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(Nigeria) The People's Democratic Party, PDP, Edo State Chapter, on Monday urged Governor Adams Oshiomhole to declare the debt profile of the state. Chief Dan Orbih, the Chairman of the party in the state, told newsmen in Benin that Oshiomhole had repeatedly denied that the state was indebted. Orbih said the government had, however, set aside N20 billion in the 2014 budget for debt servicing. He described the sack of 836 teachers by the state government as ``tissues of lies,'' adding that Oshiomhole  was playing politics with the figure. The chairman alleged that more than 3,000 teachers were sacked and there was no plan to recruit new ones. He said the state government had failed to fulfil the promises made to the electorate and the  stowaway boy, Daniel Ikhena. He said people who wanted to help the boy were stopped because of the government's declared intention to take care of the boy and his family. ``Government did not fulfil the promise made to the

Souleymane Diabate, the United Nations Children Emergency Fund, UNICEF Representative in Central African Republic, on Monday, said two children were beheaded in the country during this month's violence. He lamented that more children were being recruited into armed groups, and were also being directly targeted in atrocious revenge attacks. Reuters reports that Diabate said an urgent step must be taken to prevent such. Kristalina Georgieva, the EU Aid Chief, said concerted international action was needed ``to prevent an appalling tragedy from spiralling further out of control.’’ He said more than 800,000 people were now internally displaced in the country. Georgieva said a meeting with UN Humanitarian Chief, Valerie Amos, was planned for January 20 to coordinate humanitarian policy. Martin Ziguele, a former prime minister and leading opposition figure, called for the formation of a national commission to bring accountability for crimes. He said ``there can be no true

(Nigeria) Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State, on Monday, said the proposed Umuahia Airport and  a seaport would be constructed through the Public-Private-Partnership, PPP, initiative. Orji made the disclosure in Umuahia while fielding questions from newsmen after presenting the state’s 2014 Appropriation Bill to the House of Assembly. The lawmakers had asked Orji to explain how the government intended to fund the projects, as they were not captured in the budget estimates. The governor said "we will source the funds from PPP." He said the state government would partner with investors, who indicated interest to partner with it. He added that the process of funding the projects would be articulated in the memorandum of understanding to be signed between the government and the investors. "My intention is just to start the projects. I will not tell you that I must complete them because they are capital intensive but the two projects are vital to the economy

Hundreds of people have fled South Sudan's flashpoint town of Bor as the army warned of an imminent attack by the "White Army" militia on Monday, two weeks into ethnic fighting that has ravaged the world's newest state. The officials said that more than 1,000 people have been killed since clashes erupted in Juba, on December 15 and spread to oil-producing regions, unsettling oil markets and raising fears of a civil war between the main Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups. The White Army made up of Nuer youths who dust their bodies in white ash has in the past sided with Riek Machar, the Nuer former vice president of South Sudan who the government accused of starting the fighting. The Spokesman for the government of South Sudan's Unity state denied Machar was in control of the White Army fighters, raising the prospect that the violence was spreading beyond the control of widely recognised ethnic leaders. "The White Army is not very far from Bor so an

(Nigeria) Nigerian security forces have launched ground and air operations on terrorists locations in the Forest at Alafa, about 21km from Bama, Borno State, killing no fewer than 56 terrorists in the offensive. Meanwhile, two soldiers were wounded in the operation which is meant to track fleeing terrorists in the weekend operations. According to a statement by Director Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, “acting on intelligence reports which indicated renewed efforts by the terrorists to establish a new camp in the forests locations, the land and air operations has inflicted heavy casualty on the insurgents as indicated by the high level of their loss of men and materials.  Air and land bombardments are continuing in different locations where terrorists have been reportedly sighted. “In another development, troops of the Multi-National Joint Task Force have foiled an attempt by terrorists who were massing up on an island on Lake Chad with a view to carrying out

(Nigeria) A 32-year-old tailor, Juliet Omo, was on Monday charged with assaulting a three-year -old child at a Badagry Magistrate Court in Lagos State.  The accused, who resides at No. 25, Ogunyemi St., Illegbo Eremi in Badagry, is facing a charge of assault. The Prosecutor, Insp. Innocent Uko, told the court that the woman had on December 23 at Ogunyemi Street assaulted the boy by beating him with a stick. ``The accused started beating the boy for coming into her shop to disturb her while sowing a cloth. She broke his left arm in the process,’’ he said. Uko said the offence contravened Section 243 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. Counsel to the accused, Mr Bankole Ajose, pleaded with the court to grant her bail, saying the offence is bailable. The Magistrate, Abiodun Etti, granted her bail in the sum of N100, 000 with a surety in like sum. He said the surety should provide evidence of tax payment to the state government as part of the bail conditions. Further hea

