70 Year Old Man Seeks To Dissolve Marriage of 36 Years, Says Wife's Body Odour Bad For His Health

A 70 -years-old man, Mutairu Afolabi, on Monday sought the dissolution of his 36 years marriage to Monsurat, 60, over alleged bleaching and conversion of his wife to Christianity.

Afolabi told the court that as an Imam his wife’s conversion from Islam to Christianity as brought him shame. He said that the marriage was consummated in 1980 and produced four children, from age 20 to 33.

"The smell of her body since she started bleaching is not good for my health, why should she be bleaching at her age, she now a grandmother.

"Her name is Monsurat before I married her, my wife is now known in the whole Celestial Churches in Lagos; I'm an Imam how do I explain that.

"She goes out at will, without my permission, she curses a lot and I can see that her curse is coming to pass in the lives of my children.

"I told my wife that I have diabetes the next day she started singing that God should add honey and sugar to her life.

"She always says that I will soon die, which I know is true, but even if I have a day to live, I want to live in peace, our children have tried but she does not listen,’’ he said.

The respondent told the court that all the allegations levelled against her were false.

"He stopped sharing the same room with me since 2005, he bought a new mattress, when I complained, a family meeting was held but still no change.

"As we speak, he does not give me money to cook in the house, he usually gives money to the children to cook for him.

"When I was sick and hospitalised for three weeks, he didn't come to the hospital even for once to check on me.

"He calls me a witch, he curses me at the slightest opportunity, he said I won't be successful as long as I remain in his house, that is why I changed to Christianity,’’ Monsurat said.

The President of the court Adegboyega Omilola, his ruling for adjournment told the couple to come to court with three family members for possible settlement.

Omilola, however, adjourned the case till Jan 27.


Source: Pulse 

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Jan. 15th 1966: A Night of Blood and Slaughter by Femi Fani-Kayode

Here is an article written by Femi Fani-Kayode on the events of the first military coup in Nigeria, a must read for all students of history. Read article below.

On the night of January 15^th 1966 a coup d’etat took place in Nigeria which resulted in the murder of a number of leading political figures and senior army officers. This was the first coup in the history of our country and 98 per cent of the officers that planned and led it were Igbo. From the political class those that were killed included the following:  Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Prime Minister, who was abducted from his home and whose body was dumped somewhere along the Lagos-Abeokuta road.Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of the old Northern Region, who was killed in the sanctity of his own home together with his wife, his driver and his security assistant. Chief S.L. Akintola, the Premier of the old Western Region, who was gunned down in the presence of his family and Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, the Minister of Finance, who was brutalized, abducted from his home and whose body was later dumped in a bush. 

From the ranks of the military those that were murdered included Brigadier Zakari Maimalari, who had held a cocktail party in his home a few hours earlier that evening which was attended by most of the young officers that participated in the coup. Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun who was shot to death in his matrimonial bed along with his eight-month pregnant wife.  Others included Col. Ralph Shodeinde, Col. Kur Muhammed, Lt. Col. James Pam, PC Yohanna Garkawa, PC Haga Lai, Lance Corporal Musa Nimzo, Sgt. Daramola Oyegoke, PC Akpan Anduka and Ahmed Ben Musa.     

 

Sadly the mutineers came to our home that night as well and they brutalized and abducted my father, Chief Remilekun  Fani-Kayode, the Deputy Premier of the old Western Region. What I witnessed that night was traumatic and devastating for me and my family and, of course, what the nation witnessed that night was horrific. It was a night of carnage, barbarity and terror. The events of that night set in motion a series of events which changed our history. The consequences of the events of that night are still with us till this day. It was a sad and terrible night: one of blood and slaughter.

 

What I witnessed was as follows.  In the middle of the night, my mother came into the room which I shared with my older brother, Rotimi and my younger sister Toyin. I was six years old at the time. The lights had been cut so we were in darkness and all we could see were lights from three large vehicles. The official residence had a very long drive so it took the vehicles a while to reach us.

 

We saw three sets of headlights and heard the engines of three lorries drive up the drive-way. The occupants of the lorries, who were uniformed men and who carried torches, positioned themselves and prepared to storm our home whilst calling my fathers name and ordering him to come out. My father went out to meet them after he had called us, prayed for us and explained to us that since it was him they wanted he must go out there. He explained that he would rather go out to meet them than let them come into the house to shoot or harm us.

