Edo moves to recover $31m from Igbinedion

The Edo State Government on Wednesday said that it had begun moves to recover $31m which it said was allegedly “fraudulently taken” from the government coffers, during the administration of former Governor Lucky Igbinedion.

According to a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Peter Okhiria, on Wednesday, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Louis Odion, disclosed this at the end of the State Executive Council meeting.

He also said that the state government would commence a legal action against the former governor’s administration, in order to recover what had been taken from the government coffers.

The commissioner said, “There is the issue of a fraud that was discovered while looking into our books. We found that $31m was fraudulently taken from the state coffers under the administration of Chief Lucky Igbinedion. The comrade governor has directed the Attorney-General to commence a legal action in that direction.

“So, in the coming days, the state government will take a legal action to ensure that what was stolen from the Edo State Government is recovered. When you convert $31m to naira, it fetches you a whooping N7bn. You can imagine what N7bn will do in improving the human condition in Edo State.”

The commissioner praised some landlords and companies in the state for their compliance with the payment of the land use charge.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Abdul Oroh, alleged that the $31m was allegedly used to fund a cement firm in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of the state.

Oroh said, “As the money was withdrawn, the construction of the company started and all the major structures were in place, 90 per cent completed, machines were installed but there was no other contribution from any other source for the construction and procurement of these equipment. So, everything invested in that company came from the Edo State Government.”

He also accused the Igbinedion administration of allegedly privatising the state fruit juice processing company at a “giveaway” price.

“The fruit juice processing company in Ehor was established in 2001 by the Lucky Igbinedion’s administration. The cost of establishing that company was N368,458,195 invested in this company by the Edo State Government. The company was owned 100 per cent by the Edo State Government. The materials for the company were imported from England from a company at a sum of £310,000,” he said.

Oroh added, “The company was now sold including the land and the three hectares pineapple farm which was also developed by the Ministry of Agriculture for N283.8m. The company was completed and there was a test-run. There was no reason to privatise it and it was sold out at a giveaway price which only could have been influenced by criminal intentions.’’

Efforts to get the comments of the former governor failed but a source close to him said Igbinedion would react to the allegations later.

Punch

APC sets up 40-member campaign committee for Sylva

The All Progressives Congress has inaugurated a 40-man campaign committee for the Bayelsa State governorship election slated to hold on December 5, 2015.

The committee, which has Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, as chairman, also has the governors of Sokoto, Kano, Lagos, Borno, Imo, and Zamfara states as members.

Inaugurating the committee at the APC national headquarters, in Abuja, on Monday, the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said the party’s expectation was that all the party’s 22 governors would storm the state for the campaign.

He, however, expressed gratitude to the seven governors who have so far volunteered to serve in the committee. He explained that the importance of the APC securing victory in the December polls could not be overemphasised.

According to him, while the APC was not seeking to make Nigeria a one-party state, the task ahead required that everyone should be brought on board.

Oyegun said, “I think it underscores in very clear terms, the importance the whole party attaches to the Bayelsa election. The time is short; that we understand, but the circumstances and the situation are very upbeat and very promising for eventual victory at the election.

“Just as I was confident about the national election, I am confident of the Bayelsa election because we have a good product. Secondly, we have a totally and abysmally underperforming governor in Bayelsa State.

“Thirdly, the governing party in Bayelsa State has crumbled because most of the significant people in that party are today with us seeking votes for a progressive party. Lastly, we have a crack team comprising members of the campaign council and our job here today is to send them forth to undertake this challenging assignment.”

He informed members of the committee that the task before them was simple. He said they should ensure that they do everything legally possible to bring the people of Bayelsa State into the APC fold.

In his remarks, the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal said, “Our task is very clear to us and the task has been defined and blessed by God almighty.

“We shall do everything humanly possible within the confines of the law to bring into Government House of Bayelsa State, Timipreye Silva, come December 5, 2015.”

He assured President Muhammadu Buhari and the members of the party that the committee made up of committed party members would ensure that the state joined the APC family.

Other members of the committee included Governors Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos); Kashim Shettima (Borno); Rochas Okorocha (Imo); Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano) and Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), among others.

Goodluck to APC.

Pwajok’s body arrives in Jos

The remains of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate in the April 11 governorship election in Plateau state, Senator Gyang Pwajok, arrived in the country on Wednesday.