(Nigeria)  Mr Simeon Obodo, the 35-year old Nigerian who was killed in Gao, India, on October 30, has been buried in his hometown in Obogwe-Umunwaku community in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State. A representative of the family, Mr Ejike Esinkoye, disclosed this in a telephone interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday. Esinkoye, who said the funeral service of Obodo took place on Monday at St Paul’s Catholic parish Obogwe-Umunwaku, expressed dismay that the Federal Government did not send any official delegation to the burial. He also said that the family had yet to receive any compensation or assistance from the India government. It will be recalled that the murder of the Nigerian during a violent clash in Goa village, India, sparked a diplomatic row between both countries. Around 200 Nigerians in India protested Obodo’s murder by blocking a national highway and clashing with locals and police in the area. Fifty-three of the protesting Ni

(Nigeria) Twenty children died in road traffic accidents between December 19 and December 28, while 75 others sustained injuries from the crashes, the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, said on Monday. This information is contained in a statement issued by Mr Jonas Agwu, the FRSC’s Public Education Officer. The statement said that 144 children of the 239 children involved in road accidents during the period were rescued unhurt. It would be recalled that the FRSC on December 19 began a Special Patrol for the Christmas and New Year celebration tagged ``Operation Zero Tolerance’’. The commission deployed 34,000 personnel and equipment in critical and major highways across the country as well as four helicopters for aerial surveillance. The FRSC had said on December 24 that 107 died and 1,398 persons were in 214 road accidents between December 19 and December 23. It said that the figures represented a reduction in the number of deaths and injured when compared to 156 deat

(Nigeria) Some telecom subscribers have expressed dissatisfaction with the poor quality of services of GMS service providers in the country during the Yuletide, reports News Agency of Nigeria. The subscribers said they were unhappy as they were not getting value for their money from the service providers. Mr Ilemona Umoru, a graphic designer, said that the services from the networks were poor, adding that he could hardly make complete calls without problems. ``You find that when you try to call someone, especially in this season, you can hardly hear the person at the other side. ``You never have the satisfaction of talking to someone, it’s either the call gets cut half way into your conversation or you would be hearing some kind of unpleasant noise at the background. ``The regulators should sanction them or there should be a limit of the number of subscribers they should have because I think that part of the problem is because the networks are over loaded. Another sub

(Nigeria) A Surulere Chief Magistrate Court, Lagos, on Monday rejected the 'guilty plea' by one Rasak Abdulahi, a bricklayer charged with stealing. The prosecutor, Insp Gabriel Ekundayo had alleged that Abdullahi stole N50,000 given to him to buy cement by one Mr John Egbuta for a project. He told the court that the accused took the money and did not return to the project site until six days later when he called Egbuta to inform him that the money was stolen. The prosecutor said that the offence, committed at No. 30 Chief Natufe St., Surulere, contravened Sections 285 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State. The Magistrate, Mrs M.O. Olajuwon, however, faulted the prosecution charges, saying that the facts as presented did not show any evidence of stealing. She said going by the facts of the case what happened was a breach of contract and not theft. The magistrate therefore rejected the guilty plea of the accused and adjourned the case to January 20, 2014 for

(Nigeria) A teacher, Mohammed Ibrahim, 27, on Monday appeared before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate Court in Lagos, charged with the defilement of two pupils aged six and seven years old. Ibrahim, who resides at No. 2, Olaosebikan St., Lawanson in Surulere, Lagos, is facing a charge of defiling two minors. The Prosecutor, Inspector R. Odigie, said that the crime was committed on December 18 at  11.00 a.m. at Al-adab Nursery and Primary School, Abalti Barracks, Surulere, Lagos. He said that the accused took the two pupils to the school toilet and forcefully had unlawful carnal knowledge of them. "The victims screamed for help and they were rescued by another teacher in the school. The eyewitness reported the accused to the headmaster,” he said. The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge. Section 137 provides that any person, who has unlawful sexual interco

