How TV fuels teenage pregnancy

 Teenage pregnancy

Adolescent girls who watch television programmes containing high sexual content are more likely to become pregnant than their peers who watch fewer such programmes, according to a study.

The longitudinal study which tracked children from age six to 18, concluded that the children who are exposed to content intended for adults in television and movies become sexually active at the onset of adolescence.

The study suggested that exposure to sex on television might influence teen pregnancy by creating the perception that there is little risk in engaging in sex without using contraceptives and accelerating the initiation of sexual intercourse.

“Adolescents receive a considerable amount of information about sex through TV programmes which, however, do not highlight the risks and responsibilities of sex,” said Anita Chandra, the study’s lead author and a behavioural scientist at RAND Corporation, a United States non-profit research organisation which sponsored the study. “Our findings suggest that television may play a significant role in the high rates of teenage pregnancy in the US.”

The debate on whether exposure to the media affects behaviour has been raging for many years with researchers failing to reach an agreement. However, the study published in the journal, Paediatrics, is the first to establish a link between teenagers’ exposure to sexual content on TV and either pregnancies among girls or responsibility for pregnancies among boys.

“The amount of sexual content on television has doubled in recent years, and there is little representation of safer sex practices in those portrayals,” Chandra said. “While some progress has been made, teenagers who watch television are still going to find little information about the consequences of unprotected sexual practices among the many portrayals promoting sex.”

The rising rate of unintended teenage pregnancy has been a source of worry in many countries. However, authorities in these countries usually blame the rise on low use of contraceptives and never on the content of TV programmes.

For instance, a 2009 a report by the New York-based Guttmacher Institute found that unplanned pregnancies among Nigerian teenagers and young women have risen despite improvements in educational levels.

The study revealed that in 2003, 16 per cent of pregnancies among girls and women between 15 and 24 years had been unintended, compared with 10 per cent in 1990.

According to the study, nearly one-third of sexually active women aged 15-24 had had an unmet need for modern contraception in 2003. The institute blamed the rise partially on low use of contraceptives and lamented that Nigerian authorities had failed to promote sexual health information for young Nigerians.

“We are failing Nigerian adolescents when it comes to providing them with the information and services. They need to delay marriage and avoid unintended pregnancies,” said the report’s co-author, Prof. Friday Okonofua.

But the fact that it was during the period of the research that private TV stations opened for business in Nigeria (following the lifting of the ban on private broadcasting in 1992) and that it was also during the period that the home video industry blossomed makes the RAND study’s conclusion that there is a link between teenage pregnancy and exposure to high sexual content on TV seem plausible.

Indeed, many objects in the media that involve sex target teens. Reality TV shows and soap operas especially portray the fashionable people as the ones who are having sex.

For instance, a former member of cast of MTV’s Real World told the Washington Post, “I was upset about how they portrayed me. The only thing they went after was sex. When I complained, the producers told me, ‘Well, everything else was boring.” Again, there was much indignation in Nigeria in 2008 against the producers of Big Brother Africa reality TV for allowing lurid scenes to be broadcast in the show.

The RAND study was based on a national survey of about 2,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 who were recruited in 2001 and asked about their TV viewing habits and sexual behaviour. The participants were surveyed again in 2001 and in 2004. The analysis was based on results from about 700 participants who had engaged in sexual intercourse by the third survey and reported their pregnancy history.

The study found several other factors, in addition to TV viewing, that influenced whether adolescents were likely to experience a pregnancy. Adolescents living in a two-parent household had a lower probability of pregnancy, while girls, African-Americans and those with more problem behaviours such as discipline problems were more likely to experience a pregnancy. Youths who intended to have children early also were more likely to experience a pregnancy.
The researchers encourage parents to follow current American Academy of Paediatrics viewing guidelines such as no television in the bedroom, no more than one to two hours of screen time a day, and to co-view television programs and have an open dialogue about its content with your children. They also suggest that while the results demonstrate a longitudinal relationship, more research needs be done to understand how media influences children’s growing awareness of human relationships and sexual behaviour.

A Montessori education expert, Mrs. Ify Nwobosi-Anatune, also advises that TV programme producers should come up with more educative programmes that target children and adolescents, even as she advises parents to try and regulate how their children watch TV and what they watch.
Source:Punch





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Five Killed in Fresh Jos Attack

 Five people were confirmed killed in a fresh attack by unknown gunmen at a village in Kuru, near Jos. The attack comes barely 48 hours after two warring communities signed a peace pact to end the deadly attacks. An eyewitness told the News Agency of Nigeria that the heavily-armed attackers who invaded the village on Thursday night, also injured eight others, while several houses were burnt. The Plateau State Police Commissioner Abdularahman Akano, who confirmed the latest attack, said that no arrests had been made. Moses Dalyop, chairman of the Jos South Local Government Area also confirmed the incident, but he declined to provide further details.
Source:234next


