Na lie! No Chibok Girls Released-Defence HQ
Minutes after reports that the Chibok girls had been released this evening,the Nigerian defence headquarters has rubbished the reports.
Why I published the TB Joshua bribery audio -Nicholas Ibekwe
Nicholas Ibekwe is the journalist who published the audio recording of T.B Joshua offering N50k to journalist to give his church favorable coverage. He took to his blog today to explain why he did it. Read it below
The last 72 hours were probably the most intense in my life. The love, kind words and support I’ve received in that period from, mostly, total strangers have been overwhelming. I want to thank everybody who saw the good in what I did. Though, to be honest, I think it was a little stupid. What was I thinking putting my life and probably my career on the line in an attempt to change something so entrenched it seems unchangeable? But really I’m not fazed by the trash talk from those allergic to the truth.
It’s a long time coming and someone has to put the Big Ben on the fat cat, I guess. During the same period I’ve also been insulted like never before. I’ve been called the most uncomplimentary names and all the curses in Deuteronomy hurled towards me. They should be ashamed that the brushed ego of their spiritual Godfather meant more to them than the over 90 lives that perished under the rubble.
I can deal with the trash talk and name-calling. But I’m also not naïve. I’ve made plans to evacuate my family to safety at the shortest notice in case things escalate. I hope they don’t. But one can never be so sure with these fundamentalists.
They said I’m an attention freak; that I published the audio clip because I yearned to be a social media celebrity (whatever that means). Well, I won’t lie; I enjoyed the 15 minutes of fame. I loved the thrill of being in the eye of the storm. In case my accusers are reading this, I got over 2,000 followers on twitter within the period. I don’t know what to make of that yet. I’m not so sure about this Twitter thing but if there’s a way I can convert that to money, that would be something. Gbenga Olorunpomi, how much does one twitter follower exchange for a dollar these days? So why did I publish the audio?
I had recorded the audio six days before posting it on Twitter. To be sincere, I didn’t think much of it until Saturday morning (I’d explain later). I was intently watching the way the collapsed building was being played out in the media after the rather disappointing way Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, dodged reporters through a back door after his private meeting with TB Joshua on September 14. I observed that Nigerian media were being too gentle on TB Joshua despite the glaring irregularities surrounding the collapse. I read more reports about the “hovering craft” and how Boko Haram could’ve sabotaged the building and other poppycock the televangelist wanted the world to believe.
Very little was reported about the structural defects of the building. Not much was written about the fact that the building originally had 2 floors and was being illegally refurbished with 4 additional floors when it collapsed. We didn’t come hard on the Synagogue Church goons who attacked first responders. We didn’t highlight the fact that many of those that perished could have been saved if NEMA officials weren’t barred from the site for almost three days! We didn’t make an issue of the fact that our colleagues who had gone to report the collapsed building were molested on Saturday. So when I woke up last Saturday morning and saw the picture of Jonathan shaking hands with a grinning TB Joshua with headlines like “Jonathan consoles TB Joshua,” I said damn it! I couldn’t stomach this blatant impunity.
TB Joshua is perhaps the most powerful preacher in Africa and politicians all over the continent fawn at him. But as watchdogs, journalists must hold entrenched powers to account. If Nigerian politicians didn’t realise that more than 90 lives had just perished underneath a building without requisite permit and that those responsible should be held accountable, then the responsibility falls on journalists to force them to do the right thing.
Journalists shouldn’t be seen or heard telling the prime suspect they would write “just like you said” after he offered to buy their consciences with N50,000.
Some of the reporters who collected the N50,000 have called me after the audio went viral to complain. They told me they have been getting calls from colleagues and family members who recognised their voices in the recording. One even accused me of a breach of trust. I told him I didn’t sign a pact of silence with anybody. For me the decision was between covering the ethical shortcomings of my colleagues or doing that which is right to make sure those who died and their families get justice. The decision was easy.
Why didn’t I publish the audio the same day I recorded it? Nigerian journalists habitually ask for gratification at press conferences and corporate events that it has unfortunately become a norm. Reporters actually think you’re a fool if you turned down what they call “brown envelope”. There are several excuses to justify it: “We’re poorly paid,” “We have not been paid for months,” etc. Honestly, it’s hard to dismiss some of these excuses sometimes. Nigerian Journalists are perhaps among the worst paid in the world. This is where the Nigerian Union of Journalist should do more. Its officials should stop paying courtesy calls to politicians (of course, we know what exchanges hands during these visits) and do more to force Jet-flying owners of media organisations to pay reporters more and on time. We deserve it.
Journalists should also explore other related and legitimate means of making money like researching, writing and editing reports for NGOs, writing and editing of brochures and reports, working as fixers to foreign journalists, blogging (I recently met a Nigerian television reporter that make quite some money monthly from his blog), etc.
Like everything in Nigeria, this “brown envelope” thing has been stretched beyond the limit of ridiculousness. I’d give some examples: On August 15, 2010 a truck belonging to Dangote Sugar Refinery caused an inferno at the Ojodu Bridge outside Otedola Estate in Lagos. More that 50 lives perished in the fire. An inquest was initiated by a non-governmental organisation, Access to Justice and Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana. Please take a deep breath before reading the next sentence. During the inquest, officials of Dangote Industries distributed cartons of Spaghetti (and some money, probably to buy ingredients) to court reporters at the Ikeja High Court to probably skew their account of the hearing. In case you missed it let me repeat. Some Nigerian Journalists collected packs of Spaghetti as bribes! Are we that hungry? Some reporters got as little as 12 packs of spaghetti. My friend, Ben Ezeamalu, was almost beaten up for speaking against it.
