BlackBox Nigeria

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Popular film producer and Director, Tunji Bamishigbin was awarded along his production outfit Rockview Productions, as the Best Independent Producer at the 21st Year Anniversary/Awards of Raypower/DAAR Communications

The event which took place on Monday at Oriental Hotels, Lagos, was designed to honour all those that have contributed to the organisation's growth in the last two decade.

In a facebook post by Ibrahym Mojeed-Sanni, Head of Productions and Assistant Director, Rockview Productions, he said»» "To The Glory Of God, ROCKVIEW PRODUCTIONS Was Honoured As THE BEST INDEPENDENT PRODUCER At The 21st Year Anniversary/Awards Of Raypower/DAAR Communications PLC At The Prestigious Oriental Hotel On Monday. To Us, This Is A Sign That Our Onerous Efforts At Uplifting The Television/Film Industry Has Not Been Unnoticed. We Will Continue To Give Our Best To You Our Esteemed Viewers/Fans. Thank You"

The other winners included Bisi Olatilo (BOS), Prime Time Africa (Kenny & D-ONE) et al.

APC National leader; Senator Bola Tinubu has confirmed his interest in the vice presidential ticket of the party, stating that governance had little to do with religion, region or rumour but more with vision and competence. This was disclosed in a statement by his media aide, Sunday Dare.

Mr. Dare rubbished objection to Tinubu's involvement in the race based on his same religion with Buhari, his alleged involvement in drug-trafficking and alleged tainted academic achievements.

A statement by the Tinubu Media Organization read in part...
"The thought of a Buhari-Tinubu ticket confounds the PDP hierarchy and their crisis-battered president. That Tinubu might be nominated as General Buhari's running mate also incenses the small element within the APC who joined the party not for its progressive vision but to exploit its platform to press forward their vision of themselves. Having failed at halting General Buhari's bid, the PDP disinformation machine has thrown itself into overdrive trying to stymie the selection of Tinubu. Sadly, some elements within the APC – elevating their personal ambition over party and national interests — have lent themselves to this endeavor."

A 37-year-old man, Benjamin Bright, was on Tuesday sentenced to a three-year jail term for duping about 3,000 Nigerians  of about N4.9m.

Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja pronounced the prison sentence after Bright had admitted committing the crime.

The convict was charged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissions following the receipt of about 50 different petitions from members of the public against him.

While reviewing the facts of the case, the prosecutor, Mr. Emmanuel Jackson, said Bright perpetrated the crime through a mouth-watering but sham investment scheme he had purportedly launched and advertised in a magazine sometime in 2008.

Jackson, who described Bright as a skillful and competent young man, said the convict steadily scammed several Nigerians, including aged pensioners, for about three years before he was eventually apprehended.

Bright was later arraigned on 21 counts bordering on fraud and issuance of dud cheque.

The offence was said to contravene sections 383 (1) and (9) of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State 2003.

He had initially pleaded not guilty, but later owned up after spending over two years in custody awaiting trial.

Justice Ipaye said the three years prison term would commence from Tuesday.

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-Legendary Diyola
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So i thought of introducing something really weird and quite funny. Its a new fashion trend and its trending in some parts of the world.....
I was minding my own business on the internet one fulfilling day when i stumbled on this; "DYED ARMPIT HAIR #freeyourpits" movement. I was very confused....yeah confused not surprised...because i kept wondering why someone would want to wear a dyed armpit around. So what happens when you have to wear a long sleeves shirt,do i have to walk with my hands on my head to flaunt my dyed armpits? 

A notable lawyer and insurance practitioner, Mrs Ola Adeola, has been killed in her Lekki, Lagos home.

She is the daughter of a former Chief Justice of Ogun State, Justice Ebenezer Craig.

The slain lawyer was allegedly killed Sunday night by her driver and house maid at her 108, Omisore Lane, Oniru Estate home.

Her throat was slashed, a source told The Nation.

Both the driver and housemaid were said to have disappeared, while the victim's corpse has been deposited at a morgue.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Lagos State Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident.

He, however, said two persons had been arrested in connection with the matter.

"The report is true and I can confirm to you that we are fully on it. We have arrested two persons and they are in police custody as investigations kicks off full-swing on the orders of the commissioner of police.

"In fact, following his order, the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba on Lagos Minland," Nwosu told The Nation.

He added: "The police are on their toes to arrest two fleeing suspects in connection to the case and the commissioner has mandated us to get everyone involved arrested for prosecution."‎

President Goodluck Jonathan has written to congratulate General Muhammadu Buhari on the occasion of his 72nd birthday which comes up today, December 17, 2014.

In a congratulatory letter addressed to the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in next year's presidential election, President Jonathan prayed that God Almighty should grant him many more years of good health and personal fulfillment.

