Soldier Shoots Tanker Driver Dead For Wrong Parking

Nigerian Army authorities are investigating the claim that one of its soldiers on check point duty in Kaduna shot and killed a Petroleum tanker driver, one Mohammed Isah last weekend. The incident which angered members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association (PTDA), led to disruption in transportation of petroleum products in the state.

According to the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations 1 Mechanized Nigerian Army Division, Colonel Sani Usman Kukasheka, “I wish to acknowledge the allegation of shooting by our soldier. 

I wish to state that the headquarters of 1 Division is aware of the incident and has commenced investigation with a view to ascertain the cause of the soldier’s action involved, to ensure justice is done.

“1 Div. has gone an extra mile in dialogue with PTDA with a view to reaching a possible solution, we are appealing to them to remain calm in the interest of peace. We are appealing to the family and friends of the deceased and the PTDA to remain calm. Army will not condone any breach of the rule of engagement by any of its officers or soldiers.”

The deceased who was said to have travelled all the way from Gombe to load fuel at the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), was shot dead following an argument with one of the soldiers over alleged wrong parking of his vehicle near the check-point at the KRPC junction. 

The efforts by other soldiers on duty at the check-point to revive the victim was futile as he later died at the St. Gerald Catholic Hospital, Kaduna where he was rushed to by the soldiers.

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War Brews Between President Jonathan and VP, Sambo

A cold war brewing between President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo came out in the open last weekend as the two political figures attended two different events with their political allies.

Mr. Jonathan was in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State, to bury his brother, Meni, while Vice President Sambo was in Kaduna to give his two daughters, Aisha and Huwaila, out in marriage.

A top official of the Peoples Democratic Party told SaharaReporters that many members of the party were baffled that the president fixed the burial of his brother on the same day that his vice president had set for his two daughters’ marriage.

SaharaReporters learnt that Mr. Sambo’s daughters’ wedding had been scheduled months ago. “The president knew about the wedding and received his invitation long before his brother died on November 20,” said our source, adding that First Lady Patience Jonathan had been tapped to be “Mother of the Day” at the nuptials.

Several sources disclosed that the relationship between the President and the Vice President started to deteriorate when Sambo received reliable indications that Mr. Jonathan was determined to run for another term in office. The prospect of the president’s going for a second term has alarmed Northern political figures, among them the vice president, who had been calculating ways of retaking Nigeria’s highest political office.

“We know that some northern elders have been putting pressure on Vice President Sambo to position himself to challenge the president,” said a source close to Mr. Jonathan.

Other sources in Aso Rock told us that President Jonathan was well aware that Mr. Sambo is exploring options for running for the presidency in 2015. “He has been trying to raise his profile and rally political heavyweights and operatives to his corner,” said a Jonathan associate. The source accused the VP of “trying to flex his political muscles, but he should know that, even if Mr. President decides not to run, he [the president] will still have a say in who succeeds him.”

One of Mr. Jonathan’s men said that they came close to declaring war “after Vice President Sambo selected a powerful delegation and went with them to pay a condolence visit to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari on the loss of his daughter.”

A political observer described the scenes in Yenagoa and Kaduna last weekend as resembling “a realignment of political forces around President Jonathan and Vice President Sambo.” Those who mourned with Mr. Jonathan in Yenagoa included Senate President David Mark, who also has presidential ambitions, as well as numerous Nollywood players. On the other hand, such personalities as Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, Muhammadu Buhari and several Northern political figures, traditional rulers and business executives attended the vice president’s more festive event.

A source close to the vice president disclosed that Mr. Jonathan was in a precarious position. “He is waging an ongoing political war against [former President Olusegun] Obasanjo,” said the source.

A confidant of President Jonathan’s admitted that members of the president’s camp were angry at Mr. Obasanjo for trying to remotely control the ruling party long after his exit from power. The People Democratic Party recently stated that there was no plan to reconcile the president and Mr. Obasanjo.

On his part, Mr. Obasanjo has said in private and public forums that President Jonathan is bound to leave in 2015. The former president’s statement is at odds with Aso Rocks’ strategy of leaving Mr. Jonathan’s opponents guessing as to his next plans.

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Man brutally Beats Mother-In-Law For Teaching His Wife Prostitution

A Zimbabwe man has been arraigned before the court of law for ruthlessly thumping his mother-in-law accusing her of teaching his wife prostitution.

