Federal High Court orders arrest of 5 Imo Govt. officials

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A Federal High Court sitting in Owerri has ordered the arrest of five Imo State Government officials for contempt of court.

The affected officials are Mrs Josephine Udoji, Commissioner for Works and Transport, Mr Lawrence Eburuoh, the Commissioner for Lands, Survey, and Urban Planning and Dr Chibuzor Iwuagwu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works.

Others are Mr. C. E. Egbuka, the Director of Works, Ministry of Works and Mr Emeka Duru, the Director of Works Imo State Government House, Owerri.

Justice Lewis Alagoa, presiding over the civil suit number FHC/OW/133/2016 filed by a former Interior Minister, Capt. Emmanuel Iheancho, against Imo Government, gave the order on Monday due to the absence of all the defendants in court.

Alagoa ordered the Inspector-General of Police and his men to arrest the officials wherever they were sighted across the country.

The court had during its sitting on Nov. 14, 2016, summoned all the defendants to appear before it on Dec. 8, 2016, but none of them showed up.

Counsel to the Defendants, Mrs J. C. Ibe, told the court that the respondents had filed an appeal against the earlier order of the court.

Ibe said that notices of the appeal and stay of proceeding, notice of preliminary objection and affidavit contesting the contempt order against the respondents had been served on the claimant.

However, Counsel to the plaintiff, Chief Ken Njemanze (SAN), said that his client was not aware of any appeal by the respondents as claimed by their counsel.

Njemanze said they looked up to the court on the earlier order made against the respondents, adding that their attitude amounted to total disrespect of court.

“What is discouraging to us in this suit my Lord, is the intentional act of frustrating progress in the suit by the defendants.’’

Alagoa, hearing the arguments of the counsels, made the subsequent order and fixed May 2 for continuation of the matter.

Iheancho had gone to court over the demolition of part of his property on Orlu Road in Owerri Urban by construction workers engaged for road expansion by the state government.

 

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The Ogbemudia I knew

Farmer attributes high cost of gari to decline in cassava production

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A large scale cassava farmer in Ilorin, Mr Tajudeen Onilu, has attributed the sky-rocketing price of gari in several parts of the country to the decline in cassava production.

Onilu, who is also the Secretary of Cassava Growers Association in Kwara, told journalists on Saturday in Ilorin that cassava farming activities had declined drastically.

According to him, this development has resulted in scarcity of cassava, thus triggering a hike in the price of gari and other food and non-food items prepared from cassava.

Onilu observed that  that several young Nigerians who were supposed to remain in their localities to engage in cassava farming, had migrated to urban centres and taken to commercial motorcycle and other businesses.

The cassava farmer called on the Federal Government to introduce accessible and affordable loans to genuine cassava farmers in the country, to enable them embark on mass production.

A plastic container of gari, which was formerly sold for between N180 and N200, now sells for  N400, while the price of a small container of the product, has shot up to N40, from its former N20.

 

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Guardiola laments expense of English players

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Manchester City's Spanish manager Pep Guardiola / AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF /

Pep Guardiola has indicated he will look to Europe and beyond for new Manchester City players this summer because English talent costs too much.

Guardiola has signed eight players since becoming City’s manager last July but only one was produced in England, reflecting a larger issue in the Premier League — the small pool of homegrown players.

Defender John Stones cost £47.5 million ($58 million, 55 million euros) from Everton in August, making him significantly more expensive than exciting Brazil centre-forward Gabriel Jesus, brought in from Palmeiras for a “mere” £27 million.

Guardiola believes there is a premium on Englishmen in the Premier League that is preventing him from fielding more homegrown players.

“I would like to have all English players, people don’t believe me, but they are so expensive,” the Spaniard told a news conference on Tuesday. “I would like to play with them.

“When I was at Barcelona I liked to field local players because they feel something special for the club, but sometimes it is not possible.”

However, Guardiola — who in between his Barcelona and City stints managed Bayern Munich — added: “The market is the market.

“That is why the club has worked with the academy for a long time to be thinking about the next years -– with me or without me. I hope with me.

“I would like to enjoy working with the four or five guys who are growing and play them.”

– Good to talk –
City, third in the table, have won their last four Premier League matches and are in optimistic mood as they prepare to face Stoke at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

But leaders Chelsea remain 11 points clear of Guardiola’s side after winning 2-1 at West Ham on Monday.

Asked if he would rather be chasing the leaders or out in front, the City manager’s response was clear.

“I’d prefer to be in the position of Chelsea by far,” he said. “You think there is more pressure being at the top? Come here, sit in my position. You’ll know what is pressure. I would prefer to be in the position of Chelsea.

“We can improve. I’m happy because we’re winning games and that helps us a lot in many things.

“We’re trying many things to improve. We have to do that more regularly. I know what we need to do.

Guardiola, who has a reputation as a disciplinarian, made it clear he had not completely banned his players from using the Internet at the training ground, but has restricted their access to make sure they are focused.

