The father of abducted Dapchi Schoolgirl, Leah Sharibu, has reacted to the news making the rounds that his daughter has welcomed a baby and has been married off to a commander of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
In a phone conversation with Channels Television’s correspondent on Sunday, Mr Nathan Sharibu said he would rather not make any comment on the issue.
He added that his primary concern is to see his daughter return alive and will, therefore, not give any credence to any rumours.
News that she had given birth, as well as her alleged marriage to a Boko Haram commander, started making the rounds after Journalist, Ahmad Sakilda, who is believed to have access to the insurgents announced in a tweet that the abducted schoolgirl is now a mother.
The tweet read: “Why, I wonder, do we pretend that leaving Leah behind won’t result in pregnancy? Since the terror group announced condemning her to slavery, is there any step or collective focus on preventing similar occurrences? She’s a mother, but I don’t know about the gender of the baby,”.
Leah had been abducted from her school – Science Secondary School, Dapchi, Yobe State, on February 19, 2018, along with over 100 other schoolgirls.
Although the others were later released, she was held back on the grounds of refusing to denounce her religion – Christianity.
The Christian Association of Nigeria and several other human rights groups from across the world have continued to campaign for her release.
An operative of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on Sunday shot the 2019 senatorial candidate of the Action Alliance in Imo North Senatorial District, Ndubuisi Emenike.
The police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, confirmed that the incident had been reported to the police.
The incident took place around 5 pm during a victory party for the All Progressives Congress candidate, Miriam Onuoha.
The APC candidate had been declared by Independent National Electoral Commission as the winner of the rerun election in Okigwe North Federal Constituency held on Saturday.
However, the victory party hosted at the APC’s candidate house at Umunachi in the Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of the state was aborted after the NSCDC officer attached to the AA senator mistakenly shot his boss.
It was gathered that he was shooting consistently into the air and mistakenly shot Ndubuisi Emenike.
The victim fell and lost consciousness and was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, St Joseph’s Hospital, Umunachi, before he was later rushed to the Federal Medical Center, Owerri, in an ambulance.
One of the sources said, ” Ndubuisi Emenike has been shot by one of his security aides. He was shot during APC victory party at Isiala Mbano LGA. He was shot at his lower abdomen by his aide, an NSCDC officer. This is very tragic and very unbelievable. We pray he makes it. The incident has shattered our victory party.”
NBA legend Kobe Bryant has died in a helicopter crash aged just 41.
According to reports, the LA Lakers icon was travelling with three others in a private aircraft when it came down in Calabasas near LA, California, US.
It is understood up to five people have died in the crash, with nobody on board surviving.
An investigation into the incident - which happened on Sunday morning - is underway.
According to reports, the helicopter went up in a ball of fire after hitting the ground.
He is survived by his wife Vanessa and their three daughters, who are thought to have not been on board.
Twin suicide bombers linked to the Boko Haram sect have attacked a mosque in Gwoza, Borno state, on Sunday, killing a 12-year-old child and leaving many people injured.
A security source, who disclosed this to TheCable, said the suicide bombers forced their way into the mosque while prayer was ongoing.
The source said before some persons in the neighbourhood raised the alarm, the attackers had already gained entry into the mosque.
The incident happened at Guduf Nagadiyo in Bulabaulin, Gwoza. Soldiers from 192 battalion of the Nigerian Army later cordoned off the mosque.
A resident said the suicide bombers might have infiltrated the town during a wedding which held at the palace of the emir of Gwoza on Saturday.
Borno has been the worst hit in the resurgence of Boko Haram attacks in the north-east.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said the opinion of Theophilus Danjuma, a retired general, is not more important than that of millions of Nigerians who voted for his reelection last year.
Mr Buhari made this comment in an exclusive interview with The Interview by email released in Abuja on Saturday.
Asked if he was concerned about the vote of low confidence expressed by Mr Danjuma during a recent book launch in Ibadan, Mr Buhari said, “And what is the vote of confidence of Nigerians in me, as expressed in the polls last year? That is what matters more, not the opinion of one man.”
Mr Danjuma had said if he says what he knows about the goings on in the government, Nigerians would lose sleep.
The comment has been viewed in some quarters as an expression of lack of confidence in Buhari’s government, and a blow from a man who is widely believed to have been one of Mr Buhari’s major financial pillars.
