Rainstorm tragedy kills 8, including pregnant woman in Lagos, Ilorin

Tragedy struck in Lagos and Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, yesterday, as six persons including a pregnant woman and her three children were electrocuted as rainstorm swept away three others in Ilorin.

The Lagos tragedy occurred at Oworonshoki area of the state, during a heavy downpour. According to an eyewitness, the tragedy struck at Nos 6 and 8 Onabanjo Street, Oworonsoki around 2.00 am when the 11KVA high tension line suddenly snapped during the early heavy downpour accompanied by rainstorm with electricity still on the cable.

Confirming the incident, General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, said, a cable belonging to Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, during the heavy rainfall, sparked when power was suddenly restored at about 2.20 am. He said the cable snapped and landed on a vehicle with 50 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, which immediately exploded into a ball of fire.

He said the incident caused panic among residents of the area and in an attempt to run into safety, they unknowingly stepped on the live cable and were electrocuted.

Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed that six people died while the Police and other security agencies arrived the scene later to restore normalcy.
In Ilorin, no fewer than three people were feared dead in a downpour that destroyed property worth millions of naira and rendered hundreds of people homeless overnight.

Two brothers identified as Basil and Gafal, aged four and three and half respectively, lost their lives while an Abuja-bound bus driver also died in the flood.

Correspondent who visited the scene of the flood along Ajase-Ipo Road, Ilorin, reports that over 30 vehicles were damaged due to the heavy flood caused by blocked canal.

Two-year jail, N1m fine for HIV/AIDS discrimination

The Senate passed yesterday a Bill to prevent stigmatisation of and discrimination against those living with or affected by the Human Immuno-Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Nigeria.

It approved a two-year jail term or a maximum of N1 million fine against any institution or organisation that discloses the status of an infected person.

The Bill stipulates a N500,000 fine for any individual who discloses the status of an infected person, which he or she may have obtained in confidence.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta North), said the Bill would protect the rights and dignity of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Okowa noted that the Bill would also encourage those infected, to declare their HIV status in a more friendly Nigerian community.

The lawmaker expressed confidence that the risk of transmission would be greatly reduced when the Bill is signed into law.

Besides, the Bill makes it an offence for any employer, institution, body or individual to require an HIV test as a pre-condition to offer employment, access to public/private services or opportunities.

It makes it punishable for any educational institution – private or public – to demand HIV/AIDS test as part of its routine medical requirements for admission or accreditation of students.

Abacha’s son, Mohammed charged with keeping stolen N446b

The Federal Government has filed a new charge against the son of the late General Sani Abacha, Mohammed, accusing him of unlawfully receiving about N446.3billion allegedly stolen from government’s coffers between 1995 and 1998.

Mohammed is, in the charge of nine counts, accused of “dishonestly receiving stolen property” and “voluntarily assisting in concealing money.” The charge replaced the earlier one of 121 counts in which Mohammed was charged with Atiku Bagudu, who is excluded from the fresh charge.

According to the new charge, Mohammed concealed 141,100,000 pounds sterling and $384,353,000 in cash and travellers cheques.

The charge, dated February 24, 2014 was filed by a private prosecutor, Daniel Enwelum, who is prosecuting the case on behalf of the Federal Government and upon a fiat dated February 18, 2014, issued to him by the Attorney General of the Federation.

Mohammed’s absence in court stalled his planned arraignment yesterday before Justice Mamman Kolo of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

Enwelum told the court that even when Mohammed had been served with the charge, with evidence to that effect contained in a sworn affidavit by the court’s bailiff, the accused person refused to attend court for him to be arraigned.

He said the new charge, which excludes Bagudu, who was charged with Mohammed, was filed pursuant to Section 181 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) as an amendment to the earlier charge.

Enwelum urged the court to accept the fresh charge and deemed the receipt of the charge by the defence lawyer, on behalf of the accused person, as proper service. He said the lawyer, Abdulllahi Haruna, promised to receive the charge for his client.

Haruna said Mohammed was absent in court because he was not aware of the new charge. He urged the court to adjourn the case to a further date to enable his client attend court.

Bagudu’s lawyer, Rickey Tarfa (SAN), urged the court to grant an order discharging his client in view of the prosecution’s decision to exclude him from the new charge.

Enwelum, in reaction to Tarfa’s application, argued that it was unnecessary for the court to made a specific order discharging Bagudu from the charge since the government has already excluded him from the amended charge.

Justice Kolo allowed the amended charge. He also granted an order discharging Bagudu from the charge and adjourned the hearing till April 29 for Mohammed’s arraignment.

In count one, Mohammed is alleged to have between August and December 1995 at Abuja, dishonestly received $36,480,000.00 made up of cash and travellers cheques, property of the Federal Government, believed to have been stolen.

Count two alleges that Mohammed, between August and December 1995 in Abuja, voluntarily assisted in concealing $57,960,000.00 believed to have been stolen from the Federal Government. Count three alleged that he, between October and December 1996 at Abuja, dishonestly received $26,913,500.00 believed to have been stolen from the Federal Government.

The prosecution alleges in count four that Mohammed, within the same time, voluntarily assisted in concealing $26,913,500.00 allegedly stolen from the Federal Government. Count five alleged that he, sometime in June 1997 at Abuja, dishonestly received $10,000,000.00 believed to have been stolen from the Federal Government.

