Man uses banana wrapped in plastic to rob UK bank

A 50 year-old man who robbed a bank while using a banana as an imitation firearm has been jailed for 14 months.

Laurence James Vonderdell threatened a cashier at a Barclays branch in Bournemouth, England with a banana wrapped in a plastic bag, shouting: “This is a stick-up, give me the cash”.

According to Sky News, Vonderdell took £1,100 in cash before handing himself in at a nearby police station. The incident happened on 25 March.

Vonderdell admitted robbery and possession of an imitation firearm at Bournemouth Crown Court.

Detective Constable Andy Hale, of Bournemouth CID, said: “Even though the defendant handed himself in shortly after this incident and the cash was recovered, this must still have been a very distressing incident for the cashier involved.”

- PM NEWS

Handling of 2019 elections poor, so start preparing for 2023 now, NDI tells Federal Govt

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has urged the Federal Government to begin preparations for the 2023 general elections “now” to ensure its success and avoid he pitfalls of the last elections which it says ”fell significantly short of standards set in 2015.”

Dr Christopher Fomunyoh, NDI’s Senior Associate and Regional Director for Central and West Africa made this known on Tuesday in Abuja at the presentation of the institute’s report on 2019 general elections.

While hoping that the preparations for the 2023 would begin immediately, Fomunyoh said the NDI, as an International Election Observation Mission has been contributing in the conversation to ensure the success of the elections.

“This is because we hope that if the conversations begin now and a lot of the reform issues that have been touched upon in our report and the election administration authorities, political parties, CSOs and electorate as a whole will be so well prepared.

“And when all the aforesaid are well prepared and so well vast in the electoral processes, by the time we get to 2023, we will actually see a vast and very huge successful election that Nigerians across the world will be overwhelmingly proud of.

“We will also see fewer cases before election tribunals or before courts of law,” he said.

On the successes of Nigeria’s elections in the last 20 years, the director said that until 2015, there was a progressive improvement in the way in which elections were conducted in the country.

“In 2015, Nigeria had one of the most credible elections in the country’s history as was said by most Nigerians and friends of Nigeria across the world.

“The hope for many Nigerians in 2015 was that upward trajectory will be maintained and that 2019 saw improvement on what transpired in 2015,” he said.

Fomunyoh said Nigeria had a lot to offer in terms of electoral achievements and as such, the electoral umpire must up its games in ensuring the credibility of the electoral process.

“A lot has been accomplished since the transition in 1999 but there is still lots that need to be done,” he said.

He explained that once stakeholders have the consciousness that a lot still needed to be done to give citizens confidence that their votes counted, then there would be successes recorded in the system.

Also, Chairman, Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) Mr Bashir Ibrahim said that due to various responsibilities the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is performing, it is overburdened.

He listed the responsibilities to include the regulation of political parties, registration of political parties and voters and conduct of elections.

“All these responsibilities can be unburdened and given to other organisations like the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to create voters register,” he said.

He added that in other countries, the electoral body only conduct elections.

Ibrahim, however, said that he is not in support of the establishment of an electoral offences commission to punish offenders because other law enforcement agencies could handle them under their own act.

“All we need to do is to strengthen the existing anti-graft agencies to enable them perform their responsibilities,” he said.

- PM NEWS

Smugglers hide N25m worth of marijuana in dead body – NCS

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme border area command, has intercepted 1,682 parcels of cannabis sativa (Indian hemp) worth over N25,290,000 which were concealed in a dead body.

The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the command, Comptroller Mohammed Garba, disclosed this at a press briefing in Lagos yesterday.

He said that the banned substance was smuggled into Nigeria through the border.

According to Garba, a vehicle carrying the corpse was stopped on the Owode-Apa Road by customs intelligent officers, who suspected that something was hidden on the dead body.

He said: “After cross-checking, it was discovered by the officers that 55 wraps of cannabis sativa were hidden under the coffin carrying the corpse.

“The two people inside the vehicle were arrested immediately but we allowed them to take away the corpse for burial.

“Also 1,582 wraps of this item were concealed in a Mitsubishi Canter branded in Indomie noodles insignia also intercepted by our officers.

“There are other 45 wraps of cannabis also intercepted indiscriminately on checking points which resulted in the total of 1, 682 wraps of cannabis intercepted.

The comptroller said that the Mitsubishi Canter was coming from Ghana when it was stopped, adding that six people were arrested with it. “The eight people arrested by our staff will be prosecuted,” he said.

He said that the command would not relent on its efforts against illegal trade activities and other trans-border crimes

Essein Udotong, the commander, Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Seme Border, said that customs had gone beyond revenue generation.

He hailed the operatives of the customs area command for intercepting the substance which, he said, could cause much damage to smokers if not seized. Udotong said that the suspects would be charged to court and that the substance would be burnt.

He said that the agency would carry out further investigations to find out those involved in smuggling cannabis into the country.

