How Obasanjo made Buhari intervene in Reps leadership crisis

It has emerged that former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s call to President Muhammadu Buhari played a vital role in making the President change his decision not to intervene in the leadership crisis that rocked the House of Reps which ended Tuesday with the emergence of Femi Gbajabiamila as the Leader. 

Following the stalemate that emerged after the emergence of Yakubu Dogara as the Speaker of the House and the insistence by President Buhari that he will not intervene, some leaders of the party approached Obasanjo to intervene with Buhari to avert a crisis in the lower arm of the National Assembly.

According to a member of the House of Reps who was privy to the decision

a group of concerned members of the House decided that since President Buhari was adamant on his position about not intervening in the National Assembly leadership crisis, it was decided that they should approach the former President to  talk to him and make him change his mind.

“Initially, we wanted to approach members of his transition committee, especially those who have been with him for a long time, to impress on the President on the need to have a say in the leadership of the National assembly. We met a brick wall and decided that the best bet is the former President, who is respected by President Buhari and he knows the implications of not having his foot in the National Assembly leadership. And he was amenable to our suggestion,” the member told Vanguard.

It was gathered that after speaking with President Buhari, the former President told him that it is important for the country’s democracy that he should intervene to ensure party supremacy. 

“We believe that it was that intervention that led to the resolution of the crisis,” the source confirmed.

Married Woman Leads Robbery in Lagos, Strips Female Officer

26-year-old Victoria Momidu, is a lady one could described as a shy person at first glance. But as she stood along with her partner in crime behind the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Command, Ikeja, one could best imagine how calm but deadly she could be while operating alongside her robbery gang.

Victoria and one other member of her gang were arrested recently by the men of Lagos State SARS, who had been on their trail after receiving a tip-off about the gang’s plan.

In her confession, Victoria said: “I was hustling before I met Okokawon, who is my boyfriend. He told me to join his gang. When she was asked to explain what she meant by hustling, she replied in one word “prostitution.”

She and her gang had robbed some passengers along the Mile 2- Badagry Expressway. They operate from private cab, a police source alleged.

It all began some months ago, Victoria narrated. She said another member of the gang, Okolawon, (also in SARS custody) had approached her on the need for her to join the gang.

Victoria Momidu said she was once a prostitute but had to stop prostituting six months ago because she was not making enough money from the aged long profession.

“I ran away from my husband’s house in February, abandoning my three children in the process. I came to Lagos to hustle soon after I left my husband and children in Benin. It was a lady I met inside a commercial bus at Mile 2 Motor Park that introduced me to prostitution. She took me to where she was leaving in a hotel at Seme. I later joined other ladies in the act.“I was making between N2000 and N3,000 per night anytime I have a customer, who will take me home for the night. This was what I was doing, until I met Okokawon. He came to the hotel where I was staying along with some friends to drink. He later asked me if I will spend the night with him,” she said.

She added that Okolawon came back three weeks later to take her out again, saying that they actually spent the whole day together. She explained that it was at their third outing that Okolawon started picking passengers with his car, a thing which he had not done in her presence before.

“He picked up four passengers, who were going to Badagri, from Iyana Oba bus stop on that day. That was around 9p.m. Somewhere around Okoafon, he stopped, pretending as if the car had suddenly developed fault. It was a lonely stretch of road. Suddenly, another car stopped and the occupants of the car jumped out and I noticed that they were armed with dangerous weapons. They collected all cash and valuables that were in possession of the passengers,” she said.

Vick, as she is known by the gang, alleged that at first she was afraid, but that she later discovered that they were Okokawon’s armed robbery gang and that it was a planned attack.

“I was not given anything the first day out with the gang since it was my first experience. I discovered that I was only used to deceive passengers to board the car. The second time out I was given N10,000 after the operation. Outside cash, Okolawon goes with all phones collected from victims,” she said.

She further confessed that she eventually joined the gang after she discovered that she will make more money from the operation than prostituting.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Cornelius Kayode Aderanti, who confirmed the report, said that the suspect along with four others, were involved in series of robbery along the Mile 2/Badagry.

Man shares story of how a Corps member was arrested after helping a man withdraw money from ATM

A lot to be learnt here. Continue to read the story as shared by this twitter user.

Read from bottom up..