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Nasarawa protesters hurl stones at President Jonathan’s convoy

Young men and women lined major roads leading to the Emir of Lafia’s palace in Nasarawa state yesterday hurling stones at the president's convoy, chanting “Sai Buhari” and carrying Congress of Progressive Change presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari posters. - 234next. 
This kind of behaviour shouldn't be condoned at all...not cool!
Source:Delight

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EFCC arrests Amos Adamu

Former FIFI executive Committee member Amos Adamu

Amos Adamu, FIFA Executive Committee member who was banned for three years by FIFA from all football related activities for his role in the cash-for-vote scandal, was yesterday arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

He arrived the commission’s office yesterday morning and was interrogated for several hours by operatives of the anti-graft agency over how the N24 billion budgeted for the 2003 All Africa Games, whose organising committee he headed, was spent.

Adamu returned to Nigeria on Friday night from Europe where he had been since the cash-for-vote scandal broke in October.

Billion naira “PR”

The former Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC) is also expected to explain how N1.3 billion was spent as “PR”.

Femi Babafemi, the spokesperson of the EFCC said Adamu is being quizzed for another 180 million naira involving his wife as well as an 80 million naira expenditure involving his son-in-law.

Adamu was expected to be granted administrative bail last night according to Babafemi, who confirmed that the FIFA executive committee member had indeed been questioned by the commission.

“He will be granted bail tonight (yesterday) but we are seizing his passport so that he’ll be available anytime we need him,” Babafemi said.

Adamu’s arrest comes barely 24 hours after he appeared before the House of Representatives where he defended himself over the cash-for-vote scandal, which broke after English newspaper, Sunday Times of London released a video in which Adamu reportedly asked for money in order to cast his vote for the United States after the undercover reporters posed as businessmen representing American interests.

After the FIFA ethics committee handed its verdict in November, Adamu, the former Director of Sports Development in the Ministry of Sports and until the vote scandal, President of the West African Football union (WAFU) indicated he was going to appeal the decision insisting he was innocent of the charge against him.

He also authorised his lawyers to head to court to stop the EFCC from interrogating him over the cash-for-vote scandal. The case came up for hearing on December 13 with Adamu asking the court to declare that the EFCC lacked jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute him over the matter.

He also prayed the court to restrain the EFCC and the police from infringing his right to personal liberty as enshrined in Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution. His lawyer, Niyi Ayoola-Daniels, told the court that FIFA was not an agency of the Nigerian government and as such the EFCC could not interrogate him in his capacity as the football body’s executive committee member. The case was adjourned to 17th January, 2011.

Source:234next.com

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DDC machines theft: Journalists barred from suspects’ arraignment

Journalists were on Thursday prevented from covering the arraignment of four suspects arrested in connection with the theft of 20 Direct Data Capture machines at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The suspects, Suleiman Isa, Lawal Lateef, Bamidele Joshua and Modupe Sumonu, were arraigned in the chambers of Magistrate O. A. Komolafe of the Magistrates’ Court, Ikeja.
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Police arraign pastor for faking own kidnap

A pastor of the Christ Apostolic Church, Samuel Adegbohungbe, and his girl friend were on Thursday arraigned before an Ado-Ekiti Chief Magistrate’s Court for allegedly setting up the pastor’s own kidnap.

The 32-year-old cleric and his lover will celebrate the Christmas and New Year festivities in the Ado-Ekiti prison where they had been ordered to be detained till January 19, 2011 when their case is billed for mentioning.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports indicated that the pastor was accused of planning the kidnap to obtain money from members of his church.
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Halliburton: Court grants EFCC’s request on Nigerian suspects’ trial

An Abuja High Court on Thursday granted the request of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to arraign six Nigerians over their alleged complicity in the $180m bribe-for-contract Halliburton scandal.

The accused persons include Ibrahim Aliyu, Mohammed Bakari, Urban Shelter Limited, Intercellular Nigeria Limited, Sherwood Petroleum Limited and Tri-Star Investment Limited.

The EFCC had on December 17 filed a - nine count charge against the accused persons.

The court had reached the decision while ruling on an application for leave by the lawyer to the EFCC, Mr. Godwin Obla. The case has been adjourned till January 27, for the arraignment of the suspect.

The EFCC had, in a plea bargaining arrangement, recovered over $120m as fines from some multinational firms and their officials indicted in the bribery scam in addition to the repatriation of about $130m frozen in Geneva and Monaco banks.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012232332928 Read more...

Community to banish man for impregnating 18 years old daughter

Suspect
A commercial motorcyclist, in Lagos, who subjected her daughter to rounds of sex, is now in trouble, as he has been nabbed by the police.

Daily Sun also gathered that his community in Ohafia, Abia State, has concluded plans to banish him over the abominable act.

