Not in my time will the senate spend N47bn on cars- Saraki

Senate President Bukola Saraki has denied allegations that the senate is planning to spend N47 billion for car purchase. President Buhari during his media chat yesterday alleged that the senate was planning to spend the said money on cars but said he won't allow it.

Live tortoise found in a sealed bag of rice

A live tortoise was found in a sealed bag of rice and the person who shared it said it intended to kill a woman. A member of Rehoboth Bible Church International Apo posted this on Facebook.

Presidential media chat: Buhari speaks on oil subsidy, chiibok girls, Army/Shiite clash, others

President Buhari this evening hosted his maiden Presidential Media Chat since assuming office on May 29 this year. The journalists that interviewed are: Kayode Akintemi (Channels TV), Munir Dan Ali (Daily Trust), Ngozi Anyaegbulam (Media World International),  and Ibanga Isine (Premium Times). During the chat, he spoke on many issues. Read all that after the cut...

How are we doing with the fight against corruption?

Buhari:

"Thirty years ago as Head of State, we collected those we perceived to be corrupt and put them in protective custody, until they prove they were not guilty. At present, those suspected of being corrupt are innocent until they are proven guilty.  

"We have documents showing Nigerian crude oil was lifted illegally and proceeds are put into personal accounts instead of Government account. We are in court with suspected corrupt persons and we cannot comment until the court are through.We can only appeal to Nigerians to be patient."

"Our constraint is that the accused persons have to defend themselves in court to defend themselves. So, we cannot release their names to the public until the issues are completed in court. Whatever we recover will be presented in court. "The documentation in court include bank statements and documents from Customs Service that are to be presented in court. Until then, we ask Nigerians to have patience."  

"We have to be patient and await outcome of courts decision. Government will only react through the Ministry of Justice after the courts have finished with matters before them. "We have documents showing where monies have been lodged."

Is there need to rejig the EFCC, ICPC?

Buhari:

"We have to be very sure of the documents we get and we have to cross check records sometimes across countries and in the EFCC. Those who were engaged in the theft of oil were people of substance and have the wealth to hire the best of lawyers to defend them.

We need to submit fool-proof documents to succeed in prosecution.

How many people have ICPC prosecuted in the past? That is why we are being thorough now. By the end of first quarter of next year, we would be in a position to tell Nigerians how far we have gone. By the end of the first quarter of next year, we will tell Nigerians how far we have gone on the fight against corruption. I swore by the Holy Koran to defend the country's constitution and the law. So, we will not put any body above the law".

Asset declaration not so public after all, not fully made.

Buhari:

"I have declared my assets four times in the past. You have the constitutional right to go to the relevant government agency to go and seek for it. "They were deposited at the Ministry of Justice. If Ministry of Justice cannot produce my asset declaration form, then they too should answer some questions.

"Why me alone, why not others who were governors and Ministers as well. I think I don't have to ask them to give, it is your constitutional role."

Buhari says he swore by the Holy Quran to fight corruption

"‎By the end of the first quarter of next year, we will tell Nigerians how far we have gone on the fight against corruption. I swore by the Holy Koran to defend the country's constitution and the law. So, we will not put any body above the law."

On allegations that some members of his party that have been accused of corruption are being shielded from investigation, he said

"I don't tolerate corruption and I did not pick anyone that will corrupt my government. It is the right of Nigerians to take them to court. I have not taken anybody who is facing corruption charges. I cannot make the mistake of appointing anyone with corruption. Whoever is found to be corrupt would not only be sacked but prosecuted."

On the missing Chibok girls, Buhari said his administration is working towards their rescue

"‎We want to be sure that the girls are complete, safe and sound before we attempt any form of negotiation on the girls. We are still keeping our option. If a credible leadership of Boko Haram is ready for negotiation without any condition we are ready to listen to them. We are working with Niger, Chad and Cameroun on the girls. We have no credible intelligence of where they are. "

On the Shiite/Army clash, he said

"‎The President of Iran spoke to me about the situation. But, I told him that as a government we have a system we must follow. "As the head of the Federal Government, I told him I will have to wait for the official report from the Kaduna State government from their investigations. To be fair to the both sides, we have to wait for the report of the inquiry. I expect the Kaduna State government will bring the report on the inquiry because the crisis happened in its domain. There are all sorts of allegations. So, we just have to wait for the report.  I was in touch with the governor of Kaduna state and the president of Iran talked to me about it. We have a system of investigation as a government and as the head of the federal government, I have to wait for official report before I comment. The Police and the SSS are doing their own role of finding out what happened. In any incident where lives and property were lost there is a standard way of doing things and people would be asked to come and give evidence. How can any group create a state within a state? I saw a clip in which some dissidents were virtually hitting the chest of Generals."

