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Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and now Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi allegedly paid over N40 billion to embattled former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki during his tenure as governor of the apex bank. The payments were made as ‘donations’ to assist the military in the fight against Boko Haram, sources familiar with the matter have revealed. It is however unclear whether the funds were utilized to acquire hardware for the military by the former NSA. This is what investigators at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are trying to figure out, THEWILL gathered. A source familiar with the development further told THEWILL that one of the ‘donations’ involved N20 billion in cash paid out a few weeks before Sanusi was ousted from office. EFCC sources say investigators are uncertain over how to question the Emir over the payments as investigations into how billions were filtered away by the former NSA under the guise of purchasing arms for the military c

Nigeria Army brutally killed my brothers in front of my father - says Muhammad Zakzaky December 21, 2015 - 6:48 PM Muhammad Ibraheem, the only surviving son of the the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky has said that the army killed three of his siblings during last week’s onslaught at their residence in Zaria. A hlul Bayt N ews Agency - Muhammad Ibraheem, the only surviving son of the the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky has said that the army killed three of his siblings during last week’s onslaught at their residence in Zaria. Ibraheem said that his three brothers namely, Hammad, 17, Ali 15 and Humaid, 13- were all shot dead in front of their father during the raid by the military last week Sunday. His revelation came as the Islamic Movement in Nigeria yesterday said that it’s members would continue with its peaceful protests over the killing of its members by soldiers during a recent carn

There are indications that the Nigerian anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, may offer a plea bargain to suspects in the ongoing arms procurement scam trial. Saturday PUNCH learnt on Friday that if the EFCC succeeded in establishing that the suspects were guilty, it would not oppose a plea bargaining from them. According to the Black’s Law Dictionary, 9th Edition (2009), plea bargaining, is “ a negotiated agreement between a prosecutor and a criminal defendant whereby the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser offence or to one of multiple charges in exchange for some concession by the prosecutor usually, a more lenient sentence or a dismissal of the other charges.’’ The EFCC had in 2005 used plea bargaining in the trial of the former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, and later in the case of a former Bayelsa State Governor, the late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, as well as high profile banking fraud cases. A top source in the EFCC, confided in Saturda

An emergency meeting of the governors of the 19 Northern states, under the aegis of Northern States Governors’ Forum, has commenced in Kaduna. The governors called the emergency meeting to discuss recent events in the region, with special emphasis on the clash between soldiers and Shiite members in Zaria, Kaduna State, last Saturday. No fewer than 60 persons reportedly died in the bloody clash.

Google has released its annual list of the most searched items in the Nigeria for the year 2015. Most searched items in Nigeria 2015: Muna Obiekwe The xenophobic attacks in South Africa, where non-South Africans were attacked was the most searched event in Nigeria for the year, with the 2015 federal and state elections right behind it. The arrest of Biafra agitator, Nnamdi Kanu, was 3rd on the list. Most Searched Event Queries in Nigeria 1. Xenophobia in South Africa 2. Elections 3. Nnamdi Kanu Arrest 4. Under 17 World Cup 5. Charlie Hebdo Attack 6. Mayweather Vs Pacquiao 7. Muna Obiekwe Dead 8. Ooni of Ife Dead 9. Lara Fortes and Oshiomhole Wedding 10. Diezani Alison Madueke Arrest Late Nollywood actor, Muna Obiekwe, who died from kidney complications early in the year, was named most searched person, with the winner of the 2015 Presidential Elections, President Muhammad Buhariin second. A collapse at a brothel and a subsequent miraculous road to recovery put former NB

Black cumin seed oil inhibits cancer cell activity and can even kill some types of cancer cells. Scientific research has shown that black seed oil (Nigella sativa) is an effective treatment for cancer in animal studies, and can be as effective as anti-cancer drugs for some types of cancer. Black cumin seed oil and its extract thymoquinone have powerful benefits for various inflammatory diseases including liver cancer, melanoma skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, bone cancer, stomach cancer, lymphoma, prostate cancer, colon cancer, and brain cancer. [1] a_nigella Despite several decades of very positive research on using black seed oil against cancer, researchers have rarely advanced their work into human clinical testing, even though the benefits are strong and the risks of negative side effects are extremely small. As you will learn from the research findings that I will discuss, the use of black seed oil for cancer prevention and treatment has proven to

The Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has dismissed an appeal instituted by former governor of the state, Rashidi Ladoja, challenging the election of Governor Abiola Ajimobi in the last governorship election. While giving its ruling, the five man panel, which was made up of the chairman, Justice Ogunjimiju, Haruna Tsammani, Uchechukwu Oyemenam, Olubunmi Oyewole and M.C. Shuaibu, upheld the earlier ruling of the Election Petition Tribunal, which was delivered by its chairman, Justice Aliu Mayaki on October 27. The Tribunal had earlier thrown out Ladoja’s petition on the ground that principal witness, Bimbo Adepeju, who inspected election materials, was not qualified to do so and held that his evidence was not reliable. The Chairman of the Appeal Court Panel, Justice Ogunjimiju, said the Tribunal was right in its submission, reaffirming that Adepoju was indeed not qualified to play the role that was assigned to him. The Court said “apart from the earlier stated factors, M

The Chief of Army  Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, on Saturday, escaped assassination attempt, as members of the Muslim sect, Shiites allegedly attacked his convoy in Zaria, Kaduna State. Seven persons reportedly lost their lives in the clash between soldiers attached to Buratai’s convoy and the Shiite Muslim sect. The Nigerian Army also confirmed the incident through its twitter account

Ahmed Merabat was the first of the 12 innocents killed in Wednesday's targeted attack on the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo. The 42-year-old French Muslim policeman was executed on the sidewalk of Paris' 11th borough - the enclave where Charlie Hebdo's headquarters is located. Merabat was shot, point-blank, by one of the three assassins, minutes before they broke into Charlie Hebdo's offices, and slaughtered the magazine's top editor and celebrated cartoonists.   The coverage of the "Paris shootings" centred almost exclusively on Stephane Charbonnier, Georges Wolinski, Jean Cabut and Bernard Verlhac - the prominent and unyieldingly provocative minds behind Charlie Hebdo.   The first victim, Ahmed Merabat, was purged from the headlines. The political and representational ramifications that come with highlighting Merabat's victimhood cannot be ignored. First, it complicates the broader narrative that rigidly caricatures Muslims as ter

How not to cover breaking news As televised news events go, it had a touch of the surreal about it. Two days after the San Bernardino mass shooting, scores of reporters stormed into the home of Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, two of the crime's main suspects, broadcasting live while rummaging through their personal effects. Airing images of family members and releasing sensitive material that only a few hours earlier had been part of an FBI investigation, the coverage brought the journalistic ethics of a number of news organisations into question. Hashtags like #Thisisntjournalism were trending while reporters were still in the house, live on air. The ensuing media coverage, which combines two big issues in the US right now - the so-called war on terror and gun control - prompted Republican presidential contender, Donald Trump, to call for a blanket ban on Muslims entering the US, while several media outlets went into a frenzy focusing on the suspects' religious belief

The Lagos State Government has shut down no fewer than 53 churches, mosques and hotels across the state over noise pollution and other environmental offences. Some of the sealed worship centres were accused of converting residential apartments to places of worship, which according to the government has been constituting nuisance to other residents. The General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA, Adebola Shabi, after the exercise, said the agency had been inundated with complaints from residents and neighbours of the shut facilities. He said, “In recent times, most of the petitions kept coming to us. It was as if we are not working at all. That was why we shut the facilities.” Shabi explained that some of the affected facilities had been served abatement notices before the eventual closure, adding that the growing rate of establishment of worship centres called for serious regulations, especially in the areas of noise generated acr

