Five boko haram members : Shuaibu Abubakar, Salisu Ahmed, Umar Babagana-Umar, Mohamed Ali and Umar Ibrahim have been convicted for terrorism and related acts.
They were convicted for the 2011 bombing of INEC office in Suleja, Niger State, in which 16 people were killed and others injured; illegal possession of improvised explosive devices (IEDs); illegal training in weapon handling and aiding of unlawful weapon handling training for the purpose of engaging in terrorism acts.
Six of them were originally arraigned on the five-count charge, but one – Musa Adam – was discharged and acquitted for lack of evidence.
Justice Bilikisu Aliu of the Federal High Court, Abuja in a judgment yesterday sentenced
Shuaibu Abubakar, Salisu Ahmed, Umar Babagana-Umar, Mohamed Ali were sentence to life imprisonment while Umar Ibrahim was jailed for 10 years on the ground that he served as errand boy to aid the training.
Author: The Nation
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Four boko haram members jailed for life
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Tope Folarin wins 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing
Nigeria's Tope Folarin has won the 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing, described as Africa's leading literary award, for his short story entitled 'Miracle' from Transition<http://dubois.fas.harvard.edu/transition-magazine>, Issue 109 (Bloomington, 2012). The Chair of Judges, Gus Casely-Hayford, announced Tope Folarin as the winner of the £10,000 prize at a dinner on Monday evening at the Bodleian Library in Oxford according to a statement by organisers. 'Miracle' is a story set in Texas in an evangelical Nigerian church where the congregation has gathered to witness the healing powers of a blind pastor-prophet. Religion and the gullibility of those caught in the deceit that sometimes comes with faith rise to the surface as a young boy volunteers to be healed and begins to believe in miracles. Gus Casely-Hayford praised the story, saying: "Tope Folarin's 'Miracle' is another superb Caine Prize winner - a delightful and beautifully paced narrative, that is exquisitely observed and utterly compelling". Tope Folarin is the recipient of writing fellowships from the Institute for Policy Studies and Callaloo, and he serves on the board of the Hurston/Wright Foundation. Tope was educated at Morehouse College, and the University of Oxford, where he earned two Master's degrees as a Rhodes Scholar. He lives and works in Washington, DC.
Also shortlisted were: · Pede Hollist (Sierra Leone) 'Foreign Aid' from Journal of Progressive Human Services<http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wphs20#.UZOV4bVlk_g>, Vol. 23.3 (Philadelphia, 2012) www.tandfonline.com/loi/wphs20#.UZOV4bVlk_g<http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wphs20#.UZOV4bVlk_g> · Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (Nigeria) 'The Whispering Trees' from The Whispering Trees<http://www.parresiapublishers.com/>, published by Parrésia Publishers (Lagos, 2012) www.parresiapublishers.com<http://www.parresiapublishers.com> · Elnathan John (Nigeria) 'Bayan Layi' from Per Contra<http://www.percontra.net/issues/25/fiction/bayan-layi/>, Issue 25 (USA, 2012) www.percontra.net<http://www.percontra.net> · Chinelo Okparanta (Nigeria) 'America' from Granta<http://www.granta.com/>, Issue 118 (London, 2012) www.granta.com<http://www.granta.com> The panel of judges is chaired by Dr Gus Casely-Hayford, art historian and broadcaster, who presented the eight part documentary series 'Lost Kingdoms of Africa' on the BBC. He is currently a Research Associate at SOAS and consultant to the King's Cultural Institute. Gus sits on the Tate Britain Council and the National Portrait Gallery Board of Trustees. Alongside Gus on the panel of judges this year are award-winning Nigerian-born artist, Sokari Douglas Camp; author, columnist and Lord Northcliffe Emeritus Professor at UCL, John Sutherland; Assistant Professor at Georgetown University, Nathan Hensley and the winner of the Caine Prize in its inaugural year, Leila Aboulela. This is the first time that a past winner of the Caine Prize has taken part in the judging. Once again the winner of the £10,000 Caine Prize will be given the opportunity to take up a month's residence at Georgetown University, as a Writer-in-Residence at the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice and will be invited to take part in the Open Book Festival in Cape Town in September. Last year the Caine Prize was won by Nigerian writer Rotimi Babatunde. He recently co-authored Feast, a Royal Court/Young Vic co-production which ran at the Young Vic as part of World Stages for a World City. Previous winners are Sudan's Leila Aboulela (2000), Nigerian Helon Habila (2001), Kenyan Binyavanga Wainaina (2002), Kenyan Yvonne Owuor (2003), Zimbabwean Brian Chikwava (2004), Nigerian Segun Afolabi (2005), South African Mary Watson (2006), Ugandan Monica Arac de Nyeko (2007), South African Henrietta Rose-Innes (2008), Nigerian EC Osondu (2009), Sierra Leonean Olufemi Terry (2010) and Zimbabwean NoViolet Bulawayo (2011).
