I AM SORRY - MINISTER OF INTERIOR APOLOGIZES 2 WEEKS AFTER NIS RECRUITMENT TRAGEDY.

Mr. Abba Moro, Minister of interior affairs, yesterday claimed responsibility but yet to resign  over the tragic deaths of about 16 applicants, including four pregnant women, who died in the recent recruitment exercise by the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS.

The Minister said he was still pained and saddened by the circumstances surrounding the loss of lives in the recruitment exercise during the public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Interior.

But the Comptroller General of Immigration, CGI, David Paradang said that the service which by law was supposed to handle recruitment exercise was completely ignored.

#UPDATE ON #IBADANFORESTOFHORROR - EIGHT ARESTED AS AIG VISITS SITE.

The Oyo State Police Command said on Thursday that eight people had been arrested in connection with the discovery of a horror forest in  the Soka area of Ibadan.

The command’s Public Relation Officer, Olabisi Ilobanafor, who said this during the visit of the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 11, Femi Omolaja, to the site, said names of the arrested individuals would not be made public yet.

She said, “We are working hard on the case and very soon, we shall bring perpetrators of the deadly and inhuman act to book.

OUSTED CBN GOVERNOR "SANUSI LAMIDO" SHUNS FRC PANEL INVITATION.

The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria on Thursday alleged that the Central Bank of Nigeria under the leadership of the suspended governor, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, spent N500bn as intervention fund in various sectors without obtaining the approval of its Board or the Federal Executive Council.

It also alleged at a sitting in Lagos in which the suspended governor was scheduled to appear that the bank under his watch spent N10bn to renovate five palaces of traditional rulers in the country under its education intervention projects.

Sanusi, however, refused to appear before the panel, which is currently investigating the activities of the CBN under his watch.

SPAIN KNOCKS NIGERIA OUT OF FIFA U-17 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP WITH A 3 - 0 THRASHING.

The Flamingoes have been knocked out of the ongoing Fifa U-17 Women's World Cup currently taking place at Costa Rica.

Spain will face Italy for a berth in the semi-final after the Europeans saw off Nigeria with a dominant 3-0 win with Patri Guijarron nabbing a double.

The result ended a seven-match unbeaten run for Nigeria at the tournament dating back to 2012, and fell one match short of the record sequence established by Japan between 2010 and 2012.

The contest was played at a good tempo throughout and was end to end in the first half, before the Spaniards took the game by the scruff of the neck with two second half goals.

DERANGED POLICEMAN KILLS WIFE AND SIX OTHERS INCLUDING FIVE MEMBERS OF A FAMILY IN ABEOKUTA.

The policeman that killed his wife and five members of a family, including an auto-cyclist, in Abeokuta today, has been described as mentally deranged.

Information gathered according to "PM News" was that the killer cop, identified as Corporal Sunkanmi Ogunbiyi, ran amok early this morning while still in the office and had to hurriedly leave for his house and carry out the killings.

The policeman early today at Akingbala area of Eleweran, Abeokuta, Ogun State shot dead his wife, Corporal Oluwatosin Faremi, a commercial motorcycle rider,identified as Kunle and five members of a family.

CHIMAMANDA'S "HALF OF A YELLOW SUN" SET FOR RELEASE IN NAIJA CINEMAS.

Hurray!!! More Nigerians will finally get the chance to watch the much talked about movie "Half of a Yellow Sun" based on Chimamanda's award winning novel. The movie will be available in cinemas sometimes in April.

Watch trailer HERE and BELOW.

NEW NUMBER PLATES ARE ILLEGAL.

A Federal High Court in Lagos has declared that the new number plates introduced by the Federal Road Safety Commission are unconstitutional and as such cannot be imposed on vehicle owners.

In a judgment delivered by Justice James Tsoho on Wednesday, the court held that the redesigning of the old number plates was not backed by any law.

Tsoho, who was delivering the judgment in a suit by a lawyer, Emmanuel Ofoegbu, against the FRSC, therefore, held that the FRSC had no power to impose the redesigned number plates on vehicle owners, who had not acquired them.

#DIEZIANIPRIVATEJETSCANDAL - REPS UNCOVER 3RD AIRCRAFT.

