Rivers state students in the UK cry out, say they've been abandoned, facing deportation

Students who were sponsored to a UK university by the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) under the River State government have reached out to LIB, saying they have been abandoned by their state government. They say their school fees have not been paid for two years and their visas have been curtailed. Below is what a student wrote in;

We are 2nd year students with the university of Huddersfield currently hoping to progress to final year by September or going on placement as some of us have chosen. It is with deep shock that we realized that the RSSDA (Rivers state sustainable development Agency) under the rivers state government who is our sponsor have not paid our fees for 2 years.

The university have made all efforts to get the money from them but they have since attributed the non-payment to the government of rivers state not releasing funds. The university even went to the extent of travelling to Nigeria for the money. We are more than 11 students with the cost of each student fees being 12,500 pounds each. Since all effort have failed to get the money from the agency, the university have come to the resolve of suspending our studies and revoking their sponsorship on our visas, Hence, giving us 60 days to leave the country. The have 10 days to revoke the visa cancellation if the agency gives them a time frame for payment and the 10 days expires this Friday. The agency have deliberately refused replying the university on several emails and refused to also commit to them by giving them time frame for payment. Worst of it all is that the agency have not even acknowledge the situation or even comfort us and take responsibility for whatever damage this might incur. They said and I quote “they don’t even have our flight money back”.

We are stranded!!! We have not been paid allowance and rent money for 9 months now which is meant to be 800 pounds a month. Fees owed by the government around England and other part of the world have amounted to about 3 billion naira. We need this video to spread let the whole world see how politics is affecting the future of the country. PLEASE!!

Thai man sentenced to 30yrs in prison for Facebook posts insulting monarchy

A 48-year-old man named Pongsak Sriboonpeng was today Friday August 7th handed the lengthy prison sentence by the military court, having been prosecuted under Thailand’s royal defamation law.

His lawyer Sasinan Thamnithinan told AFP that his sentence was 60 years - a decade for each six Facebook posts he made but this was halved as he had pleaded guilty.


"It's broken the record," she said about the severe jail term. She further added that because Pongsak was arrested while Thailand was still under martial law there was no right to appeal the sentence passed by the military court.

Under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, anyone convicted of insulting the king, queen, heir or regent faces up to 15 years in prison on each count.

(Photo of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit)

$2.1m seized cash: Ex-NHIS boss appears before EFCC

Former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Dr. Olufemi Thomas has voluntarily submitted himself to EFCC, to clear the air on the $2.1million cash seized at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja- Lagos.

One Mr. Ibiteye Bamidele (pictured above), a bureau de change operator who was arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for being in possession of the $2.1m cash suspected to be laundered,  had implicated the ex-NHIS boss.

The suspect was however declared wanted by the EFCC on Thursday on the suspicion that he had absconded to evade justice.

But Thomas, a former Commissioner for Health in Ekiti State voluntarily submitted himself for interrogation on Friday at EFCC Headquarters in Abuja but denied that he was planning to run away because he did not get any invitation from the anti-graft agency.

Dressed in a white brocade, Dr. Thomas who arrived the EFCC around 10: am was drilled by the commission's operative to ascertain his level of complicity.

He was released at about 2:pm. However, the EFCC spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren could not be reached as at press time to confirm the interrogation.

His media aide, Mr. Sola Adeyemi had in a statement described his boss as a thoroughbred professional and dutiful public servant who would not stand in the face of the law.

The statement reads in part,"Dr. Femi Thomas is a law-abiding public individual that has treatable addresses in Lagos and Ekiti. He is a man that I work with and I know him for his words and actions. As I speak, we are yet to receive any formal invitation from any quarter on the allegation.

"For the avoidance of doubt, my boss is not on the run, he is in Nigeria, he is available and ready to present himself to the EFCC as soon as he is invited."

Oil won’t be sufficient as Nigeria’s revenue earner, we need Agriculture-Buhari

Yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari said that his administration would henceforth take agriculture seriously, saying that crude oil and gas exports would no longer be sufficient as the country’s major revenue earner.
The President stated that his government would cut short the long bureaucratic processes that Nigerian farmers had to go through to get any form of assistance from government, stating that it's time Nigerians took Agriculture seriously.

The President Buhari spoke when he received Dr. Kanayo Nwanze, the Nigerian born President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), at the Presidential Villa on Friday.
The President said:

“It’s time to go back to the land. We must face the reality that the petroleum we had depended on for so long will no longer suffice.

We campaigned heavily on agriculture, and we are ready to assist as many as want to go into agricultural ventures,”.

The president said that improvement of the productivity of farmers, dry season farming, and creative ways to combat the shrinking of the Lake Chad will also be given the necessary attention.

