Fayose flays Fayemi for flag off

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the June 21 governorship election, Mr. Ayodele Fayose yesterday accused the APC of being behind the Boko Haram insurgency, saying increased terrorist activities of the insurgents were aimed at distracting President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP from Ekiti and Osun State Governorship elections.

Fayose who spoke at a press briefing in Ado Ekiti equally hailed the postponement of the president's visit to the state for the formal hand over of the party's flag to him. The president was supposed to perform the ceremony today, but that has now been shifted by one week on account of the twin bombing in Jos, Plateau State.

"It is disheartening that the APC went ahead with its own campaign rally in Ado-Ekiti today, despite the number of lives that were lost in Jos, Plateau State on Tuesday."

"God will surely visit His wrath on anyone shedding the blood of innocent Nigerians just for political gains." The PDP gubernatorial candidate said "Questions Nigerians must begin to ask are; why is it that anytime President Goodluck Jonathan is about to attend a major political event, the Boko Haram will strike?

"Why did the criminal activities of the Boko Haram insurgents increase a few months to the Ekiti and Osun State elections?" Fayose further asked. He, therefore appealed to members of the PDP in the state to remain resolute and continue to work for the success of the party.

Fayose said a new date would be announced for the flag-off ceremony soon. In his own reaction, spokesperson of Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organization, Dimeji Daniels said  the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag bearer  was suffering from General Anxiety Disorder Syndrome (GADs).

Daniels added that the PDP rally was cancelled for fear of failure as the party has self-destruct from the inside.

According to him, the PDP rally was cancelled as President Jonathan had well cancelled his earlier planned attendance in view of the internal bickerings associated with the strange and undemocratic manner of its controversial flag-bearer, Ayodele Fayose.

He added that the gargantuan of intra-party problems would have rubbished the so-called rally, hence the reason it was unavoidably cancelled.

"The enormity of the problems confronting the party owing to the controversial style of its candidate would have rubbished the rally. This is why it was cancelled.

The attempt of the PDP to draw cheap public sympathy from this is another of its insensitive approach to serious issues affecting the lives of defenseless Nigerians. After all, Nigerians know which party was dancing azonto in Kano and popping champagne in Ibadan few hours after many were killed in the Yanyan explosion in Abuja." He added that it was usual for the PDP which is in control of the government at the centre to accuse others of its numerous failings. Daniels said it is on record that APC governors and leaders have shown more concern for victims of insurgency in the country in the way they have always taken care of  the victims through donations and love, way before the PDP-led government woke up from its lethargy.

Via: Vanguard

48 killed in fresh Borno attacks, Chibok schoolgirls sighted in Chad

Maiduguri—No fewer than 48 people were killed by insurgent group, Boko Haram, in Shawa and Alagarno villages of Askira Cuba and Damboa local government areas of Borno State, respectively.
The attackers also carted away food items after setting ablaze almost all houses in the villages.

Shawa is about three kilometres south of Kwapchi village which came under attack in the last two weeks, where 12 people were killed with several residential houses set ablaze, while Alagarno village is about 30 kilometres to Chibok town, where about 275 female students of Government Secondary School were abducted by the insurgents and about 117 kilometers from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

A local resident, Mallam Umaru Saina, who spoke with our correspondent on phone, said about 30 terrorists on 10 motorcycles stormed Alagarno village yesterday at 1:30a.m. and had a field day before they left.

He said: "A young woman in Alagarno village was missing during the attack, but nobody knows whether the woman was taken away by the insurgents who destroyed everything we had and burnt down our remaining food.

"The most painful thing is that, they did not spare children. They killed children, women, and men."

7 Division
Meantime, Premium Times quoted senior military and administration officials as saying that Nigeria's Special Forces from 7 Division have sighted and narrowed the search for the abducted Chibok schoolgirls to three camps operated by the extremist sect north of Kukawa at the western corridors of Lake Chad.

Sources said the Shawa incident took place on Monday evening, while the Algarno attack took place yesterday morning.

Parents' death
Meanwhile, a father of eight, whose two daughters were among the over 200 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Mr. Mutai Hona, has died of heart attack as a result of high blood pressure, BP.

Another parent, Madam Mary Lalai of Mbulabam village in Chibok Local Government Area died earlier of heart attack on hearing the news of her daughter's abduction.

The news of Mr. Hona's death was announced by his brother, Mr. James Yama. Yama, in an interview with newsmen in Maiduguri, said the deceased who was hale and hearty died last Sunday of psychological trauma when he realised that none of his two abducted daughters were among those shown in the video clip earlier released by the sect leader, Abubakar Shekau.

Late Hona, aged 56, survived by two widows, has been buried in Chibok.

Yama disclosed that most of the parents were neither eating nor sleeping due to psychological trauma.

