Representatives to Investigate U.S.$50,000 Arm Deal Bribery Scandal!

Reports says House of Representatives has resolved to probe an allegation that $50,000 bribe was offered to lawmakers to douse the rising anger over the $9.3 million arms deal scandal involving two Nigerians and an Israeli national in South Africa.

A private jet, with the Nigerians on board together with the Israeli, reportedly conveyed the $9.3 million cash into South Africa.

The money was believed to be intended for procurement of arms and ammunition in South Africa.

However, the South African government apprehended the suspects and seized the cash because it was above the limit legally permitted into the country.

A motion seeking to investigate the scandal reportedly brought about disagreement between Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) members in the House on Tuesday.

The motion was sponsored by Deputy Minority Leader, Sulieman Kawu, and seconded by Olajumuke Okoya Thomas.

Debate on the motion led to rowdy atmosphere on Tuesday, as APC lawmakers staged a walkout following a perceived attempt by Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, to kill the motion.to investigate 

Ihedioha presided at the House plenary on Tuesday during which some members alleged an offer of $50,000 to each lawmaker apparently to kill the motion seeking to investigate the scandal.

The House on Wednesday mandated its House Committee on Ethics and Privileges issues arising from the event of the walkout by the APC members from the Tuesday's plenary.

The resolution to this effect, following a motion, was triggered by a media publication alleging that a member told the press that the PDP lawmakers in the House were paid $50,000 each to kill the motion that led to the walkout.

A member, Sam Tsokwa, described the allegation as weighty and must by investigated.

Ihedioha then threw the motion to the floor and it was resolved that the matter should be investigated.

The House referred the motion to the committee and asked it to report back on time.

Similarly, consideration of the report on drugs, narcotics and financial crimes suffered a major set back in the House following the absence of the committee chairman at the plenary to defend the bill which the leadership of the House described as very important.

It would be recalled that the Executive Bill referred to the committee for its input and possibly organise a public hearing to enable stakeholders contribute to the very important bill has been pending at the committee level without results.

The bill was, however, stepped down for deliberation on the next legislative date.

The Deputy Speaker, who expressed displeasure over the committee's delay of the bill appealed to committee members to expedite action with the view to according it accelerated passage.

The bill when passed will impact on the lives of Nigerians, Ihedioha noted.

Meanwhile, the House has urged the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to "urgently and responsibly commence action on all the issues raised by communities" which it (FCDA) has also accepted to implement.

The call was necessitated by a petition brought by inhabitants of Maitama Sabo, Maitama Tsoho, Kubwa, Katampe and Nyikuru communities.

The House also condemned the action of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) and Bwari Area Council in reallocating lands earlier reserved for the petitioners as well as the misappropriation of some of the allocations for the resettlement of the petitioners (original inhabitants) by officials of the FCDA and their cohorts.

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One Of The Abducted Chibok Girls Found in Mubi!

Story making the rounds says one of the female students, identified as Susan,  who was abducted by the Boko Haram sect from Government Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State in April, was found by the Police in the early hours of Wednesday in Mubi, Adamawa State, two days after she was thrown off a truck that was being used by insurgents to escape from Nigerian troops.

A senior Police officer in Mubi confirmed that the girl was dropped off near the Divisional Police Headquarters in Mubi by locals who discovered her.

 According to him, when the girl was found, she was incoherent, and had scars and injuries all over her body because she had been battered by her assailants, and left by the road by locals near the Police station. The police officer said Susan is one of the 219 Chibok girls, whose abduction had attracted the attention of the international community and a global coalition to find and rescue them.

He said the girl had old and fresh wounds and scars all over her body, with swollen legs because she had walked a long distance for two days after being thrown off the truck by her abductors.

"She had old and fresh wounds and her legs were swollen, may be because she trekked a long distance, and you could see marks on her body where she was mercilessly beaten by her abductors, I believe," the senior Police officer volunteered.

A witness, identified as Mallam Musa said that the Police yesterday morning found a young girl stranded on the road, near the Police station. He said the girl had fresh and old wounds on her body, adding that she had obviously been beaten and maltreated.

Musa said the young girl might have walked from Sambisa Forest, the enclave of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents, which transverses Adamawa and Borno States.

Efforts to reach the Nigerian Army Public Relations Officer, Captain Nuhu Jefaru of the 23 Amoured Brigade, Yola, allegedly proved abortive, while the Public Relation Officer of the Police Command in Yola, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Michael Haa, said he was yet to receive any information on the freed school girl.

However, the leader of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group and former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, in elated late night tweets, confirmed the discovery of Susan tweeting from her twitter handle @obyezeks at 11.17 pm, Ezekwesili announced the news of Susan's rescue.

This came barely three hours after Ezekwesili had granted an interview to Aljazeera about the missing girls and the struggles of the BBOG group.