Pwajok, or GNS, as he was fondly called, died On Wednesday October, 28, 2015, at the age of 49 in an Indian hospital following complications from Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

The body arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja at about 3:20pm on Wednesday aboard an Emirate Airline.

The body was received by the former governor of Plateau state and Senator representing Plateau North Senatorial Zone, Senator Jonah Jang, his other colleagues in the Senate, Joshua Dariye and Jeremiah Useni amidst tears and emotions by a large crowd who had thronged the international wing of the airport.

Just before the body left for Jos, prayers were offered at the airport.

Punch

LASUTH centre treats 997 rape victims

The Mirabel Centre of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital says that a total of 997 rape cases have been treated in its two years of existence.

The Centre Manager, Mrs. Juliet Olumuyiwa-Rufai, said this when the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Lola Akande, visited the centre on Tuesday.

The manager explained that the centre was in charge of the rehabilitation of sexually assaulted victims in the state.

Olumuyiwa-Rufai informed Akande that the centre had been receiving tremendous support from LASUTH, and the state government through the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, as well as the Ministry of Justice.

Akande, in her response, said it was important for victims of rape to always report such cases to the authorities.

She noted that it was when victims speak out and come to places like Mirabel Centre and her ministry that they could get the right help through counselling, medical care and access to justice free of charge.

She urged the police and all other relevant security agencies to rise up and prosecute the perpetrators when reported, so that victims could get justice.

While condemning landlords and prominent society members that always tried to shield rapists and perpetrators of sexual abuse, she disclosed that thenceforth, people that tried to cover up or shield rapists would also be prosecuted.

Akande also visited the ministry’s transit home where victims of domestic violence, particularly children and women, are kept in custody to shield them from further abuse.

At the home, Akande urged the administrator to ensure proper upkeep and education of children in their custody. She noted that she came on the visit to have firsthand information about the needs of the home.

Punch.

Robbers dare Ambode,rob Lagos motorists again

Armed robbers on Wednesday attacked motorists along the ever-busy Awolowo Road and Onikan areas of Ikoyi, Lagos, making away with valuables such as mobile phones, handbags, wristwatches and money.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the robbery took place shortly after Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said on his official Twitter handle that he had ordered the police to increase its presence on busy roads in the state.

The Lagos State Government on its official Facebook page, subsequently posted a picture of the governor leading a team of policemen and aides on an inspection of some black spots, particularly the Awolowo Road, Ikoyi.

Also, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, had after the State Security Council meeting which was also attended by the governor on Tuesday, read the Riot Act to robbers in the state and claimed that the police had increased its presence on busy roads.

However, it was learnt that around 6.30am on Wednesday, a gang of robbers attacked several motorists trapped in the gridlock.

A victim, who is also a reader of Linda Ikeji’s blog, said her car window was shattered by the robbers while her phone was stolen.

The report, which had a photo of the vandalised vehicle, stated, “Three guys attacked the owner of this car as she descended the bridge to enter the Island (Muson Centre area) on her way to work. They broke the driver and passenger’s side windows, took her phone and her chain. Fortunately, she said she kept her bag in the boot because of similar stories she had read online.”

Another reader, who identified himself as Rowland Adimoha, said he witnessed the Wednesday morning traffic robbery.

He said, “I was at same location this morning at about 6.15am when those boys attacked the woman. She wasn’t the only one robbed at that point this morning. Some vehicles noticed the menace and diverted towards Marina.

“The miscreants ran across the highway towards the Obalende side. Imagine the trauma people go through every day!”

Meanwhile, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Christian Olakpe, who resumed duties at the Oshodi headquarters of the agency, has given marching orders to officers to arrest the traffic situation.

He said the officers of LASTMA must brace up for the task of removing traffic gridlock and ending insecurity on the roads.

In a statement on Wednesday by the Public Relations Officer of LASTMA, Mamud Hassan, Olakpe said the officers must desist from extorting money from motorists, adding that officers caught would be sanctioned.

He said, “I am in LASTMA as part of the ongoing efforts to revamp, refocus and improve performance and relations with the public. Every LASTMA official is a public relations officer and must now perform the duty of enforcing traffic law within the ambit of the law.

“Officers must henceforth exhibit a high level of discipline, commitment and dedication to duty, because gone are the days when officers engaged in extortion.”

The retired Assistant Inspector General of Police sought the support and cooperation of motorists and members of the public to move the agency forward.

