Thisday Office Was Bombed To Appease Allah, Witness Tells Court

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, yesterday, heard how alleged kingpin of the Boko Haram sect, Mustapher Umar, bombed office of Thisday Newspaper in Kaduna State with 12 camp gas cylinders in a bid to appease Allah.

Justice Ademola Adeniyi, who admitted a burnt Honda Car, with number-plate AL-306-MKA, allegedly used to perpetrate the terrorist act on April 26, 2012, further heard how the accused person cried bitterly when he was rescued from the burning car, saying they denied him the opportunity of inheriting 72 virgins in heaven.

In a bid to prove the complicity of the accused person, the Federal Government brought a senior police officer that is charged with the responsibility of keeping exhibits recovered from terror suspects to testify before the high court.

The masked witness, PW-8, who told the court that the accused person had intended to carry out a suicide attack, produced the burnt Honda car, the discharged cylinders, half-charred 25 litter jerry-can that allegedly contained fuel, and persuaded Justice Adeniyi to move the court outside to inspect the terror items.

Besides, he showed the trial judges who was accompanied on the inspection tour by lawyers and journalists, the foot wear the accused person discarded in his attempt to escape after he was caught by angry mob within the premises of SOJ Plaza in Kaduna State where the attack occurred.

Aside Thisday, two other media houses affected by the explosion which reportedly led to the death of about 10 persons, were the Moment and Sun Newspapers, which offices were equally situated at the said SOJ plaza.

Convinced that the items brought to court were worth taking into cognisance in determining the culpability of the accused to the one-count terrorism charge preferred against him by the government, Justice Ademola admitted them into evidence.

While he entered the cylinders as exhibits MU 7-18, Justice Adeniyi marked the charred can as exhibit MU-19; the burnt Honda car was admitted as exhibit MU-20.

Besides, the federal government, through the police, persuaded the court to watch a video clip where the accused person confessed that he was sent to bomb Thisday Newspaper, owing to a report he said did not only put Islam in false light, but greatly insulted Prophet Mohammed.

The accused person in the video, said his action was to avenge the insult meted out on "Allah" by the media outlet which he said did not deserve to exist.

The accused, who spoke in Hausa language, said he knew those that also bombed the Abuja office of Thisday Newspaper, saying the attack was equally as a result of the "sins" the media house committed against Islam.

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.

Victoria Beckham arrives on the arm of son Brooklyn at Glamour Women Of The Year Awards

She's always the envy of every woman in the room when she arrives to
red carpet events on the arm of her husband David - but he's not the
only looker in the family.

But on Tuesday night, Victoria Beckham had a different date, as she
arrived to the Glamour Women of The Year Awards accompanied by her
eldest son Brooklyn.

And his proud mother couldn't help but gush over her son as she
accepted her award for Woman Of Decade, praising him as the 'most
handsome man in the room'.

Scroll down for video

The 14-year-old looked dapper in his suit and tie as he made his
entrance with his 39-year-old fashion designer mother to the party,
held at Berkeley Square Garden.

Teenager Brooklyn may have been slightly embarrassed by his mother's
comment, but he certainly impressed many of those present with his
poise and calm demeanour as he acted as his mother's escort for the
night.

Brooklyn posed confidently beside his mother and later watched on as
she collected the Woman of The Decade Award, looking much older than
his 14 years.

Accepting her award, Victoria kicked off with a risqué joke as she
adjusted the microphone saying: 'I need to raise this up, I've never
had to do that before'... at which she collapsed in embarrassed
giggles forcing her to apologise to her son.

Brooklyn had already sat through rude speeches made by Michael
McIntyre, Graham Norton and Miranda Hart - who swore and made
reference to being 'shitfaced', farting and generally turned the air
blue.

She paid tribute to her Spice Girls past by saying: 'I want
congratulate all the women. I love to support women. Girl power!'

She added: 'Thank you to Brooklyn, my date tonight and the most
handsome man in the room, even though he's avoiding his homework.
Thank you to mum and dad, my husband who supports my dreams, and Simon
Fuller.

'What an an amazing 10 years. I feel blessed to have had two careers
and in ten years I will be nearly fifty!'

Victoria stuck to her signature black for the occasion, opting for a
loosing fitting trouser and top combination.

The mother-of-four teamed her wide-legged pants with a strapless
scallop neckline top, highlighting her toned arms and back.

While the outfit could easily be one of Victoria's own designs, it was
in fact by Belgian designer Maison Martin Margiela.

But she stuck to her brand when it came to her clutch for the evening,
and carried a hard gold number from her own range.

The only colour Victoria sported was a matching blood red manicure and
pedicure for the occasion.

For make-up she stuck to her signature copper coloured smoky eyes, and
wore her long hair loose, and swept over her left shoulder.

The footballer, who has sons Brooklyn, 14, Romeo, 10, and Cruz, eight,
as well as 22-month-old daughter Harper, with Victoria, added:
'Victoria's still just as beautiful today, I'm not sure that's the
case with me!'

