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BY ONOZURE DANIA Lagos — A 47-year-old businessman, Alhaji Saidu Isa (aka Maiturari) was Wednesday arraigned before a Lagos magistrate's court for allegedly stealing N15.9 million. The defendant, who is facing a five-count charge of conspiracy, stealing and receiving stolen property, preferred against him, by the police, was docked before Magistrate Abimbola Komolafe. The defendant, who resides in Niger State and Niger Republic, was said to have committed the alleged crime in 2012. The police prosecutor, Inspector Iranus Nnamonu, told the court that the defendant and others at large on August 24, 2012, at about 6pm, at Mr Biggs by Mobil Petrol Station along Lagos-Ibadan expressway, received stolen property. He said Isa conspired with others at large to steal one Range Rover Sport valued at N11million, property of Lagos State Government. Nnamonu said the defendant received the Range Rover from one Sampson Gbenga, knowing full well that it was a stolen vehicle. The prosecutor said  i...

LAGOS — The Lagos State Police Command, Tuesday, said it had rescued two persons, a five-year-old boy and a woman, who were kidnapped last Thursday and Friday, respectively. The Public Relations Officer of the command, DSP Ngozi Braide, said this in a statement in Lagos. She said the boy, simply identified as Destiny, a  pupil of Sulaful Nursery and Primary School, Okokomaiko, Lagos, was rescued from a suspected female kidnapper at Okokomaiko. Braide said the pupil had been reunited with his family. The police spokesperson said the police rescued the other victim, Mrs Bosede Adisa, in Ikorodu, Lagos. She said kidnappers dispossessed the woman’s husband of his SUV and sped off with it whle the woman was inside it. “Policemen attached to Area ‘N’ Command Headquarters, Ijede, responded to a distress call on July 27 at about 2 a.m., trailed and arrested one of the suspects. “After the arrest of the suspect, the policemen rescued one Bosede Adisa at Ewu-Elepe Town in Ikorodu, Lagos. “The su...

ABUJA—THREE members of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who recently withdrew their suit seeking to stop the party’s national convention, said Wednesday, that they went to court to strengthen the party. They made this revelation at a meeting with the Governor Seriake Dickson-led National Reconciliation Committee in Abuja, according a statement by the media aide to the Bayelsa State governor, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson. According to the statement, the litigants, Bashir Maidugu, Alhaji Yahaya Sule, and Abba Yale, explained that things had taken a dangerous turn in the party, and they felt that only the courts could check the trend, adding even the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,also recognised that there were problems within PDP. Maidugu, who spoke on behalf of the litigants, said that it took four days of frank negotiations with the Dickson’s Reconciliation Committee to “arrive at where we are. He said: “Having extracted firm commitments from the committee to right the ...

A FTER the success story of the recently held maiden Chief Edwin K Clark Open Wrestling Championship in Warri, Delta State, the federation is upbeat that it would do well at the forthcoming September World Championship in Budapest, Hungary To that effect, the Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF) has penciled four wrestlers made up of three females and a male for the Championships. [caption id="attachment_406365" align="alignnone" width="351"] Delta state's Lucky Opiated in blue outfit lucks hornets with Adibo Dick of Bayelsa state in the men's 84kg weight class free style at the just concluded Maiden Chief E K Clerk wrestling championship in Warri, Delta state. Adibo Dick won the bout.[/caption] They are Adekuroye Odunayo of Ondo state, a gold medalist in the female 51 kg  class; Blessing Oborodudu of Bayelsa state, a World silver and Commonwealth Games medalist in the 63 kg weight class and three times World bronze and Commonwealth Games medalist,...