He has though barred his players from using their phones, or any other devices, in certain parts of the training ground, but acknowledged that it would be unrealistic to deny them online access for too long.

“They use the devices, they use them 24 hours a day, they are on Instagram, Snapchat every five seconds. It’s impossible to control that, it’s part of their lives,” he said.

“We have to understand that, but in some areas where we are working they don’t use the devices, but maybe it’s 20 minutes a day. It’s not a big issue.

“They talk with each other but when they don’t have devices, they talk more. That happens with families as well. It’s the same in the team.”

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mieSMG

Kano moves to sanitize marriage institution

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Kano State Government said on Sunday that it would henceforth regulate marriages ‎in order to sanitise the institution in the state. Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje‎ said this during the mass wedding of 1,520 widows, divorcees and spinsters at the Kano Central Mosque.
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He said that the state government and Islamic scholars would come up with a document which would be presented to the State Assembly. “We are determined in Kano State to come up with laws that will govern marriage and laws that will govern family lives,’’ he said.‎

Ganduje said that the mass wedding was aimed at combating rising rates of divorce, births out of wedlock and the number of impoverished widows and divorcees in the state. ‎
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He also decried the high rate of divorce and domestic violence in the society. “A situation where you have domestic violence where women are beaten, sometimes beaten to death: This cannot continue,’’ he said.

The governor said that the state government would establish Hisbah Academy in order to teach people the doctrine of Hisbah and also learn how to guide ‎humanity in knowledge of reasoning.

Ganduje then called on wealthy people to marry more than one wife in order to reduce the number of unmarried women in the society.‎ Earlier, the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, ‎also decried the high rate of divorce in the society.

“The high rate of divorce is a worrisome situation resulting in adultery, prostitution and the births of children out of wedlock, and has become dangerous to society,’’ he said.

‎The Emir said that Kano Emirate Council together with Islamic scholars and the state government would come up with laws that would make divorce more difficult in the state.

‎Sanusi also congratulated the newly married couples and urged them to be patient and tolerate one another.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lJjsmO

Tottenham up to second as Kane treble crushes Stoke

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Tottenham players celebrates with Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane after he scored his third goal to complete his hattrick during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City at White Hart Lane in London, on February 26, 2017.
OLLY GREENWOOD / AFP

Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane (L) shakes hands with Tottenham Hotspur's English midfielder Dele Alli (R) as he celebrates scoring his third goal to complete his hattrick during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City at White Hart Lane in London, on February 26, 2017.
OLLY GREENWOOD / AFP

Harry Kane hit a first-half hat-trick as Tottenham stormed up to second in the Premier League with a 4-0 home demolition of Stoke on Sunday.

Kane’s treble took his tally to 17 league goals this season, while his first of the day at White Hart Lane was his 100th club goal.

The England forward, 23, who also scored three against Fulham in the FA Cup a week ago, capped an outstanding all-round display by setting up Dele Alli for the fourth.

That helped Alli to draw a line under his dismissal against Gent that contributed to Spurs’ Europa League exit on Thursday.

Tottenham’s victory took them above Manchester City and closed the gap on runaway leaders Chelsea to 10 points.

The damaging failure to beat Gent marked the latest disappointment for Spurs in a frustrating month that also saw their title challenge fade significantly.

The challenge confronting Mauricio Pochettino’s side was to produce a performance and result that would help put the midweek embarrassment behind them.

It quickly became clear this game would provide the ideal platform for Spurs and Alli to redeem themselves after a testing 72 hours of soul-searching.

Within three minutes, Christian Eriksen had flashed a shot across the face of goal, provoking an angry reaction from Pochettino, who was infuriated at the Dane’s failure to pick out a better-placed team-mate.

The manager need not have worried. Stoke could barely manage to rouse themselves and after Joe Allen hit the side netting for the visitors, Kane produced the 14th-minute opening goal that put the home side firmly in control.

– Technique –
The chance came when Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross failed to clear Eriksen’s threaded pass, but Kane’s finish was ruthless, with the striker latching onto the loose ball and producing a first-time shot that flew across keeper Lee Grant.

The technique Kane demonstrated in claiming his second in the 32nd minute was even better.

Eriksen’s right-wing corner was played out to Kane, who had positioned himself on the edge of the area, where he hit the bouncing ball on the full, left-footed, inside Grant’s right-hand post.

Prior to that, Stoke threatened when Peter Crouch slid in to meet Erik Pieters’ low cross, only to be denied by the boot of Spurs Keeper Hugo Lloris, while Charlie Adam collected a booking for a foul on Alli.

But their response quickly faded and Tottenham’s third came when Adam again fouled Alli to concede a free-kick 30 yards out.

Eriksen rolled the ball to Kane, whose low shot deflected off the defensive wall, wrong-footing Grant and securing the striker’s hat-trick.

