172 Nigerian migrants, including 6 women, repatriated from Libya (photos)

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) helped 172 Nigerian migrants, including 6 women, to return home to Nigeria from Libya on Friday, March 11. One hundred forty-two had spent months in immigration detention centers.

The repatriation done in close cooperation with Libyan authorities, Nigeria’s Embassy in Tripoli and the IOM office in Nigeria – was on board a charter flight departing Tripoli’s Mitiga Airport and arriving in Lagos in the morning.

The repatriated Nigerians were received and screened by various agencies such as Nigeria Immigration Services, Police and the National Agency for Protection and trafficking in Persons(NAPTIP)

The Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr Ekpedeme King who confirmed the deportation said the Nigerians were returned home for overstaying their visas, among other immigration offences.

"What I can tell you is that some Nigerians were deported today for immigration offences. Most of those brought overstayed in Libya" said King.

More pictures below;

PHOTOS- Stephanie Linus receives the SUV she won at AMVCA

Stephanie Okereke Linus' movie 'Dry' won Movie of the Year at AMVCA and the win came with a car which she collected yesterday. See photos after the cut..

Police confirm 3 dead, 10 in critical condition in CBN gas explosion

The Cross River Police Command has confirmed three persons dead and 10 in critical condition due to Friday’s gas cylinder explosion at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Calabar.

Mr John Eluu, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), disclosed this on Saturday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Eluu said 20 members of staff of the bank were injured in the explosion which occurred at about 11 a.m., while two others were in critical condition.

As of yesterday, being Friday, 20 CBN staff members were injured and two were in critical condition immediately after the gas explosion.

We have been monitoring the situation closely and I can confirm to you that three of the victims are dead, while 10 are in critical condition.

The PPRO dismissed the rumour in some quarters that the explosion was a detonated bomb blast by Boko Haram insurgents.

''I wish to say categorically that the explosion was not a bomb blast by Boko Haram insurgents as it is being rumoured in some corners.Our men from the Explosive Ordinance Department were on ground at the scene of the accident.Their investigation shows that it was a gas cylinder explosion from one of the units in the building that caused the blast”

U.S. doctor with Lassa fever moved to Atlanta from Togo

An American doctor with a suspected case of Lassa fever, working with missionaries in Togo, has been moved to an isolation ward at an Atlanta hospital on Friday, an official said.

The patient, who has not been identified publicly, was being flown in a specially equipped aircraft from Togo and was expected to arrive at Emory University Hospital this weekend, officials said.

Lassa fever has been endemic in Africa for many years, with up to 300,000 infections annually.

An outbreak of Lassa fever is now underway in Nigeria, according to the World Health Organisation, and it is starting to spread to nearby countries including Togo.

According to a WHO statement, 159 suspected cases of Lassa fever and 82 deaths were reported between August 2015 and January 2016.

Some media reports have said as many as 101 people have died as of February.

Like Ebola, Lassa causes a severe fever with bleeding.

It is most commonly transmitted to people from rodent excrement, and it can be transmitted from person to person by contact with blood or bodily fluid.

Breaking !!! Former Delta State governor, Felix Ibru, is dead

Former Delta State governor, Olorogun Felix Ibru, has died at the age of 80.

Ibru was elected as the first executive governor of Delta State in 1992. He was also elected a senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District in 2003.

More details later.

Crown Court Orders Documents on British Police Corruption released to Ibori

This is a signed press statement by Tony Eluemunor, Media Assistant to Chief James Onanefe Ibori.

A British Crown Court has ordered the immediate release of documents and other materials uncovered by James Ibori's former solicitor Gohil Bhadresh suggesting that British Metropolitan Police Officers investigating James Ibori, fraudulently obtained materials and documents against Gohil Bhardesh and James Ibori. 

