BREAKING NEWS: Tom Cruise And Katie Holmes Divorcing After Five Years Of Marriage

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are divorcing after five years of marriage.
The Rock of Ages star, 49, and 33-year-old actress have daughter Suri, six.
 'This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family,' Holmes's lawyer Jonathan Wolfe said in a statement to People magazine.

'Katie's primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter's best interest.'


It is not known if divorce papers have yet been filed in court.
Tom – who has been married twice before to Nicole Kidman, with whom he has two children, and Mimi Rogers – wed the former Dawson’s Creek actress in an Italian castle in November 2006.
He is currently in Iceland filming new movie Oblivion while Katie is in New York with their daughter.

Tom gave no hint of trouble in a gushing interview about his wife just last month.
He said he loved her 'creativity' and claiming their relationship was 'very special'.


source

Governor Adams Oshiomohle Survived Assasination Attempt

Governor Adams Oshiomhole, on Thursday, survived an assassination attempt when gunmen attacked his motorcade while he was campaigning at Usen town, Ovia South West Local Government Area of the state.

Oshiomhole, who is vying for a second term in office as the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), had visited the traditional ruler of Usen, Oluogbe II, and was on his way back when the attack occurred.


The state's Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Louis Odion, confirmed the incident. "At about 6pm local time, Governor Oshiomhole’s convoy left the palace; it had not travelled too far down the road when it ran into a barricade," he said. "Naturally, the security details attached to the governor came down to remove the bar. As they were clearing the place, tens of heavily armed thugs emerged from nowhere and opened fire on the governor for several seconds.

Dutifully, the brave security details attached to the governor, supported by an additional contingent of regular policemen deployed to maintain law and order, rose to the occasion. They were able to shield the governor, key government functionaries and others, including leaders of Edo ACN to safety without sustaining any human casualties. But several official vehicles, including Toyota Landcruisers, Hilux pick-up van and Toyota Corolla saloon car were either badly damaged or riddled with bullets."

According to Odion, after the attack was repelled, the gunmen descended on the near-by police post and vandalised it. He also accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state of being behind the attack.

"The Edo State Government wishes to condemn this latest assault on Governor Oshiomhole in strongest terms and urge the national leadership of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to call their members in Edo State to order," he said. "The misguided elements in the rank in Edo State should realise that not only they have the monopoly of violence.

But for the uncommon restraint displayed by the Governor’s team in the face of sheer provocation, there could have been heavy casualty toll. The state government wishes to enjoin the good people of Edo to remain calm and be law-abiding, so as not to play into the hands of those bent on plunging the state into anarchy to escape imminent defeat at the polls."

source

Jonathan Jets Out To Belgium, Abandons Crucial ECOWAS Parley

President Goodluck Jonathan departed Abuja for Brussels today after the Federal Executive Council meeting, to deliver a speech at a Customs conference in Belgium.

Mr. Jonathan's trip is basically a jamboree organized by the Director of Customs, who reportedly bribed Jonathan's wife and his Chief of Staff, Mike Oghiadome, to ensure the President’s appearance at the event.

Last week, Mr. Jonathan was severely criticized by civil society activists and opposition groups, for leading a vast delegation of 116 officials and hangers-on to the Rio+20 conference in Brazil.


During his third presidential media chat last Sunday, Mr. Jonathan tried to rebut the criticisms, claiming that the widespread attacks in two States in which militants killed over 70 people was not enough reason to prevent him from that trip.

Sources told Saharareporters that this week’s Belgium jamboree will cost Nigeria its prime spot at the Economic Commission for West Africa (ECOWAS) table in Yamassoukro, Cote d’Ivoire.  Mr. Jonathan was expected to be there to represent Nigeria to intervene in the political instability in Mali, where rebels have carved out a den for themselves in the north, and Guinea Bissau, where military bandits upstaged civilian power.

Nigeria, which has lost a lot of political respect in Africa, is leading a 9-nation committee to resolve the conflicts in those two countries.  Instead, Mr. Jonathan opted to go to Brussels with no clear agenda. His large delegation includes Senators, governors, and sundry officials.
The Nigerian Customs Service is footing the bill of several attendees, including paying the first lady special estacodes for the nights she will be in Brussels.

Mrs. Jonathan will leave Brussels for the United States with 36 aides to attend to another jamboree: the First Lady's “Youth Infusion” Summit in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Summit is organized by a group in Maryland that is apparently outside the purview of UNESCO, although it is supported by a non-governmental organization called the UNESCO Center for Peace.  The group’s website shows that only African first ladies from Ghana, Senegal, Liberia, Nigeria, Benin, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Sierra Leone have been invited.

Curiously, the organizers website -firstladysummit.org was registered and created only six months ago, in January 2012, and has largely pixelated photos of advisors that clearly have nothing to do with UNESCO.

sahararepoters

Woman With Two Vaginas, Who lost Her Virginity Twice'

 

An attractive, blonde, British woman recently revealed on a TV talk show that she has two vaginas and turned down a $1 million offer from porn production company Vivid Entertainment

 

Hazel Jones has a condition called uterus didelphys, which caused her to be born with two vagina's, as well as two uterus's and two cervix's. She first discovered her abnormality when her boyfriend noticed something different and advised her to seek professional medical opinion. 

 

Doctors have advised Jones that falling pregnant could be dangerous to her and her unborn babies health. Since she has two uterus's she may become pregnant in both which may lead to premature birth, miscarriage and excessive bleeding. 

 

On the light-hearted side Jones stated that although she would never contemplate starring in a pornographic film but she will gladly show off her condition to curious people.

Springtime On A Parched Earth–By Jude Egbas

I have a fair knowledge of how we got here
Seventy two hours before the first ballot was cast in anger at the last Presidential elections, I put a call through to my folks in the countryside.
“Hello Judey!”, It was my Mum. (Mum is by the way, the only female who retains that ‘sexy’ tinge to her voice while pronouncing my name).
“Hello Mum”, I all but cooed into the mouthpiece. “Who will you be voting for, Mum?”

“Goodluck Jonathan…he is our Man from the South-South….Goodluck to us, Goodluck to all of you in Lagos…Goodluck Nige—reee..yaaaah eh!” (Mum got that last bit from the incumbent President’s campaign jingle at the time).
I had fought back a grimace on the other end of the line. Mum had made her choice of Presidential Candidate, I mused. And if the enthusiasm I discerned from her tone as she broke into that campaign song was anything to go by, I would be better off not convincing her to vote otherwise. So, hoping for the best, I rang my Dad two hours later.