Steven Tshuma beat up his mother-in-law, only identified as Gogo Simangaphi (74). The incident took place on 20 November. State prosecutor, Maxwell Hapanyengwi, told the court that on the day in question, the accused went to Simangaphi’s homestead and accused her of teaching his wife prostitution. 

When he got to the homestead, the son-in-law entered into his mother-in-law’s bedroom hut and dragged her by the hand. Tshuma is said to have pushed the elderly woman out of the hut before descending on her several times with a lof.

 As a result of the beating, Gogo Simangaphi sustained serious injuries. Having completed ‘dealing’ with her, Tshuma proceeded to his grandmother, Sonny Tshuma’s homestead, where he demanded to see his wife. He accused his grandmother (84) of hiding his wife in the bedroom. A misunderstanding between gogo Sonny and Tshuma ensued as a result of the accusations. To prove he meant ‘business’, Tshuma whipped his grandmother with a log and the old woman sustained serious injuries too as a result of the assault.

 For his savage behaviour, Tshuma appeared before magistrate Ndumo Masuku where he pleaded guilty to charged that were levelled against him. He was convicted but sentence will be passed on 12 December.

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Four Boko Haram Chieftains Killed, Two Soldiers Injured in Borno Clash

The Joint Task Force, JTF, in Borno State yesterday said its men had killed 'four sub commanders' of the Boko Haram insurgents while two soldiers sustained injuries during three days of uninterrupted raids carried out in parts of Maiduguri and neighbourhoods.

The JTF said a large cache of arms, Improvised Explosives and ammunitions meant for deadly attacks in the forthcoming Christmas had been recovered from hideouts.

A statement signed by JTF spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa said the gun fight between the Task Force and Boko Haram fighters was a follow up to the killing of Abdulkareem Ibrahim, whom the JTFdescribed as a "high profile Boko Haram commander", in a joint operation along Damboa- Biu road on December 2, 2012.

Ibrahim was reportedly among the 19 Boko Haram suspects the JTF placed a bounty of N290 million on their heads.

In the latest operation, the JTF spokesman said, "based on additional information made available to the JTF, sustained follow up operations were successfully conducted at Sabon Gere, Sabon Layin Gwange, Dala Sajeri, Biafra and Suleimanti areas of Maiduguri metropolis between December 3 and 5, 2012

"Consequently, four identified Boko Haram terrorists sub commanders including two experts in the manufacturing of Improvised ExplosiveDevices were killed in a shot out with our troops while two soldiers were wounded," he said.

Sagir said items recovered from the insurgents include: five AK 47 Rifles, a pistol, 11 AK 47 Rifles' empty magazines, 1 G3 Rifle, 176 assorted ammunition, quantity of assorted primed IEDs, gas cylinders, pieces of IEDs remote control switches, assorted IEDs and incendiary materials/ chemicals and 15 small primed IED cans.

"All the recovered items are planned to be used by the terrorists for operation "Black Christmas" - aimed to disrupt peaceful conduct of the impending Christmas celebration in Borno State," Sagir said.

Weekly Trust reports that though the JTF statement was silent on civilian casualties and arrests, it was gathered that over 50 youths have been arrested and taken to various detention cells.

On Thursday, journalists saw military Hilux trucks, fully loaded with youths faced down, lying flat as the vehicles zoomed to unknown destinations.

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Subsidy Scam: FG Recovers N29bn From Suspects

The Federal Government said it has recovered N29 billion out of the N232 billion fraudulently claimed by petrol marketers.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, dropped the hint in Abuja on Monday.

Ms. Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke during a roundtable at the ongoing Nigerian Economic Conference, said the amount was recovered from some marketers who defrauded the Federal Government in the oil subsidy payment scheme.

The minister maintained that the recovery exercise was part of government’s determination to fight corrupt practices in the oil and gas sector.

“Now of the N232 billion that has been put forward as fraudulent claims, some of those marketers said government owed them money. We are right now able to hold N29 billion of that.

“So instead of paying them, we are recovering what they owe us. So, my single hope is that out of this, we have recovered virtually that amount of about N29 billion and we are looking to recover the balance of the total.

“Some of these people are being chased and prosecuted and the EFCC and ICPC are still investigating this,” she said.

