Press statement from the Presidency

President Muhammadu Buhari felicitates with all Nigerians of the Islamic faith as they celebrate this year's Eid-el-Kabir. President Buhari also congratulates all Nigerian Muslims who are currently in the Saudi Arabia to participate in the rites of the Hajj.

As they join the global Islamic community in celebrating Eid-El-Kabir, President Buhari urges Muslims and other Nigerians to rededicate themselves to a greater acceptance and internalisation of its lessons of piety, faithfulness, dedication, fortitude, obedience, sacrifice and selfless service which are for the benefit of all mankind.

The President calls for more patience, fortitude, tolerance, endurance, patriotism and a greater willingness to make personal sacrifices for the good of all as his administration strives to lead the nation towards rapidly overcoming its current security, economic and developmental challenges.
President Buhari assures all Nigerians that their safety, well-being and progress remain uppermost in his thoughts and actions, and that he will continue to work with all his might to deliver the positive changes in national life which they expect after his election and inauguration as Head of the Government of the Federation.

The President seizes this opportunity to extend heartfelt commiserations to families in Maiduguri and North-Eastern Nigeria who have sadly lost beloved relatives in recent terrorist attacks.

President Buhari's thoughts and prayers for Divine solace are with all those who have been callously plunged into mourning by mindless terrorists, when others are celebrating this year's Eid-El-Kabir.
The President has directed the Armed Forces and national security agencies to provide maximum security across the nation during Eid-El-Kabir prayers and celebrations, especially in areas most vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

President Buhari assures all Nigerians that the days of Boko Haram are numbered.
Boko Haram's reign of terror in parts of the country will be finally over very soon as the ongoing military onslaught against the terrorist sect will continue relentlessly until total victory is achieved.

Garba Shehu
SSA to the President
(Media & Publicity)

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has put the blame for the current surge of refugees crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Europe at the feet of the Europeans themselves, BBC reports.

Zuma, while briefing diplomats on South Africa's position on international affairs ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York next week, said the migrant crisis was triggered by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) forces, attacking Libya after the Arab Spring, leading to the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

"…actions taken in the bombarding of Libya and killing of its leader that opened the floodgates … today those who were part of destabilizing that part of the world, they do not want to accept the refugees. It is their responsibility. They caused it, they must address it." said Zuma. He added the United Nations must be reformed to represent all continents and meet the challenges of a modern world.

Popular Kenyan actress Nana Gichuru died on Tuesday morning September 22nd in a horrific road accident along Nairobi's eastern bypass in a head on collision with a lorry. Police and eye witnesses say the actress appeared to have been trying to overtake a number of vehicles in her BMW convertible when she collided with the parked lorry. Few days ago, precisely on September 11, she posted about death in a message on her Facebook Page. See that after the cut...

Former President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife Patience are presently in Ikenne Ogun State on a condolence visit to the Awolowo family on the death of Chief Mrs. Hannah Dideolu Awolowo. More photos after the cut...

Press statement from EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, September 22, 2015 arraigned three former bankers - Rita Emmanuel, Orjiri Martins and Monday Chibueze Ben, before Justice G. C. Aguma of the State High Court, Port Harcourt, Rivers State on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy and stealing to the tune of N12,150,000. 

Emmanuel, a customer service manager and teller of a new generation bank, allegedly converted the sum of N6,075,000 belonging to some bank customers to personal use. The fraud was allegedly concealed by Martins and Ben. The trio, who were present in court, are alleged to have deliberately conspired to defraud the bank.

One of the charges read: “That you Rita Emmanuel, Orjiri Martins and Monday Chibueze Ben on or about the 3rd day of October, 2014 at the First City and Monument Bank Limited, Ikwere Road branch, Port Harcourt, Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did conspire with each other to commit felony to wit: stealing and thereby committed an offence contrary to, and punishable under Section 516A of the Criminal Code Law Cap C37 Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1990.”

Another charge reads: “That you Rita Emmanuel on or about the 3rd day of October, 2014 at the First City and Monument Bank Limited, Ikwere Road branch, Port Harcourt, Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, being the customer service manager and teller of the Said bank, did steal the sum of N6,075,000 by fraudulently converting the said amount which is cash deposits from various customers of the bank and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 383 (1) (a) and punishable under section 390 (B) of the Criminal Code Law Cap C37 Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1990.”

They pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In view of their plea, prosecuting counsel, U. R. Ewoh asked the court for a date to commence trial. Counsel for the 1st and 3rd accused persons, V. F. Ajoku, and Smart Ikenga for the 2nd accused person, however, prayed that the court should grant the accused bail.

Justice Aguma granted the accused bail in the sum of N3,000,000 and one surety each. The surety who must be resident in Rivers State must be a civil servant on Grade Level 14 or a Medical Doctor, their office, status, and address must be verified by the court and the passport of the accused persons should be deposited in the court.

The case was adjourned to November 4, 2015.
Media & Publicity 23rd September, 2015

After he landed in D.C yesterday and was welcomed by the Obamas, 'The People's Pope' Pope Francis was chauffeur driven in an Italian-made Fiat to the Vatican Embassy. The car costs about $20k. He doesn't care for flashy cars. More photos after the cut...

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, 65, has split from his wife Annie, 59. The couple got married in 2010 but have been together for years and have an 18 year old daughter together. They are said to have agreed a financial package and divided up their assets after Arsene filed for legal separation in a French court.

Wenger, who previously admitted that his high pressured job with Arsenal had put pressure on his marriage has not been seen with Annie since 2013, which led to speculations for months that all was not well between the couple. Their split have now been confirmed.

Former Senator and former Nigerian Minister Musiliu Obanikoro is pictured buying books, eating and busing his own table at the student cafeteria at Oglethorpe University, Atlanta where he's currently studying. More exclusive photos after the cut...

Speaking on the sad incident, the deceased professor's son, Abdul Azeez said "Who will take care of us now that he is late? I was expecting to link up with him at Fountain University today (Monday). I was calling his phone on Sunday when I didn’t hear from him whether he has reached Ibadan where he was expected to pick other family members but he wasn’t picking his calls. I called him severally up to 30 times but no one was picking the call. I called the MD of Al Barakah Microfinance Bank to tell him that I have been calling my father but he was not picking his call that he should help me call him but later he came back with some people to announce his death that Allah has taken him back. I pray to Almighty Allah to grant the family the fortitude to bear the loss because he was the bread winner of the family and no one else.”.

The late professor and his 14 year old son were on Monday buried in Akinyele Local Government Area, Oyo State.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday arraigned former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, his two sons - Aminu Sule Lamido and Mustapha Sule Lamido, Aminu Wada Abubakar and Batholomew Darlington Agoha, before Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a 27-count amended charge bordering on corruption and money laundering.



Arraigned along with the governor, his sons and aides include 4 companies namely Bamaina Holdings Limited, Bamaina Company Nigeria Limited, Bamaina Aluminium Limited and Speeds International Limited.

Lamido and his co-accused had been arraigned before Justice Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court, Kano State, on July 9 2015 for allegedly misappropriating funds belonging to Jigawa State. Their case was later transferred to the Federal High Court, Abuja, where Justice Gabriel Kolawole, a vacation judge, granted the accused persons bail, and adjourned the matter to September 22, 2015.
At the resumed hearing yesterday September 22nd, presided over by Justice Ademola, counsel to the EFCC, Chile Okoroma, presented the court with the amended charge, dated September 15, 2015, which added Agoha, manager of Speeds International Limited, as one of the accused persons. The hearing which commenced at about 9.11am was, however, adjourned briefly to allow the registry to assign a new charge number to the amended charge sheet, since the case was originally heard in Kano.

On resumption, the charges were read to the accused persons.

One of the charges read: “That you Alhaji Sule Lamido (while being Governor of Jigawa State, Nigeria), Aminu Sule Lamido, Mustapha Sule Lamido, Bamaina Holdings Limited, Bamaina Company Nigeria Limited, and Speeds International Limited between 15th October and 18th December, 2008 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did convert an aggregate sum of N124,649,915 paid by Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Nigeria Limited into the account of Speeds International Limited.”

Another charge read: “That you Alhaji Sule Lamido (while being the governor of Jigawa State, Nigeria), Aminu Sule Lamido, Mustapha Sule Lamido, Bamaina Holdings Limited, Bamaina Company Nigeria Limited and Speeds International Limited between 8th January and 10th December, 2013 within the jurisdiction of this Honbourable Court took possession of an aggregate sum of N101,580,300 paid by Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Nigeria Limited into the account of Bamaina Holdings Limited.”

They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola, thereafter, adjourned till October 21 and 22 for trial

Ayodele Adedeji was arrested by Police Detectives attached to Onipanun Division of the Ogun State Police Command for parading himself as a soldier in the Nigerian Army, P.M News reports.

The suspect was monitored for some time by members of the public in the area who called the attention of a sergeant in the Nigerian army resident in same community to confirm if Adedeji was a genuine military man.

The sergeant was not satisfied with the suspect's explanation after interrogation and therefore handed him over to the police. During police interrogation, Adedeji confessed to be a fake soldier.

He revealed that he had been using his late elder brother's Army kits and other accoutrements. Among the items recovered from the suspect were two pairs of complete Nigerian Army uniforms,fake NA ID card, jungle boots, dummy gun, and other accoutrements of the Nigerian Army.

The Commissioner of Police CP Abdulmajid Ali directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Investigation and Intelligence in Ogun State to thoroughly investigate the matter to ascertain if the suspect was involved in kidnapping,land speculation, armed robbery for proper prosecution of the case.

Source: P.M. News

By now, most people know about the Bank Verification Number, commonly referred to as BVN. The BVN scheme is the registration of customers in the financial system using biometric technology.

Biometric technology involves the process of recording a person’s unique physical traits - such as their fingerprints and facial features.

This record can then be used to correctly identify the person afterwards. Once a person’s biometrics have been properly captured, the person is given a Bank Verification Number (BVN). 

They will appear in court soon.

President Buhari has directed the IG of Police and other security agencies to take all necessary action to ensure the safe and speedy rescue of former presidential candidate, Chief Olu Falae who was abducted from his farm in Ondo state on Monday September 21st by suspected herdsmen.

In a statement released by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Pres. Buhari condemned his abduction.

He assured Chief Falae's family, friends and other concerned Nigerians that the Federal Government will do all within its powers to ensure his swift release. He also requested constant updates from the police and security agencies on efforts to find and rescue Chief Falae and also denounces the recurring incidents of criminal abductions across the country. 

He assured all Nigerians that ongoing efforts to significantly enhance the security of lives and property in the country will continue apace and that under his leadership, Nigerians, irrespective of their status, will no longer be left at the mercy of criminal elements.

A female Corrections officer was brutally beaten by a Rikers Island inmate, leaving her bruised with two black eyes, according to a report by NY Daily News

Ironically, the beating began when the corrections officer Elizabeth Sturdivant was giving the inmate Jessy Blount a citation for beating up another inmate. The criminal complaint filed against the Blount quoted him as a saying “I’m going to forget you are a female and knock you out,”

Says Sturdivant’s rep:

“Again we have somebody beaten by an inmate and our hands are tied,” said Patrick Ferraioulo, president of the Correction Captains Association, which represents Sturdivant. “It’s only going to get worse. People are afraid to defend themselves.”

The Correction Department has changed its use of force policy following multiple high-profile cases of inmate abuse. The new rules require officers to first use pepper spray and avoid hitting inmates in the face.

Photo credit: US Dept. Of Corrections

To beat the traffic on Ikorodu road yesterday, Oyibo man entered LASTMA bike..lol. More pics after the cut...

Press statement below from the Nigerian army.

Advancing troops along Banki axis today afternoon cleared more terrorist camps and captured weapons, flags and improvised explosives (IEDs) making devices at Jangolori and Bulaburma villages. The recovered items have confirmed earlier intelligence that the terrorists often used corrugated metal roofing sheets and bathroom slippers in making improvised explosive devices which affects troops advance.

In addition, it is quite clear that the campaign against the terrorists is yielding the desired result because they are fast running out of arms, ammunitions and other logistics. It is equally important to state and commend the synergy, intelligence and information sharing between our own forces and those of our neighbouring countries under the Multinational Joint Task Force.

Consequently, the troops are quite optimistic that the Boko Haram terrorists would be defeated very soon. The Nigerian Army wishes for the to call on patriotic citizens to please continue to avail troops with information. Our collective effort will continue to lead to more successes until the terrorists are completely defeated.

We however wish to further state as the terrorists are on the run, there is need for more vigilance and security consciousness among all. Consequently, there is need for more alertness among all to pre-empt the terrorists and other criminal elements in the society. Kindly disseminate this information to the public through your medium. Thank you for your cooperation.

Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman Acting Director Army Public Relations