“Hello, Jude”, the old man bellowed. Before I could go on, Dad had reeled me with stories of the marginalization of the South South Region of Nigeria, and how Goodluck Jonathan was going to become an answer to prayers. Dad kept me on the phone for ten minutes, lecturing me in that professorial and all knowing tone, before rounding off with the following lines: “The North and the South West have held us by the jugular for far too long. Convince your friends to vote for Jonathan. Who else would have orchestrated his ascension to the throne after Yar’adua died ,but God? This is indeed the Lord’s doing, My Son!” Schooled in the finest traditions of the Law, my Dad often fancies himself as the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) that never was. You never won an argument with him, and I quite frankly hadn’t fancied my chances.
Moments after speaking to my Parents, it dawned on me that I had just thrown some precious call time up in the air. Fifteen minutes of being campaigned to was not exactly how I had looked forward to spending my day…..

I have a fair knowledge of how we got here
Seventy two hours before Nigerians took to the polls last April, I was engaged in a political discourse with a few of my colleagues in the office at lunch time. After dissecting all the Presidential candidates on offer, it was evident that the least competent of them all, on paper at least, was the Man from Otueke. A few days before, we had watched in bemusement as he avoided all Presidential debates on TV, only to appear on the NTA a few days later, debating with no one else but himself—it was a monologue which still bores the hell out of me till this day.
“So who are you chaps going to vote for?”, I enquired from my colleagues with an air of triumphalism.

“Well, you know Buhari is a Religious Bigot and Ribadu only fought Obasanjo’s enemies…. The rest are okay”, One of them said, “ but I will vote for Dr Jonathan and not his Party”.
“Why?” I had asked, almost choking now in between mouthfuls.
“He looks gentle, he possesses a Doctorate, and he is from our part of the country—The South South”.
Others didn’t demur. They all hailed from Dr Goodluck Jonathan’s region of the country. Tribalism is still a sad factor in Nigerian politics. I had just been defeated again. At home and abroad, I was becoming a sore loser.

I have a fair knowledge of how we got here
Seventy two hours before polling days in Nigeria, the major Political Parties recruit young men, hand them a pittance and arm them with weapons. Their job description entails ( but is not limited to), snatching ballot boxes into the bushes and stuffing them with already thumb printed ballot papers as the Police watches over them from a safe distance. The Political Party with the most stuffed ballot boxes emerges winner at that polling unit.

A few hours before polling, our country’s major political parties storm the villages with bags of Rice, Maggi, Indomie, Bags of Beans and some cash. Inside local huts and dingy apartments, Ward Chairmen summon the Villagers to appear with bowls and basins. The denizens of the community hearken to the call, pick their share of the ‘booty’, arrive at the polling units on polling days and vote for the ‘Umbrella’( for instance) who gave them the food items a few hours before. On the sidelines, Ward Chairmen dish out instructions on how to vote, to the barely literate men or women.

I have a fair knowledge of how we can get out of here
At some point, we may need to leave the Internet, have a cessation from our ‘annoying rants’ on Twitter and Facebook, desert our smart phones and the comfort of our homes and hit the streets. We may need to hit the streets and scream for change. It won’t arrive easy—this was never going to come as gift-wrapped—but at this point, we have little choice. We have to set ourselves a task of enlightening those men and women who mortgage their franchises for a few morsels of Rice or paltry cash.

We have to hit the streets and set ourselves the task of sensitizing the young men and women about the power of their votes. We have to let them know that for every misplaced vote, the consequence arrives four years later in the form of bad roads, little or no Power supply and poor governance. If one person talks to one person each day, the change we desire may not appear so forlorn after all.

I have a fair knowledge of how we can get out of here
We all have to get politically active again. We must register to vote credible persons, monitor our votes and ensure transparency at the ballot. We have to empty onto the streets on Polling days and quit watching football or movies on the day(s) our collective futures are being decided at the ballot. Our destinies, going forward, lay in our hands.

I have a fair knowledge of how we can get out of here
If over seventy per cent of our country’s Demographics are indeed young people, then we have nothing to fear. Doubtless, we live in an insane society. But this should only spur us on to have a say in sanitizing the system and having our names engraved on the sands of time. I interact with a lot of young people on Social Media daily, and I see and feel the hope in our land. We are like a flush of spring on a very dry land—the last berth and vestiges of hope for our country.

Before 2015, we have to choose between emancipating this land with a spring in our steps or watch the land of our fathers, continue on the path of infamy. We have to decide on whether we want to leave a better country for our Children, or stand at akimbo and watch as our country is being raped before our eyes.
My friends and I will be on the streets in a series of door to door campaigns aimed at restoring the ‘Soul’ to the land of our birth…..Will you join us? Could you please come with us? Could you please join your hands and faith with ours?
The Writer is on Twitter @egbas
 

Dele Momodu: How They Catch Monkeys In Nigeria

Fellow Nigerians, if you missed last week’s Pendulum you’ve missed something atavistic.  Titled ‘How They Catch Monkeys in Brazil’, the article generated so much controversy all through the week. It was certainly a prelude to the unfolding tragic saga of the most outlandish bribery scandal in Nigeria. What made it so scandalous is the fact that for the first time in the long history of corruption in high places, a bribe-giver audaciously came out to squeal, and confess, like a true Catholic, that he did it, and let the heavens fall if it must. It is a rarity to witness in any part of the world but this is Nigeria where anything can happen to corroborate Murphy’s Law of possibilities. This was a classic case of “confess your sins and let the devil be ashamed.”


Femi Otedola was the snitch who came out clean and regaled the world with his action-packed spectacle of how Honourable Farouk Lawan demanded and got a part-payment of a bribe request in the wee hours of the morning.  As the Yoruba’s say ‘oru o mo eni owo’ (Darkness know no honourable person – emphasis here on ‘honourable’!)  It is yet to be ascertained how Mr Otedola succeeded in luring his prey, Honourable Farouk Lawan to his house, like a victim of somnambulism. All we know for now is that Femi accused Farouk of demanding a bribe of $3million dollars sometime in April, and after some hard negotiations, Farouk walked into the labyrinth of the trap set for him by the billionaire and the Nigerian State Security Service and brought unprecedented ignominy on a most brilliant career.

At a time there were still doubts in the minds of his fans like me, who fancifully imagined Femi was telling tales by moonlight, Farouk himself came out to shock us out of our day-dream when he admitted that he actually collected the bribe money. If his admission was astonishing, the reason he adduced for accepting the money was dreadfully puerile. Farouk told his captive audience that he had to collect the money as evidence of the pressure on him, and the certification of tempting offers, from corrupt oil marketers.

Something was certainly and terribly wrong with that story. You went to a man’s house twice to collect money from one of the biggest fishes under investigation and you did not see anything wrong, or even bizarre, about such a misadventure. Your member on the investigation panel also embarked on his own journey of the Magi possibly following the dollar signs in the stars that led him to Otedola’s house to collect his own instalment. There was definitely a lacuna somewhere because the figures did not add up, and it was either Farouk was telling half-truths or indeed no truth at all.

