An Igbosere High Court in Lagos on Monday remanded a 48-year-old female lawyer, Udeme Otike-Odibi, at Kirikiri prison for killing her 52-year-old husband, Symphorosa Otike-Odibi, and also chopping off his penis.

Udeme, 47, was arraigned by the Lagos State Government on a two-count charge of murder and misconduct with regard to a corpse.

She however pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Lagos State Prosecutor, Mr Sunmonu Babatunde, had told the court that the accused committed the alleged offences on May 3, at Diamond Estate, Sangotedo, Lekki, Lagos.

He said that the accused stabbed her husband and mutilated his corpse by cutting his genitals.

The offences contravened Sections 165 (b) and 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

Section 165 (b) provides five-year imprisonment while Section 223 is punishable by death.

Justice Adedayo Akintoye, however remanded the accused in prison and adjourned the case until Oct. 8 and 9 for hearing.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accused first appeared before a Yaba Magistrates Court and was remanded in prison pending the Directorate of Public Prosecutions legal advice.

Symphorosa Otike- Odibi, the murdered lawyer, from Delta State, was the second person killed by a female lawyer.

The first lawyer to commit the crime was Mrs. Yewande Oyediran, working with the Oyo State Ministry of Justice.

Yewande stabbed her husband, Lowo Oyediran Ajanaku, 38, to death in their Akobo Estate home in Ibadan, Oyo State home on February 2, 2016, after she found out that he fathered a child through another woman.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in Abuja said he has no regrets being a person of honesty and integrity.

I am satisfied with what I am. I am happy I have kept myself and people close to me from benefiting from government contracts, the President told a delegation of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria at the State House.

President Buhari said he did not award contracts and did not care about who got them so long as they did a good job at a cost that is justifiable to the nation.

According to him, I have been in many places including (Ministry of) Petroleum. I would have gone to jail if I had taken an oil well. For integrity and honesty, I have no regrets. By this, I have contributed to my social safety. I wont go to jail.

The President, who said he had been accused of many things, said his critics cannot accuse him of stealing.

You cannot accuse me of stealing, he said, adding, I have appointed ministers and they are in charge. I appeal to their integrity. When they come here (Federal Executive Council) Chambers, we ensure they follow the due process. If I owned an oil well, I would have gone to jail.

President Buhari also responded to a number of issues raised by the delegation, including complaints that Muslims had been marginalised in appointments to government institutions such as the military and the civil service.

The President said this illustrated how difficult his job is because he faced the same criticism from adherents of other faiths. I am in a difficult situation, he admitted.

On the burning issue of violent conflicts in some parts of country, President Buhari said he was putting in his best.

He said that following his dissatisfaction with the performance of the Police in Zamfara State, he ordered a massive transfer of officers and men who had stayed three years and above in the troubled State.

The President appealed to the religious leaders to instruct their followers on the importance of possessing their own voters cards which he described as a national entitlement, and to preach justice to all which is an instituted pillar of Islam.

President Buhari, who revealed that he had received a stiff bill from the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, for the restoration of the dilapidated infrastructure and facilities of federal government-owned radio stations in all states of the federation, promised that something would be done.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, the Vice-President, Sheikh Hadiyyatullahi Abdulrashid commended President Buhari for accomplishing much of what he promised before his election.

He likened him to the captain of a capsizing ship and the messiah needed by the country.

Sheikh Abdulrashid also spoke about the alleged marginalisation of Muslims, violent conflicts between farmers and herders, the problems of drug abuse among youths and the fate of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna, among other issues.

Source: NAN

Trends in global security denote that cyber crimes is the latest form of terrorism and corruption and this is a growing concern affecting all nations in the 21st century.

Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, made this assertion on Monday at the Commissions Head Office, Wuse II, Abuja, during a meeting with a delegation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI led by Mr. George Piro.

Magu, while speaking through the Director of Operations, Mohammed Umar Abbah, said the anti-graft agency in partnership with international agencies will leave no stone unturned in tackling menace as it posed a big threat to the world.

Petitions evolving from cyber crimes have been on the increase on the EFCC website. These scams are being duly investigated by the Cyber Crimes Unit with a view to bringing culprits to justice, he said.

The anti-graft czar stressed the need for more international partners to tackle cyber crimes.

He thanked the FBI for its invaluable support for the Commission and called for sustained partnership.

Piro who was excited to visit Africa for the first time said, the visit to Nigeria was borne out of the outstanding performance of the EFCC.