Some teachers at Anglican High School and Adenle Middle School in Osogbo narrowly escaped being shot when some cultists invaded the school compound and chased out teachers. The school which houses  student population of about 7,000 is made up of Anglican High School 1-5 and some students of Adenle Middle School. Our correspondent gathered on Thursday that the crisis was caused by some students who knew they could not pass  the qualifying examination the state wanted to conduct to select those whose WAEC  fee would be paid by the state government. But some said the crisis started  last Friday when a student identified as Toib and his colleagues stormed the school premises with dane guns to attack a member of Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme ( O’ YES cadet) who they had issues with. A teacher told our correspondent that Toib and his gang chased a female Home Economics teacher out of the class when the trouble started. The invasion of the school  forced other students a

        The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has summoned a former militant leader in the Niger Delta, Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo over allegation of fraud relating to the land acquired for the establishment of Maritime University in Okerenkoko of Delta State. EFCC’s letter of invitation asked Ekpemupolo to appear at the Lagos office of the anti-graft agency on December 17. The letter dated December 9, 2015, was signed by Head of Operation of the Lagos office of the commission, Mr. Iliyasu Kwarbai. The letter with reference number, CR:3000/EFCC/lS/CTGI/TF/STF/ VOl.8/174 was titled, ‘Investigation Activities: Letter of Invitation’. It read in part, “We refer to our letter no.CR:3000/EFCC/CTGI/TF/STF/ VOL./472 dated 18th November, 2015 which was acknowledged in your house, but did not report. “In view of the above,you are reminded to kindly report for the interview as rescheduled below: “Venue:EFCC Training Room,No.15A,Awolowo Road,Ikoyi, Lagos.

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to caution security operatives in the country against human rights abuse. Soyinka said this on Wednesday during the 10th  anniversary of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting held in Lagos. This was contained in a statement issued by the coordinator of the WSCIJ, Motunrayo Alaka, on Thursday. The statement read, “Soyinka’s lament came on the heels of recurring cases and pictorial evidences of  regular unleashing of terror on mostly unarmed and helpless Nigerians by the men in uniform whose constitutional role is to protect the people. “The Nobel Laureate emphasised that having come out of a difficult 29 years of military rule, Nigerians must be allowed to enjoy the freedom that democracy promises. He also raised other concerns including issues of contempt of court and unauthorised detention.” At the award ceremony, two honorary prizes, the lifetime award for journalisti

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Rivers State branch, has said it will continue to sell fuel above government-approved pump prices unless the depots comply with the same directive. IPMAN made this vow on Thursday at the annual meeting of the Department of Petroleum Resources, depot owners and other stakeholders in the oil sector. Premum motor spirit also known as petrol had been scarce in the country, leading to a hike in price from the official price of N87 to between N120 to N180 per litre. But IPMAN Chairman, Mr. Sunny Nkpe, warned that the union would not be able to enforce N87 per litre of petrol on its members. Nkpe blamed depots owners for the violation of the directive that fuel should be sold at official prices. He argued that there was no way retailers would buy product at a high rate from the depots and dispense to the users below the cost price. Explaining that the marketers were ready to serve the public with integrity and respect if depo

One of my obsessions in American politics is the way the nature of partisanship is changing — the way it's getting harder, more extreme, and more personal. The transformation is easy to miss because, superficially, we had Democrats and Republicans 60 years ago, and we have Democrats and Republicans today, and haven't they always argued? But here's a sentence that shows just how much has changed over the past half-century: "Pure independents were more stable in their party support across 2000–04 than strong partisans were across 1972–76 and about as stable as strong partisans across 1956–60." The observation comes from political scientist Corwin Smidt, and it's worth dwelling on for a moment. It means that voters who told pollsters they were "strong" partisans in the '50s were about as likely to vote for the other party as "independent" voters are today. That sounds ridiculous. But as Smidt writes, it actually makes perfect sense. Wh

One of my obsessions in American politics is the way the nature of partisanship is changing — the way it's getting harder, more extreme, and more personal. The transformation is easy to miss because, superficially, we had Democrats and Republicans 60 years ago, and we have Democrats and Republicans today, and haven't they always argued?