There were indications on Wednesday  that members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts had come under intense pressure to tread softly on their ongoing investigation into  the   alleged  financial excesses of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

It was   also learnt in Abuja that Alison-Madueke   chartered a third jet for her use, besides the two already in the records of the committee.

The Solomon Olamilekan-led committee is  investigating the expenditure of  N10bn on a Challenger 850 chartered and maintained for  the minister’s use.

UPDATE ON #IBADANFORESTOFHORROR.

A man, identified as Sulaiman Tijani, was arrested on Wednesday at Soka forest where scores of decomposing bodies and body parts were discovered on Saturday.

Another man who appeared to be mentally ill was almost lynched by angry youths who descended on him at a point close to the site.

The police were, however, able to rescue him and whisk him away. The youths said he was pretending to be insane and could be one of the kidnappers who operated in the forest.

TEN ISSUES THAT MAY MAR THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE.

The national conference started last Monday and was eventful on its first day. However, there are 10 issues that may mar the conference.

1. Indigeneship/citizenship

The argument about whether or not the clauses that promote indigeneship in the 1999 Constitution should be expunged will likely be contentious at the conference.

Some have argued that there is the need to replace indigeneship with citizenship to engender unity and give Nigerians a sense of belonging.

Proponents of this idea believe making the adjustment will solve the indigene/settler crisis in Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau states.

MORE ON THE "IBADAN FOREST OF HORROR"

Some of the victims rescued from kidnappers’ den at the Soka area of Ibadan, Oyo State, are gradually regaining fitness and mental ability. Read previous report HERE.

Although they have yet to give the accounts of activities in the forest, they  could remember events leading to their departure from their normal life.

One of them, Nafiu Shittu, told our correspondent at the Adeoyo State Hospital, Yemetu, Ibadan, that he was a native pile medicine seller with customers in the business districts of Gate and Iwo Road.

Speaking in an almost inaudible whisper and intermittently pausing for breath, he explained that he was at work when he was kidnapped and taken to the forest.

RUSSIA HAS BEEN SUSPENDED FROM G-8.... PUTIN DOESN'T CARE THOUGH.

U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders have decided to end Russia’s role in the group of leading industrialized nations, the White House said Monday.

The move to suspend Russia’s membership in the G8 is the latest direct response from major countries allied against Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

“International law prohibits the acquisition of part or all of another state’s territory through coercion or force,” the statement said. “To do so violates the principles upon which the international system is built. We condemn the illegal referendum held in Crimea in violation of Ukraine’s constitution.

“We also strongly condemn Russia’s illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law and specific international obligations.”

LATE REEVA WAS SCARED OF ATTACK BY OSCAR PISTORIOUS, WHATSAPP MESSAGES SHARED IN COURT REVEALS.

Reeva Steenkamp told Oscar Pistorius she was “scared” of his jealous tantrums just weeks before he shot her dead, a court heard today.

In a series of WhatsApp messages read to the court, the athlete’s former girlfriend complained about his behaviour and said: “I can’t be attacked by outsiders for dating you AND be attacked by you – the one person I deserve protection from.”

The Olympic and Paralympic athlete is on trial for the murder of 29-year-old model and law graduate Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013.

He has pleaded not guilty to murder, saying he was deeply in love with Steenkamp, whom he had been dating for a few months, and that he mistook for an intruder hiding in a toilet at his luxury Pretoria home.

Read the WhatsApp messages shown in court:

THE IMMIGRATION TRAGEDY & JONATHAN'S HOLLOW RESPONSE.

Those who might have expected a far-reaching response from the government to the shabby conduct of the recent ill-fated Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment interview that claimed 23 lives, including that of four pregnant women, cannot but be deeply disappointed at the half measures announced last week. However, in a country where people get away with all manner of heinous crimes – from mass murder to electoral fraud and treasury looting – it is only reasonable not to place much hope and expectations on government actions and decisions.

After the Federal Executive Council meeting last week, all the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, had to say about the incident was that three members of each family of the unfortunate victims would be rewarded with a job at the NIS. He also announced employment for each of the numerous others that were injured in the stampedes resulting from overcrowding at the interview venues. Surprisingly, he was silent on the brains behind the sham interview, which is where his briefing should have started.

