Court Orders Buhari, Osinbajo To Tell Nigerians Names Of All Suspected Looters

by Press Release Jul 05, 2017

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos today ordered the Federal Government to “immediately release to Nigerians information about the names of high-ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered and the circumstances under which funds were recovered, as well as the exact amount of funds recovered from each public official.”
The judgment was delivered today by Hon Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari following a Freedom of Information suit number:  FHC/CS/964/2016 brought by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
The suit followed disclosure last year by the Federal Government of funds recovered from some high-ranking public officials and private individuals.
In her judgment, Justice Shagari agreed with SERAP that “the Federal Government has legally binding obligations to tell Nigerians the names of all suspected looters of the public treasury past and present.” Joined as Defendants in the suit are the Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Muhammed and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture.
Justice Shagari also granted the following reliefs:
A DECLARATION that by virtue of the provisions of Section 4 (a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, the Defendants are under a binding legal obligation to provide the Plaintiff with up to date information relating to the following:
To widely disseminate including on a dedicated website information about the names of high-ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered since May 2015
The circumstances under which stolen public funds were returned
SERAP is now processing a certified true copy of the judgment.
Timothy Adewale, SERAP deputy director who argued the case on behalf of SERAP and was in court this morning when the judgment was delivered said “This is a victory for justice, rule of law, transparency and accountability in this country. The judgment shows the way forward in the fight against corruption and impunity of perpetrators. We will do everything within the law to ensure full compliance by President Mohammadu Buhari and Acting President Osinbajo with this landmark judgment.
It would be recalled that the Ministry of Information last year published details of the recoveries, which showed that the Nigerian government successfully retrieved total cash amount N78,325,354,631.82, $185,119,584.61, £3,508,355.46 and €11, 250 between May 29, 2015, and May 25, 2016. Also released were recoveries under interim forfeiture, which were a combination of cash and assets, during the same period: N126,563,481,095.43, $9,090,243,920.15, £2,484,447.55 and €303,399.17. Anticipated repatriation from foreign countries totalled: $321,316,726.1, £6,900,000 and €11,826.11. The ministry also announced that 239 non-cash recoveries were made during the one-year period. The non-cash recoveries are – farmlands, plots of land, uncompleted buildings, completed buildings, vehicles and maritime vessels.
Subsequently, SERAP issued an FOI request and gave the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed 14 days to disclose the names of all suspected looters.
The request reads in part: “While we believe that suspects generally are entitled to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, SERAP opposes blanket non-disclosure of names of high-ranking public officials from whom some of the funds were recovered.”
“SERAP insists that the public interest to know is greater than any other legitimate interest that the government might wish to protect. The Nigerian government has an obligation to balance whether the risk of harm to the legitimate aim (that is secrecy of ongoing corruption investigation and presumption of innocence) from disclosure of the names of public officials is greater than the public interest in accessing the information.”
“According to public interest test, even if the government demonstrates that the publication of the names of public officials would substantially harm a legitimate interest, it is nevertheless obliged to disclose the requested information if, as it is the case here, the public interest in disclosure is sufficient enough to overweigh the harm.”
“SERAP believes that the recoveries, specifically from high-ranking public officials (and not private individuals), are matters of public interest. Publishing the names of those public officials will provide insights relevant to the public debate on the ongoing efforts to prevent and combat a culture of grand corruption and the longstanding impunity of perpetrators in the country.”
“The gravity of the crime of grand corruption, the devastating effects on the socially and economically vulnerable sectors of the population, and the fact that recovery of huge funds from high-ranking public officials entrusted with the public treasury raise a prima-facie case and therefore amount to exceptional circumstances that justify naming those high-ranking officials in the public interest.”
“SERAP also argues that Nigerians are entitled to the right to truth derived from the obligations of the government to carry out an investigation of violations of human rights and crime of corruption committed within its jurisdiction; to identify, prosecute and punish those responsible; and to ensure that victims have the simple and prompt recourse for protection against violation of fundamental rights, as well as to ensure transparency in public administration.”
“SERAP believes that the right to truth allows Nigerians to gain access to information essential to the fight against corruption and in turn development of democratic institutions as well as provides a form of reparation to victims of grand corruption in the country.”
“Publishing the names of public officials involved could go a long way in preventing senior public officials from turning the public treasury into a private cash box. SERAP argues that the public interest in publishing the names of the high-ranking government officials from whom funds were received outweighs any considerations to withhold the information, as there would be no prejudice against those whose names are published as long as the information is appropriately framed and truthful.”
“There is a general public interest in promoting transparency, accountability, public understanding and involvement in the democratic process. While the government in some limited cases can legitimately place restrictions on the public’s right to access certain information, attempts of the Nigerian authorities to justify the total closure of information related to the names of public officials from whom funds were recovered on the basis of “ongoing criminal investigation” and “presumption of innocence goes far beyond the limitations allowed under international law, and would promote secret recoveries.”
“The information being requested is not related to detailed investigatory activities of anticorruption agencies regarding the recoveries so far made. Similarly, the mere fact that the information being requested is related to ongoing investigation does not necessarily mean that the information could not be disclosed. In addition, governmental agency has the obligation to prove that the disclosure of the names of public officials would disrupt, impede, or otherwise harm the ongoing or pending investigations or presumption of innocence.”

UNIOSUN Students Protest Over Incessant Missing Students

Students of the Osun State University have taken over Olaiya and some streets in Osogbo burning brutes and vandalising properties as they protest the disappearance of their colleagues.
A 400-level student of Microbiology Department was called out by a neighbor, Sakariyau Abdulrofiu, 10 days ago, and his corpse was found at the back of an Alfa’s house.
Dressed in black shirts and trousers, the students chanted war songs and attacked motorists and journalists covering the protest.
They invaded the NUJ Correspondent Chapel’s office at Fagbewesa and slapped a female journalist, Seun Adesokan, and roughly handled others for daring to take their photographs.

Reps Invite Jonathan Over Malabu Oil Deal

 

by The Nation Newspaper Jul 05, 2017

The House of Representatives on Wednesday insisted that former President Goodluck Jonathan must give evidence on his role in the controversial $1 billion Malabu Oil deal.
A statement issued by the Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee probing the alleged corruption, malpractices and breach of process in the award of OPL 245, Hon. Razak Atunwa, said they would write the former President to come and defend himself on the allegations.
The statement reads: “The Ad-hoc Committee on OPL 245 met to consider the progress of the Committee’s work and the next steps to be taken.
“The Committee noted that it had conducted extensive investigation into the OPL 245 saga and that it is drawing to a close.
“However, the Committee is of the view that in the interest of thoroughness, natural justice and fair play, it imperative that evidence should be taken from former President Goodluck Jonathan.
In arriving at this decision, the Committee took account of the following facts:
“Mr. Jonathan was the President at the material time the ministers brokered the deal that lead to the allegation of $1bn funds diversion.
Mr. Jonathan’s name features in the proceedings initiated by the Public Prosecutor of Milan in Italy.
“A UK court judgment in relation to an application to return part of the money being restrained, castigated the Jonathan administration as not having acted in the best interest of Nigeria in relation to the ‘deal’;
“The Attorney-General of the Federation at the material time, Mohammed Bello Adoke, has recently instituted proceedings in court wherein he pleaded that all his actions were as instructed by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“Accordingly, pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution, the Committee has decided to request that former President Goodluck Jonathan give evidence on his role in the matter. The Secretariat will write to him asking for his response and submissions.”
Goodluck Jonathan