On the possible devaluation of the Naira, Buhari said

"Personally, I don't support the devaluation of the Naira. We handed over a secured country in 1979, but by 1984, nobody knew how much Nigeria was owing. The situation now is aggravated by the downturn in the petroleum industry. It is now per barrel and we have debt service of about N1.5 trillion and we have commitment on the ground. We have to reorganize the NNPC. We have to introduce the TSA. There were 45 accounts in the NNPC alone. Ministry of Defence had about 70 accounts. We have got about N1.5 trillion through the TSA. The oil downturn is very unfortunate for this government. Check previous records. Over 90% were recurrent. No country can develop without capital projects. We were in very very bad shape. I will not support devaluation of the Naira. I need to be convinced that there is need for the country to devalue the Naira. Is it against the dollar or pound? We have our priorities. To provided money to fund the projects we have already outlined, and not for those who want hard currency to import textile and toothpick."

Regarding the continuous detention of Sambo Dasuki and Nnamdi Kanu: Buhari said, "If you see the atrocities those committed against this country, we can't allow them to jump bail."

Tragedy as policeman kills himself, twins in Lagos

Tears flowed freely in Ketu area of Lagos on Saturday after a policeman, believed to be under the influence of cannabis killed three persons and himself.

The officer, whose identity was given as Stephen James, committed the act around a popular hotel in the area.

It was gathered that among the deceased were twin brothers identified as Taiwo and Kehinde Oyesunle and their friend known simply as Jeje.

Sadly, the twins were the only children of their mother. Eyewitnesses said trouble started when the police sergeant with Force number 217884, threatened to shoot customers if they failed to buy him alcoholic drink.

Officer James, who was said to be a habitual smoker of marijuana, however, felt offended after the victims – Taiwo, Kehinde and Jeje – advised him to comport himself as an adult and a responsible policeman.

Angered by their utterance, the policeman reportedly ambushed and killed the three young men, who were in their early 30s, as they stepped outside the hotel premises where they had gone to celebrate Jeje’s birthday.

When the gravity of his act dawned on him, the policeman reportedly shot himself in the chest.
An eyewitness who gave his name as Segun said, “I was in the bar when the policeman first came in and threatened to shoot customers if they failed to buy him drinks. He boasted that he felt like killing someone today, but other customers and I pleaded with him.

“When the three guys walked in and sat, he went to them and threatened them too. But the guys told him to calm down that they would take care of him but he should comport himself as a responsible police officer.

“Nobody knew he took offence with their statement. The police officer shot the three guys one after the other as they stepped outside the hotel before killing himself. The whole thing happened like a movie,” he said.

The youths also wanted to burn the corpse of the officer, but policemen, who later got to the scene pleaded with them.

Policemen led by the Divisional Police Officer of the Ketu Police Station arrived at the scene at about 5.30 pm to carry the corpses away.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joe Offor, confirmed the incident, said he had not yet received the full details of the incident.
DSP Joe Offor said, “The policeman was on duty at that hotel. He was attached to Mopol 22, Ikeja. He was drunk while on duty and he acted under the influence of alcohol.”

Biafra: SSS yet to release Nnamdi Kanu despite court order

By Monica Isidi

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Five days after a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja ordered the release of the director of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, the state security service (SSS) is yet to release him.

Nnamdi kanu’s brother, Prince Kanu described the  continued detention of his brother by the SSS as a disappointment.

He said: “All the people he was arrested with were released on that same December 17, and the SSS just came up with another charge – treasonable felony.”

Prince said his brother’s lawyer would move to challenge the SSS action in court.

“Well, of course the barrister would be here today and we have to go to the court to contend that, he (the counsel) believe strongly that unless Nnamdi Kanu is released, no other charges will be observed in the court.

“I am not satisfied with the system, it is a huge disgrace on the judiciary, you understand, I am extremely disappointed with the federal government and with judiciary too; their stand on this case at the moment. With the entire practising lawyers at the moment, I am very very disappointed,” he said.

He added that it is saddening that the court is no longer the last hope of the common man, as it ought to be.

On flouting the court orders he said: “So why won’t the federal government abide by the rule of law, that’s the question I am asking? So, given that they have not yet honoured the rule of law, what is the judiciary supposed to do?

