VIDEO: P-Square ft. T.I – Ejeajo

                               
Enjoy the Video to P-Square‘s party single titled Ejeajo featuring Atlanta, USA native T.I.
The video was directed by Clarence Peters and Jude Okoye and shot on location in Lagos Nigeria and Atlanta.

Australian Negotiator Names Ihejirika, Sheriff as Sponsors of Boko Haram

                             
A Perth-based international adviser, Dr. Stephen Davis, who for four months was involved in negotiations on behalf of the federal government with commanders of Boko Haram for the release of over 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the sect last April, has named a former Governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, and a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-General Azubuike Ihejirika, as sponsors of Boko Haram.

Davis, who spoke yesterday in two separate interviews to Arise Television, a THISDAY sister company, also disclosed that a man resident in Abuja whose three nephews had been identified as being behind the Nyanya bus station bomb blast that killed 77 people, was one of the financiers of Boko Haram.

Davis, in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Wednesday had pointedly alleged that one of the primary sources of funding of the terror group was Nigerian politicians, but failed to disclose their identities until his interview with Arise TV.

But in reaction to the allegation, Ihejirika and Sheriff angrily dismissed the allegation, saying they had nothing to benefit from the sponsorship of Boko Haram.

However, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasir el-Rufai, has called for their prosecution and expressed hope that the authorities will take the steps necessary to act on this revelation.

In his interview with Arise TV, Davis said he had been informed by Boko Haram commanders whom he dealt with that there are prominent politicians who have been sources of funding to Boko Haram, adding: “First thing to do is to arrest the former Governor Sheriff. Former Governor Sheriff has been funding this for years. He is satisfied that he will be picked up and he has now switched to the ruling party, PDP, in the hope this will give him protection.
“That guy is really a bad guy and he is known to be corrupt and why the EFCC has not picked him up is anybody’s guess.

“There is a former Chief of Army Staff, who retired in January, rightly sacked by the president, who is another sponsor.

“Then Boko Haram senior commanders said there are three nephews of one man. The three nephews participated in the bombing of the Abuja bus station early this year that killed at least 77 people. These nephews were living with him.

“He has been linked several times to their activities and why that someone, with the interrogation of the nephews who are in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS), doesn’t seem inclined to interrogate these young men to produce concrete evidence against their uncle in whose house they were living in during their activities for Boko Haram.”

The Australian negotiator was emphatic that the people he identified are current sponsors of Boko Haram, adding: “Some of them, I had had information from Boko Haram about three years ago; one of them four years ago.
“One sponsor particularly was providing money and also in one case provided six (Toyota) Hilux vehicles used for suicide bombing.”

Davis said the first thing that should happen in Nigeria is to arrest the sponsors, as this would slow down the fighting dramatically and the military may have a chance of fighting Boko Haram.
He recalled that when he was involved in the release of kidnapped oil workers in the Niger Delta region in 2004, “we found repeatedly that candidates for governorship in any of the 36 states often funded gangs and heavily armed them with AK 47, RPGs.

“And after the elections and the candidates won, they abandon these people who are heavily armed. This is happening in the north, it is not uncommon.

“Yes, I have worked with presidents in the past, one Christian president, one Muslim president. But we are horrified by what is going on today. This is being fuelled by politicians, in my view, who certainly want power in the next elections”.

He was of the view that the problem President Goodluck Jonathan was faced with was the fallout if he arrested the politicians.

“If he (Jonathan) now arrests prominent politicians who may want to certainly take power in the next election, the US, UK and France may cry foul, saying you are arresting people to the advantage of your re-election.
“But the threshold for evidence is very high and I think he will have to keep sufficient evidence to make the Western nations happy before this thing is totally out of hand,” he said.

On how he handled negotiations with Boko Haram to secure the release of the Chibok girls, Davis explained: “There had been kidnapping going on since last year. Apart from the 220 Chibok girls, there are over 300 other children that had been kidnapped from villages and towns.

“The problem we found in getting the girls was that they had other Boko Haram cells outside the ones we were dealing with, so that became a problem.

“President Jonathan had made huge progress with peace discussions over the last two years but as it was leading up to the elections, the sponsors of Boko Haram, the politicians really picked up the tempo and all the discussions – sitting down with leaders of Boko Haram for peace – was sabotaged.

“While I was there in the last four months, President Jonathan gave me full logistical support whenever I required it, whenever I requested for it to continue this work.

“We were able to get four of the Chibok girls out but what we found was that if we were also able to get 20 or 30 of the girls, the guys will go and kidnap another 50 to replace them.  So we came to the conclusion that freeing Chibok girls was putting them in more callous situation costing the lives of many other people.
“So what we have been doing since then is keeping an eye on the girls who were able to escape, picking them up and bringing them to safe havens.”

Davis further revealed that the effort to get out 60 girls was botched when another group kidnapped them.
“The president gave me a military jet and a military convoy and ambulance from the local hospital. We were waiting for Boko Haram to bring them from the border with Cameroun.

“We had a call the previous morning that there were some girls, about 60 of them, so we set out with a number of ambulances and we travelled for four-and-a-half hours to reach them… However, the police had offered a very large reward for the girls 24 hours before then.

“So someone connected with the kidnapping of Chibok girls, who had good information about them decided to grab the girls so that they will have the reward.

“The Boko Haram commander who was keeping an eyes on the whole situation told me the details the next day of all that had occurred,” he said.

Davis warned against the use of force to rescue the girls, stating: “Doing a raid on the villages where the girls are will waste their lives. Getting sponsors out of action will certainly lead Boko Haram adrift for a while.

“But they will regroup because ISIS, Al Qaeda will move  in because that will give them the leadership they need. But in that period of time, thy will be adrift and there are commanders in Boko Haram who are willing to hand over the girls and will love a peace deal. They would want to demobilise.
“Now, those guys, they have told me clearly that they will not attempt to hand over the girls or hold discussions for peace because the sponsors will get the other guys to kill those who are getting into the peace deal. So without the sponsors, we can’t start a peace deal.”

