The Presidency on Tuesday described a former presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), as a leading protagonist of violence.

It said that apart from his ambition to rule the country again, Buhari had refused to contribute meaningfully to actions capable of ending insecurity in the country.
Buhari, a former Head of State and now the National Leader of the CPC, had on the Hausa service of the British Broadcasting Corporation on Monday, said the Federal Government should be blamed for the lingering security challenges in the country.
He also flayed the Goodluck Jonathan administration for what he called “poor handling of insurgency” that had led to the death of many Nigerians and destruction of properties.
While reacting to this, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, told our correspondent in an interview in Abuja that it was unfortunate that such a statement could emanate from Buhari.Describing Buhari as a man he respects so much, Okupe added that he had no option but to reply to his accusations against the Federal Government and the President.
He reminded Nigerians that Buhari had previously been credited with a statement that he would make the country ungovernable if the last presidential election did not favour him.
Okupe said, “Everybody in this country knows that it was Buhari who vowed that if he did not win the election, he would make the country ungovernable for this President.
“It was this same Buhari, who said during the electioneering period that if the votes were counted and he lost, people should go for blood.
“He is not in any position to apportion blame on the issue of violence in the North or in Nigeria in general.
“He is a protagonist of violence. The only solution he sees to his not being President is to call for violence.
“This government has tried to contain some of the repercussions of the unguarded statements made by Buhari and I don’t think anybody in Nigeria will take him seriously on this allegation.”
The presidential aide added that if there were those to be blamed for the insecurity in the country, the name of Buhari should top the list.
Okupe wondered why the Katsina State-born general had refused to visit states like Borno and Yobe despite the fact that he hails from the northern part of the country.
He said, “As a former Head of State, have you ever seen him (Buhari) visiting Borno or Yobe State? Have you ever seen him show sympathy to people , either Christians or Muslims that have been killed during these attacks (by Boko Haram)?
“Have you see him as a leader, a man who traversed the entire length and breadth of the North especially to canvass for votes seeking an end to the violence; why is it that he cannot use that same clout that he has to get leaders together and say we must put an end to this carnage?
“He finds it comfortable to shift the blame to other people. What has he done as a leader, who is from that region to help Nigeria and the North out of this unfortunate development?
“Nigerians should ask him, as a former Head of State and stakeholder in the Nigeria project and a man who wants to be President again, if he would want Nigeria to be destroyed up to a point before he can try to wade in? It does not work that way.”
Okupe said that as a leader, Buhari should stop apportioning blame, but should do something crucial to bring the carnage in the country under control.
He reminded the former military ruler that during the crisis in Niger Delta, leaders from the region went into the creeks and discussed with the militants to lay down their arms.
“Has Buhari done that? When Christians were killed, he kept quiet, when mosques were bombed, he did not say anything. He doesn’t have any other interest in Nigeria but his inordinate ambition to rule,” he added.
In his reaction, Buhari said there was no way he could be involved in the discussion on how to end the carnage since he was not part of the problem.
Buhari, who spoke through the National Publicity Secretary of the CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, also said it was apparent that those responsible for the crisis in the Niger Delta were the ones that volunteered to end it.
He said, “When the Niger Delta militancy reached a crescendo, some notable people from that region went into the creeks as he (Okupe) alleged.
“The question is: ‘Who were the people who started the Niger Delta imbroglio ab initio?’ If the people that initiated and executed a problem decided to resolve it, what can anyone do about it? This is totally different from the Boko Haram palaver.”