- DAILY POST

5 Nigerians arrested in Ghana for raping housewife in presence of husband

The Ghanaian police has arrested five Nigerians who allegedly raped a woman in the presence of her husband during a robbery attack at Community 25, Tema on May 8, 2019.

They were arrested last Friday after the couple sighted them walking in the neighbourhood.

The suspects were identified as Ako Anthony, 36; Kelvin Damas, 23; Obas Godsay, 16; Donald Pande, 24 and Olufu Rhema, 16.

According to the Crime Officer of the Prampram Divisional Police Command, Tema, Chief Superintendent Cecilia Arko, the suspects attack mobile money vendors, mostly women, in their houses with machetes and guns and rape them after taking away their valuables.

She said, about a month ago, four of the suspects attacked the couple at their residence at about 3am.

According to her, the suspects who were aiming at a mobile money vendor, mistakenly went to the house of the couple and held them hostage before demanding for money and valuables.

She said because the couple were unable to meet their demand, one of the suspects sent the woman into another room and forcibly had sex with her while his accomplices filmed the act with a cell phone.

Chief Superintendent Arko said the couple were walking in the neighbourhood when the woman spotted the suspect who removed his mask before filming the act, Graphic Online reports.

She said she alerted her husband who confronted the suspect on the street.

She said the suspect took to his heels but was apprehended by neighbours after the man raised an alarm.

He was then handed over to the police and upon interrogation; he admitted the offence and led the police to his other accomplices.

- PM NEWS

Transfer: Man Utd to pay Pogba £3.78m loyalty bonus

Manchester United will pay Paul Pogba a £3.78million loyalty bonus, despite the player admitting it might be time to leave Old Trafford in search of a “new challenge”, SportsMail reports.

Pogba’s bumper pay-out is due on July 1, just two weeks after he gave the interview about his future, while on a promotional visit to Tokyo.

The France midfielder’s loyalty payment has increased from the £3.46m he received last year, under the terms of his five-year contract at United.

Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola, who banked £41m from the player’s then world record £89m return to Old Trafford in 2016, has been in talks over a move to Real Madrid and his old club Juventus this summer.

Spain is thought to be Pogba’s preferred destination and Madrid believe it would take a bid in the region of £150m to bring United to the table.

United maintain that the 26-year-old is not for sale and expect him to be playing for them next season.

Pogba is under contract until 2021 and the club have the option to extend it by a further 12 months.

- DAILY POST

Middle-belt forum backs TY Danjuma-led group, accuses Buhari govt of supporting Fulani herdsmen takeover Southern Nigeria

The Middle Belt Forum, MBF, has completely aligned itself with the position of the Nigerian Christian Elders’ Forum, NCEF, over the ceaseless bloodshed that is allegedly founded on the orchestrated plans by the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to annihilate and dispossess the peoples of the Middle Belt and Southern Nigerians of their ancestral lands.

The forum said the killings are a deliberate plan by the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to hand over their lands to marauding Fulani herdsmen, saying, “This plan to subjugate and conquer our people and Southern Nigeria will be vehemently resisted.”

DAILY POST recalls that the NCEF, under the leadership of former Defence Minister, Lt. Gen. T.Y Danjuma (retd); ex-Military Governor of Rivers State, General Zamani Lekwot (retd); and Chief Solomon Asemota, SAN, had dragged Buhari to the United Kingdom, UK, Parliament, over alleged move to Islamise Nigeria.

Alleging that the Nigerian leader was pursuing a jihad or Islamisation agenda, they told the UK parliament that Buhari was not serious about tackling insecurity arising from Boko Haram insurgency and herdsmen-farmers crises in the country.

In a latest development, the MBF National President, Dr Bitrus Pogu, in a statement, said, “The Forum wishes to align itself completely with the position of the NCEF over the ceaseless bloodshed that is deliberately founded on the orchestrated plans by the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to annihilate and disposses the peoples of the Middle Belt and Southern Nigerians of their ancestral lands and hand over same to marauding Fulani herdsmen terrorists. This plan to subjugate and conquer our people and Southern Nigeria will be vehemently resisted.”

The forum said its attention has been drawn to a statement credited to what it called an amorphous group that calls itself the Middle Belt Conscience Guard (MBCG), adding that in its publication, the said group did not hide its desperate intention to rubbish the former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (rtd), former military governor of old Rivers state, Gen. Zamani Lekwot (rtd), among other notable members of the Nigerian Christian Elders’ Forum (NCEF) over their written submission to the United Kingdom Parliament on the ongoing killings across communities of the Middle Belt and other parts of Nigeria.

MBF said Middle Belt Conscience Guard in its press statement that was purportedly signed by its president, bearing the name, Prince Raymond Enejo, chided the NCEF for its publication in which it accused the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration of brazenly pursuing an agenda of ‘Islamisation and Fulanisation’ in the country.

