Transgender inmate set to get vaginoplasty surgery before being moved to women's prison after claiming sexual and verbal abuse in an all-male facility.

A Minnesota transgender inmate who is serving prison time on a drug charge has successfully sued the state Department of Corrections for discrimination and will be transferred to a women's facility from all-male prison. 

Christina Lusk, 56, will also be receiving $495,000 in financial compensation and vaginoplasty as she is sent to an all-women facility in Shakopee this week after claiming sexual and verbal abuse in an all-male facility.

Lusk, who is legally recognized as a female, came out as transgender 14 years ago, started hormone therapy, and legally changed her name in 2018. The following year she pleaded guilty to a felony drug possession charge.

 

The settlement also promises Lusk will be given further gender-affirming healthcare and will strengthen its policies to protect transgender inmates.

'This journey has brought extreme challenges, and I have endured so much. My hope is that nobody has to go through the same set of circumstances. I relied on my faith, and I never gave up hope. I can truly say that I am a strong, proud, transgender woman, and my name is Christina Lusk,' she said in a statement.

 

Paul Schnell, the Minnesota DOC Commissioner, said that the state is 'constitutionally obligated' to treat gender dysphoria and will do so for Lusk, according to Fox 9. 

 

'Based on the facts of this specific case, the incarcerated person will now have access to the medical care she needs, she deserves, and we have a legal obligation to provide,' he said in a statement. 

 

A department of corrections press release on the settlement includes promises that gender non-conforming inmates will be placed at facilities matching their gender identities.  

They will grant those requests 'unless the requested placement would pose a heightened risk of physical or sexual harm to that person or those housed in the preferred facility.'

 

'Everybody needs to come together in unity, and embrace positive change. I believe we have made a big step toward allowing people to express who they truly are, and bring some sort of peace and happiness to their lives,' Lusk added. 

 

Jess Braverman, an attorney for the group Gender Justice, which is representing Lusk along with the Minneapolis law firm of Robins Kaplan, considers the settlement a positive step. 

 

'Minnesota was the first state in the country to expressly protect transgender people in our anti-discrimination laws. But sometimes it feels like we're the last ones to get it right. I think this goes a long way in showing that Minnesota is moving forward,' she said in a statement. 

'We are fulfilling that promise, and we are going to give transgender people the dignity they deserve, whether they're in an institutional setting, whether they're incarcerated or not.'

 

Braverman had said her client was unsafe in Moose Lake.

 

'She's a woman, and suddenly she's placed in a men's facility. She's in a locked cell with a number of men, and she's really exposed to harassment and violence in that setting,' Braverman said.

 

While in prison, Lusk had also been denied gender-affirming surgery by corrections officials - despite doctors approving the procedure before she was incarcerated, the lawsuit says. She is set to be released in 2024.

 

Lusk had been seeking a vaginoplasty since her incarceration but DOC Medical Director James Amsterdam determined that she should not be allowed the genital surgery whilst in prison, but 'could pursue that after release', according to the lawsuit. 

 

Lusk wrote in the complaint: 'I have been diagnosed with severe Gender Dysphoria. I have attempted suicide four times due to my severe distress caused by my GD as well as self-mutilation. My mental capacity is under control, and I am able to make good decisions as far as surgery. 

'I have letters of support from my primary physician, my gender specialist, my therapist, as well as my psychiatrist, only two letters are required for surgery but I go up and beyond what is required.' 

 

The move by the corrections department to hold Lusk in a men's prison and deny her the surgery is unconstitutional and a violation of her human rights, according to the lawsuit. 

 

'Christina Lusk is recognized legally and socially as female - including by the state of Minnesota. Yet, the Minnesota DOC treats Ms Lusk as a man simply because she is transgender,' the lawsuit stated. 

 

Lusk has been reprimanded for having breasts and wearing women's clothing, yet also scolded for going without a bra while her bras were in the wash, the lawsuit contends.

 

Lusk filed the first of two complaints with the state Department of Human Rights in early 2020. She alleged that prison staff housed her in a room with seven men, required her to change her clothes and use the bathroom with men, and called her by her former name.

 

Both requests to be moved were denied without explanation, according to the suit.

New tenants 'abduct' neighbour’s two children 2 weeks after moving into apartment in Abuja

Two women have reportedly abducted their neighbour's two children two weeks after moving into an apartment in Bako community, in the Kwali Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. 

According to Punch, the two ladies fled with the two siblings identified as Hauwa, 5, and and her two-year-old brother, Marwan, on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. 

The development has since thrown the community into confusion as the distraught parents of the children are currently making spirited moves to trace the fleeing ladies and recover their children. 

It was gathered that trouble started when two-year-old Marwan started crying while his mother was praying.

One of the new tenants, identified as Godiya, under the pretence that she did not want Marwan to distract his mother from her prayers, offered to carry the little boy.

When the cry persisted, Godiya then took the boy and his elder sister, Hauwa, with her, claiming she wanted to go and buy biscuits for the children. She never returned.

When the mother finished her prayers, she patiently waited for the return of the tenant and her children to no avail.

By the time it became clear that something must have happened to the children, the woman cried out, drawing the attention of other neighbours. 

She and other neighbours searched the neighbourhood but the children and their new neighbour were nowhere to be found.

The mother was faced with the shock of her life when agitated neighbours decided to break into the new tenants’ room and they discovered that the room was empty, an implication that the two new tenants planned the abduction and had taken away their few belongings before fleeing with the children.

Speaking to the publication, the father of the missing children, Dauda Saliu, said that the ladies moved into a one-room apartment in the area barely two weeks ago.

Saliu said since the ladies moved in, Godiya had been giving gifts to his children and he had not been comfortable with the situation but he could not stop it because of the nature of his job which usually took him away from home for the better part of the day.

“I was not at home when the incident happened. It happened around 6pm yesterday (Wednesday). Their mother was praying while the youngest child was crying, and one of the ladies took them with her under the guise that she wanted to buy biscuits for them. Other people in the community saw my children with one of them but did not suspect anything because she was always playing with them,” the troubled father said. 

"When it was taking long and they did not return, my wife called on the ladies and knocked on their door but there was no response. She called on other neighbours who broke their door only to discover that their room was empty.

“I knew one of them was usually buying biscuits and drinks for my children and I was never comfortable with the idea. I work as a security guard and because of the nature of my job which is always taking me away from home, my warnings against that were not effective. This would not have happened if they heeded my words.

"The ladies are new; we only know the name of one of them who introduced herself as Godiya. It is painful that this has happened to me.”

Saliu also regretted that efforts made to get the ladies’ details from the landlord had not yielded results.

"We have contacted the landlord when the incident happened to see if we could trace them but he doesn’t have their details. He told us they were yet to fill out the needed forms. We are currently at the Bako Police Station to report the matter,” he added.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, said she had not been briefed on the matter. 

One Blessing Immaculate Abraham, in a Facebook post sighted by LIB, said one of the ladies was wearing a black skirt and purple top when she disappeared with the children around 6:pm on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, one Abdul Yakubu, shared photos of the children, urging anyone with useful information on their whereabout to kindly contact the police or call the phone numbers: 09154600268, 08116635774. 

 

 

A Nigerian man that wants to be a good and godly husband must be ready to be called a 'simp and woman wrapper' - Solomon Buchi

Self-acclaimed life coach, Solomon Buchi, has said that Nigerian men who want to be good husbands must be ready to bear being called “simps and woman wrapper.”

“A Nigerian husband that wants to be a good and godly husband must be ready to be called a simp, ‘woman wrapper’, and termed controlled by his wife. Some men hate to you be a better man than they are, and their coping mechanism is try to make you feel you’re the inferior one, but no, you’re the better man, and they’re somewhere lower than where crude oil is found,” he said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. 

 

Two APC women leaders kidnapped after attending Kaduna Governor's inauguration

 

Bandits have kidnapped two women leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) along Manini flash point in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State. 

The Birnin Gwari APC women leader, Hajiya Lami Awarware and her assistant, Hajiya Haulatu Aliyu, were abducted on Tuesday, May 30, after attending the inauguration of the state governor, Senator Uba Sani on Monday. 

Chairman of Birnin Gwari Emirate Progressive Union (BEPU) Ishaq Usman Kasai, who disclosed this in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune on Wednesday morning, May 31, said the bandits blocked the road and kidnapped the women and dozens of others.

Findings gathered that immediately after the victims were kidnapped on Tuesday, the kidnappers took them to the forest.

He also said that the abductors are yet to contact the families of the victims or any person in the area. 

Buhari blows Nigerians a kiss as he leaves Eagles square for Katsina (video)

Former President, Muhammadu Buhari blew Nigerians a kiss as he departed the Eagles square for the airport where he will be flown to Daura, Katsina state for his retirement. 

Watch a video of him below…

Two suspected 'thieves' stripped and paraded in Rivers community (photos/videos)

Two suspected thieves have been stripped and paraded in Agbonchia community, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State. 

According to reports, the suspects who drove in a red Toyota Camry were intercepted by youths of Agbonchia led by Comr. Abel Oluka (Kofi) on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. 

 

Eyewitnesses claimed that the suspects attempted to rob a POS shop along Agbonchia road but the operator raised the alarm, attracting the attention of members of the community. 

 

The suspects were paraded around the community and later handed over to the police for further investigations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nigerian pastor and his wife welcome first child after 20 years of waiting

A Nigerian couple, Pastor Iyke Ezekiel and Pastor Doris Ezekiel, have welcomed a baby girl after 20 years of marriage.

The General Overseer of the Household of God Church, Lagos State, Pastor Yinka Yusuf and his wife, Rose Yusuf, shared the good news on Facebook after the child dedication held on Sunday, May 21, 2023. 

"After 20 years of waiting, God blessed my beloved son Pastor Iyke the Pastor of our Abuja household of love church and his beautiful wife Doris with a wonderful baby and I was there in Abuja this morning to dedicate the baby. Miracles are forever and you are next in line for a Miracle," he wrote. 

“What a joy as we dedicate our beautiful granddaughter of our son and daughter Pst Iyke and Pst Doris after waiting for 20 years! Our God is a faithful God! That you have not testified does not mean that God has forgotten you but it is just that God is on His way to you. Our God never never fails! Miracles happen turn by turn, if your neighbor is rejoicing, rejoice with them because you are next in line for a miracles,” his wife wrote. 

Another member of the church, David Timothy also shared photos from the dedication.

"A mega Congratulations to My Pastor Iyke Ezekiel and Mummy Pst Doris Ezekiel for the successful dedication of God's Blessing in their home. Household of Love Church worldwide is eternally grateful to God for his faithfulness." 

 

 

 

 

Presidential Election Tribunal rejects Atiku's request for live streaming of tribunal's proceedings

The presidential election petition tribunal has rejected the application filed by Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP, for the proceedings from the tribunal to be streamed live for all Nigerians to see.

A five-member panel of the court led by Haruna Tsammani held that the application lacked merit. Recall that on May 7, Atiku approached the court for an order to allow the proceedings from the tribunal to be streamed live. He argued that televising the proceedings will enhance public confidence.

Arguing the motion, Chris Uche, counsel for Atiku and the PDP, said “There is no single legislative or statutory position against it.” He said a live broadcast doesn’t necessarily mean the faces of the justices would be shown.  

Nigeria is very safe - Senator Sekibo

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Navy, Senator George Sekibo, has described Nigeria as a “very safe” country. 

Sekibo made the claim at the investiture ceremony for the Fellow membership of Girne American University Cyprus, shortly after the Regional Manager (West Africa) and Partnership Advisor of the institution, Praise Folaji, said the chancellor of the institution, Serhat Akpinar, was absent because of the insecurity in Nigeria.

Folaji had cited the recent killing of United States Embassy staff in Anambra. Reacting to the claim, Sekibo who was one of the recipients of the Fellowship award, said; 

“Nigeria is very safe, that’s why all of us are here. Apart from few politicians who may have escorts or security, I believe 99% of the people here did not need anybody to escort them to this place.

“And there was no gunshot or issues of killings or kidnapping in Nigeria for the past couple of months. I say so because this is an international programme, and as a senator representing you (audience), it would be wrong for me to admit that Nigeria is not safe.

“Sometimes, events can happen anywhere. There’s no country in the world events do not happen. Nigeria is like other countries in the world. In America, even small children carry guns to kill themselves. I think we have not reached that level. So, Nigeria is very safe.”

Owner of FCMB, Otunba Subomi Balogun is dead

Founder of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and Olori Omoba of Ijebuland, Otunba Michael Olasubomi Balogun, is dead.

Balogun died in London this morning at the age of 89. His death has been confirmed by media personality, Dele Momodu, who wrote on Instagram; 

“Diamonds are forever OVATION INTERNATIONAL magazine (since 1996)... Good night CHIEF OLASUMOMI BALOGUN... Rest in Peace Sir.”