Although Nigerians have become so used to losing innocent lives in their scores on a daily basis, there is no justification for the government to pretend as if it is normal for 23 lives to be gratuitously wasted. And having done that, those responsible, namely the Interior Minister, Abba Moro, and the Comptroller-General of NIS, David Parradang, are left with a pat on the back and the usual admonition to “go and sin no more.” This is wrong.

CREDIBLE CANDIDATES WANTED FOR 2015 ELECTIONS.

Unless we do a lot more than we are doing now, the 2015 elections would produce the same unsatisfying outcomes as we have had since 1999 and for which we have loudly complained without addressing our concerns.

The results, and the lengthening complaints about politicians and their ways, have little to do with political parties. Almost everything boils down to quality of candidates – the quality, in high numbers, is regrettably poor.

Across the parties, candidates who offer themselves for elections, those who are mostly pressed to run for office and those who support them within the system, have created  methods that leave voters with minimal knowledge about candidates. While we are supposed to vote for candidates with character and credentials.

AS BOWEN SETS THE PACE FOR PROTEST IN NIGERIA'S PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES.

Student unrest is as old as university education in Nigeria, but there has been little or no recorded protest or agitation in the privately owned universities, which, many say, are in business to give their state-run counterparts a run for their money.

Indeed, many stakeholders hold the view that the coming of the private institutions is to teach the state-run ones how to manage effectively their schools in terms of providing the right learning environment.

However, this incentive, as it were, does come at a price. The fees in such institutions are usually prohibitive. In fact, whether primary, secondary or tertiary institution, such schools are not financially comfortable places for the poor or anyone struggling with finances to send his children or wards to for schooling. Indeed, the tuition in a private tertiary institution in the country ranges between N500, 000 and N2m per academic session.

With this, the expectation of parents and their children are high with regard to the provision of infrastructure and other learning conditions.

HOW TO HONOUR DEAD "NIS STAMPEDE" APPLICANTS - OKONJO IWEALA

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said that the best way to remember Nigerian youths who lost their lives at the recent recruitment exercise into the Nigeria Immigration Service was to create more jobs for the unemployed.

She spoke at the Housing Stakeholders Summit in Abuja, yesterday, where she reiterated the determination of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to create more jobs for youths in several sectors, including the housing, agriculture and ICT sectors, among others.

Her words, “the best way to honour the memory of the youths who died during the immigration exercise is for us to work harder to create more jobs.

Read more from Vanguard below:

OUR EXPERIENCE IN BOKO HARAM'S DEN.

Not everyone lives to recount a gory experience in the camp of one of the world's most notorious terrorist group, "BOKO HARAM". 

Punch reports that two women abducted by Boko Haram insurgents  in the North-East have given a rare account of life as captives. While one who  was held captive for 15 days, said she had a marriage proposal from one of the Islamist militants, the other said she was almost turned into a killer.

“They asked me if I am Christian or Muslim. I said I am a Christian,” said 23-year-old Liatu, as she recounted her ordeal   in the hands of Boko Haram members to the British Broadcasting Corporation. “On the 11th day (in captivity), they brought a man to me and said that he liked me and that  I should convert to Islam so that he can marry me,” she added in the report published by the BBC on Monday.

THE UK POLICE IS INCOMPETENT - AFTERMATH OF NAOMI ONI'S ACID ATTACK.

 

Naomi Oni, who was left scarred for life after being attacked with sulphuric acid has accused Scotland Yard of incompetence, saying police initially claimed she had poured it over herself.

Naomi, a Victoria's Secret shop assistant, was left with severe burns on her face and chest in the incident in Dagenham, east London, in 2012. Her former friend, Mary Konye, 22, who disguised herself in a Muslim veil before throwing the acid, was jailed for 12 years last week.

Miss Oni told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that police were slow to act on information she gave them about the attack. She said it almost felt like she had 'been accused of lying', adding that she had suffered 'pain and backlash for her (Konye's) actions and other people's incompetence'.

NEW VIDEO - MY WAY - WANDE COAL

MY WAY

Former Mavin Artiste and now "Black Diamond" Boss, Wande Coal, presents visuals of his song titled "MY WAY" produced by Maleek Berry...

Enjoy the song.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH.