10 crushed, 12 injured in Onitsha trailer crash

Tragedy Monday struck in Onitsha at about 5.30 pm at the Nkpor Flyover bridge when a trailer with numbe  plate XA 879 AMO Imo State, lost control killing about ten people and injuring 12  others.
The trailer  was heading from Tazan junction, Nkpor, to Onitsha when it lost control and hit other vehicles, including a students bus and truck belonging to Consolidated Construction Company, CCC, handling the road project.

When Vanguard visited the scene of the accident at about 5.50pm, some dead victims were still being evacuated from the scene of the accident, while about 12 people who sustained various degree of injuries were rushed to nearby hospitals.

Some officials of Federal Road Safety Corps where seen controlling traffic for easy passage .

According to an eye witness, the accident would have been averted if the CCC construction company handling the road had not blocked one lane of the flyover road where no job was going on.

An eye witness said: “We have been appealing to them to open the other part of the flyover they closed since last year but the refused now you have seen how their continued closure of that part of the flyover has led to loss of innocent lives.

“The trailer driver lost control of his vehicle tried to avert the accident but the only lane that is functional was filled with vehicles and he rammed into them.

Both the Police, Army and men of Federal Road Safety Corps were seen directing affairs and making effort to remove the vehicles from the road to ease the already traffic jam caused by the accident.
SOURCE: VANGUARD

Gunmen kill eight in Borno

Eight people in Bornu State died in an attack by unknown gunmen
Gunmen on Sunday killed eight persons at Gajigana, a remote village in Magumeri Local Government Area of Borno.

Some residents of the area told newsmen in Maiduguri on Monday that the gunmen invaded the community in the early hours of the day to unleash the mayhem.

“About 20 gunmen invaded the village around 3 a.m. The invaders divided themselves into groups before assaulting the villagers in different directions.

“Eight persons were killed at the end of the attack,” Bulama Bukar, a resident said.

Mr. Bukar said that five other persons were also injured during the attack.

The spokesperson of the Joint Task Force, JTF, on Operation Restore Order, Sagir Musa, confirmed the report.

“Information revealed that lives were lost during the attack but the exact number is yet to be ascertained now.

“Further details will be communicated as events unfold,” Mr. Musa said.
SOURCE: PREMIUM TIMES

‘Why I Raped, Beheaded 20-Year-Old’

An expelled 500 level student of Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, Godwin Idoko who beheaded a 20 year old girl, Ramat Isah on New Year Day in Rafin Yashin, Bosso Niger State has told Minna Magistrate court that he beheaded the lady for refusing his request for sex after collecting his N2,500 as earlier bargained.

Idoko who was arraigned in accordance with section 221 of the penal code of culpable homicide stunned the court after the Police First Information Report(FIR) was read to him when he suddenly said he had a complain against the deceased.

  “I only stabbed her, I did not behead her. I paid her the sum of N2,500 to have sex with her. After collecting the money and I undressed myself and in the process of having sex, she grabbed and squeezed my manhood very hard. She also bite my hand to peel off my skin. Out of pain, I used a knife to stab her at the neck,” he declared.

The presiding Chief Magistrate Mohammed Gimba Gabi reminded the accused of the magnitude of the offence which carries death penalty when Idoko feigned ignorance and trivialised the offence.

According to the Chief Magistrate Court if the case as contained in the section of the penal code is established the court would not have the jurisdiction to try the  case but a High Court.

The police prosecutor, Inspector John Atumeyi said  that investigation into the matter had just commenced and since the offence carried death penalty  the accused should not be granted bail.

The Chief magistrate who adjoined the case till the 4th of March 2013 ordered that the accused person be remanded in prison custody as investigation into the case continues.
SOURCE: LEADERSHIP

Worsening Famine: North Korean parents 'eating their own children' after being driven mad by hunger

• Undercover reporters found a 'shocking' number of cannibalism incidents
• Up to 10,000 people feared dead after 'hidden famine' in farming provinces
• Drought and confiscated food contribute to desperate shortage, reports say
• Reports of men digging up corpses for food and murdering children

A starving man in North Korea has been executed after murdering his two children for food, reports from inside the secretive state claim. 