 

The minute he stepped out, they brutalised him. I witnessed this. They tied him up and threw him into one of the the lorry. Interestingly, the first thing they said to him was “where are your thugs now?” My father’s response was “I don’t have thugs, only gentlemen.” I think this made them brutalise him even more. They tied him up, threw him in the back of the lorry and then stormed the house.

 

When they got into the house, they ransacked every nook and cranny, shooting into the ceiling and wardrobes. They were very brutal and frightful and we were terrified. My mother, Chief Mrs. Adia Adunni Fani-Kayode, was screaming and crying from the balcony because all she could do was focus on her husband, who was downstairs.

 

“Don’t kill him, don’t kill him!!” she kept screaming at them. I can still visualise this and hear her voice pleading, screaming and crying. I didn’t know where my brother or sister was at this point because the house was in total chaos. I was just six years old and I was standing there in the middle of the house, surrounded by uniformed men who were ransacking the whole place and terrorising my family.

Then out of the blue something extraordinary happened. All of a sudden one of the soldiers came up to me, put his hand on my head and said: “don’t worry, we won’t kill your father, stop crying.” He said this thrice. After he said it the third time I looked in his eyes and I stopped crying. This was because he gave me hope and he spoke with compassion. With new-found confidence I went rushing to my mother who was still screaming on the balcony and told her to stop crying because the soldier had promised that they would not kill my father and that everything would be okay. 

 

I held on to the words of that soldier and that night, despite all that was going on around me, I never cried again. They took my father away and as the lorry drove off my mother kept on wailing and crying and so was everyone else in the house except for me.

 

From there they went to the home of Chief S.L. Akintola, the Premier of the Western Region, a great statesman and nationalist and a very dear uncle of mine. My mother had phoned Akintola to inform him of what had happened in our home. She was sceaming down the phone asking where her husband had been taken and by this time she was quite hysterical. Chief Akintola tried to calm her down assuring her that all would be well.

 

When they got to Akintola’s house he already knew that they were coming and he was prepared for them. Instead of coming out to meet them, he had stationed some of his policemen and they started shooting. A gun battle ensued and consequently the mutineers were delayed by at least one hour. According to the Special Branch reports and the official statements of the mutineers that survived that night and that were involved in the operation their plan had been to pick up my father and Chief Akintola from their homes, take them to Lagos, gather them together with the other political leaders that had been abducted and then execute them all together. 

The difficulty they had was that Akintola resisted them and he and his policemen ended up wounding two of the soldiers that came to his home. One of the soldiers, whose name was apparently James, had his fingers blown off and the other had his ear blown off. After some time Chief Akintola's ammunition ran out and the shooting stopped. His policemen stood down and they surrendered. He came out waving a white handkerchief and the minute he stepped out they just slaughtered him.

My father witnessed Akintola's cold-blooded murder in utter shock and horror because he was tied up in the back of the lorry from where he could see everything that transpired. The soldiers were apparently enraged by the fact that two of their men had been wounded and that Akintola resisted and delayed them. After they killed him, they moved on to Lagos with my father. When they got there, they went to the Officer’s Mess at Dodan Barracks.

 

When they took my dad away everyone in our home thought he had been killed. The next morning a handful of policemen came and took us to the house of my mother’s first cousin, Justice Atanda Fatai Williams, who was a judge of the Western Region at the time. He later became the Chief Justice of Nigeria. From there we were taken to the home of Justice Adenekan Ademola, another High Court judge at the time, who was a very close friend of my father and who later became a Judge of the Court of Appeal.

 

At this point the whole country had been thrown into confusion and no one knew what was going on. We heard lots of stories and did not know what to make of what anymore. There was chaos and confusion and the entire nation was gripped by fear. 

 

Two days later my father finally called us on the telephone and he told us that he was okay. When we heard his voice, I kept telling my mother “I told you, I told you.” Justice Ademola and his dear wife, Auntie Frances, were weeping, my mother was weeping, my brother and sister were weeping and I was just rejoicing because I knew that he would not be killed and I had told them all.

 

I never got to know who that soldier was (that promised me that my father would not be killed), but I believe that God spoke through him that night. I also believe that he may well have been an officer because he spoke with confidence and authority.

 

These individuals who carried out this coup were not alone: they got some backing from elements in the political class who identified with them. Some have said that it was an Igbo coup whilst others have said that it was an UPGA (referring to the political alliance between the Action Group and the NCNC) coup but that is a story for another day.