The General Manager of LATMA, Mr. Braimah Bashir assured him of the support and cooperation of the members of staff.

 Punch

Check out the Nigeria of my dream

I have a dream that one day,Nigeria will be like this even to the villages.This dream shall be reality soonest.

Police, others partner with INEC for Bayelsa gov poll

The police, Operation Pulo Shield and other security operatives have promised to collaborate with the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure a credible governorship election in Bayelsa State.

The new Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State Command, Mr. Nasiru Oki, gave the indication on Friday while briefing journalists shortly after the 33rd Security Council meeting presided over by Governor Seriake Dickson in Government House, Yenagoa.

Oki, who said officers and men of the police were adequately prepared for the election, noted that the Inspector-General of Police had assured them of the provision of adequate personnel and logistics to ensure a hitch-free governorship election slated for December 5.

He also explained that in line with the policy thrust of the IG, the command would mobilise members of the public to participate in community policing in order to secure their areas.

Oki said, “One of the policy thrust of the IGP is the participation of the community people in the securing their areas. So, we are going to mobilise members of the public to participate in community policing.

“The strategy is already on the ground. We have already done our operational orders as regards who should do what, when to do what and we will work with the officials of INEC. ”

The Commander, Operation Pulo Shield in the Niger Delta, Maj.-Gen. Alani Okunlola, also said the meeting deliberated on the emerging threat to lives and property.

He said they had identified areas where they needed to beef up security to make the state safe before, during and after the election.

Earlier, Dickson said his administration would work closely with the security agencies towards maintaining law and order.

He stressed that acts capable of undermining the security and sovereignty of the state and the country would not be tolerated.

Dickson, who also condemned recent protests by youths in some parts of the country, urged other ethnic nationalities residing in Bayelsa to remain law-abiding and conduct themselves peacefully, particularly during the approaching governorship election.

Punch

NDLEA arrests two more suspects with 89 ATM cards

                                                                  The suspects

Barely one week after arresting a China-bound man with 108 Automated Teller Machine debit cards, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested two other suspects with 89 ATM cards at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

A statement SUNDAY PUNCH exclusively obtained from the NDLEA on Saturday said 40-year-old Pauline Osita Nweke was caught with 65 cards, while 41-year-old Frank Chukwudi Egesiokwu, was caught with 24 cards. Both were on their way to China.

The NDLEA quoted Osita, an Onitsha-based trader who hails from Enugu State and married with two children, as saying the cards in his possession belonged to friends and business partners.

He said, “I am a trader. I sell menswear at Onitsha. I was on my way to China to buy goods when NDLEA officers arrested me with 65 debit cards. The cards belong to my friends, relatives and business partners.”

The second suspect, Egesiokwu, who was a boutique at Aba, Abia State, was found in possession of 24 debit cards.

The Chairman of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, has directed that the suspects be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for further investigations.

The Head, Public Affairs, NDLEA, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, in an interview with our correspondent, said investigations by the agency had shown that the suspects and their sponsors planned to beat the new minimum daily cash withdrawal limit set by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He said, “The new CBN policy is that one cannot withdraw more than $300 per day if one is outside the country.

“What we have discovered is that the suspect will open multiple accounts from each of which they will use the ATM cards to withdraw money. So, if they are able to withdraw $300 from 10 accounts, they will get $3000 daily; you can imagine how much they will withdraw if the cards are more.”

Punch

Pro-Biafra Igbo tear Nigerian passports

Some Biafra secessionists have torn their Nigerian passports to press home their demand for the breakaway of the South-East from the Nigerian state.

As of Saturday, no fewer than three videos were seen on the online video sharing platform, YouTube, in which some Igbo denounced their citizenship of the country and declared their allegiance to Biafra.

The Nigeria Immigration Service has, however, warned that such act is criminal and attracts a jail term.

In one of the videos, the man introduced himself as Emenike Michael Nwofor.

He said, “My names are (sic) Emenike Michael Nwaofor. I’m from Nnewi in Biafra land; when there was Biafra, there wasn’t anything called Anambra State. I would refuse to add that name called Anambra State to it. I am from Nnewi, the former Enugu State.

“I am living here in Bordeaux (France); I am an asylum seeker in Bordeaux. I have been around Bordeaux for a year plus and we have been able to gather the Biafran family here in France; we have been able to register with the government of France as indigenous people of Biafra.”

After a long speech, he subsequently brought out his Nigerian passport and tore the pages.