A 'hidden famine' in the farming provinces of North and South Hwanghae is believed to have killed up to 10,000 people and there are fears that incidents of cannibalism have risen. 

The grim story is just one to emerge as residents battle starvation after a drought hit farms and shortages were compounded by party officials confiscating food. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has spent vast sums of money on two rocket launches despite reports of desperate food shortages in the country and concerns that 10,000 people have died in a famine

Undercover reporters from Asia Press told the Sunday Times that one man dug up his grandchild's corpse and ate it. Another, boiled his own child for food.

Despite reports of the widespread famine, Kim Jong Un, 30, has spent vast sums of money on two rocket launches in recent months. 


There are fears he is planning a nuclear test in protest at a UN Security Council punishment for the recent rocket launches and to counter what it sees as US hostility.
One informant was quoted as saying: 'In my village in May a man who killed his own two children and tried to eat them was executed by a firing squad.'

Farming communities, such as these pictured outside the capital Pyongyang last year, have been desperately hit by drought which has led to reports of people turning to cannibalism in a bid to ward off starvation 

One official said the fields are in such a bad state from drought that he had to avert his eyes

The informant said the father killed his eldest daughter while his wife was away on business and then killed his son because he had witnessed the murder. 

When his wife returned the man told her they had 'meat' but she became suspicious and contacted officials who discovered part of the children's bodies.

Jiro Ishimaru, from Asia Press, which compiled a 12 page report, said: 'Particularly shocking were the numerous testimonies that hit us about cannibalism.'

Undercover reporters said food was confiscated from the two provinces and given to the residents of the capital Pyongyang. 

A drought then left food supplies desperately short.

Cannibalism has also been reported in the vast network of prison camps inside North Korea, such as Camp 22, pictured, where 50,000 are believed to be imprisoned

The Sunday Times also quoted an official of the ruling Korean Worker's party as saying: 'In a village in Chongdan county, a man who went mad with hunger boiled his own child, ate his flesh and was arrested.

United Nations officials visited the area during a state-sponsored trip but local reporters said it is unlikely they were shown the famine-hit areas.

It has not the first time that reports of cannibalism have come out of the country.
In May last year, the South Korean state-run Korean Institute for National Unification said that one man was executed after eating part of a colleague and then trying to sell the remains as mutton. 

One man killed and ate a girl and a third report of cannibalism was recorded from 2011.
Another man was executed in May after murdering 11 people and selling the bodies as pork. 

There were also reports of cannibalism in the country's network of prison camps.
North Korea was hit by a terrible famine in the 1990s - known as the Arduous March - which killed between 240,000 and 3.5million people. 

Kim Jong-Un (third left) prompted fears of a nuclear test after meeting security and foreign affairs officials

 

SOURCE: Daily Mail

AFCON 2013: “Don’t embarrass us,” NFF tells Eagles

The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) says the Super Eagles must not embarrass the country by failing to qualify for the quarter-finals of the on-going African Nations Cup.

 

Keshi’s side have two points and are second in Group C which includes leaders Burkina Faso who have four, defending champions Zambia who also have two and the underdogs Ethiopia who have only one.

All four nations have a chance to progress to the quarter-finals and as a result, victory a must.

 

Nigeria led 1-0 in their matches against Burkina Faso and Zambia but late goals denied them victory and this has worried the NFF, whose member Ahmed Muazu Kawu told South Africa’s The Guardian, “Nobody is happy that we are not winning our matches but if you look at the circumstances that surrounded our games, we will still not condemn our players.

 

“If we fail to qualify to the quarter-final stage of the competition, it will be a disappointment to all of us here (in South Africa) and the people back home.

 

“We are happy with the way the boys have been playing so far. We could all see that there was an improvement in their game against Zambia as compared to what they did against Burkina Faso on Monday.