BY  AUSTIN OGWUDA ASABA— AN Asaba Chief Magistrate’s Court has sentenced head storekeeper attached to Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, office Asaba and his assistant to 24 years imprisonment for stealing treated mosquito nets. The nets were procured by the Federal Government for six states in the South-South geo-political zone and kept in the warehouse. Jailed were Mr. Mike Okonkwo, Head of Store, MDGs office, Asaba and Mrs. Finecountry Tracy, his assistant. Incidentally, the businessman, who purchased the nets from the storekeepers, Ugwu Joseph, jumped bail during trial and was still at large when the judgment was delivered, Monday. Delivering judgment, Chief Magistrate S. C. Ehikwe sentenced the storekeeper and his assistant to three years imprisonment with hard labour on each of the four counts for which they were found guilty. Sentences are, however, to run concurrently. The magistrate also ordered that: “The police is urged to intensify their efforts to get Ugwu Ugochukwu arres...

George Aluo, Chairman, Media Committee of Nigeria Weightlifting Federation (NWF), on Wednesday said it would need not less than N175 million to bankroll the upcoming African Youth Weightlifting Championships. The African Championships have been fixed to run from Sept. 9 to Sept. 16 in Abuja. Aluo said in Uyo on the sidelines of the ongoing National Youth Weightlifting Championships, which started on July 30, to end on Aug. 3 in Uyo. [caption id="attachment_405865" align="alignleft" width="250"] Nigerian weightlifter in an international event.[/caption] According to him, the federation opted to the host the African champions in a bid to expose talents, identify those  for grooming from the ongoing event, ahead of next year’s Commonwealth Games, to be hosted in Glasgow, Scotland. He said the ongoing National Junior and senior Weightlifting championships would offer an avenue to identify fresh talents. He said the new board, headed by its President, Chibudom...

By Henry Umoru ABUJA- SENATOR Ahmad Rufai Sani, ANPP, Zamfara West Wednesday said that under the Islamic law, a girl was considered ripe for marriage based on her physical and mental maturity and not necessarily age, just as he stressed that situations could arise where a very big girl was ready for marriage at age 14, 15, 16 as obtained in other countries. According to him, the 1999 Constitution does not in any way provide for any specific age when a girl could be married, but was quick to add that the same constitution stipulates that any girl aspiring to be married must attain a full age. Speaking Wednesday in an interview on the ‘Kakaaki’ aired programme by the African Independent Television (AIT), Senator Ahmad Sani who denied backing the child marriages during the clause by clause voting on the report of the Senator Ike Ekweremadu led Constitution review, said insinuations that he supported child marriage during the exercise were untrue, misleading and however attributed that ent...

BY MICHAEL EBOH & JONAH NWOKPOKU with Agency Report Shell plans to sell at least four more oil blocks in Nigeria due to increasing crude theft, oil spills, community challenges and its inability to renew the licenses of some of the fields. According to report, the blocks which are in joint ventures with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, are Oil Mining Licenses (OMLs) 13 and 16 onshore the Niger Delta, and OML 71 and 72, which are in shallow water. The report said, OML 13 and 16 lie in the Ogoniland region where Shell has experienced long-running disputes with local communities, multiple oil spills and widespread pipeline sabotage and theft. OML 13 covers a large geographical area and has big gas reserves, while OML 16 is a much smaller asset. The report further stated that OML 72 has proven oil reserves of around 120 million barrels, while OML 71 has significantly lower reserves. Sources said Shell has been discussing renewing these licenses with the Federal Govern...

LAGOS  (AFP) - Medical charity MSF said Wednesday a Nigerian village that suffered an unprecedented and deadly lead poisoning outbreak had been cleared of the toxin, but that nearly 1,000 exposed children needed treatment. The crisis in northwest Zamfara state first came to light in 2010, and was "the worst outbreak ever recorded," Medecins Sans Frontieres said. At least 400 children have died from poisoning. Lead exposure in several areas of Zamfara was blamed on unsafe techniques used in extracting gold. Illegal mining is more lucrative than agriculture for impoverished farming communities. Initially, the communities had largely concealed or denied the fatalities and illness that came from lead poisoning for fear that authorities would ban mining activities. The problem was compounded by a requirement that medical staff clear the entire area of toxins before treatment could begin. Michelle Chouinard, MSF's Nigeria country director, said the cleanup process was completed...

