NAF CRASH: (1) Debris of the helicopter; (2) Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency and others at work; (3) Victims in body bags, in Kaduna... on Saturday. Photos: NEMA

Photos: NEMA
A Donnier 228 helicopter belonging to the Nigerian Air Force crashed at the old Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, on Saturday.

It was gathered that the aircraft, with call sign NAF030, which took off from the NAF base in Kaduna, was heading for Abuja when it came down in the early hours of the day.

It was learnt that the aircraft crashed into the Officers’ Quarters at the Ribadu Military Cantonment in Kaduna, igniting fears that the casualty figure might be high.

The Director of Public Relations and Information of the NAF, Air Commodore Dele Alonge, confirmed the crash to our correspondent on the telephone but did not give details.

A statement he issued later read, “Though no casualty was recorded on the ground, there were no survivors among those aboard the aircraft.

“The aircraft was Abuja- bound and had taken-off at about 6.45am from the Kaduna Military Airfield before the crash. Bodies of the passengers have been recovered and firefighters are already at the crash site to curtail fire from spreading to other buildings within the vicinity.

“The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has aborted his official trip to Port Harcourt to visit the site of the air crash and families of some of the deceased personnel in company with the Air Officer, Commanding Training Command, Air Vice Marshal Alikali Mamu.

“The CAS has also set up an investigation panel headed by an air vice marshal to unravel the cause of the accident with immediate effect.”

It was gathered that those who died in the crash were a captain, a co-pilot, a board technician and four passengers.

When our correspondent visited the barracks on Saturday, combat-ready soldiers cordoned off the area, preventing movements in and around the barracks.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has commiserated with the families of those killed the plane crash.

El-Rufai, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, said he received the news of the crash with shock.

The governor also condoled with the Chief of Air Staff, the officers and men of the Nigerian Air Force over the crash

Tax evasion: FIRS to go after 325,000 companies, persons

The Federal Inland Revenue Service would soon go after multinational companies, corporate organisations and individuals who are evading payment of taxes in the country.

The move, according to SUNDAY PUNCH’s investigations, is part of a renewed effort by the agency to boost tax revenue to fund the programmes of the Federal Government.

Statistics obtained from the service revealed that out of the 450,000 companies in Nigeria, only 125,000, representing 27.7 per cent, pay any form of taxes.

Going by this figure, it implies that about 325,000 companies are evading tax, thus denying the government huge revenue annually.

In the 2015 fiscal year, the FIRS was given a revenue generation target of N4.5tn by the Federal Government and it has so far generated N2.667tn.

But between January and July, findings by SUNDAY PUNCH showed that the service had collected a total sum of N2.374tn against the target of N2.667trn, thus having a revenue shorfall of N290bn within the seven-month period.

The past Chairman of the FIRS, Mr. Sunday Ogungbesan, had said the service was finding it difficult to track the financial activities of those who did not pay taxes, as most of the evaders were no longer active.

But the Acting Executive Chairman, FIRS, Mr. Babatunde Fowler, in his first official meeting with the management staff of the service, was said to have vowed to ensure that all tax revenue due to the government would be recovered from all tax payers.

Fowler said his administration would not take the issue of tax evasion lightly, as he was aware that some foreign companies that were operating in Nigeria were being investigated in England for evading taxes.

He said, “No country can succeed without taxation. We will make sure that we cover all ground, especially on the corporate level; all tax payers within each state will be covered.

“Those who have found Nigeria a fertile ground; those who have made a living and made profit from the businesses within Nigeria, we ask them to do the right thing.

“We all know the right thing to do. Most of these companies have the big names as auditors yet they keep different records — one set of records for the banks, one set of records for shareholders and one set of records for the tax administrators.

“I think it’s time that that was stopped and I am going to also request that the multinationals should follow our laws and not do things that will contravene the tax laws and I ask them that they should please partner with us and follow the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, especially when it comes to tax payment.”

The Director, Communications and Liaison Department, FIRS, Mr. Emmanuel Obeta, had told our correspondent that the FIRS, in a bid to capture companies with the tax net, is currently discussing with the Corporate Affairs Commission to make it mandatory for the companies to obtain their Tax Identification Number at the point of registration.

Obeta said, “The collaboration with the CAC is still ongoing, such that the FIRS will gain an immediate access to all the data of registered companies and such companies can also obtain their TIN at the point of registration from the CAC.

“The number was obtained from a physical validation or enumeration exercise. A lot of the other registered companies are portfolio companies without visible validation of their existence at their given addresses.”

Mourinho Blames Himself For Chelsea Defeat Today

The Blues boss says he should have made changes during his side’s shock defeat to Crystal Palace but feels that, on the whole, his team did not deserve to lose the game Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says he blames himself for the champions’ 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The Blues slumped to their second Premier League loss of the season thanks to Joel Ward’s winner after Radamel Falcao had equalised Bakary Sako’s opener.

The result leaves Chelsea eight points behind Manchester City after just four games and Mourinho says he must take his share of the blame for the result.

“I cannot say I had 11 players at the same time performing. To be fair, two or three of them, individual performances were far from good,” he told reporters.

“I blame myself for not changing one of them, because I kept him in the game for 90 minutes. When I made the third change, I realised I needed a fourth.”

“If a player is not performing, there are two ways: trust the player and wait for improve, or… have to change. I can go both.”

Mourinho did, however, take time out to praise Crystal Palace with Alan Pardew’s side having now taken nine points from their opening four games.