“There is so much to be done. We will try and articulate a programme and consult organizations like IFAD for advice,” the President said, adding that foreign exchange will be conserved for machinery and other items needed for production, “instead of using it to import things like toothpicks.”

He told the IFAD President that improvement of the productivity of farmers, dry season farming and creative ways to combat the shrinking of the Lake Chad would also receive his administration’s attention.

Dr. Nwanze congratulated President Buhari on his victory at the general elections and assured him that  IFAD was ready to give all possible assistance to the Federal Government and Nigerian farmers to boost agricultural production in the country.

IFAD is an international organization dedicated to addressing issues of agriculture and poverty alleviation.


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Maheeda shows off her beautiful daughter

Maheeda shows off her beautiful teenage daughter. She's really pretty. Another photo after the cut..

Texas Judge sentences man to get married or face jail time

An East Texas couple says their choice to marry when they wanted to was taken away by a criminal court judge. In July, a Smith County judge sentenced Josten Bundy to get married to his 19-year-old girlfriend as part of his probation, which also included writing Bible verses and getting counseling.

The court case stemmed from a February altercation between Bundy and the ex-boyfriend of his girlfriend, Elizabeth Jaynes.

“The ex-boyfriend had been saying disrespectful things about Elizabeth, so I challenged him to a fight,” said Bundy. “He stepped in and I felt like it was on and I hit him in the jaw twice.”

Bundy said the ex-boyfriend did not require medical attention, but pressed assault charges.

“I took matters into my own hands and I know that’s wrong,” Bundy said. “I know I was raised better, but it happened.”

At his sentencing hearing, Judge Randall Rogers asked Bundy about the fight.

“Is she worth it?” Judge Rogers asked Bundy, according to court transcripts.

“I said, well to be honest, sir, I was raised with four sisters and if any man was talking to a woman like that,” recalled Bundy,  “I’d probably do the same thing.”

Judge Rogers asked Bundy if he was married to Jaynes and then said, “You know, as a part of my probation, you’re going to have to marry her…within 30 days.”
If Bundy declined to do the probation, he would be sentenced to 15 days in jail.

“He offered me fifteen days in jail and that would have been fine and I asked if I could call my job to let them know,” said Bundy. “The judge told me ‘nope, that’s not how this works.’”

Jaynes, who was in the courtroom said the proposal from the judge embarrassed her.
“My face was so red, people behind me were laughing,” said Jaynes. “The judge made me stand up in court.”
Afraid of Bundy losing his job if he spent two weeks behind bars, the couple applied for their marriage license and scheduled a date with the justice of the peace to get married.

“It just felt like we weren't going to be able to have the wedding we wanted,” said Jaynes. “It was just going to be kind of pieced together, I didn't even have a white dress.”

The pair said a summer courthouse wedding was nothing like what they pictured when they imagined their future nuptials while they were dating.

“I used to watch Say Yes to the Dress and all those shows and all the dresses and think about what kind of dress I would have,” said Jaynes. “I would have liked a spring wedding when it’s not too hot and not too cold.”

Bundy said they talked about getting married just six months after they started dating.

“We were strung over each other and really were in love,” Bundy said. “At our wedding I would have worn a black tux with some yellow under it because I’m a Steelers fan.”

But with only 18 days to plan, even the people most important to them were missing.
"My father didn’t get to go, and that really bothers me, I know he would have liked to be there,” said Bundy. “None of my sisters got to show up, it was such short notice, I couldn’t get it together."
The father of the bride, Kenneth Jaynes, wanted answers.

“I felt anger; I was mad. The judge can’t do this by court ordering somebody to be married,” said Kenneth Jaynes. “I contacted a couple of lawyers but they told me someone was trying to pull my leg…that judges don't court order somebody to get married.”

Judge Rogers declined to interview about an open probation case. He also declined to comment generally about his sentencing practices.
Attorney Blake Bailey, who practices constitutional law, said an order to marry is not legal.

“To say you're not going to be criminally punished if you get married is way out of left field,” said Bailey. “It sounds like the old days of shotgun weddings, but not even the judge is capable of enforcing, what he thinks is best for some people in his court.” 

Bundy and Jaynes say they do not at all regret getting married, but they do regret not being able to plan or have control over their special day.

“What if we had said to the judge we don't want to get married right now and we're not ready?” said Jaynes. “Is he going to go to jail? It scared us, a little bit.”

Attorney Bailey said the sentence would have likely been struck down on appeal to a higher court.

Bundy and Jaynes plan to have a larger wedding in the future when they can save enough money.

Django Unchained actress ordered to rewrite apology letter to LAPD

Daniele Watts and her boyfriend are going back to the drawing board for their court-ordered apology letters to the cops and office workers involved in their lewd conduct arrest last September.
The “Django Unchained” actress and beau Brian Lucas now have until Aug. 26 to submit revised letters after a judge and prosecutors rejected drafts submitted this week as part of their May plea deal.