In his words, the president said,

"As you mark your 72nd birthday anniversary, I write, on behalf of my family, the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to extend warm felicitations to you. I join your family, friends, and well-wishers to thank God for your life and to pray that He continues to guide, guard and prosper you even as He blesses you with many more years of abounding health and personal fulfilment,"

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The Centre For Democracy and Development, CDD, has called that the 2015 elections should be issue based.‎
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Thus, as part of the process to ensure issue based campaigns and elections in 2015, CDD disclosed it will be organising inter-party debates on topical socio-economic and political issues ahead of the 2015 general elections through its Nigerian Political Parties Discussion Series (NPPDS) platform. 

According to a statement signed by CDD Director, Idayat Hassan obtained by BlackBox Nigeria, the key objective of this intervention is to promote issue-based politics and transparency and accountability in government's engagement with citizens. 

"Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress will be invited as guests on NPPDS to debate and enlighten Nigerians about its policies and programs, as contained in their respective manifestos, designed to address the lingering development challenges in all sectors of the country," she wrote in the statement.

The debate that is scheduled to commence Thursday, 18th of December, 2014, will according to CDD provide political parties a rare and unique opportunity to present parties' programs, on sector basis, to Nigerians as a way of institutionalising culture of issue-based politics and fostering democratic accountability in the country.


The event which is being supported by Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) would be livestreamed both online and on national television.

The Police in Niger State said it had recovered 231 cows and 34 sheep from cattle rustlers in the state.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Emmanuel Amore, made this known when he paraded the suspected cattle thieves to newsmen in Minna on Tuesday.

He said the arrest was made possible through the active collaboration of members of the public that gave useful information to the police.

Amore said some of the suspects were arrested on Saturday in Edozghigi village in Gbako Local Government Area of the state with 104 cows and seven sheep.

He added that the suspects, who could not account for the cattle in their possession, included Shehu Mohammed, Abubakar Hassan, Umar Mohammed, Mohammed Bello and Mohammed Umar from Bena village in Kebbi state.

The police boss stated that another suspected rustler, Haruna Yunusa, was arrested at Kagara in possession of 33 cows, adding that another set of 94 cows and 27 sheep had been recovered.

"We are happy that we are closing in on these cattle rustlers.

"The sad aspect of it is that these rustlers will not only steal the animals alone but injure and sometime kill the owners", he said.

(NAN)

The Vice-Chancellor of Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete,  Prof. AbdulRsheed Na' Allah says that the institution Will Soon Begin To Study Nollywood.

Na' Allah disclosed this on Monday, in his opening address at the Conference on African Cinema, with the theme; "African Cinema and the Supernatural", organised by the University.

Prof. AbdulRsheed Na' Allah, says he has inaugurated a committee for the establishment of the centre for Nollywood studies in the University.

He said that when operational, the centre would be charged with the responsibility of highlighting the role and effect of Nollywood films in the society.

Na' Allah said that the conference was part of the University's aim of building bridges between scholars and those who promote culture outside the university.

A suspected human parts' merchant, Olorunto Dipe (35), has been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

He reportedly confessed that he bought a human head for N12,500 from Cotonou, Benin Republic, with intention to sell it for N20,000.

A police source said the suspect was arrested by a SARS decoy team led by Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police (SP), at Ajibawo in Atan-Ota, Ogun State, on October 22.

Olorunto said: "It was one Asiwaju at Ado Odo-Ota in Ogun State, who asked me to bring a human head. He said he would use it to cure me of leprosy. I went to Cotonou and bought it for N12,500 with intention of selling it for N20,000 to him. I was arrested with the head as I wanted to go and deliver it."

Asiwaju was arrested and granted bail when he denied knowing Olorunto.

Olorunto is lamenting that Asiwaju denied him. He said: "If I am released, I will stop dealing in human heads. Please tell the police to forgive me; I will not do it again."

Guinea's capital Conakry has followed Sierra Leone's example in banning public Christmas and New Year celebrations to combat the spread of the Ebola virus.

Only about 10 percent of Guinea's predominantly Muslim population is Christian. But like elsewhere in Africa most people join in year-end celebrations, whatever their beliefs.

"Large-scale gatherings in public places are suspended for the moment," Conakry governor Soriba Sorel Camara announced in a statement.

"Beaches will remain closed" and firecrackers and fireworks are also banned, he added.

Camara appealed to residents to "refrain from anything" that could compromise efforts to contain the spread of Ebola.

That meant avoiding "all gatherings in markets, bus stations, ferry landing stages, hospitals and the airport," he said.