FROM: KINGSLEY OMONOBI-ABUJA. Following what was described as a confused atmosphere at a Rivers State High Court when the Majority Leader of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Chidi Llyod was arraigned Wednesday, by the Police. Authorities told Vanguard that Mr. Lloyd will remain in detention until August 6th. [caption id="attachment_406892" align="alignnone" width="412"] L-R Emmanuel Chinda, Rivers State Commissioner for Agriculture; Hon Chidi Lloyd embattled Leader of the Rivers state House of Assembly and Rt Hon Ezekiel Harry, former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly all in Court during the hearing of an attempted murder charge leveled against Hon Chidi Lloyd. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke[/caption] The decision to take back the house leader Vanguard gathered, stems from the fact that since the presiding Judge in the case of attempted murder and five other counts preferred against Llyod was stopped from hearing the case by the State’s Attorney Gen...

Ben Agande, Abuja. The Federal Government has expressed admitted worry at the distortion in school calendar as a result of the on going strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities saying that it is committed to the speedy resolution of the crisis for the sake of Nigerian students. Minister of Information, Labaran Maku told state House correspondents at the end of  Wednesday's Federal Executive Council meeting that government was committed to "serious negotiations" with the university lecturers. The Minister appealed to the students and parents to bear with government and show more understanding as efforts are being made to resolve the contending issues very soon. "The federal government has been far more worried than you think concerning the strike in tertiary institutions, because of the disruption of the school calendar and so government is concerned and very worried and since the onset of the strike government has been negotiating with ASUU through the Mini...

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has congratulated Nigerians on the emergence of the new party, saying with the birth of APC, Nigerians now have an alternative to a ruling party that has taken the people for a bad ride in the past 14 years. In a statement issued by its interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Lagos on Wednesday, APC said its emergence is a victory for Nigeria and for democracy, and that it has now also propelled the country to the league of top democratic nations with two major political parties. ''The journey has been long and tortuous. All sorts of obstacles were thrown into our path by anti-democratic forces, but we were painstaking, determined and unrelenting in our quest for a formidable platform that will allow our country, Nigeria, to achieve her full potentials and join the league of respectable nations. ''With the approval of our merger by INEC and the emergence of APC, today marks the beginning of a new dawn for our cou...

By Austin Ogwuda, Asaba THE setting up of Petrochemical plant and Gas processing facilities to be cited at the Koko Free Trade Zone  FTZ, capable of generating 16 billion dollars investment is in the pipeline, says Delta State Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Benson Igbakpa. He disclosed this in Asaba yesterday when he took his turn at the ongoing Mid-Term report by members of the State Executive Council (Exco). According to him, “the Federal Government has appointed a team of consultants to commence preliminary site inspection of a petrochemical plant and gas processing facilities to be cited at the Koko FTZ. “It is envisaged to emerge as Africa’s largest industrial complex. They are currently working in conjunction with the Nigerian Port Authority, NPA  and the State government to tackle the siltation and draught problem so as to get the required draught to allow large vessels across the Delta ports and the Koko FTZ. “The massive undertaking which is projected to generate up to $16 bi...

BY NDAHI MARAMA, MAIDUGURI The Borno state Government has declared that it is not interested in the restoration of GSM network services in as much as it will distablize the relative peace being enjoyed in the state. It would be recalled that since the declaration for the state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, the government and the Joint Task Force (JTF) has cut off telecommunication services and cellular phones (Turaya) in the three states in their offensive raid on Boko Haram sects, only a couple of weeks ago when GSM network was restored in Adamawa and Yobe, except Borno. The Deputy Governor, Alhaji Zanna Umar Mustapha made the declaration while receiving members of the Senate Committee on Defence, Police, Army and National Security (SCDPANS) in a courtesy call yesterday. Mustapha commended the Committee led by its  Chairman, Senator George Sekibo for their concern on how to end the Boko Haram insurgency in the north, adding that, the committee has demonstrated a sense of na...