Photos: Controversial South African pastor prays gay spirit into man

Remember the pastor who made his members swallow snakes and eat cloth during one of his deliverance services? Well he is in the news again. Last Sunday while preaching in his church, he prayed the gay spirit into the young man pictured above. See more photos after the cut...

Drogba mobbed by fans after touching down in Canada to start new chapter in MLS

The Chelsea legend was mobbed by hundreds of fans as he arrived the Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal, Canada yesterday Wednesday July 29 after agreeing to join Major League Soccer side, Montreal Impact, believed to be 18-months in length. 

The 37 year-old Ivorian star left Chelsea in May after playing 381 games for the Blues and winning four Premier League titles with the London club. See the photos after the cut...

Photos: Caitlyn Jenner steps out in black jumpsuit & stilettos

Ms Jenner stepped out in this chic black jumpsuit that featured a sweetheart cut neckline as she dined at actress Eva Longoria's restaurant, Beso in Hollywood yesterday. More pics after the cut...

Police arrest 9 more suspects over the killing of 4yr old boy in Lagos

9 people have been arrested in connection with the July 27th murder of a four-year old boy by 16 year old Tajudeen Azeez (pictured above) in Ijaniki, Lagos. (read previous story here)

The Lagos state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Patricia Amadin, said the suspects were arrested following a confessional statement by Azeez who is currently in police custody. She added that the police is still investigating the matter and more arrest will be made.

Azeez had agreed to kill his neighbor's child after a man named Osho promised to give him N50,000 if he can provide human flesh

Man butchers friend in Akwa Ibom, (Graphic content)

Residents of Itu Road, Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, on Wednesday, woke to a horror sight, following the murder of a middle-aged barber by a close family friend who was supposedly his boss.

Steven Onowa, a graduate of Federal Polytechnic Oko, from Anambra State, was arrested by men of the Akwa Ibom State police command over the murder of Daniel Bassey Solomon, his close friend and employee.

It was gathered that Onowa, who tried to escape after allegedly killing his friend and dismembering him, was arrested with the aid of a GSM tracking device employed by officers and men of the Police Force.
Explaining the incident which led to the gruesome murder of the said barber, who hailed from Uruan Local Government Area, the state Police Commissioner, Mr Gabriel Achong, said the culprit confessed to have invited his friend to his house and offered him a drink he had already poisoned.

Steven said:

“At about 3.00 a.m, I decided to kill him.

“I gave him the first cut, the guy got up; I gave him a second one and he died and I butchered him to parts,” the suspect confessed.

The commissioner, who confirmed that a quarrel had been on for the past two years between the ‘butcher’ and his victim,  even as their case file was still with the SARS department of the command, said the police were successful in tracking down the culprit through the assistance of his landlord, who kept contacting him on phone, as the police kept tracking the calls.

“After stabbing him to death, he used matchet to chop off his hands, head and two legs. He packed the parts in a sack, pulled it out of the house to the major street of Itu Road.”

Apparently tired of evacuating the corpse to a safer place, he was said to have abandoned the deceased in a bag, removed the vital parts, including his two hands, which he dumped in a place along School Road and the head, which he hid in an abandoned dump site on the same Itu Road.

The suspect, who confessed to the crime, said he had called his victim on phone for an urgent meeting in his house, where he drugged his Orijin beer.

According to him, when the late Dan arrived, his killer entertained him with the drugged beer and it was not long before the deceased dosed off, giving his killer the opportunity to tie him, before stabbing him to death.

The suspect’s landlord, Mr Celestine George, who spoke to journalists at the police headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia, said the police was called after the incident was reported and he had to put a call to the suspect and demanded for the balance of his rent.

“The suspect said he was about travelling and that he was with the balance which he would pay me before travelling. I then asked him to meet me at Itam junction, within the premises of a church where I had already told the SARS men to lay ambush for him.

“I kept calling him until he arrived at the premises of the church where I tricked him to. He came in a car with three armed mobile policemen and I hinted the men of the SARS formation, who had laid ambush for him within the premises and he was apprehended and handcuffed.

“The three mobile policemen were eventually overpowered by the SARS men and the suspect was arrested and taken to the police headquarters at Ikot Akpanabia,” he said.

What annoyed the angry residents of Itu Road the most, according to a neighbour, “is the fact that the suspect, apart from being a close friend of the deceased, was also having an affair with one of the late Dan’s sisters.”

