VikiGist

A Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Tuesday remanded a man, David Praise-Diri, who impersonated a pastor of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry (MFM) at Ikoyi Prisons. The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Bola Folarin-Williams, gave the ruling after the accused pleaded guilty to the offences. The accused, Praise-Diri, whose address is not provided, is facing a three-count charge of impersonation, obtaining money under false pretences and stealing. The prosecutor, Sgt. Benedict Aigbokhim told the court that the accused committed the offences on June 3 at Toyin Street, Ikeja. He said the accused approached the complainant, Miss Itohan along Toyin Street, and introduced himself as a pastor of MFM. “The accused said he got a revelation from God for her and collected N13,000 from the complainant on the pretext of praying and fasting on her behalf for a possible solution to her problem. “She became uncomfortable when the accused told her to come for a vigil and decided...

The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Monday reviewed his tenure as the boss of the electoral body and concluded that his only regret was his inability to create a separate salary structure for INEC workers. Jega spoke in Abuja during a retreat organised for the electoral officers of the commission where the report of the 2015 elections was reviewed. Jega also said that members of staff of the commission were subjected to difficult circumstances during the 2015 elections. He said apart from the special salary issue, the commission under his leadership performed well. But he regretted that despite the undertaking he said he made when he assumed office on the need to create a special salary structure for the members of staff of the commission, he was unable to accomplish that up till now. He said, “We have done our best as a commission under very difficult circumstances and the major regret as I have always acknowledged is that a maj...

A team of over-zealous policemen yesterday attacked a driver attached to LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group, Mr. Sunday Oguji, at Rumuokoro in Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State. Oguji, who was on his way to Port Harcourt from Asaba, the Delta State capital, to deliver yesterday’s edition of LEADERSHIP, was beaten up and tear-gassed by the policemen, who accused him of contributing to the traffic jam witnessed on daily basis around the Rumuokoro roundabout. It was learnt that the policemen abandoned their victim with a swollen and bloodied eye and bruises as it took the pleas of bystanders for the assailants to let him go. Narrating his ordeal to LEADERSHIP, Oguji said, “I was coming from Owerri, and as I got to the Port Harcourt gateway, near the market, I noticed a hold-up. There was a vehicle in my front which refused to start, as the traffic started moving slowly, I was about to start my vehicle to move and from nowhere, a mobile policeman showed up and started...

There was confusion in Kaduna on Monday as an unidentified soldier shot a truck driver, Abdul Saminu, for allegedly refusing to part with N200.The driver was said to be conveying potatoes from Zaria to Kaduna. The development made other truck drivers to use their vehicles to block both sides of the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway to protest against the shooting of their colleague. This led to several hours of gridlock at Tudun Wada Dankande, near the old toll gate, where the incident occurred around midnight. According to an eyewitness trouble started when the truck driver, on reaching the military checkpoint at the toll gate, was asked to dole out N200 by the soldiers. The driver, it was gathered, initially refused, but later changed his mind and gave one of the soldiers N100. It was learnt that the soldier refused to collect the N100. At this juncture, the driver refused, incurring the wrath of the angry soldier, who pulled the trigger and shot the driver. The eyewitness further added...

Former Kano State governor and a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, yesterday spoke on the crisis trailing the emergence of candidates other than those preferred by the party as Senate president and speaker of the House of Representatives, saying the party’s leadership is partly responsible for the crisis. Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara last Tuesday emerged Senate president and speaker of the House of Representatives respectively, against the party’s preferred candidates, Senator Ahmad Lawan and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila. Speaking with journalists yesterday in Abuja, Kwankwaso, who currently represents Kano Central senatorial district at the National Assembly, noted that the party could have prevented the current crisis if it had taken advantage of the time lag between March 28, 2015 when it won the presidential election and last Tuesday when the National Assembly elections were held, to channel a course for the law...

As Nigeria joins the rest of Africa to celebrate this year’s Day of African Child, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has disclosed that child marriage is increasing in Nigeria. It quoted the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS 4) 2011, which shows that there is a five per cent increase in the number of girls married before age 15. It was 13 per cent in 2007 and that MICS 2011 indicates it is now 18 per cent. The agency said this year’s celebration of the Day of the African Child, which has as it’s theme, “25 Years after the Adoption of the African Children’s Charter: Accelerating our Collective Efforts to End Child Marriage in Africa,” is timely. In a statement made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday in Abuja, UNICEF’s communications specialist, Geoffrey Njoku noted that child marriage denies children the attainment of their human rights as children. “It erodes the child’s rights to life, good health, education and di...

