President Abandons Official Residence, Blames Evil Spirits

President Abandons Official Residence, Blames Evil Spirits

Brazil President, Michel Temer has abandoned his official residence, Alvorada Palace, blaming bad vibes and ghosts.

Brazilian News Weekly reports that Temer surprised many people when he announced that he had left the presidential house.

He moved alongside his former beauty queen wife and their seven-year-old son, and relocated down the road to the residence of the vice-president.

The modernist Alvorada, which was designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, would be a dream home for many.

The Palace has a huge pool, football field, chapel, medical centre and vast lawn.

But the 76-year-old Temer, and his 33-year-old wife Marcela, found the cavernous, glass-fronted building dangerous to inhabit.

Temer was quoted by the newspaper as saying, “I felt something strange there. I wasn’t able to sleep right from the first night.

“The energy wasn’t good.”

According to the newspaper, his wife, Marcela felt the same thing, but only Michelzinho (their son), who went running from one end to the other, liked it.

He added, “We even started to wonder: could there be ghosts?”

Marcela had reportedly brought in a priest to pray and drive out any evil spirits, but to no avail.

The family then moved to the still luxurious but smaller Jaburu Palace nearby.

Recall that Temer moved into the presidential quarters after succeeding Dilma Rousseff, the immediate past president, who was impeached for breaking budget accounting laws.

Rise in rate of diseases in Nigeria worrisome, doctors lament

Rise in rate of diseases in Nigeria worrisome, doctors lament

Doctors in the country have expressed worries over the rise in non-communicable diseases in Nigeria and said the trend was a development that needed an urgent attention.
The doctors, under the aegis of Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN), said the increase in such non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer and hypertension in the country called for a change in the lifestyle of Nigerians.
The public health physicians raised the alarm in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, at the opening of the 33rd National Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting of their association, held at the Owolabi Hall of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD).
At the conference with the theme: “Non-Communicable Disease Burden: Health System Preparedness in Nigeria,” they said “there has been growing burden of NCD and that the World Economic Forum has reported it as leading macro economic risk at global level.”
Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the Scientific Conference, Dr. Olusegun Elegbede, said during the event that the change in lifestyle of people and the economic recession were among the major culprit in the rising cases of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
According to Dr Elegbede, “there is evidence that NCDs are undermining the attainment of Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals.”
National Chairman of APHPN, Professor T.M. Akande, in his speech, said “the conference offered another opportunity to network and rub minds on burning public health issues in Nigeria and the strategies for advancing public health practice in Nigeria.”

Death sentence: 10 things to know about ‘Apo Six’ murder case

Death sentence: 10 things to know about ‘Apo Six’ murder case

As reactions pour in over the death sentence passed on two policemen over the killing of six Igbo traders in Area 11 Garki, Abuja, on June 7, 2005 by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama , on Thursday , Saturday PUNCH looks at the sequence of events that led to the killing of the victims.

Coming 12 years after the incident, Ezekiel Achejene and Emmanuel Baba ( both police constables ) were sentenced to death by Justice Ishaq Bello for the murder of five traders at the Apo Mechanic Village – Ifeanyi Ozo , Chinedu Meniru , Isaac Ekene, Paul Ogbonna , Anthony Nwokike and the girlfriend of one of them , Tina Arebun.

1. The six victims , all traders at the Apo Mechanic Village and a girlfriend were driving home after a night out in Abuja on June 7 , 2005 , when they encountered a team of policemen on patrol.

2. The victims allegedly had a scuffle with a senior officer , Danjuma Ibrahim , whose advances were allegedly turned down by Arebun, the only female among the six.

3. Ibrahim had allegedly reported to the policemen at the checkpoint on Gimbiya Street , by Ahmadu Bello Way, Apo, Abuja that he sighted a gang of armed robbers in the area .

4. The spare part traders were stopped in the Peugeot saloon car they were riding in when they got to the checkpoint .

5. Policemen at the checkpoint opened fire on the six traders and four died on the spot. The two remaining ones were later shot dead in the early hours of the following morning under the guise that they were trying to escape.

