Where’s the ammunition bought with ECA $1bn? – Wike questions FG

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers state, has asked the federal government to account for the $1 billion taken from the excess crude account (ECA) to purchase ammunition for the military.

In 2017, the national economic council (NEC) approved the withdrawal of $1 billion from the ECA to buy ammunition to fight insurgency in the north-east.

Owing to criticisms from the public and civil society groups, the presidency later released details of how the money was spent.

Commenting on the declining security situation in the country, Wike said it calls for concern that soldiers are complaining of lack of arms to fight insecurity when $1 billion was withdrawn to serve the same purpose.

“Nigeria is bleeding. When citizens cannot be protected, then there is nothing like governance,” Wike said during a Channels Television programme.

“Today, you can’t go safely anywhere without being afraid something may happen. That’s where we are today. The government has failed. The government has no plan to provide security.

“I remember there was a time when $1 billion was taken from the Excess Crude Account to provide for security. Where is the equipment that we bought. If I should release that money as the Chief Security Officer, knowing how Nigeria is, I will make sure that those weapons and the right ones were bought.

“It is key. You have to take leadership. I couldn’t have released $1 billion and nobody could show me the equipment. Even if those who were at helms of security have left, the onus is on you to summon them and ask for the equipment you released money for. The army is saying they need equipment to fight. That calls for concern.”

Molestation saga: Baba Ijesha to face five-count charge bordering on sexual assault

Nollywood actor James Olanrewaju aka Baba Ijesha is set to be tried for five offences, a statement by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo, has said.

This development comes after the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) issued legal advice on Tuesday, noting that a prima facie case has been disclosed against Olarenwaju.

It was recommended he should be charged under the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

“James (Baba Ijesha) is to be tried under section 135 – indecent treatment of a child- punishable by seven years imprisonment; section 137 – defilement of a child – punishable by life imprisonment; section 261- sexual assault by penetration – punishable by life imprisonment; section 262- attempted sexual assault by penetration – punishable by 14 years imprisonment and section 263 – sexual assault- punishable by three years imprisonment.

“While the state would ensure James’ rights as enshrined in the constitution are upheld, the Ministry of Justice would not relent in its efforts at ensuring that whoever sexually abuses any resident of Lagos is speedily brought to book,” an excerpt of the statement shared by The Nation read.

The Street Journal had earlier reported that Baba Ijesha was arrested for allegedly sexually molesting a minor who is reported to be the foster daughter of long-standing comedienne, Princess.

Hameed Odumosu, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, had earlier said the case will be transferred to the DPP for legal advice.

Amotekun evacuates 137 illegal occupants from Ondo forest reserve

Operatives of Ondo State Security Network Agency also known as the Amotekun Corps have evacuated 137 persons illegally occupying the state's forest reserve. 

Illegal occupants of Elegbeka Forest Reserve located along Benin/Owo Highway were apprehended following a tip-off from members of the public. 

 

Commander of Amotekun Corps in Ondo State, Adetunji Adeleye said those apprehended were brought to Amotekun headquarters in Akure where they were further questioned and profiled. 

 

Adeleye disclosed that majority of them said they were from the northern part of the country, and could not state their mission in the state.

 

The Commander also revealed that it was uncovered that the illegal occupants were conniving with others in the area in order to settle down illegally in the government forest reserve. They will now be sent back to where they came from. 

89 men were reportedly beaten by their wives in the last 15 months - Lagos State Government

The Lagos State Government has said 89 men reported that they were battered by their wives in cases of domestic violence between 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Cecilia Bolaji Dada, made this known on Tuesday, May 4, at a ministerial news conference to mark the second year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in office, held in Ikeja, Lagos.

 

The commissioner said, in 2020, a total of 46 men reported at the ministry that their wives violated them.

 

She added that in the first quarter of 2021, 43 men reported that their wives battered them, making it a total of 89 man battered in less than two years.

 

She said the figure captured only cases reported to WAPA and that some cases had been reported directly to the Ministry of Justice and police station which the ministry might not be aware of.

 

Dada further disclosed that a total of 664 women were battered by their husbands in Lagos in the past year, according to cases reported at WAPA.

 

She said 378 women were abused by their husbands in 2020, while 286 women were battered by their husbands in the first quarter of 2021.