If we were to take his so-called alibi with a grain of salt and accept the insult to our collective sensibilities with our usual traditional shrug, he would still have to explain why he did not head straight to the nearest Police station to expose the face of someone who clearly set out to rubbish his hard-built integrity that won him the sobriquet of Mr Integrity. What was more intriguing, for two long months, Farouk kept us in denial of the biggest news item of the year. What was even stranger, the name of Femi Otedola’s oil company, Zenon had suddenly and mysteriously disappeared from the top list of artful dodgers. It became too difficult to buy Mr Integrity’s image of an incorruptible investigator for a premium.

On Femi Otedola’s part, there are still many nagging questions begging for serious answers. Why did he choose to play for broke?  Why is a suave and savvy businessman suddenly singing like a canary and potentially damaging his business interests?  Does he truly have nothing to hide? Perhaps indeed Femi had nothing to hide.  If so, was there a higher interest he was trying to protect than his own that made it imperative for him to go for Farouk’s jugular so mercilessly? Why did Femi bypass all the anti-fraud and anti-corruption agencies that litter the streets of Abuja and go straight to a security agency saddled with the task of high-level espionage and at this moment, how to tackle international terrorism?

On whose order did Femi succeed in getting the prompt cooperation of the overstretched SSS? Who supplied the marked $620,000 bait that hooked Farouk’s throat? Why did Femi and his SSS collaborators agree to risk as much as that amount when they could have sprang their surprise on Farouk after sprinkling the first instalment on the man with immaculate reputation? How would they prove how much Farouk & Partner truly collected when they were not instantly arrested with it? Now that Farouk is claiming different things at different times on different occasions, and his partner-in-crisis is even deny how much he collected, is it not certain that the key evidence has been lost and the plot has already been bungled? Is it possible that the President can ultimately claim not to be a part of this charade when the whole probe was pointing ostensibly to a campaign to rubbish his administration for abject incompetence and atrocious corruption? Could it not be true that the fuel subsidy scam reached an all-time high because of prodigious spending on President Jonathan’s Fresh Air campaign last year that out-spent Obama’s campaign? And on a sobering note, how come all corruption cases investigated under this ruling party always hit brick-walls or come to a frustrating cul de sac?     
     
The story at the very least is a best seller for its turns and twists. It has all the stunts of a James Bond movie with the hi-tech gadgets of any modern Spy-catcher. Those who have read or heard about the thriller have actually been salivating for more. They don’t want it to end. And it is by popular demand that I agreed to write a quick sequel to How They Catch Monkeys in Brazil and elucidate on why it is so difficult to catch Nigerian monkeys and how they always manage to escape on the few occasions they are ever caught. I would have to play the Nigerian James Hadley Chase and craft a story about what makes our monkeys so wonderfully unique.

Among the cogent questions to be addressed and answered is if our monkeys are less gluttonous than the Brazilian breed? Is it that they have narrower paws and longer fingers? The answer is actually revealing and exciting. The Nigerian monkey is bigger, brainier and smarter. The Brazilian monkey is smaller, stupid and sluggish. How on earth can a monkey want to steal some nuts in a bottle that’s tied to a tree and go through the rigmarole of dipping its paw into the bottle? That can only happen in Brazil. In Nigeria, the monkey won’t waste such valuable time struggling with the bottle but would rather steal the bottle itself and own both the bottle and the nuts. That’s the nature of the Nigerian game.

The bigger the monkey is in Nigeria the more difficult it is to catch. The Nigerian monkey has something that the Brazilian specie lacks, incredible generosity. The Nigerian monkey is so benevolent that it would even invite the owner of the nut to join him for dinner. That is why you see discredited and disgraced politicians not just on party rostrums but on national stage as Congressmen, Ministers and the like. Every weapon of the enemy fashioned against him shall never prosper. In fact, his enemies shall be scattered like the sands of the sea. If the owner is not careful, he would trade places with the monkey and the hunter shall become the hunted.

The Nigerian monkey is not all about size though.  That is why you will see middle level civil servants and their senior colleagues using their homes as the Federal Reserve and keeping our collective wealth in all manner of strange places including, under mattresses, in water tanks, septic tanks and now we must add to the list, traditional caps!

Even when seemingly caught the Nigerian monkey is like a cat with proverbial nine lives.  He lives to fight again.  Our recent history is replete with such veritable examples.  Alamiesiyigha, Dariye, Fayose, Odili, Lucky Igbinedion.  Even Ibori, the most recent of the PDP stalwarts caught in the snare of British justice, only became a target after offending the godfathers and is certain to return home soon to a resounding reception live on prime television. It would be a sweet revenge to all those who conspired to get him jailed in a foreign land something they couldn’t do in their timidity at home. 

That is the foundation of the tragic tale of Hon. Farouk Lawan who did not understand how monkeys survive in the Nigerian jungle without getting caught. Perhaps he’s never read the superlative work of George Orwell titled ‘Animal Farm’. He would have known that: “All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.  He was also not conversant with African proverbs or he would have realised that “A child who does not want his mother to sleep will not sleep a wink himself.”

Unfortunately for Farouk he took the costliest snap of his life and is about to pay dearly for it.

Bomb Blast Hits Nigeria’s Capital, A Report According To Voice Of America

Nigerian authorities say a bomb exploded outside a nightclub in the capital, Abuja, late Friday.

Officials say no one was injured, but the windows of nearby buildings were shattered and a number of cars were damaged.

The explosion came just hours after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan fired his national security adviser and defense minister.
Nigeria has been hit by scores of bombings blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram.

President Jonathan has been sharply criticized for attending an environmental summit in Brazil this past week while violent clashes continue to plague Nigeria.

Boko Haram does not recognize Nigeria's government or constitution and says it is fighting to establish a strict Islamic state. Authorities say the radical sect is responsible for attacks that have killed scores of people, mostly in the north.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation with about 150 million people, divided roughly between Muslims and Christians.

Thus Saith The Clueless King – By Segun Dada. A Must Read

 And it came to pass that on the first day of the sixth month in the second year of the jubilee, the clueless king gathered the men of his inner kitchen together and made merry with them; music blared from the trumpets of Peter and Paul sons of Okeyemus who were appointed the kings musicians as they sang “We must chop thy money, O clueless king”. Cheap booze, cassava bread and women of easy virtue were in excess at the celebration.

Suddenly Rubentus the son of Abat the king’s spokesman rose and shouted, “O clueless king! May thou live and rule forever but whilst we drinketh and make merry, fire is on our mountain!” The clueless king in his drunken state answered saying; “What is it O son of Abat that bringeth fire to our mountains?”.