A press statement from Tony Eluemunor, Chief Ibori’s Media Assistant, said that His Honour Judge Tester of Southwark Crown Court on Friday directed the prosecution to comply with his order made on January 21st this year and release to James Ibori's counsels the documents. The prosecution had initially refused to release the documents and other materials which suggested police involvement in corruption and fraud in the James Ibori's and Gohil Bhadresh's case.

This order followed the dramatic turn of event in the case brought by the Crown Prosecution against Gohil accusing him of attempt to pervert the course of justice but which the crown prosecution dropped following damaging and incriminating documents uncovered by Gohil Bhadresh which the Prosecution had lied ever existed.

The allegations of corruption and documents suggesting thousands of pound sterling were paid into the bank account of the investigating police officers involved in the case and attempt by both the crown prosecution and the British Police to cover up this grave misconducts have greatly damaged the credibility of materials and documents relied upon by the crown and police in this case. Subsequently, all the crown prosecutors and police officers handling the case have been removed from the case.

According to the statement, a new vista has opened in the Ibori London trial, as James Ibori's former solicitor, Gohil Bhadresh has approached the court of appeal to quash his conviction because the Police and the crown prosecution may have misled the court and have been neck deep in corruption. This new development may totally change this whole case as the new documents suggesting Police misconduct in the handling of the case may mean the last has not been heard in James Ibori's trial in London.

Fuel scarcity may linger till end of March – NUPENG

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Friday said that the ongoing fuel scarcity in the country might linger till the end of March.

The South-West Chairman of the union, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Korodo said that from all indications, loading of petrol at both NNPC depots and private depots were very slow.

He said that if there was no improvement in loading the product by next week, the situation might be worse.

“The pace of loading of fuel at NNPC depots in Mosinmi and Ejigbo is very slow as most 

tankers drivers that wanted to load, left the depots with nothing.

“Even at private depots where they sell above the ex-depot price, the pace of loading is very slow.

“Presently, we need massive loading of petrol nationwide to get over the present scarcity.

“I am imploring the government to improve on supply of fuel to all depots nationwide so that our tanker drivers can get the product and transport it to filling stations,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, scarcity of petrol continued as queues of motorists persisted in few filling stations that were selling the product.

At the Mobil filling station in Orile, Lagos, motorists lamented having waited endlessly to buy petrol.

A welder, Mr Samuel Johnson, said that most filling stations were not selling inside jerry cans, adding that this had kept him out of job in the last two weeks.

Tinubu’s Daughter Leads Protest At APC Headquarters

Folasade Tinubu-Ojo, daughter of All Progressives Congress leader Bola Tinubu, led a protest with traders at the APC headquarters on Thursday, citing the party leadership’s marginalization and exclusion of market women from public affairs as the reason behind the demonstration.

Ms. Tinubu-Ojo explained that market women worked hard to get Muhammadu Buhari and other APC members elected to office, but have been sidelined since the president was inaugurated last May.

She expressed disappointment that market women have not been included in the activities of First Lady Aisha Buhari. Furthermore, a new market association was founded in Abuja, but the majority of its members belong to the Peoples Democratic Party.

“We even heard that another FCT woman leader is organizing another market association and named it the Association of Organized Market People in Abuja. Most of these people are PDP and were nowhere to be found when we were working for the party day and night,” Ms. Tinubu-Ojo said.

“Now our people are not happy because they need to benefit from where they believe they have the right to and all we need, all we are crying for is for the government to give them a sense of belonging.”

Ms. Tinubu-Ojo said that her father’s role in the APC is irrelevant to the protest.

“I won’t fold my hands and keep quiet because my father is a national leader. It is wrong.”

She emphasized, however, that the protest is not a mobilization against the APC.

“I am not mobilizing against the party, no. I am solidly behind the party. I have worked for the party before and I will still work for the party tomorrow, but that does not stop me from saying the truth.”