(Nigeria) Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, has formed three political parties for the Ogonis. In his New Year message, MOSOP President/Spokesman, Dr. Goodluck Diigbo, said “after thorough review, I welcome the step, because I believe indigenous political parties will transform the political climate in Ogoni, and inspire true representatives to respect the people’s aspirations. “If the parties so desire, they forge pre-approved and incorruptible alliances with outside political parties and actors, within and outside Nigeria in accordance with Ogoni Bill of Rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” Invoking the United Nations Declaration, Diigbo said the move “will enhance harmonious and cooperative relations between the State [Nigeria] and indigenous peoples [Ogonis], based on principles of justice, democracy, respect for human rights, non-discrimination and good faith.” He said he was optimistic that true representativ

(Nigeria) A Federal High Court sitting  in Lagos on Monday granted bail in the sum of N200 million each, to a Briton, Gareth Wilcox and Johnson Adebami, charged with N15 billion fraud. Wilcox, a former Managing Director of Ibom Power Company and LYK Engineering Company, is standing trial alongside Adebami, a former Managing Director of the defunct Gulf Bank Plc, on a 21-count charge bordering on alleged fraud. Also charged along with them are, former the legal adviser of the bank, Uche Uwechia; Ibom Power Company and LYK Engineering Company, owned by Wilcox. Ruling on the bail application, the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Yunusa, granted Wilcox and Adebami bail in the sum of N200 million each, with two sureties each in like sum. The judge ruled that each of the sureties must possess landed property within the jurisdiction of the court, present two years tax clearance certificate and depose to an affidavit of means. He also ordered Wilcox and Adebami to deposit their i

(Nigeria) Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Monday urged political office holders at all levels to brace up to the challenges of nation building to make Nigerians better in 2014. This is contained in a New Year message signed by Atiku’s Media Officer, Mr Paul Ibe, in Abuja. The former vice president, while congratulating Nigerians for the New Year, described as unacceptable the worsening poverty in the country. This, he noted, was taking its toll on the ordinary citizens, adding, however, that, with hard work and dedication, elected leaders and public servants could rise to the challenges of national development and economic prosperity. He said that doing so was critical to redressing the deepening poverty of ordinary Nigerians in 2014. He urged Nigerians to face the future with optimism, adding that the New Year would bring good tidings to the country. Atiku thanked God for keeping Nigerians together, despite the country`s myriad of security, political and socioe

(Nigeria) Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State on Monday in Umuahia presented a budget of N149.6 billion for the 2014 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly for consideration. Orji made the presentation of the "budget of legacy consolidation" during the assembly's  plenary session. He said the budget was prepared in line with the International Public Sector Accounting Standard, IPSAS. According to him, it focuses on the completion of on-going projects and repositioning of Abia economy on the path of sustainable growth. The governor said that the ministries, departments and agencies of government would be made to implement the projects in compliance with the IPSAS system. Orji said that the objective of the budget was to effectively channel available resources in the state to projects that would engender wealth and stimulate investment. He said though the state looked up to accruals from the federation account, efforts would be made to boost internally

The Russian Navy's two nuclear-powered submarines, the Yuri Dolgoruky and Alexander Nevsky, arrived at the restricted-access administrative and territorial unit Gadzhiyevo (Murmansk Region) where the Northern Fleet, NF, submarine forces are based, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry's press-service and information department for the Navy told journalists on Monday. "On December 30, strategic nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarines, the Yuri Dolgoruky and Alexander Nevsky, of Design 955 Borei (Boreas) have arrived at the NF's basing point of Gadzhiyevo," the Navy official said. The submarines had left the OAO (public joint-stock company) Sevmash (in Severodvinsk) on December 28, reports ITAR-TASS. "It is planned that the missile-carrying strategic submarine cruiser Alexander Nevsky, which has been phased into service with the Navy, will soon begin to set about practicing course-unit missions in preparation to join permanent-readine

No fewer than 14 people were killed Monday when a suicide bomber blew himself up on a packed trolleybus in Volgograd, raising new concerns about security at the Sochi Olympics a day after a deadly attack on the southern Russian city's train station. President Vladimir Putin, under pressure to show that Russia can assure the safety of tens of thousands of guests when the Winter Games open on February 7, ordered stepped-up security across the country. The twin suicide attacks on Volgograd, which until this year had no record of recent unrest, have stunned Russia and troubled the authorities as people prepare for mass New Year celebrations. At least 17 people died in Sunday's attack blamed on a suspected female suicide bomber. The force of Monday's blast destroyed the number 15A trolleybus, which was packed with early morning commuters and was turned into a tangle of wreckage with only its roof and front remaining. Health ministry spokesman Oleg Salagai told Rus

Lebanon's army used its anti-aircraft defence systems to fire at Syrian helicopters after they carried out a raid in Lebanese territory on Monday, a military source told AFP. It was the first time the Lebanese army has responded to Syrian attacks inside Lebanese territory, which have multiplied as the conflict in Syria spills over the border between the countries.

