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SaharaReporters has learned that Senate President Bukola Saraki blackmailed officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to hand him N250 million as “hush” funds after the senator had found out that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan had illicitly approved N60 billion for the former National Security Advisor (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, to purchase “arms.” A source, who is a senior CBN official, disclosed that bank officials paid the sum to Mr. Saraki, who was not the Senate President at the time, to ensure that he and other senators kept silent about the irregular withdrawals by the NSA and the Jonathan administration.  Our source also revealed that some officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria had quietly resisted several attempts by officials of the Jonathan administration to carry out large-scale theft of funds from the national treasury in the name of fighting Islamist insurgent group, Boko Haram insurgents. A CBN whistleblower made available to our corresponde...

Following the confirmation of Yahaya Bello(Fairplus) as replacement for late Prince Abubakar Audu as the Kogi APC guber candidate, Audu's running mate Hon. Abiodun Faleke has dragged the All Progressives Congress(APC). Faleke made this known via his Twitter account earlier: "APC maintained their stance in substituting my late principal with Yahaya Bello but I've made it clear to them that I will not be part of it.Since the party has said they will not change their stance, I have decided to protect the mandate given to Audu/Faleke in court.I will not be participating in the supplementary election because am already the governor elect. Therefore the party can't pair me with Bello. Am not alone in this decision, it's a collective stance between myself, Muhammed Audu & the entire Audu/Faleke Team." In a related development, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has received the request by APC to replace the late Abubakar Audu’s name with that of Yah...

By Dele Momodu Your Excellency, it’s been months since I wrote my desperate memo to you. I wish to thank you once more for reacting promptly and swiftly at that time and for giving me the honour and privilege of meeting you in your office. I remember presenting you a special compilation of my articles, especially the many admonitions to your immediate predecessor, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. After handing over the book to you, Sir, I promised to continue acting in my self-appointed capacity as Special Adviser because of the need to tell you what those very close to you might not be able to say. They might be afraid of you and your reaction. The truth is you are a plain and simple man imbued with a mission and a passion to save this great country but you cannot do it on your own. You can only do it if people close to you, who should be advising you, tell you as it is so that you can do that which you were elected to do. Sir, it is on the above basis that I’m back ...

A Canadian broadcaster, David Smith, has established a radio station focused at combating Boko Haram insurgency and its ideology . The channel, Dandal Kura, will air on shortwave from Nigeria to discourage people from violence. Dandal Kura, Kanuri words for meeting point, targets mainly the Kanuri and Hausa-speaking communities of Nigeria where Boko Haram has conducted a brutal insurgency since 2009. Mr. Smith, a veteran crisis and conflict news reporter, distinguished himself by setting up radio stations in crisis areas to preach the gospel of peaceful coexistence in war-torn areas. He cut his journalism teeth during the Apartheid in South Africa in 1985, and despite being of Canadian descent, worked for the ANC-owned radio station, Capital Radio, against the P.W. Botha-led National Party. Mr. Smith describes Apartheid as “terrorism”. He set up the first UN-supported conflict-zone radio in the Balkan region in the 90s during the war in Yugoslavia, and later establishe...

Eleven All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers in Kogi state have endorsed Mohammed Audu, son of the late Abubabar Audu, threatening to oust any other governor who emerges other than their choice. Maman Rabiu, a member of the Kogi state house of assembly, who spoke on behalf of the APC lawmakers, said the younger Audu has the clout of his father and is capable to lead the state. “We present to the national leadership, Prince Mohammed Audu to replace his late father. It is not because he is the first son, but try him, he is very intelligent and equal to the task. With him, we will have the Kogi of our dream,” he said. “It is not a threat, but we told them that we have no intention of washing our dirty linen in public. Removing somebody is just a two minutes job for us as lawmakers in the state. “We are the legislators and have told the national chairman our position that in any case anybody is smuggled in contrary to what we present to them, we know the best...

Despite claims that his administration has recovered stolen money from previous government officials, President Muhammadu Buhari, it was disclosed, is yet to give details of the recovery to the Federal Ministry of Finance. Addressing journalists in Abuja at the end of the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting in Abuja on Friday, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, when asked how much had been recovered from those who looted the treasury, said President Buhari was yet to provide the ministry with details of how much had been recovered but the recovery process was ongoing. The minister did not say if the recovery had been lodged into the federation account to be shared by the three tiers of government or was still domiciled in a separate government account pending further directive from the president. The recovered money became an issue at the October 2015 FAAC briefing when the finance minister stated that funds available for disbursement at the end o...