And Rubentus replied, “O king! Some months ago, when thou was filled with Ogogoro, thou promised thy subjects that in the sixth month of the second year of the Jubilee, the sons of Haramites shall cease to terrorize them”

The King then answered and said; “ I don’t remember any of these things, but if thou sayeth I said so then indeed I did. What shall we do about this?” retorted the clueless king.
Douglass the son of Okonto of the tribe of Bayesia then said, “O king, there exists a man in the kingdom, a kingmaker in the province of Edoab who “fixed” issues like this for your predecessors, he shall fix this, my king. He is Anenih the Edoite. Shall I summon him into your presence, O gracious king?”
 
The king then answered saying, “Good job, Okonto, summon Anenih the Edoite into my presence for his services are needed by the kingdom. We shall constitute a committee to bring him from the province of Edoab and another committee to cater for his wellbeing when he gets here, then we shall constitute another committee to be named The National Distraction Committee where the Edoite shall be the head. Do this immediately.” Okonto and Rubentus the son of Abat were amazed at the wisdom of the King and in unison they were forced to speak in admiration saying “O Clueless One, your wisdom is of the ages. May your cluelessness reign forever!”
 
And the heart of the king was gladdened; and he sought to revel in the praise of his servants, “Call me Queen Gbags and let’s splurge on more Ogogoro.” They partied into the next day.

And it came to pass that at noon on the second day of the sixth month of the second year of jubilee, Rhino the son of Humoki who was in charge of diffusing information to the kingdom of the twittarites on behalf of the king came to the kings quarters saying; “O great King, Anenih the Edoite has arrived and he is presently sitting at your majesty’s court, shall I inform the Twittarites of your meeting with him?” The clueless king replied “Humoki, are you a lizard? You know I am hated by the twittarites and informing them will only cause them to spin stories. Tell the Edoite that I shall join him soon and offer him the leftover cassava bread and ogogoro from yesterday’s celebration”
 
Rhino the son of Humoki then replied saying; “My lord and master, I already drank the remaining ogogoro from last night’s celebration early this morning as I was not invited and what shall I tell the twittarites today?”
The clueless king then replied saying, “little wonder your eyeballs are red, tell the twittarites whatever you want. Tell them I am taking the war against corruption personal or something, just tell them anything! And get out of my chambers and take your stinking breath with you!”

The clueless king then came out to his court and greeted Anenih the Edoite saying, “I am glad to have you in my presence. I need your help on a particular matter. I promised my subjects that by the sixth month of the second year of the Jubilee, the Haramites will bomb them away no more. You and I know that I was drunk on Ogogoro and it was a mere drunken joke and you know these stupid subjects know how to hold me by my words especially the rebellious tribe of the twittarites. I have since constituted a National Distraction Committee and I want you to head it, please come to my aid”

Anenih the Edoite then answered saying, “O dear king, may you live forever! Your cluelessness is great and out of this world! I shall “fix this”. Douglass the son of Okonto and Rubenus son of Abat already briefed me on the situation, and here are the distractions I already have planned. Thou should rename Kanji Dam to Amen-by-Fire Hydroelectric dam, just like the Lagoon University, there will be a new round of protests over the Amen-by-Fire Hydroelectric dam and the subjects will have something else to talk about.

 As soon as this is going cold in the news, thou shall call Ibro the son of Lamrod who is in charge of fighting corruption in the kingdom to dust up some high profile files in his custody and make some arrests. Also I heard that Facrook the son of Lawani the Kanoite collected some bribe from Famo the son of Otedollar of the trade of Oil over the oill subsidy business. We shall take advantage of that and sprawl it over the papers. Thou shalt then direct Rubenus the son of Abat to grease the palms of editors of different newspapers in the province of Lagoon and Ibadan, I already have Thisday covered your majesty. By the time we are finished with them, they shall have forgotten about the expiry date you set for the Haramites”

The clueless king listened to Edoite speak and was happy he asked the Edoite in a loud voice saying, “Anenih the Edoite, thank you very much for doing this, how can I ever repay you? Do you want an oil well or an importation licence?”
 
The Edoite then answered saying “O clueless king, may you reign forever, there is a small matter I need your help for, Adamu the son of Oshimul, one of the rebels, is the governor of my province, elections are around the corner and I need royal might to rig him out. That’s all I need, your majesty”

The clueless king then answered saying “Anenih my humble servant, your request shall be granted! It will be like killing three birds with one stone! You shall get your heart desire, your anointed governor will be added to our cult and rigging that election will be another distraction so the people won’t remember my promise to them”
 
Anenih the Edoite then said; “Dear king, your head is correct! I plead before thee, please chop thou knuckle!” And they chopped knuckle and the Edoite drank his Ogogoro and departed.
The clueless king then called on Rubenus son of Abat saying; ” O Rubenus, the Edoite has agreed to “fix” this for me! No need to worry, my job for today has been done! Please proceed to writing a postdated condolence speech for me in case the Haramites strike again.

 Make thee sure the speech is ready every Saturday night so I may have memorized it. Then call the servants and ministers together; we have achieved a feat today and this calls for celebration! Don’t invite the royal musicians Paul and Peter tonight, invite Wizzy the Kid instead, he perfectly describes the situation. Also get me a pair of my own carrot jeans for I shall be rocking them tonight ”

Rubenus the son of Abat was glad for the King had truly showed true wisdom. Then he called on Humoki saying, “stupid Humoki, can u still handle the twittarites or do I have to handle them for you?”

ekekeeedotcom

Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak Dead at 84 - Voice Of America

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, the man long seen as the symbol of stability in the Middle East but who was ousted in a popular uprising, has died after suffering a stroke in prison. He was 84.
Egypt's state news agency announced his death late Tuesday.
Mubarak ruled Egypt for almost 30 years until he was swept from power in an 18-day wave of mass protests in February 2011.

In another development, Egyptian officials are denying that he is clinically dead. Al Jazeera quoted Mubarak’s lawyer Farid Deeb as denying his client was dead.


CNN quoted Gen. Mamdouh Shahin, a member of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF, as saying: "He is not clinically dead as reported, but his health is deteriorating and he is in critical condition."

Shortly afterward, Egypt’s Nile TV reported that Mubarak was in the military hospital’s intensive care unit and “his health was slightly improving.” The channel said his wife, Suzanne, was at his side.

