BlackBox Nigeria

Well, it is said that a teacher's reward is in heaven but what other reward would a high school teacher get on earth than seeing one of her former pupils rise to govern a state like Lagos. In the pictures above, we see Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola hanging out with his former Bible Knowledge teacher, Mrs. Felicia Iyabode Adefunke Akinola, who taught him at Birch Freeman High School, Surulere, at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja yesterday December 22nd, after 38 years. Fulfilment!

Rivers State Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi yesterday denied claims made by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the state finances have dwindled because he is using money from the state coffers to fund the campaigns of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Amaechi, who spoke at the campaign rally of the APC governorship candidate in the state held in Port Harcourt said:
"I don't fund the APC. Rivers State Government has no money to fund the APC. They have been accusing me of using Rivers money to fund the APC. The APC is a big party, so it can fund its activities. I do not fund the APC with Rivers money. I challenge all those who have been accusing me of funding the APC to show just one account through which I fund the APC with monies belonging to Rivers State."‎

Former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori and some Nigerians serving prison terms in London, United Kingdom are billed to spend Christmas in Nigeria, City People's investigations have revealed. 

City People learnt from various quarters that ex-Governor Ibori and other
Nigerian prisoners' return to Nigeria is subject to quick signing of relevant documents on swapping of prisoners by both Nigeria and British governments. It was learnt that the British Government has completed relevant documents on exchange of prisoners, while waiting for Nigerian Government to perfect its own part.

Sources close to Ibori's kinsmen at Oghara in Delta State said "It was learnt that the Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry and that of the Justice Ministry speed up completion of documents on the issue before and end of next week, the former Governor and others would return to Nigeria on December 2014. 


The agreement is reportedly not exclusive to Ibori, as it also covers other high-profile prisoners from Nigeria serving in U.K. prisons".

NATIONAL leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has again alleged that the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was behind the continued cases of insurgency where members of the Boko Haram sect have engaged in massive killings and wanton destruction of property.
The PDP, however, boasted that no amount of blackmail and wild allegations against President Goodluck Jonathan can exonerate the APC of blame for insurgency and wave of violence ravaging some northern states of the country.

In a statement, yesterday, by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, the PDP noted that the memory of Nigerians was not short on the body language and inciting utterances of APC leaders, including their presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, which had served as fuel to the raging flame of terrorism.

According to the PDP: "By going to the international media recently to distance themselves from complicity and in turning round to blame the PDP, the APC is asking Nigerians to suddenly grow forgetful of the barrage of statements by their leaders that promoted insurgency in the country.‎

A packed Kano State High Court, yesterday, heard testimony that a 14-year-old girl admitted to killing her 35-year-old husband with rat poison, and signed a police confession with a thumbprint because she cannot write.
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The girl, from a poor and conservative Muslim family, has been charged with murdering her husband, Umar Sani, days after their marriage in Kano State.
Because she does not understand English, homicide investigator Abdullahi Adamu translated her statement from the Hausa language.
She could not write her name, so "she had to use a thumbprint," he told the court, during his testimony on the last day of the prosecution's case.
 
 
Co-wife's story
The state's lawyers, who are seeking the death penalty, also called to the stand Tasi'u's co-wife, identified as Ramatu.
Ramatu said she got along well with Tasi'u and that the two had prepared the food together on April 5, the day Sani died.
She testified that because it was Tasi'u's turn to share bed with Sani, Tasi'u was also entitled to serve his meal.

"After putting the food in the dish, I did not see anybody put anything in it," Ramatu said.
She said later her husband was helped back to the house by a neighbour, unable to walk and foaming at the mouth.
The court overflowed, with crowd spilling out of the gallery door and people peering in through the open windows.
The case has sparked outrage among human rights activists, who say Nigeria should be treating Tasi'u as a victim, noting the possibility that she was raped by the man she married.

Sharia
However, others in the region, including relatives of the defendant and the deceased, have rejected the notion that Tasi'u was forced into marriage.
They have said that 14 is a common age to marry and that Tasi'u chose Sani from among many suitors.

A motion by defence lawyers to have the case moved to juvenile court was rejected, despite claims by human rights lawyers that she was too young to stand trial for murder in a high court.

Further complicating the case is the role of Sharia, which allows children to marry according to some interpretations.
While sharia is technically in force in Kano, law enforcement officials have no guidelines concerning how it should be balanced with the secular criminal codes, creating a complex legal hybrid system.
According to Human Rights Watch, Nigeria is not known to have executed a juvenile offender since 1997.
The trial has been adjourned until February 16, 2015.