Government of Nigeria is trying to eliminate corruption by what they pictured to the whole world but invariably they also Aid CORRUPTION. I want the president to take please take time and go through my analysis. To me yes am am against the #5ooo unemployed youth, With reasons. Why must we pay them every month? Will that contribute to economy or growth of this nation? When all the youth are not ready to work, all they just want is quick and easy money 💵 without suffering. Please I huge the Federal government to establish firm and employ them there. I know many will say is it easy to establish firms, to me yes when their is required found. Let's take the agriculture sector for a case study. We want to stop rice 🌾 importation right?  Then let the Government invest in rice production and employ the so call you. We are not totally against this because that's part of (social welfare)  But it should only be given to those in abject poverty not the ab...

Explosion rocked a mosque at Yartabki village near the headquarters of Funtua local government in Katsina state, on Tuesday. Aminu Sadiq, the police public relations officer in the state, confirmed the incident to NAN, but said no one was injured, and that “severe damage” was not done to the mosque. He said a suspect had been arrested, disclosing that two mobile cell phones and remnants of the explosives were also recovered. Sadiq added that the recovered items were being ascertained by experts.  The worshippers, who were reportedly scared after spotting a black polythene bag inside the mosque, informed the police, but the explosives detonated before the arrival of the security team. According to NAN, the paint on the wall and carpets of the mosque got burnt.  Though the police have not revealed the identity of the attackers, Boko Haram insurgents are the prime suspects. Katsina, the state of President Muhammadu Buhari, is one of the few northern states, where th...

A group by the name, Kogi United Forum has called on the Inspector General of Police to commence immediate investigation into what it described as the suspected assassination of Prince Abubakar Audu a former governor of Kogi State and gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 21, gubernatorial election in Kogi State. The group in a statement signed by its National President, Tunde Aina is accusing the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of allegedly masterminding the assassination of the late Audu. Audu, it was gathered started vomiting blood shortly after casting his vote on Saturday and sharing a meal with the APC National Leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lokoja. Audu eventually passed on at about 6 am on Saturday morning while election results were being collated. Efforts by his family members to make the news public was truncated as Tinubu advised against it on the premise that it could work against the APC, should his death be ...

A mild-drama ensue on Wednesday at Wuse Zone 2 Magistrates’ Court as two lawyers, Gabriel Egbule and Vincent Obetta, battle over who would represent ,Nnamdi Kanu, the Director of Radio Biafra.     Kanu is standing trial on a three-count charge of criminal conspiracy, intimidation and belonging to unlawful society which he pleaded not guilty.     At the resumed hearing of the case, Egbule who represented the accused when he was arraigned announced appearance for Kanu.     But Obetta, an Enugu-based legal practitioner, also announced appearance on behalf of the accused.     The double appearance resulted in serious argument.     Egbule tendered a letter from Kanu’s wife to represent him in court, but Obetta told the court that he received a consent letter from kanu’s father and the indigenous people of Biafra to represent Kanu.     Obetta also said that it was as a result of h...

The immediate past National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd) has given his side of the story on the arms procurement saga which has pitted him against the incumbent federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari. In a statement on Wednesday, Dasuki insisted he was never invited to appear before an Investigative Panel on the Procurement of hardware and munitions in the armed forces. The full statement reads: “In a theatrical manner, the Presidency fed the public with many allegations against my person and yet to be named former public officers. “To draw sympathy, the presidency quoted some absurd findings including extra-budgetary interventions; award of fictitious contracts; 53 failed contracts; payment for jobs without contractual agreements; non-execution of contracts for the purchase of 4 Alpha jets, bombs and ammunition. “For undiscerning Nigerians, they may tend to assume that the allegations were true and pronounce the former National Securi...

Oluremi Tinubu, senator representing Lagos central and wife of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), raised a storm at the senate on Wednesday when she sat on the chair meant for Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president. Tinubu, who wanted to second a motion on the approval of the Lagos state development policy operation loan, earned the rebuke of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators, when she stood up to speak while standing in the deputy senate president’s corner. The lawmaker bowed to the pressure of the PDP senators and left for her seat to second the motion. However, she came back to Ekweremadu’s seat, who was not present at plenary, after she had seconded the motion. She sat giddily in the deputy senate president’s seat, intermittently conversing with Aliyu Ndume, senate leader. After a brief debate on the report of the adhoc committee on local and foreign debts on a $200m loan sought by the Lagos state from the World Bank,...