“It will be a shame to the whole country if we fail to pick a quarter final tickets. If our players do what is expected of them we will make it to the final.”

 

Nigeria’s players criticised the state of the Mbombela Stadium turf where they drew their two matches, but will now face Ethiopia at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, while Zambia face Burkina Faso at the Mbombela. Kick-off is at 6 pm, Nigerian time for both games on Tuesday night.

SOURCE: Ynaija.com

El-Rufai apologise for blasphemous retweet on Jesus

El-Rufai

The former minister of the federal capital territory and a chieftain of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has written a long essay apologising for his blasphemous retweet on Jesus Christ.

The tweet reads: ““@zebbook If Jesus criticizes Jonathan's govt, Maku/Abati/Okupe will say he slept with Mary Madgalene.”....LWKMD.....”

Here him below:

Hello Friends. I have been travelling and try to catch some sleep in between the last 24 hours and missed all the furore arising from my retweet of Ogunyemi Bukola's (@zeebook) joke Maku eat al and Jesus. I must say I am taken aback by the extent of desperate misrepresentation of what was an innocuous attempt to show the godlessness of the Jonathanians to denigrate anyone that dares to ask them to be accountable.

To those who were genuinely offended by the retweet, I apologize. I did not meant to offend anyone, neither did the @zeebook I know and featured as one of the Young Voices in my Friday Column. Jesus or Isa Alaihis Salaam is a respected prophet of Islam. Every Muslim accepts this in addition to his miraculous virgin birth. It is therefore absurd for any Muslim believer to disrespect Jesus Christ.

I hope those in this class will see my point of view and accept my apologies for any offense or disappointment caused. And I advise everyone to read @zeebook's timeline and mine to read EXACTLY what was tweeted rather than the second-hand reports of certain people who ALWAYS twist whatever I write or not write to achieve their morally-repugnant objectives.

To those in that class of liar - the political contractors who tried to attribute the entire statement to me to destroy perceived political capital, I say keep on doing that till the day your cups will be full. Everything these days is reduced to posturing for 2015,but those doing it do not even know which one of us will be alive to witness the events of that time. I leave all those to God and their conscience.

To the Warriors of God, who misinterpret the Scriptures (both Bilble and Qur'an) and pretend to be capable of fighting His battles, please learn from history. The multiple Crusades and Jihads are yet to convert the entire human race into one religion. If God wished us all to be of one religion, He would have made us so. So please leave God's work to Him, and just be good to other humans.

I thank all my friends who stood up for me in this saga. They know me better than what the desperate Jonathanians want to paint as El-Rufai. An those that wish to know me a little batter should please read my forthcoming book. Thanks and God Bless.

After 50 years in govt Mwai Kibaki of Kenya Steps Aside

President Kibaki

As Kenyans get set to decide those who governs it in a general election schedule for March 4, 2013, President Mwai Kibaki  has said he would not be part of the forth coming presidential election in Kenya, as sign of allowing the younger generation of leaders take over governance of the country.

Kibaki gave this hint yesterday in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, at the ongoing African Union (AU) Summit.

He said: "For the first time in 50 years, my name will not be on the ballot."

The general elections will avail the Kenya citizens the opportunity of electing the president, senators, county governors, members of parliament, civic wards and women county representatives. They will be the first elections held under the new constitution, which was passed during the 2010 referendum. They will also be the first general elections run by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Over 11,000 local, international observers accredited

An official says Kenya's March elections will be closely monitored by the international community and local groups to help identify potential problems that may lead to tensions in the electoral process.

Five years ago a flawed presidential vote sparked off protests and ethnic fighting that killed more than 1,000 people and drove 600,000 others from their homes.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said Monday more than 1,014 international observers and more than 10,000 local observers have been accredited, and more applications for observers were still being processed. Tabitha Mutemi, the commission's communication director says the observers will enhance the transparency of the vote.

The European Union and the U.S. are among the nations that announced that they will send observers to monitor the elections.

Additional report by AP