 

Whatever anyone calls it or believes two things are clear: the consequences of the action that those young officers took that night were far-reaching and the way and manner in which they killed their victims was deplorable and barbaric. Such savagery had never been witnessed in our shores. There has never been another night like that and the results of that night have been devastating and profound. 

 

In my view not enough Nigerians appreciate this fact. Some in our country cannot forgive those who participated in the mutiny and, though I do not share that sentiment or disposition, this is understandable. Others believe that those young men (they were all in their 20's) did the right thing and they say that those killings were necessary and heroic. This is a sentiment which I not only despise but which I also find unacceptable and appalling. There is nothing heroic about rebellion and the murder and carnage of innocent and defenseless men and women. .

 

The coup affected the country in an equally profound manner because the events of that night led to a counter-coupsix months later. It was a devastating and disproportionate response. Sadly after that came the horrendous pogroms and slaughter of the Igbo in the North which eventually led to the civil war in which millions of people died, including innocent children. This was also horrendous and deplorable.

 

Yet the bitter truth is that if the new Head of State, General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, had done the right thing and actually prosecuted the ringleaders of the coup, who were Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, Major Anufuro, Major Ademoyega,  Major Timothy Onwuatuegwu, Captain Emmanuel Nwobosi, Captain Okafor and all the other young officers that planned and executed the coup of January 15th after it was crushed, there would have been no northern revenge coup six months later. 

 

I have not added Major Emmanuel Ifejuana (who was actually the leader of the coup) to the list because he could not have been locked up or prosecuted by General Aguiy-Ironsi simply because he ran away to Ghana immediately after the mutiny in Lagos failed and after he and his co-mutineers were routed by Lt. Col. Jack (Yakubu) Gowon. 

For some curious reason after the coup was successfully crushed, General Aguiyi-Ironsi just locked these young mutineers up and he refused to prosecute them. This bred suspicion from the ranks of the northern officers given the fact that Aguiyi-Ironsi himself was an Igbo. The suspicion was that he had some level of sympathy for the mutineers and the fact that they did not execute him or any other Igbo officer on the night of January 15th during the course of the mutiny only fueled that suspicion. 

 

The northern officers also felt deeply aggrieved about the wholesale slaughter of their key political figures that night. In my view that, together with Aguiyi-Ironsi’s insistence on promulgating the Unification Decree which abolished the federal system of government and sought to turn Nigeria into a unitary state, made the revenge coup of July 29th 1966 inevitable.

The revenge coup was planned and led by Major Murtala Mohammed (as he then was) and it was supported and executed by other young northern officers like Major T.Y. Danjuma (as he then was), Major Martins Adamu and many others. This is the coup that was to put Lt. Col. Jack Gowon (as he then was) in power and when they struck it was a very bloody and brutal affair. 

 

The response of the northern officers to the mutiny and terrible killings that took place on the night of January 15th 1966 and to General Aguiyi-Ironsi’s apparent procrastination and reluctance to ensure that justice was served to the mutineers was not only devastating but also frightful. Hundreds of army officers of mainly Igbo extraction who were perceived to be sympathetic to the January 15th mutineers were killed that night including the Head of State General Aguiyi-Ironsi and the Military Governor of the old Western Region who was hosting him, the courageous Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi. This was very sad and unfortunate.

 

What happened on the night of January 15^th 1966 was unacceptable and uncalled for. I completely disagree with those who think that there was anything good about that coup, the coup of July 29th 1966 or indeed any other coup which took place in the history of Nigeria. This is because blood calls for blood: when you shed blood, other people want to shed your blood, as well. The minute that the shedding of blood in the quest to get power becomes the norm we are all diminished and dehumanised: and this applies to both the perpetrators and the victims.

 

The January 15th coup set off a cycle of events which had cataclysmic consequences for our country and which we are still feeling today. Coups may have happened in other countries in Africa, but it did not mean that it had to happen here. In any case, the amount of blood that was shed that night, the number of innocent people that were killed was unacceptable. It arrested our development as a people and our political evolution as a country. Had it not happened our history would have been very different. May we never see such a thing again.

Yet regardless of the pain of the past I believe that we should do all we can to put these matters behind us. We must not allow ourselves to become prisoners of history. Rather than being propelled by pain and bitterness and becoming victims of history, we must learn from it, be guided by it and move on. We must learn to forgive, even if we do not forget and, equally importantly, we must first establish the truth about those ugly events and understand what actually transpired.