The Nigerian Army yesterday called the citizenry to activate their vigilance over terrorism fully, as it has made a new discovery that the group is amassing weapons to launch fresh attacks.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Onyeabor Ihejirika, who made the revelation said: “As we speak, I am aware that Boko Haram is training some where,
I am also aware that Boko Haram is ordering new equipment and planning new attacks.” General Ihejirika spoke while declaring open, an interactive session on the Military-Media Relations in Nigeria, insisting that since Boko Haram was amassing weapons, the Army would not rest on its oars in the fight to cut off the supply of line of the group. He said: “I talk so much about the use of force because that is my own line of business, my job is to destroy the terrorist, if
I am able to find them or to deny them access or curtail their movement generally. But I want to say that curbing terrorism like any other problem requires multifaceted approach. There is no country where terrorism had been curbed that force was not applied.” He said Boko Haram is not a menace Nigerians expect to vanish overnight, noting the reasons Boko Haram still florished in Nigeria to include; insufficient security awareness, undue publicity, which encourages and fuel their activities, porous borders, which we are finding ways and means of policing and external support, which they get despite efforts to stop them.
The Army chief said cutting external support of Boko Haram group would be done through collaboration with Nigeria’s neighbours, insisting that: “I am aware that there is collaboration at the Presidency level and the office of the National Security Adviser and Chief of Defence Staff. Particularly the Chief of Defence Staff is meeting with the CDS of countries around Nigeria and some of these collaborations will be in terms of joint patrol. We are also establishing Forward Operation Bases that will enhance border patrol, but the most important of all these is the public security awareness.”
Ihejirika revealed that one of the headquarters of Boko Haram, which was discovered in Kano, was within areas where law-abiding citizens were living, explaining that the owner started building reinforced wall and the residents never asked question “and they never know what the man was into until he was discovered. It took the army a whole night to pull down the wall and gain access into the compound.
If only the residents knew and had asked question, they would have been able to report to the law enforcement agents before the problem escalated.” He said findings by the Nigerian Army revealed that the sect recruits their followers, mostly the uneducated and disgruntled, through a covert radicalization process that assures all adherents of many heavenly benefits once they kill non-adherents. It urged the media to expose the activities of the sect to assist the security agencies curb the menace.
While acknowledging the role of the media towards improved security within the country, the Chief of Army Staff said: “As we are all aware, the increasing role of the media in warfare takes root in the dynamics of the global security environment.”

NEWS:NEIGHBOUR'S SCROTUM SLICED BY TWO BROTHERS OVER N200

blurred victim scrotum and his father

Culled from vanguardngr

For 22-year-old Sunday Onyike, a Business Administration student of  Yaba College of Technology, Yaba-Lagos, the hope of successfully rounding up his programme with the his peers have been dashed.

This is because of  the prolonged treatment he has been receiving since March, 2011 as a result of  serious injury he sustained during a scuffle with  his neighbours identified as Augustine Eleyi, 28, and  Emeka Eleyi, 32, from Ohozara in Mgbo Ebonyi State. Read more after the cut.

Sunday, the only son of his parents from Ohafia in AbiaState, had his scrotum slashed off during a fight with two of his neighbours.

Narrating the circumstances that led to the problem to Crime Guard at their Makoko residence, the father of the victim, Onyike Okpara,65, stated;  “I have been living in this compound since 1970.   I had five children but only two are alive; that is Sunday and his younger sister who works at LagosIsland.

I occupy two rooms in the building, one room which I sleep in, and the other at the back of the building, where my children sleep. When ever my daughter comes home from work, she buys and shares biscuits, sweets and gala to our neighbour’s children.  So, the children always look forward to her returning from work.

More so, when  ever she is sharing these goodies to the children, two of our neighbours, Augustine Eleyi and his elder brother, Emeka Eleyi (who normally sits on the chair I kept in front of my children’s room at the boys quarters to smoke Indian hemp), would always walk up to them, grab what ever is within their grasp, and flee. Instead of them to ask, they would grab what ever they can and run away. My daughter complained about this to me, and I had called and cautioned them to desist from such act, but they would not listen.

On the evening of March 1st, 2011,  she was seated at the boys’ quarters with some children  sharing some gala when Augustine Eleyi, came and as usual, grabbed one gala and ran away.

My daughter pursued him and in the process, N200 fell from his pocket.   She picked it up and said it would serve as a payment for all the gala and biscuits he has been snatching from them.

Later on, on a second thought, she  decided to give him back the money as she thought it was not worth it.

Having searched around for him, and not knowing of his whereabouts, she decided to give him the money the next day.

On the evening of that day which was the 2nd of March, 2011, after she got back from work, she took the money to him at the boys quarters, but he said he does not want it anymore. At that point, an argument ensued between them, during which his younger brother, Emeka Eleyi collected the money from my daughter.

As the argument continued, my son Sunday who was in the room preparing for the next day’s lecture, told his sister to let the matter be, and go to our main room and sleep, while he asked Augustine and Emeka to leave the place because they were disturbing him with their noise.

