Villagers in a rural part of eastern India have killed five women whom they accused of practising witchcraft, police said Saturday.
Police in eastern Jharkhand state said a group of assailants dragged the women out of their huts and beat them to death at around midnight Friday in their village, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from state capital Ranchi.
“A group (of villagers) dragged the women out and beat them to death with sticks, accusing them of practising witchcraft,” Ranchi deputy police chief Arun Kumar Singh told AFP by phone.
Singh added that 24 villagers have been arrested over the killings of the women, who were mostly aged between 45 and 50.
Belief in witchcraft and the occult remains widespread in some impoverished areas of India.
In some cases women are stripped naked as punishment, burnt alive or driven from their homes and killed.
Some states including Jharkhand have introduced special laws to try to curb crimes against people accused of witchcraft.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das condemned the latest killings in a statement on Saturday, urging society to “ponder over it”.
“In the age of knowledge, this incident is sorrowful”.
Saturday, 8 August 2015
PDP crisis: I am the target – Metuh
•Says he didn’t work against Jonathan
NATIONAL Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, said, yesterday, that he is the target of some elements within and outside the party because of his readiness to lead a strong opposition against the All Progressives Congress, APC, led government.
Metuh, who described the accusation that he worked against the re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan as laughable, vowed that no amount of campaign against him and attack on his person would cow him out of his statutory function as the mouthpiece of the PDP.
He claimed to be fully aware of the challenges that come with his new role of providing firm, issue-based opposition, just as he decried the resort to dirty politics by those he described as anti-PDP forces, instead of focusing on issues, adding that their actions were not only shameful, but also a despicable act of cowardice.
A statement yesterday by his Media Assistant, Richard Ihediwa, noted the incessant and unnecessary attacks on Metuh, targeted to cow him out as the mouthpiece of the PDP. “For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to place on record that at no time did the National Publicity Secretary receive any money or monies from the immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, before, during or after the 2015 campaigns for media and publicity functions or for any other reason whatsoever.
Metuh, who described the accusation that he worked against the re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan as laughable, vowed that no amount of campaign against him and attack on his person would cow him out of his statutory function as the mouthpiece of the PDP.
He claimed to be fully aware of the challenges that come with his new role of providing firm, issue-based opposition, just as he decried the resort to dirty politics by those he described as anti-PDP forces, instead of focusing on issues, adding that their actions were not only shameful, but also a despicable act of cowardice.
A statement yesterday by his Media Assistant, Richard Ihediwa, noted the incessant and unnecessary attacks on Metuh, targeted to cow him out as the mouthpiece of the PDP. “For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to place on record that at no time did the National Publicity Secretary receive any money or monies from the immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, before, during or after the 2015 campaigns for media and publicity functions or for any other reason whatsoever.
Shocking News ! Hackers broadcast porn on TV screens at Brazil bus depot
Hackers infiltrated the travel information video screens at a Brazilian bus station and replaced arrival and departure times with hard-core porn.
The depot was packed with travelers at the time. The police cyber crime unit has been notified and is trying to trace the hacker or hackers, the municipal transport company said.
A Curitiba city hall official told AFP the company with the contract to operate the screens has also been notified and told it must improve its security.
Social media lit up with screen grabs of the pornography and jokes about the hack.
With a population of around two million, Curitiba is the capital of Parana state and one of the largest cities in southern Brazil.
JAMB: 32,000 candidates to write Unilag’s post-UTME
Lagos – More than 32,000 candidates will write the 2015 post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) into the University of Lagos, according to the institution’s Deputy Registrar (Information), Mr Olagoke Oke.
The examination is scheduled to hold from Aug. 12 to Aug. 14. Oke told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday that the figure was close to four times the 9,000 that was initially posted to the institution by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
NAN reports that JAMB in collaboration with some public universities had agreed to raise the bar of the cut-off marks of their institutions from 200 to 250 for the various courses.
The development had generated an outrage among candidates, their parents and other stakeholders, who called on Federal Government to intervene. The decision was later reversed after consultations between the Prof. Dibu Ojerinde-led JAMB and the Federal Government.
Oke said:“I want to say that all logistics toward a smooth conduct of this examination are fully in place. “We have always been ready for situations like this and have always got it right. . “Before now, we were hoping to put logistics in place for the initial 9,000 candidates, but with the reversal of the decision, we now have to re-adjust and I want to say that we are fully prepared.