The president, however, said his re-election was a vindication of his voters’ confidence and support for him and his government’s policies.
On his relationship with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Mr Buhari said things were “perfect”, between them.
He was asked to rate his relationship with his deputy on a scale of one to ten. But the president replied, “Perfect. Or has he complained to you?”
In a press release on Sunday, the MD/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview, Mr. Azu Ishiekwene, said, “This interview, published on our website: www.theinterview.ng is a window on what the President is thinking about some of the most important issues of his second term so far, from the Economic Advisory Council to the rule of law; and from his relationship with his deputy and 2023 to the country’s debt profile.”
He also commented on the insinuation that a “cabal” runs his government; his promise to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty; and criticisms that his claim that he is now a “reformed democrat”, is fake.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has ordered a full-scale investigation into the cause of the fire incident that gutted the popular Amu Plank Market in Mushin.
The Governor, who gave the order when he visited the market that was razed by fire on Friday, allayed the fears of the traders that the government would take over the market.
He assured the victims of the fire incident, which gutted about eleven houses and goods worth over 10 billion, of his administration’s assistance, adding that the government will help to rebuild the market.
The traders who spoke at separate interviews appealed to the Governor to support them to go back to their businesses and help in rebuilding the market.
Sanwo Olu, who was accompanied by his deputy, Dr Femi Hamzat, and members of his cabinet, said relevant government authorities have been mobilised to take inventory of the situation and report back to his office.
The Governor, who lamented the huge losses recorded in the market inferno, said: “This is a rather very unfortunate incident, nobody ever imagined this amount of destruction to happen in this market. We will also further start a full investigation into the remote causes of this fire incident so that we can plan in future how to forestall incident like this.
“After the Lagos State Emergency Agency (LASEMA) and other agencies have finished their physical process we will come back with Ministry of Physical Planning to take inventory of the various store owners in this place and also sit with our market leaders to see what kind of lasting solution that we can bring about in markets like this.”
“We will do enumeration of the houses affected by the fire incident. Then the government will go back and see what support it can render. We thank God that it is only goods that were lost, no life was lost. Because we cannot equate the life of anybody to any amount of goods and services,” the Governor said.
About 500 clerics have gathered in Abuja to kick-start a 21-day prayer and fasting session “against the forces planning the destabilisation of Nigeria.”
The clerics, drawn from various churches across the country, said with the present situation of things in the country, prayers and fasting are urgently needed to salvage the nation.
Led by Sunday Garuba, a bishop who is the president of the National Interfaith and Religious Organisation for Peace (NIFROP), the prayer session will end on February 15.
Garuba said it will afford the clerics the opportunity to intercede on behalf of the nation so that Nigeria can be healed.
Garuba said: “We have come to that point when we can no longer persist in our division and way of life that rend us asunder contrary to God’s will.
“We can no longer continue to posture that all is well when it is clear that God wants us to repent of the sins we commit against ourselves and the glorious land that the Lord has provided for us in Nigeria.”
The Cleric said NIFROP have made “Agape” its creed, doing onto others as the Lord ordained irrespective of sectarian variations.
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested about 100 suspected criminals in the state. Eighty-two of the suspects were arrested in the Ikorodu area of the state, with others picked up in other locations.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana, in a press statement, said that:
“On January 25, at about 06:00 hours, acting on credible intelligence, the Special Strike Force on Social Miscreants, established by the Commissioner of Police Lagos State Command, Hakeem Odumosu, arrested 21 cult suspects at Adamo community, Imota. The suspects, who belong to two rival cult groups, Aiye and Eiye confraternity, mobilised from Emure and Adamo communities, to unleash terror on residents of Adamo community and environs. The arrest was carried out in a joint operation with operatives from Imota Police Station, Rapid Response Squad, Special Anti Robbery Squad, and Area N Command. This is a follow up to the operations carried out at Ijede where 65 cult suspects were arrested.
“Eleven assorted pistols of different calibres with a large quantity of ammunition were recovered from the suspects. The suspects confessed to be responsible for a series of violent attacks, murder and armed robbery incidents recorded in Ikorodu area. The suspects will be charged to court.
“The Commissioner of Police further reaffirmed the commitment of the Command to address the menace of cultism and youth gangsterism in the State.”
