Power Gens Pack Up At MMA Airport

Power cuts have caused series of near-tragic landings at the Lagos airport, in southwest Nigeria, over the past few days, passengers aboard the lucky planes have said. And the two electricity generators serving the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, have broken down, thus compounding the situation.

On Monday night, as an Emirates Flight EK781 was about to land, a sudden power cut struck, forcing the pilot to divert the plane to Lome, capital of Togo, a neighbouring West .

The Emirates plane, an Airbus A340-500, had arrived from Dubai, United Arab Emirates and had already received clearance for landing from the traffic controllers when the near accident happened at about 7.44 pm, reports said.

The plane, it was learnt, returned to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, several hours later and made a safe landing at about 11p.m.

A few minutes after, passengers said, there was another power outage at Nigeria’s gateway. The incident was almost a repeat of what happened to a Kenyan Airways flight on Saturday night.

The Kenyan Airways had come from Nairobi, Kenya, and had arrived the Lagos airport at about 9p.m. in complete darkness.

“The blackout was total,” said a passenger onboard the plane.

“The experience I had on Saturday was very difficult. The runway light at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos was switched off. The arrival hall was dark and the immigration officials were using torchlight to work. I even wanted to talk with the pilot but it was too dark and I couldn’t see her.”

The passenger, a frequent traveller, pledged anonymity but called on Nigerian authorities to come clean with the truth.

When contacted, the spokesperson of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Datti, said that rain storms were to blame.

He also admitted that since the generator house was blown off last year, it had not been fixed and the water penetrated the panels.

As a result, he said, the panels were soaked and could not transmit power to the E-wing of the terminal building.

He said: “The heavy rain storm that occurred in Lagos yesterday, March 4, disrupted power supply to the Murtala Muhammed Airport for about six minutes due to a power surge from the two main PHCN power supply sources to the airport.”

The airport is connected to two main power sources from Ejigbo and Egbin power stations.

Datti said the storm initially knocked off the power supply from Ejigbo which led to a three-minute outage at the airport before FAAN engineers switched over to the alternate power supply source from Egbin.  “That supply line was later affected by the storm, leading to another three minute power outage,” he said.

“Our engineers then switched over to the airport’s standby generators, some panels of which were unfortunately soaked with water, due to the heavy flooding that resulted from the heavy rainfall.

“This resulted in a blackout at the ‘E’ wing of the airport, including the avio bridges. It was for this reason that arriving passengers on an international flight were processed through an alternative route at the terminal and in the process, were exposed momentarily to the rain,” he said.

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Shekau’s Boko Haram beheads ‘informant’ in new video

The leader of Nigeria’s Boko Haram denied any ceasefire deal with the government in a video obtained Tuesday in which a man accused of being an informant appears to be beheaded on camera.

Abubakar Shekau also makes no mention of kidnappings in the video, including last month’s abduction of seven members of a French family in neighbouring Cameroon that was blamed on his group.

It was not clear when or where the video was made. The clip has been distributed to Nigerian journalists in the country’s north in recent days through intermediaries.

Sources familiar with Boko Haram say it was handed out in this manner because Nigerian authorities have been blocking the group’s videos from being uploaded to YouTube.

AFP could not verify the authenticity of the video but the man speaking closely resembles a person identified in previous clips as Shekau.

There are two separate parts to the video: one of Shekau speaking and another of the apparent beheading. Shekau cannot be seen in the second part.

The video is in part a response to a man claiming to be a Boko Haram commander who has appeared in public several times in recent months calling for dialogue and declaring a ceasefire.

There has been deep suspicion over whether the man calling for the ceasefire has truly represented Boko Haram.

“We have never made a truce with anybody, and no one represented us in any dialogue,” Shekau, wearing a knee-length green caftan and with an AK-47 dangling from his neck, says in the video, which is about 10 minutes long.

Speaking in the Hausa language common throughout northern Nigeria, he names the man who made the ceasefire claim, Sheikh Muhammed Abdulazeez Ibn Idris, and promises punishment for those who falsely represent the group.

“We have not entered into dialogue with anyone,” he says. “Which kind of dialogue, for God’s sake, when day and night our brothers are being arrested, imprisoned, including women and children?”

Shekau is flanked by six men holding weapons with their faces covered by headscarves, standing outdoors in an unknown location.

After he finishes speaking, the video cuts to another clip that shows a man with his hands and legs bound. A group of men pin him to the ground, while one appears to slit his throat.

They later appear to behead the victim, who is labelled an informant who provided information to the military. Shekau cannot be seen in the clip of the apparent killing and beheading.

