Four killed in MASSOB, security operatives clash in Onitsha

No fewer than four people were feared killed in Onitsha on Monday when members of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra clashed with a team of security men.

Abuja demolished estate subscribers have valid allocations -Court

An Abuja High Court on Monday held that subscribers of the demolished Minanuel Estate in Lugbe, Abuja, which has 372 houses valued at N3.6bn, have valid allocations for the plots in the estate.

Jonathan urges African lawmakers to stop threats to democracy

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday challenged African parliamentarians to enact laws that could discourage anti-democratic moves that might drag the continent back to its dark age of military dictatorship.

ASUU STRIKE: Indeed, ASUU set to suspend strike this week – Union leaders

Indications have emerged that the Academic Staff Union of Universities may call off the over four-month-old strike on Thursday.
Barring a last-minute change, the National Executive Committee of ASUU will meet on Wednesday night to consider the position of the congresses of the over 50 public universities on the offer made by the Federal government to revamp the institutions.

ASUU STRIKE: ASUU Gives FG New Conditions To Call Off Strike

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities have given the Federal Government certain conditions to be met before the union could call off its four-month old strike.

Edo: Flood devastated communities receive free treatment

Communities affected by flood in Agenebode, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State on Thursday received free malaria treatment and insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

IG bans political gatherings at airports

The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has banned all forms of political, social and religious gatherings at all the nation’s airports, stressing that they are exclusive security zones.

Blasts at China regional Communist Party office kill one

A series of small blasts have killed at least one person outside a provincial office of the ruling Communist Party in northern China, state media report.

The blasts in Taiyuan in Shanxi province appeared to have been caused by home-made bombs, Xinhua reported.

It said eight people had been injured and two cars damaged.

Photos posted on social media showed smoke and several fire engines at the scene of the incident, which happened around 07:40 local time (23:40 GMT).

No immediate explanation has been given for the incident. There have been occasions in the past where disgruntled citizens have targeted local government institutions.

Tensions are also high in the wake of last week’s incident in Beijing. A car ploughed into a crowd in Tiananmen Square in what the authorities said was a terrorist attack incited by extremists from the western region of Xinjiang.

Later this week, the Communist Party’s top officials will meet in Beijing to start a major economic planning meeting.

Electricity union says Nigeria not ripe for privatisation

The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) on Wednesday said that Nigeria was not ripe for the privatisation of electricity sector.

The Secretary General of the union, Mr Moses Amedu, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.

[See Photos] Gunmen attack wedding convoy in Borno, killing over 30

According to a report by AFP, gunmen attacked a wedding convoy in Borno state yesterday Saturday November 2nd, killing more than 30 people including the groom in a suspected ambush.
Witnesses and survivors said the attack happened on the notorious Bama-Banki road when the wedding party was making its way back to the state capital Maiduguri after the ceremony in Michika, in nearby Adamawa State... So sad.

[See Photo] Chris Brown To Face 2years Jail Term.

According to MediaTakeOut.com:
MediaTakeOut.com just spoke with a very well placed
insider – inside the Los Angeles Probation Department –
and they tell us that

FG Lied About Releasing N100bn To Universities – ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has
alleged that none of the universities had received any
money from the N100bn the Federal government claimed to
have disbursed to 59 public universities to improve
infrastructure.

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Aviation Minister May Face 5 Years In Prison Over Failure To Appear Before House Committee

Aviation Minister Stella Oduah will not appear before the House of Representatives on Tuesday despite the house threatening to impose sanctions on her if she failed to make herself available to answer questions over an alleged purchase of N255 million bullet proof cars for the Minister by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.

The minister, who is still in Israel told the committee that she would not be available until November 4 after she must have concluded her national assignment in Israel, but the committee insisted that if she fails to appear tomorrow sanctions will be imposed on her.



In a statement by its Clerk, Abubakar Chana, the committee directed the minister to appear before it tomorrow and explain her role in the controversial armoured cars.

In a letter dated October 25, the minister told the committee that she would be unavoidably absent tomorrow and that she would create time to appear on November 4 after she must have concluded her national assignment in Israel.

In the letter, the minister said, “you will recall my sincere and utmost regret conveyed to you at my inability to personally appear before your committee on Thursday due solely to my ongoing official assignment in Israel on behalf of our country.

“The official schedule for the signing of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement, BASA, including the travel logistics from Israel back to Nigeria physically prevent me from arriving in time to appear before you as scheduled in your current invitation.”