6. The policemen later proceeded to cover up the incident by branding the victims as armed robbers who engaged them in a shootout . Two locally made pistols , two live cartridges , two expended cartridges , two daggers and one cutlass were displayed purportedly recovered from the victims ’ car.

7. Following the uproar over the case , police high command set up a Special Investigation Panel , which indicted six police officers over the killing -Danjuma Ibrahim ( Deputy Commissioner of Police ) , Othman Abdulsalam ( Chief Superintendent of Police) , Nicholas Zakaria ( Assistant Superintendent of Police ) , Ezekiel Acheneje ( Police Constable ) , Emmanuel Baba ( Police Constable ) and Sadiq Salami ( Police Constable ) .

8. All indicted policemen and officers were charged on nine counts of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide, except , CSP Abdusalam , the Divisional Police Officer of Garki , who mysteriously disappeared from his cell in the police headquarters and never appeared in court. He has been in hiding since then .

9. A witness told the court during trial that Ibrahim personally shot at the victims . But Justice Ishaq Bello in his judgement said contradictions in testimony of witnesses and the fact that his fingerprint was not taken after arrest made it impossible to establish his culpability .

10 . The court established that the two last victims were shot by Achejene and Baba , which was the basis for their conviction . No one was convicted for the death of the first four victims .

by Taboola
Kunle Falayi, Punch

Airlines cancel 4,300 flights to Kaduna airport

Airlines cancel 4,300 flights to Kaduna airport

About 4, 300 out of the 8, 694 flights to and from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport , Abuja in the next six weeks may have been cancelled following the diversion of flights to the Kaduna International Airport .
While seven out of the eight international airlines plying the Abuja airport have suspended flights to the Kaduna airport , Saturday PUNCH ’ s
investigation revealed that most local airlines have reduced their flights by 50 per cent.
The Federal Government had on Wednesday closed the NAIA , the country ’ s second busiest airport , for six weeks to repair its runway and diverted the airport ’ s operations to the Kaduna airport , which is about two hours drive from Abuja.
With the development , Saturday PUNCH learnt that about 50 per cent of the number of flights operated from NAIA on the average have been affected as airlines have been forced to opt for skeletal operations.
It was learnt that about 14 , 300 passengers used the Abuja airport daily, while an average of about 207 flights landed or left the facility every day .
And for the six -week period that the Abuja airport will be shut for repairs, operators in the aviation sector said about 605 , 000 passengers would have been airlifted, but noted that this number would definitely be reduced by 50 per cent as many airlines are going to cut down the number of flights to Kaduna .
This, according to them , is because the traffic at the Kaduna airport cannot be compared to what obtained at the Abuja airport , adding that passengers were not showing enough willingness to use the Kaduna airport yet .
For instance, Chairman, Movement Committee from Abuja to Kaduna , who doubles as the Chairman, Skypower Express , Capt . Mohammed Joji , said, “According to our statistics , we are supposed to have about 14 , 520 passengers, about 207 flights with eight foreign airlines and eight domestic airlines . These are the numbers that went to Abuja. ”
But out of the eight international airlines , only Ethiopian Airlines is using the Kaduna airport .
Meanwhile, the 207 aircraft movement ( comprising arrivals and departures) that would have been handled daily at the airport would add up to 8 , 694 flights for the six weeks period ( 42 days) that NAIA will be closed .
Therefore , the expected 50 per cent reduction in the number of flights that will use the Kaduna airport as an alternative to the NAIA will cut the 8 , 694 flights down to 4, 347. This also means that about half of 605 , 000 passengers ( 300, 000 passengers) will not be airlifted.
Aside from the refusal by many foreign airlines to use the Kaduna airport as an alternative to the NAIA , it was also learnt that domestic airlines would reduce their frequencies to the alternative airport during the six weeks period.
For instance, Abuja Airport Manager for Azman Air , Mr . Abdullahi Saroke, told our correspondent that local carriers would definitely cut down their flight services to the Kaduna airport .
He said, “Definitely what you are getting out of Abuja cannot be got out of Kaduna . For instance, in Abuja we operate two flights from the NAIA to Lagos . For airlines that have the highest frequency like Dana , Medview, and Air Peace , who carry out about six to seven flights daily , I don ’ t foresee such kind of flight services happening in Kaduna .
“They have to cut down those schedules except they want to be flying empty aircraft up and down. I think for a start, the cut down is going to be by about 50 per cent for airlines to see how the traffic situation will pan out. And I ’ m sure that that is what is going to happen for now .
“One thing you should know is that the highest traffic days out of or into Abuja have always been Thursdays/ Fridays and Sundays / Mondays . These are days when all airlines operate all their schedules out of Abuja to Lagos or from Lagos to Abuja because you have high movement of passengers moving during these days. However, by next week we should be able to considerably understand what the actual situation will look like. ”
On whether Azman Air would increase its flights to Kaduna during the six-week period of closure of the Abuja airport , Saroke said , “We are going to be having two flights out of Kaduna to Lagos for now , with the hope that traffic will increase so that we can equally increase the frequency. But for now , we are still going to maintain our early morning flight , then introduce the afternoon or the evening flight . The traffic at Kaduna wasn ’ t encouraging today ( Thursday ) , but we hope that maybe by next week or so things will improve and airlines will have more reasons to go there. ”
Another domestic airline official with Aero Contractors confirmed to our correspondent that local carriers would reduce their operations to Kaduna and that flights would reduce considerably .
“You shouldn ’ t expect the full services we got at the Abuja airport to be replicated in Kaduna during the six weeks because it won ’ t be possible . The reduction will be up to 50 per cent because a lot of people are still skeptical about this whole exercise , ” the official , who spoke on condition of anonymity , said .
However, the Federal Government has expressed confidence that more foreign airlines would eventually use KIA in order to reduce their losses.
The Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika , said , “ They will come. For sure , whoever is not in Kaduna at the moment, I ’ m sure you cannot count his losses. So, I believe that British Airways , Lufthansa Air France etc . are probably regretting now , and I pray that they will respond and start landing in Kaduna . ”