The main purpose of my visit is to acknowledge the exemplary role EFCC has played and to thank you for the continuous partnership that has resulted in mutually beneficial rewards in the fight against corruption.

The professionalism your team at EFCC has displayed is commendable; the impact of this is seen in the fortnightly briefs by the International Operations Division of the FBI which closely monitors the operations of the EFCC, Piro said.

He acknowledged the trend of cybercrime as truly a global trend adding that steps are being taken to address it.

We hope to eradicate cybercrime despite the challenges by getting the right (qualified and talented) work force and station them in United States of America as well as Nigeria.

Piro, an Assistant Director, International Operations Division was accompanied on the visit by Jay Bernardo, his Special Assistant and Paula Parkinson, Legal Attach, Abuja.

Source: NAN

An inmate of the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos has enrolled for a doctorate degree (PhD) at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Abdalla Adamu NOUNs Vice-Chancellor says.

Adamu disclosed this in his remarks at opening ceremony of the 1 International Conference of Social Sciences ICOSS 2018 held on at NOUNs headquarters on Monday in Abuja.

The theme of 3-day conference is Imaged or Imagined: Africa and the Contemporary WorldIssues in Security, Governance and Sustainable Development.

Adamu said that NOUN had transformed into a more credible institution than it was previously perceived.

We emphasise quality assurance, due diligence, due process and most importantly, we emphasise academic excellence and leadership.

We have over 420,000 students and about 135,000 about to take their examinations; last Saturday, we matriculated over 16,000 students.

We are the only institution that provides opportunities for those who cannot afford education; we provide opportunities for education to prisoners free of charge.

I am proud to announce that one of the inmates at Kirikiri prison has registered for PhD in Criminology, he said.

He said that NOUNs aspiration to become the foremost university in Africa, I believe, could only be actualised through intellectually stimulating activities like ICOSS.

The vice-chancellor said that during academic conferences, scholars network to find solutions to issues that pose challenges to the world and express their understanding of the universe in which they belong.

Adamu noted that the theme of the conference was apt as it interrogated the claim that Africa was incapable of sustaining human flourishing.

In her massage, Dr Ganiyat Adesina-Uthman, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, NOUN, said that the ICOSS 2018 theme was timely as it came when the happening s in the continent were in front burner.

She said that the conference attracted delegates from Cameroun, France, Brunei, Darrussalam, USA, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

On behalf of our collaborators-Federal University, Dutse(FUD), Nile University, Abuja, Taraba State University, Jalingo, United States of America Embassy, we thank all the participants from over 50 institutions in Nigeria and abroad who have contributed over 200 abstracts to the discourse on African image.

Your contributions to academic knowledge on Africa is crucial to shaping the future of our continenta continent loaded with opportunities, she said.

Prof. Rufai Alkali, Chairman, Conference Organising Committee, in a remark, said that the theme of the conference was premised on the need to bring scholars of international repute to brainstorm on how to solve Africas problems.

He said that the deliberations would open a new debate on Africas development.

On his part, Prof. Tahir Mamman, Vice-Chancellor, Baze University, Abuja, who was also the Chairman on the occasion, commended NOUN for hosting the international conference.

What NOUN is doing is at the heart of what universities should do; to generate ideas that impact on society not just to graduate students.

It is important to graduate people who will provide solutions to the problems of society, he said.

The keynote titled Saving Lake Chad and the Rejuvenation of Africa: Beyond the Imaginary, was delivered by Horace Campbell, Professor of African American Studies and Political Science.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed regret over the reported killings of innocent people in Plateau and vowed that his administration would not rest until the murderers and sponsors are brought to justice.

The President stated this on his Twitter handle; @MBuhari, on Sunday night in Abuja.

He described the incident as “very painful and regrettable.’’

He, therefore, condoled with communities and families of those affected by the dastardly act.

The President’s twitter message read: “The grievous loss of lives and property arising from the killing in Plateau today is painful and regrettable.

“My deepest condolences to the affected communities. We will not rest until all murderers and criminal elements and their sponsors are incapacitated and brought to justice.’’

The Police Command in Plateau had on Sunday confirmed the killing of 86 people in attacks on Razat, Ruku, Nyarr, Kura and Gana-Ropp villages of Gashish District in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state.

The command had earlier said that only 11 persons were killed.

ASP Terna Tyopev, the command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO) confirmed the new figure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Jos.

