Photos: Female suicide bomber apprehended after failed suicide attempt in Cameroon

This female suicide bomber was arrested after her failed attempt to bomb a market in Marou, Cameroon this morning. Another photo after the cut...

Photo credit: @MySanda

Ireland Baldwin stepped out in T-shirt with no bra ..and then the rain fell...:-)

The 19 year old model and daughter of actors Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger stepped out in New York yesterday wearing a thin black T-shirt a with no bra - and then got caught in a downpour. See more photos after the cut...

Photos: Akon in Lagos, meets with Kcee

Kcee and Akon, who is currently in Lagos, had a business meeting last night at Eko Hotel & Suites, VI. Kcee confirmed through Instagram that their deal - a music collaboration maybe? - was sealed. Other pics from their meeting after the cut. (Akon is actually in Nigeria for his Solar power project)

Photos: The horrific moment man stabbed 6 people at Jerusalem gay pride march

This is the horrific moment a knife-wielding ultra-Orthodox Jew 'stabbed six people at Jerusalem gay pride march three weeks after he was released from prison for identical attack 10 years ago. The man jumped from the crowd at the annual Gay Pride march yesterday and started stabbing people. Six people were injured but fortunately no one died. 

Yishai Shlissel spent 10 years in jail for a similar attack in 2005 when three marchers were wounded. He was released from prison just three weeks ago. He was quickly stopped by police and taken away. See the dramatic photos after the cut..

Photo credit: AP/Reuters

Karim Benzema had a GF all the time he was gallivanting with Rihanna?

A few weeks ago, there were rumors that Rihanna was getting serious with French footballer, Karim Benzema after they were spotted in public numerous times. Well, somebody should have told Karim's 'girlfriend'. Some lady who claims to be Benzema's GF is calling RiRi 'the other woman'.

From In Touch Weekly 

"Karim and I have been together for over a year,” bikini model Analicia Chaves exclusively tells In Touch. “Rihanna is the other woman!”

To make matters worse, Karim has kept both his women in the dark. “After photos surfaced of Karim and Rihanna in NYC [in early June], I confronted him,” Analicia tells In Touch.

“He denied everything. Karim told me to not believe the gossip when I asked him about Rihanna,” says Analicia. "I was crushed when I recently found out what was really going on."

Toyin Saraki: I went to EFCC with her as a private investigator - Dino Melaye

Read the press statement below...

Kogi West Senator in the National Assembly, Otunba Dino Melaye, has defended his recent visit to the Headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), when wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, honoured the invitation by the anti-graft agency.

The chairman, Senate Adhoc Committee on Media and Publicity also challenged anybody who will controvert the truth that he has never done any government contract, either at the Local Government, State or Federal levels, to come foreward with evidence.

Melaye in a statement entitled: "Stand up for what you believe in regardless of the popularity or acceptance of your belief", and issued on Friday in Abuja, said he has I made sacrifices to the extent of escaping assignations.

He said, "I chose to react to the attacks I have received Sent from my iPad

"I was arrested 14 times in one year by the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan because I desire a country where my grandchildren (that I may never know) will dwell in a nation where life is already structured for them. I cannot throw away my sacrifice of being beaten and my clothes torn on the floor of the House of Representatives because of fighting against corruption. I have come too far to compromise my stand on corruption and corrupt persons.

"I make bold here to challenge anybody who will controvert the truth that I have never done any government contract, either at the Local Government, State or Federal levels. It is not criminal to do so, but he who must come to equity must come with clean hands. I have made sacrifices to the extent of escaping assignations. Will my fellow citizens forget all these too quickly on the altar of loyalty to friends, family and loved ones? My loyalty to friends is not only when the going is good. I will be there even when the roads are rough. 

"The invitation of Mrs. Toyin Saraki by the EFCC, however, is not a criminal indictment. I will not abandon my friend because of mere EFCC invitation. I also went there as a private investigator and an anti-corruption crusader to find out the extent of culpability of my sister and friend since she was not told the content of the petition against her before her appearance before the EFCC.