He said: "We are suffering in silence. One of my brothers, Mr. Mutai Hona, whose two daughters were among those abducted, died last Sunday as a result of heart attack.

"Since the incident, he had not been eating well, before he developed high blood pressure.
Relief materials rejected

"It will interest you to note that last Sunday, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, in charge of North-East Zone were here in Chibok to distribute relief materials to the victims, but none of the parents of the abducted girls collected even soap.

"They protested to NEMA officials that all they wanted was for government to bring back their abducted daughters. In fact, most of those who benefitted from the relief materials were people whose daughters were not among the abducted.

"If we had seen the corpses of our girls, we would have forgotten about them. They have turned the whole episode into a hide-and-seek game with the authorities not letting us know what is really happening. It is unfortunate."

Teachers' revolt
The Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, yesterday, ordered the closure of all schools nationwide in protest against the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls and the killing of 170 teachers from Borno State and three from Yobe State by the insurgents.

National President of NUT, Mr. Michael Alogba, who gave the directive while addressing journalists in Abuja, said the union was depressed and sad over the continued incarceration of the Chibok girls by insurgents.

He urged the Federal Government and governments of Borno and Yobe states to exhibit true concern for the families of the 173 teachers.

Alogba said: "The NUT has resolved to hold Bring Back our Girls rallies simultaneously across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, FCT, today.

"All schools nationwide shall be closed as the day will be our day of protest against the abduction of Chibok female students and the heartless murder of 173 teachers.

"At this junction, we demand that both the Federal and respective state governments should exhibit true concern to the families of the 173 teachers who lost their lives to the barbaric, uncivilised and wicked acts of terror by paying them adequate compensation to assist in soothing their misery.

"It is also important to take insurance cover for both students and teachers in the vulnerable political environment of the country. Education should be publicly declared as fundamental human rights and abridgement should be criminalised."

US troops
The United States of America, USA, has deployed 80 military personnel to Chad to help regional efforts to rescue the more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls, President Barack Obama said yesterday.

In a letter to the US Congress, he said: "These personnel will support the operation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for missions over northern Nigeria and the surrounding area.

"The force will remain in Chad until its support in resolving the kidnapping situation is no longer required."

France also has forces in Chad, while Britain and the United States have sent small teams of specialists to Nigeria to assist the Federal Government in the search for the girls.

"It has been a most difficult but heroic breakthrough," one senior military official said in Abuja, according to Premium Times.

That claim was supported by another senior commander from the Army's 7 Division, the military formation created to deal with the insurgency in the North-East. The 7 Division is headquartered in Maiduguri, Borno State capital.

The news is also key for the Maiduguri-based 7 Division a week after a humiliating mutiny by troops of its 101 battalion who fired at the General Officer Commanding the division, Ahmadu Mohammed, a Major General.

Military officers coordinating the search and other officials in Abuja said Boko Haram insurgents split the girls into batches and held them at their camps in Madayi, Dogon Chuku and Meri, all around the Sector 3 operational division of the military detachment confronting the group's deadly campaign.
Another source said there is a fourth camp at Kangarwa, also in Borno State. That claim could not be independently verified.

Sightings

"Our team first sighted the girls on April 26 and we have been following their movement with the terrorists ever since," one of our sources said.

"That's why we just shake our heads when people insinuate that the military is lethargic in the search for the girls," he added.

The location of the abducted girls — North-East of Kukawa —  opens a new insight into the logistic orientation of Boko Haram, responsible for thousands of deaths in a five-year long insurgency.

President Goodluck Jonathan said the group had killed at least 12,000 people so far. This figure did not include the hundreds killed in a car bomb, Tuesday, in Jos and the about 10 murdered on Sunday in Kano in a suicide bombing.

Boko Haram's movement
Details established by the military shows that while the world's attention is focused on the Sambisa forest reserves, about 330 kilometres south of Maiduguri, the terrorists mapped a complex mission that began at Chibok, and veered north east of Sambisa, before heading to west of Bama and east of Konduga.

With the sighting, officials fear that Boko Haram militants may be seeking to create new options of escape all the way to Lo-gone-Et Chari in Cameroon to its South-East, Lake Chad to its east and Diffa in Niger Republic to its north, providing a multiple escape options in the event of hostile ground operations against it.

Notwithstanding the sighting, the government is said not to be considering the use of force against the extremists, a choice informed by concerns for the safety of the students.
 
Via: Vanguard

Bird turns to old woman in Lagos

Residents of Ajegunle area of Lagos were, yesterday, thrown into shock, after a bird was said to have transformed into an old woman who confessed to being a witch.

The dark-complexioned nonagenarian with tribal marks, who spoke in Yoruba, told a bewildered crowd that she was on her way back to Ibadan, Oyo State (as a bird) when she missed her track.

She was also said to have told the mammoth crowd that her mystical powers disappointed her because it was dawn.