But the 50-year-old man has made a passionate appeal to the traditionalists to carry out what he called, ‘spiritual cleansing’ on him, instead of throwing him out of the community.

The suspect, John Awa, who spoke to Daily Sun said: “I am from Ohafia, I was told my community is making plans to banish me for sleeping with my daughter. I know it is an abomination but banishment is not the solution. Instead, they should appease the gods.”
Another reason he adduced for his appeal for mercy was, “because of my wife and children.”

He continued: “They should not ostracize me. I’m not the only one that committed such act. Appeasing the gods remains the best solution.” Ironically, the father and daughter were seen trading words, arguing over the number of times they committed the illegal act and, who seduced each other to commit the offence. While Awa claimed having canal knowledge of her six times, his daughter is insisting that he did it eight times.

He maintained that it was his daughter, who seduced him, by appearing nude before him. The daughter, on the other, alleged that her randy father hypnotized her. Narrating how the journey to the abominable act started, the 18-year-old girl (names withheld) said it began late last year, when she compelled her mother to re-unite her with her biological father.
According to the victim, her parents were separated for the past seventeen years, when she was just a year old.

She disclosed that she did not know him until they were re-united. “I was the happiest person on earth when I met him for the first time. Though, he re-married, he still permitted me to live with them,” she said. She narrated how her stepmother and her siblings traveled outside Lagos “and the devil used my father to bring shame on me.”

She continued: “ One day, I was sleeping when somebody started caressing me. I later found out that it was my father. I warned him and tried to break the silence but my father started begging me. He said it was the only way he could express his love for me. I was confused, but before then, he had had his way. I started weeping but my father still begged me not to expose him.”

But the victim who could not continued concealing her father’s shameful act later told her uncles. Her reason was that he allegedly continued the love advances. “It was my uncle who reported the matter to the police,” she further disclosed. The victim narrated how her father had in the past, procured abortions for her.

Meanwhile, a medical examination conducted on her revealed that she is a month old pregnant. The suspect has, however disowned the pregnancy, saying it was the handiwork of her daughter’s jobless boyfriend.

He said: “I can’t deny making love to her. I only did it six times. I disagree putting her in a family way, because the medical report indicated that she is a month old pregnant. I had stopped making love to her since.” The suspect, who later blamed his action on the devil, said he only realized himself after making love to his daughter.
Source:http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/crimewatch/2010/dec/23/crimewatch-12-23-2010-001.htm
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Amos Adamu arrested over N27.3b COJA fraud

Adamu
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has quizzed suspended FIFA executive member, Amos Adamu, over allegations of corruption.

According to EFCC spokesman, Femi Babafemi: “We invited Adamu after he finally arrived in the country on Friday and he has been at our office in Abuja since Wednesday morning.”

Babafemi said that the anti-corruption body was interrogating Adamu over how the N24 billion (about 190 million dollars) budgeted for the 2003 All Africa Games of which he was the chief executive was spent.

Adamu will also have to explain another N1.3 billion, which he purportedly spent as "PR", Babafemi added. He also said Adamu was being quizzed for another N180 million in an affair concerning his wife as well as N80 million expenditure involving his son-in-law.

Last month, Adamu was suspended by FIFA for three years after the world football's governing body ruled that he had breached its code of ethics. Adamu was caught in a sting operation by a British newspaper over the hosting rights bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

“For now, the investigations are on and we do not know when he will be allowed to leave our office,” Babafemi said. The CAF executive former member was until last night still being detained by the anti graft agency but the agency’s spokesman disclosed that he could be allowed home if he deposits of his international passport.
Source:http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/sportsonthehour/2010/dec/23/sportsbreak-23-12-2010-001.htm

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Killer manholes on Lagos road worry motorists

 The manholes on the road.

Residents of estates on old Lagos-Abeokuta Road have raised the alarm over killer manholes that dot some sections of the road, saying they pose danger to road users and the residents.

They told PUNCH METRO that many accidents had occurred as a result of the manholes.

They added that road users, especially motorists, were forced to slow down as they approached the manholes, thereby exposing them to attack from hoodlums and armed robbers, who loitered around the area.

They therefore appealed to the government to urgently rehabilitate the roads and block the manholes.

Our correspondent, who visited the area, noticed that motorists found it difficult to ply the road and their slowing down when the approached the manholes also resulted in traffic snarl.

The Manager, Sunshine Estate Oko-Oba III, one of the estates in the area, Mr. Idoko Phillip, said residents had made individual efforts by filling the manholes with used tyres to alert motorists of the impending danger.

But he regretted that their efforts were not enough as motorists still ran into the manholes resulting in accidents.

Phillip said, “We feel very bad about all these manholes on the road. They have been there for some time now. Efforts have been made personally to prevent any occurrence of accident there. We had put tyres to indicate that there is a danger ahead for the motorists and other road users. But this has not yielded any positive result because some unknown people removed the tyres. It is a big problem.

