H e a r d n e w s

Beth Model CEO Elohor Aisien has welcomed her second child, a baby girl. The Elite Model Look organizer gave birth to her daughter in a hospital in the UK yesterday morning October 28th. The baby has been named Chloe. Elohor and husband Owen Aisien have a 5 year old daughter named Zoe. Big congrats to the couple.

Mueyiwa Omatsola, 23 year old University of Lagos student is the new Mr Universe Nigeria 2015 winner. The Delta State born model edged out 22 other finalists at the contest over the weekend to emerge the new gladiator. Congrats to him. See more photos after the cut...   

Ade Adesomoju The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, on Wednesday, expressed concern about attack unleashed on judges by politicians following the judgments delivered by some election petitions tribunals in the country. Justice Mohammed, in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Ahuraka Isah, said politicians should report perceived misconduct by judges to the National Judicial Council instead of abusing them.The CJN, who doubles as the Chairman of the NJC, said “proactive, decisive and just investigation and sanction” would be taken once such complaints are submitted. Calling on governors to be more sensitive to the plight of judges, the CJN said it was not enough to attack judges over corruption and bribery allegations and look away when “thugs enter courts to beat judges, tear court processes and bomb the courts to prevent the delivery of some judgments.” The statement read in part, “The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Mahmud Mohammed has admonishe...

The Director of Public Prosecution, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr Mohammed Diri, has denied signing any letter directing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate its Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde. Diri told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja that he did not sign such letter on behalf of the ministry. He said, “I didn’t sign any document to investigate anybody.”On whether the ministry was interested in investigating the allegation, Diri said, “I am not competent enough to comment on that. “The only question I can answer is that I did not sign any paper against the backdrop of the media report.” In a related development, the ministry’s Spokesman, Mr Charles Nwodo, has also described the media report as ‘erroneous and misleading’. Nwodo, however, acknowledged that the ministry received a petition against Lamorde and other top EFCC officials on diversion of proceeds of corruption. He said the ministry forwarded the petition written by one George Uboh,...

Rescuers plucked more than a thousand migrants from over- crowded boats near Libya, Italy’s coast guard said on Thursday, while describing it as the highest number saved in a single day in three weeks. British, Irish, Slovenian and German navy ships took part in rescue mission, along with the Italian coast guard and a ship operating under the auspices of EU border agency, Frontex. The flow of migrants crossing the Mediterranean in rickety boats from Libya towards Italy’s southern tip, had been abating with deteriorating weather conditions and as more people chose alternative routes into Europe. According to data from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), about 140,000 have reached Italy since January in boats from Africa, out of a total of about 700,000 who have come to Europe by sea, mostly through Greece. Italy and Greece have struggled to cope with arrivals as civil war in Syria and deprivation and human rights abuses in Africa, has driven the biggest w...

A “significant increase” of air strikes on Syrian hospitals recently has killed at least 35 patients and medical staff and wounded 72, Doctors Without Borders said Thursday.The group said the escalating attacks began in late September, though it did not identify who was behind them, and that 12 hospitals had been hit in Idlib, Aleppo and Hama provinces, including six supported by MSF. Russia began an aerial campaign in support of Syria’s government on September 30 and has been accused by several other medical groups of hitting hospitals and field clinics since then. In total, MSF said, “six hospitals were forced to close… and four ambulances destroyed.” “One hospital has since reopened, yet access to emergency, maternity, paediatric and primary health care services remains severely disrupted.” The statement said “tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes” as a result of the attacks. “After more than four years of war, I remain flabbergasted at ...

  On Tuesday October 28, Evan Edwards (left) pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Babafemi Junaid, 22, (right) following a retrial at the Old Bailey. Police were called at around 17:40hrs on Friday, 7 February 2014 to reports of a man stabbed. Upon arrival they found Babafemi suffering from a stab wound to the chest. He was taken by London Ambulance Service to hospital but he later died that evening. A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as a single stab wound to the heart.   Babafemi became the inadvertent focus of an attack by a group after a disturbance on a 155 bus spilled out onto the street.    He was not on the bus but was waiting at the bus stop when the disturbance spilled out onto the pavement at Stockwell station. As he attempted to get away from the fracas he was targeted, chased and attacked by the group.   During the attack one of the attackers was witnessed waving a knife, Babafemi fell to the ground. He managed...