Fayose Reveals He was a Truck Driver before He became Governor (PHOTOS)

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose has disclosed that he was a truck driver, did haulage business before he became a governor. He said this while posting the photos of his former profession on his Twitter handle. According to him, we should be proud of our professions. “We must be proud of our profession. I sell trucks, I did haulage, I can drive this truck to Lagos. I did this before i became governor.” He said.  More pics after the cut…

Caitlyn Jenner to Partner with H&M for new Sport Campaign

The transgender activist, Caitlyn Jenner is working with H&M on their new sport label. The reality star announced on Thursday that she has been working with the retail chain for a new collaboration called H&M Sport.

"Backstage with @hm! So proud to be part of their inspiring #HMSport campaign," Jenner, 66, tweeted.

Details of the sport campaign have yet to be released but like Jenner teased "#MoreIsComin

Senate president Bukola Saraki Announces Attendance at CCT-led trial

The President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, seeks to inform the wider Nigerian public that as a firm believer in rule of law, he intends to totally submit himself to the due process of the law as the trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) begins today, Friday, March 11, 2016. This is founded upon the premise that “justice must not only be done, but justice must also be seen to have been done.”

Dr. Saraki and his team of lawyers have earlier submitted an application to quash the illegitimate suit being brought against him before the CCT based on several alleged discrepancies found in his asset declaration form.

As Nigerians carefully follow the proceedings of the case, we must all be guided by the fact that a basic scrutiny of Section 3, Paragraph D of the Act that establishes the CCT and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) state in explicit terms that before any complaint (if any) is forwarded to the CCT for adjudication, the public officer against whom a complaint is made must be given the opportunity to either deny or admit the claims by the Bureau. As it stands, Nigerians must ask why this fundamental and indispensable condition for a trial at the CCT has not been followed.

What this means is: the condition precedent mandates that Dr. Saraki – as every other citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is entitled to – should have been given the opportunity to explain any perceived inaccuracy, but he was never given the opportunity to do so.

Secondly and more crucially, the application submitted by the Senate President draws attention to the fact that the 13-year-old declaration forms on which the majority of the impending suit is predicated, were examined and investigated by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) at the time of submission and were found satisfactory to the Bureau’s requirements at the time.

Given that for 13 years, all the documents from the Senate President’s asset declarations from 2003, 2007 and 2011 were accessible by the Bureau for investigation, Saraki’s application states that the condition precedence should have been drawn to it; to give the Senate President the opportunity to explain and address any identified issues.

The Senate President has expressed indignation that these confirmed forms which have rested in possession of the CCB for over a decade without issue are now being flagged.

In this regard, as the trial begins, Nigerians should note that this outright non-observance of the rule of law, reaffirms the belief that this trial is borne from political mischief and malice associated with the timeliness and nature of this suit.

As the head of Nigeria’s legislative branch, Dr. Saraki is confident that justice will ultimately prevail and he is ready, willing and prepared to submit himself to all proceedings that adhere to the strict dictates of the law. He believes that the law must take its righteous course and reassures Nigerians of his commitment to serving the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

EFCC Arraigns FIRS Director over N5m Bribe

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission , EFCC, on Thursday, March 10, 2016 arraigned Abumere Joseph Osagie, a Deputy Director, Regional Tax Office of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, and one Jamila Ojora on a 2-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy and receipt of gratification before Justice O. O. Goodluck of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja. 

Osagie and  Ojora had on January 27, 2016 allegedly approached Senator Datti, the Chancellor of Baze University, Abuja and gave him a tax assessment of N20,029, 496.00 through a letter of intent, which he paid.

However, when Senator Datti requested for the assessment certificate, they refused to oblige him. Instead, they allegedly demanded for N5million gratification.

Consequently, marked N5million was delivered to the director through Ojora in a sting operation, an operation which led to her arrest. Consequently, her confession led to the arrest of Osagie.