Okechukwu Nnodim , Punch.

Alleged N5m Bribe: Court Adjourns Ajumogobia, SAN’s Trial To March 17

Alleged N5m Bribe: Court Adjourns Ajumogobia, SAN’s Trial To March 17

Justice Hakeem Oshodi of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja yesterday adjourned further hearing in the case of suspended Federal High Court Judge, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia and a former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecutor, Godwin Obla (SAN) to March 17.

The EFCC had arraigned Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia and Obla on a 30-count charge of conspiracy to pervert justice by allegedly giving and receiving a bribe of N5 million.

The EFCC had also alleged that about $793,800 passed through the Justice Ajumogobia’s domiciliary accounts between 2012 and 2015 and that she allegedly used the money to buy a house in London.

The two accounts, Access Bank (0002649223) and Diamond Bank (0032091183) have since been frozen by the EFCC.

Five of the charges are centered on an alleged N5m bribe given to the judge by the senior advocate while the remaining 26 charges are on the huge amounts that passed through the accounts of Ofili-Ajumogobia and her alleged inability to explain her source of wealth.

The other charges filed against the judge border on forgery, lying, unlawful enrichment and other related offenses.

They both pleaded not guilty to the charge.

At the resumed hearing of the matter on Friday a prosecution witness, Adewale Oshodi told the court of how he did not verify the huge amounts of money gave to him by the judge to pay into her dollar account domiciled in Diamond Bank.

Oshodi who is the branch Manager of one of the branches of the bank during cross examination further told the court that though he is expected to to ask for the source of funds from his customers, he decided to look the other way because Justice Ajumogobia was a high net-worth customer.

