Police Arrest 4 Cows In Lagos

 (PM News) – Officials of the Lagos State Government in conjunction with the police taskforce have arrested four cows and 37 butchers for operating at an illegal slaughter slab at Otto Awori area of Badagry, Lagos, southwest Nigeria.
Officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, with the taskforce, stormed the area on Tuesday and arrested the cows and suspects.
Four vans of butchered meat were also carted away to the Taskforce office at Alausa where the suspects would be arraigned in court. The four cows were taken to Agege Abattoir.
Chairman of the illegal butchers, Adewunmi Olaseun, said they normally slaughter about 20 cows on daily basis, adding that they also pay N18,000 levy to officials of the Lagos State Government and N5,000 to the Otto Awori Local Council Development Area, LCDA, on weekly basis.
He said the association did not know that they were operating at an illegal slaughter slab.
Olaseun said the meat being sold by the butchers was not contaminated, stressing that “the fact is that we also consume the meat at times. So, there is nothing wrong with the meat. We consume it. Our wives also consume it, so it is safe for consumption. We have the receipts of the payment made to the government in our office.”
When asked why they attacked government officials with charms, he said: “The charms on us were to protect us against armed robbers. We deal with money and we can’t allow robbers to kill us just like that. So, it is meant for protection against robbers.”
Another butcher, Ogundele Opeloyeru, said they had been operating in the area for the past 15 years, while corroborating his colleague’s statement that they pay weekly levy to the state government and Otto Awori LCDA.
“We are not aware that we operate illegal slaughter slab,” he said.
Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and Co-operatives, Mr Nuraini Funso denied that government officials collect money from the illegal butchers.
“There are certified veterinary doctors in the entire registered and approved abattoirs in the state and there is a lot of danger in patronising illegal slaughter slabs. The state government is doing enough to eradicate illegal slaughter slabs and abattoirs in the state .
“Residents had been equally warned to desist from patronising unregistered and unapproved abattoir. The state is very must concerned about the health of individuals in the state. We can’t afford to allow Lagosians to consume meat that are not screened. They are not just ready to change. We have about eight slaughter slabs and over 200 refrigerated meat vans. They are just concerned about their pockets,” he explained.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Dr. Yakub Bashorun said government has declared zero tolerance for unwholesome meat distribution in the state, lamenting that those who operate illegal slaughter slabs do so without obtaining license from the government.
“They don’t have veterinary doctors to ascertain the health status of the animals before slaughtering them. They have been creating nuisance and we have to dislodge them. Ignorance is no excuse. They know they are operating illegal abattoir,” he stated.
Bashorun appealed to Lagosians not to patronize illegal slaughter slabs to purchase meat as such meat was not healthy for consumption.
He said those arrested would be arraigned in court and that they would be made to face the music to serve as deterrent to others.