Augustine asked him if the place looked like his school hostel, that if he wants to read, he should pack his books and go to his school hostel. As the argument raged, he slapped my son, who grabbed him on his shirt asking ‘what have I done to you’?, Emeka rushed to them pretending as if we was going for peace only for him to grab my son’s two hands, while Augustine rushed and fetched a sharp object, and used it to slash my son’s scrotum.

I feel he actually wanted to cut off his male organ, but missed. My son’s cry of agony attracted the attention of passersby, because part of the compound is a thoroughfare; it was these passersby that ran to inform us at the other side of the building.

I ran to the place and met my son in a pool of his blood. On sighting us, the culprits bolted. I wanted to run after them but I was weakened by the sight of my son lying in pains, in the pool of his blood.

I also thought, if I go after them at that point, what would be the fate of my son when I get back, hence I opted to stay back, with the help of the other neighbours and some of our church members, my son was rushed to the State Criminal Investigations Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba,  from where we obtained a note to take him to the hospital. At that time, the GeneralHospital was on strike, we brought my son back to Adekunle Police Station, and they asked us to find a private hospital and take him there.

So, we took him to a private hospital at Iwaya. Augustine and Emeka were later apprehended by neighbours who went after them, and handed over to the police.”

Crime Guard learnt that the case has been at the Yaba Magistrate’s Court since 2011.  Onyike Okpara  further told our reporter that for  one month his son was at the hospital in Iwaya, the Eleyi family only contributed N15,000 for the medical bills. He stated, “after the initial N15,000 installment  they brought when Sunday was taken to the hospital, I have not heard from them.

Three times, my pastor and family called them to seek out ways to settle the matter amicably; when they come, they will be dribbling us, they will promise to contribute to the medical bills but we wont hear from them after that. I have so far spent almost N200,000, I have the medical bill to prove that”.

He also alleged that some members of the Eleyi family have threatened him to accept their term of payment, which is to pay N40,000, as their contribution; and withdraw the case from court.  He stated, “On November 18, 2012 at about 9:30pm, they sent six men, out of which I recognized three, they came asking me to sign a document, I could not properly read through because of my poor sight, at that time of the night.

One of them practically told me that “ so many people die in Lagos every day, and their corpses are never discovered; I would want your corpse to be found”. What he meant by that, I do not know. I don’t feel safe anymore.

First, they tried to take my son away, now they are threatening me to accept a condition I don’t think any of them would accept if it were their son that was involved.”

Counsel to the defendant, Worer Obuagbaka, on his part told Crime Guard that what happened between the defendant and the complainant was unfortunate.  According to him, they have been living peacefully together for some years, what we are trying to do is to see if we can settle the case amicably.” He said the defendants have been granted bail but are still in police custody because they have not been able to perfect their bail.

MURDER: Two-Month-Old Daughter, Dare-Devil Robber Father & Gang Armourer Mother Arrested– Police

This is bizarre but true. A two-month -old girl was arrested and paraded in lieu of her father who was suspected to be a dare-devil robber. The mother was taken into custody along the toddler identified as Oyinkansola. It happened in Ogun State.
Policemen stormed the residence of  the alleged  armed robber, Ismail Adeosun, at Ago-Ika in Abeokuta North local government area and, because they could not find the suspect, they arrested every Adeosun available.
Oyinkansola was celebrated  with wide media coverage, but in a grotesque  manner.
Tongues are wagging over the  propriety of  the action of the police. Many are asking  what offence the baby committed to warrant the treatment. .
Little Oyinkansola  was among six suspects paraded by the Ogun State Police Command at its headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta, the state capital, in connection with alleged armed robbery and murder cases which have claimed the lives of no fewer than six people.