Reps Will Address Calls For Restructuring, Gbajabiamila Says

The Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos-APC), says the house will address the calls for the restructuring of the country.
Gbajabiamila made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
The lawmaker, who frowned at the approach adopted by some groups to press home their demands, said the unity and stability of the country could not be compromised.
“This is a matter the house will address very soon and we are all concerned and we cannot bury our heads in the sand (and pretend nothing is going on around us) like the proverbial ostrich (would do).
“The National Assembly as an institution has a role to play on the issue of whether you want to call it restructuring or reengineering – however you want to describe it.
“And very soon national assembly will come up with a position.
“We are discussing it, we are talking with stakeholders behind the scenes and it will be tabled at some point hopefully before we go for another break,’’ Gbajabiamila said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Uchechukwu Nam-Obi (Rivers-PDP) has condemned the idea of secession that any part of the country might be considering.
According to him, a house divided against itself cannot stand.
He, however, called for true federalism, saying that equity and justice were the panacea to the agitation in various quarters.
Federalism is the mixed or compound mode of government, combining a general government (the central or ‘federal’ government) with regional governments (provincial, state, cantonal, territorial or other sub-unit governments) in a single political system.
Its distinctive feature, exemplified in the founding example of modern federalism of the United States of America under the Constitution of 1787, is a relationship of parity between the two levels of government established.
It can thus be defined as a form of government in which there is a division of powers between two levels of government of equal status.
Nigerian federalism began in 1954 under the tutelage of the British colonial authorities.
The founding fathers of the country opted for federalism because of their belief that federal states have the intrinsic structural and institutional capacity to accommodate diversity.
The multifaceted differences that exist among the peoples of Nigeria, as well as the gargantuan size of the country, made the choice of federalism a necessity.
However, the problems inherent in amalgamating myriad different peoples and regions continue to provoke debate and controversy, which are often directed at the country’s federal system.
“The federating units must be happy and the happiness must start with justice, happiness and equity.
“Anybody who thinks Nigeria is a contraption will have to think again.
“We have had talks, we have had talk shows and all of that, about the implementation because these things will keep coming up again and again if we do not address them and we need to address them within the ambit of the law.
“We don’t have to run away from restructuring, but we have to understand what it really means.
“Restructuring is the way to go for Nigeria.
“What we want is to live in such a way that we have respect for one another and in such a way that there is no domination by one group.
“We need to have mutual respect and we need to sit down and say this is a Nigeria we need to bequeath to our children,’’ the lawmaker said. (NAN)

Nigerian Airlines’ Aircraft Deplete By 58.9% In One Year

  by sahara

Nigerian airlines’ aircraft fleets have been depleted by 58.9 percent over the past year, SaharaReporters has learned.
An investigation by our correspondent revealed that the fleet of the country’s carriers has reduced from almost 81 aircraft about a year ago to just 42 today, while 39 others are grounded.
Apart from Air Peace and Azman, all other Nigerian carriers are facing downsizing.
Our correspondent gathered that the most affected airlines are Arik Air and Aero, which experienced reductions from 26 to 10 and 13 to 1 aircraft, respectively.
He also learned that FirstNation Airways has only one active plane in its fleet of two, as one of its jets has remained grounded at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos since 2016.
See the status of each Nigerian airline’s aircraft fleet below:

Airline	Fleet	Active	Stored
Aero	13	1	12
Arik Air	26	10	16
FirstNation	2	1	1
Hak Air	4	0	4
Dana Air	7	3	4
Overland	7	6	1
Air Peace	13	13	0
Azman	4	4	0
Med-View	5	4	1

Court Fines Patience Jonathan, Dismisses Suit Against EFCC

by Channels Television Jul 03, 2017

Justice Saliu Seidu of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has imposed a fine of N50,000 on the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience for withdrawing a suit instituted against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Mrs. Jonathan had in February 2017 instituted a suit against the EFCC in which she was seeking an order of the court for the “enforcement of her fundamental rights to own property, fair hearing, human dignity, private and family life and freedom from discrimination”.
The plaintiff through her counsel, Ifedayo Adedipe had prayed the court to restrain the EFCC from infringing on her rights.
Counsel to the EFCC, Kayode Oni, faulted the former first lady on her prayers before the court, arguing that her suit was “an abuse of court process”.
At the resumed hearing of the matter on Monday, Sammie Somiari who represented Patience addressed the court on a notice of discontinuance of the suit.
He said he had “an instruction” of his client to discontinue the matter, adding that an application had been filed before the court to that effect.
On his part, Oni submitted that Mrs Patience had a right to discontinue the case, but pressed for a charge of N500,000 as costs of filing processes in response to the suit.
Justice Seidu struck out the suit and awarded cost against the plaintiff.
This was contained in a statement issued by the EFCC Head, Media & Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren.

How Ex-NAMA MD, Abdulsalam, Others Diverted N473.2mg

by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Jul 05, 2017

Babatunde Adenekan, a prosecution witness in the case involving Ibrahim Abdulsalam, a former Managing Director of Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and others on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 told Justice Babs O. Kuewumi of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos how the defendants allegedly diverted the sum of N473, 250,927(Four Hundred and Seventy-three Million, Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Nine Hundred and Twenty- seven Naira) from the agency’s accounts.
Abdulsalam, alongside Nnamdi Udoh (still at large), Adegorite Olumuyiwa, Agbolade Segun, Clara Aliche, Joy Ayodele Adegorite, Randville Invesment Limited and Multeng Travels and Tours Limited are facing trial on a 21-count charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The defendants had on August 19, 2013 allegedly conspired to induce NAMA to deliver the sum of N2.8billion to Delosa Limited, Air Sea Delivery Limited and Sea Schedules Systems Limited under the pretext that the money represented the cost of clearing NAMA’s consignments.
At the resumed hearing today, Adenekan, a Compliant Officer with Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, who testified as PW1, told the court that the defendants transferred the sum of N473, 250,927 (Four Hundred and Seventy-three Million, Two  Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Nine Hundred and Twenty- seven Naira) from NAMA accounts to Multeng Travels and Tour Limited between January 17, 2012 and January 13, 2016.
It was further revealed that after the third defendant (Segun) transferred the funds from NAMA accounts to Multeng Travels and Tours Limited, the fifth defendant (Adegorite) would then transfer part of the money  to Multeng Engineering Services Limited, a  sister company to the ninth defendant.
The remaining amount was said to have been returned to Segun. Under cross-examination by counsel to both the fifth and ninth defendants, A. B. Onifade, Adenekan stated that he could not remember being asked by EFCC investigators any question in respect of the transactions from NAMA accounts to the Multeng Travels and Tours Limited.
Adenekan further said he was not aware if Multeng Travels and Tours had a registered Air transportation license. Onifade, thereafter, asked for an adjournment to enable him properly cross-examine the prosecution witness at the next adjourned date.
Consequently, Justice Kuewumi adjourned to October 23 and 30, 2017 for further hearing.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
July 5, 2017