“Even in the daytime, some motorists do not take cognisance of the tyres until they reach the verge of the manholes. It is only then that they try to meander and such can be disastrous. This attitude puts the lives of other road users at risk.”

The estate manager called on the government to come to the residents’ aid to avoid preventable deaths and attacks from hoodlums.

He argued that if road users were finding the road unsafe during daytime, the situation was worse at night.

Phillip said, “There have been some accidents, although they were not fatal. There was an accident that happened few months ago. I heard that a car knocked someone down and the victim sustained serious injuries and was treated at a hospital. The manholes really pose a great danger to the road users. Imagine how dangerous they will be at night.

“Some people may be driving there oblivious of the holes and they may fall into them or get their vehicles damaged in the process. Hoodlums and armed robbers can take advantage of the holes to unleash havoc to the road users.

“For the safety of Nigerians, the government should ensure that the appropriate authority fixes the roads. We want a speedy response. We should not wait until they claim lives. It will be very sad and bitter if the government only finds a solution to this problem after human life has been lost.

“There are four manholes: one near Mapowe Estate; another near Sunshine Estate; the next at Vetland and another one after that. They are between the abattoir area and Total Filling Station.”

A resident of Mapowe Estate, Mr. Kehinde Lasisi, said the manholes caused an accident a few weeks ago and a woman was severely injured.

He said, “We are not comfortable with the manholes. We want government to help us fix them to avoid more accidents. They are dangerous. There was one accident that I witnessed. A vehicle was coming from Agege and another one from Abule Egba, the drivers seemed not to know about the holes. There was a woman that wanted to cross to the other side, suddenly they hit the woman, she sustained injuries and was rushed to a hospital for treatment. This happened about three weeks ago.”

The Lagos Zonal Director, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, Mrs. Bola Ilemore, in response to our correspondent’s text message, said the Federal Ministry of Works had commenced work on the road, and assured the residents that their concerns would be addressed soon.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012213394364




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N170m fraud: Judge grants Ogbulafor’s request for severance of trial

Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, PDP Chieftain
The Federal Capital Territory High Court on Monday granted an application for severance of trial filed by former Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, Vincent Ogbulafor, in the corruption case filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission against him, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

Others standing trial with Ogbulafor in the court of Justice Isahq Bello are Jude Nwokolo and Chief Henry Ikoh.

Ogbulafor filed for the severance of his trial on December 14 after Nwokolo, who is the third accused person, had filed a motion for stay of proceedings until the determination of an appeal he filed at the Court of Appeal.

Following this, Ogbulafor’s Counsel, Chief Joe Gadzama (SAN), filed an application for severance of the joint trial to enable him to stand trial alone.

Bello ruled that Ogbulafor had the right to call for severance of trial.

He said, “I have carefully examined the arguments for the severance of trial by counsel to the first accused.

“It is the view of this court that the first accused has the constitutional right for a speedy trial and or disposal of the corruption charges against him.

“The court will not deny the accused this prayer. The severance of trial from the other two accused will not in any way be prejudicial as was argued by counsel to the third accused.

“Everybody should answer for his sins.”

Bello fixed January 4, January 5 and January 6, 2011 for continuation of trial.

In another development, the judge criticised some counsel who filed applications for stay of proceedings.

“It is the practice by counsel to clients facing corruption charges to quickly run to the Court of Appeal to get interlocutory injunction staying proceedings at the lower courts, he said
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101221394989

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15-year-old admits killing husband over N1,000

A 15-year-old girl, Esther Moses, broke down in tears before an Osogbo magistrate’s court on Monday when she admitted stabbing her husband, David Moses, to death during an argument over N1,000.

The teenager, who appeared before a Magistrate, Mr. Olalekan Ijiyode, was accused of killing her husband at 9am on November 19, 2010 in Arike Village, Ilesa, Osun State.

When asked by Ijiyode why she stabbed her husband, the suspect said she did not realise that it would lead to his death.

She said her husband took N1,000 belonging to her, recalling that she had warned him to return her money before they began fighting.

According to the charge sheet, the alleged offence was contrary to Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code, Cap 34, Volume II, Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2003.

The mother of two was not represented by a lawyer during the proceedings.

She said the family of her husband had turned against her and her children as a result of the incident. She said her inlaws had refused to take custody of the children, forcing her family to care for them.

The court could not take her plea because magistrate courts have no jurisdiction over murder cases.

Ijiyode, who cautioned the suspect against acting in anger in future, advised persons present in court to learn a lesson from her predicament.

The magistrate advised the suspect to get a lawyer to represent her during her trial at the Osogbo High Court.

He ordered that Esther be remanded in Ilesa prison and later adjourned the case till February 23, 2011, for mention.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012213152356 Read more...

Group inaugurates NGO

A non-governmental organisation, Glorious Islamic Centre, was on Sunday inaugurated in Lagos.