NO fewer than eight persons were killed in cult-related clashes in parts of Benin, Edo State, weekend.
Among the victims of the cult killings were a popular car wash owner on Upper Mission Road and one Jude, whose wife, it was gathered, recently put to bed.
It was learned that other areas where killings took place include Erediauwa Street, Off Upper Sokponba Road, which recorded two casualties; New Benin, where four lost their lives and Okhoro, where two people were killed when the trouble started last Friday.
A source disclosed that the clashes were said to be between three rival cult groups, as one had earlier engaged another in Upper Sakponba area before some of its members in New Benin clashed with another rival group in the area and the fight spilled over to Okhoro area.
Police Public Relations Officer, Edo Command, Mr. Joseph Edogiawerie, said two casualties were recorded on Erediauwa Street, while one person, who was shot in a separate location, was admitted at a hospital.
He said that the police have made several arrest since the unfortunate incident. He also assured the residents of adequate police protection of lives and property during and after the yuletide.‎

Scores of All Progressives Congress, APC, youths have burnt their membership cards, flags and brooms, the party's insignia, in front of Government House, Owerri.

The angry youths, who also announced their defection to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, joined members of Imo Grassroots for Goodluck Jonathan Organization, IGJO, and trooped to the streets of Owerri, chanting solidarity songs in support of the re-election of the President.
Traffic was held up for hours as the youths marched from Egbu Road, through Wethedral Road, Government House and ended at the PDP State Secretariat along Okigwe Road.

Speaking, National Coordinator of IGJO, Mr. Samuel Otuibe, explained that they were on the road to sensitize the citizenry on the need to continue supporting President Jonathan.

"President Jonathan has done a lot for the state, especially in the areas of education, youth empowerment, agricultural transformation, public power supply and infrastructural development," Otuibe said.

He welcomed those who dumped the APC for the PDP, adding that youths would continue to expose the insincerity of the opposition parties in the state.
Responding, the state PDP Deputy Chairman, General Sunday Chikwe (retd), commended the youths for conducting themselves in a very peaceful manner.

"Nigerians, especially Ndigbo, should support the President to continue his transformation agenda. PDP will continue to work with positive minded groups," Chikwe said.

Eleven years after he was removed as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday, returned to the commission's office but this time as an awardee for a job well done declaring that he had no regrets for the work he did while he was in office.
Ribadu, who is the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate for Adamawa State, was among the 306 workers of the EFCC honoured by the Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, at an elaborate ceremony at the commission's academy in Karu, near Abuja, yesterday.
Ribadu, touted as one who instilled fear in the anti-corruption commission, said he had no doubt that the commission remains the best hope-inspiring institution in Nigeria.

Ribadu said: "We believe we have clean hands and, therefore, we can clean the dirty faces of Nigerians," and admonished staff of the commission to be steadfast in their commitment to the fight against corruption, describing the EFCC as his family.
According to him, "the EFCC remains my family and no matter how long, your good efforts will be rewarded. I urge you all not to worry about distractions but to continue to do your job no matter the circumstances and you will surely be rewarded."

Ribadu lauds Obasanjo
Ribadu used the occasion to pour encomiums on Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Femi Falana, General Aliyu Gusau and late Gani Fawehinmi for believing in the vision of the EFCC as a vehicle for ridding the nation of economic and financial crimes.

Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Kanu Agabi, who was the special guest at the event, asked the commission staff to be more resolute in their effort to fight graft.

Agabi tasks EFCC staff
Agabi said: "Our country is ours to build, and you are in the remarkable position, having been appointed to investigate and prosecute all those who undermine that work through corruption.
"Our laws are not self-enforcing, they require good men and women to enforce them, and you of the EFCC are the good men and women that the nation has appointed to see to the enforcement of our laws."

Agabi, in whose tenure as AGF the commission was established in 2003, expressed delight that the EFCC, which though faced teething problems at its inception, had grown to become an institution of repute within and outside the country.

We' ve set high standard for staff —Lamorde
Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, described the ceremony as 11 years in the making. He said that right from inception, the commission took a conscious decision to be different, thereby throwing a challenge to chart a totally new path in law enforcement in Nigeria.
"Consequently, we have set a very high standard for our staff, not only at the point of entry, but also in the discharge of their duties and for them to continue to stay employed with the commission," Lamorde said.
He boasted that the EFCC that only a few were willing to give a fleeting chance of succeeding 11 years ago had since become an institution of reckoning in law enforcement, with operations, partnerships and influence stretching across and beyond the African continent.

306 honoured
No fewer than 306 staff members of the EFCC were honoured at the ceremony for serving the commission meritoriously in various capacities.
While 87 of the awardees were pioneer staff, 161 staff members were celebrated for meritoriously serving the commission in the past 10 years.

To encourage Imo State indigenes in Lagos and Oyo states to return home for the Christmas celebration, Governor Rochas Okorocha, has provided buses that will convey them free of charge to Owerri, the state capital on Wednesday, December 24, 2014.
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The Imo State Liaison Officer, Lagos State, Mr. Alfred Ononugbo, who disclosed this in a statement, urged Imo indigenes residing in Lagos who intended travelling home for Christmas celebration to assemble at National Stadium Surulere, Lagos tomorrow by 8am for the trip.
Ononugbo urged Imo indigenes in Oyo State, to assemble at Saint Gabriel Catholic Church, Mokola, in Ibadan at 8am tomorrow for the journey.
He assured that adequate security had been provided in all Imo communities, adding that the homecoming would afford them the opportunity to see and feel the dividends of democracy provided by the Okorocha administration.