Oba of Lagos, Riliwanu Akiolu Eniola Akinkuotu The Oba of Lagos, Riliwanu Akiolu, has berated the residents of Ibeju-Lekki for the alleged murder of the Managing Director of the Lekki Worldwide Investment Limited, Alhaji Tajudeen Disu. Akiolu said this in a tribute he wrote in honour of the deceasedThe monarch, who described Disu as his childhood friend, said the deceased was very passionate about the development of Ibeju-Lekki and other communities hosting the free trade zone. He said it was unfortunate that the people he laboured for were the ones that took his life. The tribute read in part, “I had no doubt in my mind that he contributed a lot to the commercial development of Lagos State, particularly the people of Ibeju-Lekki. It is disheartening that the very people who caused his untimely death were the same people that he laboured and sacrificed for in Ibeju-Lekki and Epe.” Akiolu noted that not all the residents were culpable, but lamented that the bad ones ...

Toluwani Eniola The Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, has called for the abolition of the Eze Ndigbo title outside Igbo land. He said the craze for title by the Igbo indigenes outside their states of origin was making a mockery of the Igbo tradition and culture. Igbokwe, who said this in an article titled, ‘Eze Ndigbo title outside Igboland: A needless distraction’, on Sunday, advised the Ohaneze Ndigbo to end the embarrassment caused by the Ndigbo title by issuing a policy paper that compels the Igbo to abide by it. He said it was unfortunate that politicians outside Igbo land exploit the Eze Ndigbo to their own advantage, especially to win elections. He said, “A situation where drug kingpins, armed robbers, kidnappers, failed businessmen hide under the Eze Ndigbo title to continue to embarrass us calls for immediate attention and concrete actions. We cannot continue to pretend that all is well when these preten...

Femi Makinde, Osogbo The waiting game ended in the early hours of Monday as Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, approved the appointment of Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi the new Ooni of Ife. The appointment was contained in a statement signed by the Secretary to Osun State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, and made available to journalists around 2:45am. The statement dated October 24 read, ” The Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola has approved the appointment of a new Ooni. “He is Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi of Giesi Ruling House, Ile Ife, Osun State. “This choice follows the completion of the due process by the kingmakers and the communication of their decision to the government.” Security had been beefed up in Ife since Saturday in preparation for the announcement of the new monarch. Heavy presence of policemen was seen around Enuwa where the palace is located and in other strategic places in the town. The announcement of the n...

Alexander Okere, Benin The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party and its All Progressives Congress counterpart in Edo State have disagreed over the recent bailout loan received by the state government from the Federal Government to cushion the effects of dwindling oil revenue. Edo, being part of the beneficiaries of the bailout, had received the sum of N3.1bn to enable it to meet up with its financial obligation to local governments’ workers. But the state Chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, said that the move by the Federal Government would “encourage corruption” and “monumental mismanagement” of local governments’ allocations in Edo and other states. Orbih, who spoke on Saturday during the official opening of the party’s new state secretariat located on First East Circular Road in Benin, therefore, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to discontinue any further disbursement to the states. Also in attendance were serving and former National Assembly members fro...

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike The Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja will on Saturday (today) deliver judgement in the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress and its candidate in the April 11, 2015 election, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, challenging the election of Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party. The Justice Mohammed Ambrosa-led tribunal on Friday issued notice of the judgement barely 24 hours after parties adopted their final written addresses. The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Wike winner of the election with 1,029,102 votes as against Peterside’s 124,896. But the petitioners, through their petitions filed on May 3, urged the tribunal to nullify the election in the entire 23 local government areas of the state and order fresh one on the account of substantial non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act. The petitioners, who called 56 witnesses within 10 d...

The Vice Prime Minister of Hungary, Mr. Zsolt Semjen, on Friday promised his country’s readiness to help Nigeria end the activities of Boko Haram. A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, quoted Semjen as speaking when he met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said terrorism was a global challenge and pledged that his country would support the Nigerian Armed Forces’ efforts to end the Boko Haram insurgency. He did not give specific details of the promised assistance. “The extremism of Boko Haram is not Islamic. It runs contrary to all human philosophies,” the Vice Prime Minister said. He also promised that Hungary would deploy its expertise in the area of agriculture to assist Nigeria. Semjen was said to have congratulated Nigeria on its last general elections, and added that Hungary looked forward to signing agreements with the country on more bilateral cooperation. Buhari said he...