"My definition for friendship is he or she who walks in when others are working out. If my father is invited by the EFCC, I will go there; if a prima face case is established against him, I will shout for his prosecution. So my great people, I have no regret following my friend and sister to the EFCC. If you are my friend, you are my friend. I cannot control what my friends will do, but they remain my friends. I am not fighting corruption out of passion only, but because it is the Godly thing to do.

"Finally, Winston Churchill said, "I may not believe in what you have to say, but I will defend to death, your right to say it." No change of values, in the next few months ahead, Nigerians will those who want President Muhammadu Buhari to succeed. I promise to be with the people at all times, within the constitutional milieu. I thank you for taking your time. Be a change agent! God bless you and bless Nigeria."

Sign...

Otunba (Senator) Dino Melaye

Shell Is Cutting Spending; To Sack 6,500 Workers

What happened to all the billions of Dollars they've made from oil fields in Nigeria for several years?

Shell petroleum development company, SPDC, says it will axe 6,500 workers this year and begin a process of cutting spendings, to deal with an extended period of lower oil prices in the global market.

Shell wants to sack 6,500 staff and direct contract workers from a total of nearly 100,000 employees.

“We have to be resilient in a world where oil prices remain low for some time, whilst keeping an eye on recovery,” said Ben van Beurden, Shell's Chief Executive Officer.

Besides, the company announced on Thursday in London the sale of a 33 percent stake in the Showa Shell refinery in Japan to Idemitsu, for about $1.4 billion.

The Anglo-Dutch company also said it was planning more asset disposals, bringing total asset sales between 2014 and 2018 to $50 billion.

Lower oil prices have contributed to a 37 percent drop in the oil and gas group’s second-quarter profits. And the group said it would reduce 2015 capital investment for the second time this year to $30 billion by 20 percent from a year ago.

Big oil companies have cut 2015 spending by 10 to 15 percent from 2014, to cope with fall in oil prices over the past year to below $55 a barrel from over a $100.

Shell said its operating costs were expected to fall by $4 billion, or around 10 percent, in 2015 as part of a broad efficiency drive to boost its balance sheet.

New South African Pastor Rides on Members like Horses, Makes them Eat Soap

A new strange “man of God” has emerged in South Africa.  Prophet Agabus Nawa of Embassy of Glory Christ Centre, who hails from Mafikeng, North West, has started mysterious things with his followers. He was pictured riding on the back of members of his congregation like horses, and commanded them to eat soap. He claimed that he can command bath soap to taste like chocolate and make members of his congregation fall in deep sleep like God made Adam do. See more photos…

EFCC arrests Sacked NIMASA DG over Billions of Naira Fraud

The EFCC has arrested the immediate past Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency [NIMASA], Patrick Ziakede Akpobolokemi, two weeks after he was fired from his post.

A source in NIMASA told PT that Mr. Akpobolokemi was arrested in Lagos on Thursday morning and was detained at the Lagos office of the EFCC in the Ikoyi area of the city.

“He was taken in this morning around 10am. Some of our other officials have also been summoned while EFCC operatives have been conducting discreet investigation here. There is tension everywhere. 

“One of our people just returned from EFCC and he told me the former DG is still there, sweating profusely as he was being questioned by investigators.”

The source said while at NIMASA headquarters, EFCC operatives asked questions about curious multi-billion naira transactions approved by Mr. Akpobolokemi, especially in the last days of the last government.

“For instance, they wanted to know how a whopping N13billion was spent on the acquisition of land for the permanent site of the Nigerian Maritime University in Delta,” our source said.

“They also asked about other transactions they believed were fraudulent, including transfers of millions of dollars from NIMASA accounts to other accounts.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had on July 16 sacked Mr. Akpobolokemi and directed him to immediately hand over all government property in his possession and vacate office.

There have been allegations of financial impropriety against NIMASA during Mr. Akpobolokemi’s tenure, including those which suggested the agency funded the lavish lifestyles of some Niger Delta militants and bankrolled most of the wicked campaigns against President Buhari before the elections.

