Fulani republic ! ‘Herdsmen’ in gun battle with soldiers in Benue

Suspected herdsmen engaged men of the 707 special forces brigade of the Nigerian Army, Makurdi, Benue state in a gun battle on Tuesday.

Olabisi Ayeni, spokesman of the brigade, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday.

He said the suspects were plotting to attack a fish farm belonging to Samuel Ortom, governor of the state.

Ayeni said two of the attackers had been arrested.

“Troops of 707 Special Forces Brigade, Nigerian Army, on a routine patrol along Gbajimba – Iyiodeh road in Guma LGA of Benue State on Tuesday 6 February 2018 arrested two Fulani militia who were suspected to be planning a dangerous mission,” he said.

“The troops sighted a group of these people while on their daily patrol. The militia who were suspected to be converging, possibly for an attack on Governor Ortom’s fish farm and other innocent citizens were about to be approached for questioning when they opened fire on the troops who later engaged them.

“When the troops accosted the herdsmen, they opened fire on the troops, who in turn engaged them in a shootout.

“In the course of the shootout, some of the herdsmen fled the area while two were arrested and handed over to the police.”

Benue has been a flashpoint of violence, especially between farmers and herdsmen.

Some of the security personnel deployed in the state have been killed in their bid to restore normalcy.

On Wednesday, the army listed Benue among the six states where it would launch a 44-day operation to tackle insecurity.

When he visited Nasarawa earlier inm the week, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered security operatives to arrest those perpetrating violence in the country. - Cable Nigeria

Beyonce’s father, Mathew Knowles reveals singer’s selling point

Knowles, father of American singer Beyonce, has revealed the singer’s highest selling point.

Knowles said his daughter’s light skin has helped her to become more famous.

Knowles has been speaking about how racism is still an issue in the American music industry, and why he believes his daughter’s music career has been raised by her light-skin.

Knowles who managed Beyonce’s career up until 2011, was discussing how colourism affects aspiring artists.

He argued that it’s ‘no accident’ that most black women played on the radio have ‘lighter skin in common’.

Speaking to Ebony Magazine on his experiences of racism in the industry, he said, “When it comes to Black females, who are the people who get their music played on pop radio?

“Mariah Carey, Rihanna, the female rapper Nicki Minaj, my kids [Beyonce and Solange], and what do they all have in common?

“They’re all lighter skinned. Do you think that’s an accident?’ Knowles asked.

“So you get it!’ Knowles is promoting his book Racism: From the Eyes of a Child, which discusses race relations from his perspective growing up in the deep South, and his account of some of the most violently racist moments in recent US history.

He also admitted that he thought former wife and Beyonce’s mother, Tina Knowles, was white when he first met her, because “the shade of your Blackness was considered important” when he was growing up.

“In the deep South in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, the shade of your Blackness was considered important. So I, unfortunately, grew up hearing that message.

“I actually thought when I met Tina, my former wife, that she was White. Later I found out that she wasn’t, and she was actually very much in-tune with her Blackness.

“I had been conditioned from childhood. With eroticized rage, there was actual rage in me as a Black man, and I saw the White female as a way, subconsciously, of getting even or getting back.”

My adulterous wife aborted another man’s child in my house – Man tells court

A 39-year-old mechanic, Olayiwola Olarewaju, has pleaded with an Ado-Ekiti Customary Court to dissolve his 7 year old marriage to Yetunde Olarewaju over allegation of adultery and assault.

Olarewaju, a resident of Omisanjana Street, Ado-Ekiti, had asked the court to dissolve his 7-year-old marriage with Yetunde, over allegation of adultery and assault.

He said although no official marital rites were done to consummate the union, the marriage was blessed with three children.

The petitioner told the court that he had in 2013, sued ‎her, because she aborted a pregnancy she had for another man while they lived together, adding that the intervention of family members compelled him to withdraw the matter from court.

He said, ”on Dec.25, 2‎017, Yetunde left the house with our two children in the pretext of going to collect money from one of her debtors in Oke-Ila Street. she only returned home the next day.

“She claimed she and our two children slept in her uncle’s house, who lives at Oke-ila Street,’’ he said.

According to him, his elder sister traced the movement of the respondent to a particular man’s house.

The petitioner further said apart from being adulterous, the respondent was troublesome.

Olarewaju prayed the court to dissolve the union, adding that the court should grant him custody of his three children to enable him take good care of them.

However, the respondent, Yetunde , 33, a tailor, and a resident ‎of Omisanjana Street, Ado-Ekiti, denied all the allegations levelled against her.

She told the court that on Dec.25, 2017, her debtor actually delayed her and in the process, the battery of her phone went flat.

According to her, the incident unfortunately compelled her to sleep in her uncle’s house.

Yetunde said she could not get a motorcycle or taxi to bring her home around 10p.m.

She, therefore prayed the court to award the custody of her three‎ children to her, if the petitioner insisted that the court should dissolve their union.

The President of the Court, Mrs Olayinka Akomolede, adjourned the case until March 8 for hearing.