Tyopey said: “Sequel to the attack in Gashish District of Barkin Ladi local government area, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Undie Adie after deploying more personnel to the District sent a search and rescue team from the command Headquarters for an on-the-spot assessment .

“The team headed by ACP Edeh John of the Department of Operations also had the DPO of Barkin Ladi Division and a Unit Commander from Mopol 38.

“After a careful search of the villages attacked in the district, it was discovered that 86 persons all together were killed and six severely injured

“Fifty houses, two cars and 15 motorcycles were completely burnt down.”

The Plateau Government had since announced a dusk to dawn curfew in Riyom, Barkin Ladi and Jos South local government areas to check possible breakdown of law and order in the state.

Governor Rochas Okorocha got his revenge on Sunday in the political war with his deputy, Eze Madumere, when Chief Emma Ibediro, Okorochas candidate for the All Progressives Congress National Organising Secretary position defeated incumbent Sen. Osita Izunaso.

Izunaso was the candidate of Madumere.

Ibediro got a total vote of 1,770 to defeat Izunaso who got 1,459 votes.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that APC South-East stakeholders had earlier endorsed Izunaso and two other national officers of the party for re-election.

The stakeholders had also been in a running battle with Gov. Okorocha whom they accused of high handedness and mismanagement of the states resources.

The supremacy contest between factional delegates from Imo state was part of the reasons for delay in concluding theAPC national convention on Saturday, with 20 candidates, including the Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole returned unopposed.

Ibediro refused to step down too despite pleas by party leaders, especially those from Southeast, for both factions to reach an amicable settlement.

Both factions had since Saturday, when the convention kicked-off, embarked on a free-for-all-fight on who is the recognised faction in Imo state.

The delegates from Imo were barred from participating in the voting process by the chairman of the National Convention Committee, Governor Muhammadu Badaru because of the parallel executives that followed the states recent parallel congresses.

Supporters of Okorocha on Saturday, had chased away state executive loyal to Izunaso at the state pavilion, after which the state executive produced by the congress organised by Okorochas faction took overthe pavilion.

Unlike Izunaso who failed to be re-elected, other South East candidates sailed through.

Chief George Moghalu, the partys current National Auditor got over 2,000 votes to retain his position while Emma Enukwu also from the South-East, got re-elected.

Source: NAN

The national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo has no moral justification to ask President Muhammadu Buhari not to re-contest the presidency in 2019.

Tinubu spoke Sunday night at the National Convention of the party in Abuja.

He described Obasanjo as a busy body, saying that he was not a member of the APC nor any other political party having torn his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) membership card publicly.

Obasanjo had in January, asked President Buhari not to seek re-election in the forthcoming 2019 presidential election.

This man has the temerity of writing a letter.

What is your business, busy body? Unfortunately, he has torn the card of his party, so he does not have one anymore, Tinubu noted.

He added that he was happy to be in the APC and not listening to those who advised him against associating with President Buhari.

He thanked Buhari for his tenacity and commitment to fight corruption in the country and for working hard to develop the country.

According to him, the President Buhari-led APC has adhered more to the tenets of internal democracy more than any government in the past.

This, he said, was showed at the partys just concluded National Convention.

We thank you that you have offered yourself to re-contest the presidency in 2019, you must run, and you will win, he said.

We have changed leaders of our party: not at gun point, ask Audu Ogbeh. Thank God we have been able to stop looting and abuse of power, Tinubu said.

The former Lagos State Governor thanked Gov. Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa, who is also the Chairman APC National Convention Planning Committee for the success recorded.

Badaru, you have delivered, in spite of negative prediction that we will never see this day and that our party will fall apart, he said.

Tinubu thanked the committee members for the show of dedication and commitment and for ensuring a successful national convention.

He also thanked Adams Oshiomhole, the new national chairman of the APC, saying that: you are a true reflection of the saying that no matter how short a man is, he will see the sky.

He, however, asked members of the new National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC not to abuse the trust reposed in them.

He assured that he would join other party leaders to support the NWC to enable it succeed on its mandate to move the party forward.

Source: NAN

Chief Olu Falae, secretary to the military government of Ibrahim Babangida, has blamed the states in the north for the crisis caused by herdsmen in Nigeria.

The 79-year-old National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), explained that state governments in the region abandoned the policy introduced by former leaders to take care of herders.

He spoke in an interview on a political programme that would be aired on Monday.

The problem of the herdsmen has been exacerbated by the failure of many of the state governments in the North to take care of the needs of the herdsmen.

According to him, the needs of the herdsmen were thoroughly met during the days of late Sir Ahmadu Bello the then premier of the Northern region and Sardauna of Sokoto.

The former minister of finance recalled that during the period, there were grazing reserves while all kinds of facilities were provided for the herdsmen and their cattle.

He highlighted some of the factors responsible for the crisis to include the reduction in size of the Lake Chad.

Falae, a victim of the crisis, was kidnapped for days by by herdsmen in September 2015 in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

The police had confirmed that the abductors demanded a N100 million as ransom before they would release the elder statesman.

The former SGF suffered another loss in January 2018 when his farm was razed in the South-western state.

While the police have yet to identify the perpetrators of the attack, Falae blamed the incident on malice and hatred by some individuals.

In further reaction to the herdsmen crisis, he repeatedly called on the Federal Government to take proactive steps in addressing the matter.

The elder statesman asked the government to tackle the depletion of the Lake Chad, erosion, as well as the Boko Haram insurgency among other challenges.

Over one million people are herdsmen who earn their livelihood from the lake can no longer do so.

Added to that, are those uprooted by Boko Haram and then, desertification has been continuously eroding the arable land in Nigeria.

When you put all these factors together, you find a tremendous pressure on herdsmen and their cattle and the response should have come from the state governments and the Federal Government to take care of their needs because they are Nigerians who are entitled to their livelihood, Falae added.

Falae was Secretary to Government of the Federation from January 1986 to December 1990.

He was briefly the Finance Minister in 1990 and he ran for president in Nigerias Third and Fourth republics.

Source:

Source: NAN

Less than 24 hours after Recep Tayyip Erdogan won landmark presidential and parliamentary elections, the Turkeys most powerful man is set to extend his rule with sweeping new powers from Monday.

Turkeys High Electoral Board declared Erdogan, 64, the winner of Sundays polls, which usher in a new executive presidential system that was approved in a referendum last year. Under the system, the office of the prime minister is eliminated and executive powers are transferred to the president, who can rule with only limited checks and balances.

The Turkish leader, who is accused by critics of adopting increasingly authoritarian tactics but is loved by supporters for bringing prosperity and stability, may be facing rough times ahead, however. Analysts predict an economic downturn amid rising inflation and a struggling currency.

His win could deepen Turkeys rift with Western allies, who are already concerned by setbacks in democracy and human rights as well as Turkeys closer ties with Russia.

Still, Turkeys currency, the lira, rallied on Monday over Erdogans victory, which allows the country to avoid instability in the short-term.

In his victory speech, Erdogan said he would work toward achieving his goal of making Turkey one of the worlds top 10 economies by 2023, when the Turkish Republic marks its centenary.

He also pledged a more determined fight against outlawed Kurdish rebels and alleged members of a movement led by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom he accuses of orchestrating a 2016 failed coup against his government. Gulen denies involvement.

Turkey made its choice in favour of a more determined fight against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) and (Gulenists), Erdogan said. We will go after terror organizations with stronger determination.

Under the new system, Erdogan will appoint ministers, vice presidents and high-level bureaucrats, issue decrees, prepare the budget and decide on security policies.

According to unofficial results that have yet to be confirmed by the electoral board, Erdogan garnered 52.5 percent of the votes, while his ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, won 42.5 percent in the parliamentary vote.

Erdogans closest contender, Muharrem Ince of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party, won 30.7 percent.

Erdogans AKP fell short of a parliamentary majority but a better-than-expected performance by its nationalist ally should allow the party to control the 600-seat legislature.

Ince, who complained of unfair elections, has yet to formally concede defeat. A prominent journalist said, however, that he received a message from the politician acknowledging Erdogans victory. Ince was scheduled to hold a news conference later on Monday.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party, whose presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas was forced to campaign from jail, received the more than 10 percent of votes required to win seats in parliament, spilling thousands of its supporters into the streets in celebration.

Source: NAN

Here in the desert, Algeria has abandoned more than 13,000 people in the past 14 months, including pregnant women and children, stranding them without food or water and forcing them to walk, sometimes at gunpoint, under temperatures of up to 118 degrees.

In Niger, where the majority head, the lucky ones limp across a desolate 9-mile no-mans-land to Assamaka, less a town than a collection of unsteady buildings sinking into drifts of sand.

Others, disoriented and dehydrated, wander for days before a U.N. rescue squad can find them.

Untold numbers perish along the way; nearly all the more than two dozen survivors interviewed by The Associated Press told of people in their groups who simply could not go on and vanished into the Sahara.

Women were lying dead, men.. Other people got missing in the desert because they didnt know the way, said Janet Kamara, who was pregnant at the time. Everybody was just on their own.

Her body still aches from the dead baby she gave birth to during the trek and left behind in the Sahara, buried in a shallow grave in the molten sand.

Blood streaked her legs for days afterward, and weeks later, her ankles are still swollen. Now in Arlit, Niger, she is reeling from the time she spent in what she calls the wilderness, sleeping in the sand.

Quietly, in a voice almost devoid of feeling, she recalled at least two nights in the open before her group was finally rescued, but said she lost track of time.

I lost my son, my child, said Kamara, a Liberian who ran her own home business selling drinks and food in Algeria and was expelled in May.

Another woman in her early twenties, who was expelled at the same time, also went into labor, she said. That baby didnt make it either.

Algerias mass expulsions have picked up since October 2017, as the European Union renewed pressure on North African countries to head off migrants going north to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea or the barrier fences with Spain.

These migrants from across sub-Saharan Africa Mali, the Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Niger and more are part of the mass migration toward Europe, some fleeing violence, others just hoping to make a living.

A European Union spokesperson said the EU was aware of what Algeria was doing, but that sovereign countries can expel migrants as long as they comply with international law.

Unlike Niger, Algeria takes none of the EU money intended to help with the migration crisis, although it did receive $111.3 million in aid from Europe between 2014 and 2017.

Algeria provides no figures for the expulsions. But the number of people crossing on foot to Niger has been increasing steadily since the International Organization for Migration started counting in May 2017, when 135 people were dropped at the crossing, to as high as 2,888 in April 2018.

In all, according to the IOM, a total of 11,276 men, women and children survived the march.

At least another 2,500 were forced on a similar trek this year through the Sahara into neighboring Mali, with an unknown number succumbing along the way.

The migrants the AP talked to described being rounded up hundreds at a time, crammed into open trucks headed southward for six to eight hours to what is known as Point Zero, then dropped in the desert and pointed in the direction of Niger.

They are told to walk, sometimes at gunpoint. In early June, 217 men, women and children were dropped well before reaching Point Zero, fully 18 miles from the nearest source of water, according to the IOM.

Source:

Source: NAN

The Coach of FRSC FC of Abuja, Akinade Onigbinde, on Monday said that todays football had grown above big names of players or countries.

Onigbinde told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that big names were no longer an intimidating factor to decide victory in matches.

He noted that countries like Argentina with big names like Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero etc., had been dwarfed by lowly-rated countries in the ongoing World Cup.

Football is fast going scientific to a level that big players or nations are even struggling to win a match.

Unlike before, countries with big players used to cow others, but today almost every nation is good, Onigbinde said, expressing satisfaction with the development.

While noting that it had made football more interesting, he urged nations like Iran to improve on their game and added that no nation was an underdog in football.

According to him, the ongoing World Cup in Russia is a good testimony of the progress so far made in global football.

Onigbinde explained the inability of some big countries to live up to expectation was a pointer to the fact achievements in football nowadays was due to hard work which was the only key to success.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some big countries like Argentina have failed to live up to expectations.

Argentina played 1-1 with Iceland in their opening match and lost 3-0 to Croatia in the second match and will taken on Nigeria later on Monday.

Source: NAN

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has commiserated with popular singer, Daniel Oyebanjo, a.k.a Dbanj over the death of his son David Jnr.

Dbanj confirmed the death of David, fondly referred to as Daniel the 3rd on Sunday night on his Instagram page.

Sharing a black picture, he wrote @iambangalee, Trying times but my God is always and forever faithful.

Daniel, who celebrated his first birthday in May, reportedly drowned in the family pool.

Following confirmation of the sad news, condolences began to troop in from celebrities and fans alike replicating the black picture shared by the bereaved father, Dbanj.

Obasanjo who wrote on his twitter handle @chief_obasanjo said My heart and prayers are with Dapo and his family.

No parent should ever have to bury a child. As a parent, its the worst thing imaginable.

May God give you the fortitude to bear the loss, Dbanj, Obasanjo stated.

Also, former labelmate and producer, Don Jazzy wrote @donjazzy, Just heard the worst news in a long time.

Singer Bank W wrote @bankywellington, Sending prayers up for @iambangalee, his wife and their entire family.

This is a nightmare. Heart wrenching news. May God strengthen and comfort yall in this absolutely terrible time in Jesus name.