Woman stabs robber to death in Lagos

A middle-aged woman is currently recuperating in a Lagos hospital, after robbers stormed her rented apartment on the Lagos Island, during which she stabbed one of the assailants to death.

According to PUNCH Metro, the woman, identified simply as Adenike, and her family were attacked on Tuesday at about 2am on Eyin Iga Street.The robbers, who were armed with knives and cutlasses, reportedly gained entrance into the house after damaging the gates. 

It was learnt that when the robbers got to Adenike’s apartment, there was a struggle during which one of the robbers, identified as Quadri Iginla, cut her with a knife.

Adenike was said to have wrenched the knife from Iginla, and stabbed him in the stomach.The robbery suspect reportedly lost balance and fell off from the two-storey building.

Neighbours, who learnt of the robbery, were said to have alerted the police from the Adeniji Adele Division.The other suspected robbers reportedly escaped after the police got to the area. 

The policemen were said to have rushed Iginla, who was unconscious, to the Lagos Island General Hospital, while Adenike was also taken by her family to a private hospital.

When our correspondent got to the area on Thursday, it was learnt that Iginla died in the hospital.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro, Adenike’s husband, who declined to give his name, said the robbers injured his wife in the hand with a knife, adding that there was a struggle during which Iginla was pushed off the building.

He said, “We cannot confirm the number of the robbers. They entered my apartment at about 2am. One of them injured my wife in the hand and there was a struggle. As this went on, other people called the police and a patrol van was sent to our street.

“The robbers quickly fled from the house. One of them, who had sustained a knife injury, fell off the staircases. The policemen took him to a hospital for treatment.”

A police source told our correspondent that Iginla was not attended to at the general hospital for lack of a vacant bed. He added that the robbery suspect died at a health center on the Adeniji Adele Road.

He said, “The police patrol team responded to a distress call on the street at about 2.30am. A male robbery suspect, Iginla, was found injured. The suspect and others, who are still at large, allegedly entered Adenike’s room. While making away with possessions, the woman overpowered one of them, and stabbed him in the stomach.

“She was also injured in the hand. During the struggle, others escaped, but the robber fell off the building. The police took the suspect and the victim to the hospital.”

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that Iginla’s girlfriend showed up at the police station, and wanted to know where he was being treated.

He said, “No one in the area knew the identity of the injured robber. His girlfriend showed up at the station, and was asking the police to let her stay with him, but they did not allow her.”

Our correspondent gathered that the knife had been recovered, while the case had been transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigation.

PDP Workers tell NWC -You can't fire us after making N12bn in 9months

Angry workers of the Peoples Democratic Party have accused the members of the National Working Committee of the party of squandering N12bn in nine months.

Out of the total sum, the workers said N11bn was realised from the sale of nomination forms while N1bn was got from the sale of delegates forms.They alleged that the money was squandered shortly after the sale of the forms commenced on October 27, 2014 till date. 

The workers said this in their response to the letter sent to them by the party’s National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, on Wednesday.

Oladipo, in the letter, had informed the workers about the decision of the NWC to reduce the party’s workforce by 50 per cent and to also cut the salaries of those to be retained by the same percentage.

But the workers, after a meeting in Abuja on Thursday, sent a reply to Oladipo.

Their reply, which was directed to Oladipo, was dated July 30, 2015 and titled, “Re: Organisation and Restructuring of staff at the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party.”

They sent copies of the letter, which was exclusively obtained by our corespondent, to former President Goodluck Jonathan and the acting Chairman, Board of Trustees of the party, Alhaji Haliru Bello.

Also, copies were sent to the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, PDP caucuses in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum, Dr. Segun Mimiko and all the PDP governors.

Besides querying how the N11bn was spent, the workers also said they were aware that the party realised another N1bn in sales of delegates forms recently.

With this, the angry workers wondered how the party that was in power could be in a financial mess.

Their letter to Oladipo read in part,

 “While we appreciate the fact that the party is no longer in power, we are equally aware that the party realised over eleven billion naira (N11,000,000,000) in income from the sale of nomination and expression of interest forms in the last quarter of 2014.