Bank staff charged with N3m theft

A staff of Mutual Benefits Microfinance Bank, Vivian Gbodi, who allegedly stole N3 million was on Thursday brought before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

Gbodi, 32, is standing trial on a one count charge of stealing before Mrs O. O. Oshin.

Prosecuting police officer, Insp. Steven Molo, said Gbodi committed the alleged offence between 2016 and April 2017, at the bank’s head office at No. 10, Apapa Road Oyingbo, Lagos.

The court heard that she allegedly stole money belonging to the bank.

According to Molo, the offence contravened Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 and punishable under same.

Gbodi pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Magistrate Oshin granted her bail in the sum of N250, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

The case was adjourned till April 3 for mention. - The Nation

Mentally deranged man, 43, beheaded in Kano

A mentally deranged man,  aged 43, simply identified as Auwalu Magaji, was last week Saturday beheaded by unknown persons at a makeshift (Mai shayi joint) at Tamburawa, Kura Local Government Area at the outskirts of Kano metropolis.

According to our source, Haladu Gundutse Mohammed, who is a night guard within the vicinity, from where tippers load gravel to the city centre, said he, alongside others found the headless body at a Mai Shayi makeshift joint at about 6:am when the gate of the enclave was usually opened for  the day’s business.

 ”On Saturday, February 3, 2018, workers, tea sellers, alongside others within the local community woke up at about 6:am on the sad day to be confronted, with the headless body of the  Auwalu.” Dumbfounded, over the strange discovery, residents hurriedly reported the sad incident to the Kura Local Government Police Division, as well as the council leadership.”

Thereafter, our source, said Kura Local Government officials rushed to the scene, with a Toyota Hilux, met the headless body, which was still dripping, with blood and conveyed the remains to the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, where it was deposited at the mortuary.

Also, he said, the Police at the Kura Division have since commenced investigation to unravel the mystery behind the murder, whose head could not be found, suggesting that his assailants must have escaped, with the head for ritual purposes.

Furthermore, according to our source, the assailants dragged the headless body of the insane man to a river bank, within the vicinity, from where tippers load sand and dumped his body, without the head.

Meanwhile, it was also learnt that following a local radio announcement, the mentally deranged man’s body, aged about 43 has been claimed by his relatives, who came from Kasaure, Jigawa State from where Awalu located to Kano about two years ago before meeting his waterloo.

Contacted, Spokesman of the Kano State Police Command, DSP Musa Magaji Majiya, who confirmed the murder, said a crack Police detective team, which was dispatched to the scene have since commenced investigation, so as to arrest and bring the perpetrators to book. - The Nation

Champions League affected Chelsea's league form - Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard believes that the club’s participation in the Champions League has impacted their Premier League form this season.

Chelsea romped to a league title win last season, but did so without having to play any European football. This season, the Blues have not really been able to put up a fight against Manchester City in terms of the league table, and Hazard thinks that the Champions League is partly to blame.

Speaking speaking at a Nike event in London to mark the 20th anniversary of Nike’s Mercurial football boot, he told ESPN:
“I think the Premier League is difficult. It’s hard to win every year. Last year we didn’t have the Champions League. This year we have less time to be ready for the games. Every week there are three games.”

There has been a lot of focus on Chelsea’s summer transfer dealings in recent weeks, with many observers suggesting that not only did the club buy the wrong types of players to help the Blues succeed, they also allowed two key players to leave.

Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic played huge roles in Chelsea’s title win last year and now they are no longer about, questions are being asked about their replacements, Alvaro Morata and Tiemoue Bakayoko.

Advertisement

Hazard did acknowledge the changes but did not put any blame whatsoever on his new teammates.

“We changed a couple of things, we lost players, we brought some new ones and every year is different. That’s why we love football — if there is only one team that wins it would be boring. That’s why football is special. You never know what’s going to happen, especially in England.”

Football is 'so sensitive' about diving - Mauricio Pochettino

Pochettino has defended himself against Arsene Wenger in a diving row ahead of the derby between Tottenham and Arsenal, insisting he does not encourage cheating.

The Spurs boss had claimed after his side's draw with Liverpool that football is about attempting to "trick your opponent", with numerous Spurs players drawing criticism for perceived simulation at Anfield.

Former Tottenham star Gary Lineker hit out at Pochettino's defence of "cheating" on Twitter, while Wenger's response, ahead of Arsenal's trip to Wembley this weekend, was to suggest English players have now mastered the art.

Pochettino is adamant it is not an issue of nationality, while again attempting to explain his beliefs on the matter.

"I am honest always," he told a pre-match news conference. "In 2002, my vision about English football [was that] I didn't touch Michael Owen [in the England-Argentina World Cup clash] and he dived.

"Today we are so sensitive. I like to treat the sense of football. Football for me is being creative, to try to not cheat but trick the opponent in a good way.

"Let's not be focused on one country. I love the diversity. You can find it in England or Spain, a different type of player."

And Pochettino is looking forward to the challenge of taking on Arsenal, although he would not be drawn on how the January transfer window has affected Wenger's men - the Gunners having lost Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud, among others, while signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

"Arsenal will be tough to play, they have good quality, talented players and are one of the best teams in the league," Pochettino said.