The offence contravenes Section 17(1)(a) and punishable under 17 (1) (c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

One of the counts reads: “Abumere Joseph Osagie and Jamila Ojora on or about January 27, 2016 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, corruptly accepted the sum of N5,000,000.00 ( five million naira) from one Senator Ahmed Datti as a gift for having done a tax assessment for Baze University”.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them.

Upon their plea, counsel to EFCC, Joseph O. Uzo urged the court to fix a date for trial to commence and remand the accused persons in prison custody.

However, Oboma-Obla and S.B Mono representing the first and second accused persons prayed the court to admit the defendants to bail.

Relying on Sections 158 and 162 of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 both counsels pleaded that the accused persons had been on administrative bail of EFCC and have never breached any of the terms granted them by the Commission.

The prosecution raised no objection to the application.

Justice Goodluck, in admitting the two accused persons to bail ordered them to deposit their international passports with the court and provide two sureties who are public servants of grade level 14 from any federal government parastatals. The sureties must be resident in Abuja and their residential address must be verified by the court. 

The judge also ordered the accused persons to be remanded in prison custody until the bail terms are met.

The case has been adjourned to April 27 and 28, 2016 for trial.

MTN 'Offers Nigeria $1.5bn' to Settle Dispute

The South African telecoms company MTN has offered Nigeria $1.5bn (£1bn) to settle a dispute over a failure to disconnect unregistered sim cards, Bloomberg reports.

MTN was fined $3.9bn by Nigeria's communications authority and the company is trying to settle the issue through negotiation.

Bloomberg cites a letter letter to the government from MTN's lawyer sent last month.

But MTN has not confirmed the offer and said in a statement that it "continues to engage with the Nigerian authorities in an attempt to ensure an amicable resolution to this matter", Bloomberg reports

How Prince Charles Gave a Young Jewelry Designer Her Big Royal Break!

Prince Charles is in the business of making dreams come true! 

When jewelry designer Elizabeth Galton wanted to start her career, she turned to the royal’s charity,Prince's Trust. 

The organization, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, is dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged young people in the U.K. 

Now, after getting a royal boost to her career, Galton leads the creative side of one of Princess Kate's favorite jew's jewelers. elry makers, Mappin & Webb, which also happens to be one of Queen Elizabeth jewelers 

And Galton was able to thank Charles, 67, and his mother the Queen, 89, personally at a party marking the 40th anniversary of the trust this week. "It was exceptional to see them together," she tells PEOPLE. 

"They were very charming. It was just remarkable to see them together. It never ceases to amaze me that they must have so many people that they see in the course of a year, and yet they always make you feel there is a genuine interest in you as an individual. 

"That really stood out when you could see them side by side talking to the young people as they went around the room." 

And there were plenty of people for the royal duo to join in conversation as there were lots of success stories present from the 825,000 young people helped in the organization’s 40 years. 

Galton, who is creative director of Mappin & Webb, says she turned to the Prince's Trust, which aids those who might not otherwise get help in business and enterprise, when she was 18 or 19 years old and set to start her studies at Central Saint Martins School of Art in London. 

Her parents weren’t wealthy – and jewelry making is a tough world to break into when it comes to the expensive raw materials and intricate equipment needed. 

"It was something I really needed assistance with,” she says. “My mother had some difficulties that impacted on my early life, and the Prince's Trust would have also taken that into account.” 

The grant enabled her to set up a "very modest" workshop in her father's garden shed, and she also had a travel bursary to study at a botanical gardens in South Africa. "A lot of my earlier work for my own brand was focused around orchids. Without having had that award, it would have been very difficult," she tells PEOPLE. 

Now, she is paying her gratitude forward by mentoring two young people, who come to her through the trust. One is an ex-offender and budding tailor in Savile Row who has "significantly turned his life around." 

During Tuesday's party, she says the Queen wanted to know about her role at Mappin & Webb, while Charles "was interested in the mentoring work that I do. He understands that it takes a lot of investment in terms of time that needs to be dedicated." 


Source: People