Plateau unrest: Four killed in renewed violence!

The relative peace being experienced in Plateau State was on Saturday night punctured, as four people were said to have lost their lives, when gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen invaded Gwande village in Manguna district of Bokkos Local Government Area of the State- Nigeria.

It was reliably gathered that the suspects had invaded the village and attacked a house, killing two people.

After which residents of the community mobilised and launched a counter attack and in the process killed two of the attackers.

Mr. Arut Bulus, a former Councillor representing the area, who spoke with our correspondent said the herdsmen have vowed to avenge the killing of two of the attackers, saying they are regrouping to launch another attack. He decried that the villagers had abandoned their homes for fear of being attacked.

“Right now the villagers have all fled their homes because a report came to us that some armed Fulani herdsmen are coming through the forest to attack our people”.

Reacting to this development, Police Public Relations Officer, Felicia Anselm, said she was yet to get the report, but assured that the police will mobilize to repel any further attack.

According to her, “I will call my boss now to inform him of the development and I’m sure we will do everything to prevent any further attack”.

Man begs court to dissolve his marriage over suspicion of witchcraft!

A lot of people go to court to seek divorce for a number of reasons, ranging from infidelity, battery and assault to neglect, but it becomes very interesting when the reason for divorce is witchcraft. This was the case between Peter Imabong and his wife, Eginma Imabong.

The case came up for hearing recently at the Gurku Upper Area Court, Mararaba, Nassarawa State- Nigeria.

Mr Peter took his wife to court and demanded that the court grants him divorce. He explained that he was no longer in love with his wife and that
there was no reason to remain married to her. He claimed that his wife was a witch.

On her part, his wife, Eginma told the court that she does not want to divorce her husband, “my faith tells me that marriage is a covenant and not a contract so I do not want to divorce him. If he is tired of the marriage, he should take me back to my parents who gave me to him in marriage.”

When Mr Peter was asked why he wanted to divorce, he said that he was no longer interested in the marriage. He told the court that they had been married since 2007 and they have had no children and that recently his wife has been asking him to sleep behind her on their matrimonial bed.

“Where I come from, it is wrong for a man to lie behind a woman. So I always refuse to do it and then the next morning, I will wake up to find myself on the floor. If I ask her why I am on the floor, she will retort, ‘did I not tell you to sleep behind me?’,” this has happened more than once and I cannot take it anymore”, Peter said.

He also stated that although they are of Christian faith, he does not attend the same church with his wife as he does not believe in the practice of her church.

He spoke of another instance where he was sitting in his parlour when an unseen object came to hit him on the left shoulder. He had to go to the hospital because of the pain and the hospital could not do anything about it.

Then he had to resort to herbal medicine. He brought the herbal medicine home and was using it but when his wife saw it, she took it to her church and defiled it. She then returned home and told him that his medicine will not work again.

In her defense, Eginma told the court that it was not true. She said that she did not know what took him to the floor, “I told him that we need to pray about the situation, I just said that he should stay behind me so that I will see that spirit that will come and carry him across me and put him on the floor.”

Eginma told the court that her husband had moved out of the house since February 27, 2013 and has refused to come back.

After hearing the testimony of the wife, the presiding Judge W.V. Ghahemba adjourned the case to June 25, 2013 for judgment.

Dangote Now Richer Than Russia’s Richest Man!

The President, Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has become the first African entrepreneur to lay claim to a $20 billion fortune, thus becoming one of the 25 richest men in the world.



Dangote Cement becomes the first Nigerian company to achieve a market capitalisation of over $20 billion. Dangote’s 93 percent stake in the cement company is now worth $19.5 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

Added to this are his controlling stakes in other publicly-listed companies like Dangote Sugar and National Salt Company of Nigeria, and his significant shareholdings in other blue-chip companies like Zenith Bank Plc, UBA Group and Dangote Flour; his extensive real estate portfolio, jets, yachts and current cash position, which includes more than $300 million in recently-awarded Dangote Cement.

Forbes reported that the Nigerian billionaire was now richer than Russia’s richest man, Alisher Usmanov; India’s Lakshmi Mittal; and running neck and neck with India’s Mukesh Ambani.

According to the magazine, he is catching up to such Americans as Google’s billionaire founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

It will be recalled that Dangote Cement had recorded an unprecedented surge in its share price largely due to market response to the company’s impressive results in the first quarter of this year.

Forbes in its report reasoned that other companies might eventually achieve this, but it was going to take a bit of time.