While being cross-examined by Ajumogobia’s counsel, Olawale Akoni, the witness further informed the court that the maximum amount expected to be paid into a dollar account per day was $10, 000, he paid $150, 000, $30, 000, $30, 000 and also $70, 000 between 2013 and 2015 when he was her account officer.

He also testified that he was not aware that Ajumogobia got the money from the proceeds of properties she sold, adding that she did not at any point tell him about the source of the funds.

The EFCC also called its second witness, Ogo Okafo, a relationship Officer with Acesss Bank Plc, who told the court that Ajumogobia maintained several accounts with the bank apart from her salary account, which is also domiciled in the bank.

Okafo informed the court that in 2012, Ajumogobia received the sum of N2.9 million from the Nigerian Customs Service as estacode.

He also claimed that the Judge further received a credit of N18 million from one Arkleen Oil and Gas. While also receiving an estacode of N2.1 million from the Federal High Court.

The witness maintained, “There was also an inflow of N20 million into the account in favour of Justice Ajumogobia.”

Okafo further said that she sometimes went to the Judge’s chambers at Kofo Abayomi Drive between September 2013 and December 2015 when she was the accounts officer of the defendant.

Justice Oshodi has adjourned the matter till March 17 for cross examination of the witness and continuation of trial.

Breaking: President Buhari arrives Nigeria

Breaking: President Buhari arrives Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived Nigeria after an extended medical leave in the UK.
He had originally planned to stay 10 days but stayed longer to rest on the order of his doctors.

The presidential jet that conveyed Buhari landed at the Air Force Base in Kaduna at 7. 40 am.

He will be conveyed in an helicopter to the Presidential Villa , Abuja where top government officials are already waiting to receive him.

Those already at the helipad include Zamfara State Governor , Abdulaziz Yari ; Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Muhammad Bello; National Security Adviser , Babagana Monguno ; Director -General of the Department of State Services , Lawal Daura; Chief of Staff to the President , Abba Kyari.

More details shortly…

FG to clamp down on frozen fish smugglers, cold rooms

FG to clamp down on frozen fish smugglers, cold rooms

THE Federal Government yesterday read the riot act to frozen fish smugglers and cold room operators, vowing to slam N77.5 million ($250,000) fine or five years jail term on them.

Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who read the riot act at a briefing in Abuja yesterday, said government would soon set up a crack team to trace the smugglers to cold rooms, with a view to fishing them out, prosecuting them and shutting down the cold rooms.

According to him, the annual demand for fish in Nigeria stands at 2.3 million metric tonnes, with a supply of 1.1 million metric tonnes, from 800,000 metric tonnes previously.
A fish vendor negotiates price on April 30, 2013 with a buyer as normalcy returns after Islamist clash with soldiers on April 25, 2013 in the remote northeast town of Baga, Borno State.
He said government was collaborating with stakeholders to see how to gradually upscale local production by deliberately encouraging it.
He said: “It has become necessary for the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to address the Nigerian public on the sale of smuggled, unhealthy frozen fish, especially farmed Tilapia in Nigeria. These smuggled frozen fish are harmful to the health of Nigerians.
“We are setting up a task force that will go to the different cold rooms like what Nigerian Customs Service is doing to illegal storing of smuggled rice.”
; we will also go to these cold rooms where these smugglers have kept the fish, locate them there and seal up the cold room, ensure that they pay the $250,000 fine.
“The smuggling of unhealthy frozen fish into the country is detrimental to the progress being made towards guaranteeing the good health and nutrition of Nigerians. Some of the negative effects of this include unhealthy fish.
“In the light of the above, the Ministry is using this medium to warn all those involved, colluding, aiding and abetting in these nefarious activities to stop or face the wrath of the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Importation of frozen fish without licence attracts five years imprisonment or a fine of $250,000 (N77.5m) or both, in addition to forfeiture and destruction of vessel and its products.
‘’For the avoidance of doubt, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has put in place measures to arrest, detain and prosecute offenders as provided in the Sea Fisheries Act Cap S4 Laws of the Federation 2004. Such persons would be dealt with as criminals and economic saboteurs.”