How Dino Melaye Asked Senators To Stop Recall Process

by the house 
On Tuesday, the embattled senator, Dino Melaye, asked his colleagues in the Senate to help stop his recall by voters in his constituency.
PREMIUM TIMES has reported moves to recall the lawmaker with the electoral commission, INEC, issuing a timetable for the recall process.
Read the full transcript of what Mr. Melaye told his Senate colleagues on the recall below.
Mr. President, my colleagues, the election that brought me to office, the total score of both valid and invalid votes for nine candidates, Mr. President, is 118,000; but my governor and his appointees in four days claimed they got a signature of over 188,000. Nowhere in my constituency did they see to receive people’s signature. They got INEC data base for registered voters and copied in one writing into a report register to forge all the signatures.
Mr. President, as I speak to you, I have over 120 dead certificates issued by the National Population Commission and these people’s relations and families have sworn to affidavit and these certificates have been deposited and as I speak to you, the names of all these dead people has been submitted in the recall register sent to INEC.
Mr President, a 116 of my colleagues, my constituents I meant to say, also have sworn to affidavit that their names and signatures appeared in the recall register and they were not the ones that signed it.
Mr. President, 86 of my constituents have also sworn to affidavit to state that they were approached that the government want to carry out a fertilizer empowerment program and requested for their PVCs and thereby deceived into putting their names on the recall register. All these affidavits sworn to by these people have been submitted to INEC and the court.
Mr. President, I am alerting this chamber on a situation that whereby a senator or a legislator will call for collective and enumerative measure in their state. My only sin is that I asked my governor to pay 17 months salary and pension to workers because the holy books says a labourer is worthy of wage. I am not going to belabour us, but they have been spending our money on pages of newspapers, spending money that they want to recall Dino Melaye.
The reason for recall is clearly stated is either… (pause) Mr. President it’s either you have been absent or you have underperformed or you are a sleeping senator, so for that reason you may initiate a recall. But this recall is not initiated by my constituents, it is by my state government and I want to bring the attention of my colleagues that this orchestration and injustice and lies of malicious manifestation of my governor should not be entertained in any democratic setting.
I want to call on this Senate that this should not be allowed anywhere and not because it is Dino Melaye, it can be any member of the House of Assembly tomorrow and House of Representative. It can be any senator where his governor will just come up and cook names, signatures, including those of dead bodies and initiate a recall process because he has our common patrimonial resources within his disposal. I thank you for listening.

congratulation to all barcelona news $ football fans all over the world Lionel Messi renews contract with FC Barcelona until 2021

FC Barcelona has announced that Lionel Messi will play for them until 2021. The 30-year-old all-time club-record goalscorer recently got married to his partner Antonella Roccuzzo and they are on a honeymoon with their kids in the Caribbean.

His new net salary will reportedly go up to £26.4m per season, putting him on over £500,000 per week playing for the the club until June 30th, 2021.

"The Club is very happy with both the renewal and the commitment of Messi, the best player in history, who has played his full professional career at Barça and has led the team to an era of extraordinary success, the likes of which has never been seen in world football," part of the statement read.

congrat Mentally ill woman gives birth to baby girl on the street in Ondo State

A mentally ill woman recently gave birth to a baby girl on the street of Yaba, in Odode, Idanre local government Area of Ondo State. 

The Idanre local government under the leadership of Hon. Adebiyi Ayannuola took the new baby to a motherless babies home while the mother was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for proper treatment.

The wife of the LG boss, Mrs Doyin Ayannuola, Supervisor for Health in the council, Hon. (Mrs) Aderonke Akindolire and representative of the DLGA. (Mrs Idris) on Tuesday arranged and supervised how the the baby and her mother would be given adequate and necessary care.

More photos below...

How Badeh Used Position For Personal Enrichment - Witness

 

by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Jul 04, 2017

The trial of a former Chief of Air Staff, Alex Badeh, continued on July 4, 2017, before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, sitting in Maitama, Abuja, with the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, presenting the nineteenth witness, Abubakar Aliyu Madaki, for continuation of evidence in chief.
It will be recalled that on June 21, Madaki, an operative of the EFCC, told the court how investigations were carried out into a number of properties which included a shopping mall, and a property located at 19, Kumasi Crescent, Abuja, linked to Badeh, revealed that several millions of naira were diverted from Nigeria Air Force’s accounts for personal enrichments, and acquisition of properties, whose ownership he tried to conceal.
At today’s sitting, Madaki gave more shocking revelations relating to investigations carried out by his team on two properties allegedly owned by Badeh and how funds of the Nigerian Air Force were used to acquire the properties.
“In the cause of investigation into two properties (No 2 Nelson Mandela, Asokoro and Egiri, Yola) owned by the first defendant (Alex Badeh), information was received that funds of NAF was diverted to purchase No. 2 Nelson Mandela, Asokoro.
“It was put before the first defendant who claimed he purchased the property with his hard earned income, including the property he had earlier sold. He was requested to provide the details of the person he bought the house from. He claimed he had the phone number of the agent (Mansur) that sold the property to him. Up until he left our custody, he did not provide the person”, Madaki stated.
He further told the court that Badeh claimed he bought the house in cash and that it was not easy to trace the person who sold the house, which made them to contact Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS).
“On our own, we wrote to AGIS, but they claimed they could not find the file to the house”, the witness added.
Regarding the second property, Madaki said that a friend of Badeh (Joseph Okpetu) was receiving N150million from Salisu Yushau, the then Director of Finance, Nigeria Air Force, to build the property.
“The first defendant also claimed that the property in Yola was also bought with his hard earned money. Having this information about Okpetu building the house in Yola, a thorough investigation was carried out on how to get in touch with Okpetu. We also found out that Okpetu is the alter ego of Havoc Nigeria Limited, a company paid over N500 million form NAF, for the building of the house”, Madaki told the court.
The PW19 further explained how Okpetu was caught and a search conducted in his house and office in the presence of his wife. According to him, some documents including building plan relating to the house in Yola were recovered. 
“We took him to our office, and he called his lawyer who is a Senior Advocate.  In the course of interrogation, he confirmed that he was receiving N150 million in dollar equivalent, to construct the house in Yola, for the first defendant (Badeh).
“When he was about taken to Lagos for another matter, we got an information that he was about removing the cars in his No 6, Ogun Rivers, off Danude, Maitama, Abuja and I sent some operatives to proceed to the house. Before they could get there, the cars were already moved out. The next day, I ordered some operatives to go back there with a camera and conduct a search.
“The operatives returned with a bag containing dollars. I asked and they said they counted the dollars in the presence of both the policemen and the neighboring security, under the watch of their camera and the amount was One million dollars.
“In the course of our findings, we came across a company called Prince and Princess. We obtained the accounts of the company from First bank and Zenith Bank.  We discovered that the first defendant has 700 shares, his wife has 1million shares and three of his relatives have 100 shares each”.
When asked to look at page ten of ‘Exhibit N1’, Madaki revealed that the said page of the exhibit was ‘Board resolution’, dated March 4, 2013. He added that, Badeh, his wife (Mary Iyah) and Alex Badeh junior were the directors of this company.
Madaki was also asked to look at ‘Exhibit N30’ (the statement of account of Prince and Princess), and tell the court what happened on December 17, 2013.
He said: “Between December 17 and 24, 2013, the company received N58million from NAF and as at then, Badeh was the Chief of Air Staff.
“Between June 13, 2014 and February 9, 2015, the account was credited with N36million from the defence headquarters.
“On February 9, 2015, the same account was credited with N25, 422.500 from defence headquarters.
“Between March 6 and 14 2013, the total sum of N21million was deposited by a Squadron Leader Oloundu. It money was deposited in cash”, Madaki explained.
He went on to state that “when it was discovered that an officer with that rank had made such a huge deposit, the Commission quickly wrote to NAF to release him to come to the office and explain what the money was meant for, but was told that the officer was on a peace mission and would be released to the EFCC whenever he’s back”.
The PW19 further stated that, “the company also has an account with First Bank where N90million was paid in two tranches of N45million, sometime in 2015”.
The learned silk for the prosecution, Rotimi, asked the witness to look at Exhibit F1, F15 and G1, G14 and tell the court what he knew about the documents.
Madaki said, Exhibit F1 to F15 was an account opening and statement of accounts of the first defendant adding that, they were deposits which were done in dollars. 
He listed them:
“Visa card transfer, on February 14, 2014, $25,000.
“Visa card transfer, on February 21, 2014, $566,002.77.
“Cash deposit of $50,000 on May 15, 2014 and cash deposit of $40,000 made on November, 2014”.
He further explained that, in exhibit F14 to F15, the second account of Badeh also got the following money through his domiciliary account.
“On November 2, 2012, barely a month Badeh became Chief of Air Staff; he deposited $100,000 into the account.
“On June 13, 2013, a deposit of $100,000 cash was paid into the account.
“On June 17, 2013, $100,000 was paid into the account.
“Between November 2012 and November 2013, deposit of $900,000 cash was made into the account of the first defendant.
“Throughout our investigation, we did not see where Badeh received salary in dollars”, Madaki stated.
Documents such as letters written to AGIS, its reply and the reply from NAF, were shown to the witness and he identified them.
Rotimi sought to tender the documents, but the defence team led by Akin Olujimi, SAN, objected.
Justice Okon Abang, thereafter, adjourned to July 26, 2017 for the continuation of argument on the admissibility of documents, while vacating the earlier adjourned date of July 5, 2017.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
July 4, 2017