In fact, they erected a wall of hostility around themselves whenever he came around. According to him, a very senior journalist pulled him aside and told him it was easy for him to turn down the brown envelope because he wasn’t married and had no school fees to pay. Ben said his curiosity was aroused while he was researching for material on the internet for an article he was writing days before the coroner’s verdict on the inquest. To his surprise, there was very little material for an inquest that involved Africa’s richest man and had lasted 19 months! After the coroner delivered his verdict, in which he indicted Dangote’s company as well as the Nigeria Police, the (short) article was tucked away in a remote corner in almost all the newspapers the next day. The fact that the coroner indicted Dangote was also carefully left out in the articles.
Other journalists have tagged Ben “a spy” for consistently refusing to collect “brown envelopes”. Nigerian journalists no longer know where to draw the line. A father that lost his son during last Dana plane crash was forced to pay journalists during his son’s wake-keep before it was reported. There are more puke-inducing instances but I’d stop here.
For those of you saying N50,000 ($300) was too little to entice Nigerian reporters, I’ve seen reporters scuffle over N2,000 ($12) during a press conference.
During last year’s gubernatorial election in Ondo State, reporters literally came to blows at Governor Mimiko’s home after the latter released “appreciation money” for journalists who covered his polling unit. The sharing formula was N10,000 per head, until the cash ran low and the formula switched to N7,000. Cue bedlam. The governor’s PA, looking on with contempt, threatened to evict them from his employer’s residence if they failed to conduct themselves with decorum. One fellow even started arranging for another group of journalists to go meet the governor for another “appreciation money.” Editors should also monitor their reporters too, but we all know that some editors get theirs through subtler manner (Bank transfers). I’m a Nigerian journalist I want to change things the only way I know how to – going public with it. I’m not saying anything new here, everybody who has one thing or the other to do with journalists knows that these things happen. Maybe I’m the first journalist to go public with it in such a manner.
Corporate organisations and individuals should also stop offering these bribes (I still insist that they are bribes and nothing else). Journalist will report your events whether they like it or not. They want to stay in business. My heart skips anytime I get a call from my editor or receive that email with a subject that reads: “Pending stories”. I know I’m required to deliver. I don’t need that “brown envelope” to turn around that copy. I know in the Punch for instance, reporters are required to fill a certain number of pages every week. They can’t sit around waiting for “money to fuel your cars” to write stories to fill those pages. The threat of losing one of the most lucrative jobs in the industry is enough “inducement”. But the truth is most pressers aren’t news worthy so PR officials feel they need to induce reporters to write about them.
And for the fundamentalist followers of TB Joshua, this isn’t about your spiritual Godfather. I would still have gone public with this if the Pope was involved. I can’t say I’m sorry that his ego was bruised. He clearly meant for the money to influence the reporting of the event. “So what are you going to write?” He had asked. That makes it a bribe. Simple. I can’t help you if you couldn’t decipher that. I’m a reporter not a brain surgeon.
This is the last I’m going to say on this issue unless something drastic happens. Let the personal attacks continue.
The last 72 hours were probably the most intense in my life. The love, kind words and support I’ve received in that period from, mostly, total strangers have been overwhelming. I want to thank everybody who saw the good in what I did. Though, to be honest, I think it was a little stupid. What was I thinking putting my life and probably my career on the line in an attempt to change something so entrenched it seems unchangeable? But really I’m not fazed by the trash talk from those allergic to the truth.
It’s a long time coming and someone has to put the Big Ben on the fat cat, I guess. During the same period I’ve also been insulted like never before. I’ve been called the most uncomplimentary names and all the curses in Deuteronomy hurled towards me. They should be ashamed that the brushed ego of their spiritual Godfather meant more to them than the over 90 lives that perished under the rubble.
I can deal with the trash talk and name-calling. But I’m also not naïve. I’ve made plans to evacuate my family to safety at the shortest notice in case things escalate. I hope they don’t. But one can never be so sure with these fundamentalists.
They said I’m an attention freak; that I published the audio clip because I yearned to be a social media celebrity (whatever that means). Well, I won’t lie; I enjoyed the 15 minutes of fame. I loved the thrill of being in the eye of the storm. In case my accusers are reading this, I got over 2,000 followers on twitter within the period. I don’t know what to make of that yet. I’m not so sure about this Twitter thing but if there’s a way I can convert that to money, that would be something. Gbenga Olorunpomi, how much does one twitter follower exchange for a dollar these days? So why did I publish the audio?
I had recorded the audio six days before posting it on Twitter. To be sincere, I didn’t think much of it until Saturday morning (I’d explain later). I was intently watching the way the collapsed building was being played out in the media after the rather disappointing way Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, dodged reporters through a back door after his private meeting with TB Joshua on September 14. I observed that Nigerian media were being too gentle on TB Joshua despite the glaring irregularities surrounding the collapse. I read more reports about the “hovering craft” and how Boko Haram could’ve sabotaged the building and other poppycock the televangelist wanted the world to believe.