“The first thought is for Palace. They come with everything. Team ready, players ready, fans ready, fantastic spirit,” added the Chelsea boss.

“They were lucky, but they deserved a lot. I think we deserved more, but not deserved to win.

“Finally, the referee, with a big mistake, a clear penalty with the result at 0-0.”

24 year old mother dumps new born baby in a nylon bag on the street

According to Mr and Mrs Osarhiakhi Ebohon, on June 13, 2015, a baby was dumped at Obazuaye Street in Evbuareke Quarters, Uselu, Benin City, at about 11am.
Residents saw a newborn baby wrapped in a black nylon bag. The Ebohons, among other residents, placed curses on whoever might have thrown the child away.
The police was invited to take away the baby who was later sent to the Ministry of Women Affairs in Edo State.

That night, Mrs. Ebohon observed that their oldest daughter, Joy, was acting different, so she tried to find out what her daughter’s problem was, to no avail.

So she told the husband to probe Joy to know what the problem was.

At about 5am the following day, Mr Ebohon woke Joy up and forcibly asked her to tell him the cause of her unease.
Joy then opened up to her parents that she was the one who dumped the child on the street.
Her angry father went to the police to report the matter.

Mr Ebohon then handed over the daughter to the police for prosecution.

She was arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Benin by the police on June 17 and was remanded in Oko prisons pending advice from the state Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) on the matter.

Now, Mr and Mrs Ebohon are appealing for the release of the daughter whose first son is barely two years old.
Narrating the incident, Ebohon, a farmer, said:
“I decided to go to the village to farm because of the difficulty to get money to train my children. My daughter, Osarhiakhi Joy, in jail now, left secondary school some years back. She is my eldest daughter and she is 28 years old.
About five years ago, she wrote her SSCE and passed all her papers and got admission into the College of Education, Ekiadolor, but I couldn’t pay the fees. I begged her to be patient till some other time. Before I knew it, she became pregnant. I called the boy responsible and told him that I didn’t want any stupid act and asked if he was going to marry her and he said yes.
Then I told him the condition that my daughter wanted to further her education by studying pharmacy and he said okay. So she gave birth to the first child, a boy, who is about two years now. After that, she told me she couldn’t be staying at home, that she wanted to learn a trade before gaining admission and pending when the husband, or myself would be financially okay to send her back to school. I said it was okay. That is how she started learning fashion designing.
She told her husband to come and beg me so that, at times, she could be staying with me because her place of work is closer to us and they don’t have their personal house. That is how she stated living with us again. I never knew she was pregnant this second time because I don’t stay in Benin; even the mother that stays in Benin never knew about it. I didn’t know she will be this clever to cover-up without our notice. “On June13, I came to Benin from the village to relax.
I discovered people were shouting that they discovered a baby very close to my compound. I never had the belief that it was my daughter who gave birth to the baby. I was taking my siesta that afternoon when I woke up and ran to the place and I had been hearing the cry of a little baby thinking it was the next compound. I and my wife were among the first person to place curse on the culprit. I was the same person who organized to go call the police that what the person did was bad.
“The next day when I was ready to go back to the village, my wife called me to say I should ask our daughter that the way she was looking at her, there were changes in her. Then I called my daughter at about 5 am and told her to tell me the truth so that I could help her. That was when she told me that she was the one, I was about to collapse but as a man I controlled myself and asked her who was responsible for the pregnancy. She said it was the husband though they are not married.
When I asked her why she behaved that way, she said when she told her husband about the pregnancy, he told her to go and abort

Mrs Buhari can't be head of Africa's First Ladies if she's not the First Lady of Nigeria, can she?

Presidential media aide Shehu Garba said something recently that I want us to discuss. Find it below..
“Out of respect to Mrs. Buhari, the Sierra-Leonian First Lady, Mrs. Sia Koroma recently surrendered her position of head of Africa’s First Ladies to Mrs. Buhari, inviting her to take up the same seat which Mrs. Jonathan hurriedly handed over a few weeks to the handover of her husband’s government to President Buhari. Again, all these things are currently under consideration and no decision has been arrived at presently"
If Pres. Buhari has or wants to abolish the office of The First Lady during his administration, (the media has been asked to refer to Aisha Buhari as the wife of the president and not First Lady) does it not disqualify her to head Africa's First Lady, since she's technically not a First Lady? Thoughts?

I ask because Mr Garba said that they are considering it. Below are other things he said...
“President Buhari promised that there would be a clear difference between the role played by his wife during his tenure and that played by many previous First Ladies.
“All that ostentation, ubiquitousness and arrogance we have come to expect from the office are over and done with. Change has come.
“The ideal platform from which she will be useful to Nigeria’s women and children is still being thought out. Once this has been concluded on, Mrs. Buhari’s role will become clearer to all Nigerians. There will be nothing shady or hidden about it. There will be no access to public funds. It will be purely private and voluntary."

Photo: Nollywood producer, Moses Inwang and wife welcome son

Nollywood producer and director, Moses Inwang and his beautiful wife, Emem have welcomed their first child, a boy. The couple got married in April last year. Congrats to them.

Usain Bolt wins third 100m World Championship gold

Usain Bolt this afternoon won his third World Championship 100 metres gold medal in a time of 9.79 at the ongoing World Athletics Championship holding in Beijing, China. Congrats to him!