Alice! Alice!! Are You Still In Wonderland??!!–By Jude Egbas

Most Mondays in June, the Sun practically rises from the expansive courtyard of the ‘Ovaarnong’ (Chief) of Ofodua, Obubra, in Cross River State. A slew of local alcoholic beverages (‘ogogoro’, Palm wine, ‘kparaga’ ,‘awakpa’ etc) are competing for space on a dusty table beside where the Ovaarnong sits now, draped in a bowler hat, a white inner shirt and wrapper; with a plank sized chewing stick tucked firmly between both lips, while awaiting his first guest of the day. She arrives, fluttering eyelashes seductively and adorned in ‘Chris Aire’ gold apparels from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet. She is the delectable and pretty Minister of Oil Palm resources in the Ofodua Kingdom, Alice…….


Good morning your highness! (Alice is the only Minister who doesn’t curtsy while greeting the Ovaarnong)
Please sit. Welcome. What took you so long? Hehehe…You don’t need to give any reasons for arriving two hours late…that was just a rhetorical question.


Where’s Madam? I was busy trying to make myself look good…at least for you….
Madam? Is that why you are sitting so far away? Come closer, will you? Madam hopped on the first flight to Dubai this morning. You know she doesn’t mess around with Dubai. When she’s not in Dubai, she is in Lagos getting in people’s way with her wonderful command of the English Language while causing vehicular traffic all over the place.

I see. I am wondering about a lot of things. As a matter of fact, I am pained this morning. I have been pained for a while.

Alice, you make me laugh…kwakwaaaaakwaaaaa… Pained over what? You should know you are the most powerful Minister in the Cabinet. I have assured you about that status a number of times. And don’t bother about my spare tyre called ‘Vice’ o! You are unofficially the next in command in this Kingdom…heheheeeeee

Really? And you could not stop the Representatives of our people from asking me to show up in their Assembly while they peppered me with questions the other day, on how we have been dealing with Palm Oil resources……

Haba! You should know I had you covered from Day one. Which other Minister in my cabinet would I have allowed to get away with announcing the removal of subsidy from Palm products on the first day of the New Year without approval from me? Only you, Alice! And haven’t you seen that the investigations into how we have handled the Palm Oil and Palm wine business in our community are already dying a natural death?
I know… But the people in our Assembly are still indirectly suggesting that I have questions to answer…that the Report has been sent to our Crimes Commission for….

Which crimes commission? The Report is right under my bed like the rest before them. Is that what you have been wondering about? And haven’t you seen how we set up the head of that probe committee to start talking nonsense? First he said he didn’t collect the bribe Money from Ottemindam; our friend the Palm Oil dealer. Then the next day, he said he collected the money, but only to set Ottemindam up. By the time we are done with him, the so called Report which I know should point accusing fingers at how you and all of us have really dealt with the Ofodua community, would have been eaten by cockroaches and rats right under my bed. Don’t play with me o! hehehehe!
Okay, that is a bit re-assuring. But ….
But what, Alice?

You know the Representatives of our people still gathered last Friday, and intoned that the integrity of their Report indicting the Oil Palm and Palm Wine thieves in our community has not been eroded by that ‘boy’s’ foolishness. I am wondering if…..

Alice! Alice!! I can’t believe you are still in wonderland! Our Assembly is dominated by people from our Party. The Head of the Representatives of our people is a Party Man. The ‘boy’ who couldn’t say ‘No’ to bribe money is a party man. The one who went to bribe is a Party Man. And you know how we do it in our Party? We always settle issues like a family. This storm in a teacup is no exception. It’s a family affair.
Hmmm…Okay, Ovaarnong…..

I have learned one thing since I ascended the throne as Ovaarnong of the Ofodua people. Never bow to pressure. NEVER!!! If it wasn’t for the fact that they closed all businesses in January, including the lucrative Palm Oil business which puts so much food and all these drinks and Palm wine on my family table, I would not have yielded to the pressure of lowering the price of Palm oil. The Journalists at ‘Wahala Reporters’—Adesanmi and Olumhense are still shouting themselves hoarse, saying; “declare your assets, Ovaarnong, declare your assets, Ovaarnong!” Which Assets? Na their Papa go declare assets nor be me! How many Ovaarnongs before me have declared their assets?(apart from the sick one?) Why have they suddenly become so particular about me declaring my assets? Let me tell you, everybody is pointing accusing fingers at me because I am not from the ‘efona’(clan) that has been ruling our people. That’s why. And they can screw themselves for all I care. The other day, we attended a Church service where the Minister was practically coercing us to say ‘Amen’ after a prayer I considered an insult. I didn’t even cough. I may look soft on the outside, but they are no tougher cookies than me in this Kingdom.

But Ovaarnong, if the Representatives of our people keep piling the pressure on you to fire me, because of all the shady deals you and I and all our friends have conducted and are still conducting with Palm Oil, will you pull the trigger?

Hahaaaaaaaaaa….hhooooohoooohoooo. Pull which trigger? Is it the Police trigger or the other one? Alice, listen, I would never sack you. I don’t have too many beautiful women in my Cabinet. Okay, listen…. but jokes apart, why would I ever think of a thing like that? You are my ‘In-law’, shey you know that one? We are from the same clan and all that…Alice, there are certain things you should not worry about. I would rather sack myself than sack you.

Thank You, Ovaarnong. I have to be on my way.
It’s okay. But all these diamonds and Gold you always wear…. Na wa o! That is one thing you and Madam have in common—shopping. While she’s buying the whole of Dubai, you are wiping all the Gold shops clean..heheheeeeeehee. Women… you people will not kill someone. It’s okay; after all, that is why as men we have to keep making the money.

That is how it should be now! Before nko?
Hold on, before you leave. Jeremiah! Jeremiah!! Please pour us some Palm wine and bring some slices of Cassava bread for myself and Madam. I guess it’s too early to drink ‘Spirits’. The wine was from one of our numerous tappers, by the way. You should know him. Dan, the Son of Gote……
Dedicated to @halybee, who has consistently cajoled me to pen another satire after ELA; @Karibiba, who pulled a ‘Sting Operation’ on me as I set about putting this piece together; and the rustic community of Ofodua, from whose lowly and decrepit classroom blocks I first learned how to string words into sentences.
The Writer is on Twitter @egbas

EkekeeeDOTcom
 

Embattled Farouk Lawan Released On Bail

Lawan, who has been in custody since Thursday when he answered the police invitation to come and answer questions regarding his role in the $620, 000 bribery scandal, was released on bail today Saturday 16th June, 2012.

 However the police has warned that unless the alleged $620, 000 bribe which he has admitted he collected, is produced this week, he would be invited again.

He was granted bail by the Head of the Police Special Task force investigating the matter, CP Ali Amodu at about 4pm. One of his counsels, Mr Rickey Tarfa (SAN) was present.