Very little was reported about the structural defects of the building. Not much was written about the fact that the building originally had 2 floors and was being illegally refurbished with 4 additional floors when it collapsed. We didn’t come hard on the Synagogue Church goons who attacked first responders. We didn’t highlight the fact that many of those that perished could have been saved if NEMA officials weren’t barred from the site for almost three days! We didn’t make an issue of the fact that our colleagues who had gone to report the collapsed building were molested on Saturday. So when I woke up last Saturday morning and saw the picture of Jonathan shaking hands with a grinning TB Joshua with headlines like “Jonathan consoles TB Joshua,” I said damn it! I couldn’t stomach this blatant impunity.
TB Joshua is perhaps the most powerful preacher in Africa and politicians all over the continent fawn at him. But as watchdogs, journalists must hold entrenched powers to account. If Nigerian politicians didn’t realise that more than 90 lives had just perished underneath a building without requisite permit and that those responsible should be held accountable, then the responsibility falls on journalists to force them to do the right thing.
Journalists shouldn’t be seen or heard telling the prime suspect they would write “just like you said” after he offered to buy their consciences with N50,000.
Some of the reporters who collected the N50,000 have called me after the audio went viral to complain. They told me they have been getting calls from colleagues and family members who recognised their voices in the recording. One even accused me of a breach of trust. I told him I didn’t sign a pact of silence with anybody. For me the decision was between covering the ethical shortcomings of my colleagues or doing that which is right to make sure those who died and their families get justice. The decision was easy.
Why didn’t I publish the audio the same day I recorded it? Nigerian journalists habitually ask for gratification at press conferences and corporate events that it has unfortunately become a norm. Reporters actually think you’re a fool if you turned down what they call “brown envelope”. There are several excuses to justify it: “We’re poorly paid,” “We have not been paid for months,” etc. Honestly, it’s hard to dismiss some of these excuses sometimes. Nigerian Journalists are perhaps among the worst paid in the world. This is where the Nigerian Union of Journalist should do more. Its officials should stop paying courtesy calls to politicians (of course, we know what exchanges hands during these visits) and do more to force Jet-flying owners of media organisations to pay reporters more and on time. We deserve it.
Journalists should also explore other related and legitimate means of making money like researching, writing and editing reports for NGOs, writing and editing of brochures and reports, working as fixers to foreign journalists, blogging (I recently met a Nigerian television reporter that make quite some money monthly from his blog), etc.
Like everything in Nigeria, this “brown envelope” thing has been stretched beyond the limit of ridiculousness. I’d give some examples: On August 15, 2010 a truck belonging to Dangote Sugar Refinery caused an inferno at the Ojodu Bridge outside Otedola Estate in Lagos. More that 50 lives perished in the fire. An inquest was initiated by a non-governmental organisation, Access to Justice and Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana. Please take a deep breath before reading the next sentence. During the inquest, officials of Dangote Industries distributed cartons of Spaghetti (and some money, probably to buy ingredients) to court reporters at the Ikeja High Court to probably skew their account of the hearing. In case you missed it let me repeat. Some Nigerian Journalists collected packs of Spaghetti as bribes! Are we that hungry? Some reporters got as little as 12 packs of spaghetti. My friend, Ben Ezeamalu, was almost beaten up for speaking against it.
In fact, they erected a wall of hostility around themselves whenever he came around. According to him, a very senior journalist pulled him aside and told him it was easy for him to turn down the brown envelope because he wasn’t married and had no school fees to pay. Ben said his curiosity was aroused while he was researching for material on the internet for an article he was writing days before the coroner’s verdict on the inquest. To his surprise, there was very little material for an inquest that involved Africa’s richest man and had lasted 19 months! After the coroner delivered his verdict, in which he indicted Dangote’s company as well as the Nigeria Police, the (short) article was tucked away in a remote corner in almost all the newspapers the next day. The fact that the coroner indicted Dangote was also carefully left out in the articles.
Other journalists have tagged Ben “a spy” for consistently refusing to collect “brown envelopes”. Nigerian journalists no longer know where to draw the line. A father that lost his son during last Dana plane crash was forced to pay journalists during his son’s wake-keep before it was reported. There are more puke-inducing instances but I’d stop here.
For those of you saying N50,000 ($300) was too little to entice Nigerian reporters, I’ve seen reporters scuffle over N2,000 ($12) during a press conference.
During last year’s gubernatorial election in Ondo State, reporters literally came to blows at Governor Mimiko’s home after the latter released “appreciation money” for journalists who covered his polling unit. The sharing formula was N10,000 per head, until the cash ran low and the formula switched to N7,000. Cue bedlam. The governor’s PA, looking on with contempt, threatened to evict them from his employer’s residence if they failed to conduct themselves with decorum. One fellow even started arranging for another group of journalists to go meet the governor for another “appreciation money.” Editors should also monitor their reporters too, but we all know that some editors get theirs through subtler manner (Bank transfers). I’m a Nigerian journalist I want to change things the only way I know how to – going public with it. I’m not saying anything new here, everybody who has one thing or the other to do with journalists knows that these things happen. Maybe I’m the first journalist to go public with it in such a manner.
Corporate organisations and individuals should also stop offering these bribes (I still insist that they are bribes and nothing else). Journalist will report your events whether they like it or not. They want to stay in business. My heart skips anytime I get a call from my editor or receive that email with a subject that reads: “Pending stories”. I know I’m required to deliver. I don’t need that “brown envelope” to turn around that copy. I know in the Punch for instance, reporters are required to fill a certain number of pages every week. They can’t sit around waiting for “money to fuel your cars” to write stories to fill those pages. The threat of losing one of the most lucrative jobs in the industry is enough “inducement”. But the truth is most pressers aren’t news worthy so PR officials feel they need to induce reporters to write about them.