Violence linked to Boko Haram’s insurgency in northern and central Nigeria has led to the deaths of some 3,000 people since 2009, including killings by the security forces.

A video that emerged on YouTube on February 25 showed the kidnapped French family as well as their abductors, who claimed to be from Boko Haram, though the video was significantly different from past footage attributed to the group.

Boko Haram had never before claimed responsibility for a kidnapping, though a splinter faction of the group, known as Ansaru, has appeared to focus on abducting foreigners in recent months.

The group is believed to have a number of factions with varying aims.

source:PMnews

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Gunmen target Nigerian bank

 Gunmen killed eight people in an attack on a police station and a bank in north-eastern Nigeria, a witness and a security official said on Tuesday, in an area frequently targeted by Islamist militants. 

 

The attackers stormed the town of Gwoza late on Monday, close to the Cameroon border in Borno state, where Islamist sect Boko Haram has killed hundreds in an insurgency.

It was not clear if the gunmen were Boko Haram members or one of several criminal gangs that have flourished amid worsening security in the north. 

“The divisional police officer and two other policemen were killed when the station was attacked and the manager of a local bank and four others also lost their lives,” local resident Umar Yahuza told Reuters. 

A security official in Gwoza who asked not to be named confirmed eight people had been killed.Western governments fear Boko Haram, or factions of it, have linked up with other groups in the region, including al-Qaeda's North African franchise.

The Nigerian group is seeking to carve out an Islamic state in a country split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims. 

Attacks in northern Nigeria are increasingly targeting foreign interests, especially since a French-led operation last month against Islamists in northern Mali. Nigeria has sent hundreds of troops there to join the operation. 

A French family of seven were kidnapped last month just over the Cameroon border, close to Gwoza, by a group claiming to be Boko Haram who said it would kill the hostages if authorities did not release Muslim militants held in prison. 

On Sunday, the Nigerian military said it killed 20 militants when it repelled an attack a barracks in Borno state.

Gunmen killed a security guard and abducted a Briton, an Italian, a Greek and four Lebanese workers after storming the compound of Lebanese construction firm Setraco in Bauchi state on February 16. - Reuters

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26-year-old hides cocaine in sandals, bag (PICTURED)

Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Monday arrested 26-year-old Igwe Ogbonna for possessing 630 grammes of cocaine hidden inside two pairs of sandals and his luggage.

The discovery was made at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos while Ognonna was attempting to board a Kenyan Airways flight to India.

According to the NDLEA Airport commander, Mr Hamza Umar, the suspect wore one pair of the sandals while another pair of sandals containing drug was in his luggage.

Umar said, “The suspect was arrested following the discovery of the drug during a routine search. Officers first found some cocaine inside the pair of sandals Ogbonna wore at the screening area.

“During the search, some quantities of cocaine were equally found in another pair of sandals and inside his luggage. He was found with 630 grammes of cocaine hidden inside two pairs of sandals and in his luggage.

Ogbonna said that he was travelling to India to further his studies.

He said, “I was advised to further my education in India since I had an uncle living there. They gave me only 700 dollars, still I was excited because I have always wanted to further my education.

“I was directed to Lagos from the East after my travel documents had been prepared and the bag and pairs of sandals handed over to me.

“The people who advised me also instructed me to wear one of the sandals, so I felt bad when the drug was detected.”

Chairman of the agency, Ahmadu Giade, said that efforts were being made to arrest other persons connected to the crime.

He said, “The agency is working to identify other suspects who are involved in this criminal act.

“I also wish to state that members of the public should be careful when people offer to sponsor them abroad. Investigation has since commenced and the suspect will soon be charged to court.”

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Nigeria: Broadcast Regulator Closes Down Radio Station

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a decision by Nigeria's media regulatory body to shut down a radio station in connection with a broadcast that questioned the local government's motives in an anti-polio vaccination program.

The federal government-run National Broadcasting Commission issued a statement on February 22, saying it had revoked the license of the private station Wazobia FM in the northern city of Kano, according to news reports. The station has been off the air since. Authorities accused the station of violating a part of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code that prohibits the use of language "likely to encourage or incite crime, or lead to disorder," according to the Nigerian press freedom group Media Rights Agenda. The commission did not include specific examples of the show inciting crime or disorder. Awwalu Salihu, spokesman for the commission, also told CPJ that he would not give any specific examples.

"Nigerian authorities closed Wazobia FM because they did not like its critical coverage, and then they cloaked their decision in highly charged but unsupported allegations of incitement," said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. "We call on the National Broadcasting Commission to reverse this censorship order immediately."

