Michael Ojuroye Initiative (Ngo)

President Goodluck Jonathan The year 2014, being the last year before  the next round of general elections is  bound to be decisive as politicians from  across different political hues take  position. Some Nigerians who are bound  to direct the pace of political activities  in the country are mentioned underneath President Goodluck Jonathan will be the centre of action in the coming year. As president of the country eligible for a second term, the pace and posture of his politics would largely determine the pattern of political activities in 2014. President Jonathan who had in the past pooh-poohed questions on whether he would seek re-election had said that he would make his plans known in 2014. With that year now at hand, the president can no longer wave aside a response to the issue. Will he or will he not? Though his body language has all but indicated that the president would be contesting the election, it is not impossible for him ...

A Lebanese soldier examines of one 20 the shells that were fired by the Israeli army into southern Lebanon on December 29, 2013 Rockets coming from Lebanon smashed into northern Israel on Sunday near the town of Kiryat Shmona, the Israel Defense Forces said. Israeli forces fired toward the source of the launch, the IDF said. At least 20 Israeli rockets landed in southern Lebanon, according to the IDF and the Lebanese official National News Agency. There were no initial reports of injuries on either side. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the weekly meeting of the Israeli Cabinet, said he blames the Lebanese government for allowing Hezbollah to position rockets in neighborhoods while attacking civilians. "This is a double war crime that is being perpetrated under the aegis of the Lebanese government and army, which are not lifting a finger to prevent this arming and these crimes," he said. He said the IDF responded quickly and forcefully. "We will not allow a dr...

Three Al Jazeera journalists were arrested by Egyptian security forces, with the government saying at least one of them met with members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Correspondent Peter Greste, producer Mohamed Fahmy and cameraman Mohamed Fawzy were taken into custody Sunday evening in Cairo, the network said. The Egyptian Ministry of Interior said on its Facebook page that security forces arrested a Muslim Brotherhood member and an Australian journalist at a Cairo hotel. Greste, an Australian, previously worked for CNN, Reuters and the BBC. The ministry said the Muslim Brotherhood member used the hotel to meet with other members and as a media center to broadcast damaging news about the government for Al Jazeera. Egypt has been in political turmoil since former President Mohamed Morsy was removed from office in a July 3 coup. Last week, the military-backed government declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. Police and members of the Muslim Brotherhood have cl...

Witnesses described a scene of carnage following the blast At least 10 people have been killed and more than 20 others hurt in a suspected suicide bombing on a trolleybus in the Russian city of Volgograd. The blast comes a day after 17 people died in another suicide attack at the central station in the city. Security has been tightened at railway stations and airports across Russia. Moscow is concerned militant groups could be ramping up violence in the run-up to the 2014 winter Olympic Games in the city of Sochi. The Olympic venue is close to Russia's volatile north Caucasus region. The explosion was the second in the city in 24 hours. A blast hit a train station on Sunday. Volgograd lies about 900km (560 miles) south of Moscow, 650km north of the North Caucasus and 700km north-east of Sochi. The latest explosion took place near a busy market in the city's Dzerzhinsky district. Maksim Akhmetov, a Russian TV reporter who was at the scene of the blast, said the trol...

File: A video grab made on March 21, 2013 from a video distributed to reporters by purported intermediaries of the Islamist group linked to Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, shows the suspected leader of the Nigerian Islamist group linked to Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Imam Abu Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Abubakar Ash Shekawi, also known as Abubakar Shekau, at an undisclosed location in Nigeria. AFP The leader of Boko Haram sect,Abubakar Shekau, has claimed a daring December 20 raid on a military barracks in the restive northeast, in a video obtained by AFP Friday. The insurgents stormed the barracks in the town of Bama in a convoy of trucks before sunrise, opened fired on the soldiers inside then torched the compound. Several witnesses said the gunmen kidnapped soldiers as well as women and children. “Our fighters stormed the Bama barracks,” Shekau said, while seated on a mat and flanked by a group of armed men. Shekau has released a series of videos since taking control of the rebel group more than th...