One of my obsessions in American politics is the way the nature of partisanship is changing — the way it's getting harder, more extreme, and more personal. The transformation is easy to miss because, superficially, we had Democrats and Republicans 60 years ago, and we have Democrats and Republicans today, and haven't they always argued?

Dokpesi Pleads Not Guilty To 6 Count Charge Of Financial Crimes On Wednesday former chairman of DAAR Communications Plc, Raymond Dokpesi, pleaded not guilty to the 6 counts of money laundering and other financial crimes brought against him. The former media mogul submitted his plea while in the dock at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

On Wednesday former chairman of DAAR Communications, Raymond Dokpesi, pleaded not guilty to the 6 counts of money laundering and other financial crimes brought against him.  The former media mogul submitted his plea while in the dock at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

ABUJA-BARELY 72hours after the conclusion of the supplementary governorship election in Kogi state, the deputy governorship aspirant to the Late Abubakar Audu, Abiodun Faleke who refused to deputise Yahaya Bello who succeeded late Audu in the election, on Tuesday, showed up in the House of Representatives, where he took part in the legislative business of the day. Faleke who rejected being declared governor-elect of Kogi State after the death of his principal, Prince Audu currently represents Ikeja Federal Constituency in the 8th House of Representatives where he also chairs the Committee on Customs and Excise. The towering lawmaker stormed the green chamber spotting a white flowing ‘Agbada’ and a hand-made red cap, amid cheers from his colleagues in the House as he approached the chair where he held a brief chat with Speaker Yakubu Dogara before resuming to take his seat. Faleke who rejected his re-nomination as deputy governorship candidate to the eventual winner and governor-elec

Six months after taking power from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has been factionalised into two camps in Kaduna State. The new APC group which called itself “True APC” has the following as members: retired permanent secretary, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, Hajiya Hafsat Baba, former ANPP chairman, Alhaji Kabir Umar, former education commissioner, Mr. Tom Mataimaki Maiyashi, Alhaji Lawal Maiturare, Nasiru Ahmed; special adviser on strategy to Senator Shehu Sani and Murtala Abubakar who is the publicity secretary. The group accused the state governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, of hijacking party apparatus and derailing from the idea of true change that millions of Kaduna people yearn and voted for. But in a reaction, officials of the APC passed a vote of confidence on Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s policies. APC state acting publicity secretary, Salisu Wusono, said all el-Rufai’s policies are in line with the ruling party’s manifestos and agenda, urg

Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), has alerted security agencies in the country of alleged moves by the pro-Biafran agitators to shift their campaign to Yorubaland for ulterior motives. The OPC specifically called for increased surveillance on the organizers of ‘The World Igbo Day 2015’ proposed to be hosted in Yorubaland this Saturday alleging “ulterior motives” behind the hurried arrangement. While expressing fears over the precarious security situation in Nigeria, the group urged the security agencies and Yoruba leaders of thought to guard against threat to peace in the South West zone. In a press release from the National Coordinating Council of the OPC signed by Comrade Akinpelu Adeshina, copies of which were made available to journalists in Ibadan on Friday, the pan-Yoruba group stated that it was “compelled to make this call given the precarious and heightened security situation in the country and the world over.” “We see the attempt to bring the World Igbo Day celebration – in w

Justice Gabriel Kolawole of Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital has dismissed the suit filed before it by Governor Idris Wada of Kogi state as well as that of James Faleke, the running mate of late Abubakar Audu today. The court also ruled that supplementary elections slated for December 5 in 91 polling units will go ahead as planned. Kolawole struck out all the suits saying that his court has no jurisdiction to entertain the issues brought as they are post election matters. He therefore ruled that the issues in the different suits should be taken to the Election Petition Tribunal for determination when it is constituted. The Judge also ruled that the issue of the legality or otherwise of the supplementary poll can also be determined by the Tribunal. He therefore ruled that the supplementary election should go ahead as planned by INEC. In his suit, Wada approached the court, urging it, to order the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to declare him winner o