Farida Waziri To Obasanjo: Respect Your Age Or I’ll Expose You

Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs. Farida Waziri

A  former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs. Farida Waziri, on Wednesday described as “blatant falsehood,” the claim by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo that she was recommended for the EFCC job by convicted former Delta State Governor, James Ibori.
Expressing surprise that a man who has been twice a Nigerian  leader would “descend so low to peddle falsehood,” Waziri warned Obasanjo to respect his age or else she would  “open up on him.”“I will like to warn that those who live in glass houses don’t throw stones and as such Obasanjo should not allow me open up on him. Respectable elder statesmen act and speak with decorum”, she said in a statement personally signed by her.
Ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar said  the claim by the former President that he was persona non grata in the United States,  was not true.Obasanjo had in an interview he granted Zero Tolerance, a magazine published by the EFCC, also said that the war against corruption in the country slowed down  during Waziri’s tenure because she was not qualified for the job.
He had said,  “Go and look at her track record. Go and look at the condition or the qualification; go and look at the type of interaction that anybody holding that job will have with a similar organisation elsewhere; did Waziri have that type? What connection did she have with FBI? What relationship did she have with Metropolitan Police in London? It’s not a picnic.”But Waziri, in the statement which showed her level of anger, said she  doubted  if Obasanjo  could  boast her level of education.
The  EFCC former chairman  then went ahead to reel out her educational qualification and her relationship with international security agencies while  serving in the Nigeria Police Force for 35 years.
She said, “Again for the record, I served in the NPF for 35 years and got to the pinnacle of my career before my appointment as   the EFCC chairman. If Obasanjo’s real age has not blurred his memory, I will like to remind him that I was a Commissioner of Police, Admin Force CID, CP, General Investigations, CP, Anti-fraud, CP , X squad, CP, and  Police Special Fraud Unit where I secured the first conviction in a case of Advance Fee Fraud in Nigerian history.“These are all prime investigative organs of the Nigeria Police where I related with other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI across the world. I must place on record that at the SFU, I did not only relate with the  FBI, Interpol and the Metpolice, among others , we carried out joint operations at different times on a number of cases. I have also led the Nigerian delegation to the Interpol headquarters in France.“To further expose the height of mischief in the allegations, the past and present chairmen of the EFCC have both worked under me; yet someone can open his mouth to say I am not qualified to head the same agency. This is in addition to my educational qualifications such as a first degree in Law, a Master’s degree in Law and another Master’s degree in Strategic Studies. I doubt if Obasanjo himself can boast  this level of educational qualifications.“I will also like to remind Obasanjo that no chairman of the EFCC has till date beaten my records in terms of investigation of high profile cases, prosecution, conviction and recovery.”
She  told  Obasanjo that the Act establishing the EFCC stipulates  that the chairman shall ‘be a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent; and possess not less than 15 years cognate experience’.
Waziri said while she holds the office of a Head of State in the highest esteem, it was necessary to put on the record for the umpteenth time, that the claim that Ibori recommended her for the EFCC job  “ is a totally unfounded, blatant lie.”
The ex-anti graft Czar added, “The truth is that I never met Ibori in my life until after months in office as chairman of the EFCC when I used to see him in the Presidential Villa.It is on record today that I initiated the investigation that drove Ibori into the waiting hands of  the Interpol and  the Metpolice.“As such, it is illogical and nonsensical for anyone to continue to insinuate that Ibori had a hand in my appointment. I remember this was one of the lies Obasanjo’s sit-tight pawns cooked to stop my appointment as  the EFCC chairman in 2008.”
According to her, the late President Umaru  Yar’Adua did not have to alter the   Act “when he was appointing me unlike what Obasanjo did.”She told the  former President that ability to be used to victimise political enemies in the rabid pursuit of his  third term agenda “has never been part of the qualifications for appointment as chairman of  the anti-graft agency.”
Also, former vice-president Atiku Abubakar  said  there was  no way he  could be arrested if he travelled  to the US.He added that   Obasanjo’s repeated ‘jokes’ about  his “ not being able to go to the US  have become a cliché, tiresome and not true.”
In a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Mallam Garba Shehu, the former vice-president said his visa to the US had recently been renewed.“The former President is wrong. It is widely known that  Abubakar  didn’t enter government broke. He declared his assets at the commencement of his Vice Presidency and did so at the end of his tenure.” the statement added.
It stated  that in 2006, Obasanjo sent his National Security Adviser to stop Abubakar  from travelling to the US on the grounds that he risked arrest on arrival.
The ex-VP, according to the statement,  spurned that advice, left Nigeria  and  landed  at the Andrews Air Force Base, the official airport of the US government.It added   that shortly  after   Yar’Adua was inaugurated as President, Abubakar travelled and  spent three months in the US.