"I cannot say if they look stronger or not than they were since their new signings. We are focused on us. I don't care. They play with 11, we play with 11.

"The derby is special for everyone and Wembley is starting to feel good."

Meanwhile, the Tottenham boss is yet to decide if Toby Alderweireld will feature against Arsenal, having made his return in the home FA Cup win over Newport County after a three-month lay-off.

Alderweireld had earlier described his delight to the club's official website: "I worked hard in the last couple of months to get to this point.

Advertisement

"The last weeks have been tough and I'm very happy to get 90 minutes from the manager, to show myself again and to be able to help the team again. I'm a very happy man." - Goal

PL news : Alexis sets Man United shirt-sales record

Manchester United enjoyed record shirt sales in January thanks to the arrival of Alexis Sanchez, after suffering a £21.1 million half-year loss at the end of 2017.

The club's latest financial results, which were released on Thursday, show a four per cent revenue increase to £163.9m, giving them an adjusted projected revenue of £585m for 2018.

The loss in the latter part of last year was down to changes in corporate tax rates in the United States, which were passed by Donald Trump's administration.

"As a result, the current quarter expense includes a non-cash tax accounting write off of £48.8million," United said in their official release.

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said: "Our solid business model has allowed us to invest in the future of the club with the extension of Jose Mourinho's contract as manager and the acquisition of Alexis Sanchez.

"We look forward to the remainder of the season with confidence."

Sanchez's January arrival, which took place too late to be recorded in the figures, saw United set records for shirt sales and social media interactions, according to Woodward.

"Alexis Sanchez has set a new January signing record in terms of shirt sales, three times the previous record," Woodward told a conference call with investors.

He said the Sanchez deal, which saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan move to Arsenal, "generated some interesting social media stats".

"It was the biggest United post on Instagram with two million likes and comments, the most shared United Facebook post ever, the most retweeted United post ever, and the hashtag #Alexis7 was the number one trending topic on Twitter worldwide," he explained.

Advertisement

"To put that into context, the announcement posts generated 75 per cent more interactions than the announcement of the sale of the world's most-expensive player last summer when Neymar moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain." - Goal

Corruption republic : Finance Director Reveals How Ex-Air Force Chief, Dikko, Collected N558.2m Monthly For 2years

The trial of Air Marshal Mohammed Umar Dikko, former Chief of Air Staff, on charges of fraud to the tune of N9.7billion came up on Thursday, February 8, 2018 before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, sitting in Maitama, Abuja, with the cross-examination of the first prosecution witness, Air Commodore Salisu A.Yushau (rtd).

Dikko, who served as the Chief of Air Staff, Nigerian Air Force, NAF, between September 2010 and 2012, is facing a 7-count charge of money laundering and procurement fraud to the tune of N9.7billion brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

He, among other things, allegedly withdrew N700million from the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) account to purchase a house at No. 14 Vistula Close, off Panama Street in Maitama, Abuja.

The former Air Chief was also said to have stolen N500million from the NAF account to buy a four-bedroom duplex at Road 3B, Street 2, in Mabushi Ministers Hill, Abuja. Additionally, the former NAF boss allegedly took N250million from the NAF's coffers to buy a property at No. 14, Audu Bako Way, GRA, Kano State in 2011.

Yushau, had in his evidence which started last year February told the court that he was appointed as the director of finance and accounts, DFA, by the defendant (Dikko), a position that put him in charge of all the financial roles.

The witness stated that he receives and disburse NAF funds on the orders of Dikko, adding that the Nigerian Air Force received funds to the tune of N4billion monthly.

The PW1 under cross-examination by Dikko’s counsel, Hassan Liman, SAN, insisted that he acted solely on the instruction of his boss (Dikko) with respect to the release of funds.

He said that whenever approvals were obtained from the defendant, payment vouchers were raised before payments were made.

He further told the court that he paid the defendant the sum of N558.2million monthly for two years.

“I can confirm that I gave the defendant N558.2million monthly from November 2010 to September 2012. I personally gave it to him and it was usually exchanged into United States dollars," Yushau said.

He went on: “I always received two types of instructions; oral and written instructions. When the defendant needs money, the instruction was always oral. But when other officers needed money, the request will come in written form and he will now approve."

Yushau told the court that he was also investigated by the EFCC.

Under re-examination by Silvanus Tahir, counsel to EFCC, the witness told the court that he had while in South Africa for a course, traveled down to Nigeria on two occasions, to personally give money to Dikko. 

“While on course in South Africa, I had to come to Nigeria twice to personally give money to Dikko. The first one was in September 2011, of which I collected the money for July and August and gave to the defendant."

“My second coming was in November 2011 when I collected the money for September and October 2011 and gave to him."

“The last one was after my course in December, when I collected the money and gave him in January 2012," Yushau stated.   

He further said that no receipt was issued to him by Dikko for all the money he personally delivered to him.

Thereafter, Justice Dimgba adjourned to March 20 - 21, 2018, for a continuation of trial.

Wilson Uwujaren

Head, Media & Publicity

8  February, 2018