Eye-witnesses told Vanguard that three black birds were seen at about 7am, flying side‑by‑side along Old Ojo Road.

Then, all of a sudden, one of them landed on a moving pick‑up van owned by Eko Electricity Distribution Company.

An eye witness who identified himself simply as Mr Okafor said: "Immediately the bird landed on the van, it transformed into an old woman.

"Everyone ran away at first but we later gathered round the woman only to discover that she had a bruise on her forehead with which she landed.

"When we asked her what her mission was, she said three of them were sent to Lagos from their coven in Ibadan but that on their way back, they missed their way.

"She said they started hovering in the area until it was morning, adding that she fell because she was tired.
"She also told us that she initially did not want to embark on the journey and that she used to restrict her witchcraft activities to Ibadan because of her age.

"She was thereafter taken to the Baale of Ajeromi, where she confessed to have killed her husband through witchcraft."

Policemen from Layeni Police Division were said to have been contacted to prevent the woman from being lynched and they came and took her away.

Police sources told Vanguard that the woman would be released to any of her relations who shows up, explaining that the law does not recognise witchcraft.
"She has not committed any crime and will, therefore, be released to any member of her family who shows up. We did not arrest her. We only prevented a likely jungle justice," the police source said.
 
Via: Vanguard

Jos bombing: PDP criticises APC for holding a political rally in Ekiti

Abuja – The PDP National Working Committee (NWC), has criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) for holding political rally in Ekiti a day after the May 20 twin bomb explosions in Jos.

Mr Olisa Metuh, National Publicity Secretary of the party, at a news briefing on Wednesday in Abuja, said the APC had remained "hypocritical in the face of loss of lives caused by the insurgents".

Metuh, who spoke at the end of a meeting of the NWC, expressed shock that while the nation was still mourning the death of those who died in the Jos and Kano bombings, the APC was engaged in a political rally in Ekiti.

He said that while the PDP called off its rally in Ekiti in honour of the victims of the Jos and Kano bombings while the APC was celebrating in the same state.

This, the party spokesman said, was more worrisome as the debris of the bombings was yet to be cleared.
Metuh said that it was ironic that the APC which had lost its voice found it whenever there was a bomb blast in the country.

"This gives us concern and we are bringing it to the consciousness of Nigerians for them to judge,'' he stressed.

Metuh declared that rather than join forces with the Federal Government to fight acts of insurgency in the country, the APC had engaged itself in blame game and instigating the people against the government.
He claimed that the APC was engaging in propaganda and misinformation, adding that Nigerians would not be deceived.

He cautioned Nigerians and the international community to be wary of the APC which, he said, had vowed to make the country ungovernable.
"APC is the major beneficiary of terrorism in this country. We stand by our statement that APC celebrates terrorism.

"We didn't say APC bombed Nyanya, Kano or Jos. What we said is that APC by their actions and utterances, promote violence.

"If they do so, they cannot shy away from the fact that they fueled violence," Metuh maintained.

The PDP spokesman said that even in the face of the country`s present challenges, the PDP was a better alternative to Nigerians even though the party had not lived up to the expectations of all.

"We are a developing democratic country. Even in developed democracies, things are not perfect.

"The truth is that even if we had made mistakes, Nigerians know that APC and the opposition is not an option.

"Nigerians are left with the only choice of supporting the PDP the only true national party,'' he said.
He said that the APC was made up of tribal and religious group that had nothing to offer the people.

Via: NAN

Tiwa Savage Reveals Favourite Colour, Says I Would Have Been A Housewife If Not For Music

Tiwa Savage this afternoon in a question and answer session via MTVBaseAfrica on twitter answered few questions from her fans. The idea is that, any celeb on hot seat must be willing to answer any question from fans. And the one that has got a lot of people talking, was when Tiwa said if she had not become a musician, she would have been a housewife.  

See more tweets below.

  Credit to Ladun Liadi

Court Grants Former Chevron Accountant Bail Over N5B Fraud

A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja Wednesday granted former Chevron accountant, Michael Adenuga, bail in the sum of N5 million.

Adenuga is being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over an alleged fraudulent conversion of a landed property worth N5 billion, Pm News reports.

The EFCC alleged that Adenuga and his company, Covenant Apartment Ltd fraudulently converted a 22.68 hectares of land located in the Lekki area of Lagos, western Nigeria, which he jointly owned with a Switzerland company, to his personal use.

The property is valued at N5 billion.

The EFCC also alleged that the defendant forged  a Lagos State land sales document alleging that the said land had been sold to him by the Swiss firm.

The commission claimed that the defendant had tendered the document before its officials at its Lagos office with the intent to deceive them.

Adenuga pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge when it was read to him in the open court.

Moving his bail application Wednesday, Adenuga's lawyer, Mr Ehis Agboga prayed the court to grant his client bail in liberal terms.