Farouk Lawan Still In Police Custody Fails To Make Available Marked Dollar Bills Claimed It Was Stolen By Burglars

 Farouk Lawan, who is at the centre of a $620,000 bribery scandal, after the lawmaker failed to turn in the marked notes he received in the sting operation that nailed him, officials said Friday night.

He received the amount as an advance payment for $3 million, from oil business mogul, Femi Otedola, and cleared two of Mr. Otedola’s oil firms that were accused of taking part in the more than N1 trillion fraud.


But asked by investigators to surrender the notes, marked and secretly videotaped by agents, Mr. Lawan could only afford a few left overs, claiming the rest had been stolen by burglars, a police source said. 

Force spokesperson, Frank Mba, confirmed he remained in custody because “investigations were still ongoing.”

A highly placed police officer later told this newspaper at midnight that the lawmaker was offered bail with conditions he couldn't meet.

Latest revelations from top security  sources, who have seen the videos of the exchange, say on the three occasions Mr. Lawan visited the businessman for the deal, he drove himself in a C- class Mercedes Benz.

For each of the visits, five video recordings, averaging a duration of eight to 10 minutes, were made.

The lawmaker negotiated the terms of the bribe with Mr. Otedola over a lunch on the first visit, the source said. He later received the first part of $250,000 on the second visit, which was around 11 p.m. Then, he got the second part of the money on the third visit which was around 5.05 am.

Dressed in a green agbada and a sokoto cap, the source said, Mr. Lawan stuffed the wads in his pockets and under the cap possibly to conceal the package from Mr. Otedola’s domestic aides since they hadn't seen him enter with a baggage.

“In the video, Lawan was clearly seen stuffing wads of dollar bills into his pocket; when his pocket was full, to the utter shock of those who watched the video, he removed his cap and concealed the remaining wads of dollar bills inside it and replaced the cap on his head,” the source said.

Femi Otedola Set To Sue House Of Reps For Defamation Of Character

Femi Otedola

The House of Representative might be facing a trillion naira lawsuit for defamation of character after its plenary session on Friday adopted a resolution to re-enlist Femi Otedola's Zenon Oil and Gas Ltd and Synopsis Enterprise Ltd on the list of companies that had corruptly enriched selves through fraudulent subsidy payments, Huhuonline.com has learnt from sources close to the business magnat


But Femi Otedola has threatened court action saying the House reps dragged his reputation into disrepute by involving him in a sector which is not even his line of business. Chief Femi Otedola, a major player in the bribery saga over the probe into the management of oil subsidy, is also angry at insinuations by some House members that he framed Lawan and that he (Otedola) is just as guilty.




Otedola believes the failure of the police and the State Security Service (SSS) to make public the video recording he gave them is causing him a lot of damage. Huhuonline.com has learnt that Otedola has approached a lawyer to seek an order compelling the SSS to publish the audio and video recording to show who did what and when.


Otedola has said he wants the case handled on merit and not on sentiments and he is prepared to confront Farouk Lawan in court. The move came as the House of Representatives re-instated Otedola's company, Zenon Oil and Gas to be investigated by security and anti-graft agencies as one of the companies that collected foreign exchange (Forex) from the Central Bank of Nigeria to import fuel but failed to do so. 

Farouk Lawan Finally In Police Custody, Undergoing Interrogation Over $620,000 Bribe

EMBATTLED Chairman of the fuel subsidy probe panel in the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan, on Thursday surrendered himself to police for interrogation over the $620,000 bribe he had confessed to receiving from an oil marketer, Femi Otedola.

The lawmaker was subsequently interrogated and detained along with the Clerk of his committee, Boniface Emenalo.

Lawan arrived at the office of the police Special Task Force at the Louis Edet House Force headquarters about 4pm, in company with  Emenalo and five lawyers.


The lawmaker was detained briefly before he was taken to the interrogation room where detectives, led by the Commissioner of Police in charge of the STF, Ali Ahmadu, quizzed him four several hours.
As of the time of filing this report, the diminutive legislator was still undergoing questioning.
The police on Wednesday had hinted that they would declare the lawmaker wanted if he refused to give himself up for interrogation on the bribery scandal

Otedoda had claimed that Lawan demanded and received the money, being part of a $3m bribe deal, in order to remove his Zenon Oil from the list of those indicted in a N1.7trn subsidy rot.
The businessman said Lawan collected $500,000 in two tranches of $250,000 while he sent Emenalo to collect $120,000 at a later date.

However, on Monday Lawan, who had denied receiving the bribe, confessed to have received the bribe but that he only did so to expose Otedola.

Police sources told our correspondent that immediately the lawmaker showed up at the STF office on the first floor of the police headquarters, Ahmadu promptly went to the office of the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, on the 7th floor to brief him and take directives.

Two other senior officers, namely  the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Intelligence, 
Solomon Arase; and the DIG, Intelligence, Peter Gana, also joined the STF boss in an emergency meeting with the Acting IG where the strategies on the interrogation were said to have been discussed.
Abubakar, who initiated the investigation into the bribery scandal, left his office around 6pm and later came back apparently to get an immediate report on the interrogation of Lawan and Emenalo.

Otedola had appeared before the STF on Tuesday, where he was said to have written a detailed statement on his encounter with the lawmaker and how he gave the bribe to him.

Meanwhile, barring last minute changes, the House will at its emergency meeting on Friday (today) mandate its Committee on Ethics and Privileges to probe the $3m bribery allegation against Lawan. The lawmakers may also ask Lawan to step down from his committee chairmanship position in the House.

Competent House sources confided in The PUNCH on Thursday that during today's emergency session, the House would ask the committee to investigate the allegation and produce a report within two weeks.
"We are going to be fast and decisive about this whole issue of bribery allegation. We have to act fast to douse the unnecessary tension and the distraction this development has caused our legislative focus", a senior member of the House disclosed to one of our correspondents in Abuja.

The lawmaker, who was privy to the deliberations of the leadership of the House on the matter, explained that Lawan's case would be raised as "a matter of privilege" by members, following which it would be referred to the committee for investigation.

An unconfirmed account said that about 150, out of the 360 members of the House, were however pushing for the suspension of Lawan, while some were advising against a "hasty penalty."
There were those who suggested that the matter be investigated first in the spirit of fair hearing.
There were indications also that two other resolutions might be reached today by the House.
One o f the resolutions would be for Lawan to step down from any chairmanship position he holds in the House. Members are also said to have agreed to pass a resolution that anti-graft agencies should investigate "all corruption allegations against Lawan in this respect" and proceed to prosecute him and any accomplice if they are found wanting.