“We are equally aware that the NWC collected over a billion naira from the sale of delegate forms via a company account called Morufi Nig. Ltd, Zenith Bank Account N0:1014041654.

“With this healthy bank balance, we find it strange that after just two months of handing over power, the NWC is proposing a 50% reduction in staff emoluments.”

They said that they were aware that the NWC members were in the habit of paying themselves huge sums of money after the party lost power during the 2015 general elections.

The letter read further, 

“We have also observed from publications in the media that the NWC shared outrageous largesse among themselves immediately after the party’s loss in the last general elections.

“We are appalled by the whimsical and derisory nature of the circular which unfortunately negates all known administrative procedures. We wish to recall that the national secretary, who is statutorily in charge of the administration of the secretariat, has never called for a staff meeting or held any interactive session with the staff since his privileged appointment.

“We wish to draw the national secretary’s attention to the fact that there are administrative procedures for the disengagement of staff whose appointments have been duly confirmed.”

The workers said they welcomed the decision of the NWC members to reduce their personal staff and also reduce their emoluments.

But they said they rejected “the directives for staff members to get revalidation letters from the state chapters as this act will amount to accepting our unlawful disengagement from service.

“We reject in totality the proposal to reduce staff emolument by 50%. This is because unlike the members of the NWC, the staff are solely dependent on their salaries and allowances.”

They said they still have unwavering belief in the possibility of the party bouncing back, and, therefore, urged the NWC to have the same faith.

The workers reminded the NWC members that the establishment staff of the PDP national secretariat were engaged on the basis of a well-articulated establishment manual that expressly stated the conditions of service therein.

However, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Olisa Metuh, told our correspondent that the party took the decisions because it realised that majority of the workers had lost touch with their state chapters of the party.

Punch 

I’m not expecting to be named Minister – Tunde Bakare

General Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, says he doesn’t expect President Muhammadu Buhari, to give him a ministerial appointment.

Bakare, said this in an interview with Sahara TV on Thursday, but he would however fail to give a direct answer when asked if he would accept a ministerial appointment if offered by the President.

In response, he said: “As far as I am concerned, I am not expecting to be named a minister. If I am offered an appointment, when I get to that bridge I will cross it. I am already a minister of the gospel. Ministry is my calling and my life. The word minister means servant. When you expect nothing, you cannot be disappointed. I keep on doing what I am doing, to be a solid supporter of the Buhari movement and what he stands for in public life. I have no regret on what I did in 2011. If an opportunity presents itself, I will do it again. I am not seeking anything.

“Let’s not count chickens before they are hatched. The bible says the expectation of the righteous will not be cut off. That is when the expectation of the righteous is in tandem with God’s expectation. If you are expecting from God, the flesh can fail. Who knows tomorrow? In the next two months, when the ministers would be named, what if nobody is here or alive? ”

When asked on whether he feels former President Goodluck Jonathan should be probed, he said: “I will not advocate that President Jonathan should be probed or not be probed. A day or two before the inauguration of the President, the transition committee received a report. They worked on it for weeks.

“The President has looked into those reports. If there are anomalies, President Buhari will call the former president   and say things are irregular and the law should take its effect. But as for the witch-hunt of others, that is a waste of time. If you keep on chasing the wrong things, you will not do the right things. But that does not mean anyone who has done evil should get away with it.

Speaking further, Bakare said he would not support the restitution of stolen funds as amnesty for corrupt government officials, stressing that this would promote a wrong attitude.

He said: “What Nigeria needs now are not so much of restitution. Some stolen funds that were sent back to Nigeria in the past went into wrong hands. What Nigeria needs is a clear example of good governance, the rule of law as against the rule of men.

“On the rule of men, might is right. On the rule of law, right is might. So if you can get ‘right is might’ in place, if you do something wrong and you are punished for it, those who have the desires to do similar things will know that there are consequences for their choices, that is where we are going. I can tell you that witch-hunt is not something that President Buhari would support. Perish the thought, it is not his character.”