Photo: Sokoto residents rush out to clean streets following cash reward of N1m by state governor

Sokoto state residents have come out in their numbers to clean their streets following the announcement of N1million reward by the state governor, Aminu Tambuwal, to residents of the cleanest streets. Tambuwal yesterday made the announcement as a way to ensure that the state is kept clean. The runner-up street will get N750,000 while the 2nd runner-up will get N500,000.

Chris Brown shares pics of himself with his parents & his daughter

Proud Dad, Chris Brown visited his daughter, Royalty, who is staying with his parents in Virginia. He wrote "#family VA! A father who taught me to stay focused. A mother who believed in her son. And a daughter that teaches me about life everyday. (Dad? What are those?). He's obviously over the moon to unite with his daughter after a long time. More photos after the cut...

Adanna Ohakim shows off her fast growing baby bump..

The daughter of the former Imo state governor who is expecting her first child with her husband - David, shared a photo of the size of her 4 months old baby bump.

Car pram saves toddler's life

Little Kayci Stansfield was being driven home from a supermarket by mum Vanessa and stepdad Marcel Blake when a car crashed into the back of the family’s Fiat Punto.
But the 20-month-old, who was pulled from the wreckage by a passer-by, escaped with just a few scratches.
Firefighters revealed his life was saved by a new pram bought for the couple’s unborn baby daughter.
Vanessa, 23, who is 24 weeks pregnant, was told that the pram took the full impact of the crash and stopped little Kayci from being crushed.

She said:
“We had just come out of Asda. We were parked at the lights with about five or six other cars.
“I was literally about to say ‘what the hell is that noise?’ we could hear getting closer, but I had no time to speak and the airbags were up and the car was turning around.
“When we got out we couldn’t even see the car that had hit us because it was on the other side of the road.
“I just remember collapsing into the arms of a woman in a pink top. I was so confused and my partner could barely walk.
“Someone was shouting that the car was going to set on fire. A man rescued our little boy because both of the front seats were jammed.
“This man just dived into the car, into the back, and got my son out. It was amazing.
“We’d also just bought a new pram and the firefighters said that had probably saved my little boy from being crushed.
“We just feel lucky to be alive.” Kayci was treated for scratches caused by broken glass while Marcel, 20 yrs old, suffered a black eye and cuts to his head, arms and legs. Vanessa escaped without injury.
The driver of the Honda Civic, a 25-year-old man, was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
The family, from Stalybridge, Gtr Manchester, are now trying to trace the stranger who pulled Kayci from the wreckage.

The Sun

43-year-old virgin gets new 8in inflatable bionic eggplant

A man who had his penis ripped off  when he was 6 years old has been fitted with an 8in bionic manhood which inflates when you squeeze the testicles.
43 year old Virgin Mohammed Abad, lost his penis in a road accident in Huddersfield but now, for the first time, he has a fully functioning package complete with "on" and "off" buttons.

And he says he's ready to try it out.
Mohammed, who appeared on Embarrasing Bodies in 2011, told The Sun: 'When you want a bit of action you press the "on" button.
"When you are finished you press another button. It takes seconds.
"Some ladies might want to try it out."
The ingenious design is fitted with two tubes inside the shaft, which pump fluid from his stomach into the penis by pressing a button on his scrotum.

Another button then drains the fluid.

It took surgeons at University College London 3 years to mould Mohammed's new member using skin taken from his arm.

He underwent 100 operations in total, including an 11-hour procedure to attach the device.

Mohammed, from Edinburgh, is newly single.

His wife, who he wed 2 years ago without telling her about his condition, left him last year.

He said he would be be upfront with any future partner.

Dangote gains N15.6bn in 24 hours, now worth N3tn

While some of the world’s richest people lost a sum of $182bn (N35.85tn) over the past week, Nigerian billionaire, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and 10 others made money amid deepening global market rout.

Dangote, who is President of Dangote Group, posted a $79.2m (N15.6bn) gain from Thursday to Friday, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. He was one of six billionaires who saw their fortunes increase in 24 hours to Friday.

The world’s 400 richest people lost $182bn last week from their collective fortunes as weak manufacturing data from China and a rout in commodities sent global markets plunging.

Dangote is Africa’s richest man, with a net worth of $15.4bn, according to the Index.

The other three Africans on the Index are South Africans: Nicky Oppenheimer formerly of the De Beers diamond company (net worth $6.7bn) suffered a $27.9m loss between Thursday and Friday; luxury goods magnate Johann Rupert (net worth $7bn) saw his money shrink by $87m, and retailing baron Christo Wiese (net worth $7bn), lost $220m over the same period.

The weekly drop for the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a group that includes Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, was the biggest since tracking of the expanded list began in September 2014.

The combined net worth of the index members fell by $76bn on Friday alone, when the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of United States’ stocks ended its worst week since 2011.

“For them, that’s a fractional percentage, even though $182bn is a big number.

“A week like this feels really bad, but when you take a step back, in a big picture view it’s not a disaster by any means,” said John Collins, director of investment advisory at Aspiriant, which oversees more than $8bn for high net-worth clients.

Friday’s losses put the world’s richest 400 into the red for the year to date. They’re now down $74bn in 2015, with a collective net worth of $3.98tn.

The week’s largest setback in dollar terms was experienced by Warren Buffett, who saw his fortune drop by $3.6bn, as Berkshire Hathaway Inc. slipped more than five per cent. The investor is the world’s third wealthiest person, with a fortune of $63.4bn, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The slump in oil, which had its longest weekly losing streak since 1986, amid signs of an extended supply glut, contributed to $15.2bn in losses for the world’s wealthiest energy billionaires.