Mavin First Lady wrote @tiwasavage, I was just holding you last month celebrating your birthday.

I am in shock, my heart is broken. This is unbearable.
Another former labelmate, Dr Did said @iamdrsid, The Lord is your strength my brother.

Others including Big Brother Naija 2018 alumni Alex-Unusual and Tobi Bakre; singer Dija and actress Tonto Dikeh.

Meanwhile, fans of the singer have taken to social media to commensurate with him.

@Ify_love tweeted, the worst news. Couldnt possibly imagine what they are going through.

@felyxxx01 wrote, This is really sad. Such a lovely kid. My condolences to Dbanj and his wife. (NAN)

Legendary singer Anita Baker and Marvel-Disney blockbuster Black Panther, received massive recognitions at the 2018 BET awards.

The BET Awards, established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network, celebrates African Americans and other American minorities in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year.

The awards are presented annually, and are broadcast live on BET. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by artists, and some of the awards of more popular interest are presented in a televised ceremony.

The superhero billion dollar flick Black Panther won the Best Movie Award while lead actor Chadwick Boseman won the Best Actor Award.

In the middle of the event, host Jamie Foxx brought one of the movies stars Micheal B. Jordan on stage to recite one of the most powerful lines from the movie.

The line, Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, because they knew death was better than bondage elicited rapturous response from the crowd.

The presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award to legendary singer Anita Baker by Hollywood producer Tyler Perry, was a deeply emotional moment.

The beauty of the award was cemented when Foxx sang a medley of Bakers greatest hit.

Baker, who started her career in the late 1970s with the funk band Chapter 8, released her first album The Songstress in 1983.

The eight time Grammy award winner is regarded as one of the most popular singers of soulful romantic ballads during the height of the quiet storm period of RnB in the 1980s.

NAN reports that other significant wins include Serena Williams receiving the Sportswoman of the Year award and A Wrinkle in Time Director Ava Duvernay getting the Best Director Award.

Kendrick Lamar bagged the Album of the Year and Best Male Hip Hop Artist; Beyonce picked the Best Female Pop Artist and Bruno Mars got the Best Male Pop Artist.

Source: NAN

A Jos Upper Area Court in Plateau, sitting in Kasuwan Nama on Monday sentenced an applicant, Amos Adamu, 27, to two years imprisonment for rape and criminal conspiracy.

The Presiding Judge, Mr Yahaya Mohammed, handed down the sentence after the convict pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of rape and criminal conspiracy.

Mohammed, who did not give the convict an option of fine, said that the punishment would serve as deterrent to others, who might want to engage in similar acts.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Sgt. Ibrahim Gokwat, told the court that the case was reported at the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigative Department on April 27 by one Dorothy Titus.

Gokwat said that the convict in company of two other persons now at large, ganged-raped a lady at RukubaRoad in Jos.

He said that during police investigation, it was discovered that the victim got intoxicated from a substance, suspected to be drugs, which was given to her by the convict and his gang.

The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Sections 97 and 283 of the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to keep faith with the party, saying that things would soon be put right.

He made the appeal on Saturday in Abuja at the partys National Convention, adding that the party would emerge stronger from the convention.

The President, however, told the 6,800 delegates from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and other party members that the crisis in some of the partys state chapters was a price the party had to pay for its electoral victory in 2015.

He further appealed to the delegates to shun personal interests and to accept the outcome of the convention in good faith in the interest of the party and the nation.

The partys outgoing National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, thanked President Buhari for the opportunity to work for the party and to work closely with him.

He said I feel a deep sense of fullfilment and inner peace for seeing this day and the colour added to the event.

Odigie-Oyegun also thanked the partys chieftains and founding fathers for what he called principled leadership and for refusing to be deceived by negative media reports and obvious challenges.

The thanked the 21 member-APC National Working Committee (NWC) which he headed, noting thatthough we argued most times, we always reached a resolution.

He further thanked the partys members across the federation, saying today, I am making my exit from the honour you bestowed on me to lead you.

Phase one of this party has ended, phase two is about to start, I wish my successor a fair weather in office.

The former Governor of Edo, Adams Oshionhole, is the sole chairmanship candidate of the party.

This followed the withdrawal of three other aspirants, including former Cross River Governor, Chief Clement Ebri from the race, as the tenure of the Odigie-Oyegun-led NWC ends on June 25. (NAN)

Source: NAN

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday met with leaders of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, and other political leaders in the South West on the way forward for Nigeria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting which held behind closed-doors at the Lekki residence of the Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, lasted for almost two hours.