MBF added that in its submission, the so-called group led by Enejo claimed that the NCEF’s statement amounted to a deliberate act of provocation against the country, aimed at encouraging Christians and Middle Belters to rise against the present government.

MBF maintained, “Ordinarily, our Forum would not have bothered to respond to a publication that is baseless and outrightly mischievous. We are, however, constrained to observe that as an umbrella body for all groups in the Middle Belt Region, we are totally unaware of the existence of this Middle Belt Conscience Guard. Our Forum, being a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural and non-partisan organisation, is obliged to respond and clarified on issues raised by the conscience group that is out to mislead members of the public.

“Though we believe that the NCEF is capable of responding to all accusations raised againt it by the group, we need not be its mouth piece. However, for the mere fact that two illustrious sons of the Middle Belt Region, who are also members of the NCEF were deliberately and mischieviously targeted for attack, this response has become unavoidably necessary.

“The Forum considers the position of the so-called conscience group as a deliberate falsehood that is aimed at misleading the unsuspecting public through foisting diversionary plot to draw the attention of the public away from the heinous genocide being perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen terrorists across the Middle Belt and other parts of the country in pursuit of the ‘Fulanisation’ agenda as earlier raised in the NCEF’s submission and observed also by other notable persons and groups.”

MBF stated that considering the inordinate reaction of the group to the position of the NCEF, it is either the conscience group is non-existent or may be just a mercenary group hired by its paymasters who are the real sponsors of the heinous pogrom in our communities and ‘Fulanisation’ agenda in the country.

“As categorically declared by the NCEF, current attempts at implementing the ‘Fulanisation’ agenda enjoys the active support of the Buhari-led government. There are many proofs to back up the NCEF’s assertion that there is a collusion between herdsmen and the Federal Government in advancing this campaign. In the past four years of the Buhari administration, tens of thousands of Nigerians have been decimated, with several thousands killed on account of Fulani herdsmen terrorist invasion of peaceful communitues across the country. Despite the troubling death toll, none of the culprits has been arrested or brought to book.

“While attention of the present government is being focused on combating the dread of Boko Haram in the North-east zone, the present administration has been demonstrating fudging attempts at battling rampaging Fulani terrorists whose bloodthirsty disposition has brought devastation and anguish on our people.

“For avoidance of doubt, we wish to inform Nigerians and the international community that the Middle Belt peoples are now victims of a conspiracy to subjugate them and disinherit them of their ancestral lands. We are calling on men and women of good conscience to spare no efforts in exposing the ongoing heinous crimes against humanity in a bid to unveil the dark spot of human conscience surrounding the massacres of Nigerians and destruction of communities in the Middle Belt Region and other parts of the country.

“The Forum has confidence that history and God is on the side of the just. We remain steadfastly confident that someday, we shall witness an end to these tragedies that have befallen the Middle Belt Region and our nation,” the Middle Belt Forum observed.

-- DAILY POST

How I found myself in prison – Charlyboy

Foremost Nigerian entertainer, Charles Chukwuemeka Oputa, widely known as Charlyboy, has declared himself a prisoner.

Charlyboy said he has been a prisoner from birth because Nigeria, his country of birth, is a prison yard.

The veteran singer told DAILY POST that, “it’s been quite a long time that we were born into this prison called Nigeria.”

Charlyboy, also known as Area Fada, stated this on the occasion of his 69th birthday.

Born on 19 June, 1951, the singer, songwriter, television presenter, publisher, and producer, said this when he visited those in Ikoyi Prison, Lagos State, a place he described as hell.

The music producer, widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most controversial entertainers alive and has over time built his brand around major international, national and local controversies said young Nigerians were yet to realise that they are in prison.

The singer, turned activist on Wednesday visited Ikoyi Prison in Lagos State with members of Our Mumu Don Do group and Na We Be Government Movement as part of activities lined up for his birthday.

The renowned singer made the visit alongside Solo artist, Mrs Anehita Aletor who shares the same birthday with him, as well as Augustine Omoifo who is the organizer of the prison tour.

Charlyboy and his Movement also used the opportunity to help in facilitating the release of some prisoners awaiting trial for over a decade or more.

The Area Fada and his team, also fed over 200 inmates during the visit.

Speaking, the Area Fada said, ” it’s been quite a long time that we were born into this prison called Nigeria, and the first thing that comes to mind on a day like this is to visit those in hell. If we are in prison, then you can only imagine where they are.

“This is the only way we can reach out, the only way we can save a life.

“Unfortunately, majority of us don’t even know we are in a dungeon. Unless we realize this, we will continue in this eternal anguish.

“But like I have always said, the survival of our country depends solely on the ability of our young men and women to break out of this prison by fire by force, whether them like’am or not. Enough of this nyamanyama.”

- DAILY POST