Cabinet Shakeup: Ministers Shed Tears As Jonathan Sacks Nine

The sacked ministers

President Goodluck Jonathan, in his first major cabinet shake-up since his inauguration on May 29, 2011, sacked nine ministers on Wednesday.
The  sacking , announced by the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, shocked the Federal Executive Council members, most of whom had arrived the Council Chambers in the Presidential Villa  in high spirits  exchanging banter.
Before they left, deafening silence enveloped the Council  Chambers as the President reeled out the names of the affected ministers. Some of the  sacked and retained ministers betrayed their emotions as they shed tears.
The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, announced the cabinet shake-up after the weekly FEC  meeting  in Abuja.
The sacked ministers are  Prof.  Ruqayyatu Rufai (Education);   Okon Ewa-Bassey (Science and Techology);  Olugbenga Ashiru (Foreign Affairs);   Hadiza Mailafia (Environment);  Shamsudeen Usman, (National Planning); and  Ama  Pepple (Housing, Lands and Urban Development).The Minister of State for Defence, Olusola Obada, and her counterparts in the  Agriculture Ministry,  Alhaji Bukar Tijani and  Power,  Zainab Kuchi,   were also affected.
A top Presidency source had said that Jonathan was advised  by the aides to constitute what they described as “election cabinet.”Such a cabinet, according to a source, will comprise mostly people that would  be proud to defend Jonathan  whenever he  was being criticised.
But Maku explained that the dropping of the ministers had no political undertone.Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting, Maku, said the cabinet shake-up was with immediate effect.He said the President, through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, had named the  retained FEC members  that would oversee the affected ministries pending the appointment of substantive ministers to head them.
The  Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to be overseen by  the  minisiter of State, Prof. Viola Owuliri; the Education   by the Minister of State, Nyesome Wike;  and the Minister of   Solid Minerals, Musa Sada, Housing, Lands and Urban Development.The Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, is to supervise the Science and Technology Ministry;  the Minister of State   for Works, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, Ministry of Planning; Maku, Defence; and  Minister of Niger  Delta Affairs, Mr. Goodsday Orubebe,   Environment Ministry.When Maku announced that he would oversee the Defence Ministry, State House correspondents shouted but he pleaded with them to allow him to  continue his briefing.He then added  that the Ministers of Agriculture, Akinwumi Adesina and Power, Chinedu Nebo would take care of the duties of the sacked ministers of state in their respective ministries.Maku said the President expressed satisfaction with the performance of the affected ministers while in office.He stated that Jonathan assured them that he would  call on them whenever their services were needed for the development of the country.
The Information minister said, “These ministers have been affected in the cabinet reshuffle and the President in Council expressed his satisfaction and happiness over their commitment  to government since they were appointed.”
“He (the President) also thanked them for their services to their fatherland and said he would continue to engage them in one way or the other in the implementation of the transformation agenda and of course in the various challenges that government faces around the country and in terms of efforts to transform our country.”
The minister said that the President would soon send a list of new ministers to the National Assembly to replace those who had been dropped.Maku who described the cabinet shake-up as a normal process,added that it was   meant to inject fresh blood into the government.
Maku said, “There is no government in the world where the leaders do not reshuffle their cabinets, there is none. And cabinet reshuffle is part of a systematic public administration and I believe what the President has done is simply to address the issues of re-tooling his government to achieve service delivery.“It is at the discretion of the President at all times to reshuffle his cabinet. It is his own prerogative under the constitution and this has nothing to do absolutely with any other factor other than having come two years into his administration in the last lap, what I see the President doing is to refocus his government, to inject in fresh blood to achieve greater service delivery to the people of Nigeria. That is the only reason for it, any other thing  has nothing to do with the decision of the President.“The President is trying to in reject fresh blood into the system while retaining again the loyalty of all those who have worked.”
A source at the meeting said the President  caught the ministers unawares.
He quoted Jonathan as saying, “Some of you will not be with us at the next Federal Executive Council meeting. It is not because you didn’t do well, but that is the ingredients of democracy. You will hear the details from the SGF.”He then read out the affected names and then hurriedly left the Council chambers.
One of the  retained  ministers,Edem Duke of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation was seen dabbing his eyes intermittently with his handkerchief. The former Minister of Environment, Mailafia, also did the same before she was driven out of the Villa. 
Before Maku’s briefing, Duke’s action made journalists think that he was one of the nine that were fired.

Nigerian Jailed In US For $11m Fraud

A  Nigerian, Emmanuel Ehkator, has been sentenced by a District Court Judge, Middle District of Pennsylvania in the United States to three years in prison for $11m fraud.
Ehkator, who was also investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for criminal conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, was ordered by the court to pay $11,092,028 “in restitution” to his victims.Ehkator’s property in Canada and the “contents of several bank accounts” in Nigeria were also declared forfeited by Justice Yvette Kane.
A statement by the EFCC Head, Media and Publicity, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, said the commission had in August 2010, arrested 42–year-old Ehkator in Nigeria. He was subsequently extradited to the US a year after following his plea of guilt.
The statement said the prosecutor, Assistant US Attorney, Christy H. Fawcett, told the court that Ehkator was part of an “attorney collection scam” in which he would contact US and Canadian law firms by email.It said Ehkator would claim to be individuals or businesses outside North America owed money by entities in the US and asked for legal representation to collect money.
The prosecutor had said, “Often, the prospective clients said the money owed came from a real estate transaction, tort claim, or divorce settlement. Once the law firm agreed to represent the out-of-country client, the law firm would be contacted by the US entity purportedly owing money with an offer to pay the client by cheque.“The debtor company would advise the law firm to deposit the cheque in the law firm’s trust account, retain the law firm’s fee, and wire the remaining funds to accounts in Asia.”
It was learnt that after funds from the law firm’s trust account had been wired to the Asian bank, it would then be discovered that the cheque that had been mailed to the law firm was a counterfeit.
The counterfeit cheques, which appeared to be drawn on legitimate accounts from well-established financial institutions, often included a telephone number for the financial institution.
In an attempt to determine the validity of the cheque, lawyers would call the number only to reach another conspirator who would falsely verify the cheque.Ehkator’s co-defendant, Yvette Mathurin, was said to have been charged for conspiracy and was awaiting extradition from Canada. Another co-conspirator, Kingsley Osagie, was arrested as he arrived in the Atlanta, Georgia area from Nigeria and was said to be currently awaiting trial in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service, the Toronto Police Services and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were said to be involved in the investigations into the wire fraud.
Ehkator’s involvement in the scheme was said to have made him responsible for losses of “more than $7m and up to $20m.