A US civil rights activist campaigning for the rights of African Americans has resigned, just days after her parents said she is a white woman posing as black. Rachel Dolezal, who served as president of the Spokane chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the country’s oldest and largest civil rights organisation, said the controversy over her race had shifted dialogue away from key social and political issues. “It is with complete allegiance to the cause of racial and social justice and the NAACP that I step aside from the presidency and pass the baton to my vice president, Naima Quarles-Burnley,” Dolezal said in a statement on the NAACP Spokane chapter’s Facebook page on Monday. Dolezal, 37, came under intense scrutiny last week after a white couple who identified themselves as her biological parents came forward to say she had misrepresented herself as black. They told media that their daughter is white with a trace of Nat...

Former Super Falcons coach, Ismaila Mabo, has said the team would need to dig deep to beat the United States of America’s women team on Wednesday. Nigeria have lost thrice in three meetings with the USA and the Falcons need a win in Wednesday’s match to stand any chance of qualifying from Group D after their 2-0 loss to Australia on Friday. Nigeria sit bottom of the group with one point from their two matches with the point coming from their opening day 3-3 draw with Sweden, who are third with two points. Mabo, who led the team to a quarterfinal exit in 1999, believes that although the Falcons have a daunting challenge against the USA, they can achieve a victory if the players can imbibe the team spirit which helped them in their first match. “The match on Wednesday is a decider for the two teams,” he said. “It is true that we have always had it difficult against the USA and we have not recorded a victory against them. “I believe that if the pla...

A member of the Unity Forum, Senator Kabiru Marafa, has accused the clerk of the National Assembly (CNA) of fraud for his actions during the June 9 Senate elections that produced Senator Bukola Saraki as president of the 8th Senate. According to him, the CNA amended the Senate Standing Order without the knowledge of the senators, thereby changing the Standing Rule of the Senate – that for any presiding officer to emerge, he must score two-thirds votes of the number of the senators, and not one-third as the CNA stated before the said election. Marafa, who spoke in Abuja yesterday, alleged that the amended Senate Standing Order used in the June 9 inauguration of presiding officers was not known to him and that he was not aware of any amendment of the Standing Rule by the 7th Senate, and whoever must have amended the rules without the knowledge of the senators must be prosecuted. He said, “Senate Amended Rule 2015 is a fraud; the person who did it has to be brought to book. ...

So these guys decided to occupy an entire road with their LOAD like a masquerade? Only in Africa...!

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje has warned against any attempt by aggrieved party leaders to challenge the emergence of Dr Bukola Saraki as the Senate President. Baraje who noted that Saraki’s election followed due constitutional process, warned that any move to antagonise him would be resisted by the electorate who have heaved a sigh of relieve over the return of constitutional governance to the country. He said that the level of awareness among Nigerian electorate was getting higher and that the process through which Saraki emerged on June 8 was an indication that ‘‘democracy is greater than any individual’’. He spoke with newsmen in Ilorin yesterday during the graduation of 171 students of Baraje Centre for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Ilorin. ‘‘The process is legal, there was no breach of any rule of the National Assembly, the National Assembly is not dependent on government, is not dependent...

Daily Independent reports that the female student, who hails from Imo state, visited her boyfriend on June 6, Saturday. The young man was 300 level student of public administration. The couple went in the room but never left it until the door was forced open by the police after a neighbor raised the alarm. The students allegedly died after sex romp and their neighbors never knew until their bodies started decomposing. The guy allegedly drugged his girlfriend to have a free sex, which caused her death. He reportedly also took the pills and lied next to her. Special anti-robbery squad from Awkuzu removed both bodies and deposited then at morgue. Uche Ezeh, the police public relation officer, confirmed the incident, adding that the investigation was ongoing.

Bishop Matthew Kukah Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Kukah is confident that President Muhammadu Buhari will improve the fortunes of the country. Speaking in an interview with Vanguard, Kukah noted that since Buhari was elected and not appointed, it is very unlikely that Nigerians would witness any unpleasant surprises. “Buhari was not appointed, he was elected. If he was appointed, there could be element of surprise. “What I am saying is that Buhari begged, cajoled and mobilised for our votes based certain clear principles that he articulated. “The man has given me a manifesto. My business is to study the manifesto as a means of judging whether Buhari is faithful to his promises. If you ask me now, I will tell you that Buhari’s priority should be to visit Sokoto. Let him come and have dinner with me and I will tell him the things I need him to do. But that is not the issue. Based on the commitment he made to us, it is not fair to ask Nigerians what...