The President of the group, Mr. Akin Laguda, said one of the aims of the group was to educate Muslims and non-Muslims alike in the light of Islam and to promote education and scholarship through study, symposia, debates, conferences, film-strips, reference libraries and other lawful means among others.

Also speaking on the occasion, a don, Prof. Daud Noibi, said a mosque should not be a worship centre alone but a learning centre that should be opened at all times.

Noibi, who was represented by a veteran journalist, Alhaji Femi Abass, recalled that some of the oldest universities in the world started as learning centres before they metamorphosed into universities.

Noibi, who listed the universities as Al-Azhar, Cordova, Qarawiyyin and Al-Zaytoonah, said they started as learning centres, adding that it was in order for the group to first start as a centre and later think of how to improve.

He said, “Mosques should not be for prayers alone. They should be learning centres. A mosque should have a library, clinic, conference centre, computer room and it must be opened at all times. These are the things that can help our children.

“That is why I am very happy when I read about the things they want to be doing at the centre. These are similar with the things they were doing at the centres that later became universities.”
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012202424575 Read more...

Indian hemp now rampant among pupils in Enugu – NDLEA

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has warned of the resurgence of violent crimes in Enugu and neighbouring states if the infiltration of Indian hemp is not checked among secondary school pupils.

The NDLEA stated on Saturday at the third annual symposium of the Inwelle Study and Resource Centre, Enugu, that while it was grappling with curtailing the influx and intake of Indian hemp by the pupils, many of them had recently been caught with cocaine.

Speaking on behalf of the anti-drug law agency, Mr. Fintan Bassey said a survey carried out by the NDLEA showed that crimes committed by pupils recently in Enugu were motivated by drugs.

He said, “Indian hemp is a problem. It is now a way of life, especially among adolescents. It is now found in pockets and bags of pupils in secondary schools.

“We have also observed that the intake of this weed usually accounts for their restiveness and hostility in Enugu and the entire South-East zone.

“It is also responsible for their vulnerability to crimes and other criminal activities.

“With time, some have confided in us that they graduated to taking cocaine, which pushes them into crimes so that they would be able to afford the lifestyle that goes with it.”
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012202445664 Read more...

Residents want ban on okada, others

Residents of GRA Apapa, Lagos, led by its Chairman, Mr. Olaniji Yusuf, and publisher of Businessday newspaper, Mr. Frank Aigbogun, have staged a peaceful protest on the activities of okada riders, commercial drivers and three-wheeler operators in the GRA.

In a statement by AGRA on Saturday, the protesters, who marched from the GRA to Apapa Local Government secretariat on Burma Road, demanded a total ban of the operations of the three means of transportation, which they said had led to the increased spate of armed robberies and environmental degradation.

They said that the transport operators invaded the estate from Ajegunle, a suburb of the state, and that their continued operations in the GRA posed security threat to the residents.

Yusuf, who read their request to the council chairman, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Lawrence Adedeji, said the residents could no longer bear the continued operations of the three transport operators because of the threat their operations posed to the area.

On his part, Adedeji was said to have told the residents that the council would look into their agitation and offer a solution.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012202431667 Read more...

Police revisit trigger-happy cop’s case

Jubril Rasheed

An indication has emerged that the police authorities have commenced the reinvestigation of the case of a trigger-happy policeman, Mr. Gbenga Fashola, who shot a 23-year-old, Mr. Jubril Rasheed, on the buttocks and rendered him impotent.

Investigations by PUNCH METRO revealed that the police authorities intervened in the matter following public outcry that greeted Jubril’s fate.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Abeokuta on Sunday, said the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2, Lagos, Mr. Sulaiman Salkai, had taken over the matter.

“The AIG has called for explanation on the matter; he has called for the case file, including the criminal and the disciplinary aspects. He has ordered Fashola to come and he is investigating the matter. He is studying the whole report,” Adejobi said.

The PPRO for Zone 2, Mr. Kennedy Odigwe, confirmed the intervention of the AIG in a telephone interview with our correspondent.

Odigwe said, “The story as published by PUNCH METRO has been so sympathetic and the AIG has decided to revisit the issue by looking into the matter. The court’s issue in the story is not a police matter, the one that concerns us is going to be addressed and this is the issue of the reinstatement and the promotion of a dismissed policeman.

“We are all human beings and the AIG as a man, who is very humane and sympathetic, was not happy at all after reading the publications. The story is so sympathetic and he is very much interested and will ensure that justice is done accordingly on the matter.”

He said all parties in the matter would be invited and a deputy commissioner in the zone had been assigned to look at the issue closely and interview all the necessary parties in the matter.

Jubril’s father, Mr. Clement Rasheed, lauded the police for revisiting the issue.

Clement said, “That is a good news to me. I will be very happy if the police can revisit the issue and ensure that justice is done to my son. I feel sad that such a heinous crime is committed and that the man, who committed the crime, is not punished.