The minister said that about 50 marketers were being investigated over the subsidy scam.

She attributed the slow pace of payment of the subsidy claims, to marketers, to the ongoing verification and thorough scrutiny of such claims by relevant agencies.

Ms. Okonjo-Iweala said that only genuine claims of oil marketers would be entertained.

“We have never stopped paying because all these issues about queues and so on, of course sometimes the marketers have said unless you pay us, we are not going to bring in oil.

“But we have not yielded to any of that kind of stress or even blackmail, we have continued to do our work and we will continue to pay those who are clean,” she said.

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American Football Player K*lls Girlfriend, Then Himself After A Heated Argument

Professional American football team Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend in the early morning hours on Saturday, December 1, then drove to Arrowhead Stadium where he committed suicide in front of his football coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli, say police.

25-year-old Belcher and his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins began arguing at 7AM at a Kansas City residence. At about 7:50AM Belcher opened fire, shooting the 22-year-old victim multiple times. She was taken to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead. He then drove to his football stadium, thanked his coach and manager for all they had done and shot himself.

As facts from the morbid murder/suicide continue to unfold, a source told the Kansas City Star that Belcher and his girlfriend had argued the night before after a Trey Songz concert.

“A friend of the woman killed today by Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher said the couple argued in the early morning hours after the woman was out late attending Friday’s Trey Songz concert at The Midland,” the publication reports. “The friend, who asked not to be identified, said Belcher confronted his girlfriend when she returned home about 1AM.” The friend said she “wasn’t aware of any prior physical abuse.”

Belcher’s mother was visiting and at the home at the time of the shooting. She was reportedly watching the couple’s 2-month-old daughter and is being interviewed by police.

Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt released the following statement on the deaths:

“The entire Chiefs family is deeply saddened by today’s events, and our collective hearts are heavy with sympathy, thoughts and prayers for the families and friends affected by this unthinkable tragedy.

“We sincerely appreciate the expressions of sympathy and support we have received from so many in the Kansas City and NFL communities, and ask for continued prayers for the loved ones of those impacted. We will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities and work to ensure that the appropriate counselling resources are available to all members of the organization.”

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Police rescue four abducted female corps members in Rivers

FOUR female corps members abducted at the Iriebe corps members’ lodge in Oyibo Local Council of Rivers State were Sunday rescued by the police.

TG learnt that a gang of about seven armed bandits gained entrance into the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) transit camp at Iriebe through the fallen part of the fence. They   entered the corps members’ rooms through the doors that had no burglary proofs, stole their phones, laptops and cash.

It was further learnt that the hoodlums abducted four of the female corps members during the operation.

While confirming the incident, the Spokesman of the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ben Ugwuegbulem, said the Oyigbo Police Division swiftly mobilised the team of police officers to the scene immediately they received the information.

He said that the hoodlums abandoned the corps members as the police chased them.

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I’m worth more than all the assets mentioned in my father’s Will – Ojukwu’s Disinherited Son

As expected, the will of late Biafran warlord, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, recently read to members of the family has continued to generate a lot of controversies. Barely 48 hours after the reading of the long-awaited Will left by the late Igbo leader, his disinherited first son, Sylvester, has said he is worth more than the assets mentioned in his father’s Will. But Sylvester, who said he is worth over N3 billion, doubted the authenticity of the Will, describing it as a concoction.

According to Sylvester “Even if it is true, I am worth over N3 billion, which is more than the assets mentioned in my father’s Will,” he said. Speaking with Sunday Sun on phone, he expressed surprise over the content of the Will, saying he did not believe it was indeed drafted by his father. His words: “I am surprised, and I doubt that the Will was drafted by my father. It was a concoction.

Saying the Will seemed to have been drafted in a hurry by people desperate to achieve an aim, he said “But, if it is the true Will of my father, I have no problem with that. After all, this is not the first time a first son is disinherited from his father’s Will.” He said being disinherited from one’s father’s Will does not stop one from being his child. “If it is truly that of my father, being disinherited from his Will does not stop me from being Ojukwu’s first son.”