What happened that night traumatized the nation. None of us has been the same since. I identify with that, because I was a part of it, I witnessed it and i was a victim of it. Yet by God’s grace and divine providence, my father's life was spared: not because he was special but simply by the grace of God. Every day I think about those that were killed that night and I remember their families. We share a common bond and we are all partakers of an ugly and frightful history. I tell myself: “were it not for divine providence, my father would have also died and I would not have been what I am today, because he was the one who educated me and did everything for me.” If nothing else I know there was a purpose for that.

 

We must resolve among ourselves that never again will people be attacked in their homes, dragged out, abducted and shot like dogs in the middle of the night. Never again will women, wives and children be slaughtered in this way. Never again shall we witness such barbarity and wickedness in our quest for power. Never again must any Nigerian suffer such brutality and callousness. May the souls of all those that were murdered on January 16^th 1966 continue to rest in peace. 

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TB Joshua files fresh application to stop trial over collapsed building

The Registered Trustees of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations, founded by Prophet TB Joshua, have filed another suit to stop the Lagos State Government from going ahead with their prosecution before the Lagos High Court in Ikeja over the death of 116 persons on September 12, 2014 when a six-storey building collapsed on the premises of the church in Ikotun area of the State.
In the fresh suit filed before Justice Kazeem Alogba of Ikeja High Court, the Trustees of the church are asking the court to stop their proposed arraignment before Justice Lawal Lateef-Akapo of the same court.

The Lagos State Government had had filed 111 counts against the Registered Trustees of SCOAN, two engineers and two companies over the death of the 116 persons.

The arraignment of the accused had been scheduled for Tuesday, January 19, 2016 before Justice Lawal-Akapo.

But in their fresh action, the applicants are urging Justice Alogba to call for the record of proceedings of a Lagos State Coroner Court, presided by Mr. Oyetade Komolafe, which indicted them and recommended them for criminal prosecutions.

Komolafe, who conducted an inquest into the death of the 116 victims of the SCOAN’s building collapse, had on July 8, 2015 decided that the building which killed them was built without approval, adding that its collapse was due to structural defect.

But SCOAN and its engineers - Messrs Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, had rejected the verdict, describing it as unreasonable and one-sided.

In September 2015, Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos had dismissed two similar actions filed by the engineers to squash the coroner’s verdict and prevent their arraignment.

In their fresh suit before Justice Alogba, they are seeking a judicial review of the Coroner’s proceedings, for the purpose of quashing it.

They are also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Attorney General of Lagos State, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, or any officer under his authority from taking any step to enforce the recommendations of the Coroner, including their prosecution.

When the matter came up on Mondaybefore Justice Alogba, the case could not go on as Magistrate Komolafe was absent in court and was not represented by any lawyer.

But a lawyer who represented the Attorney General, Barr. A. O Idowu however pleaded with the court for time to file a response to the suit, while Justice Alogba adjourned till February 4, 2016 for hearing.

Meanwhile, the State Government has vowed to challenge the fresh suit, as government was desirous of pursuing the issues relating to the matter to a logical conclusion.  

SIGNED

BOLA AKINGBADE

DEPUTY DIRECTOR, PUBLIC RELATIONS

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

JANUARY 18, 2016

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Dasukigate: Justice Mahmud Mohammed denies being at war with Buhari, EFCC over court orders

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, yesterday, said that contrary to claims that he had fallen out with pres. Buhari over his refusal to obey court orders granting bail to some suspects implicated in the loot of $2.1b meant for arms procurement, he was not at war with the president or any agency of the government.

A top official said that though there were concerns among judges that some of their judgement in granting bail to suspects by some government agencies, there was also annoyance in the judiciary that many judges had aided and abetted top government officials to loot the treasury through frivolous orders and injunctions which were against the interest of the country and its people.
The senior official close to the CJN said:

“I don’t think that the CJN has issued any statement on any court order relating to the investigation of the arms cash, individuals or groups since he believes that the courts are well able to discharge their duties as enshrined in the laws of Nigeria.

“Again, the thinking in the judiciary seems to be that some judges misused their offices to encourage some corrupt key government functionaries to slip away to foreign land with huge public funds under the guise of seeking avant-gardemedicare.

“If the question may be asked, was it the CJN that ordered those judges to work against the interest of Nigeria by granting frivolous orders that enabled corrupt Nigerian public officers to make away with public funds?

“Let it be known that the CJN does not and will never encourage any form of misdeed having taken the oath of office to remain incorruptible, just and firm in the discharge of his duties to Nigeria and its people.