Stoke boss Mark Hughes was clearly angered by his side’s display but worse was to come in first-half stoppage time when Kane out-paced Bruno Martins-Indi on the right and burst into the box before squaring for Alli, who slid in for the fourth.

Injury to Toby Alderweireld at the start of the second half provided Spurs’ first setback of the game, while the sight of Kane colliding with a post was also a momentary cause for concern.

That aside, the only frustration for Spurs and Kane was that they failed to add to their first-half tally, with Grant producing an excellent save to deny the striker his fourth goal.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2ldh7gw

Buhari speaks with Adesina, lauds him for holding out against mischief makers

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PRESIDENT BUHARI 5. President Muhammadu Buhari in a hand shake with his Senior Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina accompanied by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity , Mallam Shehu Garba at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. PHOTO; OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT JUNE 25 2015

Mr Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, on Saturday, said he spoke with President Muhammadu Buhari who is currently on medical vacation in London.

Adesina confirmed this development on his twitter handle on Saturday in Abuja.

The presidential spokesman said Buhari acknowledged his (Adesina) efforts“ for holding out against mischief makers”.

Adesina said on his twitter handle: “Spoke with President Muhammadu Buhari a short while ago. Glad to hear his voice. Told me he was resting, but no cause for worry. Said I should greet my family.

Spoke with PMB a short while ago. Glad to hear his voice. Told me he was resting, but no cause for worry. Said I should greet my family.

— Femi Adesina (@FemAdesina) February 25, 2017

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“Thanks for holding out against mischief makers’, PMB tells me during a phone call today. Said he would call again soon. Gave him best wishes.’’

Thanks for holding out against mischief makers, PMB tells me during a phone call today. Said he would call again soon. Gave him best wishes.

— Femi Adesina (@FemAdesina) February 25, 2017

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NAN reports that Adesina is the latest person the President spoke to from his London abode in the last few days.

The President had similar phone conversations with governors of Kano and Katsina states, Abdullahi Ganduje and Aminu Masari respectively, this week.

Many Nigerians have also embarked on prayer sessions in mosques and churches for the quick recovery of the president, who is on bed rest in London.

The President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Ayokunle in a statement, urged Nigerians, especially Christians not to cease praying for the president, acting president and the country “until he (President Buhari) returns in good health and sound mind.’’

President Buhari had earlier in a statement issued by Adesina thanked millions of Nigerians who had been sending good wishes to him.

He revealed that the results of the test conducted on him indicated that he needed a longer period of rest, necessitating his staying longer than originally planned.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2kWR7KQ

Boko Haram gave me N200 for suicide bombing, suspect says

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The suspected suicide bomber said was abducted two years ago by the sect members in Madagali, Adamawa, and taken to Sambisa forest.

An 18-year-old Boko Haram suicide bomber, Amina, who was intercepted by men of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Tuesday in Maiduguri, said she was given N200 for the mission.

She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri that she was abducted two years ago by the sect members in Madagali, Adamawa, and taken to Sambisa forest.

“They gave us N200 each which they said we should use to buy food for ourselves.

“ It took us three days to come to Maiduguri on a motorcycle. We were directed by the sect members to detonate our explosives anywhere we saw any form of gathering.

“They said if we press the button, the bomb would explode and we will automatically go to heaven.

“I was scared, so, I told them that I could not detonate any explosive. So, they said if Zainab detonated her own, it would serve the purpose.

“On our way to Maiduguri, we encountered the military and they were shooting. I was very scared and the people that brought us ran away.

“I am from Imam Shekau’s faction of Boko Haram, even though I have never seen Shekau. But I hear about him in Gobarawa,” Amina said.

She said that her father, mother and younger brother, Umar, were all killed when they tried to escape from the Boko Haram enclave where they were held hostage.

“We came from Gobarawa along Damboa, Madagali and Algarno axis, in a community where a lot of us were held hostage and married off by the sect members.

“I also am married to a Boko Haram Commander known as “Amir”.

The NSCDC Commandant in Borno, Abdullahi Ibrahim, said the command had handed over the suspect to the Garrison Commander, 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, “ for proper investigation’’.

The Theater Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maiduguri, Maj.- Gen. Lucky Irabor, confirmed that the suspect was in custody of the Army and that she would undergo investigation.

“We are going to profile her as she would give us the lead to get to other insurgents,” Irabor said.

NAN reports that personnel of the NSCDC had earlier intercepted two female suicide bombers, who tried to ram into motorists at the NNPC Mega Station along Damboa Road, Maiduguri.

The Commandant of the corps, Ibrahim Abdullahi, told NAN that the incident occurred at about 6.45 a.m.

“Our personnel at the NNPC station intercepted two female suicide bombers who were targeting motorists on the long queue at the NNPC mega petrol station at about 6.45 a.m.

“One of the bombers got scared and threw away her bomb and was instantly arrested, while the other one began to run after people with her explosive but luckily, she was shot in the leg by our personnel after he chased her to a safe place,’’ Ibrahim said.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2kOLqNK