Continental Resources Inc. Chairman, Harold Hamm, saw $895m, or nine per cent of his net worth, vanish last week.

The Chief Executive Officer, Glencore Plc, a mining company, Ivan Glasenberg,   lost $237m during the week, as commodity prices slid to their lowest levels in 13 years.

Glencore reached a record low in London on Friday, down more than 8 per cent from a week earlier, after the trading house reported its profit sank 56 per cent in the first half of the year. Glasenberg’s fortune has decreased more than 40 per cent in 2015, to $3.1bn.

China’s 26 wealthiest people, pummelled by Hong Kong’s bear market and a weaker yen, lost $18.8bn during the week. Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Company was hit hardest, losing $3.5bn.

Eleven billionaires added to their fortunes, in spite of the market turmoil. The week’s biggest dollar gainer was Sun Pharmaceuticals’ Dilip Shanghvi. The world’s 39th-richest person became $467m wealthier, elevating his net worth to $18.9bn.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index takes measure of the world’s wealthiest people based on market and economic changes and Bloomberg News reporting. Each net-worth figure is updated every business day at 5:30 p.m. in New York and listed in US dollars.

Sen. Saraki reaches out to former Gov Bola Tinubu

Multiple sources say that despite his public show of defiance, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has started reaching out to some of the aggrieved leaders of the APC.
Saraki is one of the gladiators in the clash of egos and wills that followed the Senate leadership election on June 9 and subsequent appointment of principal officers.

The Senate President had earlier visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo to help him beg President Muhammadu Buhari. He also reportedly met with the Emir of Kano and Lamido Sanusi, on the same thing.
Last week, he sent Senate Leader Ali Ndume, Senator Kabiru Gaya, Senator Adamu Aliero, Senator Danjuma Goje, and Senator Abdullahi Adamu, on his behalf Saraki who all met with President Buhari and sought forgiveness on behalf of the Senate President for acting contrary to the dictates of the party.

A report in a national daily on Saturday also said the emissaries apologised to the President for the individual roles they played in the crisis.

However, sources in the party said on Saturday that the emissaries also had a brief meeting with the party’s national leader and former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu.

Many within the party see the crisis as a battle of wills with Buhari, Tinubu and some party leaders on one side of the ring and the Senate President and his backers on the other side. One of the prominent APC leaders that is believed to have backed Saraki is former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
But sources told our correspondent that Saraki, of recent, had made strenuous efforts to meet and appeal to Tinubu to sheathe his sword.
Saraki’s olive branch to Tinubu may mark a turning point in the crisis as the Senate President, before now, had insisted that he would not ‘beg’ the APC leader.

But the sources added that Saraki might have changed his position when all his efforts to get President Buhari to forgive him for his defiance to the party and move on.

It has been widely reported that Buhari has refused all entreaties to host the Senate President at the Presidential Villa since the controversial election in the senate. The President had also said the leadership of the senate should tow the party line.

Two APC officials yesterday shed light on Saraki’s last two attempts to reach out to the APC national leader. They said that one attempt occurred three weeks ago while the other took place on Thursday in Abuja.
“Three weeks ago he tried to get across to Tinubu through one of his aides. Of course, the aide couldn’t have arranged the meeting. Tinubu’s disposition to the matter is well known,” the source said.
The APC national leader, sources said, had told some of Saraki’s emissaries in the past that the senate leadership should toe the party line.

Another source said the last attempt took place during the week when the APC senators, who met with the President at the behest of Saraki, also tried to get across to Tinubu. A source close to Tinubu said while the former Lagos governor was aware of the move, his position on the matter had not changed.

The source stated that Saraki needed a long-term strategy to pacify the aggrieved party leaders, adding that the Senate President’s is perceived as haughty by some of these leaders.
“It is a surprise that he is reaching out to Tinubu. Saraki has no respect for Tinubu. He is contemptuous of him. During meetings he refers to him contemptuously as “Bola”. In fact there was a time that Tinubu wanted to explain a point to him and he shut him up,” the source said.
“Tinubu’s take is that the senate should toe the party line. It is not a personal problem at all. If it were a personal problem, the President won’t be reacting the same way.”
The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Lai Mohammed said on Saturday that the APC believes in party supremacy.

Punch

18 year old dies after drunken punch in Malia

A gifted sportsman from a top public school died after an assault outside a club on Crete as he awaited his A-level results.
Archie Lloyd, 18, was punched in a drunken row in Malia,, a notorious party town in Greece and hit his head on the ground, Greek police confirmed.

After refusing treatment, he returned to his hotel by cab in the early hours, and was found dead by friends soon after.

Mr Lloyd, who turned 18 last month, travelled to Crete earlier this month for a holiday with friends to celebrate leaving the £36,000-a-year school, where he played for the school’s 1st XI in cricket and football.

He was staying in Sissi, around four miles from Malia.

Sebastian Trabucatti, 22, from East Grinstead, West Sussex, has been released on bail charged with ‘gross negligence leading to manslaughter’.

Trabucatti, a promoter and male model, denies causing the death after the incident on August 6 outside Cloud Nine nightclub

UK Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We can confirm the death of a British national on August 6. We are providing consular assistance to the family.'
Malia is notorious for its nightlife, with thousands of Brits flocking to the resort for cheap booze and all-night partying every summer.

