he pleaded not guilty to the seven-count criminal charge that was preferred against him by the ‎Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
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‎Justice Okon Abang ‎ordered that he should remain in prison custody till Tuesday when his formal bail application will be heard.
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Meantime, the court ‎has fixed January 25 to commence full-blown hearing on the charge against Metuh.
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‎Metuh is facing trial alongside his firm,
Destra Investment Limited, ‎over alleged N400m fraud.‎
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The charge marked ‎FHC/ABJ/CR/05/2016, was signed by the Assistant Director, Legal & Prosecution Department of the EFCC, Mr. Sylvanus Tahir.‎
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The charge against Metuh borders on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and criminal diversion of public funds.
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‎Specifically, EFCC, alleged that Metuh had in November, 2014, collected the sum of N400m from the erstwhile National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, rtd.
The fund which was withdrawn from an account the Office of the NSA operated with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, was allegedly transferred to Metuh through account no. 0040437573, which Destra Investments Limited operated with Diamond Bank Plc.
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EFCC insisted that whereas the fund was earmarked for campaign activities of the PDP, it said that Metuh diverted most of it to his personal use.
‎It alleged that Metuh converted ‎part of the money to one Million US Dollars which he used for his personal business.‎
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Besides, Metuh was alleged to have transferred the sum of N21.7m to another chieftain of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih.‎

AFRD: Dickson commends Nigeria’s gallant heroes

As the nation marks the 2016 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, the Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, on Friday in Yenagoa commended the officers and men of the various Armed Forces for safeguarding the nation’s democratic rule and defending its territorial integrity.
Dickson gave the commendation at the wreath laying ceremony of the 2016 Armed Forces Remembrance Day at the Peace Park, Yenagoa.

He said: “January 15 every year is set aside for all to remember both the fallen heroes and those still serving in the military and the event was being celebrated simultaneously in the 36 states of the federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Abuja.
“Our gratitude to men and women in uniform must be restated at all times because for us, the military remains the foremost and the most important guarantor of the nation’s constitutional order. That is one area the military has excelled. For the past 16 years, the country has been on the move toward democracy and at the forefront of protecting that democratic order.”
According to Dickson, the Armed Forces have contributed enormously to forming the character of the nation.
He commending the sacrifices made, particularly in fighting insurgency in the North East and other parts of the country.
While paying tributes to the departed and serving heroes, Dickson described their profession as a unique calling, as they pay the supreme price in the course of serving their fatherland and contributing to national greatness.

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Dickson, who urged the people to also remember the families left behind by the fallen heroes, noted that the event offers the opportunity to government at all levels and people of goodwill to render assistance to them.
The governor said: “We congratulate you because your calling is a special one because your service is unique because you are contributing by donating the most precious gift that God gave to mankind which is your life. That is why all of us commend you for your love and patriotism for your fatherland.
 “We appreciate your sacrifices, services and contributions. Today, we remember our fallen heroes in particular but this is also an opportunity for us to bear in mind that we owe not just the heroes gone by but heroes who are alive and serving.”
Highlight of the ceremony was the laying of wreaths at the tomb of the “Unknown Soldier” at the Peace Park by Governor Dickson; the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Konbowei Benson; representative of the State Chief Judge, Justice Margaret Akpomiemie; as well as service chiefs of the various Armed Forces.
A minute silence was observed and firing of salvo in honour of the departed heroes.
The Chairman of the State Traditional Rulers Council, King Alfred Diete Spiff; the representative of widows of the fallen heroes, Bekere Zuokumo; and the Chairman of the state Legionnaires, Effiong Igirgi, also laid wreaths at the cenotaph.