It was gathered that the Bauchi market blast occurred a few minutes before 6pm when people were preparing to close for the day in a shop where the bomb was planted.
At the scene, tension was very high as security agents fired gun shots to scare away angry youths who had started pelting them with stones and other objects.

An eyewitness, who identified himself as Mu'azu Musa, said that he saw charred bodies of victims as they were being evacuated from the scene.
Musa, who said he was an Okada (commercial motorcycle) rider and was by the roundabout near the market when the blast occurred, said that he fell down from his motorcycle when he saw the charred bodies of the victims, adding that he lost consciousness as a result of the fall only to see himself in the hospital.

Red Cross officials evacuated victims to the Trauma Centre of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH).
Speaking with journalists at the hospital, the Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Council (CMAC) of the hospital, who is in charge of clinical matters, Dr. Saidu Abubakar Kadas, stated that the actual figure of thecasualties could not be ascertained yet as victims were being brought in.
He, however, assured that the teaching hospital was in a better position to handle the situation as most of its health workers had been mobilised to attend to the victims.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the ATBUTH branch of the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals, Idris Ado, a pharmacist, said that the incident was unfortunate and regrettable.
According to him, the health workers who were currently on strike had been directed to report for work tomorrow (today) to take care of the victims.

It's barbaric — Yuguda‎
Bauchi State Governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, condemned the bomb blast, describing it as an unfortunate and barbaric incident aimed at disrupting the peace being enjoyed in the state.
The governor, according to a press statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Deacon Ishola Michael Adeyemi, condemned the perpetrators of the heinous act, describing them as cowards who were always happy to spill innocent blood without any justification.
He, however, reassured the people of the state that his administration would not relent in its efforts to ensure that lives and property of law-abiding citizens were protected at all cost, adding that the administration had always collaborated with security agents to maintain peace and peaceful coexistence among the diverse people of the state.

Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, has ordered a nationwide deployment of police strike units for a water-tight security throughout the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Force Spokesman, Mr Emmanuel Ojukwu, yesterday, in Abuja.
The affected units are Police Mobile Force, Special Protection Unit, Counter-Terrorism Unit, Explosive Ordinance Department, Dog Section and Mounted Troops.
Abba also ordered the police air wing to carry out air surveillance patrols, while the Marine Police should ensure a sustained patrol of all the water ways.
He directed all Zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and Commissioners of Police in charge of state commands to put in place extended "police visibility and patrols."
The IG enjoined them to do this taking into consideration the peculiar security situation to enable them protect the citizens as they celebrate.
Abba advised operators of public places such as hotels, viewing and recreation centres to be vigilant and ensure that they properly screen all visitors/users of their facilities during the period.
"Members of the public are also urged to report any suspicious movement in their areas to the police," he charged.

NO fewer than 20 people lost their lives with 25 others sustaining various degrees of injuries in yesterday's bomb blast at Dukku motor park in Gombe.
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Eyewitnesses said a female suicide bomber carried out the act as a fully loaded bus was about to depart. The bomb was planted near the bus, filled with passengers, said Mato Yakubu of the National Orientation Agency.

We evacuated 20 dead bodies –Red Cross
Malam Abubakar Yakubu, Secretary of the Nigeria Red Cross Society, Gombe State branch, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe that members of the society evacuated 20 identified dead bodies and deposited at the Gombe Specialist Hospital mortuary.

He said the 18 that sustained injuries were admitted at the specialist hospital and at the Musaba Clinic.
Abubakar Yakubu said his staff sent 20 body bags to the scene and "they have all been exhausted. We are still looking for more bodies in the carnage," he told AFP.

How a lady detonated the bomb –Witnesses
Malam Ibrahim Mamuda, an eye witness and driver at the park, said the bomb exploded around 11 a.m. According to him, the bomb exploded in a  Volkswagen Sharon car and before they realized what was happening, two cars were also burnt.
His words: "We started seeing human parts and blood everywhere, as you can see, there is blood everywhere."
Malam Ibrahim Labibi, a commercial bus driver at the park, said he saw a young woman who came along with a boy and dropped her bag in the Volkswagen Sharon car.
"It was after she dropped the bag that the car exploded and I myself counted about 21 dead bodies," Labibi said.

Female bomber disguised as a passenger –Witness
Another eye witness told journalists that the female bomber who disguised as a passenger took advantage of a fully loaded bus which was  departing for its destination.
The source added that she kept a bag filled with explosives in a Volkswagen Sharon car, later left the scene and detonated the explosives from a distance, killing scores of people.

19 persons died, 25 injured —Police
Police authorities in Gombe, capital of Gombe State said 19 persons died while 25 were critically injured. Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, of the state police command, DSP Fwaji Atajiri stated that the area had been cordoned off, adding that those taken to the state specialist hospital in the town were responding to treatment.
Violence in the North-East is escalating ahead of the February 14, 2015 general elections, with many concerned that voting might be impossible in large parts of the region.
Gombe was hit by a triple bombing blamed on the Islamists on October 31. The state shares a border with Borno and Yobe, two of the states worst affected by Boko Haram's five-year insurgency which has cost more than 13,000 lives.