He said another challenge with dealing with the insurgency stemmed from the fact that Boko Haram camps are on the border, “so they slip back and forth between two countries.

“They go in convoy to attack a town, they stay for an hour or an hour-and-a-half and get out. That is enough time to hit them. However, on their way from town, they may have 40 or 50 girls on board with them and this is not the time to hit them,” he added.

He also questioned the manner of assistance offered by the US, UK and France which had not yielded results.
According to him, “France, UK and the US all agreed in Paris to assist Nigeria, Cameroun and Niger to work on this matter. The US, for example, said they would assist with intelligence.

"Yet, when Boko Haram members leave their camps they travel without interference to a town, they destroy six villages on their way to a particular town, and no one touches them.

“So one wonders if the UK and US are really serious about the matter, and why there has been no collaboration to intercept Boko Haram when they are on their way to these towns.

“For goodness sake, it is arid area, you can see a convey six miles away and these guys travel with 20, 40 or 60 vehicles with armed personnel. There is something going on very wrong in the collaboration that was preached.”

But in reaction to Davis’ allegation, Sheriff said they were baseless. In a text message he sent to Arise TV, he stated: This is absolutely not true.  I have absolutely nothing to do with them. Boko Haram existed before I became a governor and they killed my family members and they kidnapped my brothers. This is not true.”
Ihejirika, on the other hand, told THISDAY that the allegation was diversionary, warning that its timing might be a prelude to an attack or an incident that the authorities and securities should preempt.

“This is meant to divert the attention of anyone – the nation, federal government and the international community – who is serious about stopping Boko Haram. If Boko Haram told Davis I am their sponsor, is it not hard to believe?
“Anyway, the only reason they can say so is because they suffered the most casualties when I was in charge. They know who gave them the most trouble; that is why they have resorted to telling lies to divert attention.

“Remember that when we stepped up our counter-terrorism campaign and they recorded several deaths, they changed tactics to make it appear like the military was involved in human rights abuses, which America and others fell for.

“This is diversionary. Why should this come up at this time? Some diversionary issues come up as a prelude to either an attack or an incident that the authorities and security agencies should look out for before it happens. There is history of this as a tactic, so they should watch out,” he warned.

However, el-Rufai, who also spoke to Arise TV, called for Ihejirika and Sheriff’s prosecution, stating: “Many of us have made very open allegations that elements within the government and outside must have been financing and directing the affairs of Boko Haram.

“The revelations by Stephen Davis are only confirming the suspicion that some of us hold and have held since October 2010 when the first bomb exploded in Abuja and that was the beginning of a new trend in terrorism in our country.”
He said right from the onset, the Boko Haram phenomenon pointed to the fact that the ruling party and the government were somehow involved in terrorism.
“It began in October 2010 when the first bomb exploded in Abuja and President Goodluck Jonathan declared that it was not MEND that was responsible for the bombing. Now, how would a president, without security briefing, from investigation, declare that a terrorist group which had claimed responsibility for bombing was not responsible unless he knew who was responsible,” he said.

He also pointed to the fact that the former National Security Adviser (NSA), the late General (Andrew) Azazi had declared that the promises and selection procedure of the party for offices by PDP were responsible for the insurgency.

“We know those who have been linked to the Boko Haram, including a serving senator of the PDP. Today, not one person or official that are connected to the opposition party, APC, has been linked to terrorism. All those that have been arrested and put on trial for terrorism are all members of the ruling PDP.

“So it is disingenuous for the Jonathan administration to point accusing fingers at APC when in fact all the sponsors of terrorism so far named are from the ruling party,” he stated.

El-Rufai predicted that Nigeria would not get a break from Boko Haram for two reasons: “We have an incompetent government that is incapable of doing anything right, in my opinion.

“Secondly, I think the ruling party and the presidency feel that sustaining the insurgency is going to be helpful to them in 2015 elections. As long as the country is getting divided along religious and ethnic lines, Mr. Jonathan thinks that will help him in 2015, which is why desperate efforts are being made by the ruling party to link the APC to the insurgency, to be a Muslim party, to be linked to the Muslim brotherhood and all that.
“It is in the government’s shallow and narrow thinking that sustaining the insurgency until 2015 will be useful to them to win the election. The danger is that as time goes on and Boko Haram gets better resources and better organised, they will become better. And it will  become a credible threat to the Nigerian state.
“Now our soldiers cannot fight Boko Haram, they are running into Cameroun. People are saying our soldiers cannot face Boko Haram without better arms and ammunition. This is a government that is interested in returning to power at all cost, even at the cost of killing thousands of people."
He was of the opinion that the international community would not do much to help Nigeria fight the insurgents, stating that this “is a Nigerian problem, we can solve it by ensuring that our army is well motivated to fight the insurgency."

Shortly after the interview, el-Rufai, on his twitter handle, called for the prosecution of Sheriff and Ihejirika, saying: “The kingpins not only finance BH operations but select targets for assassination and execution”.

“Finally, the truth about BH is coming out. Hopefully, the murderers of General Muhammadu Shuwa, the abductors of the Chibok girls, those truly responsible for the Nyanya bombings, and attempted assassination of General Buhari and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, will be known.

“We hope the authorities will take the steps necessary to act on this revelation, and thereby discharge their duty to protect us, the citizens of Nigeria. That is just what it is, a hope!” he said.

Meanwhile, the Camerounian army on Wednesday attacked Boko Haram, shelling one of their camps across the border and killing many fighters, a security official said yesterday.

The source told AFP that the army had shelled the camp on Wednesday evening, two days after the jihadist group had seized control of the town of Gamboru Ngala on the Nigerian border with Cameroun.
“It was tanks stationed on the frontier at Fotokol (on Cameroun's side of the border) that shelled the camp on the other side,” the source said on the condition of anonymity.
“Seen from Fotokol this morning, Gamboru looks empty and smells of death,” he added. Nobody knows how many Boko Haram members were killed, but it is obvious that many were,” he added. The shelling was confirmed by a local police officer.