And for the fundamentalist followers of TB Joshua, this isn’t about your spiritual Godfather. I would still have gone public with this if the Pope was involved. I can’t say I’m sorry that his ego was bruised. He clearly meant for the money to influence the reporting of the event. “So what are you going to write?” He had asked. That makes it a bribe. Simple. I can’t help you if you couldn’t decipher that. I’m a reporter not a brain surgeon.
This is the last I’m going to say on this issue unless something drastic happens. Let the personal attacks continue.
Bishop Oyedepo on How He Feels being Called Nigeria’s Richest Pastor
The General Overseer of the Living Faith Church will clock 60 on 27th September 2014. He recently spoke to newsmen on his life at 60.
What do you feel when referred to as richest Pastor ?
May I say here that God owned the silver and the gold and he is the most holy God. If wealth and righteousness are not the best of friends there is no way God will be the wealthiest of all. From his fullness we all received we are also told that Jesus died so that through his poverty we will be made rich and I think there is no father who wishes his children poverty. If God is truly a father he will not wish his children poor and the wealth of every parent is reflective in their children.
It is like you have developed thick skin towards criticisms and negative publicity by not reacting to them. Why is it so?
My understanding of opposition and persecution is someone’s opinion harshly expressed. Everybody has his right to his opinion. I don’t feel it necessary th energy
What do you feel when referred to as richest Pastor ?
May I say here that God owned the silver and the gold and he is the most holy God. If wealth and righteousness are not the best of friends there is no way God will be the wealthiest of all. From his fullness we all received we are also told that Jesus died so that through his poverty we will be made rich and I think there is no father who wishes his children poverty. If God is truly a father he will not wish his children poor and the wealth of every parent is reflective in their children.
It is like you have developed thick skin towards criticisms and negative publicity by not reacting to them. Why is it so?
My understanding of opposition and persecution is someone’s opinion harshly expressed. Everybody has his right to his opinion. I don’t feel it necessary th energy
Photos: 21 year old student causes a stir after covering her Mercedes in a million Swarovski crystals
A 21 year old Business student, Daria Radionova made her £25,000 Mercedes CLS 350 2011 model even more luxurious, by covering it entirely in Swarovski crystals. The Mercedes CLS 350 is covered in one million individual Swarovski crystals.
According to Daily mail,Each was painstakingly applied by hand by a group of workers who flew over from Russia especially for the project. They worked for 12 hours a day for two months straight to attach the diamonds, worth £20,000, to the car, She said
‘I wanted to have something unique and do something special,’The people who did it came over from Russia and worked for 12 hours a day for two months on the car. I am really happy with it and I am looking forward to driving it around. It has only just been finished and everywhere I go people stop to have a look at it. It gets lots of attention from people walking by and in cars. Sometimes I think they might crash.Everyone is taking pictures of it. When I sell the car I will give the money to charity.
Parking outside the Levin Hotel on Basil Street near Harrods today, the car drew in crowds of admiring onlookers. A manager said:
‘We have seen a lot of unusual cars like Ferraris parked outside but I think this one has got the most attention. If you have the cash why not do it? It looks good and fun.’
According to Daily mail,Each was painstakingly applied by hand by a group of workers who flew over from Russia especially for the project. They worked for 12 hours a day for two months straight to attach the diamonds, worth £20,000, to the car, She said
‘I wanted to have something unique and do something special,’The people who did it came over from Russia and worked for 12 hours a day for two months on the car. I am really happy with it and I am looking forward to driving it around. It has only just been finished and everywhere I go people stop to have a look at it. It gets lots of attention from people walking by and in cars. Sometimes I think they might crash.Everyone is taking pictures of it. When I sell the car I will give the money to charity.
Parking outside the Levin Hotel on Basil Street near Harrods today, the car drew in crowds of admiring onlookers. A manager said:
‘We have seen a lot of unusual cars like Ferraris parked outside but I think this one has got the most attention. If you have the cash why not do it? It looks good and fun.’
Kevin Hart shares Photo of his broken iphone 6
The comedian uploaded a picture on his Instagram showing his new iPhone 6 with visible cracks with the caption:
“And the award for the dumbest guy on the planet goes to me… who buys the new iPhone 6 & drops it and cracks his screen? The answer is ME.”
With a reported net worth of $9 million dollars, Hart buying a new one doesn't touch him a bit. Money good oh
“And the award for the dumbest guy on the planet goes to me… who buys the new iPhone 6 & drops it and cracks his screen? The answer is ME.”
Bruce Jenner celebrates divorce by Buying himself a $50k NASCAR race car.
According to TMZ Bruce jenner who just got divorced went out yesterday probably to celebrate his new relaationship Status by droping $50k on a fabulous new toy. Bruce bought a NASCAR- approved UTV race car. Kris Jenner’s ex bought it from NASCAR superstar Robby Gordon.I am guessing it is a celebration of sorts.Bruce made the deal Monday at the Sand Sports Super Show in the O.C. … the same day Kris filed divorce docs .The former Olympic gold medalist is a speed freak … as in hardcore race fanatic.Friends claim he has been all smiles since the divorce was confirmed.
BigBrother Africa unveils first Nigerian BBA Hotshot contestant
BigBrother Africa Hotshot this morning finally disclosed the identity of its first Nigerian contestant .