The Vice Prime Minister of Hungary, Mr. Zsolt Semjen, on Friday promised his country’s readiness to help Nigeria end the activities of Boko Haram. A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, quoted Semjen as speaking when he met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said terrorism was a global challenge and pledged that his country would support the Nigerian Armed Forces’ efforts to end the Boko Haram insurgency. He did not give specific details of the promised assistance. “The extremism of Boko Haram is not Islamic. It runs contrary to all human philosophies,” the Vice Prime Minister said. He also promised that Hungary would deploy its expertise in the area of agriculture to assist Nigeria. Semjen was said to have congratulated Nigeria on its last general elections, and added that Hungary looked forward to signing agreements with the country on more bilateral cooperation. Buhari said he...

Respondents to an online poll on PUNCH website have demanded the resignation of Dr. Bukola Saraki as the Senate President to answer charges of false asset declaration levelled against him by the Code of Conduct Tribunal. The respondents participated in an online poll on PUNCH website, www.punchng.com , asking the readers to answer the question: Should Dr. Bukola Saraki resign as Senate President over his alleged false assets declaration case at the Code of Conduct Tribunal? The survey required the participants to indicate either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. One thousand, seven hundred and fifty nine respondents participated in the poll, which opened on Monday, September 28, 2015 and closed on Thursday, October 8, 2015. Demanding the resignation of the Senate President, 1,226 respondents, representing 70 per cent of the participants believed Saraki should resign by indicating a ‘Yes’. On the other hand, 533 respondents, which represent 30 per cent of the participants, are of the opi...

Mrs. Ayoka Buhari | credits: Family Everything was set for the burial of 55- year-old Mrs. Ayoka Buhari, who had died after a brief illness, in the Mowe area of Ogun State. The wake had held, the burial ground had been prepared as friends and bereaved family members gathered for her interment in the family compound on Thursday. But as the family approached the management of the TOS Funerals, which manages a morgue in the Gbagada General Hospital, for the corpse around 8am, the body could not be found. PUNCH Metro learnt that the corpse had been mistakenly swapped for another. A relative, Folorunsho Adeoluwa, expressed sadness over the incident, threatening legal action against the owners of the morgue. Adeoluwa said the mother of four had died on Wednesday, October 14, and was taken to the morgue. He said, “The family was asked to come for the corpse at 8.30am today (Thursday), but when we got there, we discovered that they were not ready for us. Later...

Scene of the collapse Alhaja Mistura Ahmodu, the 82- year- old woman, who was rescued from a three- storey building that collapsed on Swamp Street, Lagos Island, on Wednesday, is dead. Ahmodu’s granddaughter, Shukura Ishola, told PUNCH Metro on Thursday that the octogenarian, who hailed from Ilorin, Kwara State, passed on around 5pm on Wednesday at the Lagos Island General Hospital, alleging that medical personnel at the hospital did not attend to her promptly. Ahmodu had been placed on oxygen and rushed to the hospital after she was rescued from the rubble on the fateful day around 2pm – five hours after the building collapsed. Our correspondent had reported that prior to the incident, the building had posed a threat for years. It was also reported that five other residents trapped in the collapse, were rescued and rushed to hospitals in the area. Three of them with minor injuries were treated and discharged a few hours later. But Ahmodu, who broke h...

Popular American actor, Micheal Douglas, once stirred up a controversy about oral sex when he said he was diagnosed with cancer of the throat because he engaged in oral sex quite frequently. Isn’t this odd? But experts agree with his physician’s diagnosis. According to them, it is not strange to think that oral sex may have been a contributing factor. They say that Douglas may have been infected with the Human Papilloma Virus, a cancerous and sexually transmitted virus while performing oral sex on his partner. Yes, you can get throat cancer from oral sex, says American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer, Otis Brawley. Brawley explains that it is not oral sex, per se, that causes cancer, but the HPV virus, which can be passed from person to person during sex, especially during oral sex, that causes the disease. He says, “Those who have ever performed oral sex have more than doubled their risk of getting an HPV infection.” Researchers have found that s...