“These were abandoned houses that they have occupied since they entered Gamboru. We think they still control the town, because there are many of them and they didn’t all gather in the same place,” he said.
Calm had returned to Fotokol by Wednesday following days of panic as residents and Nigerian security forces fled there to escape the Boko Haram attack on Gamboru.
After clashes in Gamboru Ngala, Nigeria’s army dismissed suggestions that the soldiers had fled, saying they had been “charging through the borders in a tactical manouevre” and found themselves on Camerounian soil.

I wasn’t credited for writing Goldie’s hit song – Reminisce

                               
Remilekun Shafaru popularly known as Reminisce speaks with JAYNE AUGOYE about his journey to fame
Indigenous rap, no doubt, is one of the most preferred music genres in Nigeria today and Remilekun Shafaru, better known as Reminisce, is one of the poster boys, alongside the likes of Olamide and Phyno, leading a thriving campaign to spread it across the globe.

Famous for his versatility and the street appeal of his songs, Reminisce was the only rapper from Africa mentioned in TIME Magazine’s recent ‘One of the seven world rappers you should meet’ list.

He earned this recognition a few months after he had dropped his second album titled, Alaga Ibile. Many music fans, who had always known him as a very reserved and under-celebrated rap artiste in the country, were practically speechless with surprise when the news was broken.

Even Reminisce himself learnt of this single honour while travelling to neighbouring Ghana by air.

He tells E-Punch, “I got to know about the listing by TIME magazine on my way to Ghana. I didn’t influence it. I only saw a statement posted on Twitter by the chief executive of Chocolate City, Audu Maikori. I didn’t pay much attention to it and all the while, I wondered what business I had with the magazine. By the time my plane landed in Ghana, the congratulatory messages began to pour in. I don’t even follow those who sent them on Twitter. But, being the only African listed by Time Magazine is something else.”

For the light-skinned rapper, the road to stardom was fraught with challenges. At one point, he was forced to leave home because his father wanted him to become a medical doctor.

Recounting his humble beginning and how frustration almost drove him to quit music, the 31-year-old Samsung brand Ambassador says, “It’s true that I almost quit music four months before my fortune improved. I became a star around late 2011, after I released Kako Bi Chicken. The video of that song was released around the period that Nigerians were protesting against the removal of fuel subsidy. I had just become a father at that time and I realized that I couldn’t continue the same way.

“I almost quit music because I wasn’t making any money. You know, money controls the industry today, unlike the past when talent did.”

Reminisce owes his versatility in Yoruba to his father’s insistence that he must learn to speak the language. Often pitched against Olamide, the artiste, who studied Purchasing and Supply at the Kwara State Polytechnic, simply regards the latter as his ‘partner in progress.’

“Olamide and I have always complemented and supported each other’s career. We don’t see each other as rivals. We have been able to change the image of indigenous rappers and as sensible people, the only thing to do is to support each other and improve the genre. Only the fans can tell who is a better rapper. At the end of the day, the issue is not about who is better, but who is successful.”

The artiste, who once hawked second-hand clothes and shoes at the popular Yaba Market, adds, “I wrote the hit song, Don’t Touch my Body for late Goldie and was never credited. But, it is okay. There are many songs you write and don’t get credited for. I don’t really care about such things, neither do I like to complain or bear grudges. I don’t really want to reveal or speak about others.”

Reacting to the display of wealth by some of his colleagues on social media, he says, “I am a very reserved artiste. I am able to differentiate between Reminisce the artiste and Remi the family man. That is why I don’t promote luxury. There is nothing I need that I can’t afford, but I am not going to show off on social media. When artistes do such a thing, they appear superficial and unapproachable to their fans. Instead, I simply invest in people.”

Reminisce notes that loyalty is one virtue that is absent in the global entertainment scene. “One reason why I don’t have friends is because nobody is willing to see you take their spot. The moment you become a star, a lot of people will be unhappy. But they will smile with you,” he says.

Although the rapper, who was discovered alongside Jahbless, 9ice, Lord Of Ajasa and Olamide by ID Cabasa, was blessed with a second child early in the week, he appears to be in no hurry to walk down the aisle.

“Yes, we live together. But we have issues with commitment. I think we are not ready for marriage yet. We will formalize things when the right time comes. I am still planning my future because I am not going to be a musician forever. I will quit music, maybe after a decade. I hope to also study Political Science overseas because I want to go into politics (House of Representatives) at some point as well,” he notes.

Comic Relief: 9Ja Can Joke Out Of Everything

                           
Imagine its your church, during a normal service.

Nigeria’s oldest Pastor, Samuel Sadela, dies at 114

                               
Indications emerged on Tuesday that the Founder and President of the Gospel Apostolic Church, Pa Samuel Sadela, has passed on.
He was aged 114.
Although a senior pastor in the church reportedly claimed that the man described as one of Nigeria’s oldest pastors could still be receiving treatment in a hospital, he was said to have died in the premises of the church in Lagos.
As of the time of this report at 9.15pm press time on Tuesday, an official statement was still being awaited even as the church was said to have opened a condolence register for the man of God who remained sensational even as a very old man.
Sadela was of the Apostolic stock of Christianity.
His pastoral calling started in 1928 when he visited the famous Prophet Moses Orimolade of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church.

When he marked his 113th last year birthday, the aged pastor had expressed hope to live up to 200 years of age.
He had said “I feel happy to be this old. Actually, I feel like a young man. I still enjoy my meal of Iyan (pounded yam), Eba and bush meat. I sleep whenever I want to and wake up stronger I want to live longer to prove to all that God remains the same as He was in times past. If Methuselah could live for 969 years, God can make me live well beyond 113. If Noah could be 950, it is not too much for Him to make me live up to 200.”
Even if that wish was not granted, Sadela left an indelible imprint in the hearts of his members and admirers around the world.