And Victoria was equally full of praise for her spouse, insisting that
his retirement from professional football by no means signals the end
of his career.

Speaking on the red carpet, Victoria said: 'I'm so proud of David and
everything he's achieved. I've really enjoyed supporting him for all
these years, cheering him on from the stands. But it will be great for
him to be home with us, we're very excited.

And his future looks so bright. He's so smart, he's got lots of very
clever ideas up his sleeve and we're looking forward to our future
together for sure, and new things - there's so much you can do.'

Victoria also spoke about her recent move back to the UK, admitting
that while she is 'proud to be British', she will always consider LA a
second home.

She said: 'I love California, I was there last week. And it's really
good to have the best of both worlds - travel around. I have friends
there, I have friends here.

'It would be hard for me to say where is home because I travel between
the two. I'm very blessed, I'm very lucky.

'I love London, I love being here and I'm proud to be British. And
it's great, when the sun shins there's nowhere like London.'

Sneijder drops Chelsea hint as Holland star reveals: 'I still keep in touch with Mourinho'

Wesley Sneijder has left the door open for a reunion with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea. The Holland star enjoyed great success with Mourinho at Inter Milan, winning the treble in 2010 and starring in the triumphant Champions League campaign. And Sneijder admitted: 'I have a great relationship with Jose Mourinho. 'We have kept in contact since our days at Inter Milan. Does Chelsea need a playmaker? I'm not sure. In football you can never be certain of what will happen next but I'm very happy in Turkey.' Sneijder went on to speak about his time at Turkish champions Galatasaray, for whom he has played 12 times since joining from Inter Milan in January earlier this year.  Talking to SporX, Sneijder said: 'Reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League was our target and we reached it. 'The first leg against Real Madrid was disappointing, had we played better we could have progressed. The home leg with the twelfth man behind us was amazing.'

Cristiano Ronaldo plans to follow Portuguese coach Mourinho out of Madrid

Jose Mourinho has scotched hopes of unsettled Cristiano Ronaldo following him to Chelsea by admitted their relationship broke down at Real Madrid. The Blues were linked with a £60m summer move for the Portuguese winger along with former club Manchester United and mega-rich Paris Saint-Germain. But Mourinho, who began his second spell at Stamford Bridge on Monday, revealed that the pair fell out towards the end of his turbulent three-year reign at the Bernabeu because the the player 'thought he knew it all'. Mourinho told Spain Intereconomia: 'He (Ronaldo) had three great seasons with me, I don’t know if they were the best in his career because at Manchester United he had great seasons too. 'But I think we found for him a tactical situation that helped him express himself on the pitch perfectly as shown by goal figures. The only problem has been that a coach criticises him from a tactical point of view trying to improve him and he has not accepted it well thinking, perhaps, that he knows it all and that the coach could not help him become any better. 'But there is no other problem. The last two games, which have been the only games in which he has not played because he always played before and he always gave everything for the team, in these last couple of weeks he has had this pain in his back and I don’t ever doubt the players when they say they are injured.' Mourinho was also asked if Ronaldo’s closest pal at Madrid, Pepe, had betrayed him. He said: 'It is a good question for him not me. The only thing I can say is that he had one foot out of the club and I brought him back and I fought for him to be paid as a fantastic player like him should be paid. 'But he got injured and a kid 13 years younger (Raphael Varane) than him came in and I felt this other player deserved to stay in the team and he (Pepe) did not take it well. And then suddenly all the people that had done nothing but criticize him before were on his side (against me).' Ronaldo has indicated he will not renew his contract at Real Madrid beyond 2015. Real are determined not to sell the Portuguese this summer but United and PSG remain keen when he does come available. Alex Ferguson sold Ronaldo to Madrid in 2009, but the 28-year-old has admitted several times in the past few months that he is not totally happy in the Spanish capital. Portuguese newspaper 'A Bola' claimed that the Portuguese star feels he has not been treated well by the Real board despite his excellent performances on the playing field. 'A Bola' also stated that Ronaldo has reportedly been offered a €60 million signing-on fee if he becomes a free-agent at the end of his spell at the Bernabeu and signs for a certain newly-made-wealthy European club. Madrid President Florentino Perez had said that he expected Ronaldo to end his career at the club, but it now appears he could be looking for a new club in the next two years. If Ronaldo is true to his word, he would be leaving on a free, not something Madrid are likely to want after having splashed out £80 million on him. Whether he would move back to United now their manager has changed is yet to be seen, but he could emulate former boss Jose Mourinho by going back to a club he knew appreciated him completely. United are also considering a move for PSV Eindhoven's £25m-rated midfielder Kevin Strootman. The Holland U21 international had been on Everton's wishlist this year. Manchester City are ready to step up interest in Ronaldo's team-mate Pepe over the next week.