In another video, a young man, who did not mention his name, also tore his Nigerian passport angrily.

In the third video, the man, who spoke in Igbo and French, tore his passport while using derogatory words on the government of Nigeria.

The Public Relations Officer of the NIS, Deputy Comptroller Ekpedeme King, while reacting to the development in an interview with our correspondent on Saturday, said the service was not aware of the passport tearing.

King said, “There is a new Act called the Immigration Act 2015 which stipulates the punishment for any alteration or destruction of Nigerian passport; it is a jail term with conditions.

“Those who mentioned their names, if we find out that they tore their passports, will be taken to court. A process has to be followed.”

Checks by our correspondents showed that the Immigration Act 2015, among other conditions, states, “Altering existing travel documents renders the holder on conviction of a two million naira fine and/or imprisonment for a term of three years.”

The Department of State Services had reportedly arrested and detained the founder of the guerrilla broadcasting channel, Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos on his arrival from London recently.

The Nigerian Police had also arrested and arraigned many members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra and other secessionist groups recently.

Thousands of members and supporters of MASSOB had last Tuesday embarked on a protest in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, demanding to break away from Nigeria.

In a swift reaction, governors in the South-East and other leaders in the zone had dissociated themselves from the protests, saying they were not in support of the group.

A former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd.), while speaking to Channels TV on Friday during his visit to Nasarawa State, had said the resurgence of a group claiming to be Pro-Biafra would not in any way pose a threat to the sovereignty of the country.

punch

Nigeria tackles UK over plan to deport 29,000 Nigerians

The Nigeria High Commission in London says it is worried by the migration and removal policy of the UK Government, which has placed deportation tag on 29,000 Nigerians.

The Acting Nigerian High Commissioner in London, Mr Olukunle Bamgbose, gave the indication in his office when he spoke with State House Correspondents covering Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s visit to London.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Bamgbose said the migration policy came about following the migration crisis created by the troubled regions in the world.

“I think about 29,000 Nigerians have been designated to be deported.

“We are insisting that due process must be followed before Nigerians are really removed from the UK to Nigeria,’’ he said.

Bamgbose gave four conditions that should be met by the UK immigration office before the commission could accept the migration and deportation agenda.

“First, we must ensure that they are really Nigerians; they are medically fit to travel; all the legal processes must have been completed and that they have role to play in Nigeria.

“You do not expect someone who has not been to Nigeria for 30 years to 40 years and who does not have any family to be deported.

“He will constitute social problems to us in Nigeria; so these are the sore points at this moment that we have,’’ the envoy said.

Bamgbose noted that in spite of the challenge, the relationship between Nigeria and UK had deepened, adding that the UK is ready to engage with Nigerians in various aspects, in defence, immigration, trade and investment.

“In 2012 trade volume between the two countries was about four billion pounds, which has doubled now.

“But with what we now have British investors are ready to move into Nigeria in a massive way.

“I expect that in the next two to three years the trade volume will triple and go to about 12 billion pound or even more.’’

Bamgbose attributed the rise to the new confidence the foreign investors had in Nigeria and the new administration.

The willingness of the British businessmen to even want to come to Nigeria is very important.

“Because, hitherto, the way we were running the government they did not have that confidence in government.

“They are not really sure whether they can go into Nigeria and invest.

“Now with the new administration, what they believe the new administration can do and the fidelity with which the new administration has brought to governance that is the first thing.

“You have to have the confidence of those who are going to Nigeria to invest and I think with what is going on now they are very confident that they can go into Nigeria and invest,’’ he said

punch

How Nigerian shareholders hijacked Econet — Founder

The Founder and Executive Chairman of Econet Wireless, the first GSM operator in Nigeria, Mr. Strive Masiyiwa, has further described how Nigerian shareholders hijacked the company.

Masiyiwa, in the 12th part of his Facebook series titled ‘It’s time to play by a different (ethical) set of rules,’ on Friday, alleged that the names of the foreign investors were illegally removed from the shares register of the company and that efforts to seek legal redress were futile.

In an earlier post, the industrialist recalled how the company was voted out by Nigerian shareholders due to his refusal to pay $9m in bribes to senior politicians.

Masiyiwa, who has been named by the Cable News Network as one of the 50 most influential business leaders in the world, founded Econet Wireless in Zimbabwe in 1998, with the Nigerian subsidiary coming on board in 2001.