DSP Elkana stated that in another development three notorious traffic robbery suspects were also arrested, “at about 0530 hours, following a sustained monitoring, police operatives deployed to Ipaja area on anti-traffic robbery patrol (motorcycle patrol) by Odumosu, have arrested three traffic robbery suspects: Hassan Lekan, 19, Owolabi Seyi, 18, and Ismailia Ibrahim,19. The suspects specialised in snatching handbags, phones and money from unsuspecting members of the public. They mostly operated between 4 am and 7 am. Items recovered from them included phones and bags they snatched from three different victims. The suspects were charged to court.
“In a related development, operatives from Ipaja division arrested two notorious suspects who specialised in car snatching and stealing vehicles from parking spaces mostly in worship centres. The suspects were Bamidele Adebayo and Hakeem Taofik.
“On January 19, at about 1300 hours, the suspects stole a Toyota Corolla saloon car at a church in Shagari Estate Ipaja and moved the vehicle to Ijagba village in Sango Ota, Ogun State. Detectives from Ipaja Police Station recovered the vehicle at about 1600 hrs of the same date from the suspects. The suspects were also charged to court,” the statement read.
Brody Jenner and model Daniella Grace appear to be heating up as the two stepped out together at the Sundance Film Festival.
The former “The Hills” star, 36, entered Tao Park City Friday night with his rumored girlfriend and other friends before making his way to the stage where he would DJ for a couple of hours beginning around 1 a.m. local time. At one point, Grace stood behind Jenner supportively as he spun beats for the packed club.
Attendees also included “13 Reasons Why” star Ross Butler, Lala Kent and fiancé Randall Emmett, “Stranger Things” star Joe Keery, “Mean Girls” actor Jonathan Bennett, Daniel Dae Kim and Benedict Wong.
Post Malone, who was at Tao the night before making some strange drink decisions, returned and joined Jenner in the DJ booth.
Jenner and Grace were first spotted together in December after he had a brief romance with model Allison Mason. Previously, he dated Josie Canseco after splitting from longtime love Kaitlynn Carter.
An ex-military officer, Silvanus Kwange has been left in shock after finding out that his son-in-law Christopher Chori. impregnated his second wife, Priscilla Kwange.
According to The Sun, Mr Kwange, a native of Tiv from Taraba State, has been married to Priscilla for about 10 years without a child. He married her after the demise of his first wife.
Mr Kwange was advised to send Priscilla packing but Christopher, his son-in-law married to his daughter Faith, advised him against this.
Faith and Christopher who have been married for over four years welcomed their first child in May 2019 but their joy was shortlived as she died a week after from complications from the caesarian section she underwent.
Priscilla was told to leave their home in Taraba and move in with Christopher to nurse the baby. One thing led to another and they began having s3x and she became pregnant for him.
Mr Kwange speaking on this said;” I know the importance of her coming to stay in Lafia for some period of time, to take care of the new born baby whose mother is late. I thought it was my own responsibility to help my son-in-law and the new baby of my late daughter. So, I allowed my own wife to come and help. Is that an offence?”
The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony is scheduled for January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The award will recognizes the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018 to August 31, 2019.
This year’s Grammy award show will see new and old stars unite to celebrate their accomplishments in the music industry and Nigerians are anticipating the 2020 Grammy awards for none other reason other than Burna Boy who was nominated in the Best World Music Album category, earning the top spot for his 2019 project African Giant.
The management of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State, has cleared the Vice Chancellor, Prof Francis Otunta, of allegations of sexual harassment leveled against him by a female staff of the institution.
It disclosed that the allegation was a product of frustration and vendetta by the said staff because she was disciplined in line with the extant rules of the university.
In a statement signed by the Registrar and Secretary to Council, Mrs. Jacinta N. Ogwo-Agu, MOUAU declared that Prof Otunta “at no time or place did harass physically or sexually the said Dr Mbah as he has no need to do so”.
The university was reacting to allegations of sexual harassment by Dr Patricia Mbah as published in a national newspaper.
It explained that Dr Mbah alongside more than 100 other staff was recently “properly placed from her previous unmerited position in line with the approval given by the council at its 21st emergency meeting held from Monday, May 13 to Thursday May 16, 2019” also disclosed that Dr Mbah’s salary was “suspended after she traveled abroad and absconded from her duties without due authorisation. In line with the rules of the university, her immediate superiors reported her absence from duty”.