Daily Mail

Photos from the traffic robbery at Oshodi on Friday

Can more readers send in photos and tell their stories so we can share here? The more these cases are brought to light, the better our chances of getting the police to pay more attention and do something about it. Another LIB reader shares her story after the cut...

Unbelievable and like a movie to me I was attacked yesterday at oshodi before the LASTMA office by after 7pm, I just passed the Total filling station‎ on the right when suddenly a guy came up to my car and was telling me to wind down. Well of course I didn't and the next thing the glass of the door was broken. My phone and money was taken from me, I was left in shock and later started shouting for help but instead the people in the cars and buses around were telling me to calm down. I was terrified Linda. Please Linda use this recognition you have earned to help advocate for security on Lagos roads especially in the mornings when people are going to work and evenings when they are returning back from work. This social problem has become a daily thing and like a norm. I trying hard to get the pictures of this sad incident away from my mind.

What are Treasury Bills & why are they the easiest and safest means to invest your money?

Treasury bills are amongst the easiest & safest means of making personal investments. Governments issue treasury bills as a way of raising or borrowing money from the public.

In view of this, when you buy a treasury bill, you are lending the government money for a short while. At the end of the agreed period, which is called the maturity date, you get your money back with interest.

The longer the maturity date, the better the return on investment. T-Bills are one of the safest ways to invest your money because they are backed by the government.

How do treasury bills work? Treasury bills have a face value. This face value is the actual amount that the Treasury bill is worth. However, treasury bills are usually sold for less than the face value. For example, if you buy a treasury bill for ten thousand Naira, you may pay just nine thousand eight hundred naira for it. When the maturity date of the Treasury bill comes, you will receive that total face value of ten thousand Naira. This means that you made two hundred Naira from your Treasury bill investment.

If you are interested in investing in treasury bills here’s how to go about it. Treasury bills can be bought through your bank – the process is simple. Get in touch with your bank and you will be put through. You can buy treasury bills for as low as N1, 000 and in multiples of N1, 000 after that.

You can invest your T-Bills for 91 days, 182 days or 364 days. This means for example that, if you invest for 91 days, your investment will mature after three months. If you invest for 182 days, your investment will mature after six months and so on.

Apart from being a safe way to invest, treasury bills have many other benefits:
•          Number one, you earn interest. This interest can be paid to you upfront.
•          Treasury bills are a good source of steady income. They are affordable and almost anyone can invest in them.
•          Treasury bills can easily be converted to cash. This means that you can easily sell your treasury bills to someone else.
•          They can also be used as a collateral for bank borrowing
So when thinking about ways to of investing your money, you may want to consider investing in treasury bills. It’s an easy way to get the money you already have to earn more for you.
This has been courtesy FSDH Merchant Bank Plc as part of The Bankers Committee Financial Literacy Public Enlightenment Programme brought to you by The Bankers Committee, comprising all the commercial Banks in Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

Body of woman is stolen out of her casket at a funeral home

A grieving family is seeking closure after someone stole their daughter's body out of her casket at a Texas funeral home before she could be cremated following her funeral service in broad daylight., baffling police and forcing her family to deal with losing her a second time.

Julie Mott, 25, died Aug. 8 after a life-long battle with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe.

Her body was stolen after her funeral in San Antonio on Aug. 15 which would have been her 26th birthday, Sgt. Javier Salazar said.

Mott's body was discovered missing the next morning, when staff went to take her for cremation and found the casket had been broken into, Salazar said.

But there were no signs of forced entry on the Mission Parks Funeral Chapel North home, and no alarms had gone off or been tampered with overnight. That means her body was likely stolen from a private viewing area between the end of the service at 1:30 p.m. and the end of the business day at 4:30 p.m. after the funeral.
"Whoever did it was pretty daring about it," Salazar said, noting the crime could have been committed by just one person or a group because Mott was petite.
As to motive, "the possibilities are endless" and police will wait until they have apprehended a suspect to say why the crime occurred, he said.
“Our No. 1 priority, of course, is getting her back to her family,” Salazar said. “A close second is to find out who the person was who did it and bring them to justice.”

Dad Tim Mott begged for help finding his daughter's body.
"We just want our daughter's remains returned so we can have some closure to our grief," he said.
The situation is especially heartwrenching because Mott was expected to live to just 3 years old, Salazar said. But her family "encouraged her to live" and have fun.
She became a "vibrant, typical young girl" who loved to horseback ride but spent many days bedridden, Salazar said.
"It's heartbreaking to see a family that went through all that with her…now being put through this before being able to go through mourning and get the closure any family needs," he said.
Friends mourned the second loss of the San Antonio College graduate who brought joy into their lives, despite her pain.
"So disturbing and unbelievable that someone would do this. RIP Julie and prayers to your family in this horrible time," friend Jessica Payne wrote.

The body theft is the first one in the funeral home's 108-year history as the crime is not common

The funeral home is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the body's discovery.




NY Daily News.

Armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism still rampant in S/E, Delta — IG

The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, said, yesterday, in Awka, that armed robbery, kidnapping and cultism had remained rampant in the southern states of Nigeria.
The IGP, who chaired the security conference organized by the South East and Delta State governors, promised that the police would collaborate with the governors to provide adequate security in the zone.
Apart from the Anambra State governor, Willy Obiano, Governors Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia were  in attendance, while Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State sent his secretary to the state government, Professor Bernard Odoh. However, Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, was conspicuously absent.
The conference, held under the theme; ‘ Security: bedrock of governance’ , was also attended by the Director General of the Department of State Service, DSS ,Hauwal Musa Daura, federal lawmakers, state legislators  and  traditional rulers.
Arase said the initiative by Obiano to hold a security conference not just for his state, but to also bring in his fellow  state governors to form an alliance on ways to ensure the security of the states in the zone was commendable.

Throwback Photo: When OBJ Was Buhari’s Boss

Very long ago….

But Buhari looks Fresher and Dapper in the Pics than OBJ na..

Amaechi didn’t leave N7bn in Rivers treasury

The controversy concerning Rivers State’s treasury took a different dimension on Saturday when Governor Nyesom Wike disagreed with his predecessor’s insistence that he left N7.5bn cash in the state’s coffers.

Former Governor Rotimi Amaechi had, in a statement, said a total of N7.5bn cash was left behind as the balances for the state’s internally generated revenue account with Skye Bank; the Federal Account Allocation Committee accounts with Zenith Bank and Access Bank; and the state’s Reserve Funds in First Bank.

But Wike, on Saturday, dismissed Amaechi’s claim and asked why students under the state’s scholarship scheme were not paid their tuition fees and other allowances.

According to the governor, a fraction of N7.5bn would have saved the final-year students abroad the trauma of standing the risk of being sent back home from their various foreign universities.

Wike, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Opunabo Inko-Tariah, recalled when he had to send the sum of N713m to various foreign universities for Rivers students’ tuition fees and other allowances.

He said, “If he (Amaechi) is saying he left N7.5bn, why did he fail to pay Rivers students studying abroad under the state government’s scholarship scheme, apart from the fact that pensioners were owed between six and eight months’ pension arrears?

“The former governor has been inconsistent in the amount he said he left in the treasury. On one hand, he would say he left N7.5bn, and in the next breath, he would say he left N10bn.

“But we have been consistent in saying we met an empty treasury with huge debts to pay. Civil servants, footballers (Rivers Angels and Dolphins) and contractors were owed. But we thank God that we started paying them after we settled in. We have made our point and we are consistent about it.”

However, Amaechi disagreed with Wike, saying it is wrong for the governor to measure the non-payment of students and contractors with his claim that he (Amaechi) left funds in the state coffers.

Amaechi, who spoke through his former aide, Mr. Tony Okocha, said, “Wike should know that anything about government is about procedures and processes. That students abroad were not paid does not mean that there were no funds in the state treasury.

We Won’t Adopt CBT For Our Exam – WAEC

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) says it is not considering adopting a Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode for its examinations.

Its Head, National Office, Mr Charles Eguridu, made the clarification at an interactive forum with the Education Correspondents on Thursday night in Abuja.

Eguridu said it would amount to “intellectual dishonesty’’ for him to say that the council would introduce CBT in the next five years or the near future.

According to him, the purpose of education is to prepare people for life, not to pa$$ examinations; hence the need to examine different domains which CBT cannot accommodate.

“There is what we call the cognitive domain; that is what you have learnt that you can put in your head.

“There is also what we call affective domain that has to do with your emotions.

“There is also what we call the psychomotor domain that is skills which you can express using your hands and your body.

“I am yet to see any education expert who will tell you that you can measure the psychomotor domain using CBT.

“Any test that will use computer to evaluate who will be a good carpenter cannot be a valid test.’’

He said the examinations conducted by the council took into cognizance the three domains that measured ability to recall, apply and practicalise.

Eguridu said that in psychomotor domain, candidates did practical tests in agricultural science in the farm and the examiner supervised their actual agricultural practice.

He said that those doing woodwork were made to carry out physical designs of whatever woodwork a$$ignment they were going to do and evaluated on the outcome of their work.

The WAEC official said that even Netherlands where people went to learn CBT had yet to apply CBT in all its examinations.

He said, “In Netherlands which people emulate in CBT, they have not been able to migrate 40 per cent.

“How many schools in Nigeria have hardware? How many schools in Nigeria have the facilities to have those computers?

“There is the additional problem of electricity and internet connectivity.

“What JAMB is doing is commendable because theirs is an admission test; it is a certification examination.’’

Eguridu said that WAEC was using specialised gadgets in detecting examination malpractice as the device had ability to transmit any irregularity to its data base in Lagos.

He said that the council had started encrypting the data of candidates in their results to avoid falsification.

According to him, WAEC has not had any issue of examination leakages in the past five years.

The WAEC chief also said that the council had reversed itself on withholding of results of candidates in those states that owed it following appeals from the stakeholders.

He said that the council was still favourably disposed to granting such credit facilities to states being a service rendering organisation.

Eguridu urged the affected states to pay up their debts in order to keep the council running. (NAN)

Photos: Pedro Trains Alongside Other Chelsea Stars

Pedro has joined the Chelsea squad at Cobham for his first training session this afternoon.

The 28-year-old signed a four-year contract following his switch from Barcelona on Thursday and joins in with Jose Mourinho and the squad ahead of our trip to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

You will be able to hear more from Pedro later today here on chelseafc.com and Chelsea TV.

Don Jazzy Confirms He Is Getting Married To His Girlfriend

Marriage is a beautiful experience if you get it right by marrying a lady who understands the essence of life and true life, not just after your money.