Popularly Known to her friends as ‘SexyLily’ , Lillian is a model, actor, presenter, and tax collector!
Lilian says she entered Big Brother Hotshots for ‘the platform it provides and the publicity that comes with it, and the money’. She’s not willing to sell herself short to win the grand prize. If she does win, she’ll invest in her talk show, which is about ‘helping upcoming talents’ and get herself a house.
Sexy Lily prefers chilling with the boys. She says housemates will like her because she’s very friendly and knows how to make people happy. She also says she can be very annoying too. Her fav foods are rice and plantain; she likes watching Baggage on TV and listening to 2Face Idibia. She doesn’t have a favourite book, but likes movies like Think Like A Man, Blended, Friends With Benefits, Bridesmaids and Twelve Years A Slave. Her favourite actor is Angelina Jolie, because ‘she’s creative and can switch between roles’. Her favourite place in Nigeria is Lagos, and she says the best thing about Africa is its cultural diversity. Outside her home country, she’d like to visit California for the opportunities she believes it would provide her to improve her career.
Lilian’s role model is Oprah Winfrey, because of her strength, and the person who has most influenced her life is her mother, ‘because she has always believed in me and encouraged me to follow my dreams’. She describes herself as ‘spontaneous, easy-going, focused and confident’ and says her best assets are that she’s ambitious, a good listener, flexible, persuasive, competitive, independent and original.
Popularly Known to her friends as ‘SexyLily’ , Lillian is a model, actor, presenter, and tax collector!
Lilian says she entered Big Brother Hotshots for ‘the platform it provides and the publicity that comes with it, and the money’. She’s not willing to sell herself short to win the grand prize. If she does win, she’ll invest in her talk show, which is about ‘helping upcoming talents’ and get herself a house.
Sexy Lily prefers chilling with the boys. She says housemates will like her because she’s very friendly and knows how to make people happy. She also says she can be very annoying too. Her fav foods are rice and plantain; she likes watching Baggage on TV and listening to 2Face Idibia. She doesn’t have a favourite book, but likes movies like Think Like A Man, Blended, Friends With Benefits, Bridesmaids and Twelve Years A Slave. Her favourite actor is Angelina Jolie, because ‘she’s creative and can switch between roles’. Her favourite place in Nigeria is Lagos, and she says the best thing about Africa is its cultural diversity. Outside her home country, she’d like to visit California for the opportunities she believes it would provide her to improve her career.
Lilian’s role model is Oprah Winfrey, because of her strength, and the person who has most influenced her life is her mother, ‘because she has always believed in me and encouraged me to follow my dreams’. She describes herself as ‘spontaneous, easy-going, focused and confident’ and says her best assets are that she’s ambitious, a good listener, flexible, persuasive, competitive, independent and original.
Afrocandy posts her own nude photo (+18 Photos)
With the fappening happening(celebrity nude photos been hacked and leaked),our own nudists are getting themselves to work. Their pics don't need to be hacked before it is leaked, they are up to the task. Afrocandy shared her own nude photo and she says:
'This is my Body, Y'all Take it and Eat it. It's not a 'Photoshop' that's how they make African Women BabyOku 1'
See 18+ photo below
Comedian A.Y bags an Oscar
Nigerian comdian AY Makun wins award for best supporting actor in America,
The comedian turned entrepreneur turned actor featured in his first movie role called ’30 days in Atlanta’. Ayo AY Makun aka AY took home the award for the best supporting actor at the recently held Nollywood and African Film Critics’ Awards (popularly referred to as the African Oscars) in the United States of America for Omoni Oboli’s movie, Being Mrs Elliot.
Ay is married to his wife Mabel and the pair have a daughter together.
The comedian turned entrepreneur turned actor featured in his first movie role called ’30 days in Atlanta’. Ayo AY Makun aka AY took home the award for the best supporting actor at the recently held Nollywood and African Film Critics’ Awards (popularly referred to as the African Oscars) in the United States of America for Omoni Oboli’s movie, Being Mrs Elliot.
Ay is married to his wife Mabel and the pair have a daughter together.
Good News! More Boko Haram Members Surrender, Plead For Mercy
The Defence Headquarters has disclosed that some Boko Haram terrorists have begun to surrender with their weapons voluntarily following relentless onslaught by troops.
This is contained in a statement posted on the DHQ website on Sunday. “Some of them submitted themselves and their weapons to the leadership of the troops in Konduga during a further campaign at the weekend.
“As the heat on the terrorists continues, five terrorists surrendered on Saturday (Sept. 20) with all their weapons to troops at Konduga pleading for mercy.’.. ’
According to the statement, other captured terrorists who refused to surrender have also been giving useful information on the subsequent plans of the group in an apparent effort to cooperate. The DHQ recalled that in the last few days there had been several attempts by desperate terrorists to gain entry into Konduga which were foiled by the troops.
The terrorists’ move, according to the statement, is aimed at recovering the bodies of their prominent fighters who died in previous encounters in the area. The DHQ also said that its troops had recovered more weapons during mop-up operations while some of their terrorists’ vehicles had been destroyed.
Source: Vanguard
Revealed! How Boko Haram leader, Shekau was set up & eventually killed
You must have heard the dreaded Boko Haram impostor and Commander has been reportedly killed in a fierce gun battle in Borno State.While there are conflicting reports on who killed him,(Cameroon claims they killed him but that report has been refuted by the Nigerian Defence Headquaters)many believe he is indeed the one in the photo and it marks a major victory in the fight against Boko Haram.Many insurgents reportedly surrendered to the Nigerian army after learning of the death of their leader ..