A 43-year-old nurse, Bridget Osawaru, abducted on December 10, 2013, was said to have been allegedly killed by her abductors after collecting N1.5 million ransom from her relatives. Vanguard gathered that she was abducted at her residence along Sapele Road in Benin City and was kept in captivity until she was found dead. Her abductors were alleged to have collected N1.5 million ransom three days after her kidnapping but refused to release her. Late Bridget’s body was found near Okhuahe hill in Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo State. Police sources said injuries were found on her body which indicated that she might have been stabbed. The sources said that the homicide section at the state Police Command was investigating to ascertain if she was a victim of assassination or not. Police spokesman, DSP Moses Eguaveon could not be reached for comments. Follow us on Twitter: Click here On Facebook:   Click here

Season's greetings to all the Lover of  Micblogspot . Please do everything with moderation as we all celebrate the Christmas tomorrow... Have fun Twitter

Gani Fawehinmi The National Conscience Party (NCP), founded by the late human rights lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi, has voiced concerns that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was plotting with the National Assembly to de-register more political parties in order to suit the interests of those already in power. In a state-of-the-nation address to the press yesterday, the party’s national chairman, Yunusa Tanko, alleged that INEC was requesting the powers from the National Assembly to reduce the number of political parties in existence. The party condemned a move by INEC to acquire the power to disqualify candidates, adding that disqualifications should be left to political parties. Mr. Tanko advised INEC to focus on addressing rigging and other electoral problems. Earlier this year, the NCP had filed a court case to stop INEC’s moves to de-register political parties. The NCP also criticized INEC’s decision to uphold a law that allows office holders to defect after a...

Jonatha / OBJ *Jonathan’s response, shallow – NEF, CNPP *President responded well – Afenifere, IYM, others *They should refrain from evil things – Sagay *Obasanjo jealous of Jonathan –Ezeife BY SONI DANIEL, CLIFFORD NDUJIHE, OKEY NDIRIBE, DAPO AKINREFON, PETER DURU,BASHIR ADEFAKA & DAUD OLATUNJI FORMER President, Chief  Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, declined to respond to President Goodluck Jonathan’s reply to his December 2 letter, saying that he stands by the contents of his missive. Obasanjo who spoke to newsmen at his hilltop mansion in Abeokuta through his media aide, Tunde Oladunjoye, said he would not reply the letter because he has chosen to maintain his serenity. President Jonathan in a 14-page response to Obasanjo’s 18-page letter, said he only had time to respond to the most serious of the charges which question his sincerity, personal honour and commitment to his oath of office. He said Obasanjo did him grave injustice by accusing him of “deceit, decept...

Arowolo the alleged killer An Ikeja High Court, yesterday, reserved judgement in the trial of Akolade Arowolo, who allegedly knifed his wife, Titilayo, a banker, to death sometime in 2011. Justice Lateefat Okunnu informed both counsels in the case that the date for judgement would be communicated to them later by the court. Okunnu stated this after both parties re-adopted their final written addresses. Arowolo, 31, was arraigned on December 21, 2011, on a charge of killing of his wife by stabbing her several times, but he pleaded innocence of the crime. The State Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs. Olabisi Ogungbesan, had earlier told the court that the accused murdered Titilayo on June 24, 2011, at their residence, No. 8, Akindeinde St., Isolo, Lagos. Re-adopting the address, Ogungbesan argued that the prosecution had proven its case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt. She said:“The evidence we have that led us to the fact that the deceased was killed is not in doubt....