According to Don Jazzy, he has found the right lady he would love to spend the rest of his life with, hence he therefore want other babes to back off. Lol!

Funny Truth You Don’t About Kiss Daniel & His Management

There is a particular funny truth ya’all need to know about kiss Daniel.

Do you know Kiss Daniel his paid 50k per month by his management?

Speaking with a reliable source today, the source said;

“Its so painful that with all the swag and all the talent Kiss Daniel has, you wont believe he’s paid 50k per month by his management”

When asked the reason why it was like that, source said “That’s the agreement between Kiss Daniel and the Management”

Do you think the 50k is okay for Kiss Daniel’s talent?

I Spent 6 Years In Studio Before My First Single – Olamide Reveals

Before Olamide become a success story in indigenous rap music he had to pay some sacrifices and learn the ropes.

The YBNL Bossin an interview with Andre Blaize, My Africa podcast said that he had to spend six years in the studio with his former producer and mentor, ID Cabasa learning how to churn out hit songs.

Growing up in Bariga, the rapper and singer from a humble family background had to decide on what he wants from life early and that was music even against the wish of his family.

“I approached ID Cabasa with my group of a song that we were doing but he did not have time for us as he was busy with other artistes. I met Lord Of Ajasa at the Coded Tunes studio.

Having loved music from church, I felt music was it for me and I hung around at the studio watching how songs were made. At a time, I practically lived in that studio having left home for good.

It took me six years in the studio learning and being tutored all I could from ID Cabasa before I finally dropped Eni Duro.

I never knew it would be accepted. We just did it and dropped it at the Sound Cloud and good comments were made of it.

Someone asked us to change the beats and not spoil the song with the beat that it came out with initially and ID Cabasa listened and the single became a hit.

The road to success doesn’t come easy,“says Olamide. Olamide is building an army in his new label YBNL (Yahoo Boy No Laptop) with Lil Kesh, Adekunle Gold, Chinko Ekun, Viktor and others.

Governor Tambuwal Spotted Cleaning Sokoto Environ With Wheelbarrow And Shovel (Photo)

Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state was joined today August 22,2015 by Sultan of Sokoto Muhammadu Sa’ad to kick-off Sokoto’s environmental sanitation.Governor Tambuwal was spotted doing the clean up exercise with wheelbarrow.

It should be recalled that Governor Tambuwal had earlier announced a N1million monthly incentive for any area adjudged to be the cleanest in the state.

President Buhari Has Failed to Keep His Promises – Etcetera Says

Social commentator, Etcetera, is back again with more viewpoints about the state of Nigeria. And this time, he has chosen President Buhari as his subject matter to deliver viewpoints on.

Etcetera believes that Buhari has failed to keep his promises. Read his article below, as published by Punch:

“I believe if Nigeria does not kill corruption; corruption will kill Nigeria. I pledge to publicly declare my assets and liabilities and encourage my political appointees to also publicly declare their assets and liabilities.” – President Buhari (during his campaign)

Now, the presidency through the presidential spokesman has said the promise of asset declaration wasn’t made by Buhari but his political party. Jeez! These people just think say we be mumu sha… dem think say everybody for naija dey suffer from dyslexia. Shebi na dem preach say Buhari na modest man with just two houses and 150 cattle? They also said Buhari and Osinbajo have declared their assets, and it is deposited with the code of conduct bureau and the only thing needed is just verification by the bureau? How many months does the Code of Conduct Bureau need to verify an asset of two houses and 150 cattle? Nawa ooo!!! Naija una don see una sef? Is this the “change?”

President Buhari’s achievements as a former military Head of State may be many. But he has utterly failed to keep a simple promise core to the rationale for his election into office.

And as the campaign promises recede into memory, it is equally clear that this administration may never provide the needed reforms that will address the most worrisome flaws in our democratic system.

I have met a lot of Buhari supporters who are finally coming to the realisation that they may have made a very bad decision in the last Presidential election. So many of them no longer seem to know why they believed that a retired military general would perform any better than the career politicians they mistrust.

President Buhari’s bygone promises to run “the most transparent administration in the history of this country” have become a subject of mockery, given how he has failed in a simple task of appointing ministers.

When critics like me attacked his go-slow government, the administration defended itself by claiming the president was only taking his time.

But the problem with this administration is not only about being too slow but it has also left untouched the corrupt individuals, which means that we would continue to live under a government with significant transparency problems, a culture of lobbying that is often tantamount to sanctioned corruption, and an executive branch of government that preaches a change that no one gets to see.

Is it unrealistic to expect ambitious systemic reforms in Nigeria? Yet it remains the case that many people voted for Buhari precisely because he promised to attempt them.

I believe president Buhari can solve a lot of things … but won’t. Whatever he once was or wasn’t, we should accept that Buhari is now a creature of the political establishment. He is captive to its loyalties and prejudices, and committed to safeguarding its interests. I am not arguing that he hasn’t or won’t accomplish anything, but there are whole categories of problems that he won’t try to fix.

“Change” is a mirage sold to us by Buhari and his political party to get our votes. And that’s a shame. Nigerians are unlikely to support a politician making similar promises in the future because Buhari has made them impossible to believe.

Those sending messages to me at mail@etceteralive.com asking me to write on how Buhari’s administration has improved electricity supply in the country should ask themselves how long president Buhari has been in office to put in place the machinery for such a turnaround. Abi rain nor dey fall for una area? Let us wait till the dams are dried up before singing halleluyah.