A legal practioner, Sylvester said that through a DNA test a person could lose his paternity if it is proved that he is not the rightful child of his father. It would be recalled that Sylvester had dragged the Ojukwu family to court for preventing him from performing ‘dust to dust’ rites at his father’s burial. In the controversial Will, the late Ikemba apportioned the lion’s share of his estate to his wife, Bianca, and appointed her, the late Igwe of Oraukwu, Emeka Ojukwu and James Chukwuneme as trustees and executors of the documents.

Source: the Sun

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Shocker: Obasanjo Calls For a Revolution

During a recent conference on youth employment in Dakar, Senegal, former President Olusegun Obasanjo shocked his audience by openly calling for a revolution in Nigeria.

Also, it will be recalled that the former President called Nigerians to come out en masse for a Nigerian type “Arab spring (revolution)” during a workshop on economic diversification and revenue generation in December 2011 at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Obasanjo’s call was hinged on the prevailing high rate of youth unemployment, which he estimated to be about 72 per cent. If the audience in Dakar was shocked, then the residents of Warri in Delta State were utterly astonished when he commented on President Goodluck Jonathan’s handling of the crisis in the North.

Most Nigerians are unable to understand why and how a former President could incite the people to the path of revolution as a measure to check unemployment.

They become jittery when such comments come from a retired Army general of the calibre and stature of Obasanjo. His insistence on a revolution has become an unpalatable cliché that Nigerians must decipher.

Obasanjo’s statements are more unsettling because he has unrestrained access to Aso Rock to advise and even brief Jonathan on such issues relating to national security.

Also, he has the opportunity to meet Jonathan one-on-one during their monthly National Council of State meetings in Aso Rock. And so why does the former President rage and attempt to pull down what he has helped in building?

Like all human beings, the former President has his own shortcomings. The most prominent of these is his pay-back mentality for any request scorned or denied.

He believes so much in the myth that he is a superhero. As Nigeria’s patron saint, he believes that he is the best President this country ever had.

Today, Obasanjo’s call for a Nigerian type Arab Spring has revealed his short-sightedness.

The Arab Spring or Arab Uprising started in Tunisia on December 18, 2010 when a Tunisian unemployed graduate Mohamed Bouazizi set himself ablaze to protest police corruption and brutality.

The ensuing protest spread throughout Tunisia with increased violence. The result was that the then Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2011.

The protests spread through North Africa and the Gulf States engulfing Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and Syria. Echoes of the Arab Spring resounded in Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Djibouti, et cetera.

Today the dregs of the Arab Spring are yet to settle. President Hosni Mubarak was forced to flee on February 11, 2011. And till date, Egypt does not have a stable government as Tahrir Square has become a symbol of the peoples’ solidarity.

Even with the democratic election of President Mohammed Morsy of the Moslem Brotherhood, Egypt is as unstable as an ancient blackboard standing on three legs, with the hind leg broken off.

Obasanjo’s call for a revolution because of youth unemployment is misplaced. People like him should not pray for a revolution, not even for their children because revolutions are cataclysmic, destructive and unpredictable. The no-nonsense former President needs some tutorial on revolutions.

In his recent role as the moderator for Bishop Ayo Oritsejafor’s 40th anniversary on the pulpit, he lambasted President Goodluck Jonathan’s weak response to the Boko Haram crisis.

Obasanjo flaunted his genocidal and criminal demolition of Odi in Bayelsa State, where unidentified militants killed 19 soldiers. Some day, he will appear at the War Crime Tribunal at the Hague to answer for heinous crimes against the residents of Odi.

The former President speaks of unemployment, but he has forgotten that he laid a solid foundation for this by wasting $16bn on electricity generation without any impact on Nigeria’s electricity generation and distribution.

At the time he handed over to the late Umaru Yar’Adua, Nigeria’s electricity megawatts was a paltry 2000 for a population of 140 million people while South Africa boasts 50,0000 megawatts for its 45million people.

Industries started folding up and relocating to Ghana during Obasanjo’s government with hundreds of thousands of workers thrown into the unemployment market. He built a personal library in Abeokuta worth N7bn and coerced Nigeria’s richest businessmen, some of who are his business partners, to bank-roll the project which he cunningly named the Presidential Library Project.

What more can we mention now? Is it the pauperisation of Nigerians due to the increase in the price of commodity items like rice, sugar, cement, flour and noodles, which were licensed to only one man to import, or the quarterly increase in the price of petroleum products?

God save Nigeria.

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