Gunmen attacked the airport and seized control of the state television headquarters in Kinshasa on Monday, in what appeared to be an attempt to seize power by supporters of religious leader Paul Mukungubila. The Police put a security cordon around the state television building where gunmen had taken several people hostage, journalists told Reuters. Witnesses also reported shooting at the Tshatshi military camp, close to the Defence Ministry. Report says Congo is struggling to emerge from decades of violence and instability, particularly in its mineral-rich east, in which millions of people have died, mostly from hunger and disease. Congo is home to a 21,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO. Before transmission was shut down at state television, two gunmen appeared on camera to deliver what appeared to be a political message against President Joseph Kabila, who took office in 2001 after the assassination of his father Laurent. "Gideon Mukungubila

(Nigeria) The All Progressives Congress, APC, has won all 17 chairmanship seats contested for in the Yobe State Local Government elections. Announcing the results on Sunday in Damaturu, Chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission, Alhaji Mohammed Jauro, said APC secured 999,700 of the 1.2 million votes cast during Saturday’s elections. He said the party also won the entire councillorship seats contested for. The chairman said the electoral body did not receive any complaints from any quarters on the conduct of the elections. ``The successful conduct of the polls is a proof that peace has returned to the state,’’ Jauro said. There had been fears that the poor security situation in the state, following insurgents’ activities, would affect the polls’ conduct. However, the spokesman of the Military Joint Task Force in the state, Capt. Eli Lazarus, told NAN that the force had not received any report of security breach during the polls. Ten political parties parti

A female suicide bomber killed 16 people Sunday in a strike on the main train station of the southern Russian city of Volgograd that heightened security fears just six weeks before the Sochi Olympic Games. Investigators said the unidentified woman set off her charge after being stopped by a police officer at the metal detectors of the central entrance to the station when it was packed with people travelling to celebrate the New Year. Footage captured by a nearby camera showed a huge orange fireball blow out the heavy front doors and windows from the grey stone three-storey building. Thick billows of smoke then poured out as people scattered along the rain-soaked street. Russia's Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said officials had launched an inquiry into a suspected "act of terror" -- the deadliest attack in Russia for almost three years. "A suicide bomber who was approaching a metal detector saw a law enforcement official and, after growing

The tribal royal house in South Africa of which Nelson Mandela was a member on Sunday expressed concern at "instability" in the icon's family and urged calm as his estate is settled. The AbaThembu royal family called the meeting in Qunu where Mandela was buried on December 15 and "shared their concern" amid reports of internal strife and warring over his estate. "We advised the family members to remain calm, respect the administration of the estate and ensure that all the assets remain where they are until the processes are finalised," said a statement. The meeting held on Friday decided that elders must attend all family meetings "until further notice", it added. "We also felt that we owe the South Africans apology for allowing a state of turmoil to begin in the house of the statesman and the world icon who sacrificed his life for all South Africans, Africans and the world." Local media last week reported to squabbli

Two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were wounded Sunday by Israeli tank fire, medical sources said, less than a week after cross-border violence peaked with deaths on both sides. Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesman for the emergency services in the Islamist Hamas-run enclave, told AFP two men were in "moderate condition" after being hit by tank fire "in an open area" east of Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza. A spokesman for the Israeli army told AFP they were not familiar with such an incident. Exchanges of fire between the sides peaked last Tuesday when a sniper inside Gaza killed an Israeli fixing the border fence. Israel retaliated against "terror sites" in Gaza with warplanes and tanks, killing a toddler and wounding at least six people. Two rockets from the Palestinian enclave hit Israel on Thursday, causing no damage. Israeli warplanes that night wounded two Gazans in sorties targeting military installations. After Tuesday's attack,

