by Admin | Oct 21, 2016 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI Mr. Ebebe Ukpong, whom Justice Inyang Okoro in his letter accused of leading the former governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress in Akwa Ibom State, Umana Umana, to his house to discuss issue of bribe, has denied the allegation. A statement by Ukpong on Thursday indicated that he (Ukpong) did not lead anybody to Justice Okoro nor attend any meeting in Okoro’s house where the said issue was discussed. “I have never led anyone to Justice Okoro nor attended any meeting in his house where the issue of bribery, corruption of any kind or perversion of justice was discussed. “Of course, I could never have and will never contemplate such as it is against my personal principles informed by my relationship with the Almighty God. I stand always for the truth, integrity and fairness,” the statement added. Okoro, one of the judges arrested by the Department of State Services over allegation of corruption, in a letter to the Chief Justice, Mahmud Mohammed, had said, “Umana also made the same request of assistance to win his appeal at the Supreme Court. Umana talked about ‘seeing’ the justices who would hear the appeal. “Pastor (Dr.) Ebebe Ukpong, who led Mr. Umana Umana to my house, intercepted and said that the issue of ‘seeing’ the justices was not part of their visit and that, as a pastor, he would not be part of such a discussion. Mr. Umana apologised. I advised them to go and pray about the matter and get a good lawyer. That was how they left my house.” Ukpong, who described Justice Okoro as a brother, whom...
by Admin | Oct 20, 2016 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI The police in Lagos State have arrested a man, identified only as Nathaniel, for allegedly drugging and raping his 14-year-old housemaid in the Ikotun area of the state. PUNCH Metro learnt that Nathaniel, who stayed on Ajisegiri Street, in the Egbe area, was arrested by the Ikotun Police Division on Sunday. It was gathered that the suspect allegedly lured his housemaid, Chinwe (pseudonym), with a cup of juice penultimate Monday, which contained a sedative. The two persons were reportedly alone in the apartment on the day. The victim, who is an orphan, was brought from a village in the south eastern part of Nigeria to work in Nathaniel’s house. It was said that when she woke up, she found that she was naked. She also reportedly found semen in her private parts. Our correspondent gathered that after the incident, Chinwe fled the house, dropping a letter for the suspect’s wife to intimate her on the sexual abuse she (Chinwe) had allegedly suffered. It was learnt that the teenager also confided in a neighbour, who is a pastor in the area. The pastor was said to have informed a child rights’ organisation, which in turn reported at a police station. In the letter obtained by PUNCH Metro, Chinwe wrote that she did not want to return to the house as she was fed up with sexual abuses allegedly by Nathaniel. She said, “Dear aunty, I want to go. I am suffering here. Look at what your husband has been doing to me. The last time that he did it, he gave me a drink and I did not...
by Admin | Oct 20, 2016 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI A suspected armed robber arrested by security operatives attached to Ndiegoro Police Division in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, has said that the quest for money to pay his medical bill led him into armed robbery. The suspect, identified as Ifeanyi Chukwundukwe, and other members of his gang allegedly robbed a betting shop (BET9JA) at No. 21, Ogechi Street, Aba on several occasions. The 32-year-old Chukwundukwe together with one Joseph Umah, (23) and one Chijoke Godwin reportedly stole a laptop computer from the shop and sold it to one Ifeanyi Okocha at the cost of N15,000. It was learnt that the gang, which had been robbing shops in the area, had robbed the betting shop over three times and based on the advice by the police, the shop owner put in place security measures. The security measures, it was gathered, led to the arrest of the suspects. The Abia State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adeleye Oyabade, who confirmed the arrest of the suspects, said Umah and Chukwundukwe, were also suspected to be members of a gang that attacked and killed two policemen at the Ogbor Hill area of Aba. Oyabade advised members of the public to take proactive measures to protect their properties and business premises by fixing security devices. He said the police had launched a manhunt for the fleeing members of the gang, while those arrested would soon be arraigned. Speaking with Southern City News, Chukwundukwe confessed to stealing the laptop and selling it to raise money for a surgical operation. He said, “I have something that looks like a boil on my...
by Admin | Oct 20, 2016 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI Sometime ago, the United Nations declared every October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child. This year’s theme was Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: What Counts for Girls. Though there are 17 Sustainable Development Goals, SDG5 speaks of Gender Equality while SDG10 talks of Reduced Inequalities. The Nigerian girl-child needs both. The United Nations says: “Only through explicit focus on collecting and analysing girl-focused, girl-relevant and sex-disaggregated data, and using these data to inform key policy and programme decisions can we adequately measure and understand the opportunities and challenges girls face, and identify and track progress towards solutions to their most pressing problems”. In Nigeria, credible data are a serious challenge to national planning. More often than not, we rely on data provided by international agencies. Such data themselves might be based on projections and not actual figures, hence not totally reliable for planning purposes. Truth be told, the Nigerian girl is seriously challenged. How do I mean? The chances of a girl child realising her full potential is slimmer than those of a boy child. This is because there are more out-of-school girls than there are boys. There are also more girls dropping out of school than their male counterparts. This is largely due to such primordial sentiments as the one expressed by President Muhammadu Buhari in Germany last week when he said his wife belonged to “the kitchen, the living room and the other room.” That, unfortunately, is the belief of many uneducated parents. They see no need to send their female children to school as they are viewed as cooks and baby...
by Admin | Oct 20, 2016 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI ‘We don’t want to go back’: 100 Chibok schoolgirls refuse to leave their Boko Haram captors after two years in captivity *Boko Haram jihadists abducted 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in April 2014 *50 escaped quickly but the others have been held in terrible conditions *President Buhari of Nigeria negotiated the release of 21 girls last week *His spokesman said they were hoping another 83 would be freed soon *But a community leader said 100 of the girls do not want to come back *They were forced to have babies for their captors and apparently fear the stigma of ‘Boko Haram wives’ if they return A community leader involved in the negotiations to obtain the release of the schoolgirls abducted from Chibok in northern Nigeria has said more than 100 of them are unwilling to return home. More than 200 girls were taken from a school in Chibok in April 2014 by members of the extremist Islamist Boko Haram group, who have held them in captivity ever since, forcibly converting many from Christianity. After 21 of the girls were released last week – possibly following the payment of a ransom – Nigeria’s government is negotiating the release of another 83. But Pogu Bitrus, chairman of the Chibok Development Association, said more than 100 others appeared unwilling to leave their captors. He said they were ashamed to return home because they were forced to marry extremists and have their babies. This video was released by Boko Haram in August. Some of the girls may be be suffering from ‘Stockholm syndrome’, where they identify with and feel affection for their...
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