A huge fire has engulfed the 19th Century basilica of Saint-Donatien in the city of Nantes in western France. The blaze broke out on Monday after morning Mass, with worshippers evacuated from the building, Rev Benoit Bertrand told local media.  BBC  has more: Around 40 firefighters were deployed to the scene to try to extinguish the flames. However the fire spread quickly, ravaging the rooftop of the historic building. The blaze reportedly broke out at 10:30 local time (08:30 GMT), but the cause has not yet been established. “I see flames still escaping,” Rev Bertrand told BFM television. Social media users shared images of the basilica, with smoke billowing from its rooftop.

Residents of Georgia’s capital have been warned to stay indoors after heavy flooding destroyed enclosures at Tbilisi’s zoo, allowing tigers, lions, bears, wolves and other animals to escape. Aljaeera  has more: Three zoo workers were reported dead and the AFP news agency reported that at least nine people had died in the floods. The zoo said one of the dead was Guliko Chitadze, a zookeeper who lost an arm in an attack by a tiger last month. Heavy rains and wind hit Tbilisi during the night, turning a normally small stream that runs through the hilly city into a surging river. The flooding also damaged dozens of houses. The zoo’s press service said on Sunday morning that an escaped hippopotamus was cornered in one of Tbilisi’s main squares and subdued with a tranquiliser gun. Some other animals have also been captured by police while others were shot dead, according to the mayor’s office. It remains unclear how many are on the loose.

Two blasts went off outside the police headquarters and academy in the capital of Chad, whose forces have been instrumental in fighting armed group Boko Haram in neighbouring Nigeria, police officials said.  Aljazeera.  was there: The country’s interior minister said at least one suicide bomber attacked the police and intelligence offices in N’Djamena on Monday, with social media reports indicating that a number of people were killed in the attack. Interior Minister Abderahim Bireme Hamid said told Reuters news agency that security forces had locked down the area but the situation was ongoing. He said it was too early to give any toll from the incident. Social media users in the capital said that a number of deaths had been reported and that Boko Haram was suspected of carrying out the attack.  The government convened an emergency meeting following the explosions, an official said on condition of anonymity.

Boko Haram insurgents on Sunday burnt down houses in Babbangida, Tarmuwa Local Government Area of Yobe State during an early morning attack, a resident, who gave her name as Maimunat Abubakar, said. Babbangida is the headquarters of Tarmuwa Local Government Area of the state and shares border with Damaturu, the Yobe State capital. This is not the first time the local government headquarters would be coming under attack from Boko Haram. Abubakar, who fled with two of her children to Damaturu as a result of the attack, lamented that “the insurgents attack our town in the early hours of today (Sunday)”. Speaking in a telephone conversation with journalists, the escapee said the insurgents had on Saturday attempted to attack the town but their plan was thwarted by the military. Abubakar said, “Yesterday (Saturday) being the market day, there were apprehensions of a possible attack on the town but security forces were fully aware and such purported attack was thwarted”. She said re...

The Nigerian National Petroleum Coporation, NNPC, has said the invitation of some of its officials by relevant security agencies probing the crude oil swap deals was normal. In the last four weeks, it was reported that operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Services (DSS), have been asking questions and inviting some officials of the NNPC to shed more light on the swap crude oil-for-refined-products-exchange programme and Offshore Processing Agreement (OPA). In a statement by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, the NNPC noted that “the invitation of the officials is nothing unusual as NNPC regularly interfaces with other government agencies to provide information on relevant activities of the Corporation”. Mr. Alegbe described the report of its officials’ arrest as “mischievous” and “falsehoods concocted to spruce up an otherwise baseless story to deliberately misin...

Eight executives of a dating website were arrested on charges of fraud after investigators learned that only one female member was subscribed to their service, police in Japan said. Of the 2.7 million users on the site, only one was a woman. Read more from  Scoop: The rest of the women were paid by the company to chat with men. The scam dating site employed women to chat with male members and encourage them to pay for upgraded services or memberships.  The site also illegally used photos from other dating websites. The fake dating site earned about $80 million a year from paying members. A total of eight executives were arrested for running the fraudulent site. One user told investigators that he spent about $100,000 on the dating website. The Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan, launched a website in which it warns people to stay away from suspicious dating sites.