Police Dismiss Women Officers Caught On Tape Demanding N100 Bribe

One of the policewomen

Two traffic police women, Corporals Elizabeth Itolor and Jennifer Azingbe,  who were videotaped receiving  N100 bribe  from a bus driver in Lagos, have been dismissed from the Nigeria Police Force.Itolor and Azingbe, attached to the Makinde Police Division, were said to have received their dismissal letters on Wednesday.
The Police Provost Unit of the Lagos State Command concluded an orderly room trial of the policewomen last week.Both women were said to have spent nine years in the police as they were recruited in 2004.
A source, who requested anonymity, told Punch Metro that Itolor and Azingbe got their letters at their duty post.
He said, “They reported for work this morning and they were given dismissal letters. They have been crying ever since and appealing to everyone they know to help them salvage the situation.”
The corporals’ dismissal is contained in a  circular which stated that the policewomen were dismissed over “despicable acts and corrupt practices contrary to Paragraph E(iii) and C(iii) respectively of Schedule 1 of the Police Act and Regulations 370 of the Federation of Nigeria 1990.”
A video footage on Youtube posted by one Afro Finlandia  a few weeks ago, showed  one of the policewomen negotiating a  N100 bribe with  a commercial bus driver at the Oshodi/Apapa Expressway.The video, which had over 40,000 views, and generated public outrage on social media, led to the arrest of the women.
In the video, the driver was seen trying to negotiate his way out of a bribe. But despite the driver’s pleas, the policewoman refused to let the bus move from the spot after taking on more passengers.
Angry, the driver was heard saying, “Don’t abuse me because of N100. How much is N100? Me I don pass N100.” The policewoman, who was sitting in the bus to prevent the driver from taking off, retorted, “E no concern me. Pay me my own money.”The driver then instructed his conductor to hand over N100 to the policewoman. The policewoman subsequently alighted from the bus and was later seen in the video walking away with her colleague.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ngozi Braide, said she would call back.

Abuja young ladies now turn drivers, Power-bikers, ushers and bouncers (photos)

culled from dailystar

The Federal Capital Territory, Abuja is considered one of the fastest growing cities in the world.

This statement has always been justified through the various innovations the city continues to witness even with the influx of different people into the capital city.

Most girls in the FCT are either engaged in Sugar daddy business, executive prostitution or ‘One Chance’.

This, our reporter said was one of the reasons the FCT administration now uses the Military to harass young girls at clubs and on the streets of the capital city. Those who dress transparently or half-naked are often used as scapegoats.

However, the trend is changing as some journalists recently ran into some group of young girls who now call themselves protocol 101. These young girls have decided to change the trend, and to use their beauty to add colour to the city that is now considered one of the biggest in the world.

The young ladies who were seen in numbers and beautifully dressed were at various events, adding colour, class, grandeur and ‘swag’ to those events.

 Recently at various weddings and major events in Abuja, they were been used as pickups and for personal show-off.

They chauffeur VIPs to events, keep them entertained and run various services for such VIPs; who knows what happens in the dark?  It is an all female logistic/service group of young, beautiful ladies, consisting of Drivers, power-bikers, Bouncers, Protocols and Ushers.

This is what one of them said,” So much Millions is spent on the stylish looks of couples during weddings as well as the “interior” decorations of Event Venues, leaving out an equally important component of a successful event, the “exterior”. Your movement in and out of an event should be as celebrated as the other components. We are set to bridge the gap. We are bridge builders. We celebrate the “Exterior/Logistics” of every event. Your “memorable day” is not complete without us.”
We were told that one Nicky Nwadinobi is in charge.

Late Goldie’s husband, Andrew Harvey, finds love again with Phillipine woman (PHOTOS)

It’s only seven months since late singer Goldie Harvey passed away, but it appears that her husband, Andrew Harvey has found love again.

Andrew is currently dating a Malaysian
woman named Beth Buenaventura - she hails from Quezon City in the Philippines and not from Malaysia as initially reported.
Andrew met Beth online two months after Goldie Harvey’s burial.
During his birthday ceremony that took place at the Pavilion shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur on the 3rd of August, Andrew Harvey and his new girlfriend Beth were honoured by friends and family members. The lovers were spotted kissing with passion at his birthday, a move that wowed the birthday guests.

Oh, insiders claim Beth is pregnant for Andrew.
The couple got engaged in July few weeks before his birthday.

See photos below:

Late Goldie Harvey and husband

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Mr Harvey moved to Malaysia a few years ago when the company he works for transferred him from Nigeria to Malaysia.