So Sad Depressed student nurse, 22, sent final tragic text to her ex-boyfriend before killing herself at home following breakup

 

A 22-year-old beautiful nursing student took her life shortly after breaking up with her boyfriend. Lucy de Oliveira, 22, died of asphyxiation but had also overdosed on painkillers before her death, the forensic pathology registrar said.

Lucy attended Liverpool John Moores University and was described as a bright and caring woman. However, she also had a  history of anxiety and depression. She recently broke up with her boyfriend and went into depression. Just before she took her life, she sent a text to her ex-boyfriend hinting at what she planned to do.

"'I just want it to end, I want it to end," the message read.

Shortly after, she strangled herself at her student home in Kensington, East Liverpool, on February 27. Following the report of the forensic pathology registrar, Area Coroner Anita Bhardwaj has concluded that there was no doubt that Lucy took her own life.

She said: "Lucy was a bright, intelligent 22-year-old with a medical history of depression and anxiety. It is so tragic - she had a bright future ahead of her."

Lucy's mum Liz de Oliveira, 59, paid tribute to her daughter.

She told the inquest: "She always put everybody else before herself. It's a tragedy not just for us, but for society as she had so much to give. Everybody thinks their child is special, but she really was."

Pam Hussey, 89, Lucy's grandmother, said: "She was the light of our lives - there were 400 people at the funeral. She said to me 'you must never die', and then did this. It's such a waste."just because of love humm

See what Sahara Reporters is claiming DSS is trying to do to social media users

FROM SAHARA REPORTERS

HUM

LOL Photo of eating championship which was won by a woman

Z-Burger held their eighth annual Independence Burger Eating Championship in the Washington DC and three competitive eaters took part in it. The competitors included two men Bob "Notorious B.O.B." Shoudt (C), David "Tiger Wings & Things" Brunell and a woman, Molly Schuyler, who is ranked number one competitive eater in the world.

Molly was crowned the winner of the competition after she comfortably ate 21 hamburgers to triumph over her competitors. She was given a trophy and a check for $1500.

Public discpine South African journalist sacked for calling President Zuma a 'zombie'

A popular South African radio presented has been fired by the Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), for calling President Jacob Zuma a "zombie" in a Facebook post, the privately owned News 24 site has reported.

According to SABC spokesman, Kaizer Kganyago, he said OAP Ravi Govender's contract was terminated because of concerns that he had brought the public broadcaster into disrepute.

Although, the Radio Lotus presenter had earlier apologized for the post that he said he had put up in anger after listening to a speech by the President at the governing African National Congress' (ANC) policy conference in the main city, Johannesburg, on Friday

“Just heard a Zombie Zuma giving a speech on the news. Massacring the beautiful English language. Uneducated creature. Even the other moron [Zimbabwe's President Robert] Mugabe speaks much better," he was reported to have said in the post which was later deleted.

Mr. Zuma’s son, Edward, accused Mr. Govender of hate speech and threatened legal action against him.

“We fail as a family to understand what prompted Ravi Govender to make such a statement referring to our father as a zombie. Is this still part of freedom of speech? We believe that this is the worst form of abuse of democracy that many of our leaders fought so hard to achieve,” he was quoted by Times Live as saying.

Public Ban Uganda GOVT bans female public servants from showing cleavage in the office

The Ugandan government through the Ministry of Public Service has banned public servants from dressing indecently to the office.

In a circular tweeted by privately owned Observer newspaper, it says women are not allowed to show their cleavage nor wear dresses or skirts that are above the knees. Sleeveless blouses or any clothing made out of see-through material are equally not permitted.

Women's pant-suits are allowed, but female public servants will not wear any tight-fitting clothing. Flat, open shoes are also ruled out, except in cases where one can prove that it is for medical reasons.

The circular further states that accessories should be modest, and women should not have bright hair colour, braids or extensions.

For the men, they are required to wear neat, long-sleeved shirts, jackets and ties, trousers that are not tight, keep their hair short and neat, and also not wear brightly-coloured clothes.

The circular, derived from the 2010 Public Service Standing Orders on dress-code, was forced to be put in place following the high rate of indecent dressing in the office.

See the circular below...

fun fun

Sahara says she is have fun with her friend

Dino Melaye recall

releases timetable and guidelines for recalling Senator Dino Melaye  from the at the senite house 

Remi Surutu's late daughter to be buried on Thursday

On Sunday, June 2nd, Nollywood actress Remi Surutu lost her first child, IleyiAyo to the dreaded Sickle Cell disease. According to Femi Davies, a close friend to the actress, last words AYO uttered to her mum was "Remi let me leave u to go and rest so that you can live a good life". The remains of late Ayo will now be buried on Thursday, July 6, 2017 at Ebony vaults Ikoyi, Lagos. THAT is so sad RIP

LOL Policeman who proposed to boyfriend at Gay Pride says he 'wished he hadn't'

A police officer who proposed to his boyfriend last year at London's Gay Pride has said he regretted his decision to make a public proposal after the video went viral and hateful comments followed, with some wishing them dead.