“I was invited to witness the orderly room trial where the judgment was read to Fashola and he was declared guilty and dismissed over unjust use of firearms. I was there to witness all these. But I was surprised that after a few months, the policeman was not only reinstated but was promoted as well.

“Out of shock and disbelief, I went to the station to confirm and I saw him dressed in his new rank. I even stretched my hand to greet him but he refused to shake my hands probably out of fear that I have come with a charm or something else.”

Jubril also expressed joy when he learnt that police authorities had ordered a fresh probe into the matter.

“I am happy with this development; so many lies have been told against me and the present decision of the police will provide hope for me to get justice,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ogun State Command’s PPRO in a statement on Sunday insisted that Fashola was reinstated based on the Director of Public Prosecution’s advice that the policeman had no case to answer.

Adejobi said, “The command wishes to state that in accordance with democratic tenets and rule of law, there was a need for the command to review the dismissal of Fashola, having been discharged by a court of competent jurisdiction for the offence with which he was charged based on legal advice of DPP Ogun State, which also formed the basis for his police orderly room trial and dismissal in the first place. The review of his dismissal vis-à-vis the court’s judgment discharging him led to his reinstatement.”

But the Director of Public Prosecution, Mr. Olaotan Olusegun, had on Thursday said the police in their report claimed that Jubril wanted to flee after he had been arrested and that accidental discharge occurred when the 23-year-old Ghanaian was being pursued by Fashola.

Besides, he said, “Unfortunately, we do not have the information that an orderly room trial was earlier conducted and that the policeman had been dismissed. The police did not disclose this to us.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012202405982

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Police arrest PHCN staff over privatisation protest

 L-R, Peter Adeoye, zonal organiser, Kayode Giwa,national officer, Adegbenro Adesanya, state chairman.

Twenty staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria {PHCN} were yesterday arrested by the Ogun State Police Command over their roles in a protest against the federal government’s proposed privatisation of the company .

The workers, who were members of the National Union of Electricity Employees {NUEE}, were arrested at the premises of their secretariat located beside the PHCN Headquarters on Moshood Abiola Way, Abeokuta.

It was reliably gathered that the workers, who had earlier addressed a press conference along with their placard-carrying protest, did not know that policemen had laid siege for them. After journalists left, the policemen swooped on them.

The police, who came in a bus, bundled the workers inside and took them to the Police Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, for further interrogations.

“They must have been hiding somewhere, because what we saw was that they came in a bus, and before we knew what was happening, they rounded up our men, arresting about twenty of our members and drove away to the station,” Peter Adeoye, the union’s zonal organiser said.

Working for their release

On hearing of the arrest, the national president of Radio, Television, and Theater Workers Union {RATTAWU}, Yemisi Bamgbose, had to race to the police headquarters over the development.

Mr. Bamgbose said at press time that the arrested people were still making statement at the headquarters, expressing optimism that things would be sorted out.

The spokesperson of the Ogun State Police Command, Muyiwa Adejobi, however, said the men were not detained, “but only invited by the commissioner of police to let them know that what they have done is wrong. They will be released to management of PHCN later.”

Mr. Adejobi explained that the police commissioner had earlier advised the workers not to embark on the protest, which the workers allegedly assured him they won’t do.

“Police picked them up for their failure to honour their pledge. They would not be treated like criminals. They would be asked to make a statement. Their action is not wise, considering the security implications. What about if hoodlums take advantage of their protest?” He said.
Source:234next.com

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EFCC drops charges against Halliburton, Cheney

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said on Friday it had dropped bribery charges against former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and oil services company Halliburton after the company agreed to pay a fine. 


"It was formally dropped today," Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) spokesman Femi Babafemi said. He said the Nigerian government had agreed to an offer made by Halliburton to pay fines totalling up to $250 million.
Halliburton, which has said the Nigerian charges have no legal basis, confirmed that they were dropped but declined additional comment.
The EFCC said it received the offer when it met with officials representing Cheney and Halliburton in London last week after filing 16-count charges at a federal high court in Abuja in a case dating back to the mid-1990s.
Cheney served as U.S. vice president under George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009.
Houston-based engineering firm KBR, a former Halliburton unit, pleaded guilty last year to U.S. charges that it paid $180 million in bribes between 1994 and 2004 to Nigerian officials to secure $6 billion in contracts for the Bonny Island liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Niger Delta.
KBR and Halliburton reached a $579 million settlement in the United States. But Nigeria, France and Switzerland have conducted their own investigations into the case.
The EFCC last week charged Halliburton Chief Executive David Lesar, Cheney, and two other executives. It also filed charges against Halliburton as a company, which was headed by Cheney during the 1990s, and four associated businesses.
Halliburton split from KBR in 2007. It has said that its current operations in Nigeria -- raided by the EFCC last month -- were not involved in the Bonny project and that there is no legal basis for the charges.
Babafemi said although the investigation into Halliburton was over, the EFCC was still pursuing a case against a number of Nigerians who it says accepted bribes from the U.S. firm.
Shares of Halliburton fell 31 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $39.96 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Source:234next.com/
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Army ends rookie robber’s escapade

Brig. Muazu
It was the end of the road for a rookie thief, who joined his gang to rob a widow of her ‘widow’s mite’, as men of Lagos State security initiative, Operation Mesa, cut short his ambition. He was nabbed having in possession of a double barrel pistol with which he carried out the operation.