A new investigative report by Vanguard reveals how he was killed
Vanguard gathered that when the first attack on Konduga whereby hundreds of insurgents were taken unawares and killed after over seven hours of fighting and several of their colleagues, arms and ammunition captured, the military commanders strategically urged his captured members to send a message to Shekau that they (insurgents) have routed the troops.
Before the captured insurgents were urged to make the contact and deliver the message, the military commanders had promised them that their cooperation would play a role in the level of punishment to be meted to them after the battle hence they felt reassured.
Also, the captured insurgents had disclosed that Shekau usually moved in a convoy of cars painted in military colours while he sits in a MOWAG Armoured tank with Boko Haram inscription on its front.
When Shekau was contacted, his captured men spoke to him in Arabic, assuring him that they had taken over Konduga, thereby giving him the all clear to proceed from Sambisa Forest. To convince him further, a set of his men captured were told to sing the victory song in Kanuri language they normally sing at the background.
Having convinced himself that the messenger was his chief courier in such situation and the message is authentic, he and his followers made for Konduga, heavily armed with Anti-Aircraft weapons, General Purpose Machine Guns, several AK 47 rifles and other IEDS’.
However, on entering Konduga town, he and his followers were encircled by strategically placed and heavily armed Nigerian soldiers. Immediately he contacted the messenger and discovered that something was amiss, he ordered his followers to start shooting in all direction.
This spurred the Army Commanders to give the directive to open fire. When he discovered that the fire power of the Nigerian Army who used both Infantry and Artillery weaponry was overpowering that of his men, he jumped out of the MOWAG and made to escape.
But eagle-eyed Nigerian Soldiers spotted him and opened fire in him, shattering his legs in the process. It was learnt that he also received bullet wounds in other parts of his body leading to his bleeding to death.
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Recall that Military sources had on Sunday night disclosed that Nigerian troops scored a strategic victory in the current battle against terrorists operating in the North East on September 17.
The sources noted that during a desperate attempt to capture Konduga in their delusion to eventually marching on and capturing Maiduguri, the man who had been mimicking Late Abubakar Shekau in recent videos was feared to have been finally killed.
The sources said,
“It is getting more certain that the terrorists’ Commander who has been mimicking Shekau in those videos is the one killed in Konduga on September 17, 2014.”
Affirming the development, PRNigeria sources said the suspected demise of the Boko Haram leader is responsible for the scattering of the sect members in different independent locations in the neighbouring countries, especially in Cameroon noticed in recent days.
The security sources noted further that
“the process of confirming that the dead body we have is the same as that character who has been posing as Shekau is ongoing” adding “He is definitely a prominent terrorist commander. I don’t want to say anything about this yet please.”
Another high ranking military source insisted that the resemblance is too striking to be a coincidence.
“They cited his facial marks, beards and teeth apart from the recovery by the Nigerian troops of some of the Armoured Vehicles and Hilux jeeps that had featured in previous videos of the prime suspect.
“The officers assured that the Defence Headquarters will soon address the nation after full investigation of their latest discovery”.
Kudos to the police officers
Photos: DANIEL STURRIDGE SPOTTED IN N53MILLION FERRARI
The striker who sustained an injury while on international duty has been out of action but striker Daniel Sturridge,25, was up and about as he picked up a meal from his local takeaway on Thursday.The Liverpool player was spotted in his gleaming white Ferrari worth a little over N53M
Yaya Toure Play fight with Eden Hazard in Etihad tunnel (Photo + Video)
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure(center) was caught on camera having a playful moment with his Chelsea counterpart Eden Hazard(left) on Sunday.
The midfielder approached the Blues' star as the players made their way out of the tunnel for the second half of the 1-1 draw.
Whether the Belgian enjoyed the playful moment as much as the City man remains uncertain.
Fast forward to eight minute to see the fight.
The midfielder approached the Blues' star as the players made their way out of the tunnel for the second half of the 1-1 draw.
Whether the Belgian enjoyed the playful moment as much as the City man remains uncertain.
I Quit-Female Reporter resigns to dedicate her life to legalizing Marijuana(Photo)
A TV presenter has resigned without giving a F*uck on Live TV. According to her, her reason for resigning is that she wants to dedicate her life to legalizing Marijuana.
KVTA's Charlo Greene was reporting about a marijuana business in Alaska when at the end she suddenly revealed it was hers and said ...
'Now everything you heard is why I, the actual owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club, will be dedicating all of my energy for fighting for freedom and fairness which begins with legalizing marijuana here in Alaska.' And as for this job, well, not that I have a choice but, fuck it, I quit..
Ms Greene then marched off camera,leaving the shocked anchor speechless before saying 'We'll be right back.'
The news channel took to Twitter to apologise.
Viewers, we sincerely apologize for the inappropriate language used by a KTVA reporter on the air tonight,' 'The employee has been terminated.'
Photos: Kim K & North West spotted at LAX Airport
Kim k was spotted at the LAX airport with the cute North West.. North West seems to be dressing like a boy nowadays and according to Kim, she already brushes her hair by herself and has her prefences when it comes to clothes.
Photo: Man rapes 20-yr old girl and uploads her nude photos on the internet
A 30-year old man has allegedly raped a 20-year old girl in Lagos, southwest Nigeria and uploaded her pictures on the internet.