Findings indicated that some lawmakers had suggested that an ad hoc committee should conduct the investigation, but the majority of the members favoured the Committee on Ethics and Privileges.
"The committee is a standing committee of the House; this is the purpose it was set up.
"It was put in place to look into any issue touching the individual or collective privileges of members of the House", the senior legislator who spoke with one of our correspondents, added.
When reminded that Lawan said he hinted the Chairman of the House Committee on Drugs/Narcotics and Financial Crimes, Mr. Adams Jagaba, of the bribe, the senior lawmaker described Lawan's action as an "afterthought."

He added, "Lawan will step down honourably (as chairman) but he may not be suspended from the House yet. The principle of fair hearing demands that he will be given the opportunity to defend himself.
"He should have reported to the House immediately he collected the money. It is true that we asked him to investigate the utilisation of fuel subsidy funds, but his mandate did not include taking money from anybody."
Meanwhile, The PUNCH learnt on Thursday that a private television station in the country had been contracted to air today's proceedings live.

A source privy to the arrangement told one of our correspondents that this was to discourage further speculation on "what the House did or did not do."
Deputy House Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, said today's proceedings would be "transparent because we have nothing to hide."

PUNCHNG

The Gospel According To ‘Saint’ Farouk. A Must Read, Read Read Read!!!!

1)  And it came to pass after these things, on the first day of the first month of the twelfth year after the second millennium, that king Jona son of Bele announced to the people saying; there is no money left in the royal treasury, and the future of the kingdom is in great danger.

2) Therefore, a measure of oil shall no longer sell for three scores of silver and seven, but shall now be seven scores of silver and one. But the people grumbled aloud, and said unto another, what shall it profit our king to gain all these oil money and lose his throne?

3) For it is appointed unto him to reign but once, and after this prison, for many are the atrocities which he has committed.

4)  So they said unto the king, eat thou thy food in peace in the palace, and surround thou thyself with thine women, only touch not our oil price and do thy people no harm.


5) But the king would not listen, and said unto himself, I know my people, they shall only grumble for a while and soon they shall forget.

6) But the people would not forget, for the burden was too much for them to bear, and they said; now unto him that is able to increase the price of oil exceeding abundantly above all that his people can bear or think, according to the greed which worketh in him;

7) Unto him be curses in the streets by the masses throughout all ages, protests without end.
So they took to the streets and gave the land no peace, and there was no going out or coming in throughout the kingdom for two weeks, and the king feared greatly and said to himself, surely these people shall overturn me if I answer them not.

9) So he called the head of the labourers unto the palace, and gave him bags of gold, that they might turn off the wrath of the people against the king.

10) So the king assembled the people and said unto them; a measure of oil shall no longer be seven scores of silver and one, but shall now be four scores of silver, one dozen and one, to this your leaders have agreed. Praise me now therefore for I am a benevolent king.

11) And after all these, the Loudspeaker of the House of People said, let us inquire into the king’s claim that there be no money in the royal treasury. So they appointed Farcrook, son of Lawal.
12) And said unto him, gather ye now all the oil sellers, that we may know who stole from the kingdom. This did him with diligence, and came back with his report saying

13) Thieves abound in the land, and so have the oil sellers stole from the people, and gave them not oil, this they did with the help of Aliyaro the king’s mistress; and the amount he mentioned was unheard of in the land.

14) When the people heard this, they were dismayed, and sorrow gripped their hearts.

15) But the oil sellers went in unto the king in his chamber, and said; rememberest thou O king that the what we stole did we made available to thy campaign, and by thus did we make you king.

16) If thou deliver us unto the people that they may punish us, we will hold not our tongue to tell the people that thou art one of us.

17) And they said unto him, how else shall we destroy the message if not to destroy the messenger? Let us therefore implicate Farcrook the son of Lawal in this matter.

18) So they sent a certain rich man from the West by the name Otedollar, and he took Farcrook into his house and gave him some money, that he may alter the report which he had set before the people.

19) And it was that Otedollar went before an assembly of the people and said unto them, trust ye this man who said we stole from the treasury? Surely he is one of us, for he came unto me in the middle of the night, and he left with his pockets full of money.

20) And the people where amazed, and their hearts bled, for Farcrook was a man in whom they had to their trust.

21) So Farcrook arose, and said; Otedollar is my briber, I did not request. He maketh me to sit down in his Maitama house; he leadeth me beside the chilled champagne.

22) He exploited me greed; he leadeth me in the paths of marked dollars for subsidy’s sake.

23) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of EFCC, I will fear no arrest: for bribes are with me; my loots and my kickbacks they comfort me.

24) Thou preparest the dollars before me, in the presence of the SSS: thou anointest my mouth with wine; my pocket runneth over.

25) Surely the shame and reproach shall follow me all the days of my life, but I will dwell in the house of PDP forever and ever.

26) And the people wept, but there was no one to console them.

Ogunyemi Bukola
Follow @zebbook on twitter
SOURCE

Farouk Lawan In Another N11 Billion Bribe From Oil Cabal

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on fuel subsidy, Hon Farouk Lawan, may be in more trouble as Police HNvesdmgawors revealR$uhat the Honourable member and some of his colleagues were suspected of soliciting and receiving bribes from Oil Marketers amounting over N11Billion.

This amount is not part of the $620,000 Hon Lawan received from My Femi Odetola. Details on this report came in as reactions pour in on the $620,000 Hon Lawan bribery scanda


The Police say that have launched a new investigation into a fresh allegation that an additional N11bn in bribes changed hands. 
Information is still sketchy but a source from the Police on Tuesday night, said a member of the committee had told police investigators that some members of the committee solicited bribes totalling N11bn from some oil marketing firms.

The source said that the member, whom he said sang like a canary, also explained how the money was shared.

While some like Sadiq Abdulhakeem defends Lawan and said:
Consider these points: 1. Zenon is a company that imports diesel and aviation fuel which are already subsidised. 2. Zenon is not under investigation by the panel 3. Why is Otedola now bribing an official to taint the report for who exactly? 4. Why even bribe for a report already submitted? 5. If giving a bribe, why give it with an intention to catch the person being bribed. The dollar bills given to Farouk were all( marked and t~aceable. The fact is, a meeting was held by oil marketers (The cabal, with political affiliates) and a decision was made to discredit the report as much as possible. Otedola was selected since he had nothing to loose from the probe to carry out a bribe on an official.

 Farouk accepted the money with an intent to expose Otedole but is now underfire by the immediate interpretation of the Nigerian plp without given considerations as to events leading to it. Now, that Farouk seems tainted, a call will be made to discredit the authenticity of the probe and sweep it under the rug. The cabal gets its way and Nigerians are fooled as usual once again. Lets not give them that pleasure and insist the findings of the report must be made public and all guilty parties must be held accountable including Otedola for bribing a government official. May God help us and protect the Nigerian people.