Identified as Stephen Omavigbo, the suspect, who was handed over to the police by the 9 Brig. Commander, Brigade General Hassan Muazu, told Daily Sun it was his first time in the crime world.

He said he never knew his friends were robbers, adding that he followed them to rob a woman, Vivian, in Lagos, whom he said they trailed from Intercontinental Bank at Alaba-Rago area of the metropolis.

Vivian had set out very early in the morning on that fateful day, to withdraw some money to take care of the family, oblivious of what awaited her. She had parked her car at a far distance to make ease her movement and boarded a commercial motorbike popularly called okada to bank.

Daily Sun learnt that after completing her transaction at the bank, she came out and boarded another okada to where she parked her vehicle. Just before getting to the point where she left her vehicle, the bike operator pulled out a gun. Confused, the woman jumped off the bike, astonished. The motorcyc;ist- turned robber ordered her to hand over the bag she was carrying.

At that point, the other members of the gang jumped out from their hideout and threatened Vivian to hand over the bag containing the mone..

Daily Sun learnt that she withdrew N300, 000 from the bank that afternoon and the robbers took all and were about getting away in their motorbike, when onlookers alerted soldiers attached to the Operation Mesa.
Swiftly, a detachment of OP Mesa men arrived at the scene. They started shooting to regain the area from the robbers, who had hitherto taken charge.

The robbers’ locally made pistol was no match for over seven OP Mesa’s superior firepower from FN rifles and Kalashnikov. Realizing that the operation had failed, the robbers abandoned their operation and fled the scene.
The rookie robber was left alone with the bag in one hand and the gun on the other, looking confused as to what had gone wrong. He was ordered to surrender.

He obeyed and handed over the bag containing N300, 000 and the gun to the securitymen. “It was my first time, I never knew it was robbery that they were embarking upon, my friends only asked me to see them off to somewhere,” he lamented.

Omavigho had been lamenting his action since he was arrested, but the Army had told him to “tell that to the dogs,” even as the Brigade Commander has warned that it is just the beginning for criminals. Muazu warned that his men would not hesitate to deal with criminals seeking to make the yuletide rough for law-abiding citizens.

Gen. Muazu said Omovigho and his gang would have collected N300, 000, two GSM handsets, National Identity Card and cosmetics which were inside the victim’s bag.
Source:http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/crimewatch/2010/dec/16/crimewatch-12-16-2010-001.htm
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Govt files 16-count charge against Cheney

A SIXTEEN-COUNT charge was filed by the Federal Government at an Abuja High Court yesterday against a former Vice President of the United States (U.S.), Richard ‘Dick’ Cheney over his alleged complicity in the $180 million bribe-for-contract scandal by Halliburton.

Barely 24 hours earlier, The Guardian had exclusively reported that government had approached an Abuja Chief Magistrate’s Court for a bench warrant for Cheney’s arrest.

A source said the bench warrant for the former Vice President, which is expected to be granted in the next 24 hours, is meant to aid efforts by government to ensure that he appears to stand trial alongside some top officials of Halliburton, where he was chairman at the time of the alleged bribe debacle and other oil services firms.

Sequel to the resolution by government’s lawyers and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), that Cheney could not be absolved of complicity in the bribery scandal since he was at that time of the bribery in 2006, the chairman of Halliburton, the country’s Chief Law Officer had directed the lawyers to amend the charge sheets in the on-going trial of Nigerian and Halliburton officials to accommodate the charge of criminal conspiracy against him (Cheney).

In compliance with the AGF’s directive, the legal team comprising of Joe Daudu, Emmanuel Ukala and Damien Dodo, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria and Godwin Obla yesterday filed the amended 16-count charge against Cheney and others.