In his post on Friday, which was subtitled ‘Rights, wrongs, and rule of law in Africa,’ Masiyiwa said, “When we set up the company in Nigeria, all 22 shareholders had to sign an agreement governing our relationship, known as a Shareholders Agreement. This was April 2001. The purpose of a Shareholders Agreement is to protect the shareholders’ investment in the company.”

“When the other shareholders, led by (former) Delta State Governor James Ibori, decided to throw us out of the company, they did two things that violated the provisions in our shareholders’ agreement, as well as Nigerian law: first, they ‘cancelled’ our shares and removed our name from the share register of the company.

“No one has power to do this except a court and usually only the highest court in a country, as it is tantamount to expropriation of property rights. They did it anyway and dared us to go to court.

“We did and it took us exactly 10 years to reverse what they did. The judges of the courts of Nigeria were harsh in their criticism of this decision by the other shareholders. They called it ‘disgraceful.’ It was a form of gangsterism!”

According to Masiyiwa, the Nigerian shareholders did not offer their foreign counterparts the right of first refusal. Instead, he added, they offered their shares to a third party — a company from the Middle East — without first offering them to the foreigners as an existing shareholder.

He added, “Of course, in their minds, it was not necessary because they had first ‘cancelled’ our shares. There’s no legal right for other shareholders to say, ‘We no longer recognise you as a shareholder,’ then hold private meetings and make resolutions as if you don’t exist. (Protection of shareholder rights is sacrosanct if we want to mobilise investment and see the people of our continent prosper. Otherwise the whole investment climate is thrown up in the air!)

“To right these wrongs, we first had to approach the Chief Judge of the Federal Court of Nigeria. She inexplicably refused to grant our request for nearly five years. When she retired in 2008, we petitioned her successor, Justice Mustapha. He granted our request and appointed a three-member international panel of legal experts to serve on the Tribunal.

“Two of them, including a retired judge, were Nigerian. It took him less than three months to make the appointments, for which we have waited nearly five years!”

 punch

See how Ex-militant bath his beautiful Girlfriend with Acid

An accidental meeting between 24-year-old hair stylist, Miss Juliet Osimen from Esan West Local Government Area, Edo State, and Austin, a native of Emu-Unoh, Ndokwa West Area, Delta State, in Warri, glued them together. Barely three years into the affair, Austin, shattered the promising life of his lover with a cruel acid bath.

Today, after battling to survive with a year-long intensive care at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, Benin, Edo State, Juliet still requires over N5 million lifeline for a medical trip to Indian, as she struggles to pick up the pieces of her devastated life.

People who commit acts of violence against others, this is wrong. 

"Austin was very generous in the relationship and often granted most of the requests I made. As a result, I hardly hesitated when he started making proposals for marriage and coming close to my family.

"When we met, he was living with his uncle at Nnewi Street, off Aka Avenue, Effurun. As the relationship grew, we rented a self-contained apartment at satellite Ugolo community, Okpe Council area, where we shared privacy occasionally, while I still lived with my parents.

'My fears'
"Though, I cherished his uncommon generosity towards me and my siblings, I started getting worried about the source of his income, which to me did not connect with the generator repairs job he told me he does for a living.

"My suspicions were confirmed the day we went to Obiaruku for the marriage of his friend. There is a particular bag he does not allow me or anyone else touch at all.

"This fateful day, as he was having an after wedding drinking spree with friends in the hotel we lodged, I opened the secret bag in our room.

"I was shocked by two items I found. An identity card as a Federal Government Amnesty beneficiary and a document list of guns and other dangerous weapons submitted by his group during the arms mop up.

"From that moment, my interest in the affair died and I wanted out immediately. I knew I was living with an unrepentant criminal because he is easily irritated and always bragging about how tough he is and how he can deal with anyone and go away with it.

Conflict
According to Vanguard Juliet met Austin while working at a fast food centre in the Niger Cat neighbourhood of Ekpan, Delta State, where her father, Pastor Sunday Osimen, farmer and Head at the Mountain of God's Grace Ministry in the area, also owns a modest home.

Recalling the good times, Juliet said:
"That night at Obiaruku, I confronted him on his criminal identity and why he kept it from me. He said he was worried I would leave him and he does not want to lose me.

"That moment, I made it clear I was no longer interested and would not marry a criminal disguising as repentant. I meant every word of it.

"But I knew it was dangerous to make a sudden quit, so I started limiting my contact with him and thinking of how best to stop the affair permanently.