Barcelona is my Home: Fabregas rules out move to United or Arsenal

Cesc Fabregas says he wants to stay at Barcelona despite interest from Manchester United and Arsenal. The midfielder has struggled to hold down a starting place in the Barca team this season and had been linked with a move away from Nou Camp. Fabregas scored 14 goals this season and made it clear he has no intention of leaving Barca. When quizzed on his future, Fabregas told a Catalonian radio station: 'There is nothing to say. 'I’m very happy at Barca, and I want to stay for many more years to come.'Fabregas has been playing in a more forward role this season in the absence of the injured Lionel Messi. But with the Argentine’s return to fitness and the signing of Brazilian Neymar, Fabregas is likely to return to a midfield role should he remain at the club. Fabregas left Arsenal for Barcelona in 2011 and still has three years left on his contract.

United Kingdom bid to blacklist Hezbollah suffers setback

A British attempt to blacklist the military wing of Hezbollah has run into opposition at the European Union, in part because of the mystery that continues to shroud a key investigation linking the Lebanese group to an attack in Bulgaria last year, Independent.co.uk reports. At a meeting in Brussels, Britain put forward the bombing in the Black Sea resort of Burgas last July, in which five Israeli tourists, a Bulgarian driver and the bomber were killed, as a crucial part of its rationale for why the EU should designate Hezbollah a terrorist organisation. But several EU countries raised questions over the evidence linking Hezbollah to the bombing, as well as concerns that blacklisting the Shia organisation could create instability in Lebanon, where the Shia militia is a major political and social force. Although Israel blamed Hezbollah for the Burgas bombing, it took until February this year for the Bulgarian government to say there was a "justifiable assumption" that the Burgas bomber and two suspected accomplices were linked to the group. Little evidence has been made public to support the claims. The two fugitive suspects are said to be a Canadian citizen, born in Lebanon, and an Australian. But their real names, current whereabouts and links to Hezbollah have not been released. The identity of the dead bomber is also unknown. "An attack takes place and immediately all over the world, governments are saying it was Hezbollah," said Elena Pavlova, a Middle East analyst based in Sofia. "Yet, we have waited a year and still no one has given any proof." Along with local journalist Ruslan Yordanov, she found al Qa'ida-linked martyrdom videos online, claiming responsibility a day after the bombing in Burgas. They wonder whether evidence pointing towards alternative perpetrators was deliberately ignored to meet the demands of Israeli and Western governments seeking an excuse to ban Hezbollah. Bulgaria's former interior minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, who was the public face of the investigation until his government resigned earlier this year, denies there was any pressure from international partners. "If we were under pressure we would have made an announcement earlier, but we waited until we had enough proof," he said. Bulgaria has previously said its investigators found two fake US driving licences used by the suspects, which it says were printed in Beirut. This was enough to convince a reluctant German government to support the move to blacklist Hezbollah's military wing, which would move towards cutting off its fundraising activities in Europe. The conviction of a confessed Hezbollah operative in Cyprus in March, who was monitoring the arrival of Israeli tourists to the island, added to the pressure. France agreed to support the move after Hezbollah announced last month that it was sending fighters into Syria to support the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. Hezbollah has denied involvement in the Burgas plot, and the attempt to blacklist the group has brought heated responses from Lebanon. "Any listing of the group as a terrorist organisation will be considered as political provocation," Lebanon's acting foreign minister Adnan Mansour, who is seen as close to the Syrian government, said last week. "We know there are Israeli pressures practised on more than one international side in order to accuse Hezbollah of terrorism." Enough doubts remain to make several EU governments uncomfortable about blacklisting the group, and the support of all 27 members is needed for the motion to pass. With Lebanon already suffering spillover from the civil war in Syria, several EU governments will remain concerned that further instability is not the answer. "The issue of political and security consequences" was raised, one EU diplomat said. More discussions on the issue will be held in Brussels in the next two weeks, with a decision possibly taken by the end of the month.

Stop Impeachment moves against Me - Amaechi Speaks

Justice George Omereji of a Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt,  has adjourned till June 18, to hear the suit  by Governor Chibuike Amaechi,  seeking to restrain the 32 members of the state House of Assembly from initiating impeachment proceedings against him. Meantime, the five anti- Governor Amaechi lawmakers also made an oral application before the court, seeking to have their private counsel in the issue. Their counsel, Mr.  Chinwe Aguma, told the court that his clients did not share the same interest with the leadership of the House, led by the Speaker, Mr. Telemeba Amachree.  The five anti-  Amaechi lawmakers are Evans Bipi, Kelechi Nwogu, Michael Chinda, Martin Amaewhule and Victor Ihunwo. Also, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, of a Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, has refused an application  by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Amachree,  seeking to restrain the Inspector General of Police and the Assistant Inspector General of Police, zone 6 Calabar, from ordering his arrest over allegations he made  that there were plans to assassinate him and Governor Amaechi. Counsel to the IG and the AIG, Mr. Donald Demwigwe, SAN, who was represented by Mr. S. Agwu, had  told the court that the IG and the AIG were law abiding citizens, who would not act outside the confines of the law.