FRESH 4RM GIM

The Jigawa State Command of the Nigeria Security and  Civil Defense  Corps (NSCDC) has arrested a young man for allegedly raping primary school boys in the state. The state’s Commandant, Mr. Muhammed Gidado, announced the arrest in a press statement issued in Dutse. He said the suspect who was identified as Sule (surnamed withheld), who resided in Jigawar Tsada in Dutse  Local Government  Area of the state, allegedly lured his under-aged victims with N20 and raped them. “The suspect was arrested after he raped an eight-year- old boy  (name withheld) of the same area”. “The suspect committed the crime severally, giving his victims N20 each as token,” the NSCDC boss stated. According to him, the interim  medical report  from Rashid Shekoni Specialist Hospital, Dutse, confirmed penetration of the little boy.

Nollywood diva, Patience Ozokwor aka Mama G added another feather to her cap recently when she was honoured with the Centenary award in Abuja. The actress who hit the limelight in 1999 when she starred in a movie entitled ‘Authority’ has since featured in countless movies playing the role of a wife and mother. In this encounter with  The Entertainer , the Ngwo, Enugu-born thespian explains what it means being a widow, why she adopted five children, and why she prefers to live in the village. Enjoy the interview.

Nigeria captain Joseph Yobo has said  Norwich City  battle for survival in the EPL will prepare him for the World Cup in Brazil. The ex-Everton  defender  wants to keep doing all he can to keep ‘The Canaries’ up and as well as boost his own hopes of earning a place in Nigeria’s World Cup squad. “My main priority is Norwich, the World Cup after that,” Yobo told Mirror. “I need to be 100 per cent ready for the World Cup. Whatever I am going to do, going to the World Cup or my next move, this position gets me ready for anything. “Fighting for relegation, I haven’t really been there in a long time. At Everton were pushing for Europe, at Fenerbahce we were pushing to win the league. But when you are down the bottom it is about grinding  out results.

Rihanna  is known for her fabulously eccentric wardrobe and constantly-evolving look, and now it looks like being the biggest style chameleon in showbiz is about to pay off for the superstar singer. The Council of Fashion Designers of America have announced that the 26-year-old  What Now songstress is set to receive the CFDA Fashion Icon Award on June 2 in New York City. Congrats, lady! One of the most prestigious titles in fashionsphere, the CDFA award is 'given to an individual whose style has made a significant impact on popular culture on an international stage'. You can say that again... RiRi will be following in the fashionable footsteps of previous winners  Kate Moss  and  Lady Gaga , and it's a pretty well-deserved honour if you ask us. 'We are proud to present Rihanna with the CFDA Fashion Icon Award for her impact on the industry as fashion’s most exciting ambassador in recent memory,' said Steven Kolb, CEO of CFDA.

Nike Ajibade and three of her colleagues sit on a Lagos pavement with  small plastic bottles  of liquids tucked inside weather-beaten plastic buckets. The hidden bottles of so-called 'viagra' drinks sell for about $2 and are much sought-after for their supposed aphrodisiac qualities. But  medical professionals  warn that rather than enhancing sexual prowess, regular users could be putting their long-term health at risk. "Sales are high because of good patronage," "Most of my customers are manual labourers who need to boost their energy in bed after a hard day's job under mostly  inclement weather ." Hundreds of hawkers ply the bustling streets of Lagos and other Nigerian towns and cities selling such "viagra" drinks, despite their unknown and untested effects on the male sex drive.

At least 98 people died when a boat capsized at the weekend on  Lake Albert , which lies between Uganda and the Democratic  Republic of Congo , the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said on Monday. "Based on information UNHCR has received so far from the authorities and refugees, 41 people were rescued and 98 bodies recovered" after Saturday's disaster, the refugee agency said in a statement. "As many as 250 people may have been aboard the boat," added the UNHCR, which reported that the ill-fated vessel had been transporting Congolese refugees returning to their homeland from Uganda.

Its shimmering azure chimney stacks towering into the sky, the latest cement works launched by Africa's  richest man  lies idle in a Senegalese meadow - stopped in its tracks by legal action and cut-throat competition in a rapidly growing industry. Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote's cement business has been flourishing elsewhere in Africa and the Senegalese project, first conceived four years ago, was due to start production in June. But the west African nation's government is being taken to a regional  arbitration court  in Ivory Coast by French manufacturer Vicat, which claims that the plant represents a "distortion of competition" in a country where the market is already saturated.