President Muhammadu Buhari has reassured the entire northeast of his administration’s commitment to protect lives and property of citizens. This was made through a Presidential delegation sent to Yola to condole with the Christian Association of Nigeria over the recent killing of two clergymen.
The killing of two clergymen in Adamawa state by bandits has become a great concern to the federal government.
Secretary to the Government of Federation who led president Buhari’s delegation to the state on a condolence visit to Christian communities reassured Nigerians that all form of insecurity across the country will soon be over.
He urged Christians in the state not to see killings of the two clergymen as a threat to their faith. He also wants Nigerians not to yield to the antics of purveyors of violence who want to polarize the country along religious lines.
The SGF also appealed for collaborative efforts in tackling the security challenges threatening the country.
Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Adamawa State chapter appreciated president Buhari for identifying with Christians in these trying times.
He assured that the Christian community is ready to team up with their Muslim counterpart to flush out those causing bad blood between them.
Expectations are high in the northeast to see the end of the Boko Haram insurgency that have caused the death of hundreds of innocent people.
One person has died in Ogun State following the recent Lassa fever outbreak in parts of the country. It is the first case of Lassa fever to be reported in the state.
Channels TV gathered that the victim, 26-year-old Titilayo Akinsola, had been rushed to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Idi-aba in Abeokuta, on Wednesday and after a series of tests, she was diagnosed with the virus.
According to the head of the Public Relations Office of the hospital, Segun Orisajo, Akinsola eventually died after failed attempts by the medical team to save her life.
“Yes she (Akinsola) was rushed to the hospital four days ago and series of tests confirmed that she had Lassa fever,” he said.
“Our medical team did everything possible to save her life but unfortunately she died.”
Orisajo, however, asked members of the public not to panic, insisting that the hospital, in conjunction with the state government, is doing their best to prevent further spread of the disease.
“The hospital management is in touch with the Ministry of Health to work together to put everything in check. There’s no cause for alarm.”
Days prior to the incident, the state government had dismissed a report by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), which listed Ogun among states with Lassa Fever in the country.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker in the statement, insisted that there was no case of Lassa fever in the state.
She, however, noted that the government had put its health officials on red alert in the event of a suspected case.
At least 30 people have been killed and 17 are still missing after two days of heavy rain led to widespread floods and landslides in Brazil's southeast, according to civil defence officials.
More than 2,500 people were evacuated from their homes in the hardest-hit Minas Gerais state as the downpours drenched the region over Friday and Saturday.
The deaths were reported in the regional capital, Belo Horizonte, and across the state.
The Brazilian weather service said on Saturday that Belo Horizonte had received 171.8 millimetres of rain in just 24 hours - its biggest total for one day in more than 100 years.
State Governor Romeu Zema is expected to fly over the affected areas on Sunday to evaluate the damage.
More rain is in the forecast in the coming days across Minas Gerais and for Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
The period from December to April is generally the wettest across southern Brazil.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has canceled the rerun election in eight polling units of Afafanyi/Igonigoni Ward in Cross River State.
The electoral body explained in a statement that it took the decision as a result of the violence recorded in the ward.
It added that the Election was not conducted in eight polling units of the riverine area due to kidnap of the Supervisory Presiding Officer and hijack of election materials by gunmen.
INEC says the kidnapped victim later regained freedom from his abductors while the gunmen refused to release the sensitive and non-sensitive materials in their possession.
Items stolen include nine smart card readers, ballot papers, and several result sheets among others.
INEC confirmed that no life was lost during the incident, but a policeman was injured.
Tragedy struck in Bauchi on Friday when a jealous man, simply identified as ‘Solomon’ stabbed his girlfriend, Patience Zakkari, to death for picking a phone call from another man.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Correspondent reports that the incident occurred around 1.30 am in the house of the deceased located at gwallameji area of Bauchi metropolis.
Narrating to NAN how it happened, a source who pleaded anonymity recounted how the deceased narrated the incident to him before she gave up the ghost.
He explained that the deceased and her boyfriend (Solomon) who were popularly known to be in a romantic relationship by most people in the area, had a heated argument when the deceased received a phone call from a male friend in the middle of the night.
“She narrated to me before she died that everything happened at about 1:30 am on Friday morning.
“She said she received a phone call from just an ordinary male friend and her boyfriend (Solomon) got jealous, started harassing her verbally, and that as she was trying to explain to him, he pounced on her and started hitting her.