But further discoveries suggest Lawan Farouk's Purported letters are Fake and Claims are Lies.
Investigations by Hope For Nigeria shows that the claims by the embattled Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Ad hoc committee on fuel subsidy, Farouk Lawan’s claim that he wrote Mr. Adams Jagaba explaining the 'bribe' from Mr. Femi Otedola is not true.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Drugs/Narcotics and Financial Crimes, Mr. Adams Jagaba who have confided to his colleagues that he received no letter or evidence of Bribery from Mr Lawan. 
Members of the House Representative who spoke with Hope For Nigeria were angered on why Hon Farouk Lawan choose to soil his name in this form. They queried his rational for reporting to Hon Jagaba instead of the Police or relevant security agencies or keeping the money until the whole scandal was blown open.

House members claimed that they did not receive the bribe money against Hon Lawan's claim that he handed it over to Hon Jagaba to give to the leadership of the House.
Hon Jagaba in phone interview said that “there is no connection between my committee and the fuel probe committee and I was not given anything please thank you for calling to confirm from me.” 

A PDP House Representative member from Kano, said that support and sympathy for Hon Lawan has waned since his claim that "the he did not collect any bribe and also that his picture was doctored on the video and all turned to be lies. It is strictly his burden and he should bear it".

Yesterday, the Chairman of Zenon Petroleum, Mr Femi Otedola, handed over to the Police Investigator the audio and video evidence of how Hon Lawan mounted pressure on him and his detailing list of House leadership that will be settled with the bribe money. 

The Video showed how Hon Lawan got the first installment of the bribe and how he demanded the balance of $2,500,000. 

SOURCE

BREAKING NEWS: The Kidnapped Nigerian Footballer, Christian Obodo Rescued

The footballer who was yesterday morning kidnapped in Warri Delta State have been rescued. He was rescued by the men of the Nigerian Police Force, who traced his kidnapper to Isoko after Warri.
It was reported that no ransom was paid and some of the kidnappers were arrested.

BREAKING NEWS: Boko Haram Launched Bomb Attacks In Maiduguri

 

Reports reaching us from Maiduguri, Borno state capital say there were series of bomb attacks in the city, Friday morning.

One of the attacks involved a suicide bomber who attempted to forced his way into the headquarters of the Nigerian police force before detonating his bomb laden vehicle.

Casualty figures are yet to be ascertained.

Earlier in the day, the commander of the Joint Task force (JTF), Victor Ebhaleme, confirmed that another suspected suicide bomber was killed by the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) he was trying to plant Gidan Dambe area of the city at about 6:00am.

Mr. Ebhaleme said said that when  his men arrived the Gidan Dambe scene, “they found a man we believe to be a member of Boko Haram, dismembered by the explosion.”

He added that preliminary investigation has shown that he was killed when he was trying to plant the device.

Maiduguri residents also informed PREMIUM TIMES that another IED planted by the gate of Ramat Polytechnic exploded, although no one was affected by the explosion there.

Premiumtimesng

The Little Boy Who Was Born With No eyes And Can Still See Light

This is the boy who was born with no eyes, but is heartbreakingly happy when shining a torch at his face.
Since he was eight months old, Marwanijun has been flashing light at the socket where his left eye should be.
Now doctors in China have discovered that he has an eye under the skin there - but it is too sensitive to ever be exposed.

But when father Madamihan and mother Salamu, both 26, took the child from their small community to a hospital in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, they were offered a glimmer of hope.
Doctors told them their son loved the torch because he actually had a left eye, but it was blocked by skin.
'He is eager to see light, and we pray everyday that he could see the light,' said the boy's father.

Sadly, experts at the Army 474 Hospital said the baby was not suitable for surgery because his eye has no lens.
Even if the surgery exposed his left eyeball, he would not be able see anything.
Doctors suggested that the boy could be suitable for artificial eye installation once he reaches 16 years old.
There are various reasons that children are born with no eyes.

BREAKING NEWS: Senate Approves The Renaming Of UNILAG To MKO Abiola University

In a report gathered by Ascology News, the Senate approved the renaming bill which was sent earlier in the week by President Goodluck Jonathan to bypass any embarrassing rejection of the name-change in what many Nigerians saw as illegal and unconstitutional.

Other institutions that were renamed in the same bill sent to the Senate were the Federal University of Technology Umudike which was renamed to the Michael Okpara University, Umudike and the Federal Univeristy of Technology, Yola renamed to the Modibbo Adamawa University.

A law suit has been filed by students of the tertiary institution asking that the name-change was unconstitutional as it initially was done without parliamentary approval.
A hearing date for the matter has not been fixed by the Court.

Breaking news: Plane Carrying 152 people crash in Lagos

Report reaching us is that a plane belonging to Dana Airlines has just crashed at the Iju/Ishaga area of Lagos a few minutes ago. The plane was carrying 152 passengers. Eye witnesses say human beings are burning at the scene of the crash.


Details coming soon...

Nigerian cargo plane crashes in Ghana killing 10

A Nigerian cargo plane travelling from Lagos to Accra, Ghana, on Saturday evening crash-landed on a passenger bus killing at least 10 people.


The Boeing 727 aircraft landed on the bus on a road close to the Kotoka International Airport after over-running the runway as it touched down, airport officials said.


Those killed were aboard the bus, while the four-member crew of the plane survived and were receiving medical attention, the authorities there said.


The freight aircraft was operated by Nigerian cargo airline, Allied Air. Local television showed images of the ill-fated plane lying across a road with a damaged tail area
.


Witnesses said it smashed through the airport perimeter fence before hitting the van in an area that hosts high rise buildings and Ghana's defence ministry.


"The aircraft collided with a Mercedes minivan, resulting in 10 confirmed fatalities," the airport management said in a statement.


Police and troops cordoned the area after the incident, which happened about 7 p.m. Saturday, as Ghana's vice president, John Mahama, said a thorough investigation would be carried out.


Ghana's last air emergency occurred in 2006 when a flight to Sao Tome and Principe, crashed during takeoff. No fatality was recorded.

BREAKING NEWS: Suicide Bomb Explosion In A Church At Bauchi

More than 12 people have lost their lives to a suicide car-bomb attack Sunday morning on Harvest Church, located between Living Faith church and Deeper Life Church  in Yelwan Tudu, Bauchi.


The attack also left many others injured.


Mohammed Ladan, the Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, confirmed the incident, describing it a as a suicide attack.


Witnesses say the suicide bomber drove a Honda car into the church and detonated the bomb.


A witness told saharareporters that the attack has killed several people including the suicide bomber and guards at the church.


"We are still carrying out rescue operation and will speak to you later please." the eyewitness said.



Other churches around the scene of the bomb attack have closed as security operatives have been sighted on scene.


Police and soldiers have cordoned off the scene of the blast.


No group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.