Indonesian firm busted for allegedly washing and reusing nasal swabs for thousands of coronavirus tests since December 2020

The Indonesian government has vowed to issue "strict punishment" for some staff of a state-owned pharmaceutical company accused of washing and reusing cotton swabs for COVID-19 tests at a busy international airport.

At least five people employed by Kimia Farma Diagnostika are accused of washing and reusing nasal swabs for thousands of coronavirus tests since December 2020, according to ABC News. 

 

The staff conducted the rapid antigen tests for passengers at Kualanamu airport in the city of Medan, and police have estimated that they reused swabs from 150 kits up to 20,000 times. 

 

The company recently revealed they had dismissed the workers allegedly involved and would fully support a police investigation.

 

"I strongly condemn the actions of unscrupulous Kimia Farma officers," Indonesia's state-owned enterprises Minister Erick Thohir said on Twitter.

 

"Such action must be subject to very strict punishment."

 

Kimia Farma Diagnostika's director Adil Fadhilah Bulqini condemned the workers in a statement and said that reusing swabs was against the company's standard operating procedures.

 

A North Sumatra police spokesman said the group was suspected of siphoning 1.8 billion Indonesian rupiah ($160,500) through the practice of charging people for tainted tests.

 

If prosecuted, the suspects could face up to 10 years in prison, the spokesman said.

 

Tonang Dwi Ardyanto, a pathology expert from Sebelas Maret University, said the reuse of swab tests could have posed a number of health risks to passengers.

 

"After opening and using it, the swab tool is actually no longer suitable for use," he said.

 

"So [the risk is from] not only COVID, but also bacteria, viruses and other pathogens." 

Divorce: Bill and Melinda Gates children to inherit $10m

The world’s billionaire couple, Bill and Melinda Gates posted a joint statement on Twitter Monday, 3 May, about their devorce and this is probably the most shocking news of the year so far.

Gates, the world’s fourth-richest man, has spoken in the past about how each of his three children will only inherit about $10 million of his fortune, The Sun reports.

When asked about rumors that he would only leave his three children Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe $10million each during a Reddit AMA session in 2013, Gates explained that it was for their benefit.

“I definitely think leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favor to them,” he said.

He and Melinda share three children and founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 to address several major global issues.

The couple has donated $45billion through the foundation since its inception, including $1.75 billion to fighting Covid-19, Punch reports.

Bill Gates, 65, was a geeky teenager when he started what would become the world’s most valuable company, and was for a time the world’s richest man and a most prominent philanthropist.

He stepped down as Microsoft chief executive in 2008 to devote more time to philanthropy and later left the board, keeping only the title of “founder and technology advisor.”

Melinda Gates, 56, met Bill at Microsoft in 1987, shortly after she joined the tech firm, and the pair married in 1994.

In a 2019 Netflix documentary series, he described his wife as “truly an equal partner,” while she looked back on some of their first interactions to call him “funny and very high-energy.”

Their foundation is among the world’s richest, having provided more than $54 billion in grants over two decades in areas including malaria and infectious disease control, agricultural research, basic health care, and sanitation in various parts of the world. It has an endowment of more than $46 billion.

The couple’s divorce could create new questions about their wealth, most of which has yet to be donated to their foundation, despite co-creating the Giving Pledge, which encourages billionaires to give the majority of their wealth to charity.

In recent years, Bill Gates has largely distanced himself from Microsoft and the tech industry, instead speaking about poverty and health initiatives, and the coronavirus pandemic.

Last year, the foundation pledged some $250 million to help fight the pandemic, with some of the funds channeled to the distribution of life-saving doses of Covid-19 vaccines to parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Gates, who had been warning as early as 2015 about the potential dangers of a global pandemic, became the target of conspiracy theorists who claimed he knew in advance about Covid-19.

“Show me a 43 year old that looks younger than me” – Actress, Mercy Aigbe brags

Veteran actress,Mercy Aigbe takes to Instagram to brag about her ageless looks while sharing a photo of herself.

The mother of two who seems to have lingered for quite a long time in the movie industry took to her verified Instagram page with almost 10 million followers to trigger netizens with a dazzling photo.

Gushing over her beautiful shape and looks despite her age, she challenged everybody to present a 43-year-old woman younger than she is.