Ebola: FG orders schools to resume Oct 13

                        
The Federal Government on Tuesday ordered that all primary and secondary schools in the country should resume on October 13, 2014 because of the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease in the country.
The Minister of Education, Ibrahim Shekarau, announced the new resumption date after a marathon meeting with all the 36 state Commissioners of Education in Abuja on Tuesday evening.
Shekarau, who briefed journalists after the meeting, said all private schools in the country should also comply with the directive.
He added that schools should suspend their summer programmes with immediate effect.
According to him, each of the private and public schools will be required to train at least two desk officers in collaboration with ministry of health officials on how to handle Ebola.

Scientist invents ‘robot’ that kills Ebola virus

                                              
In effort to eliminate Ebola at the source, through use of innovative disinfection technology, two “germ-killing robots”  were deployed from the US to the JFK Hospital and ELWA Hospital both in Monrovia, Republic of Liberia, both hotspots of the Ebola disease outbreak.
The robots, technically known as TRU-D SmartUVC, were used to disinfect health care environments where Ebola patients are being treated. Good Health Weekly gathered that TRU-D is the only portable UV disinfection device on the market with Sensor360 technology, which calculates the time needed to react to room variables such as size, geometry, surface reflectivity and the amount and location of equipment in the room and effectively deliver a lethal dose of UV-C light during a single cycle from a single, central location in the room.
Ultraviolet light
“It works by generating ultraviolet light energy that modifies the DNA structure of viral pathogens, like Ebola, so that they cannot reproduce. Viruses that cannot reproduce cannot colonise and harm patients,” the inventor, a tropical disease expert and medical anthropologist Dr. Jeffery L. Deal noted in an interview.
Deal and his colleague, Chuck Dunn, President and CEO of TRU-D LLC, respectively, spoke about the importance of TRU-D to environmental disinfection in
“TRU-D has been validated by more than 10 studies to be 99.99 percent effective in eliminating the most common pathogens that can use health care-associated infections.
After deploying germ-killing robots to Liberia to aid in battle against the Ebola Virus Disease, TRU-D SmartUVC inventor traveled to the Ebola hotspots with UV disinfection devices
TRU-D guarantees a pathogen-free environment for patients and health care staff. Deal,  a Fellow in the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, has been training hospital staff to operate the devices in a number of hospital environments and monitor progress for successful disinfection.
“We developed TRU-D SmartUVC technology to combat the devastating effects ofhospital acquired infections,” Deal said.
“Unlike many diseases, Ebola strikes hospital workers more than any other group, making it the ultimate hospital acquired infection.”
With TRU-D, health care leaders in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Saudi Arabia are eliminating pathogens like Ebola, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, MERS, influenza, norovirus, Clostridium difficile, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, etc., in all types of health care settings, including isolation wards, patient rooms, operating rooms, surgical suites, intensive care units, emergency rooms, public areas and ambulances.

New Video: Sean Tizzle – Perfect Gentleman

                                      
Rising Nigerian pop star Sean Tizzle premieres the video for his song – Perfect Gentleman.
The 4 minute clip shows Sean’s tender approach on love, marriage and family. It was one of the three music videos he shot while on vacation in South Africa.
It is directed by Unlimited LA and produced by Uprooted Media.

Boko Haram leader declares Gwoza ‘Islamic Caliphate’

                              
Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau has declared the creation of an Islamic caliphate in Gwoza town in Borno state seized by the insurgents earlier this month.
“Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in (the town of) Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate,” Abubakar Shekau said in the 52-minute video obtained by AFP on Sunday
According to AFP Shekau declared that Gwoza now has “nothing to do with Nigeria”.
“By the grace of Allah we will not leave the town. We have come to stay,” said Shekau, who has been designated a global terrorist by the United States and sanctioned by the UN Security Council.

The boy with the TWO STONE hands that are bigger than his head

                                 
An eight-year-old boy has left doctors baffled after his hands swelled to giant proportions and now weigh more than two stone.
Young Kaleem, from India, is unable to carry out simple tasks, including tying his own shoe laces, after he was born with hands twice the size of an average baby.
His mother Haleema, 27, said she knew he was different at birth but was powerless to help and the youngster's hands have now grown so large they measure 13 inches from the base of his palm to the end of his middle finger.
                              
The cricket fan said he has been bullied and shunned most of his life because others are 'scared' of his deformity.
He said: 'I do not go to school because the teacher says other kids are scared of my hands.
'Many of them used to bully me for my deformity. They would say "let's beat up the kid with the large hands".
'Some of them have actually beaten me and would go after me often.
'I find it difficult to put on my clothes, button my shirt and pull up my pants.
'But I don't know if I want doctors to operate on my hands. They would have to make me unconscious and then they would cut me open.
'I have no problem if they could do it without an injection. A small operation would be okay.'
His parents, who earn just £15 a month, have been desperately trying to find help for their son - but to no avail.

US doctor with Ebola to be released from hospital today

                       
Dr Kent Brantly, the American doctor who contracted the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia while working as a missionary in the country will be released from Atlanta's Emory University Hospital today August 21st after being successful treated.

According to the spokesperson of the hospital, Vince Dollard, Dr. Kent's blood samples came back negative for the virus after undergoing proper screening for two days. Dr. Kent is expected to give a statement regarding his discharge later today at a news conference before leaving the hospital.
Dr. Kent and another US missionary Nancy Writebol contracted the disease while working to fight the outbreak in Liberia. After they contracted the disease they were taken to an isolation unit at Emory University Hospital, where they were treated with the experimental drug, ZMapp.

Nigerian woman causes Ebola scare in Germany

                                    
A Nigerian woman showing symptoms of Ebola Virus Disease caused a scare after she fainted at a crowded jobcentre in Berlin, Germany on Tuesday.
She was immediately rushed in an ambulance to the Charite Hospital but about 600 visitors and officials of the job centre were quarantined by emergency service officials who sealed off part of the street in Prenzlauer Berg district where the centre is located.