Justifying the action, the police said Oyinkansola’s  father, Ismail, 26, who  was  at large,  was identified as the ring leader of an armed robbery team.
The mother,Fausat, 19 , was said to be   the armourer of the team, Oyinkasola’s uncle and aunt, Tobi Adeosun, 15, and Iyabode Adeosun respectively, were also not spared as the whole family  were  cooling  their feet in police custody.
When challenged on  the allegation leveled against her by the police, Oyinkansola’s mother  denied the knowledge of her husband’s robbery business but said that he (Ismail) operated  a film house in Igbo-Ora area of Oyo State.
She  told Sunday  Vanguard that  when she noticed that a gun was brought to the house, her husband threatened to kill her if she informed  anybody  about it.
“On Sunday, he came to me and I asked him whether he had removed his gun from my house because we don’t live together but he said he and his friend, Danladi, were around to pick the gun, I never knew he was a thief until he brought the gun to my house”,she said.
“He asked me whether I had told anybody and even threatened to kill me if I had informed anybody and that he will run away and leave me to suffer on his behalf, but I told him I never informed anyone.
“Unfortunately, the police came on Monday and asked me about the gun but I told them his brother had taken the gun away. That was how I was arrested,” she said.
Sunday Vanguard gathered that two other members of the gang, Danladi Musa and Taiwo Muse, were arrested by the police  when, according to the state police commissioner, Ikemefuna Okoye, the police stormed  the residence of the suspects where  locally made guns and other ammunition were recovered.
Okoye explained that his  men acted on information provided by a member of the
gang who had earlier been arrested and stormed the residence of the suspects where  Oyinkansola  and others were arrested.
The commissioner said investigation was on and that the suspects would be charged to court upon completion of the investigation. “This woman has been keeping gun for her husband and his 15- year- old brother is also the armourer of the gang,” he said.
Speaking with Sunday Vanguard,   Ismail’s younger brother, Tobi, narrated that it was his brother who the police were looking for before they arrested all the family members including the two months old baby.
But  the police commissioner insisted that Tobi is the armourer of the gang while Ismail’s wife has also been keeping her husband’s arms and ammunition before luck ran out on them.
Tobi, who was allegedly arrested with some ammunition in his possession,wassaid tohave confessed to the police that it was Ismail’s  wife   that had  been keeping the gun for her husband, adding that he was only brought to the scene to relocate the arms when the police invaded the house. “It was his wife who has been helping him to watch over his guns.
That day when the police came, his wife, Fausat,called me to hide the gun behind a block beside the house, it was wrapped inside a cloth and, when the police came, I told them everything and even took them to where the gun was hidden,”he said.
“At first, I lied to the police because I was scared and I had never experienced such, I never knew my brother was a thief until that day.”
One of the two suspected members of the gang in police net, Danladi, confessed   his involvement in some robbery cases, while he further narrated that no fewer than five people lost their lives during the operations.
When asked how he was caught by the police, the suspect said it was in the process of stealing a car in Sango area of  Ogun State. He said he was introduced into the business about a year ago.
“I am here because I stole a Golf car at Sango area of the state, I am an armed robber, a friend introduced me to the work in January last year”,he said “I have mistakenly killed someone in the process of my work, it wasn’t my intention to kill the person but he was dragging ammunition with me and i mistakenly fired the shot. It was the same person who introduced me to the work that gave me the ammunition. His name is Ismail but he is at large.
“I didn’t know the person I killed but he was dragging the ammunition with me, probably he thought the gun was empty. We were in the same car in November last year when the incident happened. I have stolen about five cars and the driver of our gang by name Abati was the one in charge of the cars. I don’t know where the cars are now but Abati has also escaped.”
The other member of the gang who was also nabbed by the police, Taiwo, confessed that no fewer than five people had been killed during the operations in which he participated.
He said  that all his effort was because of N30, 000 promised by the alleged gang leader, Ismail, that made him to  join the group.

PHOTOS: 2Face And Annie Idibia On Their Wedding Day

Check out the first set of pictures from Innocent 'Tuface' Idibia and Annie Macauly's wedding taking place at Hilton Hotel, Dubai today.
The red-themed, star-studded event is currently ongoing and the ceremony looks beautiful so far.. all i can say is hmmmmmmmmmm. *i reserve my comment*

PHOTOS: Shell Exposes World's Largest Illegal Oil Refinery In President Jonathan's Backyard

Ebiowei, 48, drags a hose used to help siphon crude oil in an illegal oil refinery site near river Nun in Nigeria’s oil state of Bayelsa.




A man working at an illegal oil refinery site pours oil under a locally made burner to keep the fire going, near river Nun in Nigeria’s oil state of Bayelsa

Chinua Achebe is Dead

Wole Soyinka commented on Cool Fm, a private radio station in Lagos on how devasted he is on the death of talented and celebrated writer, Chinua Achebe.

According to BBC’s Fidelis Mbah of the BBC, who monitored the interview, the Nobel Laureate said: “I’m just devastated. I only heard about half an hour ago and I don’t want to say anything yet. I’m just devastated.”
Achebe, a talented and celebrated writer and author of the timeless novel, Things Fall Apart, passed on last night in a a hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.