The charge sheet reads:
• That you, Halliburton Inc., Halliburton Nigeria Limited, Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), Richard “Dick” Cheney, Albert “Jack” Stanley, William Utt, David Lesar, TSKJ Nigeria Limited and  TSKJ Consortium, within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005 conspired with Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan to commit a felony, to wit: giving the sum of $132,000,000.00  to one Jeffrey Tessler (now at large) and Tri-Star Investment Limited for the purpose of gratification of public officials concerned with the award of the contract of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project in Nigeria and thereby committed an offence under Section 96(1)(a) of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990 and punishable under Section 118 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990;
• That you, Halliburton Inc., Halliburton Nigeria Limited, Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), Richard “Dick” Cheney, Albert “Jack” Stanley, William Utt, David Lesar, TSKJ Nigeria Limited and TSKJ Consortium, within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005 together with Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan committed a felony, to wit: giving the sum of $132,000,000  to one Jeffrey Tessler (now at large) and Tri-Star Investment Limited for the purpose of gratification of public officials concerned with the award of the contract of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project in Nigeria and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 118 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990;
• That you, Richard “Dick” Cheney, within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005, committed a felony, to wit: abetting the giving of the sum of USD 132,000,000  to one Jeffrey Tessler (now at large) and Tri-Star Investment Limited for the purpose of gratification of public officials concerned with the award of the contract of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project in Nigeria and thereby committed an offence under  Section 84 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990 punishable under Section 118 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990;

• That you, Halliburton Inc., Halliburton Nigeria Limited, Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), Richard “Dick” Cheney, Albert “Jack” Stanley, William Utt, David Lesar, TSKJ Nigeria Limited and  TSKJ Consortium within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005 conspired with one Jeffery Tessler (now at large), AVM Abdullahi Dominic Bello, Tri-Star Investment Limited, Urban Shelter Limited, Intercellular Nigeria Limited, Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan  to commit a misdemeanor, to wit: Giving several sums of money in tranches totaling in the aggregate of $7,700,000 without consideration to one Ibrahim Aliyu,  (then a public officer, to wit: Chairman, Programme Implementation Committee of the Federal Government of Nigeria concerned with the proceeding or business of award of contract for Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project) through companies under his control to wit: Urban Shelter Limited and Intercellular Nigeria Limited and thereby committed an offence under  Section 96(1)(a) of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990 and punishable under Section 120 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja) 1990;

• That you, Halliburton Inc., Halliburton Nigeria Limited, Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), Richard “Dick” Cheney, Albert “Jack” Stanley, William Utt, David Lesar, TSKJ Nigeria Limited and  TSKJ Consortium within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005 together with Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan committed a misdemeanor, to wit: Giving several sums of money in tranches totaling in the aggregate of $7,700, 000 without consideration to one Ibrahim Aliyu,  (then a public officer, to wit: Chairman, Programme Implementation Committee of the Federal Government of Nigeria concerned with the proceeding or business of award of contract for Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project) through companies under his control to wit: Urban Shelter Limited and Intercellular Nigeria Limited and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 120 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990.

• That you, Richard “Dick” Cheney, within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005  committed a misdemeanor, to wit: Abetting the giving of several sums of money in tranches totaling in the aggregate of $7, 700, 000 without consideration to one Ibrahim Aliyu,  (then a public officer, to wit: Chairman, Programme Implementation Committee of the Federal Government of Nigeria concerned with the proceeding or business of award of contract for Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project) through companies under his control to wit: Urban Shelter Limited and Intercellular Nigeria Limited and thereby committed an offence under  Section 84 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990punishable under Section 120 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990;
• That you, Halliburton Inc., Halliburton Nigeria Limited, Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), Richard “Dick” Cheney, Albert “Jack” Stanley, William Utt, David Lesar, TSKJ Nigeria Limited and  TSKJ Consortium within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005 conspired with Ibrahim Aliyu, Urban Shelter Limited and Intercellular Nigeria Limited, one Jeffery Tessler (now at large), AVM Abdullahi Dominic Bello, Tri-Star Investment Limited, Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan  to commit a misdemeanor, to wit: Giving the sum of $7, 000, 000without consideration to one Mohammed Gidado Bakari, Sherwood Petroleum Limited, persons in whom Ibrahim Aliyu,  (then a public officer, to wit: Chairman, Programme Implementation Committee of the Federal Government of Nigeria concerned with the proceeding or business of award of contract for Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project) is interested in and thereby committed an offence under  Section 96(1)(a) of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja)1990 and punishable under Section 120 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja) 1990; and

• That you, Halliburton Inc., Halliburton Nigeria Limited, Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), Richard “Dick” Cheney, Albert “Jack” Stanley, William Utt, David Lesar, TSKJ Nigeria Limited and  TSKJ Consortium within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometimes between 1994 and 2005 together with Ibrahim Aliyu, Urban Shelter Limited and Intercellular Nigeria Limited, one Jeffery Tessler (now at large), Tri-Star Investment Limited, Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan committed a misdemeanor, to wit: giving the sum of $7, 000, 000 without consideration to one Mohammed Gidado Bakari, Sherwood Petroleum Limited, persons in whom Ibrahim Aliyu,  (then a public officer, to wit: Chairman, Programme Implementation Committee of the Federal Government of Nigeria concerned with the proceeding or business of award of contract for Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Project) is interested in and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 120 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja) 1990.

Source:ngrguardiannews.com

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