"Then, I further learned that the man I was planning to marry is a father of three, married to a woman elsewhere.
"I confronted him. He admitted and again said he kept that from me for fear of losing me. He said he could not do without me, so he wants me as second wife. I said over my dead body.

… and the threats began
"As I gradually limited my contact with him, he introduced a catch phrase whenever the issue of breaking the relationship came up.
"He would say, 'You can't leave me. If you try it, I will so damage you that no man would want to look at you, so I will still be the only one to marry you.'

"I could tell from his anger and tone, whenever he says it, that this was no empty threat, but I needed to get out of the affair.

"I trained as a hair stylist and work for a salon owner, while also doing home service for some clients on Sundays.

"One Sunday, I was home fixing a customer's hair when my phone rang. It was Austin's call so I ignored it.

"Usually, he is very jealous and gets upset if he does not know my whereabouts and cannot get me on the phone for a second and he can beat me for that.

Pulling a knife; the acid bath
"At night at Ugolo that day, he pulled a knife from the kitchen, threatening to kill me, saying he saw a man taking me out the period I failed to pick his call.

"I was afraid he could harm me so I refused confrontation with him before he dropped the knife. Next morning, he came to my work place apologizing for his action after complaining to my madam.

"The evening of the Monday (February 25, 2013) preceding the Sunday he threatened me with a knife at Ugolo, I refused his calls again after closing from work and went to my parents' home.

"He then called my younger sister, asking if my parents were home. That was about midnight. It was very hot that night. At some minutes to 1am, February 26, I had just my towel tied on me when I slept close to the window.

"Suddenly, I heard and felt a shower of liquid from outside through the window. The person aimed and poured it all over my body as I lay faced up."Immediately, I started shouting, 'Igwe (Austin) had poured acid on me' repeatedly and ran out as the liquid was burning my body. I saw him running away."

A father's story
Her father, Pastor Osimen, said he and the wife, Caroline, were at their farmhouse at Orega, along Sapele Road, where they farm most weekdays before retiring home to the children and church service on Sunday, when he got a distressing message.

He said: "I was contacted after she had been rushed to the Ekpan General Hospital. I returned from the farming expedition and lodged complaint at the Ekpan Police Division.

"We could not focus on the police case because saving my daughter's life first was uppermost.

"From Ekpan General Hospital, she was referred to the Oghara Teaching Hospital, Oghara in Delta State. From there, she was referred to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, in Benin, Edo State.She was under intensive care at UBTH for almost a year with the medical bill rising to N2 million, way beyond my purse. But by some divine intervention, some persons from the Edo State government, I guess, came and settled the huge bill before she was discharged."

Arrested
Pastor Osimen asserted, "back to Delta at the close of 2014, we opened the case to prosecute Austin at the Warri Area Command.
"After two years in hiding, within which even his uncle at Aka Avenue also relocated to unknown location, the police caught him, last month."

It was learned that a source who knew him, noticed that he was in custody at the Ekpan Police Station, having been arrested and brought from Lagos in connection with a kidnap case.

According to Juliet's father,  "when I met him at Ekpan Police Station, I said to him, 'Igwe is this you?' he replied, 'Daddy, I beg.'

"I said, 'you are begging to go free after deliberately maiming my daughter?'"

N5m lifeline to save a soul
Austin's trial was supposed to start, Thursday, January 29, at an Effurun court in the state.

At press time, the suspect was on remand at the Warri prisons.
Juliet's doctor said at least N5 million was required for further treatment abroad to further manage the dreadful scars of the acid burns, especially her face and the chest region, as well as the health challenges the attack still posed to her.

Juliet said:
"It is hard to explain how bad and demoralized I feel over this condition I have found myself."I am, however, very grateful to God and those who have assisted me. But I need to be able to fulfill my dreams in life. I was to sit for JAMB before the attack."I still want to get higher education; I still want to be useful to myself. Now I can hardly do anything meaningful."

Joined by his wife, Pastor Osimen said:
"We are appealing to the public to please help us and our daughter with donations to go to India for her surgery.

"May God help you as you send your donations to Osimen Sunday, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, account number, 3054669825."

Omawumi flaunts her growing baby bump

She has finally settled with her daughter's father and they even had their court wedding recently. She and her man, Toyin Yusuf will be having their traditionally marriage in April in Delta State. Congrats!