Dangote Cement currently accounts for more than a quarter of the total market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The second largest company on the NSE is currently Nigerian Breweries Plc, West Africa’s largest manufacturer of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, which has a market capitalisation of $8.5 billion.

Dangote made a debut on the Forbes billionaires list in 2008 with a fortune pegged at $3.3 billion. His fortune dropped to $2.5 billion in 2009 and plunged further to $2.1 billion in 2010.

His fortune surged 557 percent in 2011 to $13.8 billion after he took Dangote Cement public. Dangote dropped to $11.2 billion in last year’s rankings, but rebounded at $16.1 billion this year. Since March, his fortune has jumped another 30 percent.

Dangote started building his fortune over three decades ago after taking a loan from Sanusi Dantata and started trading in commodities like flour, sugar and cement.

Pastor arrested for allegedly raping 14-year-old boy!

A pastor, Chukwunonso Okudiover, has been arrested for allegedly raping a 14-year-old boy.

The suspect, the General Overseer of the Jesus Army of Salvation Ministry, Ama-Alim Ngugo in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo, was seized by the youth of the community when the victim complained to his family.

A member of the victim’s family, Francis Ejiekwu, said the boy had complained of a chest pain and was invited by the pastor who also runs a medicine store.

Mr. Ejekwu said the pastor rubbed a liquid substance on the boy’s chest after which he became unconscious.

“He said the pastor rubbed something on his chest and he became almost unconscious after which he raped him.

“He complained of pain in his anus when he came home and how the pastor raped him,” he said.

He said the pastor confessed to the rape when he was confronted by the youth of the community.

The Public Relations Officer of the Imo police command, Joy Elemoko, confirmed the incident, saying the case had been brought to the command headquarters.

FG Considers Return of Toll Gates by Third Quarter!

Nigeria:

The federal government may re-introduce toll gates on federal highways by the third quarter of this year, Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, has said.

Speaking monday  at the 2013 ministerial platform on the mid-term achievements of the Jonathan administration, the minister said tolling was an integral part of the public private partnership(PPP) being pursued by the federal government.

He added that the Federal Ministry of Works and the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission  (ICRC) were collaborating on the formulation of a new tolling policy, which, he said, would be presented to the Federal Executive Council in the third quarter of the year after which it would become operational. 

Onolememen also said the ministry had paid N120 billion for the 32 roads it had repaired in the last one year of the administration.
He explained that of the 65,000 kilometres of roads constructed in the period under review, 35,000 belonged to the federal government.

According to him, this translated to 35 per cent improvement over the less than 25 per cent done by May last year.
The minister said the six key projects, including Abuja-Lokoja, Benin-Ore and Kano-Maiduguri roads, would be completed in 2015.   

He expressed his determination to complete within the next two years priority projects in the north.

Oscar Pistorius hearing postponed!

Oscar Pistorius’s trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp has been adjourned until 19 August. 

The Olympic and Paralympic athlete was released on the same bail conditions he has had to observe since February.

In a short pre-trial hearing at Pretoria magistrates court, magistrate Daniel Thulare expressed concern about a trial by media in the case. He said the South African national prosecuting authority should look seriously at whether any of the coverage had scandalised the court, asked international journalists to respect the South African judicial process, and told anyone with information about the case to approach the prosecution, not the media. The courtroom was packed with journalists, as it has been for every stage of this case so far.

Thulare asked the prosecution team why they wanted a postponement until August. Prosecutor Andrea Johnson said she could not share that information in public, but the defence agreed with the delay.

Pistorius looked calm and composed, and spoke only once, to confirm he had understood the judge, speaking in a quiet voice.

The 26-year-old athlete, whose legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, faces a minimum of 25 years in jail if convicted. At his bail hearing, Pistorius claimed he thought Steenkamp was a burglar when he shot her through the toilet door at his home in Pretoria. The prosecution claims he murdered her after an argument. The trial continues.

Second suspect charged in death of British soldier!

British authorities have charged a second suspect with the May 22 murder of a soldier on a London street.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, was charged Saturday with the murder of Lee Rigby, the Metropolitan Police said. 

Adebolajo was also charged with the attempted murder of two police officers and with possession of a firearm.

The suspect has been remanded in custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 3, police said. He was released from a hospital Friday after treatment for injuries suffered in the attack that took place in Woolwich. 

On Wednesday, another suspect, Michael Adebowale, 22, of Greenwich was also charged with the May 22 murder.

Rigby, 25, a drummer in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was slain as he walked near a military barracks in Woolwich, southeast London, last week.

He left behind a wife and a 2-year-old son. He was a native of Manchester, UK, and joined the military in 2006.