Senator Femi Okurounmu Afenifere chieftain, Senator Femi Okurounmu, says if the Igbo want the Eze Ndigbo title to be recognised in Yoruba land, they must also recognise the Oba title in the South-East. Okurounmu said this during an interview with our correspondent on Thursday while reacting to the ban on the Eze Ndigbo title by the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi. The Akure monarch ordered the title to be reviewed and replaced with a non-controversial honorary one. This is one of the conditions given by the monarch to end the crisis between him and the leader of the Igbo community in the town, Mr. Gregory Iloehike. Subsequently, there have been calls by several Yoruba groups for the total ban of the Eze Ndigbo title in the entire South-West. However, Okurounmu said the Yoruba would have no problem with the Igbo title as long as Yoruba titles were recognised in the South-East. He said, “In all things, there must be reciprocity. If the Yoruba ...

I think the governors of the South-East states, who appear to be generally clueless, should urgently meet and seriously discuss the ongoing agitation for Biafra before it gets out of hand. They may wish to discuss how to get the zone going economically through the development of infrastructure and creation of jobs. As the Yuletide approaches, I suppose it goes without saying that security should be on the top three issues on their agenda. And the roads? Unbelievable. This is not a matter of state or federal roads now. The South-East is impassable. The Onitsha- Enugu Expressway, Aba-Owerri Expressway, Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, and the Owerri-Umuahia Expressway. Just to mention a few of them I’ve been on of late. Forget about the smaller trunk B and C roads. They are all gone. The South-East is gradually grinding to a halt or sliding into a disaster depending on how you look at it. And this is not an exaggeration. I don’t like what I’m seeing, and the e...

Emmanuel Emenike Former Nigeria internationals, Christian Chukwu and Henry Nwosu, have differed on the choice of a replacement for retired Super Eagles forward, Emmanuel Emenike. Emenike retired from international football on Monday after posting his decision on Instagram. Reactions have since greeted his retirement, with some ex- internationals calling for the invitation of Olympiakos forward, Brown Ideye, and Seattle Sounders striker, Obafemi Martins, to replace the former Russia-based forward. But Chukwu and Nwosu, who both spoke with one of our correspondents on the telephone on Thursday, differed on the issue. Chukwu said there was no need to invite overseas-based forwards as the domestic league had good strikers to replace Emenike. Nwosu believes Nigeria coach Sunday Oliseh should invite both domestic and overseas-based players to compete for the position in the team. Former Green Eagles captain, Chukwu, said, “The Ea...

Prof. Ben Nwabueze The Igbo Leaders of Thought, an association of prominent Igbo personalities led by foremost constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, has said that corruption is not Nigeria’s primary problem. The Igbo leaders stressed that while President Muhammadu Buhari engages in the fight against corruption, he should equally address other critical problems, particularly what they described as the ‘Nigerian question’ – the dysfunctional federal system practised in the country. Nwabueze made the group’s feelings known after an extensive meeting in Enugu. The Igbo Leaders of Thought, comprising mostly elder statesmen, stressed that other vital issues like poverty, illiteracy and security should not be neglected because of the campaign against corruption. Speaking to journalists, Nwabueze, however, observed that the current preoccupation with the anti-corruption campaign had unfortunately relegated other serious national challenges to the backgr...

Chief Olu Falae A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, has declared that if he had been killed by the Fulani herdsmen who allegedly kidnapped him, there would have been an outbreak of ethnic war between the Fulani and the Yoruba people. The elder statesman, who was kidnapped on his farm in Ilado village, Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, on September 21 and freed on September 24, 2015, noted that he survived the abduction through the grace of God as the abductors attempted to take his life during the captivity . He stated this while narrating his ordeal in the kidnappers’ den to the immediate former Minster for Education, Mallam Abubakar Shekarau, who paid him a visit to sympathise with him over the incident. “God has a way of doing His things. I know God just decided to spare my life. God really saved my life. They tortured me, stripped me naked and did a lot of things to me in their den. They attempte...