Trailer falls and crushes car in Port Harcourt (photos)

A trailer fell and crushed a car at Rumoula junction in Port Harcourt, Rivers State this morning. Thankfully no life was lost. See more photos after the cut...

President Buhari to set up special courts for looters

According to a report by Punch, the Federal Government might be establishing special courts to try people who have stolen from the country. Buhari may even have started plans to submit a bill on the special anti-corruption courts to the National Assembly. Sources in the know told the newspaper that the government is currently looking for fearless judges that would prosecute these corrupt individuals.

All the states of the federation will have these special courts so FG is looking for 36 incorruptible judges. A source told Punch that Buhari decided to set up the planned special courts because of the long delay by regular courts in deciding corruption-related cases.

Photos from today's suicide bombing in Kismayo, Somalia

14 soldiers died today after a suicide car bomb attack at Kismayo University, Somalia, which is being used as a base for training government troops. Terrorist group, al-Shabab has claimed responsibility.

The attacked was launched as soldiers were lining up for training. See more photos after the cut...

Chris Brown says his new album will be named after his daughter

Wow nice

Masquerades arrested for stealing N57,000 from trader in Enugu

The Police in Nsukka on today arrested two men in masquerade costume in Ovoko Community, Nsukka LGA, Enugu State, for allegedly beating up a passenger on a commercial motorcycle and robbing him of N57,000. The incident happened on the Nsukka/Oballo-Afor highway.

A police source said policemen moved to the scene when the victim, Mr. Chinonso Ezewaji, reported the matter to Nsukka Police Area command and the two men were arrested...

"The escorts of the masquerade however ran away. There were eight masquerades. They blocked the Nsukka/Obollo-Afor road and harassed people. The two arrested masquerades however denied collecting the N57,000 from Ezewaji but claimed they know the person who collected the money from the victim. When we searched one of the arrested masquerade, we saw Indian hemp in his pocket,” the police source said.

When contacted, Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Police Command, Mr. Ebere Amarizu, confirmed the incident, saying investigation had commenced on the matter. He urged communities to regulate and monitor those who wear masquerade costumes, adding that some of them used the opportunity to harass, intimidate and rob innocent members of the public.

“The Police are not against the people practising their tradition and culture but community leaders must know the character of people they allow to wear costumes of masquerade in the name of culture. A masquerade has no right to mount road block on busy highways where motorists, motorcyclists and other road users move on daily basis. The police have commenced investigation and will get to the root of this matter as issues of masquerade disturbing people have become a recurring decimal,” Amarizu said.

The victim, Ezewaji, a trader, who deals on clothing materials, told the News Agency of Nigeria he was on his way from Nsukka to Obollo-Afor to see his mother when the masquerade stopped the motorcycle he was riding on.
“They beat me, searched me and collected N57,000. When they left, I ran into the bush and when I discovered they have gone some distance, I came out and went to the police to report"he said

The two masquerades identified themselves as Kenchukwu Eze, a carpenter, and Ejiofor Eze, a brick-layer. They, however, denied the allegation that they stole money from Ezewaji They claimed that their colleague, Chima Mamah, stole the money. Eze, however, admitted that the police saw Indian hemp in his pocket, saying it was the leftover of what they smoked before coming out.

“If the police release me, I will not wear masquerade costume, nor smoke Indian hemp again,” he pleaded.

Julius Agwu, his wife & kids rock matching denim for cute family pic

Lovely family

Osas & Gbenro Ajibade, Mai Atafo, Toyin Lawani and IK Ogbonna announced as judges for Miss Charismatic 2015

The Organizer of Miss Charismatic Pageant, Ronke Tiamiyu has announced the judges for this year's edition. They are Osas Ajibade, Mai Atafo, Gbenro Ajibade, Toyin Lawani and Ik Ogbonna.

The third edition of Miss Charismatic Nigeria Pageant is set to hold on Sunday, August 30th 2015 at The Imperial, at the Coliseum, Lekki Phase 1.

Tickets are available at Friends Club, Silverbird Galleria and at the venue Table for 10- #250,000 Vip- #15,000 Regular- #5,000 The winner of Miss Charismatic 2015 will walk away with a brand new car, #500,000 and an all expense paid trip to Dubai! This year's edition promises to be fun filled and memorable.

Man gets gf's name tattooed on neck in Chinese symbols, finds out it means something else

People love to get tattoos of Chinese characters - because they're beautiful and they make you look like you know your world but sometimes people fall victim to the curse of not actually finding a proper translator. A tattooist in Plymouth told a funny story of a man who got his girlfriend's name tattooed, only to find out it means something else. The tattooist Doc Price said;
"This chap I knew had his girlfriend's name tattooed on the back of his neck - or rather, what he thought was his girlfriend's name. But my girlfriend, who is from Thailand, wasn't so sure. So we took him to see a friend of ours who is Chinese and we asked her, 'what does this say here? She looked at it and said, 'why have you got a tattoo of Windows 7 on your neck? We couldn't stop laughing. I think it was probably a case of one of these holiday tattoo places making a quick buck out of the tourists.
"The tattoo artist wouldn't have known how to spell his girlfriend's name in Chinese so probably just googled it or something!"

OAP, Dami goes on a rant against Nigerian musicians who blame them for not playing their music

Beat FM OAP Dami took to Twitter yesterday to defend OAPs against upcoming artists criticizing them for not supporting Nigerian Music. More of her tweets after the cut...