BENIN CITY - GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomohole of Edo state yesterday condemned the assault of agents of the state Board of Internal Revenue by the Benin Manager of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mr Ayodele Sunday during the enforcement of a court order sealing the airport for default in the payments of N15 million PAYE tax. The Governor also frowned at the arrest of the Chairman of the Board of Internal Revenue, Chief Oseni Elamah, on the orders of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, saying the Police ought to protect the man trying to enforce the law and not the lawbreaker. He said the due process of law will be applied to pursue the matter and called for the release of Chief Elamah. In a statement signed by Peter Okhiria, CPS to Edo State Governor, Oshiomohole said, “the Edo state government did not seal up the airport, the revenue board staff went there peacefully to do their job. The authority of the revenue board went to serve a ‘Distraining Order’ on the ...

RECENTLY, Ralph Uwazurike, the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), called for a one day sit-at-home. I was deeply disturbed that people, especially in Onitsha, heeded his call. But then, the masses barely think, and consequently, are susceptible to political manipulation. No wonder, Adolf Hitler once told an aide, “never worry about what to tell the people because you can tell them anything and they will believe, and the bigger the lie, the more believable it is to them”. It also partially explains why the masses, irrespective of their number, strength and righteous anger, cannot get anything done, unless, they are directed strategically, that is, led. Ralph Uwazurike is an uninformed activist who is strategically misdirecting the Igbo masses. I once met Ralph Uwazurike. He was in Washington, DC with Chukwuemeka Ojukwu for the opening of the Biafran “House”. Eager to assess this then emergent secessionist activist, I listened to him v...

Five persons were killed yesterday in Tapga Village of Ibi Local Government Area of Taraba state when armed militia group from the neighbouring Tarok Village of Plateau state attacked the Taraba village. It was gathered that many others sustained varying degrees of injuries in the attack while others were forced to desert Tapga village. The injured were said to have been taken to some clinics in Wukari and Ibi towns for treatment. It could not however be ascertained the reason for the attack. According to eye-witnesses, some of the refugees are taking refuge in Jibo -a settlement of Wukari. Chairman of Ibi council Adamu Ishaku, who confirmed the attack and killing to newsmen, said "the attackers took my people unaware". Ishaku said the attackers had planned to invade Sarki-Kudu village of his council but they couldn't succeed before "they ended up lunching the attack on the unsuspecting residents of Tapga,” Ishaku however gave the casualty figure at three while eye-w...

BY SUZAN EDEH BAUCHI— Soldiers at a check point in Darazo Local Government Area of Bauchi State mistakenly shot to death two passengers in a commercial vehicle. Locals and security sources in Bauchi who confirmed the incident, said the soldiers killed the two passengers because the driver of the car made a u-turn when he approached the check-point, raising suspicion which made the soldiers to open fire on them. A security source said: “The incident was very unfortunate because we don’t know why the driver decided to defy road block orders and tried to run away, but the army authorities are investigating the matter and whoever is found wanting will be punished. It’s very unfortunate.” Residents of Darazo said when the driver of the vehicle approached the army check point along Potiskum- Yobe-Maiduguri road, he violated the check point orders by refusing to move back like other vehicles, instead he just made a u-turn and abandoned the car and ran into the bush. According to them, "t...

Following the declaration of state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States in May 2013, a section of patriotic youth in the Maiduguri metropolis organised themselves into a vigilante known as “Civilian JTF”. It was a resounding endorsement of the gallant efforts of the Joint Task Force of the Nigerian military and security services implementing the emergency rule aimed at flushing out the Boko Haram and other terrorist groups scourging the North East and other parts of northern Nigeria. [caption id="attachment_406693" align="alignright" width="300"] A sign near a checkpoint of a vigilante group reads Civilian J.T.F or Civilian Joint Task Force in Maiduguri,. Young men and women have in recent weeks formed vigilante groups, hunting down Boko Haram Islamists who have sneaked back into the city following a military offensive on their camps on the Nigerian border with Niger, Chad and Cameroon with remarkable success. AFP PHOTO[/caption] Their emergence...