The police have arrested three additional suspects allegedly involved in the multiple blasts in Nyanya and Kuje, two satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory, on October 2, 2015. The blast claimed about 20 lives. The suspects were paraded on Thursday at the Special Anti- Robbery Squad Headquarters in Abuja, where several bomb- making materials recovered from them were also displayed. The police had earlier announced the arrest of Abdulazeez Muhazab and Ishaka Salihu, but the force paraded five suspects including Mohammed Jimoh, Abdulwaheed Nasiru and Abdullahi Nasiru, who were apprehended at various locations in Abuja. A police source said the suspects, who are between the ages of 26 and 34 years, were picked up in three locations, adding that a special task force investigating the bombings traced the masterminds to Karamajiji village, along the Airport Road, Abuja. “On further investigation after the arrest of the first suspect in Karamajiji, other suspects we...

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, ranked the majority All Progressives Congress and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party neck-to-neck on Thursday as he named the chairmen of 96 standing committees of the House. Dogara, a member of the APC from Bauchi State, announced the committees on the floor of the House after several weeks of speculation and more than four months after the inauguration of the Eight Assembly on June 9. The APC got 47 of the committees, while the PDP followed closely with 46 committees, leaving out the balance of four committees for smaller parties like the Social Democratic Party and the All Progressives Grand Alliance. However, the Speaker ensured that his loyalists in both the APC and the PDP got prime committees, otherwise known as ‘juicy committees’, in the parlance of the House. As The PUNCH predicted in an exclusive report on Monda...

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike NINETEEN beneficiaries of the Rivers State Overseas Scholarship Scheme have returned from the United Kingdom without completing their programme. The students returned to Nigeria to avoid deportation after the expiration of the deadline for the payment of their school fees and allowances for accommodation. The Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency said in a statement by its Manager, Media and Communications, Mr. Kingsley Uranta on Thursday that the state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, had released some funds to offset the amount owed by the students. It (RSSDA) further disclosed that the funds did not reach the students before the expiration of the deadline for the payment of their tuition fees. According to the RSSDA, the registration of the 19 students from the universities of Huddersfield (11), Brighton (3) and Nottingham Trent (5) had been deferred to 2016. “The Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, rec...

The Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, has directed companies using Supernumerary Police nationwide to stop the use of police uniform for their operations on or before January 1, 2016. This followed reports that Bassey Edet, the official driver of Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, was wearing police uniform and posing as a police officer. The state government had insisted that Edet was a SPY policeman, having attended Police Training School, Ikeja, Lagos State, with Force identification number, 1522. The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, who displayed photocopies of Edet’s police identity card and certificates to journalists, argued that he was a duly trained personnel of the police working with the state government. But the IG, who gave the directive on Thursday at a meeting with security managers of firms using SPY Police for their internal security, said the measure was part of his administration’s renewed ...

The Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal on Thursday reserved judgment in the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress and its candidate in the April 11 election, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, challenging the election of Governor Nyesom Wike as the winner of the poll. The Justice Mohammed Ambrosa-led tribunal reserved judgment after parties to the petition adopted their final written addresses on Thursday. Justice Ambrosa said the date for delivering the judgment would be communicated to parties when it is ready. At the final hearing day of the petition on Thursday, lead counsel to the petitioner, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), urged the tribunal to nullify the election and order the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh one. Olujinmi maintained that the petitioners had been able to establish that the April 11 poll was conducted in substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act. The petitioners, who called 56 witn...

Navy warship THE Nigerian Navy has paraded 19 suspected oil thieves in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. According to the Commander of NNS Pathfinder, Port Harcourt, Commodore Sanusi Ibrahim, the suspects were arrested with five vessels and a Cotonou boat laden with illegally refined diesel at a private jetty in the Woji axis of the city. Ibrahim told journalists that the ships were impounded while discretely discharging about 108,000 litres of diesel into five badges without licence. He said that troops stormed the spot after getting an intelligence report on the nefarious activities of the detained. “We discovered on Monday that the vessels, MV Denis, MV Faith, MV Lum VII, MV Eliora, FP Comfort and a large Cotonou boat were discharging illegally refined products into five badges. “This is a clear case of illegal bunkering going by the position of the Federal Government on sourcing and distribution of illegally refined petroleum products. “Investigation is ongoin...