PC Phil Adlem shocked his boyfriend and the thousands of people present at the Gay Pride event when he stepped away from his duties, went down on one knee and popped the question.
His partner replied in the affirmative and they shared a romantic kiss in front of the cheering crowd. Videos of the romantic proposal quickly spread online and so did the hate comments.

Writing for The Guardian, Phil now admits he wished he never made the public proposal due to the shocking abuse he has faced online. He said the immediate responses were positive and warm but when he went online the vile comments wiped the smile off his face.

He said:

"I looked through the online comments from the British public. Most were fantastic. But my smile did not last long as I continued reading."

He found comments that were downright homophobic and some that were simply too vile to be repeated.

"Both should be hanged till death," one comment read and another went: "don't blame ISIS if they strike them".

He was offered media interviews but turned them all down as a result of the hateful comments. It was no better at work as Phil became the recipient of hate from a colleague, causing him to regret proposing in public.

Phil said:

"A further hostile reaction at work from one of my colleagues and another from an old college friend was enough for me to wish I had never done it."

Phil, who is a speaker for an LGBT charity, also revealed he was subjected to a brutal homophobic attack on his 18th birthday.
He added:
"Despite all this, I know I am lucky. I am lucky to live in a time when I can join the police service as an openly gay man – and I have previous generations to thank for that. But even among young people in Britain today, my story is far from unique."

Despite senates rejection, VP Yemi Osinbajo declares his support for EFCC acting chairman Ibrahim Magu

Despite the senate rejecting his nomination twice, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday stated that he and President Buhari are fully in support of the acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu.

Osinbajo said this when he spoke with some journalists at the state house in Abuja yesterday. According to Osinbajo, President Buhari has not called for Magu's replacement because he doesn't find the DSS report which indicted him of some wrongdoings, enough reason to do so.


Recall that the senate last month rejected Magu's nomination as EFCC Chairman on the basis of the DSS report that accused Magu of corruption and living a lifestyle that is above his means. Osinbajo in the interview said Magu can be re-presented to the senate for screening and confirmation.

“We should commend the president for not interfering with what the DSS said. The DSS came up with a report and the man who was accused refuted it. He explains and gives a reason. When that happened, the president looked at what Magu said and what the DSS wrote and he said ‘I am satisfied with what Magu said. He then decided to retain Magu as the nominee for EFCC. I don’t see any reason why that should be contested. The president has not interfered with what the DSS said. If he wanted to interfere, he would have ordered the DSS to keep quiet. He didn’t do that, but he said ‘I don’t think the DSS report is meritorious enough to withdraw his nomination. The president reserves the right to say, ‘this is who I want’. I’m fully in support of Magu as the EFCC chairman just as the president is. It is up to the senate to make their judgement, and it is up to us say what we want to do. If our candidate is rejected, we can rep-resent him. No law says we can’t rep-resent him. And again, there is the other argument, whether or not we need to present him for confirmation and that’s a compelling argument from Femi Falana. His argument is that under the constitution, section 171, and if you look at that section, it talks about the appointments that the president can make. They include appointments of ministers, ambassadors and heads of agencies such as the EFCC. In that same section 171, the constitution rightly said that certain appointments must go to the senate such as ministerial and ambassadorial appointments. Those of heads of agencies like the EFCC do not have to go to the senate. That’s what the constitution says. But the EFCC act, which of course as you know is inferior, says that EFCC chairman should go to the senate for confirmation. I am sure that even a pocket book lawyer knows that when a legislation conflicts with constitution, it’s the constitution that prevails. I agree with Mr Falana that there was no need in the first place to have sent Magu’s name to the senate, but we did so and it was rejected by the senate, but I believe that it can be rep-resented. I don’t think there is anything wrong about the fact that senate has rejected him. Senate has acted in its own wisdom to say ‘No, we don’t want him’, and we can say, ‘This is our candidate… we like the gentleman and we want him to continue.”he said

Magu: Withdraw your statement against us now- Senate tells Osinbajo

The senate today asked acting president, Yemi Osinbajo, to withdraw a statement he made sometime in April that based on Section 171 of the Constitution, the executive doesn't require legislative approval for the confirmation of some political appointments.

Shortly after the senate rejected the nomination of acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, for the second time, Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, granted an interview to some journalists in Abuja where he said this

"I’m fully in support of Magu as the EFCC chairman just as the president is. It is up to the senate to make their judgement, and it is up to us say what we want to do. If our candidate is rejected, we can rep-resent him. No law says we can’t rep-resent him. And again, there is the other argument, whether or not we need to present him for confirmation and that’s a compelling argument from Femi Falana. His argument is that under the constitution, section 171, and if you look at that section, it talks about the appointments that the president can make. They include appointments of ministers, ambassadors and heads of agencies such as the EFCC. In that same section 171, the constitution rightly said that certain appointments must go to the senate such as ministerial and ambassadorial appointments. Those of heads of agencies like the EFCC do not have to go to the senate. That’s what the constitution says. But the EFCC act, which of course as you know is inferior, says that EFCC chairman should go to the senate for confirmation. I am sure that even a pocket book lawyer knows that when a legislation conflicts with constitution, it’s the constitution that prevails"he said in the interview

During plenary today, a letter from his office seeking the confirmation of Lanra Gbajabiamila as Chairman of the National Lottery Commission, was read by Senate President, Bukola Saraki, at the plenary. The senators rejected the request, arguing that Osinbajo who had earlier said they have no powers to confirm some appointees, cannot be forwarding names for confirmation to them. They asked him to withdraw his statement just as they suspended all issues relating to confirmation from the Executive until such matters of confirmation as contained in the constitution were strictly adhered to.

Cristiano Ronaldo & son cuddle his newborn twins (photo)

Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo introduced his newborns twins to their big brother Cristiano Jr during their ongoing first family holiday together. He took to his Instagram page today to share a photo of himself and his seven-year-old son cuddling the twins and captioned it; "Blessed"