Several who came into contact with her were later taken to the hospital for testing while those quarantined were allowed to go after several hours.

The Mailonline quoted a mass-circulation German daily, Bild, as reporting that   the woman   later claimed that she recently came into   contact with people infected with Ebola.
Berlin fire department spokesman, Rolf Erbe, said that because the patient came from “an area affected by a highly contagious disease, we took these precautions.”

He said the testing in the hospital would take some time.
“The patient was isolated inside the ambulance, the staff took the appropriate protective measures. An emergency medic, the public health officer, arrived and the necessary precautions were taken,” Erbe added.

A spokesman for the city’s health authority said emergency services were called after the woman, who turned up at the employment bureau with a high fever, collapsed.

Jackie Chan’s son arrested for drug possession

                                   
The son of Hollywood actor Jackie Chan has been arrested on drug-related charges, Chinese state media say.
Actor Jaycee Chan, 31, and Taiwanese movie star Kai Ko, 23, were detained last Thursday, Beijing police said in a statement on their official microblog.
Police said both men tested positive for marijuana, with more than 100 grams of the drug found at Mr Chan’s home.
Their arrest comes amid an ongoing crackdown on drugs which has already netted several celebrity figures.
In June Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “forceful measures” to tackle illegal drug use.
Gao Hu, 40, who appeared in the 2011 Zhang Yimou film “The Flowers of War”, was detained earlier this month for possession of marijuana and methamphetamines, state media said.
Beijing Municipal Anti-Drug Office deputy director Jin Zhihai said that police were not specifically targeting celebrities.
“If there is an increased crackdown on drugs, the number of celebrity offenders will also rise,” he told the Beijing Times on 14 August.
Last week, 42 artist management agencies in Beijing signed an agreement with police pledging not to recruit celebrities with reported drug use problems.

19-yr-old rapes chicken to death in Ondo

                           
A-19-year-old apprentice welder (names withheld) was caught today making love to a hen. The fowl reportedly died during the act.
hen-sexThe taboo was said to have been committed by the apprentice at about 11.20 p.m. at Continental area of Akure metropolis.
The suspect, Vanguard learnt, had committed same taboo with a goat in his home town, Afo in Ose council area of the state.
He was said to have been ex-communicated from his home town because of the offence which made him to move in with his brother in Akure.
Speaking with newsmen, the owner of fowl, Mrs Stella Akintola, who resides in the same building confirmed that the man actually made love to her chicken.
According to her, she went to bed early but was woken up by the noise coming from the chickens at the back of her room, an indication that someone was disturbing their peace.
The discovery
Akintola said she went outside only to find that the back door was still opened. According to her, she became curious and “I shouted to know who was still at the backyard only for him to appear from the corner of the house, saying he went to the toilet because he had a running stomach.”
Akintola said she was not convinced especially as she noticed that the noise from the chickens’ pen stopped abruptly.
She said she went to where the chickens were but nothing was found. “It was when I visited the toilet that I found one of the them stone dead with its feathers littering the floor,” she said.
Still unaware that the suspect was the cause of the death of the bird, Akintola said she raised an alarm only for him to confess that he was responsible for the death of the fowl.
Akintola said the suspect confessed and begged her for forgiveness, saying he would pay any amount for the dead fowl.
She said she decided not to report the matter to the police because she could not stand the rigour she would be subjected to by the police over a “minor offence.”
Report had it that there were evidence that the man actually had sex with the hen when it was examined by the owner and others living in the building.
A spirit directed me to do it —Suspect
In an interview with newsmen, the suspect, who declined to speak initially, however, said a spirit directed him to do what he did.
He said: “I was already sleeping when a spirit just came upon me and directed me to go to the back of the building. I did not know what I was doing again until when I discovered that I had slept with the hen.”
Contacted, the police image maker, Wole Ogodo, said since the matter was not reported to the police, he could not comment on it.
Ogodo noted that “it is what members of the public bring to our notice that we investigate. This is a strange occurrence if what you are telling me is the truth.”

Brave doctor, Adadevoh loses Ebola battle

                                           
Medical Doctor, Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, who saved the country from potential epidemic of the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, yesterday, fell to the vise-grip of the disease which she contracted while attending to the index (first) Ebola case, the late American-Liberian, Patrick Sawyer.
Dr. Adadevoh was infected when she forcefully restricted Mr. Sawyer to his bed after he tried to remove the drip administered on him.
Observers said, yesterday, that her action probably saved many Nigerian lives because, if Sawyer had succeeded in forcing himself out of the hospital, it would have been difficult to trace those who had contact with him.
Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu announced the death, yesterday evening, of Dr Adadevoh.
‘With this unfortunate development the total number of Ebola Virus related deaths in Nigeria now stands at five. The other two patients currently under treatment in the isolation wards are stable and are being taken care of,‘ he stated.
News of her death coincided with confirmation that the last three patients in the isolation centre may be discharged this week.
With her death, Nigeria has recorded five Ebola deaths, of which one was the index (first) case, Patrick Sawyer, one medical doctor, two nurses and the ECOWAS staff. Nigeria also has five Ebola survivors and three more expected to be discharged later this week.
Dr. Adadevoh, an experienced consultant physician and endocrinologist was Lead Consultant with First Consultants Medical Centre, Obalende, Lagos, came into the limelight shortly after the dramatic visit of Sawyer, and will be remembered as the first Nigerian confirmed to test positive to the Ebola virus. A holder of an MBBS from the University of Lagos, UNILAG, as well as a Diploma in Endocrinology from the University of London, the deceased practised in the United Kingdom and Nigeria for more than three decades.
She was a member of the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, the British-Nigerian Association and a Fellow of the National Postgraduate Medical College.