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‘Drug abuse causes infertility in men’
An Assistant Director, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mrs. Stella Ngwoke has warned that drug abuse can lead to infertility in men.
Ngwoke gave the warning at The Nation CampusLife workshop organized for campus journalists on Saturday in Lagos when she spoke on drug abuse.
According to her, “consumption of the smallest dosage of cannabis can lead to inability of men to impregnate women and become fathers.”
She also spoke on the effects of addiction to the drugs, saying that “these drugs have grave implications on its victim including lowering the body’s immune system response, thus subjecting it to any type of infection passing by.”
“Inhalants such as petrol, correction fluid, hair spray and rubber solution for patching tyres can also be addictive when abused by constant and concentrated sniffing, ” she stated.
Ngwoke urged participants to dissociate themselves from drug abuse and also discourage people around them from engaging in such actions.
She stressed that marijuana does not have any medicinal value contrary to some claims. “Marijuana does not help the hair grow nor keep the body fresh. Instead, it causes irreparable damages to the brain and body cells.”
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Nigerians to enjoy safe e-transaction with SafePay
To support of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cashless policy, Kaymu.com.ng, one of Nigeria’s fastest growing online marketplace has introduced an e-transaction payment service, SafePay.
The Managing Director, Kaymu, Lukas Zels, said SafePay was a necessary step to make online transactions safe and easy and empower Nigerians through e-Commerce.
“It is an escrow service whereby buyers pay directly to Kaymu for items bought plus the cost of delivery and sellers send item purchased to the buyer before receiving the money from Kaymu, ” Zels explained.
He said the rationale was to make transactions across Nigeria safe for buyers and sellers. “This will create a great environment for trade on our platform. Most especially, small and specialized sellers with great products will benefit from the huge audience that they can securely sell to now,”
According to the Managing Director , the platform would provide both parties with a secure e-Commerce transaction.
“If goods bought are not delivered to the buyer or doesn’t meet the expected conditions as displayed online, Kaymu refunds the money paid to the buyer and the seller gets their goods back from the buyer.
“With this, more buyers will purchase a seller’s items and a seller has the guarantee to receive payment for his goods. However, he will receive the goods back, if a buyer eventually does not buy again. As for the buyers, they have the guarantee to receive items paid for or a refund of their money, in addition with delivery costs”, Zels added
Some Kaymu users in an interview expressed satisfaction for the payment solution, saying it has made online shopping more convenient for them.
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Akudo is 2013 Miss Nigeria
Ezinne Akudo on Saturday beat 32 other contestants to clinch the covetous crown of Miss Nigeria held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, LagosThe 22 year old Law graduate of Abia State went home the star prize of a brand new car, a trip to California and N3m.Akudo will represent Nigeria at the Miss World pageant scheduled of September in Indonesia.After a series of competition, 10 beauties scaled through the Abuja zonal screening, and headed to Lagos for the final selection where she emerged. -
Yobe students’ killers will go to hell, says Jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday described the killing of over 40 students and a teacher of Government Secondary School in Mamudo village, in Yobe State, as wicked, horrific and barbaric.
Jonathan, who spoke through the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said that his administration will not be undermined by any group or persons.
According to him, any person who target innocent children as a result of emotional dyfunction will certainly burn in hell.
He sympathized with the affected families as he assured that the war against terror is still very much on course.
Jonathan was optimistic that his administration will see the end of terror in the country.
Describing terrorists as cowards, he said: “the killing is barbaric, completely wicked. Anybody who will target innocent children for any kind of grief of emotional dyfunction will certainly go to hell.”
The attackers, who stormed the boarding school about 3 a.m. on Saturday, were said to have set fire on the hostels which burned the victims alive as they were asleep.