He argued that his client has never been convicted of any crime in the past and that since the matter was being investigated by the EFCC, he had always reported before the commission's office in Lagos.

Ehis noted that the offence for which his client was being charged is bailable and that the court has discretion to grant him bail.

EFCC Counsel, Jamiu Musa, however, opposed the application arguing that the defendant may not attend his trial if granted bail.

Presiding Judge, Justice Sedoten Ogunsanya, however, overruled the EFCC counsel's position and granted the defendant bail in the sum of N5 million with two sureties.

The judge directed that the two sureties must be resident in Lagos with proof of three-year tax payment.

The judge further ordered the defendant to deposit his international passport with the Chief Registrar of the court.

She adjourned that matter till 13 and 14 July for trial.

My Colleagues In The industry Don’t Want To Speak Out Against Boko Haram – African China

African China has revealed that his colleagues have rejected joining him to fight the Boko Haram menace through music.

He said that he had a new song called Boko Haram, but his fellow colleagues refused to join him and be the voice of the people.

African China, who has given his life to Christ and might soon be a gospel singer also said the government is at fault for the Boko Haram crisis.

When told to explain his song Boko Haram He said: The evil in mankind. If Nigerians wanted President Goodluck Jonathan to resign, trust me, it is not a thing of killing innocent souls. If you do not want Jonathan, it is as simple as rebelling like campaign just ok ooo, you promised us good road, good health, electricity, fuel but scarcity and you have not delivered.

But the issue of taking lives, I don't buy the idea. That was why I stood up to write that song. When I wanted to do the song, I called few of my colleagues that I wanted to do a song of such, they were all happy and they were like 'it's good'. But when it was time to do it, everyone started running. The next thing they said was; 'na you now, you are the best man in position to talk about that thing, you know me I can't,' and that was it.

On his Gospel;

Actually, I will say maybe the calling of God has started manifesting. The thing is, I will not say I am diverting to gospel music, but it's just that African China is a conscious artistes and I have a lot of gospel fans, so, my pastor advised me to do a compilation of all my gospel songs, both the old and the new ones into one CD.

If you listen to the songs, you will hear those old gospel songs. So I did everything together and called it 'The Gospel.' So, I am not diverting. But if the call comes, I will gladly go just like this popular gospel song, 'here am I, send me, here am I, send me, if the Lord wants somebody, here am I, send me.' So, the gospel songs are for the Christians, while the secular songs are for those that know African China.

On who to be blamed for the many bomb blasts, African China said;

I will tell you whole heartedly that the government has to be blamed, the leaders, most especially, because if I want to use the word political parties, I will be making a big mistake because right now, as we speak, some states are been ruled by some, I will say we have two strong parties, so when I say the leaders, I am talking to these two parties. As long as you are a leader, I am talking to you.

We have a vital role to play in this issue. Now, they installed CCTV cameras everywhere in Lagos, Abuja and other states, and still you cannot tell me you saw these people, haba, why are we lying to ourselves? Yes, we want to copy the 'White people', but we don't copy the good things, we copy the bad things. What do we copy? Our ladies want to start smoking in a hot weather, not knowing that over there that people smoke because of the cold. Our ladies in Nigeria, under the hot sun, start smoking, what for? Not knowing that it affects them during pregnancy. Nobody wants to know that. The ladies do not want to know. It is fun to them. But it is not fun to us.

Our ladies want to divorce their husbands, why? Because over there, it's a woman's world but here, it's a man's world, why? Here, we pay bride price, over there, you don't pay bride price. The bride price you pay is when you divorce, you split. How can you pay bride price here in this country? That is one thing they need to sort out in this country. How can you pay bride price and at the end of the day, your wife wants to divorce you? I want a 50/50 of your property, how? The House just needs to stop the fact that ok oo, no more bride price.

He also spoke about the abducted girls;

Not at all. They don't even care. The governments don't care. Like in that song 'Anugboko', I said 'the government thinks say me I don craze, they think say I be born thruway?' Nigerians are like born thruway, wetin concern them. Do you know why Jonathan is concern now, it's because celebrities from outside countries are now the people campaigning that's why.

If you play the song, they will tell you don't play the song on air. They are jeopardizing the image of this country, which country? If the country is not good, it's not good. Let's call a spade a spade. What is not good, it is not good. If you no do good, we should say it. What happened in Egypt, Syria, Libya? You are ruling these people and they pay taxes. Where is Michelin company today? They are now in Ghana. How big is Ghana to compare to Lagos not to talk of Nigeria. This country is fu*ked, I think it's high time we split.

US troops deploy to Chad in hunt for Nigerian girls

(AFP) – The United States has deployed 80 military personnel to Chad to help regional efforts to rescue more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in neighboring Nigeria, President Barack Obama said Wednesday.

"These personnel will support the operation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for missions over northern Nigeria and the surrounding area," Obama said in a letter to Congress.

