BIAFRA IS DEAD - OBASANJO SPEAKS.

As the protagonists of Biafra intensify efforts for the realisation of their secession agenda, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, described the move as a dead agitation borne out of sheer ignorance and error of judgment. The former President said those involved in the current agitation for Biafra were embarking on hopeless and futile exercise, which no serious-minded Nigerian should engage in.

Obasanjo who spoke in Abuja during  a roundtable discussion organized by Nextier Advisory, a public sector advisory firm spearheaded by Patrick O. Okigbo III, with the theme: “Nigeria and the Biafra Agitation”. The ex-president asked leaders from the South-East geopolitical zone to call the protesters to order as such action would not do them any good. He said only those who did not experience the Nigerian civil war would embark on such a malevolent exercise.

OLISA METUH REMANDED IN JAIL TILL TUESDAY.

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday ordered that the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh, should be remanded in prison till Tuesday, the day scheduled for the hearing of his bail application with respect to the charges of money laundering preferred against him.

Justice Okon Abang gave the order after the PDP spokesperson pleaded not guilty to the seven counts of money laundering preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The EFCC alleged that Metuh received N400m, part of the money meant for the procurement of arms, from the Office of the National Security Adviser in November 2014.

FROM OCTOBER RUSH TO OCTOBER RAPE - SAD TALES BY FEMALE FRESHERS IN HIGHER INSTITUTIONS - #SAYNOTORAPE.

Bimbo Coker’s (not real name) first day on campus in October 2008 was full of apprehension. It was expected.

As a 15-year-old who had spent all her primary and secondary school education at private schools in Osun State, she had never left the sight of her parents, not even for a day. All through her primary and secondary schooldays, she was known to be a quiet, obedient “mum’s girl.”

In the church on Sundays, she sat where her parents sat, and left for home when service was over. No time to play with friends after the grace was said. During the holidays and weekends, her parents — both educationists — got her tutors to groom her academically. She is the only girl among five children.

$2.1BN ARMS SCANDAL - BADEH AND 17 OTHER MILITARY CHIEFS TO START APPEARING BEFORE EFCC ON MONDAY.

Eighteen military chiefs that President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to probe will start appearing before the commission on Monday.

The commission had sent invitations to some of the Generals and the companies, whose names featured in the report submitted to the President.

A source in the commission stated, “We have sent invitations to many of them and as from Monday, they will start coming.”

HARD TIMES FOR CELINE DION WHO LOST HER HUSBAND TO CANCER WHILE HER BROTHER NOW HAS FEW HOURS TO LIVE DUE TO SAME AILMENT.

RENE & CELINE

 Celine Dion is facing more heartbreak after the death of her husband René Angélil on Thursday.

The singer's older brother Daniel is also battling cancer, and his family believe he has just hours or days to live. 

Celine's sister Claudette told Journal Of Montreal: 'It's very painful. It's a matter of days or hours. It looks a lot like René, he had cancer of the throat, tongue and brain. Our family is very experienced.'

Daniel, who is 59, is in hospital in Celine's native Montreal and surrounded by family, including 88-year-old mother Therese.

TERROR HORROR IN BURKINA FASO AS GUNMEN KILL 20 IN POPULAR HOTEL.

At least 20 people have been killed in the deadly terror attack in Burkina Faso after al-Qaeda gunmen attacked a popular hotel in the capital last night. 

A unit of Bukinabe special forces assisted by around 30 French special forces and an American soldier have stormed the Splendid Hotel in Ougadougou and reportedly killed three of the gunmen.

Security forces managed to rescue 126 of the hostages trapped inside the 147 bedroom hotel, with 33 of the survivors wounded from the attack, the Burkinabe Interior Ministry confirmed.

At least ten of the victims in the terror attack were gunned down at the Cappuccino Cafe, situated next door to the hotel. The attack has been claimed by al-Mouribatoun, an al-Qaeda group based in the Sahel region of northern Mali.

'There was someone in front of me and they shot him and he fell onto me,' one woman said. 

WHERE WE CAME FROM - REUBEN ABATI.

January 15 every year is Nigeria’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day: wreaths are laid, statements are made, soldiers, government officials and the Nigerian Legion attend parades, pigeons symbolizing peace are released, a dinner is organized for widows of fallen soldiers and there is so much talk about death and dying for one’s country all in honour of Nigerian soldiers who have had to die so that Nigeria may live. In terms of context however, what is also celebrated is the surrender of the secessionist Biafran forces to the Nigerian government on January 15, 1970, a throw back to the country’s three years of civil war. 

WIZKID (@WIZKIDAYO) AND DAMMY KRANE (@DAMMY_KRANE) INVOLVED IN PHYSICAL FIGHT AT QUILOX.

Few hours after Dammy Krane apologised to his fans for calling out Wizkid on social media over theft of his materials , the two music stars were involved in a physical brawl earlier today at Quilox. 

According to reports, both of them were guests at Obafemi Martin's All Black party at Quilox night club. 

ABUJA BUSINESSMAN CHARGED FOR RAPING AND IMPREGNATING 14-YR-OLD HOUSEGIRL. #SAYNOTORAPE.

A businessman, Malam Yahai, has been dragged before a magistrates’ court sitting in Garki LGA of Jigawa State by a 14 years old girl for allegedly raping and impregnating her.