The suspect, Olaniyan Oluwakayode, who hails from Osun State, allegedly raped the girl in his apartment at Ifako area of Lagos. He was arrested by the police and brought to the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, WAPA, in handcuffs.
The victim (name withheld) from Akwa Ibom State, alleged that after being raped, Oluwakayode snapped her pictures despite pleas from his sister to desist from such barbaric act, saying Oluwakayode was never her boyfriend as he claimed.
“He stops me anytime I am going to work. He approached me and I told him I was not ready to give him a reply. I did not go to his house. On my way back from work on Tuesday last week, I saw someone running out of his house, because there is a bush around their compound so he jumped from the fence down and held my hand and said he wants to do what’s on his mind.
“So I asked him why would he do what’s on his mind when I have not even accepted his advances, he said he would do what is on his mind today; so he dragged me into the bush. When I wanted to shout, he brought out a knife and said if I shouted, he would kill me there.
“So from the bush, he dragged me to his house and locked the door. I tried all I could to open it but I couldn’t because the door is an iron door and very strong. He used his legs to hold my neck, he tore my skirt, my pant and my bra. He beat me very well on my head, neck and body and removed my pant and he slept with me. After he finished sleeping with me, I couldn’t shout again because he was beating me and forcing me to open my legs. When I refused, he also held my neck so I couldn’t shout,” she alleged.
According to her, when Oluwakayode’s sister came back around 9.00pm, she asked her brother to open the door, asking him if he wanted to kill somebody’s else child. The victim said when he heard his sister shouting, he took her to the second room and still slept with her after which she urinated on the floor.
“His sister then came through the second window and pleaded with him to let me go, telling him that if she was the person that was being treated like that, would he be happy about it? I started crying. I am 20 years old and I work as an Office Assistant and I learnt Fashion Designing.
“He has been asking me out for a long time. I was never his girlfriend, I have my own boyfriend. He raped me with pains, even his sister was crying and he snapped me immediately and his sister even said she will call his mother because even if she was the one they did that thing to, he would even over react,” she stated.
The suspect, Oluwakayode denied raping her, saying she was his girlfriend.
“I was fighting with my girlfriend but they are accusing me of raping her. I never deny the fact that I snapped her picture when she was naked. We were fighting inside, but any other allegation levelled against me is a big lie. The only thing I did which I do not deny is that I snapped her naked picture.
“We were fighting inside and she has been hurting me for a very long period and we had an issue which made me delete her number. Last week, she flashed me. When I saw the strange number, I called the number back immediately. When I heard her voice, I asked her what she wanted because she told me that her name was Blessing, until we had the issue and she said her name is Comfort,”he explained.
According to him, he met her passing by in June when he approached her to ask her for her phone number, which she obliged.
“Immediately, I called her and on her way back, she flashed me and I called her back and we met. She even came to my house and we sat outside and talked. She agreed to date me. There was a day we spoke on phone and she was asking me if I had an apartment, I told her that I didn’t want to rush into anything, that I wanted to settle down in my business. I do branding in my house at Ifako.
“They said I raped her, but one thing is that I have a conscience and she also has a conscience and let our conscience judge. I believe with all the proof, the truth is that I never denied beating her, I did beat her with my head on her face and on her back when she held my manhood; so all the allegation of bringing out a powder, a knife and belt, I did not do it because I have a conscience and she has a conscience, that’s all,” he explained.
Director of Child Development, WAPA, Mrs. Alaba Fadairo said the case would be charged to court as it was a case of raping and uploading the pictures on the internet.
Source: Pm News
“That’s why I am going to follow it up to the letter and see that the matter is handled. There is no going back.
“It’s a dent on the victim and it’s not about rape, it’s about putting her pictures on social media. I don’t think anyone will want to opt out. You also know the government has zero tolerance for issues of child abuse except we are not in the know. He is likely to face imprisonment, but the number of years is at the discretion of the court.”
Boko Haram Leader Abubakar Shekau has Been killed(photo evidence)
On Saturday, news emerged that Cameroonian army had reportedly killed the leader of the dreaded Boko Haram sect, who had been mimicking the original late Abubakar Shekau.
His killing reportedly comes after a fierce battle in the Gambaru region far north of the country.
In a rare show of courage, the Cameroonian army went ahead to release the picture of Shekau’sbullet ridden body, lying lifeless after the combat. A Cameroon military source says that Abubakar Shekau was killed following an aerial bombardment of his hideout inside Nigeria.
His killing reportedly comes after a fierce battle in the Gambaru region far north of the country.
In a rare show of courage, the Cameroonian army went ahead to release the picture of Shekau’sbullet ridden body, lying lifeless after the combat. A Cameroon military source says that Abubakar Shekau was killed following an aerial bombardment of his hideout inside Nigeria.
See Technology! The New iphone 6 can give sight to the blind
Jonathan Mosen, who has been blind since birth, spent his evening snapping photos of packages in the mail, his son’s school report and labels on bottles in the fridge. In seconds, he was listening to audio of the printed words the camera captured, courtesy of a new app on his Apple Inc iPhone.
“I couldn’t believe how accurate it was,” said Mosen, an assistive technology consultant from New Zealand. The new app that allows blind people to listen to an audio readback of printed text is receiving rave reviews after its first day of availability and is being heralded as a life-changer by many people.
Blind people say the KNFB Reader app will enable a new level of engagement in everyday life, from reading menus in restaurants to browsing handouts in the classroom.