Nyako’s Alleged N29m Loot: Court Admits Bank Statements

by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Jul 04, 2017

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 tendered documents indicating how Murtala Nyako, former governor of Adamawa State, in one day, diverted state funds to the tune of N180million to accounts of companies where he had interests when he held sway as the governor of the State.
A witness, Sunday Adebayo, gave the revelation today while testifying in a fraud case involving Nyako, who is standing trial on a 37-count charge of conspiracy, stealing, abuse of office and money laundering to the tune of N29 billion before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja.
Adebayo, a Zonal Control and Compliance Officer with the First City Monument Bank, FCMB, who was led in evidence by counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, stated that the money was credited in the name of Sebore Farms and Extension Limited into the accounts - Bullet International Limited and Blue Ribbon Multi-links Limited.
He said: “We received a letter from the EFCC, regarding two accounts domiciled in our bank and also for the bank to tender some documents (forwarding letter from the bank, statements of accounts for the two accounts, bank statement packages for the two accounts and certificates of identification) relating to the two accounts and we forwarded the documents as requested to the EFCC”.
The documents, after it was shown to the witness and identified were tendered and admitted in evidence as:
Letter issued by FCMB Limited, dated July 24, 2014, addressed to Head of Economic Governance (EG) EFCC, captioned “Re-Investigation Activities”, with the account name - Bullet International Limited, with the following: Account opening packages, Mandate cards, Statements of account from inception to date, inclusive, some certificate of identification, dated July 24, 2014 - Exhibit I1.
Letter issued by FCMB Limited, dated July 7, 2014, addressed to the Head of EG, EFCC, captioned "Re-Investigation Activities", with the account name - Blue Ribbon Multi-links Limited, with the following: account opening packages, including, mandate cards, hard and soft copy of Statements of account from inception till date, inclusive of certificate of identification, dated July 7, 2014 - Exhibit I2.
When asked to look at Exhibit I1 and tell the court about the transactions therein, Adebayo told the court that:
"On April 9, 2013, there was a transfer of N80million from Sebore Farms and Extension Limited to Bullet International Limited and on the same day, the same Sebore Farms and Extension Limited credited Blue Ribbon Multi-links Limited with the sum of N100million.
He went on: “All the transactions in the statements of accounts were generated by online real time, meaning that as the transaction is happening, it's being reflected in the system”.
Thereafter, Justice Abang adjourned to July 26, 2017 for the continuation of hearing.
Nyako is being prosecuted alongside his son, Senator Abdul-Aziz Nyako, Abubakar Aliyu and Zulkifikk Abba.
Other companies that allegedly served as conduit pipes for the illegal diversion of the funds are – Pagoda Fortunes Limited, Tower Assets Management Limited and Crust Energy Limited.

Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
July 4, 2017

Braking news 2 delter commissioner Escape death

The Delta State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Omatshola Williams, and her Science and Technology counterpart, Mr. Joyce Overah, narrowly escaped death when unidentified armed robbers invaded the Delta State Government House and robbed their quarters over the weekend.
Narrating the incident to SaharaReporters, a commissioner who spoke on the condition of anonymity disclosed that unidentified gunmen invaded the Government House on Saturday and robbed two apartments. The gunmen also destroyed official vehicles belonging to two government officials.
"It was a terrible situation that Saturday night. Though it was a very smooth operation, a very silent one,” the commissioner told SaharaReporters. “Till now, we don't know how these armed robbers managed to beat security to find their way into the commissioners’ quarters here in the Government House. What baffles me most was that on that Saturday I was awake throughout and I never heard any noise.
“My two colleagues, the Commissioner for Women affairs, Mrs. Omatshola Williams, and the Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr. Joyce Overah, were not at home when the robbers came to their apartments to rob them, and who knows what would have happened to them. That was how they narrowly escaped death over the weekend, because no one can really tell what was in the minds of the robbers.”
A source told our correspondent that the armed robbers were able to gain access to the apartment of the Commissioner for Science and Technology and carted away an undisclosed amount of money and some valuables.
Our correspondent reported that security has been beefed up at the Government House since the incident.
In a related development, SaharaReporters also gathered that hoodlums attempted to rob the old Delta State secretariat complex in Asaba but failed.
It would be recalled that in August 2016, armed robbers invaded the Delta State Government House Annex in Warri and killed a driver who, in company with some staff of the Government House, had gone to the bank to make some withdrawals running into several millions of naira for officials of the Delta State Waterways Security Committee, who were holding a meeting at the Annex.
Several calls and messages put to the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zanna Ibrahim, as well as the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Patrick Ukah, and the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, were rebuffed.

Imo State Deputy Gov. Got Me Detained For 60 Days Over Facebook Post - Radio Broadcaster

by NTA News

Mr. Aku Obidinma, a social crusader and radio broadcaster, has accused the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Mr. Eze Madumere, of being the mastermind of his arrest, detention and subsequent prosecution for alleged public incitement and defamation.
Mr. Obidinma, AKA Abdul, is the anchor of popular talk show, Mandate Monitor Radio, on MyRadio 101.1FM, Owerri, as well as being the national coordinator of a pro-democracy group, Imo Believe Initiative for Social Justice. The activist and broadcaster said on 21 November 2016, he was arrested by Department of State Security (DSS) operatives as he left the radio station. The DSS officials, he alleged, were acting on the orders of Mr. Madumere, who was upset over the broadcaster’s criticism of him and the state government on Facebook.
He was detained for three days, during which he said his legs and hands were chained and also kept incommunicado.
On the fourth day, Mr. Obidinma told SaharaReporters, he was arraigned before a Magistrate’s Court at Nworieubi. This, he added, was without prior information or access to a lawyer and charged with public incitement and defamation. The court ordered that he be remanded at Owerri Prison, where he ended up spending 57 days.
“The magistrate gave me impossible bail conditions and every attempt by anybody to bail me was thwarted by the Deputy Governor, who was personally threatening them. On 17 January, Justice Ukoha of Owerri High Court set aside the bail conditions and made it an open bail, following my lawyers’ appeal and that saw to my release,” he told SaharaReporters.
Since his release, his trial has continued. He, however, said the plan of the government is to keep him out of circulation before the next general elections because he has been insisting that the Imo state government must be accountable and transparent.
Mr. Obidinma is due to appear in court on Tuesday. His defense is being handled by Mr. Wisdom Durueke, who is offering the service pro bono.

Ahiara Diocese And The Seed Of Rebellion By Peter Claver Oparah

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by Peter Claver Oparah Jul 04, 2017