“I can tell you that the CJN is aware of the frivolous orders being issued by some judges and he cannot, therefore, sympathise with people who threw their integrity to the winds when they should have done the right thing at the right time.”

Vanguard

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World's oldest man aged 131 discovered living, wife 69 years younger than him

Civil servants in Brazil say they have discovered the world’s oldest man - a 131-year-old dad-of-three living with a wife 69 years his junior.
The Guinness Book of Records recognises 112-year-old Yasutaro Koide from Japan as the oldest person alive.
And Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died aged 122 in 1997, holds the record for the world’s longest living person.
Social security workers in Acre in the north of Brazil today caused furore by publishing photos of OAP Joao Coelho de Souza alongside a birth certificate dated March 10 1884.
The document showed he was born in the city of Meruoca in Ceara nearly 2,000 miles to the east of Acre.

A colleague of a civil servant who made a routine visit to confirm he was still alive and therefore eligible for his pension posted the information on his Facebook .
He called on the state government to confirm the find and register Joao for the Guinness Book of Records.
Brazilian papers today said he lived with a wife aged 62 and a granddaughter aged 16 in a village called Estirao do Alcantara, a 30-minute boat ride away from Sena Madureira, a municipality in the centre of the state of Acre.
His daughter Cirlene Souza, aged only 30 which would mean if his age was right that Joao was 101 when she was born, told one paper: “He has days when he is lucid but others when he doesn’t even recognise his children.

“He was very small when he came to work in Acre extracting rubber. “He has been with my mum for more than 40 years and depends on others for everything.”

Responding to doubts about her dad's age, she added:

“You hear everything, people that criticise and say it’s a lie and others that admire the fact someone can live so long.

“It’s sometimes offends me because everything is documented and the documents have already been examined by experts at to see if they’d been falsified and nothing abnormal was found.”

Cirlene said Joao suffered a stroke six years ago but continued to eat three times a day.
His favourite dishes are rice, fish and meat and the only thing he turns his nose up at is a local bean-based dish called feijao.
Kennedy Afonso is the social security worker who posted photos of Joao and his birth certificate taken by a colleague on his Facebook on January 11.
He said:

“I’ve asked one of his children if anyone’s interviewed him and to my astonishment no-one has yet. “The question ‘where are our historians’ immediately springs to mind. “According to a son he is still quite lucid and has a great story to tell.

“I present to you Jose Coelho de Souza, who came to Acre when he was 11.

“I appeal to the state government and the local government in Sena Madureira to determine with the competent bodies whether this is true so they can claim a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the oldest man on the Earth. And he’s from our region.”

Source: Mirror Online

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Dad allegedly kills 3 year old son because his 17 year old girl friend didnt like children

She did not want to share him with his 3-year-old from a previous relationship; he worried she would leave him.

The roiling emotions proved deadly for little Brendan Link Creato, a Camden County prosecutor told a judge Tuesday, seeking high bail for the boy's father, who had reported him missing and now is charged with his murder.

Weeks before Brendan's pajama-clad body was found in Haddon Township woods, David "D.J." Creato Jr. was distraught and arguing with his 17-year-old girlfriend to keep her from leaving him, Assistant Prosecutor Christine Shah said.

The girlfriend, a juvenile whom Shah did not name but who has been identified as Julia Spensky, had warned Creato she disliked children and resented his devotion to the boy. Shah said authorities learned of the fraught relationship mostly from the couple's numerous text messages and online postings.

"She issued an ultimatum to him," Shah said Tuesday after Creato, charged with the Oct. 13 murder of his son, was brought into a Camden courtroom for his first appearance.

Shah said medical examiners determined the boy died of "homicidal violence." Superior Court Judge Edward McBride set bail at $750,000 - lower than the $1 million sought by Shah, but higher than the $250,000 a defense attorney said might be appropriate.

Creato, 22, did not confess to police, but Shah said he told investigators that he was feeling "jealous and anxious" in the hours before he noticed his son had disappeared from his apartment, and that he had been worried that the woman he loved had found someone else.

Creato called 911 at 6:07 a.m. Oct. 13 and told the dispatcher that his child must have unlocked the door and wandered off, Shah said.

"I just woke up, and my 3-year-old's missing," Creato said, according to a recording of the call. "I just woke up and he wasn't in my apartment. I don't know if he wandered out or what happened. I don't know where he is. The door was locked. I guess he unlocked it and left."

Shah said his voice during the call had a "flat affect and tone."