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote and three other directors resigned from the board of Dangote Flour Mills on Monday as majority owner Tiger Brands cut funding support to its struggling Nigerian division. South Africa’s Tiger Brands said it was “currently exploring various alternatives with regard to its investment in Dangote Flour Mills, which also announced a change of name to Tiger Branded Consumer Goods Plc Aliko Dangote holds 10 percent of the company’s equity in through Dangote Industries. Reuters reported that other directors that resigned from Dangote Flour are – Olakunle Alake, Asue Ighodalo and Arnold Ekpe. Cc: lalasticlala, seun

A man was fatally shot and a woman was critically injured in a parked car in south Minneapolis early Monday. Minneapolis police officers heard the shots from about a block away as they were on routine patrol just before 2 a.m., according to police spokesman John Elder. When police arrived at the middle of the 2800 block of 15th Avenue S., they found a parked car in which the man was dead and the woman was wounded. She was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center and was in critical condition. The identities of the victims have not yet been released. The shooter had fled by the time officers arrived and no arrest has been made, Elder said. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call 1-800-222-8477 or text an anonymous tip to CRIMES (274637) and begin the message with: TIP674. STAFF REPORT

PARIS — France fell silent Monday to remember 129 people killed by Islamic State militants as police failed to corner a key escaped accomplice and officials named the alleged Syrian-based mastermind of the attacks, who remained beyond their grasp. President Francois Hollande led his stunned, jittery nation in one minute's silence at the University of Sorbonne, while thousands more clasped hands outside some of the bullet-riddled nightspots where extremists struck Friday night during a half-dozen attacks that also wounded 350. Only hours before, Parisians had fled in panic, trampling through memorial candles and messages to the dead, after hearing apparent gunshots that turned out to be fireworks. But city authorities vowed amid a state of emergency to resume normal life. Children went to school and the Eiffel Tower reopening to tourists after a two-day shutdown. The tower was being floodlit at night in the red, white and blue of the French tricolor along with a projection of Pa...

Ado-Ekiti- The 156 years old Riemann Hypothesis, the most important problem in Mathematics has been successfully solved by Nigeria Scholar, Dr Opeyemi Enoch. With this breakthrough, Dr Enoch, who teaches at the Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), has become the fourth egghead to resolve one of the seven Millennium Problems in Mathematics. The Kogi State-born mathematician had, before now, worked on mathematical models and structures for generating electricity from sound, thunder and Oceanic bodies. A statement in Ado Ekiti yesterday said Dr Enoch presentation of the Proof on November 11, 2015 during the International Conference on Mathematics and Computer Science in Vienna, Austria becomes more symbolic coming on the exact day and month 156 years after the problem was delivered by a German Mathematician in 1859. The Riemann Zeta Hypothesis is one of the seven Millennium problems set forth by the Clay Mathematics Institute with a million Dollar reward for each solved problem for ...

The United Nations has reported that the Boko Haram sect spends as high as N2 billion to carry out terrorists attacks just as the Senegalese authorities have arrested two suspected Boko Haram female members with 500 million CFA (about N164 million) cash.     Deputy Director of Assessment and Technical Assistance for the UN Counter-terrorism Committee, Hassan Baage, told a gathering of West African Security experts in Dakar, Senegal, that the extremist sect’s annual budget was believed to be up to $10 million.     The Associated Press (AP) which covered the Dakar event quoted the UN official as calling for closer scrutiny of the financing of extremist groups, including Boko Haram.     “We must detect the flow of money that finances their activities and measures must be implemented to freeze the funds. According to reports that we’ve consulted, the budget of Boko Haram is around $10 million per year,” Baage said. ...

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has reacted to the recent comments made by former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, over the alleged disappearance of $20 billion under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. Diezani, in a recent interview, insinuated that the Emir of Kano may have made the allegation against her, over the presidency’s frustration of his attempt to head the African Development Bank. The former minister had said: “If there is one issue I must pursue in this world, it is the biggest lie of this money. How can $20 billion disappear just like that? Where did it disappear to? Is it possible that such an amount would not be traceable? This is more painful coming from someone I considered a good friend who should appreciate the gravity of such an allegation. I challenge anyone to come forward with facts showing that I stole government or public money. I’ve never stolen Nigeria’s money. In response to the interview published on Dele Momod...

Before the Berlin Conference of 1884/1885 that demarcated Africa among the then Colonial Powers and subsequent Colonisation of what is today known as Nigeria with the hoisting of Union Jack on January 1st, 1900, the ancient Ekukunela Community in Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State, exist. It would be recalled that the British came, first as missionaries, introducing Christianity to replace the people’s traditional way of worshipping their God through the African Traditional Religion (ATR) and then colonised the people. At that time, there was no specific date set aside for the people to worship their gods as Christianity has Sunday as its day of worshiping the Most High God through Jesus Christ. Christianity as a Colonial Legacy clashes with the Ekukunela community tradition on market days which sells on Sundays, a worship day for Christian religion. The only market in Ekukunela community holds on Sundays and the locals are faced with the challenge and choice of ei...