“I’m glad they have to do a rewrite. No more excuses. She needs to say she was immature and she messed up and that she apologizes for creating the whole conflict,” arresting officer Jim Parker, now retired from the Los Angeles Police Department.
If you recall, the high-profile case started when someone called 911 saying the couple was having sex in a car on a Los Angeles street and Watts refused to show her identification to responding officers.

Watts, who is black, and Lucas, a raw foods chef who is white, later claimed they were victims of racial profiling and excessive police force and made a lot of noise that drew nationwide attention in the US.
After the video of the arrest leaked and it was determined that it wasn’t racist, Watts and Lucas eventually pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace.

After pleading no contest to disturbance charges, Watts was ordered to apologize to the neighbors who reported the incident, and the police who were accused of racial profiling.

However, Watts and Lucas merely apologized to the police officer for disturbing ‘your carefree coffee break’ and thanked him for giving them the opportunity to shine a light on racial profiling.

The couple’s rejected apology letters also accused Parker of speaking “sarcastically” and criticized witnesses for being overly judgmental.

And now, they have been ordered to re-write it

New York Daily News

Photos: 500 Nigerians reptriated from Gabon over illegal travel papers

500 Nigerians were repatriated from Gabon on August 7th over allegations of having illegal travel papers. The Nigerians repatriated said they were not given fair hearing by the courts in Gabon after they were accused and hurriedly charged before their courts. Officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service were on hand to receive the Nigerians. The returnees were examined to ascertain their health status before being allowed to cross into Nigeria. More photos after the cut...

Photos of Nigerian refugees deported from Cameroon

Some of the 12,000 Nigerians repatriated from Cameroon have arrived Nigeria where they are being registered, screened and waiting to be transported to new IDP camps in Yola. About 3,000 of them are still at the border town between Nigeria and Cameroon waiting to be screened.

The Deputy Governor of Adamawa state visited them in Mubi South, Adamawa state earlier yesterday. More photos after the cut...

Nigeria needs trillions of naira to have steady power – Prof.Onuoha

The Associate Head of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Professor Igwe Onuoha said it will take the nation trillions of naira in order to get the required megawatts that will give every Nigerian uninterrupted power supply.

He said that there is a very wide gap between “our capacity at the moment and what Nigerians actually need. There are distinctively specific things that Nigerians need to put in place in other to increase the generation but it is an expensive venture for a nation of 160 million people”.


He said this at the event for Engineering students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), during a seminary organized by SciEtech University Outreach.

According to him

“We are a country of over 160 million people; our grid is testing to sustain 5000 megawatts. 5000 megawatts means that you have 5 million watts of energy in the grid.

“If we are a 100 million, it means that every 100 people in Nigeria will have only one lamp. So if you have 5000 megawatts in the grid you can only support 100 people having only one lamp. If you want 100 people to have each a lamp, you multiply 5000 by 100 it gives you 500, 000 megawatts.

“On the average, one million dollars will give you one megawatt so if you want 100 megawatts you need 100 million dollars. The exponential multiplication means that you need far large amount of money to be able to generate power to make sure that every Nigerian has a lamp. We will be able to reach that point when we are able to get all the money to make that level of investment. 

“But there are several sectors in our economy begging for commitment, so if we are going to close other sectors of the economy and concentrate on power, it means that you are going to have enough money to generate enough power for 160 million people”he stated.

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Florida man kills 2 neighbours, shoots the 3rd one over a long standing beef

Woodward in Camo sneaking up to shoot his neighbours

In a chilling police interrogation, Billy Woodward described the moment he sneaked across his front lawn wearing camouflage and shot three neighbors he had been feuding with in Titusville, Florida.

“I kept low crawling. I was on a military mission. I was going to end this war,” Woodward is heard telling Titusville police after the shooting on an interrogation tape.
Woodward is in a county jail, facing first degree murder and attempted murder charges for shooting and killing his neighbor Gary Hembree and Roger Picior, who had been living temporarily with Hembree, in summer 2012. Woodward shot a third neighbor, Tim Blake, who survived.

For months, Woodward and his family had been feuding with Hembree and Picior, who lived across the street, and Blake’s family. The dispute began when Woodward and his family accused Hembree’s daughter of stealing a birthday present left for Woodward’s daughter, which Hembree denied. Blake and his family took Hembree’s side.

 

The conflict continued to escalate with police being called during several incidents and each side attempting to get protection orders against the other side. By Labor Day weekend in 2012, the last straw came when Woodward told police he left his home with a gun to spy on his neighbors.