Brendan had been "very afraid of the dark," Shah said, to the point that he had been reluctant to go to the bathroom at night, according to interviews with grandparents and other relatives who had babysat him.

The stretch - about three-quarters of a mile - between Creato's apartment and the muddy spot by the Cooper River where Brendan's body was found is extremely dark at night, very steep at one point, and difficult to negotiate, she said.

Besides, Shah said, Creato was sleeping less than nine feet from the door and would have awakened if Brendan had unlocked it or if an intruder had entered.

It is "a circumstantial case" in which the "circumstances are quite compelling," Shah said, laying out a chilling narrative.

Much of D.J. Creato's life was online, she said. Investigators examined 9,487 text messages he exchanged with his girlfriend after meeting her in June on Tinder, a dating website, and during an "intense romantic relationship" that continued into October. Shah said the teen had written a series of "unbelievable" blogs in which she described her "strong dislike of children."

Creato, shackled and wearing blue jail garb, said nothing during the hearing and mostly looked down.

His attorney, Richard Fuschino Jr., said the prosecutor's version of what happened was improbable, and that his client had cooperated fully and truthfully with investigators.

"He spent an entire day answering the questions of investigators," Fuschino said.

Shah, in saying Brendan died of "homicidal violence," said an examination of his brain showed an abnormality consistent with oxygen deprivation that can be caused by asphyxiation, drowning, or manual strangulation.

The prosecutor said there was unhealed bruising to the right clavicle, near the neck, which indicated that the toddler was injured prior to his death. There was no evidence that an accidental injury or disease caused the child's death, she said.

Shah did not say where the murder took place, but disputed Creato's suggestion that Brendan had gone missing.

"Never once had he left the apartment or his mother's house or his grandparents' by himself," she said.

Shah said that on the night Brendan was killed, Creato had called his girlfriend eight times, and that he noticed from her Snapchat online account that she had met up with a "guy he was jealous of." Then, at 1:37 a.m., he checked his phone again, though he told investigators he had gone to bed at 10 p.m., Shah said.

Shah said problems developed between Creato and his girlfriend after she began attending college in New York and could only visit him on weekends. The teen, who previously lived in Pennsylvania, told Creato that he would have to give up taking custody of Brendan every other weekend to be with her, Shah said.

McBride, the judge, said that if Creato posts bail, he will not be allowed to leave the state or make any contact with Brendan's mother, Samantha Denoto, or her family.

Denoto sat stoically in the front row of the packed, hushed courtroom and declined to comment afterward. She and Creato, who were not married, had shared custody of Brendan. She has made no public comment since the boy's death, when her family issued a statement saying it was "heartbroken" and wanted privacy.

The only sign of emotion Denoto showed was when Shah told the judge that Creato and Spensky still were communicating. Denoto shook her head vigorously, as if she did not believe that was possible.

Shah said the teen was away at college when the child was killed.

In an interview in November, Fuschino identified Creato's girlfriend as Spensky and said she had been at Creato's apartment the weekend before Brendan's death.

In a Tumblr post after Brendan's body was discovered by a K-9 unit, Spensky wrote that she was "possibly a suspect in a homicide investigation."

The post, subsequently removed, also said:

"I was advised by my attorney not to speak to anyone about my case. . . . My boyfriend is in worse trouble than I am and can't leave the state he's in."

Shah said that while they dated, Creato and his girlfriend had visited the spot where Brendan's body was found about 30 times. The pair had taken pictures there and posted them online.

Creato told investigators that it was a "favorite place . . . and he referred to it as spiritual to him," Shah said.

Brendan "was placed there," Shah said, noting that the socks he was wearing when his body was found had no dirt on them.

If convicted of murder, Creato would face a minimum of 30 years in prison without parole and a maximum term of life imprisonment with at least 67 years without parole, the judge said.

Philly News

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Dr. Yakassai laments over anti-corruption war, says Pres. Buhari is insincere

Dr Tanko Yakassai, has described the anti-corruption war of the Muhammadu Buhari led administration as a mere propaganda, adding that it is unfortunate that right thinking men like Prof. Wole Soyinka has been won over.

Dr. Yakassai, who is also the chairman of the Northern Elders’ Council chided the Buhari administration for its open disregard for valid court orders thereby urging him to obey all court injunctions 

relating to the former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) and others being held in custody. He said:

“The Federal Government of Nigeria is only fighting Sambo Dasuki. Should the fight against corruption begin and end with Dasuki? Is he the only “corrupt” person? Till today, they have not even started his case in the court. He was granted bail twice and they refused to let him go. This is not a fight against corruption. It is a propaganda fight.