She wrote: "After the emotional upheaval of yesterday's (Tuesday) dashed hopes, today came with the factual return of one of our 219 #ChibokGirls. She's in trauma.

"One #ChibokGirl, miraculously found in a bush by locals and returned today, is confirmed by Chibok parents with her in Yola. Incredible!

"It is hard to comprehend the return of Susan who is yet incoherent. The locals that found her took her to Mubi Police and now moved to Yola.

"The eternal optimist that I am makes me see the return of Susan as a good sign for the rest of our 219 Chibok daughters. They shall return!!

"One hopes that our security/military would approach Susan's return in a way that helps us learn more in the next couple of days."

Giving more insight into Susan's discovery, another member of the BBOG group, Ms. Hadiza Usman, informed THISDAY that the young girl was traumatised and incoherent when she was found by the Police in Mubi.

She revealed that one of the Chibok parents travelled to Mubi and identified her, adding, "She has been moved from the Mubi police station to the Yola Police Command, following which she would be taken to the hospital this morning."

She said the authorities tried to stabilise her so she could be debriefed, expressing hope that Susan's release would give the security agencies some insight as to where other Chibok students who were kidnapped with her are held captive.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian military yesterday confirmed the killing of Shekau's imposter after a fierce battle for the control of the key town of Konduga.

Konduga is 35 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, and was repeatedly attacked by Boko Haram terrorists this month as they tried to take over Maiduguri in their bid to carve out an Islamic Caliphate.

Making this known during a press briefing at the DHQ in Abuja, the Director of Defence Information (DDI), Major-General Chris Olukolade, gave the real identity of the downed terrorist leader, who appeared in the Boko Haram videos as Shekau's double, as Mohammed Bashir.

Las Vegas Porn actress attacked by ex boyfriend!

The Las Vegas police are reportedly searching for the ex boyfriend of a porn actress Christy Mack, 

whom a brutally attacked left with broken bones, missing teeth and a severely ruptured liver, among other injuries. 

The ex, Jon Koppenhaver, was a former mixed martial arts fighter who legally changed his name to War Machine.

Details about what happened according to a report allegedly written by the victim:  

4Chan prank gets Apple users to microwave their iPhones!

 

Internet users have warned to desists from an advertisement that encourages Apple iPhone users to charge their phones in microwave ovens: Microwaving your brand new iPhone 6 will not charge the device's battery in one minute and thirty seconds. Or ever.

 

As evidenced by photos shared from Twitter accounts of those who've actually tried this "feature," iPhones and microwaves do not mix. 

Simply put, if you nuke your iPhone in the microwave, you're going to need a new phone... and possibly a new microwave.

 The AppleWave hashtag has been used just over 2,000 times — though many of those using the hashtag appear to be trolling, warning others of the hoax or simply making fun of the whole situation.

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ISIS Isn't Alone: Khorasan Group May Pose Bigger Threat to U.S!

When U.S fighter jets pounded ISIS targets in Syria overnight, they also carried out a separate mission targeting what the Pentagon said were “seasoned al Qaeda veterans” allegedly plotting an attack on American interests.

Little is known about those militants — dubbed the “Khorasan group.” But in the week since their name hit the international stage, they’ve been billed as potentially an even bigger threat to the U.S. than ISIS. Here’s a look at what we know about the group whose existence was not publicly acknowledged until last week.

Intelligence analysts say Khorasan refers to battle-hardened al Qaeda fighters who have travelled from Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere to Syria. Beyond that, accounts differ.

U.S. Central Command said the group was using civil war-ravaged Syria as a haven from which to plot attacks, build and test roadside bombs and recruit Westerners to carry out operations.

While Khorasan has been in operating in Syria for over a year, their attention has been focused beyond that country’s borders.

“They’re in Syria but they’re not really fighting in Syria,” said Michael Leiter, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center and now an NBC News analyst. “They’re using it as a place to find Western recruits.”

The core group is believed to be small - probably no more than 100, according to Leiter. They have one main mission: To attack Western targets.

Al Qaeda’s recognized affiliate in Syria is Jabhat al-Nusra – but that doesn’t mean there’s not room for Khorasan. Khorasan’s motivations are “very much in line” with traditional al Qaeda and it maintains close relations with Nusra, according to Leiter.

Intelligence analysts acknowledge disagreement over how separate or linked Nusra is to Khorasan. Still, the relationship appears to be symbiotic — Nusra focuses on internal operations within Syria, while Khorasan plans for external operations.

Director of National Intelligence James Klapper last week said that Khorasan poses a threat to the U.S. equal to that of ISIS, according to The Associated Press.