“All our computers and its accessories, the backups, alternative power supply as well as adequate personnel that will conduct the examination are all ready.’’ The deputy registrar said the university was compelled to extend the exercise to three days because of the large number of candidates seeking admission into the institution.
He, however, advised candidates to arrive early at the examination centres for a hitch-free exercise.
(NAN)
Lagos pastor in divorce mess: He steals church funds says wife
•He is cruel, steals church funds – Wife
•‘I am tired of her quarrels, lack of respect for me, ministry, family’
By Damilola Igbedion The pastor in-charge, Pentecostal Power and Authority Ministry Worldwide, Mr Kayode Oladoyinbo, and his wife, Christian, are locked in a bitter divorce battle after 11 years of marriage.
The union is blessed with three children, aged 11, 9 and 6, respectively. Asking an Ojo, Lagos Customary Court to dissolve the marriage, Christian accused her husband of frequent beatings, cruelty, illegal summoning and arrests, lack of care and stealing of the church funds as reasons she wants a divorce.
Accepting the divorce claim instituted by his wife, Kayode said he was fed up with the marriage, accusing the wife of wickedness. According to the pastor, the wife, sometime in 2009 poured kerosene on him with the aim of setting him ablaze, before he managed to escape. He said, at another occasion, the petitioner attempted to kill him with a knife, saying he took the weapon and fled to safety.
On another occasion, Kayode claimed the wife threatened to burn down the church and kill him in the process. He alleged that this prompted his reporting the matter to the Morogbo Police Division, saying she was subsequently arrested.
He revealed that under interrogation by the police, the wife confessed that she actually threatened to attack the church, but that she was not serious about it. The wife, however, pleaded with the court to stop the husband from intimidating, embarrassing and molesting her, and asked that she is granted the custody of the children of the marriage.
Counsel to Kayode, Mr. Ademola Adedayo, narrated to the court efforts to settle the matter between the couple, saying the efforts proved abortive due to the petitioner, Christian, who remained intransigent. However, when the Court President, Chief Joesph Ogunmola, asked the parties their final say on the marriage, the wife said she wanted the marriage saved, but her husband insisted that, having come this far, he would want the marriage dissolved. “I want this divorce. I am tired of my wife, her constant quarrels and lack of respect for me, my ministry and my family”, he said.
•‘I am tired of her quarrels, lack of respect for me, ministry, family’
By Damilola Igbedion The pastor in-charge, Pentecostal Power and Authority Ministry Worldwide, Mr Kayode Oladoyinbo, and his wife, Christian, are locked in a bitter divorce battle after 11 years of marriage.
The union is blessed with three children, aged 11, 9 and 6, respectively. Asking an Ojo, Lagos Customary Court to dissolve the marriage, Christian accused her husband of frequent beatings, cruelty, illegal summoning and arrests, lack of care and stealing of the church funds as reasons she wants a divorce.
Accepting the divorce claim instituted by his wife, Kayode said he was fed up with the marriage, accusing the wife of wickedness. According to the pastor, the wife, sometime in 2009 poured kerosene on him with the aim of setting him ablaze, before he managed to escape. He said, at another occasion, the petitioner attempted to kill him with a knife, saying he took the weapon and fled to safety.
On another occasion, Kayode claimed the wife threatened to burn down the church and kill him in the process. He alleged that this prompted his reporting the matter to the Morogbo Police Division, saying she was subsequently arrested.
He revealed that under interrogation by the police, the wife confessed that she actually threatened to attack the church, but that she was not serious about it. The wife, however, pleaded with the court to stop the husband from intimidating, embarrassing and molesting her, and asked that she is granted the custody of the children of the marriage.
Counsel to Kayode, Mr. Ademola Adedayo, narrated to the court efforts to settle the matter between the couple, saying the efforts proved abortive due to the petitioner, Christian, who remained intransigent. However, when the Court President, Chief Joesph Ogunmola, asked the parties their final say on the marriage, the wife said she wanted the marriage saved, but her husband insisted that, having come this far, he would want the marriage dissolved. “I want this divorce. I am tired of my wife, her constant quarrels and lack of respect for me, my ministry and my family”, he said.