When they have cases like this and orders are flouted, what should be their reaction? They should be able to boldly condemn what the DSS are doing; if there is no condemnation on actions like that of the DSS, then Nigeria will not move forward.”

He said that insider’s reports have it that the SSS is planning to move Kanu out of Abuja.

“We were at the DSS on December 18, although they never allowed us access to him except the lawyer who saw him briefly, but the information reaching us here is that they intend to do so; they plan to move him to Kaduna,” he said.

Bomb found inside a Catholic Church in Kenya, device set to be denotated by experts

By Monica Isidi

A mass service was cut short this morning at Our Lady of Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Kirinyaga, Kenya, after an explosive was found on one of the pews. 

A Sikh officer and a religious liberty group have welcomed the U.S. Army’s temporary religious exemption for the officer.

Washington D.C., Dec 15, 2015 / 06:03 am A Sikh officer and a religious liberty group have welcomed the U.S. Army’s temporary religious exemption for the officer, who sees a conflict between military regulations against beards and his religious practice.

“My Sikh faith and military service are two core parts of who I am,” Captain Simratpal Singh said Dec. 14. "I am proud to serve my country as an officer and I look forward to being able to continue serving without having to give up my religious beliefs.”

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty was a co-counsel for Singh.

“Anyone who observed our unshaven special forces in Afghanistan knows a beard won’t stop an American soldier,” said Eric Baxter, senior counsel at the Becket Fund. He said the Pentagon should make the exemption permanent, contending that the ban discriminates “against any Sikh American.”

Singh has followed military guidelines for 10 years. He told the New York Times he felt like he was “living a double life.” The temporary exemption will last a month until the Army decides whether to make it permanent. The officer is currently posted to Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

The Becket Fund said the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 created the legal path for the accommodation.

The public interest law firm said that maintaining uncut hair and wearing a turban are core practices of the Sikh religion. The U.S. Army has almost 50,000 permanent exemptions to its ban on beards on the grounds of medical reasons, but generally refuses to admit soldiers who are bearded for religious reasons.

Lt. Col. Jennifer R. Johnson, an Army spokeswoman, told the New York Times that the Army does not comment on individual personnel decisions. Requests for accommodations are evaluated “on a case-by-case basis, considering the impact on unit and individual readiness, unit cohesion, morale, discipline, and health and safety of the force.”

Other military officials with authority over religious exemptions have said beards under gas masks are a possible safety hazard.

Singh’s case is only the fourth religious exemption since the ban was implemented in the early 1980s. Singh is a West Point graduate who was awarded the Bronze Star for his work clearing IEDs in Afghanistan, and he has also completed both Ranger School and Special Forces training.

The Sikh Coalition also served as co-counsel for Singh. Its legal director, Harsimran Kaur, said that nothing in the Sikh articles of faith “prevents excellence in military service.” He said the officer’s example “illustrates how unnecessary the religious discrimination ban on Sikhs is.”

“A true Sikh is supposed to stand out, so he can defend those who cannot defend themselves,” Singh told the New York Times. “I see that very much in line with the Army value 

Imo State set to unveil the tallest statue of Jesus Christ in Africa

By Monica Isidi

The 28 feet statue, Jesus De Greatest, which will be the fifth tallest statue in Africa, will be unveiled at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in the Abajah local government area of Imo state, on January 1, 2016. The statue was funded and offered to the church by Obinna Onuoha, founder of Premier Petroleum Limited.

According to a statement signed by Onuoha's rep, the statue has a total weight of 40 tons and is made of marble. Onuoha, an indigene of Abajah, and a devout catholic, is a graduate of York St. Johns University in the United Kingdom and the Harvard Business School

"This is a government of sadists, run by sadists and for sadists" - FFK

Former Aviation minister and former Spokesperson for the Goodluck Jonathan presidential campaignOlufemi Olu-Kayode took to Twitter this afternoon to react to some of the things happening in Naija currently, including the recent killing of Shiite members in Kaduna as well as the forceful arrest of former NIMASA Director General, Patrick Ziadeke Akpobolokemi yesterday December 14th. See more of his tweets after the cut ...

N.B: The person who paid for Jonathan's LIB page takeover was a friend of his who wanted to do it as his own contribution to his campaign. (Friends/associates of politicians did that a lot during the governorship and presidential election). It wasn't part of the official funds for Jonathan's campaign. They didn't care much about online campaign. Anyway, read FFK's tweets after the cut..quite scary!

Please read from bottom up...