Via: Vanguard

Harvard's Satanic Black Mass Stirs Controversy

Dressed in black and hoods, a group of Harvard students joined members of a New York group called the satanic temple to hold a "black mass" at a Chinese restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, last Monday.

A statue designed for display on the Oklahoma state capitol grounds by the Satanic Temple.

The event which was originally scheduled to be sponsored by a Harvard University student organisation and held on campus was relocated at the last minute to the nearby Hong Kong Restaurant and Lounge after the campus group called the Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club, pulled its support.

Harvard did not prohibit the event, allowing it as an expression of student free-speech rights.

According to report, about 50 people, mostly dressed in black and some wearing face makeup, were present for the ceremony.

The ceremony began with a narration on the history underlying satanism and the black mass ritual.

Four individuals in hoods, one man in a white suit, a cape and a horned mask as well as a woman revealed to be wearing only lingerie were said to be active in the proceedings

Although, a consecrated host, believed by Catholics to be the body of Christ, was not used in the ritual.

It has been said that members of the Satanic Temple don't really worship Satan so much as they embrace atheism and point to Satan as a literary symbol of their humanist views.

Catholic groups have been criticising the ceremony, however, and urging Harvard to prevent it from taking place on campus.

"For the good of the Catholic faithful and all people, the Church provides clear teaching concerning Satanic worship.

"This activity separates people from God and the human community, it is contrary to charity and goodness, and it places participants dangerously close to destructive works of evil," the Archdiocese of Boston said in a statement.

Source: BBC News

Soldiers have Sighted the Abducted Girls in Boko Haram Camps

Nigeria's special forces from the Army's 7th Division have sighted and narrowed search for the over 200 abducted Chibok schoolgirls to three camps operated by the wicked Boko Haram sect north of Kukawa at the western corridors of the Lake Chad, senior military and government officials said.

That claim was supported by another senior commander from the Army's 7th Division, the military formation created to deal with the insurgency in the Northeast. The 7th Division is headquartered in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The breakthrough comes at a critical moment for the Nigerian military that has faced cutting criticism over its handling of the kidnapping of the girls more than a month ago.

"Our team first sighted the girls on April 26 and we have been following their movement with the terrorists ever since. That's why we just shake our heads when people insinuate that the military is lethargic in the search for the girls," one of the sources said.

"It has been a most difficult but heroic breakthrough," a senior military official said in Abuja.

The abductions have sparked international outrage, with the United States, United Kingdom, France and Israel, providing intelligence and surveillance assistance.

According to Premium Times, Nigerian military officials coordinating the search and other officials in Abuja said Boko Haram insurgents split the girls into batches and held them at their camps in Madayi, Dogon Chuku and Meri, all around the Sector 3 operational division of the Nigerian military detachment confronting the group's deadly campaign.

The location of the abducted girls – north east of Kukawa – opens a new insight into the logistic orientation of Boko Haram, responsible for thousands of deaths in a five-year long insurgency. President Goodluck Jonathan said the group has killed at least 12,000 people so far – that's minus the hundreds killed in a car bomb on Tuesday in Jos and the about 10 murdered on Sunday in Kano in a suicide bombing.

Notwithstanding the sighting, the government is said not to be considering the use of force against the extremists, a choice informed by concerns for the safety of the students.

But with growing local and international pressure, a likely option may be for the authorities to enter into talks with the group, whose leader, Abubakar Shekau, in a May 12 video broadcast, called for dialogue and "prisoner" swap with the government.

Jos bomb attacks very cruel and saddening – IGP

 The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Abubakar, on Wednesday visited the Jos bombing scenes and declared that the Federal Government was fully committed to ending terrorism in the country.

Abubakar, who also visited some injured persons at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, described the bomb attacks as "very cruel and saddening".

"Mr President is deeply saddened by this callous act; we have a responsibility as a government agency to ensure that the incident is thoroughly investigated.

"We will do everything humanly possible to unmask those behind the act and bring them to justice.

"We are here to convey the condolences of Mr President to the government and people of Plateau and also assure them of his commitment toward providing security.

"We also want to assure the people of Mr President's commitment toward ending terrorism," he said.

The IGP commended the Plateau Government's efforts in the fight against insurgency and promised to continue to work with the state to tackle the menace.

He also commended security agencies in the state for their excellent handling of the incident immediately after it happened and encouraged them to sustain that attitude.

Alhaji Sani Sidi, Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), who also went round the scenes of the blasts with the police chief, pledged NEMA's readiness to assist the victims.

"We hope to work closely with other government agencies, the Plateau Government and hospital management teams to ensure that we assist the victims of the bomb blasts," Sidi said.

Plateau Commissioner of Police, Mr Chris Olakpe, had  confirmed 75 persons dead and several others injured in the blasts that hit Terminus market in Jos on Tuesday afternoon. 