Also, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry in a letter with reference number PS/FMA/PC/2013/Vol.1/70 also dated October 25, pleaded with the committee to allow the minister appear on Nov 4 or 5 in view of her flight schedule.

However, in a counter letter dated October 28 and signed by the committee’s clerk, the Reps insisted that if she fails to appear necessary sanctions would be imposed on her.

The letter titled: Re: Invitation to public hearing and request to submit documents, read in part “I am further directed to inform you that your inability to appear before the committee has become a serious constraint to the committee as the House of Representatives has mandated the committee to submit its report within one week.

“More so the committee has been utterly gracious for postponing the hearing to Wednesday.

“It is the directive of the House of Representatives that you should appear on the scheduled date of which failure to do so will leave the committee with no option but to enforce the appropriate laws and apply necessary sanctions.”

In a chat with newsmen, House committee Chairperson on Aviation, Hon Nkeuruka Onyeojocha said the Minister of Aviation risks being jailed 5 years based on the provision of the Public Procurement Act.

“Section 58 (5) of the Public Procurement Act states that ‘Any persons, who, while carrying out his duties as an officer of the Bureau or any procuring entity who contravenes any provision of this Act, commits an offence and is liable to a conviction of cumulative punishment of (a) a term of imprisonment of not less than five calendar years without any option of fines and (b) summary dismissal from government services.

“I did not put this law there, but the will to implement it is key to sanity in this country and check excesses.

“Argument of lease purchase does not hold as long as they are going to pay with public funds and to say that NCAA is within the threshold makes it look like splitting the budget, which is another case on its own under the Procurement law,” the chairperson said.

According to Onyeojocha, the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah has issues bordering on procurement with her committee which the minister has ignored more than 12 times.

“Our committee has the responsibility to carry out oversight on BPP and since the core objective of public procurement is to ascertain value for money, we have been having issues with the Ministry of Aviation and agencies under it for sometimes now.

“It might interest you to know that we have issued not less than 12 invitations to the Minister of Aviation but she has not deemed it fit to respond even for once. She has always been giving us one excuse or the other.

“Apart from the fact that there are issues on the rehabilitation of airports around the country over issues of value for money which Nigerians are not getting, if she had taken her time to honour our invitation, maybe she would have been able to avoid this issue of threshold.

“What these heads of agencies don’t realize is that when we send out letters like that, it wasn’t to intimidate or witch-hunt them but to rub minds and enlighten them on the nitty-gritty of the provisions of the Procurement laws.

 “If she has been honouring our invitations, by now a lot of things would have been known to her and she would not be finding herself in this situation. When we invite these ministers, my advice is that they should not see it as a personal thing but a way of forging a working relationship.

“There is no doubt that she has a case to answer with the BPP Committee,” she said.

ASUU Strike: FG/ASUU Dragged To Court Over Strike

A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr.Daniel Onwe, has dragged the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, before a Federal High Court, Lagos, over violation of the fundamental right to the dignity of person of the affected students, who have been out of school for months, following the union’s strike.
The suit, FHC/CS/1360/13, was brought pursuant to Section 46(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, Order II of the Fundamental Human Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009 and Article 5 of The African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10, LFN, 1990.

Onwe wants the court to declare that the indefinite strike leading to the closure of government-owned universities across the country violates the fundamental right to the dignity of person of the affected students guaranteed under Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution.

He is also seeking for an order directing the Federal Government and ASUU to resolve their differences and forthwith re-open universities, including an order mandating ASUU to call off their ongoing strike action and resume work immediately.

Hearing on the suit, before Justice Ibrahim Buba, is on November 13.

Source: informationNg

Kano Police Arrested 150 People For Sagged Pants & Sporty Hair

Kano Police Force have begun to strictly enforce Islamic law. Last week, over 150 people were arrested for indecent dressing. Some people in Nigeria’s second city were picked up “sagging their pants too low,” or “sporting hair styles inspired by prominent international football players,” a spokesman for Kano’s Sharia Police, Mohammed Yusuf Yola, noted to the Associated Press.
This strict enforcement of the Sharia law is a part of the government’s discipline method and curbing immorality. Other civilians were jailed and fined for sagging their pants too low; the law sees this act as an influence of some American hip hop artists, which is unacceptable.
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Kano state Governor gave this ‘anti-crime’ order to the police department, in his effort to purge the city of immoral acts and practices. The Sharia Police (Hisbah) Director, General Abba Sufi noted that this patrol or order will continue in the weeks ahead.

“We have arrested 150 men and women in the past week, including prostitutes and their boyfriends, transvestites, alcoholics and those engaged in indecent dressing in contravention of the sharia legal code,” Yola told AFP.