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets running back Zac Stacy is out for the game after being carted off the field at halftime against the Buffalo Bills because of an injured left ankle. "" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;"> Stacy returned a kickoff 9 yards as time expired in the first half Thursday night and was tackled by Jonathan Meeks. As the teams jogged off the field to head to their locker rooms, Stacy remained down and clutching at his left leg. Team doctors ran onto the field to attend to Stacy and worked on his left ankle for a few minutes before helping him onto a cart and into the locker room. Stacy was returning the kickoff after Devin Smith fumbled one earlier in the quarter that Duke Williams returned 19 yards for a touchdown for the Bills. Bills defensive end Mario Williams was questionable to return with an illness. He hadn't played since early in the game.

The Nigerian Navy on Wednesday arrested a 26-man gang, including eight foreigners suspected to be terrorising residents of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. Commander of the Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder, Port Harcourt, Commodore Sanusi Ibrahim, said members of the gang were apprehended when navy operatives stormed their hideouts in some parts of the state capital. Ibrahim explained that while eight of the suspects were immigrants from Niger Republic, 18 others claimed they were Nigerians. He stated that security operatives were able to storm the criminal hideouts after the Navy received intelligence report about the continued harassment and intimidation of some Port Harcourt residents. The NNS Pathfinder commander pointed out that apart from the harassment of innocent citizens, the suspects were also arrested for their alleged involvement in armed robbery and drug peddling. Ibrahim said, “Troops of NNS Pathfinder raided a ‘Mami market’ around Borokiri area...

AHEAD of Wednesday’s (today) inauguration of 36 ministers-designate, there were indications on Tuesday that President Muhammadu Buhari, had reduced the number of federal ministries to 25 from about 29. Under the new dispensation, the ministries of police affairs, aviation and special duties appear to have been scrapped while ministries of Lands, Housing, Urban Development and Works have been merged to become Ministry of Works and Housing. Also, the information, culture, national orientation and tourism ministries have been collapsed into one Ministry of Information and Culture. Also, the Ministries of Sports as well as Youth Development have also been merged to form Ministry of Sports and Youth Development. The Ministry of Aviation is now under the Ministry of Transportation, among other mergers. The development came even as the President on Tuesday retired 17 permanent secretaries and announced the appointment of 18 new ones. In fact, indication that the President had settle...

The US and other world powers have done a nuclear deal with Iran. So why are Iranians scrawling "Down with USA" on their hands - and their children's too - and posting it on Instagram? Video Journalist: Alex Dackevych Correction: An earlier version of the story referred to the people writing "Death to America" on their hands. In fact, a range of other anti-American statements appear on people's hands.

How old are young girls when they are "first harassed" by men? Women in Brazil are reflecting on their own childhood experiences - and sharing these stories on the internet in big numbers. It began with a sordid episode on Twitter as the nation watched the junior version of Masterchef, the globally popular TV cooking competition. One of the contestants on the programme was 12-year-old Valentina Shulz and during one episode, several men started tweeting suggestive messages about her online using the show's hashtag. "Does anyone know the Twitter of Valentina? She will date me if she wants it or not," wrote one user. "If she wants it, it's not paedophilia, IT'S LOVE," said another. These disturbing messages were noticed by Juliana de Faria, a journalist and part of the feminist group Think Olga. She started tweeting about the times she was harassed as a minor. Soon, others shared their stories too and Faria started a hashtag - "primeiroass...

Women around the world have been sharing their stories of "first harassment" - after BBC Trending reported on a conversation started by women in Brazil. On Monday, BBC Trending posted about how a series of suggestive messages were written on Twitter about a 12-year-old Masterchef contestant in Brazil. As we reported, the"primeiroassedio" hashtag - which translates as "first harassment" - was used over 90,000 times following the programme, as women and girls shared the stories of their first encounter with public sexual harassment. When we posted this story on the BBC News Facebook page, it got a strong reaction - with over 1,000 "likes" and many women from around the world chosing to share their own experiences. One woman from Britain told her own story. "We lived opposite and to the side of two steel fabrication companies," she wrote, "and I was wolf-whistled at every day when I came home for lunch from the age of 10 through to...

Put your faith in God, we’re often told. Then you’ll get chocolate, we’re told not quite so often. That’s what a congregation in South Africa did, when a preacher ordered them to eat a live snake – and promised that it would become chocolate in their mouths. In a series of pictures posted on social media, the congregation can be seen performing the stunt at South Africa’s End Times Disciples Ministries in Pretoria, after pastor Prophet Penuel gave the bizarre request. And it worked, according to the not at all questionable accounts of the congregation. ‘I did as I was commanded and tasted the chocolate. It was different but tasted good’, one said. Another added: ‘I was not sure at first but when I bit the snake I realised it was the best chocolate I have ever eaten’. Prophet Penuel has form for his belief in divine transformation – having previously encouraged his worshippers to drink petrol, which he claimed would...