Woodward, who was captured on his own surveillance camera video, walked across the street and approached Picior, who was wrestling his visiting teenage son on the lawn.

Blake

“Roger’s son jumped off his back when he saw me, and I shot Roger in the torso,” Woodward recalled to police during his interrogation. “He slumped to the ground.”

Woodward told police he then turned his gun on Blake who was standing in his carport and shot him until he fell to the ground.

 

“He shoots me about, I don’t know, five or six times,” Blake, who also goes by the name Bruce said” “He was smiling.” But 11 bullets hit Blake.

“I just kept getting shot everywhere and then I was like, ‘Damn, I’m already dead. I just ain’t had time to die yet,’” said Blake.

 

Woodward told police he then reloaded his gun with 15 more rounds and shot at Hembree, who was walking out his front door with his girlfriend Kim Sillsbury to see what was happening.

 

“I had a clean shot at his chest, and I put one dead center of his chest. He slumped to the ground,” Woodward said during his interrogation. “I shot Gary Hembree twice in the head, if I remember correctly. You’ll have to count the bullet holes when you guys go do the autopsy.”

“He came back, and I watched his feet walk up very slowly. And he emptied the rest of the clip out in my boyfriend,” Sillsbury said.”

The homes of the deceased

At some point, Woodward returned to Picior and shot him twice in the head as Picior’s son watched.

“In order to make sure there’s no survivors on the battlefield, I point-blank shot Picior in the head once or twice,” Woodward said during his interrogation.

Tim Blake, who said he is “surprised” to be alive, survived for one reason:

“I did not go back and finish the job for Bruce Blake because I was out of bullets,” Woodward said during his interrogation. “I ran dry on three people.”

 

With his two neighbors dead and another badly injured, Woodward told police he didn’t think he should go to jail for the shooting (he does not mention self defense during the initial interviews with police).

 

Later Woodward says the shootings were in self defense, and invoked Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. A hearing was held this spring to determine whether Woodward is immune from prosecution under the law. A judge ruled he was not.

 

The first degree murder and attempted murder charges against Woodward are moving forward, and a hearing in the case is scheduled for next week. A trial may come late this year.

 

 

 

ABC News

Scorned lover bathes ex-girlfriend with acid in Lagos

The Lagos state police have arrested a 30-year-old factory worker, Paul Nwokobia, for an acid attack, which has left his former gf, Rosemary, a 23-year-old caterer, badly disfigured.

 

It was learnt that for many years, Nwokobia, a Delta State indigene and Rosemary Nnaife, the caterer (also from Delta State) were lovers but fell apart in November 2014, when Rosemary concluded that suspect had become irresponsible.

Rosemary, who is battling to survive in intensive care at Lagos University Teaching Hospital said before their breakup, Nwokobia had issued a threat that if she decided to leave him, he would make sure that no other man married her.

 

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But she apparently did not take the threat seriously.

 

A source familiar with the case said that in June 2015, Nnaife received an anonymous call on her mobile phone. The voice at the other end was that of a lady, who told her she wanted to celebrate her birthday and needed the services of a caterer.

 

Nnaife told the police:

"I asked her how she got my number; she said she would explain when we see each other. She explained that she would contact me when she got back from work that evening.

“Around 8pm, the anonymous caller contacted me again and asked that I should meet her at Lawanson Bus Stop in Surulere (Lagos). I asked how I would recognise her and she said that she would be in a red car.

“She also asked what I would be wearing and I said a red top and shorts.”

Without any inkling of the danger that was ahead, Nnaife set off for the bus stop and as soon as she got there, a call came through from the anonymous caller.

“I quickly told the caller that I was there already and she said that she had seen me,” Nnaife said.

As Nnaife turned to see where the caller was, a hand lifted her hair from her face and poured a bowl of acid on her.

She let out a loud scream as her assailant fled. She was blinded as the pain seared into the skin on her face and chest.

 

Nnaife told the police while on her sick bed that when she turned her face towards her attacker, the person she saw was a man and she believed it was Nwokobia.

 

Sympathisers, who were said to have been attracted by her screams rushed her to the hospital.

 

When the case was reported to the police, investigators swung into action and contacted the telecommunication company which provided service for Nnaife’s mobile line.

 

A source who was familiar with the investigation said:

“Our findings from the service provider revealed that the line belonged to 20-year-old Charles Orji, an Anambra State indigene, who has also been arrested.

“When we got Orji, we found out that he worked in the same sachet water company with Nwokobia. Orji said the latter sometimes used his phone but could not remember if he lent him the phone on the day of the attack.”

The suspects have been arraigned at the Chief Magistrate’s Court, Botanical Garden, Yaba Lagos on charges of conspiracy, grievous bodily harm and attempted murder.

 

The case was adjourned till September 23. 2015.

 

 

 

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