Ebola: Nigerian doctor discharged from isolation centre, five other patients recovering

                        

Onyebuchi Chukwu, minister of health today announced that the first Nigerian, confirmed to have Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) had been discharged following conclusive discharge protocols. Chukwu, who said this said at a news briefing in Yaba, Lagos said that the patients was discharged because she had fully recovered and could go home to resume her normal life. The minister added that five other patients had almost fully recovered.

BusinessDay had earlier reported on Friday that the consultant Endocrinologists at the First Consultant Medical Centre, Obalande, Lagos, diagnosed Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American who imported the disease to Nigeria.

Chukwu said that a Nigeria had recorded a total number of 12 confirmed cases, four deaths and 189 persons under surveillance in Lagos and six persons under surveillance in Enugu. He said that all the persons under surveillance were secondary contacts.

”All the patients under treatment have now moved to the new 40 bed capacity isolating ward provided by the Lagos State Government. Additional equipment has also been made available to the new isolating ward by the Federal Government,” Chukwu explained.

The minister revealed that the trial drug Nanosilver drug which was made available to the Emergency Operations Centre in Yaba, Lagos on August 14 by a Nigerian physician in Diaspora did not meet basic research requirements.

”The experimental drug, Nanosilver did not meet the requirements of the National Health Research Ethics Code. Accordingly, the approval was withheld by the National Health Research Ethics Committee. Other candidate drugs are currently being evaluated by the Treatment Research Group of Ebola Virus Disease. As soon as any of the experimental drugs is cleared by the National Health Research Ethics Committee and is made available , we shall include it in the treatment regimen subject to the informed consent of the patient, ‘ the minister revealed.

Chukwu debunk the rumour of EVD in Imo, Abia and Cross River adding that the case of the disease in Kwara was still under investigation.

”The mother of the child in Kwara tested negative and we are still investigating the child. Also, the case of the corpse in Anambra was already embalmed and we are waiting for the test result. All the mortuary attendants who had contact with the corpse tested negative. So, there is no need to panic, ”he said.

On the suspension of residency training, Chukwu said that there had been problems with the training which also informed the ongoing doctors’ strike.

”The suspension is with all Federal Government hospitals, State teaching hospitals are not affected. The government suspended the training to allow for critical investigation and come up with better ways to improve the training, ”he said.

Chukwu also said that the paper work for the insurance package for volunteers was ongoing and that the Lagos State Government had started implementation of their insurance package for health workers.

Ribadu Dumps APC Joins PDP

                              
A former presidential candidate of Action Congress of Nigeria and ex-chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, has defected from All Progressives Congress to the Proples Democratic Party.

SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that Ribadu’s siblings registered for him at his Makama Ward in Yola South and sent the registration card to him in Abuja to enable him pick the PDP governorship form for the Adamawa State governorship election.

It was also gathered that he would likely address journalists on Monday on his governorship ambition.

When contacted, the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party said it was not aware yet that the former EFCC boss had defected to the party from the All Progressives Congress.

The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Ibrahim Jalo, who spoke with our correspondent in Abuja on Saturday, said, “It is after the official defection that we can say whether he had moved or not and whether he will get waiver or not. Even at that, he has to ask for the waiver.”

On different social media platforms on Saturday, promimemt members of the PDP congratulated Ribadu fir defecting.

Ribadu has been under pressure from the national leadership of the party and the Presidency to defect and contest the governorship election of Adamawa State under the platform of the ruling PDP.

Our correspondent learnt in Abuja that those who had so far indicated interest to contest the election under the platform of the PDP were the former military administrator of Lagos State, General Buba Marwa; former Senator representing Adamawa Central, Abubakar Girei; a former Political Adviser to the President, Ahmed Gulak, and a former Minister, Idi Hong.

Others include Dr. Umar Ardo, former Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission; Dr. Ahmed Modibo; Mr. Markus Gundiri and the son of former PDP national chairman, Mr. Awual Tukur.

The acting Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, has also announced his intention to contest following the pressure he received from 13 of his colleagues from the state House of Assembly.

Ebola: First Lady Patience Jonathan uses New Greeting Method amidst Virus Outbreak

                           
On arrival at the Gdansk Walesa International Airport in Poland on Wednesday 13th August 2014, the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Patience Jonathan, was pictured greeting officials and aides at a respectable distance with a palm-rubbing acknowledgement.

It is being referred as the new way to greet as a result of the Ebola outbreak. Under normal circumstances, the first lady would offer her hand for a shake.

She was in the country to commission a training ship built for the Nigerian Oceanographic Institute for Marine and Research purposes.

Joe Jackson Poses With Dencia’s Whitenicious

                                    
Dencia’s Whitenicious now winning other celebrity fan's recognition.

Joe Jackson, the father of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson was photographed posing with two products from the Cameroonian pop star’s Whitenicious line of cosmetics.
Joe who was dressed in an over sized black jacket and pants, with a black shirt as well as a gold-and-silver tie, was all smiles for the camera.

Dencia’s Whitenicious has been making the rounds at various celebrity gifting suite events.

I trained most of the companies’ security guards in Lagos –Suspected fake cop

                                        
Alexander Ilesanmi Abiodun, 46 years old, and a native of Akure, Ondo State, is a suspected fake Assistant Commissioner of Police officer that was recently apprehended by Lagos police operatives over his alleged illegal deals said to have been perpetrated through his assumed personality. Speaking with our crime correspondent, Adeleke Adesanya, the father of five who is presently languishing in SARS operative net at the  Lagos state command, explained that he had on several occasion trained security guards for security companies in Lagos as most of them believed in his skills. He also confessed on how he impersonates police officer to import vehicles from neighboring countries like Benin Republic and others.Excerts;

Could you tell us how you got enmeshed net?
I was arrested recently after which one of my business partners; Gabriel led policemen to invadedmy house at Ijoko area of Ogun state over a car he sold to me sometimes ago.