BY VICTORIA OJEME ABUJA— Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, yesterday, said the Federal Government was yet to receive any official statement from its British counterpart over the 3,000 Pounds Sterling cash bond for first-time visa applicants from Nigeria and five other Commonwealth countries. The other countries are India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. A statement by the ministry’s spokesperson, Ogbole Ode, said: “Federal Government has already conveyed its objection to the bond payment to the UK government, when the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, summoned the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Andrew Pocock, to Tafawa Balewa House on June 25. “If and when a communication to that effect is received, Federal Government will take appropriate steps to reflect its national interest.”  

BY DAUD OLATUNJI ABEOKUTA-Former  Presidential candidate of the defunct Nigeria Advance Party (NAP)  Dr. Tunji Braithwaite on Tuesday, faulted the planned centenary anniversary of Nigeria's amalgamation by the presidency in 2014, describing it as a celebration of slavery and bad history. The Human Rights Activist and lawyer who wondered why despite the myriad of problems confronting the country, coupled with the level of poverty, the Federal government still plans to celebrate the Centenary anniversary of the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914, lamented  that the deplorable state of infrastructure in the country and  the precarious security situation are enough reason to halt the celebration. [caption id="attachment_315014" align="alignnone" width="412"] Dr. Tunji Braithwaite[/caption] Speaking  as guest Lecturer at the 2013 Jesus Carnival, 37th Diocesan Anniversary and 170th Year of Christianity in Egbaland in Abeokuta, the Ogun State Capital ,Dr. Brait...

By Tony Edike, Enugu THE management of Rangers International football club of Enugu  said yesterday that it has concluded plans to take its disqualification from this year’s CAF Confederation cup to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Switzerland. Reports had indicated  that CAF Appeals committee threw out the appeal filed by Rangers for lack of merit. Speaking with Journalists at the Nnamdi Azikiwe sports stadium Enugu, yesterday, Chairman of Enugu State Football Association , Chidi Ofo Okenwa, said, “We are going to appeal our elimination by CAF at CAS. “ This is miscarriage of justice. There is no way we are going to rest until we are justifiably heard. “I describe this as a comic tragedy by CAF in the whole issue of eliminating Rangers from the Confederation cup hence our resolve to seek redress in the Court of Arbitration for Sports,” the F.A boss said. Ofo, who is also board member of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, insisted that CAF was unfair to the Enugu club side. ...

What started like a dream has come to manifestation. The Zenith  Bank- Delta State Division I League, the brain child of ex-Super Eagles player, Edema Fuludu has perhaps, grown faster than anticipated as 16 teams are jostling for honours. The Delta State Sports Commission appointed Fuludu Chairman of the League Board. The ex-Super Eagles star spoke with our Correspondent on how he charted the rough tracks of beginning a new project to the height the fledgling league has attained through the intervention of the chairman, Delta State  Sports Commission, Amaju Pinnick. Excerpts Sir, how did it all start? [caption id="attachment_406680" align="alignright" width="220"] Fuludu[/caption] Well, the truth is that as an ex-footballer, I thought we could introduce some innovations into football starting from the micro level before we can go to the national  level. I wouldn’t just jump to the national level to say I want to be the Secretary General of NFF and all tha...

THERE is no doubt that the Nigeria Police Force has suffered a fate worse than death in the course of our tortuous journey of nation-building so far. Starting from the time after the attainment of our political independence till date, the police in Nigeria has almost always been at the receiving end of the antics of Nigerian politicians, whether in uniform or in mufti. For instance, in the first republic, during the Awolowo-Akintola political struggle for supremacy in the Western region that later snowballed into grave regional crisis, the Nigeria Police Force had received more than its fair share in bearing the brunt of that crisis. Consequently, not a handful of its officers deployed at the time to quell the raging crisis lost their precious lives for a cause they obviously knew nothing about. Arguably, even those who narrowly escaped death by the whiskers and with various degrees of injuries did not in any way receive compensation. Understandably, however, though the Police was not ...