By Sunday July 9th, Catholic faithfuls in Ahiara diocese and of course the whole world will know who remains among the rebelling priests in the Church and who leaves. By that date, the one month ultimatum the Holy Father, Pope Francis gave these rebelling priests to write personal letters of apology, pledging loyalty to the Pope and accepting Bishop Peter Ebele Okpalaeke as their bishop, will lapse. There are, as at date, 206 incardinated priests in the diocese (don’t mind the egregious claim of 750 or 1,000 priests from the dissidents). It is for this number that the apology is prescribed, both those in Nigeria and abroad.
For some exasperated Catholics, especially my fellow Catholics of Ahiara diocese and those who remain loyal and faithful to the Church, the Church needs to bring to a close an embarrassing revolt hatched by dissident priests, in cahoots with diverse lay interests that share deep passion for the destruction of the Church in the diocese on the vacuous, very leaky and tendentious reason that she did not appoint a son of the soil as bishop.  The Pope alluded to this devilish design in his stern address to a delegation from Ahiara loyal priests and laity, top officials of the Roman Curia and the leaders of the Nigerian Church in his June 8th audience to address the lingering crisis. Indeed, the Pope aptly likened the revolt and the rejection of a duly appointed Bishop by a section of the church in Ahiara to the wicked tenants in the Bible who seized and killed the heirs and servants of the landlord so as to take possession of his estate. He minced no words in describing the unseemly actions of the dissidents in Ahiara as a mortal sin and as a way of scandalizing the Church.
For many observes of what has become a disgraceful rebellion, the Pope’s verdict is long in coming but that is the Catholic Church for you. She is a patient, methodical mother who acts when she had exhausted all avenues for amendment. Yes, it took a whole five years for the Pope, the final authority in the Catholic Church to act but before then, the Pope had used all known conflict resolution means known to the Church to bring this man-made problem to an end. Since the three politician-priests that provoked and launched this rebellion and sowed this seed of rebellion, went to work, the Church has used various means to deal with the issue. As it is in every other diocese or part of the church where similar issues had arisen, the matter would have long been put to rest if indeed the intent of the rebellion was not to exert maximum disgrace on the Church and finally pull it down. Since the crisis was launched, the Church in Nigeria and its various hierarchies have weighed in and pleaded and cautioned but the kingpins of this rebellion have a clear mission that neither tolerates common sense nor was interested in any other result than the destruction of the Church, if she doesn’t meet their nepotic demand.
The crisis in Ahiara diocese is a vicious provocative assault on the belief, teaching and practice of the Catholic Church. It is a virulent attack on the age old practice of the Catholic Church. It is a vicious tackle against the universally accepted norm of Catholicism. Equally it is a sly attack on the bond of brotherhood that binds not only Catholics together but also Igbo as a race. It not only is a bad advertisement to Catholics, it is a serious dent on Igbo and a shameful rebuke to the race. Most importantly it is colossal damage to the image of Mbaise as a people and it was obvious that the provocateurs and fanners of this senseless war never cared as they thrust bloody knives into the hearts of the Church and the Igbo race. What more, the rebellious actions provoked deep anger, pain, shame and embarrassment on the Pope and the universal Church.
Ahiara diocesan crisis is all about nepotism. It is all about bigotry which found expression in a flagrant display of outright disobedience to the Church for not pandering to the clannish and restricted tribal interests of a local cabal that wants to seize the Church in Ahiara and impose its self-serving idiosyncrasies on it. It is an overplay of primitive ego and unexplainable clannish hubris even in matters of spiritualism. This carnal quest to take over a Church founded historically on universalism has bred a rash of demonic manifestations and it finds expression in baleful fabrication of horrific lies, serialization of heretic forgeries and outright enslavement of impressionable minds by a demonic cartel that seeks inordinate lordship over the local Church as ways of deepening hitherto unknown carnal desires. What more, there is nothing spiritual or godly in the demands and acerbic actions of the shibboleths that provoked and fed the tongs of this crisis.
Rather there is everything about clannishness, primitive arrogance and unrefined pride in all the arguments and actions advanced by those that play deaf to the history, procedures and precedents of the Church in deciding who leads a diocese. This devilish desire, while reduced to a one-line war cry; ‘demand for Mbaise bishop’ is none other than a frantically procured tribal mandate that finds no place in the Catholic Church. Since that divisive war was declared, with the appointment of Bishop Peter Okpalaeke, every vile means has been thrown into the fray by those who have not only arrogated to themselves the duty of appointing a bishop for the Catholic Church but sound emptily arrogant on issues that are settled and well known to the entire world.  The whole crisis is am instigated effort to destroy the Church using the appointment of a Bishop as a cover and the Holy Father has clearly identified this.
As the politician priests, having fully inhaled the smoke of Satan, went on their nocturnal rounds among the Ahiara priests like the snake to Eve in the garden of Eden, meeting and seducing priests to sign on to their ethnic war against the appointment of a bishop of Anambra origin, there was no doubt that they were bent on inflicting maximum damage on the Church for not doing their self serving desires. They quickly formed a deadly alliance  with the willing basket of deplorable, the isi anyi kuwasawas, made up of nominal Catholics, those with questionable Catholic callings, those that have left the Catholic Church, those that have one grudge or the other against the Catholic Church, the political wayfarers who lost their deposit in the political space and who saw a renewed prospect in tapping into the cheap ethnic promises of fighting for an Mbaise bishop, non Catholics, animists, pagans, etc who now formed the alluring bandwagon. They armed this deadly mob with one clear mission statement; ‘Mbaise Bishop or we pull down the Church’. Possessed by a queer idol of tribe, they levied a son of Igboland a ‘foreigner who neither hears our language nor understand our culture’-can you imagine that? Quickly erasing their religious callings and clearly denying the universality of the Church, the priests shed their priestly calling and played along and mischief assumed a full life of its own. They tried to couch their quaint mission under the dubious demand for ‘justice’ which is none other than an effort to sew a fraudulent cloth for their nefarious interest.
Having formed the irrational mob, the next step was to search and find for themselves some supposedly knowledgeable impostors, some Goebbels of sorts, brimming full with residual bitterness and thinly disguised mischief against the church and frustration with the society. These are glorified buffoons that arrogate themselves reverse knowledge of the issue in question and who are so attracted to the nectars of clannish support for their challenged personas. These became the Okoko Ndems and propagandists who self-conferred themselves with dubious expertise in Canon Law, which they quote copiously but obtusely from their bedrooms to satisfy their predetermined goals. These were charged with forging and producing tons of baloneys, filled with lies, forgeries, hate, heresies and blasphemies against the Church and her leaders both within and without Nigeria. Being pathological anti socials, these characters became sources of prurient bitter hogwash, often laced with a generous but dubious allusion to the Canon Law with which they not only duped and misled the simple minded, the unsuspecting and the uneducated but set them on an irreversible path of murderous vengeance against the Church. From their small dingy corners, they smiled as Mark Anthony did after turning the Roman mob against the conspirators who killed Julius Caesar and exclaimed; ‘mischief, thou art afoot’. Yes their mischief is afoot in Ahiara diocese and they are drawing raucous applause from the plebian for their destructive values to the Church.
These contrived messengers of Lucifer were let loose like unbridled loose cannons on every Church leader in Nigeria and they smeared, blackmailed, abused, denigrated, scandalized and besmirched everybody and everything revered and held sacred in the Nigerian Catholic Church and infact, the universal Catholic Church. In this mad sequel, Cardinal Arinze, globally-respected leader of the Church has been practically lynched with all manners of allegations, insults, tirades and curses. Cardinal Onaiyekan, who was appointed to administer the diocese and solve the crisis, has equally been lynched with every manner of lies, allegations and abuses. Archbishop Anthony Obinna, indeed, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, the Nuncio (Pope’s Ambassador) were all tied on the stake and murdered by the bizarre lies and murderous venom of the lynch mob. Even the Late Bishop Mark Unegbu, the first indigenous Bishop of Owerri was literally exhumed and killed again in a horrific effort to completely rubbish the Church and ensure it never survives the bile of those that purport to want a Bishop from their tribe at all costs. It was certain that if God comes down to earth to speak against their wanton conduct, they would have subjected him to scurrilous insults for not acceding to their desires. No sacred teaching of the church, no sacred institution in the Catholic Church has been spared from mutilation, trampling and violation from those crusading for a bishop for me.