You were said to have been parading yourself as an Assistant Commissioner of Police, how did you get the uniform and the insignia?
I got the police uniforms, and frames hung in my house from a friend called Segun. Though, I would not know where he got it from, but from the look of things, it was like he knows much about policing, and through that he was able to get the uniform sewn before handing it over to me. And I paid him for it. Even on any deal I undertake, I do give him his own commission on them.

What have you been using the ACP uniform you got from your friend for?
It was an avenue for me to earn respect in the society; and through it, I have done several businesses for myself and people. Among the businesses I did was car smuggling from the neighboring countries like Benin Republic and others. While on any trip, I always hung the uniform in any car I was smuggling; and when flagged down by any officer, on sighting the uniform, they would naturally give me respect meant for any real police officer with same rank. And with the rank, I was able to do the business easily because my vehicle would never be subjected to any form of search.

If you are to think of it, how many vehicles would you say you successfully smuggled into the country before the bubble burst?
Since I started the art, I can safely say that I smuggled several vehicles, which include six cars between 2011 and 2014. The police and other security agencies did not stop me at checkpoints whenever I am bringing such cars. And the value of the cars ranges from 1.1 million CFAs to 1.7 million CFAs.

Who were your buyers, and how did they get particulars for the cars?
I have some people around me who respect me a lot and some of them knew that I was also into car dealing; so they get me buyers from anywhere. The people I sold them to would go to get the papers for themselves. I sold each for various prices ranging from N1m, N1.3 million, and upward. It depends on the grade of such cars.

What then is your relationship with Gabriel Asaolu?
I know Grabriel Asaolu very well. He is an Ondo State indigene. When I knew him, he introduced himself as a pastor of a church at Oke Aro, Ogun State; and I had earlier been to his church for a revival. As time went by, we had discussions bordering on car dealing business too; and that he could supply me various cars at cheaper prices. From there, we went into car-selling deals.

What can you say about the Avalon car that was recovered from you?
I bought the car from Gabriel around August 2011. Gabriel called me that he had some cars he wanted to sell. He then sold the Avalon to me for N750, 000. I was using the car for myself. I did not sell it. That was the only vehicle he sold to me.

With your fake personality, what other job do you do?
With the police uniform, people from companies in Lagos came to me for assistance. I trained some of their security operatives as spy policemen, and they paid me for the services rendered. They always come because they believed so much in my personality as an Assistant Commissioner of Police. They believe being an officer with such a rank in the Nigeria Police Force, I would have all it takes to train good guards, and I was doing it wonderfully well for them, while they pay me handsomely too.
Meanwhile, Alexander Ilesanmi Abiodun, was arrested in April this year by the operatives of Nigeria police, Lagos command after which a robbery suspect, Gabriel, who was initially arrested for snatching several exotic cars, identified him as one of the receivers of his stolen vehicles. Gabriel told the police that he had sold two stolen vehicles (a Mitsubishi Montero Jeep and a Toyota Avalon car) to Abiodun.
It was at the course of verifying the allegations that Abiodun was arrested following a painstaking investigation by the operatives of SARS led by their Commander, Superintendent Abba Kyari.
As a matter of fact, Gabriel led detectives to Ilesanmi’s house where the Avalon car was recovered while the jeep was said to have had an accident in Ondo State.
A hot search conducted in the house of the suspect, according to the police, led to the recovery of the following items; an Assistant Commissioner of Police uniform with insignia, a Deputy Superintendent of Police uniform with insignia, and two photo frames of the suspect in police uniform with the same rank. The police also said they recovered an unregistered Acura Jeep from his house, which was suspected to have been brought to him by yet another gang member. The suspect, as at the time of filing this report, was responding to questions at the command’s police custody while investigation on the matter continues.

Ebola: Why my husband travelled to Nigeria – Patrick Sawyer’s wife

The widow of late Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian who brought Ebola into Nigeria, has defended her husband’s decision to travel to Nigeria, saying he did so in desperate search for a country with better healthcare system than his own country.
In an article published earlier yesterday, TMZ Liberia Magazine quoted Decontee Sawyer, who is a radio host in New York, as explaining that Mr. Sawyer had no trust in the healthcare system in Liberia and had possibly headed to Nigeria with the hope of receiving better treatment for his ailment.
According to an online publication, Premium Times, Mrs. Sawyer shared her thoughts on her Facebook profile from which TMZ Liberia sourced it for publication. “I’ve read other reports in other papers (not the New York Times) about Patrick’s “recklessness.” I get where they’re coming from, and they certainly have the right to feel the way they do. However, as Patrick’s widow, I would like to shed some light on this from another perspective. One that only I, his wife, would know,” she wrote.
“I knew Patrick better than anybody else (including himself). He had told me many times in the past how much he didn’t trust the Liberian healthcare system. He would tell me about how a person would get checked in for one thing, and get misdiagnosed and get the wrong treatment as a result. On top of that, Patrick was a clean freak, and told me how filthy a lot of the hospitals were.
“He didn’t tell me this, but I know in my heart of hearts that Patrick was determined to get to Nigeria by all means because he felt that Nigeria would be a place of refuge. He has expressed to me many times in the past that he felt passionately about helping to be a part of strengthening Liberia’s healthcare system, but he knew it wasn’t there yet, and he wouldn’t want to take a chance with his life because a lot of people depended on him… Patrick had a passion for life, and he wouldn’t have wanted his to end. So, I bet anything that he was thinking, if I could only get to Nigeria, a way more developed country than Liberia, I would be able to get some help. How ironic.”
In her post, Mrs. Sawyer wrote that the fact that her husband avoided contact with others at the James Sprigg Payne’s Airport in Monrovia as revealed by airport CCTV footage proved he didn’t set out to infect others with the disease and perhaps his actions were that of a dying man in desperate search for help.
“It has been reported that Patrick avoided physical contact with everyone he came across during his trip from Liberia to Nigeria. When he got to Nigeria, he turned himself in letting them know that he had just flown in from Liberia.
“Patrick went to Nigeria for help so that he can get properly diagnosed, and not misdiagnosed in Liberia. And if it came back that he did have Ebola, he trusted the Nigerian healthcare system a lot more than he trusted the Liberian’s. His action, as off as it was, was a desperate plea for help. Patrick didn’t want to die, and he thought his life would be saved in Nigeria.”
Mrs. Sawyer then took a swipe at the Liberian President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who said Mr Sawyer was indiscipline and disrespectful for failing to heed medical advise not to travel. Mrs Sawyer said if President Johnson-Sirleaf had fixed the healthcare system in Liberia, her husband would not have left in search of treatment elsewhere.
“I write today, not simply because of Patrick, but because of the broken healthcare system in the Liberia, and the government’s inability under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (and other past Presidents) to fix it. Good doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers aren’t given the support they need to save lives. She wrotes