The allegation of training snipers to assassinate political opponents is particularly incomprehensible to me  – President President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday formally replied the 18-page letter written to him by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying it was a threat national security. Unlike Obasanjo’s letter which was dated December 2 but leaked to the press on December 11, Jonathan’s letter was made available to journalists by his(Jonathan) Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati in Abuja. In the letter titled “Re: Before It is too Late,” an obviously angry Jonathan said the former President did him grave injustice with the open letter in which he was accused of deceit, deception, dishonesty, incompetence, clannishness, divisiveness and insincerity, amongst other ills. He gave 10 reasons why he chose to make his own letter public. One of them, according to him, is because  Obasanjo’s  letter is clearly a threat to national security, as it may...

When on December 14, 2013, 18-year-old Ikenna Onyeizu and 21-year-old Moses Aiyenuro, attended a Christmas party at Dele Hotel, Ijora Badia area of Lagos State, little did they know that they would not return home. Residents of the area told PUNCH Metro that the two boys were killed by drunken policemen attached to Ijora Badia Police Station around midnight. Our correspondent also learnt that another youth, Mike Banji, was also shot by the policemen but survived. Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, had told our correspondent last week that the boys were stabbed to death by some hoodlums during a fight that broke out at the hotel. Braide had said when the police arrived at the scene, the boys were rushed to the hospital where they eventually died. “There was a stampede at Dele Hotel where they were holding an end-of-the-year party around 11pm on December 14. Hoodlums engaged in a fight with machetes and bottles. Moses Aiyenuro was slashed on the neck. A team of policemen ...

Mr. Michael Akinola A Prince of Ilawe Ekiti, Ekiti State, Mr. Michael Akinola, 90, in this interview with AKINWALE ABOLUWADE, talks about his triumphs and struggles. Tell us about your childhood? I was born into the family of Oba Adefolalu Akinola, who reigned between 1929 and 1967. We are of the royal family in Ilawe Ekiti. My mother is Osunmadewe. I was born on November 2, 1923, six years before my father was crowned king in Ilawe Ekiti. I was born a twin. My twin brother died long ago when we were 15 years old. He was sick. I said earlier that I was born six years before my father was crowned king, so I witnessed the transition from low-life as a child of a poor prince to son of a ruling king in my community. It was a great heritage bestowed on me. Though my parents were not rich, royalty earned me a lot of respect as a prince. Everybody respected me and other princes and princesses in the palace. We were a point of attraction because royalty towers riches. All our peers and...

A 23-year-old fashion designer, Olumide Oluniyi, has been remanded in prison by an Ebute Meta Magistrate’s Court for allegedly stabbing his half brother, Olabode Odumesi, to death with a broken bottle. It was learnt that Oluniyi and Odumesi were brothers from the same mother, but different fathers. They had reportedly gone to the Alamuju Market in Idi-Oro, Mushin area of Lagos on December 3, 2014 to work overnight. When it was around 11pm, the duo was said to have been embroiled in a disagreement which culminated in a fight. In a fit of anger, the Odogbolu, Ogun State indigene was said to have grabbed a broken bottle with which he stabbed 26-year-old Odumesi in the chest. It was learnt that Odumesi bled from the injury, and could not get medical help before giving up the ghost. The investigating police officer, Inspector Emmanuel Mbilla, said although the Oluniyi,  a fashion designer, made confessional statement to the police, there was still need for further investigation. The...

Sani Shehu The National President of Miners Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Sani Shehu on Monday called for the release of N100 billion Solid Mineral Development Fund, to operators in the sector. Shehu told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, that 1.8 per cent had been set aside in the 2013 budget for the development of natural resources such as agriculture and solid minerals. “We are also aware of what is available for the sector from the annual budgetary deductions. “The fund that has been set aside about 1.8 per cent of our annual budget is set aside for the development of natural resources, that is, for agriculture and solid minerals. “The one that is meant for agriculture has been accessed but the one that has been allocated for development of solid minerals we are yet to access it. “If you are talking of that we can say the federal government has made something available but is yet to be accessed. “From what we heard, over N100 billion is there for solid minerals but is ye...