Bodybuilder dies from cancer caused by misuse of steroids

By Isidi Monica

A fitness fanatic bodybuilder died as a ‘direct cause’ of taking steroids, an inquest heard. 
Dean Wharmby’s misuse of anabolic steroids caused his death from liver cancer on July 19 this year, coroner Lisa Hashmi ruled.

The inquest was told fitness fan Dean, 39, of Brookland Street, from Rochdale’s Buersil area, first developed health problems in 2010, when multiple tumours were found in his liver, the Manchester Evening News reports. 

The fitness enthusiast, who had been taking steroids for several years, later developed liver cancer with the drugs cited as the ‘direct cause’ of his death by Mrs Hashmi.

His partner Charlotte Rigby said that when she first met Dean eight years ago, she had suspicions he had used steroids because of his muscular build, but said when they got together in 2010, he was trying to stop taking the drugs.

She told the inquest:

“Being big was what everyone knew Dean for. “I didn’t know the ins and outs, but I knew a lot of people who were using it. It was the done thing because of the benefits people could see with their bodies.”

After Dean, who worked at Fitness First gym in the town’s Sandbrook Park, developed health problems Charlotte said he stopped taking steroids and embraced spiritual healing methods such as reiki and natural medicine.

Dean and Charlotte chronicled his battle with cancer on a Facebook page called ‘Dean’s Journey’ which attracted thousands of followers.

The inquest heard towards the end of his life he was taking 200 natural remedy tablets a day.
In July he was moved to Springhill Hospice, where he died.The inquest found that two falls he suffered at the hospice had no bearing on his death and Charlotte and Dean’s father, John Wharmby, paid tribute to the ‘excellent care’ he received at Springhill.

Mrs Hashmi warned of the risk of taking steroids.

Delivering a narrative verdict, she said: “I find on the balance of probabilities that in such a fit, health-conscious young man the most probable cause of his liver tumours was the misuse of anabolic steroids.

Photos: dog opens door just like any human being

Here is a clip shared online of  a dog which was seen standing outside waiting for its owners to open the door. He then decided to take matters into his paws when they ignore him. He stood on his hind feet and used his fore-paws to open the door. As if to prove it is no fluke, he did it a second time. The dog originates from the mountainous northern regions of Japan. More photos

Nigeria's first goalkeeper; Sam Ubiam,national team goalkeeper has died at the age of 90.

by Isidi Monica

Late Sam Ibiam (right) being interviewed by a journalist

Nigeria's first goalkeeper; Sam ibiam,national team goalkeeper has died at the age of 90.

Ibiam was born in 1925 in Ebonyi State and was the Nigerian goalkeeper for the UK selected team that toured the United Kingdom in 1949.

Below is an interview the late Pa Ibiam had with Vanguard’s Tope Adeboboye, published on February 3, 2010, where he bemoaned his plights of being abandoned by the Nigerian government, and was left to live in squalor.

Read:

Sam Ibiam. Ever heard of the name? He was Nigeria’s first ever national goalkeeper, the man who manned the post for the UK Tourists, Nigeria’s first national football team far back in the late 1940s. You might not have berthed on this planet when Pa Ibiam dazzled millions across the world with his magic hands. Nigeria did not even exist as a free country in those pre-independence days when Pa Ibiam and his fellow stars reigned among football-loving folks from Kakawa to Kaduna, from Calabar to Kaura Namoda to the United Kingdom.

But soccer lovers and indeed, followers of the round leather game would have learnt of the incredible exploits performed on the soccer field by members of the then UK Tourists. Those were the days the likes of Teslim Thunder Balogun, Dan Anyiam, Skipper Ewa Henshaw and other members of the team mesmerized with the ball before and shortly after the nation’s independence in 1960.

Pa Ibiam was among the 18 Nigerian footballers who embarked on a tour of England in August 1949.

As expected, virtually all of the boys of yesteryears have since passed on, and the only one remaining is now in the twilight of his days. Pa Ibiam is the last surviving member of that clan of sporting heroes.

At 85, you expect this great-grandfather of Nigerian goaltenders to be living a comfortable life, nestled comfortably in a cosy house, reaping the fruits of his hard labour.

You would have expected that the government he so faithfully served in his youthful years would come to his aid now that he is too old to work. But if you harbour such thoughts, you would be living in dreamland.

The bitter truth is that Pa Ibiam and many others who did the nation proud in their younger years have been cruelly abandoned to their fate by Nigeria at a time they can scarcely fend for themselves.

