Three Chinese Students Sentenced to Prison for 'Lord of the Flies' Beatings and Kidnappings at California High School

Three students from China were sentenced this week for attacking two fellow Chinese students at their California school in which they beat, stripped and burned one of the victims, PEOPLE confirms. 

A statement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office claims that Yunyao Zhai, 20, was sentenced Wednesday to 13 years in state prison. 

Zhai's co-defendant, 19-year-old Xinlei Zhang, will spend the next six years behind bars while a third defendant, Yuhan Yang, 19, received 10 years, the statement says. 

On Jan. 5, Zhai, Zhang and Yang all pleaded no contest to felony counts of kidnapping and assault, the statement says. 
According to prosecutors, Zhai  and Zhang assaulted a 16-year-old girl on March 28, 2015, inside a park and a restaurant in California's Rowland Heights.
Zhai punched and slapped the victim during the attack. 

Two days later, the trio kidnapped an 18-year-old girl and took her to a park, where she was stripped of her clothing, beaten, kicked and burned with lit cigarettes. The attack lasted five hours, according to authorities. 

Using scissors, Zhang chopped off some of the victim's hair, and then forced the girl to eat it, prosecutors say. 

Prior to Wednesday's sentencing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Thomas C. Falls likened the three defendants' crimes to the classic book Lord of the Flies.


Source: People news

Court orders Buhari to publish details of recovered loots

A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to publish up-to-date information on recovered stolen funds since the return of civilian rule in 1999.

According to the court, the publication should include detailed information on the total amount of stolen public assets that have so far been recovered by Nigeria, the amount that has been spent from the recovered assets and details of projects on which recovered funds were spent.

Justice Mohammed Idris directed Buhari to “ensure that his government, and those of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and Goodluck Jonathan account fully for all recovered loot.”

In the landmark judgment delivered on Friday, the judge also held that successive governments since the return of democracy in 1999 “breached the fundamental principles of transparency and accountability for failing to disclose details about the spending of recovered stolen public funds, including on a dedicated website.”

The judgment was sequel to a Freedom of Information suit brought by a group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

In delivering the judgment, Justice Idris dismissed all the objections raised by the Federal Government and upheld SERAP’s arguments. Consequently, the court entered judgment in favour of SERAP against the government as follows:

• A declaration is hereby made that the failure and/or refusal of the respondents to individually and/or collectively disclose detailed information about the spending of recovered stolen public funds since the return of civil rule in 1999, and to publish widely such information, including on a dedicated website, amounts to a breach of the fundamental principles of transparency and accountability and violates Articles 9, 21 and 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act;

• A declaration is hereby made that by virtue of the provisions of Section 4 (a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, the 1stdefendant/respondent is under a binding legal obligation to provide the plaintiff/applicant with up-to-date information on the spending of recovered stolen funds, including: Detailed information on the total amount of recovered stolen public assets that have so far been recovered by Nigeria; the amount that has been spent from the recovered stolen public assets and the objects of such spending; and
details of projects on which recovered stolen public assets were spent;

• An order of mandamus is made directing and or compelling the defendants/respondents to provide the plaintiff/applicant with up-to-date information on recovered stolen funds since the return of civilian rule in 1999.

The Federal Government had earlier through its counsel, Sheba Olugbenga, filed a notice of preliminary objection dated March 26, 2012 on the following grounds: That SERAP lacked the locus standi to institute the action, the action was statute barred; and that SERAP’s affidavit evidence offends the provisions of the Evidence Act.

On May 8, 2012, the government filed additional written address in support of its preliminary objection, dwelling most extensively on the retroactive nature of SERAP’s request that is based on the Freedom of Information Act, arguing that the law having been enacted in 2011, does not apply to spending by governments since 1999.

But SERAP countered the government’s position, arguing that the FOI Act is a special species of legislation to liberalise and expand access to information for all Nigerians. The group also stated that the FOI Act does not impose any requirement of locus standi on applicants; that the only relevant limitation period in the case is that which requires filing of suit within 30 days if information is not given; that the right which the FOI Act seeks to protect is that of the public to have access to information which is in custody of a public official or institution; and that the information sought by SERAP is not caught by the law against retroactivity. The group noted that the right in question is such that justifies the granting of access to the requested information on the ground of overriding public interest.