Godwin Emefiele The Senate will today (Tuesday) begin the formal screening of Messrs. Godwin Emefiele and Adebayo Adekola, who have been nominated by President Goodluck Jonathan as the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Central  Bank of Nigeria , respectively. This was contained in the Notice Order Paper prepared on Monday for today’s plenary by the  Senate Committee  on Rules and Business. The document, which was obtained by our correspondent on Monday, also explained that the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, would formally move the motion for the screening and confirmation of the nominees. The notice explained that the screening would be done on the floor of the Senate in accordance with Section 8(1) and (2) of the CBN Act, 2007. It will be recalled that the President had forwarded the names of Emefiele and Adekola to the Senate for confirmation through a letter dated February 20, 2014. He had written, “In view of the fact that the tenure of

Two women abducted by Boko Haram insurgents  in the North-East have given a rare account of life as captives. While one who  was  held captive  for 15 days, said she had a marriage proposal from one of the Islamist militants, the other said she was almost turned into a killer. “They asked me if I am  Christian or  Muslim. I said I am a Christian,” said 23-year-old Liatu, as she recounted her ordeal   in the hands of Boko Haram members to the British Broadcasting  Corporation . “On the 11th day (in captivity), they brought a man to me and said that he liked me and that  I should convert to Islam so that he can marry me,” she added in the report published by the  BBC  on Monday. Liatu claimed that in Sambisa Forest, Borno State, where she was taken to after being seized   at a roadblock last year, she witnessed the killing of 50 persons by the insurgents. According to her, the insurgents, who had earlier killed Muslims employed by the government, preferr

Some of the victims rescued from kidnappers’ den at the Soka area of Ibadan, Oyo State, are gradually regaining fitness and mental ability. Although they have yet to give the accounts of activities in the forest, they  could remember events leading to their departure from their  normal life . One of them, Nafiu Shittu, told our correspondent at the Adeoyo State Hospital, Yemetu, Ibadan, that he was a native pile medicine seller with customers in the business districts of Gate and Iwo Road. Speaking in an almost inaudible whisper and intermittently pausing for breath, he explained that he was at work when he was kidnapped and taken to the forest. He said, “I am a native of Ibadan, living in the Foko area of the city. I sold pile medicine to people. I was  doing the business  on the day I was kidnapped about four months ago. “After going round the area where I had customers, I felt tired and decided to rest in the Gate area. Suddenly, a bus stopped by my side and two men came

The police in Enugu yesterday declared the leader of the Biafra  Zionist  Federation (BZF), Mr. Ben Onwuka Igwe, wanted for his alleged role in the recent attack on Enugu State Government House. In a statement issued by the police spokesperson in the state, Ebere Amaraizu, the force described Onwuka as one of the alleged suspected actors in the March 8 attack. The police which said Onwuka, who is allegedly on the run since the attack, was wanted for treasonable felony . He is a native of Item in Bende  local Government  Area of Abia State. The force promised a handsome reward for any useful information on his whereabouts. According to the statement, investigation into the attack on the Government House has been intensified and some arrests have been made, with suspects already helping the police. Members of the BZF led by Onwuka had claimed responsibility for the attack at a time the police were fingering MASSOB as the possible suspect for the attack.

The  Federal Government  and the 36 state governors have failed to reach a compromise on the protracted dispute over the maintenance of the Excess Crude Account and the transfer of $1 billion from the account to the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) as the out-of- court settlement  between them collapsed for the second time. Following the development, the  Supreme Court  adjudicating over the suit brought by the state governors has fixed September 23 to commence hearing on the case. The 36 states of the Federation had dragged the Federal Government to the apex court praying it to decide whether the states had share in the Sovereign Wealth Fund. However, the Federal Government approached the court to allow it time for an amicable out of court settlement with the aggrieved state  chief executives .

Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has warned that Nigeria will know no  peace  until the State of Biafra is actualized and Ndigbo emancipated from what it described as its present enslavement in Nigeria. Director General  of the Biafran  Music and Film  Authority (OBMFA), David Eboson, who gave the warning in a paper he presented at the launch of a music album entitled: Lota Biafra (remember Biafra), by Chinonso Onukwulu, said no amount of national conference would bring peace to the country. Eboson said: “The  national conference  was supposed to have been for the ethnic groups, which were amalgamated as one entity in 1914 by Lord Lugard, to determine their future co-existence and not for Nigerian politicians, who are there for their selfish interests.” He said the Igbo were like the people of Israel who were oppressed in Egypt before  God sent  Moses and Aaron to liberate them and expressed optimism that Ndigbo would soon experience that grace of G

The tide again turned against members of the Boko Haram sect as soldiers of the  Joint  Task  Force  (JTF) late Monday morning  killed at least 30 insurgents in an ambush. Military  sources disclosed that the soldiers, in a well-cordinated operation, crushed the insurgents along the Benishek- Damaturu road. According to the source, at least seven vehicles were seized as some of the  lucky  insurgents took to their  heels . Monday’s  ambush  is one in a string of successes recorded by the military against Boko Haram terrorists since General Kenneth Minimah took over as Chief of  Army Staff .

In preparation for the 2015  Presidential elections , former Vice Presidential Atiku Abubakar is building a war chest and has allegedly leased a $2.5 Million Jet for his campaign, several credible sources told Pointblanknews.com. Pointblanknews.com could not confirm which of the  private Jet companies between Hanger8, Kings Airlines, Top Brazz Aviation, Wings Aviation, Overland Airways, Arik Air, Vistajet and Aero Contractors leased out its jet to Atiku. According to a Punch Newspaper findings, Nigerians, notably public office holders and businessmen, spent about N29.7bn on  charter flights  in 2012. The 50-Seater Jet according to one of the source close to the former Vice President is to be used in touring States for consultations and campaigns ahead of the Presidential elections.