While this murderous character assassination was going on, the procured intelligentsia of the lynch mob was busy, twisting every message from the Church and Nigerian church authority, obfuscating such messages and directives and forging them out of context to deceive and keep their unthinking mob on the streets and under their guile wraps. Every directive from the Church was bastardized and twisted to suit the fixated primitive desires of the lynch mob who were induced to stage regular protests, lock down Churches and indulge in arrays of unseemly, uncatholic and detestable acts to drive home their demand. Ensuring that every directive of the Church was mutilated and colored as ‘forgeries’ from Arinze, Onaiyekan, Obinna or the CBCN, the leaders of this mad rebellion ensured their victims, firmly trapped in their mischievous cages, never escaped to source out reason or the real facts of the teachings of the Catholic Church on the contentious issue.
They would rather their victims were quartered in a closet where they would be fed regular diets of lies, slanderous fabrications and raw forgeries so as to fully harvest their nuisance values. What better way to work the rabble to full destructive value than couching raw fabrications and lies in ethnic and clannish foils, play up the victimhood card and appeal to cheap sentiments? These kingpins have so brainwashed their victims with enough lies to last them several generations by those who swear they will rather pull down the Church than have an Anambra bishop. Curiously some of the leaders of these mob, who generously feed them with a cocktail of lies double in same capacity as loud proponents of the Biafran actualization and you imagine what it will be in their Biafra where an Anambra man would be seen by an Mbaise man as a foreigner who neither hears our language or understands our culture.
What baffled was that the provocateurs and participant in this feast of cannibalism were not moved that no respectable sane Leader of the Church both in Nigeria and the world shared their weird demand that clearly violates the belief and practice of the Catholic Church. It never mattered to these people that no known law; Canon or otherwise, supports their weird desire to have a son of the soil as bishop at all costs. It never mattered to them that the strange, devilish teachings and philosophies, wild and baseless lies and allegations they ventilated against respected leaders of the Church and the Church herself, was shared by no one but them. Of course, they created a convenient caveat for this huge deficit by appealing to vague victimhood. On yea, every person hates and is working against the Mbaise interest! What a tragedy!
Meanwhile, the arrowheads of this devilish rebellion have been promising their victims, the unthinking mob every six months since 2012 that Rome will appoint one of them as Bishop and ditch Okpalaeke. They have been telling their brainwashed victims that Bishop Okpalaeke was not appointed by the Pope but by Cardinal Arinze. They have virtually handed the Catholic Church to Cardinal Arinze in a bizarre and confounding desperation to work the mob to a deadly frenzy. Yes, Arinze practically controls the Vatican, and even the Pope! They have told their unthinking victims whom they want to use to destroy the Church that they know so well of the Vatican and Canon Law to conclude that Bishop Okpalaeke was not properly appointed. Yet, when the Pope invited them to come to Rome and advance all the hogwash they have been feeding themselves and their victims for five years, all of them developed running stomach knowing the worthless value of the nonsensical arguments and spurious lies they have been hawking all these years, they wholly declined to honor the Pope’s summon and rather engaged in another round of tirade to denigrate the summon. Even their hidden lay backers and sustainers declined. They all knew they have been marketing spurious lies that will not survive any scrutiny at the Vatican.
They tell their bemused and impressionable victims that the Canon Law states that they will be parts of the appointment process of a bishop, who must willy-nilly come from their land or else heavens will be made to fall. They have hewed for themselves their own sets of laws and beliefs such that they are ever ready to put a spin to everything from the Vatican, which they easily dismiss as a forgery from either Cardinal Arinze or Cardinal Onaiyekan or the Nuncio. It was this horrible and the unquestioning mob, stripped of their reasoning, submitted themselves to be duped by these slave traders. As they churned their detestable jeremiad, the rainbow coalition of ndi nkuwasa was worked to a murderous rage. Periodic lockdown of the Cathedral in the name of protests became the norm and the hauling of curses and abuses against the Church and its hierarchy became a regular norm in the pulpits. Generous ventilation of insults and unruly conducts were promoted in strange efforts to bring the Catholic Church to its knees except she gives in to their demand. They worked themselves and their victims to the apogee of vain pride from where they found so hard to descend when it was obvious that they cannot con the Church with their poorly assembled baloney. At a time, the most difficult task for them was how to do the tower of Babel they have constructed and that is where they are stranded today as the deadline for the apology closes in.
But it bears mention that these murderous mob were not real Catholics. As I have said earlier it was a rainbow coalition of those with one axe or the other to grind with the Church; the nominal Catholics who just affix Catholicism to their creed, those who have left the Church, non Catholics, pagans, etc. No real catholic who faithfully belongs to the Church will speak condescendingly on the leaders of the Church talk not of abusing and lying against them. No convinced Catholic will insist on the Church to either do his selfish will or get destroyed. No real Catholic will willingly scandalize, lie and smear the Church to achieve ill-defined interests, especially when such interest has no grounds on the practice and rules of Catholicism. No real Catholic will spit such fire and brimstone that we have seen spewed in Ahiara in the past five years just because the Church refuses to appoint a son of the soil as bishop. No real Catholic will subject revered Church leaders to scurrilous and vicious attack, insult and abuse based solely on contrived lies, specious and outlandish allegations. No real Catholic should openly and callously disobey the Church in such manner that those that provoked and fed the Ahiara diocesan crisis have done in the past five years. No real Catholic will indulge in the devilish art of mutilating, obfuscating and manipulating the teachings of Christ and the Church so as to achieve inordinate interests. No real will form an unholy alliance with non Catholics to fight the Church. The real Catholics in Ahiara refused to fight but prayed that God will handle the matter in His own ways. He has no reason to indulge in several desperate means to force the hands of God because his belief in God and His capacities to deal with any issue, is total, unlike the mercenaries, not sure of his ways and means,  indulge in every desperate means to force God to do their will.
However the visage of Catholic priests running, tail behind their backs, to Governor Okorocha, whom they had treated to their well known insult at the earlier stages of this rebellion for telling them to obey the Church and the Pope and now begging him to intervene in the suspension threat from the Pope is humiliating enough to whoever calls himself a priest. More humiliating was the same Governor Okorocha lecturing priests on obedience to the Church and the Pope, like a school teacher does to his pupils. As laudable as the Governor’s efforts are, it is a humiliation too many that men that went through the thorough process of priestly formation should voluntarily drag themselves so low because they vitiated their priestly calling through incredible show of shameful obduracy and demeaning clannishness.
That priests should even tarry to obey the Pope or pretend not to discern the ways of the Church, is a generational embarrassment that will certainly outlast their generations. That priests should indulge in denigrating the hierarchy of the Church, trade lies, blackmail, and insults on venerable leaders of the Church both within and without Nigeria is a huge dent on their callings and marks a remarkable process in self-demarketing which has dragged them down their high horses. Ahiara priests have caused huge embarrassment to themselves, the Church and the Mbaise nation by their unbelievable acts of disobedience and even writing the apology, voluntarily or grudgingly will not wipe away the massive embarrassment splurged on the faces of Mbaise, Imo State and the Catholic Church worldwide by the disappointing acts of the priests. I hope the Church seriously reviews the process of priestly formation in Ahiara diocese after this madness has ebbed to avoid such embarrassing and shameful occurrence in the future. But it must be stated that it will take ages for the negative fruits of the seed of rebellion sowed in Ahiara to peter out, even after the resolution of this crisis and every Mbaise Catholic, and even non Catholics will partake in the unsavory effects of this wild seed.
Catholic Bishops