Via: NAN

Photo: Check Out Two sisters who died in the Kano bomb blast on Sunday

6 year old Magdalene (left) and her older sister, Sonia, 13, (right) were part of those that lost their lives on Sunday May 18th after a bomb went off at a popular drinking spot on Atiken Street in the Sabongari area of Kano state. 8 others died. May their souls rest in peace...amen.

Another Girl Escapes From Boko Haram And Tells Her Story

Another escaped victim, identified as Godiya Simon, who was among the 234 abducted girls, by Boko Haram members on April 14, yesterday narrated her ordeal in Sambisa Forest.

Speaking to journalist in Maiduguri, on how she escaped from the dreaded sambisa forest, she explained that after their kidnapping, they were made to walk through the forest where they were later kept in an open place inside the forest.

"The place we were kept was not just right and I felt that these people might kill us. We heard many bad things about them. I then began to plan how to escape. I told them that I wanted to urinate which they said no to, but after I kept repeating it, they allowed me to go along with three others. That was the time we escaped from the camp" she said.

The escapee, who said she couldn't trace her way back to the forest acknowledged that they were held in the forest, as they could hear the sect members talking.

"No, I do not think I will know, you know we travelled at night. When we went to urinate, we started running. We were too scared, we just kept running, believing that with God on our side, we would get help" she said.

Simon said after they had ran very far from the forest, they fortunately came across a Fulani herdsman, who helped them out of the bush to the express-road where they boarded a vehicle back to Chibok.

She disclosed that she was in Maiduguri, because they were asked to come and watch a video that was recently released by the Boko Haram, leader Abubakar Shakau, in order for them to ascertain if the other girls who are still in captivity are all from GGSS.

Simon, who confirmed that there were many of her schoolmates in the video, added that she felt a little bit relieved seeing that they are still alive, and expressed optimism that they will come back like she did.

The elated escapee asserted that she felt bad when she saw some her schoolmates that are Christians reciting the Holy Koran.

"It makes me feel sad knowing that they must have been forced to recite the Koran. I know four of the girls to be good Christians that will never accept to change their faith. It is sad that they have been forced to become Muslims" Simon said.

Jonathan Strongly Condemns Jos Bomb Blasts

President Goodluck Jonathan has strongly  condemned the bomb blasts in Jos, Plateau state, which led to the loss of many lives.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati Tuesday said the president described the perpetrators of "this tragic assault on human freedom as cruel and evil".

According to Dr Abati, the president has directed all relevant agencies to mobilise support and relief efforts in aid of the victims.

The presidential Spokesmand said President Jonathan has also assured all Nigerians that government remain fully committed to winning the war against terror, and this administration will not be cowed by the atrocities of enemies of human progress and civilization.

The Statement reads: : "President Jonathan has also expressed Nigeria's deepest appreciation to the international community on the success of the recent Summit in Paris on the security situation in Nigeria hosted by the President of France, H.E. Francois Hollande.

More details soon

Via: Vanguard

Two arrested over Kano suicide car bomb

(AFP) – Two men have been arrested in connection with a suicide car bombing in the northern Nigerian city of Kano that killed four, police said on Tuesday.
"Two suspects are now in custody in connection with Sunday's bombing in Sabon Gari," Kano police spokesman Musa Magaji Majia told AFP.

Majia said the pair were arrested by people at a bus station in the city that was previously attacked by Boko Haram militants after they overheard them talking about the bombing.

"They were apprehended and the police station there alerted, which led to their arrest and transfer to the police headquarters," he added.

The authorities have not said who was responsible for the blast, which ripped through the Middle Road area of a predominantly Christian district at about 10:00 pm (2100 GMT) on Sunday.

The area is a popular entertainment haunt because of its many roadside bars and restaurants.

Boko Haram, which is waging a violent insurgency in northern Nigeria, is suspected of setting off a series of bombs in July last year.

But others have suggested a political motive to the bombing after the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) routed the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in local elections Saturday.

Via: Vanguard

Shocking: Two blasts rock Jos market

Two blasts hit Jos Terminus Market today in Nigeria's central city of Jos, and 200 are reportedly killed by the incident.
According to the area governor, the two bombs were concealed inside a truck and a minibus the military said.
"There were two separate blasts," at the New Abuja Market, Pam Ayuba said, referring to the attack at about 3:00 pm (1400 GMT). "We are yet to know the casualty rate," he added.
"The first IED (improvised explosive device) was in a truck. The second was in a minibus," said Kingsley Egbo, of the military State Task Force (STF) in Plateau state, of which Jos is the capital.
"The market was really crowded," he added. "We are having a problem of crowd control… The emergency services have evacuated the casualties," he told AFP.

US Singers Ciara & Future Welcome Baby Boy

Singer Ciara and rapper Future welcomed a baby boy yesterday, Monday 19th May. The baby is Ciara's first child, and Future's fourth.