“She took a bottle, hit him on the head in self defence because the beating was too much for her, and the man picked up a knife in response and stabbed her at the back.
“She said she lost a lot of blood before she was rushed to a clinic in the morning where she was treated and brought back home in the evening, when she narrated the incident to me.
“Unfortunately, when I left the place, I heard that the wound degenerated and she was rushed to a hospital where she eventually gave up,” narrated the source.
Another source, Mercy Cirfat, told NAN that Solomon, who was living two blocks away from his girlfriend’s, had taken to his heels after carrying out the heinous act, and is now at large.
She said that the deceased was a National Diploma (ND) graduate from the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi.
DSP Kamal Abubakar, the state Police Public Relations Officer confirmed the incident to NAN, adding that the owner of the clinic where she died, had been arrested.
He also assured that the command was on the trail of the culprit and would soon be apprehended to face the wrath of the law.
“I can confirm to you that the incident is true; we got the information from a good samaritan that this was what happened in Gwallameji.
“When the incident happened, without informing the police, her friends took her to a clinic for treatment because the boyfriend stabbed her twice.
“However, the clinic also treated her without informing the police and discharged her the same day.
“When the thing became worse, they took her back to the clinic where she was put on a drip and eventually gave up.
“We have arrested the owner of the clinic and the staff that treated her because they did not inform the police.
“We have swung into action and the case is under investigation; we are on the trail of the suspect and anybody involved; they will all be brought to justice,” said the PPRO.
The Executive Director of the National Films and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Adedayo Thomas, has warned Nigerians to desist from buying foreign films.
He made the statement at the public burning of unwholesome and unapproved movies and video works worth N100 million in Lagos. According to Thomas, majority of those films imported are unapproved and illegal, The Nation reports.
Some of the items destroyed included multiple-in-one films, unclassified foreign, local and pornographic films, all in DVDs and CDs format. According to him, many of the burnt products were pornographic with other obnoxious materials illegally imported into the country.
“Most of these foreign films are uncensored, smuggled into the country without rightful permission; therefore, it must be totally banned. It’s against the growth of this country to ship in foreign films without censorship and permission of the property right of the owner. This has caused reductions in our rating, in term of the intellectual property right.
The ones allowed are the ones in the cinema because we are able to manage the cinema and censor it. Therefore, parents and guardians must ensure their children/wards consume only films and video works classified by the National Film and Video Censors Board.” he said
He revealed that the board has arrested five offenders at Alaba Market and charged them to court while some other retailers were placed on training so as to sensitise them on the kind of products they are supposed to be selling.
Thomas said the burning exercise was recently held in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt, Benin, Sokoto and it will be a continuous exercise so as to stamp out the distribution of these items to safeguard our future as a nation and to also send a strong message to miscreants who feast on other people’s sweat.
Christian teenager Leah Sharibu who was abducted from her boarding school in north-eastern Nigeria by Boko Haram insurgents, gave birth to a baby boy early Saturday, a source has revealed.
On February 19, 2018 at 5:30 pm, 110 schoolgirls aged 11–19 years old were kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist group from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College (GGSTC).
Leah, a Christian schoolgirl aged fourteen at the time of her capture, is the only remaining Dapichi schoolgirl still held hostage when others were set free.
Leah was reportedly not released along with the other children, because she refused to convert to Islam. It has been gathered she was married off to a top Boko Haram commander who lives outside Nigeria.
The source said Leah was delivered of the baby early Saturday in Niger Republic. He added that the insurgents had wanted to release her few months ago but couldn’t because she was pregnant.
Celine Dion is celebrating her first born. The "My Heart Will Go On" singer took to Instagram on Saturday to wish her eldest son, René-Charles Angelil, a happy 19th birthday.
To celebrate his special day, Dion posted a cute baby picture of him. She wrote:
"My dear René-Charles, I’m so proud of the way you’re conducting yourself in life. You’re a true gentleman, and I want you to know that your father’s guidance continues to support and protect you… as I do," Dion wrote. "Keep being the best of yourself… strong, passionate, and wise, as you pursue all of your dreams in life - the sky’s the limit!"
"And above all, have a good time!.... Your happiness, is my happiness," she continued. "I love you so much, my dear son! Mom xx…"