Post UTME: We don’t want to be unfair to candidates – OAU
…As 27, 000 writes the exam...
Over 27,000 applicants seeking admission to Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, on Saturday wrote the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The Public Relations Officer of OAU, Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju, who spoke in Ile-Ife on Saturday, said the candidates include secondary school leavers and direct entry students.
Olanrewaju said that the students that qualified for OAU post-UTME were the ones who scored 200 and above in JAMB exams and took OAU as their first choice.
He said that many candidates with distinctions from their various schools applied for the admission and in order to be fair to all, screening exercise should be carried out. “We have so many candidates that applied for direct entry admission and just to fulfill exam righteousness, they need to be screened.
“We don’t want to be unfair to any and for us to be justified; admission screening would allow us to have the real competent ones,” he said. One of the candidates, Aanu-Oluwapo Adeyemi, who applied for Law, told NAN that she would love to be admitted in OAU for her studies.
Adeyemi said that she believed that the school would mould her and give her excellent academic expectations. Mrs Lynda Echebima, a parent from Port-Harcourt, who brought her daughter for post-UTME, expressed satisfaction on the conduct of the exam, stressing that it was well organised.
“From what I’ve seen so far, it is not so far from the impression I have about OAU, I hope that the students will get their deserved marks,” she said. In the same vein, Mr Olusegun Adetayo, another parent from Lagos State told NAN that he liked the conduct of the exam because the management made students to realise that they meant business.
Adetayo urged the management to maintain the discipline, expressing the belief that the marking would commence immediately and within 24 hours or less the results would be out. (NAN)
Over 27,000 applicants seeking admission to Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, on Saturday wrote the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The Public Relations Officer of OAU, Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju, who spoke in Ile-Ife on Saturday, said the candidates include secondary school leavers and direct entry students.
Olanrewaju said that the students that qualified for OAU post-UTME were the ones who scored 200 and above in JAMB exams and took OAU as their first choice.
He said that many candidates with distinctions from their various schools applied for the admission and in order to be fair to all, screening exercise should be carried out. “We have so many candidates that applied for direct entry admission and just to fulfill exam righteousness, they need to be screened.
“We don’t want to be unfair to any and for us to be justified; admission screening would allow us to have the real competent ones,” he said. One of the candidates, Aanu-Oluwapo Adeyemi, who applied for Law, told NAN that she would love to be admitted in OAU for her studies.
Adeyemi said that she believed that the school would mould her and give her excellent academic expectations. Mrs Lynda Echebima, a parent from Port-Harcourt, who brought her daughter for post-UTME, expressed satisfaction on the conduct of the exam, stressing that it was well organised.
“From what I’ve seen so far, it is not so far from the impression I have about OAU, I hope that the students will get their deserved marks,” she said. In the same vein, Mr Olusegun Adetayo, another parent from Lagos State told NAN that he liked the conduct of the exam because the management made students to realise that they meant business.
Adetayo urged the management to maintain the discipline, expressing the belief that the marking would commence immediately and within 24 hours or less the results would be out. (NAN)
Couples should have sex as often as possible’
Big, bold and beautiful aptly describes Bimbo Thomas, the famed ‘Nikky’ in the popular Yoruba blockbuster film ‘Omo Ghetto’ produced by Funke Akindele.
She is remembered in the film as a street urchin who would stop at nothing in getting what she wants. But in real life, Bimbo is nothing like ‘Nikky’ the character she portrayed so well.
She is an easy-going person who would bedazzle you with her smiles and courteous manners. The voluptuous beauty spoke with one of our reporters recently and she let us into her world, a world no one has ever travelled. She talked sex, life and relationships.
Courteous as she is, the Chief Executive Officer of Bimbally Wine Store is as direct and down-to-earth as any frank person could get. “I’ve always had guys crushing on me, but I never dated any of them.
However I had my first kiss in secondary school few weeks to my final exams. As for my first relationship, it was with a guy called Kumi and we had been friends for a long time before that” she says while narrating her love story She explains she doesn’t jump into relationships even when all the signs are there.
She wouldn’t even allow a guy to peck her unless they have been together for a while. “I’ll act as if I can’t read between the lines. I won’t even peck an ordinary friend; it’s that bad”.