Militants targeted Iraqi soldiers and anti-Al-Qaeda militiamen on Sunday as attacks killed at least 11 people, including a child, security and medical officials said. The attacks come as Iraq suffers its worst violence since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a brutal period of sectarian killings. In Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, gunmen attacked a Sahwa militia checkpoint, killing at least four fighters and wounding at least three. The Sahwa are made up of fighters who joined forces with the United States against the jihadists from late 2006, helping to bring about a significant reduction in violence. They are frequently targeted by Sunni Muslim militants, who consider them traitors. In the northern city of Mosul, a car bomb exploded near an army checkpoint, killing four soldiers, while a roadside bomb in the city killed a child and wounded three people. Mosul is one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq, with militants carrying out frequent attacks and also repo

Israel prepared Sunday to free 26 Palestinian prisoners as part of peace talks brokered by United States Secretary of State John Kerry, who is due back in the region to boost the faltering negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to the phased release of 104 Palestinian prisoners in line with commitments to the US-backed talks, which resumed in July, and previous batches have been freed in August and October. The release of the third tranche of 26 Palestinian prisoners "should come on Monday night after the 48-hour delay given for appeals from victims' families to the supreme court," an official in Netanyahu's office told AFP. In the past, Israel's supreme court has turned down all appeals against the release of Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu's government gave the green light on Saturday for the latest tranche of prisoners to be freed. "All of the released prisoners perpetrated offences prior to the (1993) Oslo acc

A bomb near an army intelligence building wounded four soldiers Sunday, the third such blast within a week after the Muslim Brotherhood's designation as a terrorist organisation further polarised Egypt. The explosion, which the army called a "cowardly terrorist" act, comes as the military-installed authorities plan to hold a referendum on a new constitution next month, the first step towards democracy since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July. Sunday's blast in Sharqiya province in the Nile Delta destroyed the rear compound wall of the intelligence building, the army said, adding that four soldiers were wounded. It was the third such attack in less than a week. Another was averted on Sunday when experts defused a bomb near the front gate of Al-Azhar's medical faculty in New Damietta city north of Cairo, security officials said. On Tuesday, a suicide car bomber killed 15 people at a police building in Mansoura, north of the capital. An

Gunmen killed two peacekeepers, one from Jordan and one from Senegal, in an attack on Sunday on a United Nations patrol in Sudan's conflict-stricken Darfur, Jordan's Public Security Directorate said. "This morning, gunmen in South Darfur opened fire at a UN patrol, killing Jordanian Major Talal Rjub and a Senegalese peacekeeper," the statement said. "The United Nations peacekeeping force has informed us of the attack and said it was investigating it," the statement added without elaborating. More than 12 peacekeepers from the African Union-UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) have been killed in the region in the past five months. In January, two Jordanian peacekeepers were freed after more than four months in captivity in Darfur. The men went missing in August 2013 as they shopped for supplies. An uprising against the Khartoum government started in the region a decade ago, and the UN says that at least 300,000 people have died in the conf

A female suicide bomber killed 14 people Sunday when she blew herself up at the main train station in the southern city of Volgograd, raising concerns about security in Russia just six weeks before the Sochi Olympic Games. The unidentified woman set off her charge after being stopped by a police officer at the metal detectors at the entrance to the station while it was packed with people travelling to celebrate the New Year, regional officials said. Footage of the blast captured by a nearby camera showed a huge fireball blow out the front doors and a row of windows from the grey stone three-story building, before huge billows of smoke poured out as people scattered along the street. Russia's Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said officials had launched an inquiry into a suspected "act of terror". "A suicide bomber who was approaching a metal detector saw a law enforcement official and, after growing nervous, set off an explosive device,&quo

All four people aboard a small airplane were killed when it plunged to the ground at an airport northwest of the Chilean capital, police said Sunday. The plane crashed at the Chacabuco airport, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Santiago. General Richardo Soler, head of the regional police, told the daily La Tercera said that officials will probe the cause of the crash. The victims were two adult men, including the pilot; a younger man and a youth. All died instantly, Solar said. The airplane, belonging to the Universitario aviation club, left the airport late Saturday, but began to smoke soon after and slammed into the ground and burst into flames, witnesses said.