He disclosed that such close relationship led to the suspect opening a barbing salon for his victim along Urua Ekpa Road.

When interrogated by newsmen, Onowa claimed to have killed his victim for daring to raise his voice at him over his N750,000 he had refused to account for.
He said:

“We reported the matter to SARS about two years ago and he agreed on a timeframe to pay up the N750,000. Till today, he has refused to pay the money, so when I invited him to my house that day, he started shouting at and getting angry with me, so I killed him. I am not dealing in body parts. I only cut him to pieces to be able to carry him,” the suspect added.

P’Harcourt, Warri refineries commence petroleum production – NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC says the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries have commenced petroleum production after some in-house engineers conducted a nine-month rehabilitation on both facilities.

The oil corporation announced this in a statement released by its General Manager, Public Affairs Division, Mr Ohi Alegbe yesterday. The statement in part reads

“What this means is that both plants have resumed production of petroleum products. For now, about 60 per cent of its 210,000 barrels per day production capacity is being achieved, but it is projected that it will hit its installed 125,000 barrels per day capacity soon,”

The statement added that the Port Harcourt refinery would eventually hit five million litres of petrol per day, while Warri would contribute 3.5 million litres of petrol.

Gay activist Bisi Alimi reacts after Nigerians come for him on FB

Bisi came hard on Nigeria in a Facebook post yesterday (see here). And Nigerians came for him, slamming him over his comments but despite that, he maintains his previous stance on the matter.

Buhari's appointments has shown his hatred for Igbos - Ohaneze

The Anambra State president of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. Chris Eluemuno, said yesterday in an interview with Anambra Broadcasting Service in Awka that he's not surprised at the way the appointments of President Buhari is going, saying it shows the president's deep rooted hatred for the Igbos..

“I said it during the campaigns that General Buhari does not like Igbo people and it is happening now with all the appointments he has so far made since he came into office on May 29. He appointed five service chiefs and there is no Igbo man, even though Igbo have qualified people to occupy the positions. His party has completed the selection of principal officers in the national assembly and despite the fact that the speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara made case to apply the federal character in allocating the offices, the president jettisoned it through his intervention and left Igbo APC lawmakers out.

“He also exhibited his vindictiveness during his recent visit to the United States of America, USA, when he travelled with only governors from his party, leaving out governors from the opposition parties.

“He was also quoted as saying that he would favour those who voted for him and our position is that there is no way the president should expect all Nigerians to vote for him in the last presidential election.That statement contradicted Buhari’s earlier stand that he belonged to everybody and belonged to nobody.”

Eluemuno also said that Buhari had no reason to discriminate against the Igbo because Igbonation played prominent roles in the development of Nigeria and should therefore not be discriminated against in the scheme of things.

According to him, apart from the Secretary to the Government of Federation, SGF, the remaining appointments are ministers and board members, which constitutionally must go to all the 36 states of the federation, adding that appointing an Igbo minister would not therefore be a favour to them.

On the president’s threat to probe only the Jonathan administration, Eluemuno said it would amount to witch hunt if he limited it to the immediate past administration, advising that the probe should start from the PDP civilian administration that began 16 years ago with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who governed for eight years.

Source: Vanguard

How a car salesman was kidnapped during a test-drive and escaped (photos)

A California car salesman was in for the ride of his life after a customer test-driving the vehicle tried to steal it with him in it. The salesman, from a dealership in Concord, California, was on a test drive with a customer on Monday July 27, according to the Concord Police Department when the incident happened.

The dealership, Lehmer's Concord Buick GMC, made a copy of the suspect's driver's license before the salesman left with him for the test drive..

During the test drive, investigators say, the customer told the salesman that he was stealing the GMC Savana Conversion van.

When the car reached the city of Pittsburg, about 10 miles away from Concord, "the victim was able to escape from the suspect by getting out of the car while it was stopped" and called the police, according to the Concord Police Department.

The salesman is shaken up but okay.

The suspect fled the area and was later apprehended by Antioch Police Department, Concord Police said. There was a police chase that ended in a crash.

"The suspect was arrested and later transported to County jail for kidnapping, resisting arrest and for stealing a car," Concord Police said Monday. "The suspect’s identity has not been confirmed at this time and we are unable to release any identifying information. This is still an on-going investigation and no additional information will be released to the public at this time."

Source: KGO