Sam Ibiam in his hey days as Nigeria’s national team goal-tender

Some are luckier though. While Thunder Balogun and Dan Anyiam have stadia named after them in their respective states of Lagos and Imo, Sam Ibiam has no structure bearing his name either in his native state or anywhere in Nigeria.

Pa Ibiam, known in his playing days as The Cat or The Black Magnet, now lives in a modest bungalow in his hometown, Unwana in Afikpo, Ebonyi State. It is in the house that the reporter, alongside Chief Jasper Okoro, the amiable editor-in-chief of National Standard, the Ebonyi State government owned newspaper, spends about ten minutes with the retired keeper this hot Thursday afternoon.

Locating Pa Ibiam’s home in Unwana will pose little problem for even the first time visitor. All you need do is mention his name and several people will offer to take you to the nondescript bungalow where the octogenarian ex-goaltender dwells.

Spotting a white sports jersey and shorts, the retired footballer is in his elements.

After welcoming his impromptu guests, Pa Ibiam invites you to his living room, a sparsely furnished apartment with several posters, calendars and glazed photographs adorning the wall.

Among the photographs are some black and whites where a much younger Sam Ibiam poses with his fellow team mates in the national team.The government might not have looked his way, but papa is a hero among his people.

The recognition is encouraging, at least by the people, the old man says in a voice packed full with verve and vitality. If you say by the people, you are right. But as for the government, there is no recognition. None at all.

In the mid and late 40s, Pa Ibiam was a consummate soccer player. He played professional football across the country and in Accra before he was invited to the Nigeria’s national team after participating in what was known then as the Governor’s Cup.

In our days, we played with pride and patriotism, he recalls with some nostalgia.

In those days, everyone played for pride, not for money. We were happy playing for our country unlike what is happening now.

But Pa Ibiam will not blame football players who demand for their due before they lace their boots for the country. They are learning from us because they know what we suffered for the country, he says.

We did all these things for the country with open minds. Unfortunately, the government didn’t care about us. So the boys who demand for money before they play for the country are only being smart.

They know it is whatever they get now that they will ever get from the government. As soon as they can’t play again, the government will abandon them. So, I don’t blame them.

In their heydays, there was a myth about one of Pa Ibiam’s compatriots, Teslim Thunder Balogun. Balogun was said to have once kicked a shot that tore through a goalkeeper’s tummy, with the ball forcefully escaping through the dead keeper’s open back. Pa Ibiam’s laugh is infectious as he dismisses the fallacy.

Don’t mind them. Nothing like that ever happened, he informs. Does he still watch football? Not often, he confesses.

Sam Ibiam in his hey days as Nigeria’s national team goal-tender

“I lost interest because of the treatment given us. Since we stopped playing, no government has deemed it fit to recognise what we did for Nigeria. All that has more or less killed one’s interest in the game. That is why I hardly watch soccer these days.

In 1986, the Rivers State government invited us because I played for Port Harcourt before. So the then Rivers State Commissioner for Sports invited their old players to Port Harcourt. That was when they were commissioning their new stadium in the city. That was all. A year later, the Sports Commission gave us honour in Lagos. All those sports men who had taken part in sports both in Nigeria and overseas were honoured. The late Chief MKO Abiola, state governors and many other important people were there. They promised us cars because they said that would enable us go to the stadium to watch matches. But even that promise was not fulfilled. And if you go to them to ask them to fulfill their promise, you would never see them and their aides would be making fun of you. That is why I lost interest.

At 85, many of Pa Ibiam’s compatriots would be frail and bent with age. But Pa Ibiam presents a refreshing difference. Not only is he strong and agile, the ex-footballer is also very alert mentally. What’s the secret of his healthy looks?

“It’s God, he says. I give God the glory for keeping me alive and blessing me with good health. And don’t forget this is Unwana. We eat a lot of fresh fish here.

But don’t ask the retired footballer to offer a word of advice for the Nigerian government on how to take care of the nation’s past heroes.

“Why should I advise them, he counters. Even you talking, I’m sure you know what the problem is and how to solve it. Everyone knows the right thing to do. I have no suggestions for them.”

Fayose slams Buhari’s 6-month rule

Photo: 

Lol. This man and Burhari. The Ekiti state governor took a full page advert in one of the dailies today to call out President Buhari.

Fayose slams Buhari’s 6-month rule

Photo: 

Lol. This man and Burhari. The Ekiti state governor took a full page advert in one of the dailies today to call out President Buhari.