(Nigeria) Mallam Muhammad Garba, the President, Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, has lauded the performance and contributions of journalists to national development. He gave the commendation in Gombe on Saturday night in a message he delivered at an End-of-Year dinner, organised by the Gombe Council of the NUJ. Represented by Alhaji Mukhtar Gidado, the former Vice President, NUJ Zone E, Garba said journalists played critical role in the development of the country, in spite of the hazards they encounter in the discharge of their duties. He expressed dismay over the harassment of journalists on duty by some security agents and urged them to desist from such unpatriotic acts. He urged members of the union to always publicise such unpatriotic acts of some security agents for the public to know and appreciate the environment under which journalists were operating. Garba urged journalists to take the issue of NUJ Insurance Policy seriously in order to secure the future

(Nigeria)   By Odimegwu Onwumere Some of our 'Ogas at the top' behave as if they do not need love from their 'Boys at the bottom'. They loathe showing kindness to their boys. What they see as the showing of kindness is the pittance they give to their boys, even when the boys must be working tirelessly for recognition and upliftment.   The boys exhibit the most kindness, but are rewarded with a lot of pain. This act demoralises the boys, showcasing their Ogas as persons, who do not need love and do not recognise love, when given them. The boys are the ones who take care of the Ogas’ every need, but are not taken care of in the appropriate manner that would make them to smile, when no one is around.   Many of the boys have only been rewarded with tears they shed, when no one is around them. In the relationship between the Ogas and the boys, the former see it as something that the boys alone must be giving, without them showing love, forgiveness, kindness, compa

(Nigeria) The Delta State Police Command said on Tuesday that it has arraigned one Pastor Victor Osakwe at the Asaba Magistrate Court  for allegedly defrauding unsuspecting victims of more than N20 million. The Command’s Acting Public Relations Officer, Charles Muka, told  News Agency of Nigeria, in Asaba that the pastor  defrauded more than 20 people of both money and properties. Muka also alleged that Osakwe was a fake pastor at the Holly Hill Zion Prophetic and Solution Ministry, Akwu Ofu, Asaba. “Osakwe has been arraigned on 20-count charges for frequently defrauding over 20 persons of a total  of N20 million. “The Pastor’s mode of operation is to raise false alarm on death and imminent  calamity on his unsuspecting victims to make them part with their cars and monies,” the police spokesman said. He said that Osakwe had been remanded in the prison, adding that items recovered from him included two saloon cars, two jeeps, among other items.

A bomb blast tore through a police compound in Egypt's Nile Delta on Tuesday, killing 12 people and wounding 134 in one of the deadliest attacks since the army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July. Reuters reports that the army-backed government vowed to fight "black terrorism", saying the blast would not derail a political transition plan whose next step was a January referendum on a new constitution. Mohamed Ibrahim, Interior Minister, said while inspecting the scene of the blast that eight policemen were among the dead. He said the police were investigating exactly how it had been staged. The army said a car bomb had been used in what it called a "vile terrorist attack", while the presidency said such attacks "only increase the state's determination to uproot terrorism". The government has accused the Brotherhood of turning to violence. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood in a statement from its London media

(Nigeria) A Minna Chief Magistrate Court in Niger State on Tuesday ordered the remand in prison custody of a 20-year -old commercial motorcyclist, Nafiu Abubakar, for alleged sexual intercourse with a 3-year-old girl. The accused was arraigned in court on a one-count charge of unlawful sexual intercourse contrary to section 18 of the Child Rights Act of Niger State. Police Prosecutor, Insp. Ahmed Saidu, told the court that one, Nura Yusuf of Suleja, reported the matter at the police station on October 2. Saidu said that on the same date, the accused was said to have had sexual intercourse with the 3-year-old girl against her consent and confessed to committing the crime during investigation. When the charge was read to the accused, he pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor thereafter objected to bail of the accused person, arguing that the accused had jumped bail in the past before he was traced and arrested and brought to court In his ruling, Ma

(Nigeria) For allegedly biting off his friend’s upper lip, a 31-year-old man, Chidi Osuagwu, was on Tuesday charged before an Itire Magistrate Court in Lagos, The accused, who resides at No. 13, Agboola St., Ijeshatedo, a Lagos suburb, is being tried for assault. The Prosecutor, Insp. Olakunle Shobanire, told the court that the accused committed the offence on September 25 at 9.00 p.m. at No. 271, Ijesha in Itire area of Lagos. Shobanire alleged that the Osuagwu was at a beer parlour when the complainant, Sunday Adebayo, asked him to buy him a bottle of beer, but he refused. The complainant jokingly chided the accused for failing to buy him beer which angered Osuagwu and he immediately assaulted Adebayo by biting off his upper lip, he said. The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 244 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The accused entered a plea of not guilty and was granted bail in the sum of N40, 000 with one surety in like sum. T