Soyinka not our adviser, say Avengers

                             Avengers deny Professor Wole Soyinka, pictured here with President Buhari 


The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) has debunked as untrue a news report  that it had named Professor  Wole Soyinka as one of its advisers in the planned dialogue with Nigeria’s  federal government.

On the contrary, the terrorist group expressed its support for Chief Edwin Clark to lead the Pan Niger Delta Negotiation/Dialogue Team to discuss with the federal government.
Spokesperson of NDA, Mudoch Agbinibo said this in a statement  made available to newsmen in Warri.
This clarification is coming two days after the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) had pledged its support and unalloyed loyalty to Clark on the struggle for dialogue.
The militant group noted that some names being paraded as factions of the NDA were the figment of persons bent on protecting their jobs.

LASG moves to clean up Ikoyi, VI

                                   Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mr. Olatunji Bello

The Lagos State Government on Sunday said owners of illegal and abandoned structures, as well as street hawkers and those who have converted walkways into trading points in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and the Lagoon front, Lekki, must remove such within 14 days.

The Secretary to the State Government, Tunji Bello, said if such illegal structures were not removed after the 14-day ultimatum, the state Special Task Force on the clean-up of the Ikoyi and Lekki areas would enforce the laws.

He said “Abandoned structures in Ikoyi, Lekki and Victoria Island are now harbouring prostitutes, miscreants and unwanted elements. Owners of such property must clear their structures.”

Bello said owners of property on the Lagoon fronts of Lekki Phase 1, who littered the areas with dead weight equipment, must remove them.

Man drives light aeroplane he built to work

                                      Frantisek Hadrava- parking his ultralight aeroplane at work


Frantisek Hadrava thought driving to work for 14 minutes was too much, so he built an aeroplane to cut the commute by half.

Hadrava, a 45-year old locksmith from the south-western Czech village of Zdikov, took about two years of his spare time to build his Vampira, an ultralight plane based on the U.S.-design of light planes called Mini-Max.
The plane has an open cockpit, propeller powered by a 3-cylinder engine made by Czech firm Verner, and maximum speed of 146 km (91 miles) an hour. It cost about 3,700 euros ($4,200) to build, Hadrava said.

Lassa fever: Group to buy rats from Lagosians

In a bid to avert incidents of Lassa fever and other vector-borne diseases in Lagos State, a non-governmental organisation, Phosguard Fumigant Limited, in partnership with the state government, has introduced a bounty, ‘Kill rats, make money.’

Under the project, rodents in the state will be bought by the NGO after they had been killed using hi-tech chemicals and equipment that would make their decomposing bodies non-infectious, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

Philippines drugs war: The woman who kills dealers for a living

                                                pix: Carlo Gabuco

                                                 pix: Carlo Gabuco

                                             pix: Carlo Gabuco

             Pix: Reuters - President Duterte came to power promising to crack down on crime and drugs
The Philippines is in the midst of a brutal war on drugs sanctioned by the controversial President Rodrigo Duterte, which has seen almost 2,000 killings in a matter of weeks. The BBC's Jonathan Head explores the country's dark underbelly of dealers and assassins through the story of one woman trapped in a chilling predicament.
When you meet an assassin who has killed six people, you don't expect to encounter a diminutive, nervous young woman carrying a baby.
"My first job was two years ago in this province nearby. I felt really scared and nervous because it was my first time."
Maria, not her real name, now carries out contract killings as part of the government-sanctioned war on drugs.

Italy earthquake: Boy, 14, among three UK deaths

A 14-year-old boy from London was among three Britons killed in Wednesday's earthquake in central Italy.

Marcos Burnett was on holiday with his parents and sister when the quake hit.
Will Henniker-Gotley, 55, and his wife Maria, 51, from Stockwell in London, also died.
Both families were staying in the same property in Sommati, a hamlet outside Amatrice, where emergency teams are continuing to search for survivors. At least 268 people lost their lives.
Marcos Burnett's parents suffered from minor injuries and are being treated in hospital in Italy. His sister also survived.

This is so cute

ABC News ‏@ABC

2-year-old Texas girl can't contain her excitement for first day of preschool. http://abcn.ws/2cfJJGR

How to verify your Vehicle Plate Number

It is no longer news that the plate number of your car may be in use by another car. It is no secret that wherever an original is, the fake could be an earshot away. It is rather worrisome according to investigations made that out of every 10 cars on the road with Lagos and Abuja number plates, at least four are fake.
The Federal Road Safety Corps, the agency charged with the responsibility of issuing vehicle plate numbers has made it easy for vehicle owners in Nigeria to verify the authenticity of their vehicle plate numbers.

Another blow for Donald Trump

                                     Donald Trump Apprentice: Photo Illustration by Daily Beast


In yet another salacious story about US Republican candidate, Donald Trump, the Daily Beast revealed today that part of the deal in appearing on The Apprentice with Donald Trump requires agreeing to a series of odd and invasive demands regarding sex, nudity, and food consumption.