Guinea is one of three west African countries at the epicentre of the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, together with neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Nearly 6,900 people have died since the first case was recorded in southern Guinea a year ago, 99 percent of them in west Africa.

Sierra Leone, which overtook Liberia recently as the country with the highest number of Ebola infections, last week announced a nationwide ban on public Christmas and New Year festivities.‎

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday accused elderly Nigerians of troubling the country as a result of their utterances and behaviours.

The President said that it was the young Nigerians that had continually brought glory to the nation.

He particularly berated old politicians in the country, who he said caused trouble by quarrelling and abusing one another.

Jonathan spoke during the official inauguration of the Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme and the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria which held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said, "For the Nigerian young men and women, those who we have seen today and the ones outside there, we appreciate and commend you because anything that you are involved, you bring glory to this country.

"Anything that the old people like us are involved in, it is always problems.

"Young people are involved in sports, soccer, athletics and so on, and within the period that I have been here as Vice President and President, they have always been bringing glory to us.

"Young people are involved in the movie, popularly called Nollywood, and this continues to bring glory to us.

"Young people are involved in music, like D-Banj, and they always continue to bring glory to us.

"But see politics that old people like us are involved in, we continue to quarrel and abuse ourselves everyday and create problems for innocent Nigerians.

"So, we believe that the future of this country is in the hands of young people. The young Nigerians will surely take us to where we want to be.

"One day, you will take us to the moon. I believe in the young, creative and talented people. Surely, we will create enabling environment for you because you stand for the future of this country and you will make this country great."‎

The Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has expressed confidence that the governoship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Akinwunmi Ambode, will build on the achievements of his administration.

Fashola spoke on Tuesday at the presentation of the Lagos State Development Plan at the Lagos House, Ikeja.

He explained that the plan, expected to run from 2012-2025, would depend largely on the ability of successive governments to implement the policies diligently.

The governor added that some of the components of the plan were already being implemented by his administration, saying the successive administrations would be saddled with the responsibility of completing the implementation of the vision.

Fashola expressed optimism that Ambode's contribution during his stint as the Accountant General of the state from 2007 to 2012 would put him in a good position to understand the policies and carry on when his (Fashola) tenure ended on May 29, 2015.

He said, "One of the things that helped me most from the first day I took this job was that from the day I arrived office, I knew the Head of Service, I knew all of the permanent secretaries who were going to work with me. I knew almost all the directors and I knew how the government worked because I was part of the team that made it work".

The governor said Ambode was also part of the brains behind the LSDP at the birth of the plan in 2009.

The governor added that the drafting of the new economic plan for the state was to promote the state and make it African model megacity by 2025.

Fashola enjoined residents to buy into the plan as their own and work with the government to ensure the successful implementation of the plan.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Ben Akabueze, said the LSDP was borne out of the need to harness various documents articulating the vision of Lagos as Africa`s megacity.

He stated that the plan provided the framework to guide private and public investments in government programmes.

"The purpose of the development plan is to provide overall direction for the growth and development of the state.

"It will provide a framework by which all sectors of the economy can direct their energies and contribute to the improvement of the quality of life people in the state. It will set the overarching long term framework for government's planning and budget system," he said.

Akabueze added that the plan would focus on developing the key areas of the economy, environment, infrastructure and security, adding that successful implementation would make the state a model city by 2025.‎

An ironic twist was added to the tear-gassing last month of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal and other House members when the Divisional Police Officer attached to the National Assembly, Mr. James Ndachaba, told the ad hoc committee investigating the incident that the police officers, who tear-gassed Tambuwal were Senate President David Mark's security aides.


However, heads of other security and paramilitary agencies attached to the National Assembly were swift to counter Ndachaba's claims, saying they were not aware of Mark's security detail throwing teargas at Tambuwal.


But the DPO, who appeared before the committee on Monday insisted that he actually saw Mark's security detail, while watching a video recording of the invasion perpetrating the act.


Tambuwal and some federal lawmakers were locked out of the complex on November 20 following a futile attempt to stop him from gaining entry into the National Assembly premises. After they eventually gained access, tear gas canisters were fired at them.
In defence of the invasion, the police had said they acted on security reports that the National Assembly would be invaded by thugs that day.


The House of Representatives had opted to reconvene from its recess on November 20 to either ratify or reject President Goodluck Jonathan's request for the extension of emergency rule in the three North-east states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
The Senate leadership, angered by the invasion, had constituted the committee with the mandate to probe the circumstances which led to the invasion and report back in two weeks.


The investigation commenced on Monday with the DPO disclosing that the Police Commissioner in charge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Wilson Inalegwu, gave him the directive to shut the National Assembly's gate.
The committee consequently summoned Inalegwu to appear before it yesterday to explain why he gave the directive to shut down the National Assembly.