“They even convinced people like Prof. Wole Soyinka who now believes that there is a fight against corruption, but there is no such thing. Otherwise, how many people have they arrested?

“All the people that are arrested today are connected with Dasuki. No other person has been picked. What of the governors, ministers, top civil servants and local government officials? Can you fight one person and say you are fighting corruption?” he queried.

Vanguard

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PDP Insists On Metuh’s Release ….Urges Nigerians to ignore Jalo

Read the press statement released by the party below...

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has not changed its demand that the Party’s spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh be immediately released or charged to court by the EFCC.

This clarification is on the instance of strange publications in the media credited to Alhaji Abdullahi Jalo on the arrest, by the EFCC, of some of our leaders and particularly our National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh.

Jalo was also quoted to have spoken on behalf of the PDP in calling on former President Goodluck Jonathan to speak out on the controversial arms deal scandal.

The national leadership of the party wishes to clarify that Jalo is not a member of the National Working Committee and does not have the mandate of the party to speak on its behalf on any matter whatsoever.  Under our constitution, only the National Chairman and the National Publicity
Secretary or any body so designated by the National Chairman or the National Working Committee speaks for the party. 

Jalo, clearly does not have this mandate and could not have been speaking for our party.

For the avoidance of doubt, the official position of our great party remains that our spokesman should be released or charged to court as he remains innocent until proven otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction, in line with the provisions of our constitution and the laws of Nigeria.

The PDP is therefore resolute in challenging the continued detention of
our spokesman for a week now, beyond the limits provided by the laws in
violation of his constitutionally guaranteed rights as a citizen. We are
solidly behind our spokesman in the demand for the enforcement of his
rights and liberty. Our demand that he is immediately released or charge
to court has not changed.

Chief Olisa Metuh has the right under the law to his statement and the onus lies on the investigating agency to charge him to court and not to arrogate itself the duties of the judiciary.


The PDP has expressly explained in various statements and press conferences that it is not in any way against fighting corruption
provided it is done within the confines of rule of law and respect for the fundamental Human rights of citizens.

We also wish to reiterate our stand that President Buhari-led Federal
Government has turned the anti- corruption fight as a witch-hunt on PDP
leaders, with a view to decimating the party and installing its desired one party state in the country.

All lovers of democracy, including the international community should
take critical look at the various breaches of this administration and
the threat it brings to civil liberty and national stability and rein in this government to respect the values of democracy.



Signed:

Barr. Victor Kwon

National Legal Advised

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Photos: Singer GT The Guitar Man proposes to longtime girlfriend

Remember him? Talented Singer GT The Guitarman today proposed to his longtime girlfriend Annie.

 He took Annie to the spot where they met six years ago and proposed to her there, so thoughtful and romantic right? Congrats to them. See more photos below...



BTW, where have been GT? We miss you.

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2016 budget reportedly goes missing at National Assembly

According to a report by Daily Trust  the 2016 appropaition bill which was rumoured withdrawn not quite long ago has been announced missing at the National Assembly.

 The disappearance of the budget document was reportedly announced during a closed door session that lasted 90 minutes. Reports revealed that the disappearance of the budget was announced  by the Senate Leader Ali Ndume during the closed door session.  The Senators were supposed to commence the consideration of the N6.08tr budget today.


It should be recalled that President Buhari had on 22nd, December, 2015 presented the budget proposal to the joint session of the National Assembly

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We Have Declared Ambode Enemy Of Ndigbo – Ohanaeze

The apex socio-Igbo cultural organization, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has declared Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode as number one enemy of Ndigbo.

The development is sequel to the demolition of Oshodi market, which is believed to be largely occupied by Ndigbo on the first week of the New Year.

Speaking at a press briefing in Enugu on Monday, the national President of the Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, alongside the National Secretary, Okwu Nnabuike said Ambode by his actions had drawn a battle line between himself and the entire Igbo land.

While describing the demolition as “an action done in bad faith”, the group wondered why the Lagos State Government should carry out such act at a time when it clearly knew that the owners of the shops were in their villages for the Christmas and the New Year festivities.

He said, “it is instructive to observe here that contrary to all principles of common justice, the traders were merely given few days quit notice. It is equally shocking that the government chose such a wrong time for the demolition exercise, thereby not only taking the shops from them but making sure that their wares were looted.