The decision stemmed from a February 6 edition of "Sandar Girma," a daily Hausa-language talk show in which Wazobia host Yakubu Musa Fagge accused local officials of corruption and coercive tactics in their handling of a polio immunization campaign, according to a translated transcript done by Agence France-Presse. Fagge said that officials in Kano were refusing to get their own children vaccinated because of their beliefs, but were forcing the "children of commoners" to do so. He suggested the vaccine was harmful and said the officials had opposed the program for years, but had only now begun to force children to receive them because unspecified Western officials had promised them unspecified amounts of money in return.

Authorities in Kano state had boycotted a polio vaccination program between 2003 and 2004, with officials, including then-Governor Ibrahim Shekarau and local clerics, calling it a U.S.-led conspiracy to make Muslim women infertile, according to international news reports. Shekarau, who is now a top traditional chief, eventually embraced the practice.

In the February 6 broadcast, Fagge also commented on reports of an altercation from earlier that day. The journalist described a confrontation between immunization workers and a private citizen who was trying to prevent the vaccination of his child. Mubarak Muhamad Sani, a Wazobia reporter who witnessed the dispute, said he was attacked in the confrontation and his equipment seized.

Shortly after the show, the National Broadcasting Commission indefinitely suspended the program, according to Mohammed Suleiman, another Wazobia FM journalist. On February 12, authorities filed charges against Fagge and Sani, including criminal conspiracy, abetment, defamation of character, obstruction of a public officer carrying out his duty, intentional insult, and incitement to violence, according to news reports. Police also said the journalists' comments on the air could have had led unidentified gunmen to kill nine polio workers on February 8, although the government has not produced any evidence to support the statement.

The 11-member commission, established by the military junta of Gen. Ibrahim Babaginda, possesses sweeping control over mandatory licensing and regulation, according to news reports. The commission is not required to hold a public hearing prior to revoking the license of a media outlet. A 2001 study conducted by Article 19 found that the commission's regulatory powers were "broad and vague," its licensing process "arbitrary and susceptible to discriminatory application," and its restrictions on content "excessive and contrary to international standards."

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Nigerian Kills 67-Year-Old Australian Lover

Australian Police have said a great grandmother who was found dead in South Africa was murdered by her online Nigerian scammer she met on a dating site. Australian Federal Police officers are already in Nigeria investigating the woman's death.

The West Australian newspaper reported, Monday, that the body of Jette Jacobs, 67, from Wagin in Australia was found in a Johannesburg guest house on February 9, 2013, more than two months after she reportedly went there to meet a Nigerian, 28-year-old Jesse Orowo Omokoh. Omokoh was the last person to see Ms Jacobs alive and told police he found her body. He has since disappeared.

Australasian police officer, Robert Martin, from the major fraud squad, said police were in contact with Australian Federal Police officers in Nigeria about Ms Jacobs' death and investigations were in the early stages. He said her death appeared suspicious and he confirmed Omokoh was a suspect.

He said Ms Jacobs forwarded Mr Omokoh $80,000 after they met online and sent him a further $20,000 once she arrived in Johannesburg.

"She actually sold her home believing she was going to be starting a new life overseas and it ended in tragedy. This is the first time we have seen this happen," he said.

He said relationship scams had become a "massive problem", costing West Australians between $600,000 and $1 million each month.

The report said Ms Jacobs, a widow who had six children, struck up an online relationship with Omokoh three years ago and travelled to South Africa to meet him in 2010 before he proposed late last year. Over several years she sent $200,000 to Omokoh and another man she met online, known as Isaac.

Despite warnings from family, Ms Jacobs went to South Africa in November to marry Omokoh but he failed to turn up until last month, blaming visa troubles.

Two days after he arrived from Nigeria, Ms Jacobs was found dead, with her jewellery and money missing. It is believed South African police initially thought she had committed suicide, as empty pill packets were found nearby. But the victim's son, who did not want to be identified, said his mother met with foul play.

The son said: "We tried to talk her out of it but no one could convince her it wasn't real and there was nothing there for her. But she kept believing there was and unfortunately we weren't strong enough to stop her going."

Detectives from Australia's Operation Sunbird, a joint operation with consumer protection to investigate online scams sent Ms Jacobs a letter warning she might have been a victim of fraud but it arrived after she had left Australia.

The victim's youngest daughter, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Jackson, told Seven News Omokoh wanted to move to Australia but her mother wanted to settle in Nigeria.