She may be slow in getting in the mood but once she does, it appears she loves going straight into the groove as she posits when asked how often couples should have sex.”As often as possible. Maybe four times in a week. If time permits, and we’re not far apart.
APGA Youth Vanguard wishes Gov. Obiano happy 60th Anniversary.
A Well Deserved 60th Birthday Congratulatory Message To An Accomplished Leader Worthy of Outright Emulation, His Excellency, Chief Willie M. Obiano, Akpokuodike Global ( Executive Governor, Anambra State, Nigeria)- 08/08/2015
His Excellency, To God be the glory Sir ! Birthday celebration is a new starting point of a new age, a fresh beginning, and a time to pursue new endeavors with new goals. Move forward with confidence and courage. You’re a very special person to the entire people of Anambra and Nigeria at large. Count the age, not the wrinkles you have. Count the blessings and wonderful experiences you’ve had, not the mistakes made. Forget the past; look forward to the future, for the best things are yet to come. May beauty and happiness surround you, not only on your special day, but always.
Anambrarians envisaged in you, a complete man who has tireless vision and who I personally sighted a great zeal to develop and make his state have some positive attributes with what is obtainable in western countries of the world.
Our amiable Governor has so much tried to fulfill his numerous promises to people of the state ever since he assumed that office. With his midas touch, our great state is acclaimed to be one of the safest states in the country because of the fierce war Governor Obiano waged on kidnappers, armed robbers and other criminal elements cum social vices in the state. Operation Kpochapu is at work and Anambra people no longer have sleepless night.
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| Photo: Gov. Obiano |
His Excellency, Sir, I can vividly still recall one of your inaugural speeches on March 17th, 2014: “Fellow Anambrarians, your clamour for a capital city that fully reflects the essence of our people will be addressed by my administration. We shall re-design and remodel Awka to meet the structural and aesthetic requirements of a 21st Century city that we can all be proud of. We shall also faithfully implement the master plans for Onitsha and Nnewi.” As record may attest to it, today, Awka the highly neglected capital city of Anambra state has kicked off the journey of becoming indeed, a modernised state capital. The heavy construction going on along Awka-Onitsha Expressway is standing the governor very tall in the state.
The governor did tell Anambrarians on March 17th, 2014: “My administration shall launch Anambra into a new economic phase through what I call the FOUR PILLARS of Development. They include – Aggressive Mechanised Agriculture – We shall engage in a serious production of cassava, maize and rice where we have a comparative advantage. In addition, we will re-train, re-equip and organise our farmers into cooperatives to enable them share resources and attract funding from donor agencies and financial institutions. These efforts will lead to massive increase in food production in the medium to long term and the emergence of agro-based industries in the area of storage, processing, manufacturing and packaging. That will create a lot of jobs for our people.
Now, Obiano can stand tall before his party men, as he, unlike his predecessor, has carried the party along. He has also shown love for the workforce of the state with the increment he made to their salary and the buses he provided to ease their movement to and from office.
Akpokuodike Global, words alone are not enough to express how happy the entire members of APGA YOUTH VANGUARD are as you are celebrating another year of your life today ! Our wish for you on your birthday is that you are, and will always be, happy and healthy !
May God in his interminable kind attributes bless your new age abundantly through Christ Jesus Our Lord, Amen.
••• Happy Birthday Anambra No 1 Citizen
••• Happy Birthday Akpokuodike Global
••• Happy Birthday Our Indefatigable Leader
••• Happy Birthday The New Face of APGA
••• Happy Birthday To A True Democrat
••• Happy Birthday To A Great Political Icon
••• Happy Birthday Papa Anambra
••• Happy Birthday To Renowned Administrator
••• Happy Birthday To An Accomplished Banker
••• Happy Birthday To A First Class Auditor
••• Happy Birthday Our BoT Leader
Signed :
APGA YOUTH VANGUARD
+2348039260270
Friday, 7 August 2015
Taboo ! Hunchback’s burial causes panic, apprehension in Kwara
Fear has gripped residents of Omu-Aran in Kwara following the reported burial of one Femi, a hunchback, who died in a motor accident on Aug. 3. According to claims, by the tradition, it is a taboo to bury a person with hunchback in the community.