Ebola: 21 persons isolated in Enugu

                              
This is official. Lagos is not the only state in Nigeria that has been hit by the deadly Ebola Virus Disease; Enugu has become the next in line.
Twenty one persons out of the 198 so far quarantined because of the virus are in Enugu, says the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku.

Maku told State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja on Wednesday that Enugu came into the picture because one of the nurses that treated the American-Liberian, Patrick Sawyer, shunned medical advice and travelled to the city.
Sawyer, the index case of EVD in Nigeria, died on July 25 in an Obalende, Lagos hospital five days after he arrived in the country.
The matron of the hospital died last week while an Economic Commission of West African States Protocol Officer, Jatto Abdulqudir, who picked up Sawyer from the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos passed on on Tuesday.

He said all those the nurse came into contact with, including her husband, were currently under quarantine.

The minister said, “All those who had primary contacts have been quarantined. Secondary contacts have also been traced.

“So far, the number of people that have been traced is 198. Out of this number, 177 are in Lagos. Some are in quarantine, some are being monitored by health specialists.

“21 persons in Enugu are also being watched. This is because one of the nurses that was involved with the treatment of the index case, unfortunately, disobeyed medical instructions and somehow travelled to Enugu.

“All those who she was in contact with, including her husband, are under quarantine. The medical team have been able to trace all those who came into contact with her.

“Health workers are now in all our border units.   We also have   health workers that are working in our airports and seaports.
“We are calling on citizens specifically to cooperate. If health workers say you have had come into contact with A,B,C, don’t move to anywhere, respect that judgment. It is very important.

“In one or two cases where we have had disobedience, we lost one of them and this one now moved with it to another place (Enugu).
“So, we are urging Nigerians, please to help us in making sure that all these messages and appeals we are making on you, we implement them.”

On possible treatment, Maku said some Nigerians who felt they could assist in developing therapies for the virus had started approaching the government.

He said a special committee set up for that purpose had started collating the various claims with a view to verifying them and making recommendations to the government.
The minister added, “In terms of possible treatment, the Ministry of Health has set up a special committee specifically to take claims from Nigerians who believe they could help and so far we have had a lot of reports from Nigerians at home and abroad who came forward to say they have possibility of developing therapies that could help in fighting the virus.
“There is no cure so far anywhere in the world. Even the trial drug in the US is still a trial drug. It has not been established that it can cure EVD.

‘‘One of the doctors and research experts that came forward is Dr. Simon Agwale, who has been one of the frontline global researchers on developing vaccines for HIV and other viral diseases.
“He also came forward and said he could help, both in terms of working out to develop a vaccine, which he said he has started work on with his fellow experts in the United States.

Okagbare Leads NigeriaTo 4x100m Gold, Top Of Medals Standing

                               
Blessing Okagbare won her second title at the on-going 19th African Championships in Marakech,Morocco when she led the quartet of herself,Gloria Asumnu, Dominique Duncan and Lawreta Ozoh to the 4x100m gold in 43.56 seconds.It was Nigeria’s fourth consecutive win of the title after Damola Osayomi anchored the team to gold in 2008 in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia.Nigeria has now won 10 of the 19 gold medals offered so far in the championships since its inaugural edition in 1979 in Dakar,Senegal. Cote D’Ivoire picked the silver (43.99) while Ghana won the bronze in 44.06 seconds.

Quartermiler Folasade Abugan Tuesday in Marakech,Morocco returned Nigeria to the top of the women’s 400m at the African championships by winning the gold medal 16 years after Falilat Ogunkoya successfully completed a 200m/400m double in Dakar,Senegal.

Abugan profited immensely from the misfortune of Botswana’s perrenial winners,Amantle Monthso who tested positive for a banned substance at the Commonwalth Games in Glasgow,Scotland to win her first African title in a photo-finish with Zambia’s Kabange Mupopo as both athletes were clocked at 51.21 seconds with another Nigerian,Patience Okon George picking the bronze medal.

Abugan,silver medallist in Glasgow just under a forthnight ago has also improved on her bronze medal finish in 2010 in Nairobi.

‘I am so happy to win because four years ago I won a bronze medal but this time around, I am the African champion. This season has been a great one for me as I became national champion, won a bronze at the IAAF World Relays and silver at the Commonwealth Games. I am going to train harder ahead of the Continental Cup,”she said. Abugan has thus become the seventh Nigerian winner of the title.

In women’s Discus Throw,Chinwe Okoro broke Monia Kari of Tunisia’s 58.46m championships record with a new 59.79m personal best to retain the title she first won two years ago in Porto Novo,Benin Republic.She remains the second Nigerian woman after Grace Apiafi (1988) to win the gold medal.Okwelogu Nwanneka also of Nigeria won the silver medal (51.66m).

A delighted Okoro whose any of her four legal throws could have won the gold is already eyeing a better performance at next month’s IAAF Continental Cup which will also hold in Marrakech.

“It was my best performance and my next goal is to realize the best record in the next coming competitions,”she said.

It was also gold and silver for Nigeria in the women’s triple jump as Brume Ese (6.50m) and Chinazom Amadi (6.40m) dominated events in the pit.