He is, in count six, said to have, between February and December 1997 dishonestly received $87,000,000 and 41,143,000 pounds sterling believed to have been stolen from the Federal Government. Count seven accuses Mohammed of voluntarily assisting in concealing the amounts mentioned in count six.

In count eight, Mohammed is accused of dishonestly receiving, between January and August 1998, $167,000,000 and 99,957,000 pounds sterling, believed to have been stolen from the Federal Government. Count nine accuses him of voluntarily assisting in concealing the amount mentioned in count eight.

The alleged offences are punishable under sections 317 and 319 of the Penal Code.

‘Only Tambuwal can sack 37 defecting Reps’

Only the Speaker of the House of Representatives is constitutionally empowered to declare vacant the seats of the 37 lawmakers who defected from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Chairman of House Committee on Rules and Business, Albert Sam-Tsokwa, has said.

Sam-Tsokwa (PDP Taraba), who represents Donga/SSA/Takum/Special Area, spoke yesterday during the House of Representatives Press Corps’ Hot Seat series at the National Assembly in Abuja.

The lawmaker flayed the call of the PDP Governors’ Forum to declare the seats of the defected lawmakers vacant.

He urged the PDP governors to stop making a pronouncement that could heat up the polity but take the legal option.

According to him, the governors should take recourse to the Judiciary on the case of the 37 defecting lawmakers and approach the courts for a writ of mandamus, if they felt the law was not being adhered to.

Sam-Tsokwa said: “Let me begin by saying the court is not a father Christmas. A court has no jurisdiction, a court has no right, a court has no power to give what is not asked for.

“Now, as to the next course of action, the constitution is very clear: that power (to declare seat of any member vacant) is vested in the Senate President or the Speaker of the House of Representatives. No other person in Nigeria has that power, not even the court.

“If I am aggrieved that the Senate President has not done what he should or the Speaker has not done what he should have done, the only way we can involve a court is to go to the court and ask for an order of mandamus to compel him to do what the law requires him to do.”

The lawmaker accused most northern governors of sponsoring acts of terrorism.

John Dumelo’s Tricycle ride in Lagos

A-list Ghanaian actor, John Dumelo, is no stranger to Nigeria and he sure know his way around.

This fact, the actor demonstrated last week when he was spotted in Lagos inside a tricycle commonly referred to as Maruwa.

John was seen alone at the back of the local commercial vehicle in Randle area of Surulere, Lagos, obviously in a hurry to get somewhere as his instagram post later revealed “ After waiting a long time for the driver, got to make do with what is available”

John Dumelo who has featured in over 60 movies both in Ghollywood and Nollywood and he was recently verified on Facebook as the first Ghanaian actor to have over a million likes on his Facebook page.

Why people prefer ‘Blind watch’, even, when they aren’t blind

It is amazing that over 1000 people have pre-ordered the not yet released, Bradley Timepiece designed for blind people, but what is even more shocking is that only about 2 per cent of those people are blind.

The watch, named after Bradley Snyder, a Paralympian gold medallist who lost his sight in Afghanistan, is already proving to be a tech design trail blazer not for the visually impaired but for the rest of the world. The watch has a stark, circular titanium face. There are no hands.

There are no numbers. Around a groove in the centre a ball-bearing rotates to mark the minutes. Around the edge of the watch, another ball bearing rotates to tell the hours. The watch is now among the favourites in the 76 nominations for the Designs of the Year contest at London’s Design Museum.

Designer Hyungsoo Kim, was in a class at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2011, when his visually impaired classmate asked about the time. The student had a watch that could tell the time, but only by pressing a button that would make it speak out loud. Doing so in a classroom could be disruptive, so instead, Kim became his wristwatch.

This was where he got the inspiration to build a wristwatch for the blind that can be used by fashion oriented, non-braille literate, visually impaired people to tell the time without any difficulty. He obviously did a good job of it, because even those not in the target market love it!

At 27, I am too young for marriage-Ice Prince

Panshak Zamani, popularly  known by fans as  Ice Prince is Nigerian hip-hop recording artiste best known for winning the 2009 Hennessy Artistry for his song “Oleku”.

The music crooner hit the limelight with his party banger  ‘Oleku’ after which he released several other rave tracks in his debut album, ‘Everybody Loves Ice Prince.’His second album, ‘Fire of Zamania’ which was unveiled in November 2013, has also been applauded by music lovers and critics alike, in the music industry.



He said he is too young for marriage because he is not mentally fit for it. Read on

Why are you still single ?
I don’t think I am planning to get married now because am still young, I’m in my youth  and moreover, I am just 27 years old. Maybe later in my late thirties I can start planing to get married  or not.

But what are your reasons ?
It’s because I still have a long way to go before thinking of settling down. I can’t say because of what I have, that I am okay to get  married,  no. I don’t think I am mentally ready for marriage.  I think before one could get married, one needs to attain certain level of understanding and awareness. I don’t think I have those qualities just yet.

But are you in any serious relationship, and any plan of  settling down with your baby mama ?
Yeah , but I wouldn’t want to talk about my girlfriend and about the mother of my baby. She is good and we are not talking about getting married because I’m not ready yet.