“Khorasan is less of a threat to the region and more of a threat to the U.S. homeland than ISIS,” Leiter said. "Unlike ISIS, the Khorasan group’s focus is not on overthrowing the Assad regime. These are core al Qaeda operatives who ... are taking advantage of the Syrian conflict to advance attacks against Western interests.”

Khorasan has been actively recruiting Westerners for plots against American and European interests, according to intelligence officials.

"They want to get Western recruits, with Western passports, to attack the West,” Leiter explained.

Fears are high that the group could exploit and capitalize on ties to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) – and that affiliate’s sophisticated bomb makers.

Khorasan militants have been working with bomb makers from al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate to test new ways to slip explosives past airport security, The Associated Press recently reported, citing classified U.S. intelligence assessments.

The AP said that the recent Transportation Security Administration ban on uncharged cellphones arose because of information that al Qaeda was working with Khorasan.

A number of al Qaeda all-stars are believed to have migrated to Syria and put down Khorasan’s roots – but one name stands out: Muhsin al-Fadhli, a designated terrorist and apparent 9/11 insider.

The U.S. has a $7 million bounty on Al-Fadhli’s head – just shy of the $10 million offered for the capture of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghadi.

Al-Fadhli “was among the few trusted al Qaeda leaders who received advance notification that terrorists would strike the United States on September 11, 2001,” according to the State Department. 

It describes al-Fadhli as a veteran al Qaeda operative “who has been active for years.” Al-Fadhli is a wanted man in Kuwait and also on Saudi Arabia’s most-wanted list in connection with a series of terror attacks, according to the State Department.

Born in Kuwait, al-Fadhli was first designated a terrorist by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2005 - deemed an al Qaeda leader in the Gulf and accused of supporting Iraq-based fighters in attacks against U.S. forces there. The State Department has later called al-Fadhli as “facilitator and financier” for al Qaeda who moved fighters and funds through Iran on behalf of the terrorist organization. Specifically, the State Department said he works to move fighters and funds through Turkey to back al Qaeda-linked groups in Syria – plus leverages his “extensive network of Kuwaiti jihadist donors” to send money to Syria.

Al-Fadhli also allegedly has helped moved fighters to North Africa and Europe, according to the State Department — underscoring the concern of European nations that foreign fighters will mount attacks on their home soil.

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The Nigerian Tragedy That Shook South Africa Into Gear!

It wasn’t so long ago that a hallucinating, schizophrenic interpreter communicated with angels while sharing a stage with US President Barack Obama (and many other global leaders) during what was meant to be a dignified state-run memorial service for South Africa’s beloved icon, Nelson Mandela.

Memories of how a festive wedding party landed at one of the country’s military airbases and crossed the border without a hint of a Home Affairs official still lingers as the scapegoats fight back.

The chickens at Nkandla scamper about, a stone throw away from the firepool, amphitheatre and underground bunker, which cost the taxpayers a cool quarter of a billion rand.

There’s an e-tolling system that nobody wants, the spy-tapes which have reached near-mystic status and so many poor appointments in the police, the National Prosecuting Authority, SABC, Eskom and countless other organisations that nobody can keep count any more.

To be polite: South Africa’s government and the man who leads it have not exactly covered themselves in glory over the past few years.

Then, one of the buildings at TB Joshua’s church in Lagos came crumbling down.

As things stand, 84 South Africans were allegedly crushed to death and at least 26 were reportedly injured or maimed (amongst these several children who are now orphans). The total death toll of the disaster is reportedly at 115.

What happened next is important.

On Tuesday night, exactly a week ago, President Jacob Zuma gave a solemn address to the nation about the disaster. Aside from Nelson Mandela’s death, can you remember the last time he did that?

Zuma may have overdosed a little on words like “compatriots” and “calamity”, but his address could not be faulted. It was exactly what the moment required.

Government then kicked into gear and formed various task teams, command centres and helplines. Officials were dispatched to help families at the airport. Experts in forensics were rounded up to assist identify bodies in Nigeria. An “assessment team” was sent to Lagos to do reconnaissance.

Almost daily (if not daily), minister Jeff Radebe gathered journalists to give detailed updates on progress, even when there was little to report. Even on a Sunday night.

A medical evacuation team was put together and a special flight chartered. This mission (a diplomatic miracle, by the sounds of it) flew out to bring 25 South Africans home. Those flown back were tracked down in various hospitals. Some had lost limbs. Others lost parents. One survivor seems not to have lost his faith, demanding to stay behind. Simply put: we went and we fetched our own and reunited them with their families.

When the flight returned on Monday morning, government set up special areas at the Swartkop air force base for reporters to witness (film and photograph) the arrival. Senior officials were at the scene to explain the process. A convoy of ambulances rushed the injured to hospital. It was a well-planned and -executed mission. It was clear that serious thought had gone into every detail.