SERAP also argued that “By virtue of Section 1 (1) of the FOI Act 2011, it is entitled, as of right, to request or gain access to information which is in the custody or possession of any public official, agency or institution. By the provisions of Section 2(7) and 31 of the FOI Act 2011, the Accountant General of the Federation is a public official. By virtue of Section 4 (a) of the FOI Act, when a person makes a request for information from a public official, institution or agency, the public official, institution or agency to whom the application is directed is under a binding legal obligation to provide the applicant with the information requested, except as otherwise provided by the Act, within 7 days after the application is received.”

Speaking on the judgment, the Deputy Executive Director of SERAP, Olukayode Majekodunmi, said: “The judgment confirms the persistent failure of successive governments starting from the Obasanjo government, to respect Nigerians’ right to a corruption-free society and to uphold constitutional and international commitments on transparency and accountability.”

According to him, the judgment is an important step towards reversing a culture of secrecy and corruption that has meant that high-ranking government officials continue to look after themselves at the expense of the well-being of the majority of Nigerians, and development of the country.”

“This is a crucial precedent that vindicates the right to a transparent and accountable government and affirms the human right of the Nigerian people to live a life free from want and fear,” he added.

Reacting to the judgment, an Abuja- based Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and author, Sebastine Hon, described it as good for the nation’s democracy. According to him, the judgment showed that government, present and past must be held accountable at any time whether in or out of office.

credit: The Guardian

FORMER Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke quizzed abroad ???

Adoke, may have been questioned in Netherlands where he is currently a student in a university.Prosecutors in that country were said to have opened a case on him following assistance sought by a third party.

The exact time of the questioning is not known, but it was learnt in Abuja that the Dutch authorities questioned him based on documents passed on to them by Italian investigators who are looking into the Malabu oil deal based on the involvement of an Italian oil company, ENI.

A source confided that the Italians have a “huge file” on the matter, and have shared information once they found out he was in Netherlands. “They told us that they have already visited him once. He was not arrested but they have had a meeting with him already.’’ It was gathered that government was also looking at all those who got monies in foreign currencies transferred to their private accounts shortly after the settlement was arrived at.

The source was clear that a particular dramatis persona involved in all the transactions was not a direct beneficiary because “nothing was found” to have been paid directly to him; but government, it is believed, is looking into some of the shell companies established within the period that “certain proceeds” were paid into.

“I must tell you that this particular person was smart. We didn’t find anything on him even though he shared what came out of it. He used fronts – shell companies – so it is taking more time to track anything to him. Those already fingered in collecting money include two former ministers and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. They were said to have got $10 million dollars each,” the source added.

Pointing accusing fingers in the direction of a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and members of the family of the late Gen. Sani Abacha as those seeking to use the EFCC to humiliate him, Adoke wrote to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to exonerate himself from any wrong doing, while explaining how the Malabu imbroglio was resolved.

But media adviser to Atiku, Mazi Paul Ibeto, said that his boss did not have a hand in the travails of the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

“The Turaki Adamawa advises Adoke and others so invited to focus on clearing their names instead of dragging innocent people into the fray,” he said.

According to Adoke, his letter, dated the last day of last year and leaked in Abuja last week, became necessary in order to set the records straight in view of the “spurious allegations, mischievous and misleading publications on the subject matter in the media (particularly the online media).”

Adoke laid bare the facts he had to Osinbajo, noting that he explained in detail the history of the transaction, trusting that he (Osinbajo) was in a better position as a one-time Attorney General of Lagos State and the current vice president to objectively appraise the situation and brief President Muhammadu Buhari truthfully so as to discourage the lies being peddled by mischief makers.

“This will not only bring my persecution to an end,” he wrote, “but also protect the institution that the exalted office of the Attorney General of the Federation represents as well as guarantee its independence and prevent its destruction on the altar of political expediency.”

Noting that he was not unmindful of the need for public officers to be held accountable for their service, Adoke observed that if Shell and or ENI had infracted on the laws of their home countries either by non-disclosure and or tax evasion, the duty of government was to assist their home governments if requested to ascertain the truth, but not to “undeservedly criminalise our public office holders to satisfy the narrow and selfish interest of shareholders fighting over assets of their company.”

He wrote further: “Your Excellency may please note that except for those whose sole intentions are to denigrate and impugn my integrity for resisting attempts to use the Office of the HAGF to further narrow selfish business interests, the transaction aforementioned was legitimate, transparent and well documented, and above all, self- explanatory. I trust therefore that this brief will afford you the opportunity to dispassionately examine the records and come to a fair and just assessment of the matter.”