Sharing the photo, she wrote:

“Show me a 43 year old that looks younger than me

Sweet Sixteen, Baby Geh for life mehn

Spot my natural skin glow”

See the post below:

Young man caught with a fresh human head and a hand in Kwara state

A young Nigerian man has been arrested after he was caught with a freshly severed human head and a hand in a bag.

The 24-year-old was identified as Kehinde John Moses and was arrested along Ajase-Ipo Road during stop and search duty. The commissioner of police in the state, Mohammed Bagega, made the disclosure in a statement in Ilorin on Monday.

It was revealed that the suspect was arrested by a team of “Operation Harmony” in a commercial bus. While searching the vehicle, and the bag, one man who is alleged to be a companion to Moses took to his heels while Moses was held. According to him, the bag was searched and a freshly severed head and hands of a boy were discovered.

The Cp said that the suspect confessed to have killed the victim identified as Muhammed, in Ajase Ipo with his fleeing partner for ritual purposes.

He further revealed that the suspect had taken a team of investigators to where the body was dumped.

Culled from gistreel.com

Court documents reveal Bill, Melinda Gates were separated before divorce announcement

The world’s billionaire couple, Bill and Melinda Gates posted a joint statement on Twitter Monday, 3 May, about their divorce and this is probably the most shocking news of the year so far.

Court papers showed that they were separated before taking the divorce decision. The court papers, however, did not show the date of their separation.

“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work, we have made the decision to end our marriage.

”Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives. We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue to work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life,” they said in the joint statement.

The court papers also showed that Melinda Gates, 56, filed the divorce petition in which she described her marriage to Bill Gates, 64, as ‘irretrievably broken.’

The documents posted by TMZ.com, also showed that the Microsoft founder, who is the fourth richest man in the world with a fortune of about $130billion, did not sign a prenuptial agreement with his estranged wife of over 27 years.

The implication of not having a prenuptial agreement is that the two have nothing to help them navigate dividing their wealth which includes properties in five states, a private jet, an astonishing art collection, and a fleet of luxury cars.

In the divorce petition, which was filed in the superior court of Washington King County on Monday, Melinda asked the judge to dissolve the marriage ‘on the date stated in our separation contract’. The separation contract was, however, not included in the filing so that date is unclear.

In the absence of the pre-nuptial agreement, the only agreement pertaining to the divorce is the separation contract.

Melinda did not ask for any spousal support but requested a trial date in April 2022. However, it is likely the divorce will be settled without a trial.

The petition states that finances pertaining to the couple’s three children are addressed in the separation contract. The document was signed by both Bill and Melinda, as well as their attorneys.

Both Bill and Melinda hired powerhouse law firms to assist in the divorce. Melinda is represented by a team of four New York-based attorneys from two separate firms: Cohen Clair Lane Griefer Thorpe & Rottenstreich LLP and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

Bill is represented by three Los Angeles-based attorneys from Munger Tolles & Olson. One of the attorneys, Charles T Munger, is a longtime partner of Bill’s billionaire friend Warren Buffett.

The announcement comes less than two weeks after they made their last public appearance, virtually, at a Covid-19 event for healthcare workers.

16 Soldiers Killed, One Missing In Niger Republic Ambush

Sixteen Niger soldiers have been killed and another is missing after an ambush against a patrol in the Tahoua region near the Mali border, local officials said Sunday.

During the attack by “bandits” on Saturday the toll was “16 dead, six injured and one missing,” Tahoua department secretary general Ibrahim Miko said on public television.

He attended the funeral of Lieutenant Maman Namewa, commander of the patrol which was attacked.

The vast desert area of Tahoua in the west of the country  sits close to the borders of both Mali and Burkina Faso and has been plagued by jihadist violence since 2012.

In March an attack by suspected jihadists on three villages near Niger’s border with Mali left a total of 141 people dead, according to the official toll.

They were the worst attacks committed by suspected jihadists in Niger in recent years.

The world’s poorest nation according to the UN’s development rankings for 189 countries, Niger is also struggling with Islamist insurgencies that have spilled over from Mali and Nigeria.

The attacks in western Niger are often attributed to groups affiliated to the Al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups.

Such attacks against civilians have multiplied this year, with over 300 people killed in villages and encampments in western Niger.

AFP