Those at the meeting included a former governor of Ogun, and the Director-General of Atiku Campaign Organisation, Chief Otunba Gbenga Daniels; a former governor of Ondo, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, and Chief Kenny Martins.

Others included Sen. Femi Okunrounmu, Chief Oyewole Fashawe, Mr Akin Oshuntokun and Dr Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu.

Also at the meeting were Prof. Banji Akintoye, Dr Amos Akingba as well Afenifere Secretary, Mr Yinka Odumakin.

NAN reports that the meeting was also about sustaining the unity in Nigeria.

Obasanjo, clad in a navy blue Agbada, however declined to speak with newsmen after the meeting.

But the Afenifere leader, Adebanjo told newsmen that the meeting was about strengthening unity in Yoruba land ahead of the 2019 general elections and beyond.

He said that there was the need for elders and leaders in the region to cast their differences aside and stand as one to chart a new course for the country.

The meeting was nothing more than the fact that Nigeria must move forward.

There must be unity to destroy mediocrity and dictatorship.

What is important is that we have our common goal. We are not endorsing candidates yet. We must agree and be united first, and that is what we are trying to achieve.

If you are not united, you cannot achieve anything. And that primarily was the essence of the meeting, he said.

Adebanjo said the leaders at the meeting had fruitful discussions on the way forward for the Yorubas and the country, describing the meeting as an achievement.

Also speaking, Pastor Tunde Bakare, the Convener of Save Nigeria Group, said that the meeting was about the way forward for the country at these critical times.

He explained that he and others met on fashioning the way forward for the country.

Bakare said that since it was a closed-door meeting, he would not provide details.

Asked if it was not strange sitting with Obasanjo whom he had always criticised, he said his criticisms of Obasanjo was not borne out of animosity but how to do things right.

He added that his faulting Obasanjo in and out of office did not mean he was his enemy but a call for collective reasoning for the interest of the nation.

Being a critic is not an enemy of the state or the nation. The thinker is the enemy of the mob. If you say I have been a critic of Obasanjo, look at him now being a critic of Buhari too. Yet, he facilitated his coming.

Critique is not the same thing as criticism; it is let us reason together, things are not going the right way, he said.

On his part, Odumakin said that the meeting was friendly and that there was so much conviviality.

He added that everybody present played active part in the deliberations.

Earlier, Obasanjo had visited a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, to condole with him over the recent death of his son, Dipo.

The former president was accompanied on the visit to Georges Ikoyi residence by some of his aides and loyalists.

Members of Georges family expressed pleasant surprise at Obasanjos visit, saying it marks an end to the long-standing rift between him and the PDP chieftain.

Speaking, Obasanjo urged George to take solace in God over the demise of his late son.

We cannot query God, but to only take solace in what He has done for you.

If this did not happen, who knows what next would happen.

I have not been around but it was on my mind to come over and commiserate with you and the family.
May God grant the deposed eternal rest, he said.

Reacting in an emotion-laden voice, sister to the deceaseds father, Alhaja Majolagbe George, declared that the rift was over between Obasanjo and her brother.

She said the family was shocked and surprised by the former presidents visit, saying it has ended years of frictions between the two.

We are shocked when this started. But today, the devil has been put to shame.

The evil this morning has been condemned outside this house.

It will never come to these great Nigerians anymore, she said. (NAN)

PROTOCOLS

It is my pleasure to address you today, on the occasion of our great partys 2nd National Convention and the first since we rode on its glorious platform to a victorious political outing in 2015. Congratulations again to all who worked or contributed to our success.

2.I want to begin by acknowledging your presence and congratulating all our delegates who have emerged from the wards, local Governments and State congresses from the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT gathered here today as the partys highest ranking constitutional organ, to elect and usher in a new leadership for the party at the national level.

3.I am also using this opportunity to thank the outgoing National Executives of the party, especially those who will not be offering themselves for re-election at todays convention for their tireless efforts in securing victory for the party at the last elections and managing the success thereafter.

4.I want to assure everyone here that despite a few lingering issues with the congresses in some states, our great party will emerge stronger after this convention. The unresolved cases we have is the price we have to pay for success, as everyone wants to be associated with a winning team. I am imploring all those with grievances to keep faith with the party until we put things right.

5.I have been following the preparations leading to this event and I must commend this Convention Committee under the leadership of His Excellency, Governor Badaru Abubakar for providing a level playing field and instilling confidence in both aspirants and delegates with their thorough approach and adherence to transparency.