The $99 app is the result of a four decades-long relationship between the National Federation of the Blind and Ray Kurzweil, a well-known artificial-intelligence scientist and senior Google employee.
According to its website, K-NFB Reading Technology Inc and Sensotec NV, a Belgium-based company, led the technical development of the app. Kurzweil, who demonstrated the app on stage at the NFB’s annual convention in June, said it can replace a “sighted adviser”.
Taking advantage of new pattern recognition and image- processing technology as well as new smartphone hardware, the app allows users to adjust or tilt the camera, and reads printed materials out loud. People with refreshable Braille displays can now snap pictures of print documents and display them in Braille near-instantaneously, said NFB spokesman Chris Danielsen.
The app has already given some people greater independence, users said on Thursday and Friday on social-media sites such as Twitter. One early adopter, Gordon Luke, tweeted that he was able to use the app to read his polling card for the Scottish Referendum.
The app will be available on Android in the coming months, Kurzweil told Reuters in an interview. He may also explore a version of the app for Google Glass, a postage stamp-sized computer screen that attaches to eyeglass frames and is capable of taking photos, recording video and playing sound. “Google Glass makes sense because you direct the camera with your head,” Kurzweil said.
Kurzweil started working on so-called “reading machines” in the early 1970s after chatting on a plane with a blind person who voiced frustrations with the lack of optical-recognition technology on the market. A few years later, “Kurzweil burst into the National Federation of the Blind’s offices in Washington, D.C., and said he had invented a reading machine,” recalled Jim Gashel, a former NFB employee who currently heads business development at KNFB Reader. “It was phenomenal.”
Kurzweil’s first reading machine was the size of a washing machine and cost $50,000.
The app’s release comes at a time when the technology industry has faced criticism for being too focused on making what some deem frivolous products such as apps for sharing photos and video games, as well as for intruding into people’s personal privacy.
San Francisco-based Bryan Bashin, executive director of the non-profit Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, said the KNFB app shows the positive and profound impact that technology can have.
“There are innumerable times in life that I’ll have a bit of print and there will be nobody around who can help me out, and I’ll just want to know something as simple as ‘Is this packet decaf or caffeinated coffee?’” Bashin said.
“The ability to do this easily with something that fits in your pocket at lightning speed will certainly be a game changer
Source: The Nation
“I couldn’t believe how accurate it was,” said Mosen, an assistive technology consultant from New Zealand. The new app that allows blind people to listen to an audio readback of printed text is receiving rave reviews after its first day of availability and is being heralded as a life-changer by many people.
Blind people say the KNFB Reader app will enable a new level of engagement in everyday life, from reading menus in restaurants to browsing handouts in the classroom.
The $99 app is the result of a four decades-long relationship between the National Federation of the Blind and Ray Kurzweil, a well-known artificial-intelligence scientist and senior Google employee.
According to its website, K-NFB Reading Technology Inc and Sensotec NV, a Belgium-based company, led the technical development of the app. Kurzweil, who demonstrated the app on stage at the NFB’s annual convention in June, said it can replace a “sighted adviser”.
Taking advantage of new pattern recognition and image- processing technology as well as new smartphone hardware, the app allows users to adjust or tilt the camera, and reads printed materials out loud. People with refreshable Braille displays can now snap pictures of print documents and display them in Braille near-instantaneously, said NFB spokesman Chris Danielsen.
The app has already given some people greater independence, users said on Thursday and Friday on social-media sites such as Twitter. One early adopter, Gordon Luke, tweeted that he was able to use the app to read his polling card for the Scottish Referendum.
The app will be available on Android in the coming months, Kurzweil told Reuters in an interview. He may also explore a version of the app for Google Glass, a postage stamp-sized computer screen that attaches to eyeglass frames and is capable of taking photos, recording video and playing sound. “Google Glass makes sense because you direct the camera with your head,” Kurzweil said.
Kurzweil started working on so-called “reading machines” in the early 1970s after chatting on a plane with a blind person who voiced frustrations with the lack of optical-recognition technology on the market. A few years later, “Kurzweil burst into the National Federation of the Blind’s offices in Washington, D.C., and said he had invented a reading machine,” recalled Jim Gashel, a former NFB employee who currently heads business development at KNFB Reader. “It was phenomenal.”
Kurzweil’s first reading machine was the size of a washing machine and cost $50,000.
The app’s release comes at a time when the technology industry has faced criticism for being too focused on making what some deem frivolous products such as apps for sharing photos and video games, as well as for intruding into people’s personal privacy.
San Francisco-based Bryan Bashin, executive director of the non-profit Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, said the KNFB app shows the positive and profound impact that technology can have.
“There are innumerable times in life that I’ll have a bit of print and there will be nobody around who can help me out, and I’ll just want to know something as simple as ‘Is this packet decaf or caffeinated coffee?’” Bashin said.
“The ability to do this easily with something that fits in your pocket at lightning speed will certainly be a game changer
Source: The Nation
Photo: Toyin Lawani’s outfit to Senator Ita Giwa’s Daughter’s Wedding
The designer and mother of two wore this outfit to Senator Florence Ita Giwa’s daughter’s wedding yesterday. She's so beautiful, right?
The meaning of Dorobucci- Dr sid explains
There was this viral report that Doro is a god and that the song is devilish.
Dr Sid told Punch in an interview what it really means. He said;
Dr Sid told Punch in an interview what it really means. He said;
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