Congratulations

24-year old lady die in mysterious circumstance

Palpable grief and anxiety has gripped Uhuala, Umuada community in Avutu, Obowo local government area of Imo State, as 24-year old Miss Chioma Onukwuwe mysteriously died not long after a bird reportedly perched on her head.

Reacting to what some villagers called "this bizarre incident", the grief-stricken father of late Chioma, Mr. Humphrey Ojimmadu Onukwuwe, resisted the temptation of pointing accusing finger on anybody, since he could not at the material time, know of any one who could plan such evil against his family.

"Whosoever was responsible for the untimely death of my daughter, will definitely have questions to answer before God, the creator of this universe", Onukwuwe said.

Narrating the family's grief also to newsmen, the late lady's uncle, Mr. Robinson Onukwuwe, said: "Her mysterious death is very painful. She had no known health challenges at the time of her death. We can only say that the strange bird remains the source of our grief".

He recalled that his late niece said she was resting in the house when a bird of no specific description, flew into the room, perched on her head and vanished almost immediately.

"We still do not understand the entire story but we noticed that her system automatically changed. She was immediately taken to Emerenini Hospital but she died about 10 minutes on arrival", Mr. Onukwuwe grieved.

Continuing, the man described late Chioma as "very brilliant, jovial, tolerant, cheerful, humble, respectful and obedient, not only to her teachers and colleagues in school, but also to everybody".

A sympathizer, who spoke on strict grounds of anonymity, opined that "the girl's death was more spiritual that medical".

"It is regrettable that she was taken to a hospital instead of a church, where serious prayers would have been said for her. Chioma's problem was spiritual and not medical. Hospitals do not treat spiritual cases", the villagers opined.

Answering another question, the villager said: "Since it has happened, I can only encourage her parents to take heart. I urge those who are still neck deep in diabolical acts to repent or be prepared to face God's wrath".

Boko Haram Not A Branch Of Al-Qaeda – United States Government

The United States Government has said that the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, is not a branch of the global terrorist organisation, al-Qaeda.

President Goodluck Jonathan had during the France security summit on the menace of the insurgent group on Saturday, described the Boko Haram sect, as the "al Qaeda of West Africa."

But the US said though terrorists groups around the world were known to have links, it cautioned that the sect should be treated as its "own terrorist group."

A statement by the US Consul General in Lagos on Monday quoted the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Wendy Sherman, as saying this on the sidelines of the summit hosted by French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Saturday.

Sherman, who spoke to journalists alongside US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and the US State Department Counterterrorism Coordinator, Tina Kaidelow, said UN sanctions on Boko Haram could be as quick as this week.

She said, "Boko Haram is its own terrorist group, and the United States has designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. In this day and age, there is probably no terror group that does not have some links somehow, even if tenuous, to some other organisation. But for the most part, we treat Boko Haram as its own terror organisation.

"When you have sanctions at the UN, it does do asset freezes, travel freezes, a variety of things. It depends on how the designation is done. But I imagine this will happen rather quickly. Quite frankly, I can't imagine any country who would not support this designation."

Sherman added that the US was committed to supporting the Nigerian government in ensuring that the girls were brought back alive.

According to her, the abducted schoolgirls have become "the girls of the world, not just of Nigeria." He added that all efforts were being put in place to ensure that the West Africa sub-region was not turned to a breeding ground for terror.

Insisting that the American people "are not putting boots on the ground" in Nigeria for the girls' rescue, Sherman noted that only intelligence assistance would be provided.

However, the senior US official said she was unsure of the Nigerian armed forces capability to carry out a rescue operation in the event that the location of the abducted girls were tracked by the US and other allies.

"If it were to be a rescue operation, that's a very specific skill set and not every army in the world has that skill set. I know that there are some training, that have gone on with units of the military in Nigeria to build those skills, in other words, special forces skills. Whether they'd be able to attempt a rescue, I think it would just depend on the circumstances," Sherman said.

Observing that there were many ways to bring the "horrific" abduction to a close, Sherman frowned on negotiating with the sect under the guise of "ransom, exchanges and things like that," saying the US views on these "are well known."

On her part, Thomas-Greenfield, said the US was coordinating the joint efforts to rescue the girls very closely with the other teams.

"And the Nigerians have assigned a senior person who is their point of contact, and they're working very, very closely," Thomas-Greenfield said.

Source: Punch

Toni Braxton unbreaks her heart:Opens Up on having an abortion,plastic surgery & going Broke

Toni Braxton who went bankrupt has opened up on her life, how she got broke,how she regrets having an abortion and getting a nose and boob job in 1992..It is all in her new memoir "Unbreak My Heart"..Very revealing and touching...These are some excerpts from the book as published on Mailonline..