By KINGSLEY OMONOBI-ABUJA Indications emerged in Abuja yesterday that arrangements have been concluded by the Force Criminal Investigations department to arraign the Rivers State Majority Leader Mr. Chidi Lloyd today (Wednesday) before the Rivers state high court. Vanguard gathered that consequently, a team of Senior Police lawyers led by a commissioner of Police left Abuja for Port Harcourt yesterday in preparation for the arraignment today. [caption id="attachment_405771" align="alignnone" width="412"] Chidi Lloyd[/caption] The source revealed that the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar has charged the team of lawyers to ensure a diligent prosecution of the case, as they must endeavor to tight all loose ends in the case. The police on Monday filed a six count charge including attempted murder at the Rivers State high court but failed to show up in court. When contacted, if Chief Lloyd has been formally arraigned, the Force Spokesman CPS Fran...

LAGOS — A 33-year-old man, Kenneth Ugwuanyi, Monday, appeared before an Ojo Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, for allegedly stealing a tricycle belonging to one Adewale Bamgbose, his colleague. Ugwuanyi, a tricycle operator, resides at the Shibiri area of Ojo in Lagos, and is standing trial on a charge of stealing. The prosecutor, Mr Godwin Eze, alleged that the accused, on July 15, moved the tricycle of the complainant away from where it was parked. According to him, the complainant parked the tricycle in front of his residence at Ilaje Street, Ojo,  Lagos. The prosecutor said the tricycle, with registration number UMH 247 DC, was later recovered from the accused, who was then arrested. Eze said the tricycle was worth N430,000. According to the prosecutor, the offence contravenes the provision of Section 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The law prescribes three years imprisonment for anyone convicted of stealing. However, the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge. The M...

By Rotimi Fasan PATIENCE can carry a placard and decide to go on the street of Port Harcourt alone or with her side kicks, if she so pleases and nobody would be bothered. But she can’t and must not employ the apparatus of her husband’s office to do that. Each time Mrs. Jonathan opens her mouth to talk she confirms what many suspected: that she has got her husband wrapped around her little finger and can and indeed does twist him in whatever direction she pleases. [caption id="attachment_297988" align="alignright" width="250"] Patience Jonathan[/caption] This confirms Prof. Tam David-West’s statement in an interview with The News that this woman is actually the one controlling her husband and by extension the country. Given the close link between spouses, it may be to idealistic not to expect that they would somehow exert influence on one another. This is to be expected. But there should be a limit to it and the spouse doing the influencing should be care...

BY ONOZURE DANIA Lagos — A 32-year-old cripple, Mustapha Umar, was yesterday arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate's court, for allegedly stealing N42,000 belonging to one Margaret Nwachukwu. The cripple, who is said to be a beggar and sleeps at Conoil Filling station by the Ikeja general Hospital is facing a one-count charge of stealing preferred against him by the police. He was docked before Magistrate Abimbola Oshodi- Makanju. The police prosecutor, Inspector Samson Ekikere, told the court that the defendant allegedly committed the crime on July, 27, 2013, at about 10pm, at the Conoil Filling station. Ekikere said the stolen money belonged to one Margaret Nwachuckwu, a trader, who also sleeps at the filling station. It was said that Nwachukwu, who is pregnant, had kept the said sum in her shop, hoping to use the money as medical bills, since she was due to visit the hospital on Tuesday (yesterday), but on waking up the next morning, which was Saturday, she discovered that the mo...

By Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North; Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor, Henry Umoru & Tina Akannam ABUJA — NATIONAL Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, yesterday took a swipe at five governors from the North elected on the platform of the party, warning them to show decorum, humility and respect him. One of the governors, Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, however, fired back, saying Alhaji Tukur does not deserve his respect because he lacks capacity and competence to handle PDP. The other governors are Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, Mu'Azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State. The PDP chairman in a statement by his Special Assistant, Media, Prince Oliver Okpala bluntly told the governors that they must embrace peace and stop dramatizing the country’s few problems, saying it could send wrong signals to Nigerians and the international community. [caption id="attachment_40...