The students that managed to escape from the fire were reportedly shot by the attackers.
Some of the injured students in critical conditions are being treated in hospitals in the state for varying degrees of burns.
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Blasts rock Indian Buddhist shrines
A series of blasts has shaken India’s holiest Buddhist shrine, where the Buddha himself is said to have gained enlightenment, police said on Sunday.
Two people were injured in nine explosions in the Bodhgaya temple complex, in northern Bihar state.
Police described the bombs as low-intensity timed devices. Windows and one door in the complex were damaged.
The Indian government said the blasts were a terror attack. No group has said it was responsible.
Witnesses said some of the bombs exploded close to the Bodhi tree, thought to be a descendant of the one that the Buddha sat under when he achieved enlightenment, according to tradition.
Police said there was no damage to the tree.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly condemned the blasts, saying: “Such attacks on religious places will be never be tolerated.”
The Bodhgaya complex is one of the oldest Buddhist sites in India. It was listed as a world heritage site by the United Nations cultural organization- UNESCO in 2002.
BBC says attacks on Buddhists are rare in India, but there have been recent Muslim-Buddhist tensions in nearby Burma (Myanmar), Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
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Emergency rule: Yobe seeks special intervention fund
The Yobe Government has appealed to the Federal Government to float an intervention fund to cushion the effects of the Boko Haram insurgency on affected states.
The Special Adviser to the state Governor on Media and Information, Alhaji Abdullahi Bego, made the appeal in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Damaturu on Sunday.
Bego said that while the Yobe government was totally in support of the declaration of emergency in the state, it would also like the Federal Government to set up a fund to assist people affected by the insurgency.
He said that the state government had been cooperating and providing logistics to the Joint Task Force (JTF), tackling the security problems.
“We have provided more than 200 vehicles to the JTF in addition to paying allowances to the operatives.’’
He said the state had spent about four billion naira since the insurgency started, describing the insurgency as a big drain on the meagre resources of the state.
The special adviser also appealed to the Federal Government to provide modern equipment to the security agencies, praising the troops for sticking to rules of engagement.
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CHAN: Keshi ‘not satisfied’ with Eagles’ victory
Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, has said he expects improvements from his team after beating Cote d’Ivoire 4-1 in a CHAN qualifier on Saturday.
And as such, Keshi revealed that he plans to call up at least new three players ahead of the return leg slated for Abidjan in a fortnight.
The Eagles coach also told MTNFootball.com that it was difficult for the coaching staff to get the players to understand how they wanted them to play against the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire.
Keshi equally expressed disappointment at the poor defending that led to the only goal scored by the Ivorians during the match.
“We have practised how defenders close down attackers in the box area in training, but unfortunately the defenders didn’t do well to defend. It only means we still have a lot of work to do,” he said.
“However I must confess that the experience of several players, Sunday Mba, Godfrey Oboabona, Azubike Egwuekwe and even Gambo Mohammed who were at the Confederations Cup, paid off in this game.”
Keshi also explained why he did not use Nigeria league leading scorer Dele Olorundare in the match.
“I noticed that my two holding midfielder where becoming weak and Gambo Mohammed was still doing the job. So, I left him on the pitch because I needed to balance if I make any changes. That is why most of my changes came from the midfield,” he offered.
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Six convicted for arson, attempted murder in Ebonyi
An Ebonyi State High Court sitting in Abakaliki has sentenced six persons to 14 years imprisonment each for arson and attempted murder.
The convicted persons are – John Ota Ogbaga, Moses Nkwegu, Simon Mbam, Ugo Ovuoba, Mgbeleke Ovuoba and Mbam Chukwuma.
They had attacked one John Nwegede on May 23, 2011 at Ngbo Agbaja, Izzi Local Government Area by beating him with matchetes and shooting him with gun.
They were also accused of setting ablaze the house of Michael Onyibo valued at N600, 000 and have been in prison since 2011 when the matter was first brought to court.
Justice Paul Elechi in his judgment noted that the prosecutors have proved their case beyond reasonable doubt with substantial evidence, adding that the suspects willfully committed the acts.
He therefore sentenced them to 14 years imprisonment each, seven for arson and seven for attempted murder.
This was after the counsel to the convicts, Barr. Egenti, had pleaded with the court for leniency in its judgment, saying they were bread winners in their families and has been in prison since 2011.