“We are forced to ask: could this be the starting point in implementing Oba of Lagos’s earlier threat during the election period that Ndigbo would be thrown into the Lagoon? Could it be another round of deportation of exercise, similar to what former governor Fashola did? These appear to be so considering that a witch cried in the night and a child died in the morning.”

While maintaining that the Lagos State Government’s action was a threat to the unity of the country, he demanded for adequate compensation of the traders who had suffered great losses as a result of the demolition.

He stressed that “it is quite inhuman for people’s means of livelihood to be taken away from them in such a manner. The government’s claim that arms were recovered from a section of the market does not fly at all here because it cannot be a reason for such a wicked treatment purely targeted on a particular people.

“We demand that the Governor of Lagos State should direct relevant government agencies to adequately compensate these traders; anything short of that, Ndigbo will henceforth regard the Governor as their number one arch-enemy.”

Daily Post

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Christians help renovate mosque in Uganda

More than 100 Ugandan Christians living in the US and other countries have raised about 13 million Ugandan shillings ($3,600; £2,500) to help renovate a dilapidated mosque in a village in Uganda's central region, the state owned New Vision newspaper reports

Geoffrey Nsereko Simple, the chairman of the organizing committee of Uganda North American Association, said he decided to raise the money when he visited Namaiba village, where he was born, last year.

"I was driving around the village when I saw the mosque in a terrible state. This moved me and I promised myself to do something for my community in Uganda after consulting the mosque leaders on what was needed," Mr Nsereko is quoted as saying. 

He said he had to convince people to donate towards the mosque, which was built about 80 years ago. 

“Everyone expressed concern why me, a non-Muslim, was the one leading the campaign to revamp a mosque. They always asked me: 'Why not it do for a church. You are a Christian',” Mr Nsereko told New Vision.

Samuel Senfuma, a Ugandan based in Boston, welcomed his fund-raising effort.

“This is rare - finding a Christian building a mosque. He has challenged all of us. It is a good gesture which we must all emulate,” he is quoted as saying.

BBC News

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Nigeria Economic Crisis Worsens - BBC

Nigeria might be the richest economy in Africa but that does not impress hard-nosed investors who buy and sell shares at the local stock exchange.

The West African financial market had another losing day today, closing at its lowest level for more than three years, down 2.5%.

Investors are growing increasingly worried about the outlook for the biggest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, largely because the country is too dependent on revenues from the energy industry and the price of oil has fallen through the floor.

Last week, Brent crude oil, the benchmark blend of oil traded in London, fell below $35 (£24) a barrel and prices of West Africa’s Bonny Light crude oil has followed the downward spiral.

Last year, the benchmark gauge of Nigerian shares fell more than 17 % as the market reflected investors fears about the huge economic challenge the government faces.

Six months ago, Nigeria's central bank imposed measures to restrict access to US dollars, used to import certain items, in an effort to conserve its reserves of foreign currency, amid sinking oil prices.

However, the move has made it more difficult for Nigerian manufacturers to buy raw materials from sources abroad, because of limits of supplies of dollars and that is restricting economic growth.

The top shares among the losers today reflect the impact of the central bank’s policy, the cement maker Lafarge Africa is down 9.6%, Unity Bank 9.4% and Dangote Cement, which accounts for about a third of total market capitalisation, shed 4.3%, according to Reuters news agency.

It is reported pension funds are selling shares bought last year to hold cash as a buffer against expected losses caused by Nigeria’s weak economy.

Source: BBC

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TB Joshua emerges 13th world most famous prophet

Founder of Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, Pastor Temitope Joshua, has been ranked by a group known as Movement for Progress Initiative as the 13th most famous pastor in the world and Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola of the Christ Apostolic Church emerged 32nd.

TB Joshua

Speaking at  the ranking event that took place at Egbeda area of Lagos, Coordinator of the movement, Mr. Opahigbe Lawal, said it is imperative to acknowledge and celebrate Pastor Joshua because of his humanitarian efforts across the globe.

“It is great to break the news that Pastor T. B. Joshua was ranked 13th most famous prophet in the world by a global digital media company called Ranker. This feat was possible due to his contribution and support for humanitarian across the globe.

“Prophet T. B. Joshua’s humanitarian project tagged: “Let Love Lead,” has benefited victims of natural disaster in Asia, Latin America, Central America, South America, Europe and Africa. He has also awarded over 1,000 scholarships through Emmanuel Television to both Nigerian and foreign students annually,” he explained.

Vanguard

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