6.I commend all the delegates from across the country for your sacrifice and patience, travelling all the way from your different destinations and waiting in inclement weather, as it has been raining all the day. Thank you for your commitment.

7.The adoption of consensus as a first option is commendable and the process has led to a lot of healing and cohesion across the states and the zones, and where elections are inevitable, I have been assured that the process adopted will result in clear and undisputed results. Again I am appealing to all contestants to keep faith with the party.

8.May I, therefore, appeal to all to put our great party ahead of personal considerations and to accept the outcome of the exercise in good faith. You are all important to our partys progress and all must come together to ensure success in the forthcoming polls so as to enable us to continue the good work we have been doing for our fellow Nigerians.

9.I thank you all for being here and congratulate the new National Executive to be elected shortly.

God bless Federal Republic of Nigeria, God bless our Party.

APC!

APC!!

APC!!

Source: NAN

Some members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo on Saturday defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The defectors were received by the PDP Chairman in Edo, Chief Dan Orbih, at a rally in Fugar, Etsako Central Local Government Area.

Some of the defectors said they left the APC because of the absence of internal democracy.

Retired Capt. Patrick Isede, a former Local Government Secretary and leader of the defectors, said they decided to join the PDP because the party symbolises peace.

He also expressed optimism that the PDP would ameliorate the present hardship in the country if victorious in the forthcoming general elections.

Also speaking, Mr Benjamin Enakpene, a former Executive Secretary of Etsako Local Government Council, said he and his supporters left the APC because they could no longer endure the lack of internal democracy in the party.

He alleged that the APC machinery in the area had remained under the control of two individuals.

Mr Okauso Felix, another defector and former councillor, said he dumped his former party because the party lacked good leaders.

He said he and his supporters had waited for nine years for a change which had yet to come, adding that the PDP was more organised and democratic.

Earlier, Orbih had said that the defection was a signal of the partys victory in the 2019 general elections.

He expressed happiness that the defectors were joining the party based on their personal convictions.

Orbih urged the people to ensure that they were registered, saying a vote for the party would be a vote for democracy. (NAN)

The All Progressives Congress National Convention in Abuja has affirmed former Governor Adams Oshiohmole as the National Chairman.

The convention also affirmed the election of 19 other officers.

Details soon

Source: NAN

All the big guns of the All Progressives Congress,(APC) including President Muhammadu Buhari, Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara, all the governors were present as the national convention of the party opened in Abuja.

The event at the Eagle Square, which was well attended by party supporters and delegates defied expectations of fake news peddlers that the party would implode.

Rather, the party by bringing everyone together demonstrated its unity.

Former Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun expressed delight over the unity by members and leaders, in spite of the fake news industry.

And President Buhari also urged members with grievances to keep faith with the party.

The convention affirmed the election of former governor Adams Oshiomhole as chairman. The election of 19 other officers of the party was also affirmed.

President Muhammadu Buhari commended members and leadership of the party for adopting consensus as a first option in the election of the partys national officials.

The President said the process had led to a lot of healing and cohesion across the states and the zones, and even where elections were inevitable.

He, therefore, enjoined members to bury all their differences, keep faith with the party and accept the outcome of the convention.

He said: I have been assured that the process adopted will result in clear and undisputed results.

Again I am appealing to all contestants to keep faith with the party.

I, therefore, appeal to all to put our great party ahead of personal considerations and to accept the outcome of the exercise in good faith.

You are all important to our partys progress and all must come together to ensure success in the forthcoming polls so as to enable us to continue the good work we have been doing for our fellow Nigerians. .

The President also assured all members of the party that despite a few lingering issues with the recently concluded congresses in some states, the party would emerge stronger after the convention.

According to him, the unresolved cases of the congresses are the price the party has to pay for success, as everyone wants to be associated with a winning team.

He, therefore, implored all those with grievances to keep faith with the party until we put things right.

I want to assure everyone here that despite a few lingering issues with the congresses in some states, our great party will emerge stronger after this convention.

The unresolved cases we have is the price we have to pay for success, as everyone wants to be associated with a winning team.

I am imploring all those with grievances to keep faith with the party until we put things right, he said.

The President, who led delegates from Katsina state to cast his vote at the convention, thanked the outgoing National Executives of the party, for their tireless efforts in securing victory for the party at the last elections and managing the success thereafter.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that about 22 positions including that of the National Chairman of the party as of the time of filing this report emerged unopposed.

Source: NAN