Like so many moments that have come before it, this one united people by making them feel proud of what was achieved. Given the horror of the collapse, this moment will probably not stand out in history. But it was a good show of how much can be done – under difficult circumstances – if there’s political will.

One could argue, of course, that this was an international tragedy and it’s fairly easy for South Africa to come out shining. To rally people around it and to capitalise. There was no local scandal that needed to be covered up. No calls for heads to roll, letters to the Public Protector, court cases or angry DA statements.

To coordinate a response of this nature is very different to governing a country. To firing up an economy, which is currently in a coma. To building houses or bringing down stubborn levels of violent crime. To getting local municipalities to work or cracking down on corruption. To keeping the lights on. All that is true. But the way that government handled the building collapse in Nigeria illustrates so clearly how a state can, and should function – like a well-oiled machine, with a few glitches along the way.  It should be a slick bullet train, not a rusty steam train crashing from one scandal to the next, threatening to derail, with a driver who has lost the trust of his passengers.

The problem with doing something well is that it sets a standard. Or, at the very least, it shows people that it can be done. If anything, government should learn a few key lessons from the past week: Pick strong people to lead, get departments working together, go for less obfuscation, more communication and, finally, remember that the more honest you are about a situation, the less chance you’ll be caught lying. People are not idiots; they can appreciate a job well done.

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Boko Haram Leader Shekau 'Alive and Well'!

According to reports, Ahmed Salkida, a Dubai-based Nigerian journalist who reportedly maintains communication with some leaders of the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram, claimed today that the sect's leader, Abubakar Shekau, is alive and well. Mr. Salkida denied reports asserting that Nigerian troops had killed the mercurial and fiendish Shekau, the speaker and voice in numerous videos released by Boko Haram.

In an alleged tweet earlier today, Mr. Salkida also dismissed media reports that the Nigerian government was negotiating with Boko Haram for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in mid-April by Boko Haram militants in Chibok, Borno State. 

It was gathered that the reporter's tweet also described as untrue reports that the International Red Cross (IRC) was working on a deal that would persuade Boko Haram to free the abducted Chibok schoolgirls in exchange for the release of detained Islamist insurgents in the custody of Nigerian security agencies.

"Mark my words, I have it on authority that Shekau is well & alive, the picture going round is NOT the person who torments us with his group"

Earlier today, a source revealed that the person whose dead body is seen in photos circulating in news reports was not Shekau but one "Mohammed Bashir".

Our intelligence source stated that the dead Islamist figure, who bore a striking semblance to Mr. Shekau, was indeed a look-alike who appeared in videos released by the Islamist sect.

Mr. Salkida's tweet appeared to confirm that the Boko Haram "officer" killed by Nigerian soldiers in Konduga was a different person from Mr. Shekau. In fact, Nigerian security officials have maintained for months that Mr. Shekau was dead, apparently killed by his own disaffected lieutenants in an internal rivalry for control of the terrorist organization. "Mark my words: I have it on authority that Shekau is well & alive, the picture going round is NOT the person who torments us with his group"

However, Salkida sent out another tweet today which appeared to cast doubt on the fact that Shekau indeed had a double. "So Shekau has a double? So it was his double I met during the failed attempt to negotiate an end to the plight of #chibokgirls? Oh #Nigeria"

A confidential debriefing document by the Nigerian army obtained last week by SaharaReporters also acknowledged that Mr. Shekau stayed permanently in his holdout in Sambisa Forest and was not in the habit of venturing out to battles. Item "R" of the document stated, "Shekau has his wife and 2 children in Sambisa Forest. He is Kanuri, he speaks Hausa and he does not travel."

Meanwhile, a security source said that there was evidence of a growing frustration among insurgent fighters and a simmering power struggle between some of the sect's top figures. He disclosed that some of the insurgents who surrendered to Nigerian troops last week in Konduga have told army interrogators that they decided to give up after their commander executed two of their leaders who led the failed attack on Konduga. 

The source confirmed that the insurgents, who are being kept in one of the barracks in Maiduguri, told interrogators that they fled from a camp near Bama after their commander shot dead two insurgent field officers "for losing valuable weapons to infidels." He added that the surrendering militants claimed they were reluctant and small-time fighters who were recently recruited from towns and villagers taken by Boko Haram.

The insurgents' foiled attempt to seize Konduga, which was a first step in their plan to attack the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, is being seen as a possible turning point in the war between the insurgents and increasingly confident Nigerian soldiers. Nigerian troops killed hundreds of insurgents in the battle for Konduga and also seized an armored tank and several vehicles from the Boko Haram fighters. Incidentally, Boko Haram insurgents had originally captured thetank and vehicles from the Nigerian army in previous battles.

For close to two weeks, the insurgents have not been able to reproduce their earlier streak of victories over Nigerian troops. Instead, they have been routed in Konduga and driven out of Baza in Adamawa State.

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