Explaining why he did not honour the invitation from the EFCC, he said though he intended to do so after his examinations at a Netherlands university, he changed his mind because after “deep reflection” he found the invitation to be “rather curious, unconventional and mischievous, especially as I acted purely in an official capacity and the EFCC could easily have had recourse to the sitting HAGF for clarifications since the records were in the Federal Ministry of Justice as government is a continuum.”

He wrote further: “I therefore phoned the HAGF and notified him of the development and offered a detailed explanation of what had transpired. I also impressed on him the need to protect the office from unwarranted attacks and machinations of those out to destroy it in view of its unique constitutional role in governance. I followed up by sending him a written brief with a copy of the attached comprehensive position paper to enable him to familiarise himself with the transaction in the event that official files in the Federal Ministry of Justice could not, for one reason or the other, be easily traced.

“It was after this development that I was made to understand that there were plans by some individuals who had become aware that I would be honouring the invitation of the EFCC on 28thDecember2015 to humiliate me. I was also informed that these individuals had enlisted a notorious online media (Sahara Reporters) to smear my name with allegations of corruption and bribery and that some agents of the Abacha family and one Lawal Abba, acting for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President were behind the scheme.”

According to the information, their motive was predicated on the following:
• the claim that they were shareholders in Malabu Oil and Gas Limited and had been short-changed by the main shareholder of the company; and
•that I had refused to use my official position as Attorney General of the Federation to help them get their dues from the main shareholder.
He noted that though the assertions might sound preposterous, he was forced to give credence to them when on 27th December 2015, two online publications published that he was scheduled to appear for interrogation at the EFCC on 28th December 2015 and would thereafter be detained and charged to court.

Adoke wrote: “It was also falsely published that I was involved in the Halliburton bribery scandal, when the said scandal predated my tenure. It will be recalled that it was during my tenure that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation in collaboration with the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) under the leadership of General Aliyu Gusau and the EFCC proceeded against the companies that were involved in the bribery scandal and got them to pay reparations for ‘reputational damage’ to the country totaling almost $180 million even when, by the penal sanctions contained in our laws, the companies could only have paid pittance. The records are there to show what was achieved and the monies were paid into the Federal Government accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”

observed that from the publications, the intention was not necessarily to seek clarifications “but a carefully orchestrated plan for my assured unjustified persecution, humiliation and disgrace by a known group with interest in the Malabu matter that are aggrieved over my official role in the resolution of the case.”

Source: The Guardian

Aisha Buhari receives Turkish first Lady (pictures)

Wife of President Buhari, Aisha Buhari, received the wife of President of Turkey, Emine Erdogan, who accompanied her husband, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on a state visit to Nigeria today February 2nd. See more photos below.....

David Mark sworn in as Senator for the sixth time (PICTURES)

Former Senate president and Senator representing Benue South, Senator David Mark was today, March 2, sworn-in into the Senate for a record 6th time. The Appeal Court sitting in Markurdi annulled the election of the former Senate President last year and he was declared winner of the re-run election held on Saturday, February 20. Senator Mark was sworn in at exactly 11 am in the hallowed chamber by the Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki after taking the traditional oath of office and allegiance.

Shortly after the swearing in, Senators at the plenary session rose in solidarity with Senator Mark as they took turns to hug and exchanged banters with him.

He is the only Nigerian to have contested a Senatorial position six times, won and was sworn in accordingly. He was Senate President from 2007 to 2015. More pictures after the cut.....

Abba Moro, others in court today, bail application deferred to tomorrow (PICTURES)

The former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro and three others who are standing trial for an 11-count charge bordering on abuse of procurement process and diversion of public funds including N676 million they illegally collected from immigration job applicants, appeared in court today for hearing on their bail application. The judge however adjourned the bail hearing till tomorrow March 3rd. They have been sent back to Kuje Prison. More photos from the court hearing below

BREAKING!!!!! 14 year old abducted Ese is 5 months pregnant

Ese Rita Oruru, the 14 year old girl from Bayelsa state who was abducted by Yunusa Dahiru, alias Yellow is about 5 months pregnant, according to Vanguard reports.

The white Hijab she wore when she arrived on Tuesday, was used to disguise the alleged pregnancy. Her pregnant condition was what made the IGP, Solomon Arase to give instructions to fly her to by air after she was rescued, rather than by road.  This was after she had been handed over to the Gender and Child Protection Unit where a team from the Medical Department of the Force carried out a comprehensive medical examination of her at the Police Medical Facility in Area 1, Garki and confirmed her pregnancy.

Yellow is currently being investigated.