She said: "My mum paid the ultimate price, which no one should have to. We don't want to see this happening to anybody else."

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Aliko Dangote Moves Up from 76th to 43rd Richest Man in the World- 2013 Forbes Billionaires

Nigerian billionaire business mogul, Aliko Dangote has moved up in the latest Forbes world’s richest ranking from the 76th position which he maintained in 2012 to the 43rd position. According to the list which was released on Monday by Forbes, Dangote – President of Dangote Group and Chairman of Globacom, Mike Adenuga were the only Nigerians on the list. 

 With a net worth of $16.1 Billion as of March 2013, Dangote retained his position as the richest man in Africa. Meanwhile, Adenuga ranked 269 on the list with a net worth of $4.7 Billion. Here’s what Forbes had to say about Dangote: Nigerian Cement tycoon retains his position as Africa’s richest man for the third year in a row.

 The past year has been eventful for Dangote. In October, he sold off a controlling stake in his flour milling company to Tiger Brands of South Africa. He pocketed $190 million in cash. In February, his Dangote Sugar Refineries acquired a 95% stake in Nigerian sugar producer Savannah Sugar in a bid to maintain its dominant position in the Nigerian sugar industry. Dangote stepped up his philanthropy in the past year, giving over $100 million to causes ranging from education to health, flood relief, poverty alleviation and the arts.

 He also acquired a yacht, which he named after his mother, Amiya. Dangote started building his fortune more than three decades ago when he began trading in commodities like cement, flour and sugar with a loan he received from his maternal uncle.

 He delved into full production of these items in the early 2000s and went on to build the Dangote Group, West Africa’s largest publicly-listed conglomerate, which now owns sugar refineries, salt processing facilities and Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer.

 A fitness buff, Dangote jogs everyday. Carlos Slim (Mexico) maintains his position as the world’s richest man with a net worth of $73 Billion followed by Bill Gates (United States) with a net worth of $67 Billion. Amancio Ortega (Spain) takes the third position with a net worth of $57 Billion, Warren Buffet (United States) ranks fourth with $53.5 Billion while Larry Ellison (United States) ranks fifth with $43 Billion.

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See Female Preacher Who Preaches With Her B00bs Exposed (PICTURED)

Well, this sure looks like surprising but we will not be fooled.She is a preacher who sees nothing wrong with exposing her bust while spreading the word. Her sermons aptly named "The Gospel From The SKRIPPER POLE" gets a lot of fans, mostly men.These are definitely the last days

Above is a picture of her while giving one of her recent sermons.

Click here to see the uncensored picture and watch a video of her one of her sermon.

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Killers of 15 year old Nigerian boy, Junior Nkwelle, found guilty of manslaughter

The 14 year old girl who ordered the stabbing of 15 year old Nigerian boy, Junior Nkwelle, for being ‘disrespectful’ was found guilty of manslaughter yesterday March 1, 2013. 

Junior and his friends had been playing football near his home when an argument broke out. The teenage girl claimed Junior had insulted her during the argument. She then called her 16 year old boyfriend on the phone to a housing estate in Brixton and ordered him to ‘teach Junior a lesson’. The boyfriend thrust a carving knife once into Junior's chest, killing him. This happened in September 2012.

The teenage girl and her boyfriend were cleared of murder by a jury yesterday, but they are facing long prison terms after being  found guilty of manslaughter.

 Witnesses said they heard the girl boasting that she had arranged for someone to stab the teenager and she later went home to fetch a kitchen knife.

When her boyfriend arrived on the scene, he was handed the blade and used it to stab Junior once, piercing his heart and lung.

The youngster collapsed yards from his housing estate home in September last year and was pronounced dead an hour later. 

Prosecutor Jonathan Turner QC said the argument ‘was stupid  and trivial and completely unnecessary’.

‘It was loud enough to be heard by neighbours,’ he added. ‘Words were said, voices were raised and threats were made.

‘She thought that Junior had insulted her or been less than respectful to her. She was very angry and determined that he should be punished – indeed stabbed – to put things right.

‘She called up her boyfriend and was heard to tell Junior that she had arranged for somebody to come and stab him.’

Mr Turner added: ‘He (the defendant) was encouraged and requested by her to come and do this. Indeed, to use an old-fashioned phrase, was set up by her to do this.’ 

The now 17-year-old killer, from Herne Hill, South London, claimed he was acting as a peacemaker and knifed Junior in self-defence.

Both he and the girl, from Brixton, were given anonymity during the trial. They can't be named because of legal reasons. They will be sentenced on April 5.

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