Given that the governor is viewed as a moderate leader who has failed to impose the Sharia rules, some politicians see this order as his response. However, Yola, the police spokesman insisted that the operation was launched “to reverse disturbing trends in the city of some five million people and is targeting people of various faiths. Those arrested include Muslims and non-Muslims and we treat them equally because this is about morality,” he said.

Some of the arrested civilians were released after paying fines ranging from 10,000-15,000 Naira ($60-$70). The spokesman also added that the people who could not afford the fine remains in jail . He would not specify how many people are currently detained.

I won’t be surprise if several states follow Kano’s trend and impose Sharia laws even on its Christian minorities. Today, it targets is immorality. Tomorrow, who knows? While other terrible crimes like murder, rape, theft, or fraud exist, Kano is more concerned about ‘sagging pants’.

What do you think…is jailing people necessarily an effective means of curtailing immorality? Is sagging pants immoral?

BBM for Android, iPhone coming ‘within days’ says BlackBerry CMO

For the latest updates on the availability of BBM for Android and BBM for iPhone.  It has been over three weeks since the botched BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) for Android and BBM for iPhone launch and finally some word has emerged from BlackBerry about when to expect the re-launch of the iconic messaging app on non-BlackBerry devices.  In an interview to Reuters, Frank Boulben, BlackBerry’s chief marketing officer, said he expects the BBM to launch on Android and iOS “within days,” adding that the company is confident that it fixed issues that arose after the initial cross-platform launch of the messaging service last month.  BlackBerry suspended the BBM for Android and BBM for iPhone launch last month, after an unofficial older version of BBM downloaded by a number of Android users caused issues with the messaging platform.  Boulben said the company already has 6 million Android and iPhone customers pre-registered for the launch of its BBM service. In an open letter issued for its customers and partners, BlackBerry tried to reassure customers and partners that they could count on the distressed smartphone company.  The missive notes that BlackBerry has substantial cash and is debt free. But it makes no mention of the fact that the company is for sale and could be broken up and sold in pieces. Boulben said the uncertainty is the reason why BlackBerry is publishing the letter, which highlights the company’s strengths from its security offering to its device management capabilities and its mobile messaging platform. (With inputs from agencies) 

Omotola speaks on ASUU strike

These were Omotola's words on the on going strike... What do you make of it?

ASUU Strike Update: Market Women Storm National Assembly In Protest

Traders under the aegis of National Market Women Association, Monday, stormed the National Assembly in protest, demanding that the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, call off its strike of over 100 days. The protesters, who had been at the Ministry of Education and Office of the Head of Service, arrived the Assembly complex at 11.30a.m. President-General of the group, Mrs Felicia Sani, who led the more than 200 protesting women, said: “We are tired of seeing our children at home. We want our children back in school. Enough of this cheap blackmail. “We all know what they do with our year-one daughters in the university. We equally know that they sell handouts and handbooks. “Is this not worse than corruption of the highest order?” When asked why she did not criticise the Federal Government for failing to reach an agreement with ASUU, Mrs Sani said: “Which agreement? How do you expect lecturers in state universities to earn same salaries as Federal ones? That is impossible. “We are not educated, but you do not expect a hotel in my village to cost same price as a hotel in Abuja. “They are located in different places. So how can a state university lecturer earn same salary with his federal counterpart? “We are begging them for the last time. If we come out again we may have to chase them out of this country and replace them with so many jobless Nigerians.” Source: informationNg

Air disaster averted today as IRS aircraft makes emergency landing

Another air disaster was averted this afternoon when an IRS Aircraft made an emergency landing in Kaduna. A Fokker 28 plane, carrying 89 passengers from Lagos to Kaduna, developed hydraulic problems few minutes before landing at the Kaduna airport. The aircraft's front tyres refused to come out during landing, forcing the pilot to land without them. Fortunately no one was injured. The Managing Director of IRS, Yemi Dada, later explained what happened to reporters. He said: "The pilots received a low hydraulic warning minutes before landing, and this affected the landing gear, nose wheel steering, brakes, cargo doors, thrust reverser and the flight controls." “On final approach to Kaduna today on our flight 3390 with 89 passengers, our cockpit crew got a low hydraulic in system 1 warning and decided to take precautionary measures to ask for ground confirmation that all gears were down and locked." “The crew proceeded to land but followed procedure to disembark on the runway and not taxi in accordance with the procedure.” He said all passengers disembarked with the assistance of a crane before the aircraft was towed to ramp. He also said the airline's maintenance crew is checking the aircraft to see what happened.