DAILY BEAST quoting  a copy of an NBC contract said  contestants had to agree to be filmed, “whether I am clothed, partially clothed or naked, whether I am aware or unaware of such videotaping, filming or recording.”
2016 is the first election in American history in which lowbrow entertainment and politics have merged to such a degree that they are nearly indistinguishable. The requirements for The Apprentice contestants, while almost certainly not mandated by Trump himself, underscore just how strange this brave new world is.

Man plans sister’s kidnap for being stingy, demands N300,000

A 27-year-old man, Chigozie Egegonye, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly planning the kidnap of his sister, identified only as Franca.

Franca and her four children had been declared missing since April 2016, when they suddenly disappeared from their home on Mayowa Street, Ago-Palace Way, Okota, Lagos.

PUNCH Metro gathered that Egegonye told his childhood friend, Michael Oluchukwu, that despite the wealth of his sister, she was stingy.

Our correspondent learnt that Oluchukwu, a cobbler, sent a text message to the victim, giving her an ultimatum of 12 hours to pay N300,000 or risk being kidnapped and killed.

It was learnt that Franca called the suspect and pleaded for her life, saying she could only afford N50,000.

JAMB set to publish admission lists

                                                 Students writing JAMB.


The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it will soon commence  uploading names of candidates who have been offered admission into tertiary institution on their website.

The board’s Head, Media and Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.
According to him, the board will ensure that Nigerian children are not unjustly denied admission in any institution of their choice.
He said that the names of candidates that had satisfactorily met the admission rules and regulations of the institutions and that of the Federal Government would be uploaded soon.
“We have just concluded a five-day Technical Committee meeting on Admission that started on Aug. 22 at the Bayero University Kano.

I am scared of marriage – Nollywood actress

                                 Nollywood actress, Ebube Nwagbo          photo: dindindara.com


Nollywood Actress, Ebube Nwagbo, has shared her fears concerning marriage following the high cases of divorce in the industry.

The Anambra State-born actress spoke to ‘Star Gist.’
She said she always tried to keep to herself but the industry where she found myself was a complex one.
According to her, one has to be very close to her in order to know the real Ebube, because most times she camouflages just to create an impression.
“The real me is not what you see in TV or read on the papers; but I am also human; I have my moods, my bad sides, my flaws, etc.
“I love the good thing of life, so I work hard to get them; I only stress myself when money is involved.

Kano collapsed building: Our students are safe, says VC

The Vice Chancellor of Kano State University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Professor Shehu Alhaji Musa, has dismissed as false, reports that 20 people lost their lives when part of a building under construction collapsed at the Department of Architecture.

Musa at a press conference, held at the NUJ Press Centre Kano, said that only five persons sustained injuries, while no life was lost during the incident.

The VC explained that of the five injured, two had already been discharged, while only one suffered a fracture.

Herdsmen kill Redeemed pastor in Kaduna

                                                                    Herdsman

Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen on Sunday night killed one Pastor Luka Ubangari of Redeemed Christian Church of God at Shawa village, near Godogodo, in Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Ubangari was said to have been ambushed, shot and killed while returning from evangelism to Golkofa village.

The incident occurred few days after Governor Nasir El-Rufai condemned incessant herdsmen killings during his visit to the area.

El-Rufai had described the killings as ‘senseless’ and promised that perpetrators are arrested and punished.

STOLEN INNOCENCE

According to Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, ‘child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse that includes sexual activity with a minor.’ Violence against children has taken different shapes. The damage to the psyche of the child cannot be quantified.

Nigerian Criminal Codes define rape as “unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or a girl, without her consent.” The penal code applicable in Northern Nigeria, defines rape in the same manner but provides that “sexual intercourse by man with his own wife is not rape, if she has attained the age of puberty.” Both criminal codes imposed life imprisonment as punishment for the offence.

 Of all the violent acts against minors, child rape remains the most traumatising. The most painful aspect of it all is that these acts of wickedness and perversion are carried out by close family associates, persons in power, mostly trusted by parents of these children or the children themselves. Perpetrators of child rape shouldn’t be treated with kids gloves.

NDLEA official drowns while chasing drug baron

                                                    NDLEA File copy

The Borno State Command of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency has confirmed the death of one its staff who got drowned in a river while chasing a notorious drug baron.

Ona Ogilegwu, NDLEA Commandant in Borno, said on Monday that the incident occurred during an operation in Gwange area of Maiduguri.

He said, “In an effort to arrest a notorious baron, four men of the command were involved in a water mishap after diving into the Gwange River in pursuit of the suspect.”

The narcotic boss said that the NDLEA officials were involved in the mishap because they could not swim.

Eight killed in Zamfara over alleged blasphemy against Islam

 

                                                                  Governor Abdulaziz Yari

No fewer than eight persons were killed on Monday in Talata-Mafara community in Zamfara State after violence erupted over alleged blasphemy against Islam by a student of Abdu Gusau Polytechnic, Talata-Mafara.

Governor Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari joined hundreds of people to bury the deceased who were killed when an angry mob set fire on the house of a man who tried to rescue the student.

The student was alleged to have made a blasphemous statement against Islam and Prophet Muhammad and was consequently attacked by a mob.

The boy was said to have been beaten to pulp by the mob. The man, whose name was simply given as Tajudeen, took him in his car and rushed him to a hospital.