The 14-year-old is asking the court presided over by Magistrate Aliyu Roni of the Maigatarin Bawan Allah Village in Garki Local Government to compel the suspect to take responsibility of naming of the new born baby she delivered, including slaughtering a ram and providing clothes for her son.

Narrating her ordeal before the court, the girl, who works as a house girl to Malam Yahai’s wife, said Yahai raped her several times.

EFCC FILES 7-COUNT CRIMINAL CHARGE AGAINST OLISA METUH.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, preferred seven-count criminal charge against detained National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Olisa Metuh

Metuh and his firm, Destra Investment Limited, were charged before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court over alleged N400 million fraud.

The charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/05/2016, was signed by the Assistant Director, Legal & Prosecution Department of the EFCC, Mr. Sylvanus Tahir.

DAMMY KRANE APOLOGIZES TO HIS FANS FOR CALLING WIZKID A THIEF.

Dammy Krane has apologized to his fans for calling Wizkid a thief few days ago.

See screenshots after the cut.

LASSA FEVER - MEDICAL DOCTOR IN RIVERS STATE DIES OF LASSA FEVER

A medical doctor with Rivers State-owned Braithwait Memorial Specialist Hospital, BMH, Dr. Livy Ijamala, has died from Lassa Fever, bringing to three the number of people killed by the disease in the state.

Chairman of the state branch of Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Dr. Furo Green, disclosed this yesterday in Port Harcourt, saying the late doctor, Ijamala, who died in the early hours of yesterday from the ailment, had contact with patients infected with Lassa Fever.

Dr. Furo added that the late medical doctor had been buried in line with recommendations of World Health Organization, WHO, for deaths from contagious diseases.

COURT ORDERS ARREST OF TOMPOLO FOR SHUNNING COURT SUMMONS OVER N34BN FRAUD.

Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the arrest of an ex-Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, for his failure to appear before him on Thursday to answer 30 counts of alleged N34bn fraud.

The judge issued a bench warrant against Tompolo and ordered that he must be produced in court on February 8, 2016 by all means to answer the charges.

The EFCC has charged Tompolo and a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Patrick Akpobolokemi, alongside eight others.

#MISSINGBUDGET - CONTROVERSY DEEPENS.

The Senate on Thursday accused the executive of smuggling copies of a doctored version of the 2016 Appropriation Bill into the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

The Senate stated this while discussing the report of its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, which it set up to investigate the alleged disappearance of the budget.

The Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, after a two-hour executive session with his colleagues, explained that the upper chamber deliberated extensively on the report of the committee behind closed doors.

PRESIDENT BUHARI ORDERS FRESH INVESTIGATION INTO ABDUCTION OF CHIBOK GIRLS.

Almost two years after their abduction, President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday ordered a fresh investigation into the case of the 219 schoolgirls seized from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

This was contained in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.

He quoted the President as announcing this while meeting parents of the abducted girls, representatives of the Chibok community and members of the Bring Back Our Girls movement at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

OSCARS 2016 FULL LIST OF NOMINATIONS.

Best picture

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Bridge of Spies

Spotlight

The Big Short

Brooklyn

Mad Max: Fury Road

ARSENAL COMPLETES £7.4M ELNENY MOVE FROM BASEL. #ElnenySigns.

Arsenal have completed the signing of the midfielder Mohamed Elneny from Basel in a €10m (£7.4m) move.

The 23-year-old passed a medical at Arsenal at the end of last year but completion of the transfer was delayed while a work permit was attained.

Arsenal’s manager, Arsène Wenger, has said that Elneny could be in contention to make his debut in Sunday’s Premier League match at Stoke City.

AT LEAST SEVEN KILLED IN INDONESIA TERROR ATTACK.

A series of explosions and gunfire have rocked the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Thursday afternoon, with reports suggesting at least seven people have been killed.

Police say a suicide bomber was responsible for one of the explosions, while the other blasts were caused by men on motorbikes throwing grenades.

At least three police officers and four civilians were killed by the blasts that went off at a Starbucks cafe, the Sarinah shopping mall, and United Nations offices in central Jakarta. Three other bombs went off in the Cikni, Silpi and Kuningan neighbourhoods, near the Turkish and Pakistani embassies.

I AM NOT AT WAR WITH THE EXECUTIVE ARM OF GOVERNMENT OVBER NON-COMPLIANCE WITH COURT ORDERS - CJN.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, said, last night, that he was not at war with President Muhammadu Buhari or any agency of government over the purported non-compliance with court orders freeing suspects of the arms scandal who were granted bail by judges.

A top source in the judiciary said last night, that contrary to claims in certain quarters that the CJN was furious with Buhari for allowing EFCC to ignore court orders freeing the Dasukigate suspects, Mohammed had nothing to do with the issue.

The top official noted that though there were concerns among judges that some of their orders had not been carried out to the letter by some government agencies, there was also fury in the judiciary that many judges had aided and abetted top government officials to loot the treasury with impunity through frivolous orders and injunctions which were against the interest of the country and its people.

EFCC ARRAIGNS TOMPOLO AND AKPOBOLOKEMI OVER N13BN FRAUD.

TOMPOLO

A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered an ex-Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, to unconditionally appear before it on Thursday (today) to answer 40 counts of alleged N13bn fraud levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Tompolo had been charged on Tuesday with amended 40 counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering alongside an ex-Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Patrick Akpobolokemi.

Justice Ibrahim Buba granted the order to compel Tompolo’s appearance in chambers on Tuesday shortly after the amended charges were filed in court.