'I'd been wanting to change my nose for years – I wanted it to be less broad. But because of the conservative ideas I was raised with, I struggled with the thought of altering my body.And of course, I later got my boobies done. I'd always been shaped like a gymnast – size double A breasts and thunder thighs. In fact, I wish I would've had lipo on my inner thighs. I've always hated them'I loved how they looked. At last – Homely Toni Braxton had some curves. Before I got the breast implants, my stylist would use duct tape beneath my tiny boobs to make it look like I had cleavageTo this day, I am still happy I got that nose job. Yes, I wish I'd gotten it smaller, but the new nose did fit my face so much better'.

'Now people started asking, 'Who's the short girl with the chubby cheeks, the pixie haircut, and the big ol' butt? I never thought I had a big butt —though I do have Serena Williams thighs
Her first big financial payday came in 1996 with an advance on future recordings that came to a whopping $1.6 million before paying taxes, agents, lawyers, managers – which left her $600,000. So she started spending.

She bought a house, a mahogany Schimmel piano, leased a Jeep Cherokee. She began sleeping in the double suite penthouse at the Four Seasons in New York.
 
My only regret was having no one to share the room with me'
Clive Davis, the famed record producer and music industry executive, wanted her to go out on tour with saxophonist Kenny G. so she could develop the same crossover appeal as Whitney Houston and develop a white audience.But she needed to work with black promoters as well.

She tried backing out of the tour but it was too late; tickets were being sold. When the tour ended, she had to borrow a million dollars from Arista to pay for the band, the sets, lights, background singers and dancers, wardrobe. 

On being Heartbroken 

During the tour, she hooked up with Curtis Martin, a football running back who played for the New England Patriots.Several weeks in the relationship, Curtis asked her how she felt about waiting. They had only been kissing and hugging.

'For me, sex is for when you get married. 'I can't wait to make love to my wife one day'. 

In early 1998, around the time of her first bankruptcy, Curtis was very supportive 'but then things started to get weird in other ways'.He had new restriction on touching and started saying

'We shouldn't touch each other below the neck'.We'd be making out, and all of a sudden, he'd just stop. 'That could lead to other things.He then announced that 'Jesus told me we had to break up. God told me that we shouldn't be together anymore. I can best serve you as your friend'.

'Huh? We're friends now', she protested. 'We're not lovers - we haven't even been intimate'!I flew back to Los Angeles feeling numb and confused. I was completely heartbroken...'Once home, I curled up in my bedroom and cried like a little kid...'

Being Broke Again

Nothing was going right. She couldn't keep up with payments she owed Arista. She sold her home in Atlanta and moved to LA but she still needed to borrow more money to pay for the tour.
After Arista deducted their costs and production of the album that was selling with the hit Un-Break My Heart, her royalty check was $2000.

Despite five Grammys, five American Music Awards and three MTV Video Music Awards at the end of 1997, her debts totaled nearly $4 million.She had to sue her producer and Arista and file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. She had signed a bad contract that allowed the record company to collect marketing costs of her albums from her instead of underwriting the expenses themselves.

'Even though I was trying to act strong, I felt broken.' She cried her way through her depression and ate Twizzlers and Kit Kats.

She finally reached an agreement with the label and Toni received $20 million. But then there were agents, managers, and attorneys to pay, along with taxes. She moved back to Atlanta.

Getting Married and having an abortion

Love was in the cards this time and she fell hard for Keri Lewis, a keyboardist and producer. She got pregnant but decided that the baby should be aborted because she was taking Accutane for acne, a drug that has since been taken off the market.

She had signed a waiver at the time she got the prescription, saying she understood possible catastrophic side effects of deformation of a fetus for up to two years after ceasing to take the drug.
I believed I had taken a life – an action that I thought God might one day punish me for'.

 Keri and Toni married in 2001 and eight months later had a baby boy, Denim. Two years later, she would have a second baby boy, Diezel was diagnosed with autism.

I have sometimes wondered whether God was punishing me for the abortion I had years ago by allowing my son to have autism. Or by giving me so many health issues.

On her deteriorating Health 

Her health kept deteriorating with the pressure to perform and stress over her deteriorating marriage.Divorce was inevitable, she writes, but Toni and her ex have but remained friends. A second Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing was also inevitable.
She was now being sued to cover the cost of the cancelled shows at the Flamingo. She was the producer and the insurance company was not going to pick up the cost because she failed to list her health conditions. She had also taken out a personal loan for millions to launch the Vegas show
She lost her home in Vegas. The bank foreclosed on her home in Atlanta and she moved into a rented home in LA.

Following the diagnosis of lupus, she thought it best not to disclose her condition thinking people wouldn't hire her or want to be associated with her. '
But carrying such a big secret is a form of bondage – and above all else, I want to be free"
She's now on the drug Kenalog, a steroid for the lupus. She also gets shots that cause her face to balloon up.

Culled from Miss Petite Nigeria