The corpse of such person must rather be hanged on a tree otherwise an evil will befall the community. Femi and four others died when an 18-seater bus they were travelling with, from Omu-Aran to Lagos, had an accident.
Although, relatives of the deceased had refused to speak on the rumour of Femi’s burial, already apprehensive residents now hang Jatropha leaves, locally called Lapalapa, on the entrance to their houses, to ward-off calamity.
One of the residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the relatives might have buried the deceased secretly to safeguard the body from ritualists. “You know there are many traditions and ancient beliefs in this part of the world.
“I think it is the fear that such body might be used for ritual purpose that forced the relatives to have a rethink and decided otherwise.” Pastor David Omorinoye, the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Irepodun Local Government, said that prayers remained the key to every unpleasant situation.
According to Omorinoye, people should refrain from ungodly acts that could lead to the derailment of their faith in God.
Alhaji Abdul Azeez Adeniyi, Chief Olupona of Omu-Aran, urged the residents to always pray for the stability and progress of the community rather than spreading unwarranted rumours. “As far as Islam is concerned such belief is fictitious and without any basis. “We should rather devote our time to seek the face of Allah through constant prayers for the growth, progress and development of our communities,” he said.
NAFDAC discovers illegal factory loaded with expired canned food at Trade Fair
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), on Thursday said it had uncovered an illegal factory within the Trade Fair Complex in Lagos loaded with various expired canned food.
The agency’s Spokesman, Mr Anslem Okonkwor, disclosed this in a statement that the discovery was sequel to a special raid and enforcement operation in some markets in the metropolis by officers of the Investigation and Enforcement Directorate of the agency.
It said that the expired canned food were worth millions of naira, adding that a 24-year-old man, Victor Okeke had been arrested in connection with the expired products. “The factory, which was originally a one-room shop was used to stock, re-validate and distribute expired products, particularly, food condiments.
“Some of the expired products discovered in the unhygienic factory included expired Maggi sauce with manufacturing date of 15/08/2011 and expiry date of 15/08/2014.
“Other products included Amoy Dark Soy Sauce, Costa Corned Beef and Exeter Corned Beef among others. “For the Costa Corned Beef, whether expired or not, the 24-year -old suspect, changed their labels to Exeter Corned Beef,’’ it said.
The statement also said that the suspect revealed that changing their labels was to attract patronage to the Costa corned beef because it was a faster moving brand than the name Costa in the market. It said that Mr Shaba Mohammed, the leader of the NAFDAC team, who addressed journalists shortly after the exercise, revealed that the agency had been on the trail of the alleged owner of the factory following intelligence report on his activities in the market.
Mohammed, an Assistant Director, Enforcement Operations, had also revealed that the suspect, who also claimed to be the managing director of the factory, was caught re-validating the expiry dates of Maggi Arome sauce and Amoy Soy sauce. “These products were smuggled into the country from Ghana and the expiry dates of 2014 shifted to August 2016,’’ he said.
According to him, the products expired since August 15, 2014. “We have arrested the suspect and also evacuated the remaining products in the illegal factory. We are also charging him for counterfeiting. Some of the products were not registered by NAFDAC. “What we found on ground here cannot be consumed.
We saw two drums filled with ordinary water which he uses to immerse the products and the labels will remove without any traces and are replaced with re-validated labels,’’ Mohammed was quoted as saying. He lamented that most of the re-validated products had been pushed into the market for unsuspecting consumers to buy.
“Consuming such products could lead to terminal diseases such as liver and kidney diseases which are currently on the rise in the country. “The sauces are sodium-based products that could lead to hypertension if consumed,’’ Mohammed was quoted as saying. He said that the suspect would be arraigned in court where the products evacuated would be used as exhibits against him. “Every single thing that is here is dangerous to human health,” the statement claimed. Recall that the agency in its determination to ensure stringent punishment for counterfeiters is currently reviewing its laws with a view to making convicted counterfeiters of drug and food products spend the rest of their lives in jail. The Director-General of NAFDAC, Dr Paul Orhii, had declared that the current law, which stipulated a fine of N500, 000 or 15-year jail term upon conviction, was inadequate. According to Orhii, the new law will also make counterfeiting a non bail-able offence, adding that a whistleblower clause was also included in the new proposal.
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