Michael Ojuroye Initiative (Ngo)

Boko Haram The US has designated Nigeria's Boko Haram and Ansaru militant groups as foreign terrorist organisations. The state department described the move as "an important" step to help Nigeria "root out violent extremism". It means US regulatory agencies are instructed to block business and financial transactions with the groups. Ansaru Boko Haram wants to impose Islamic law in northern Nigeria, and has been blamed for thousands of deaths. Ansaru is seen as an off-shoot of Boko Haram.

A 28-yer old man, Adenuga Adesanmi, on Wednesday  appeared before a  Chief Magistrates’  Court in Badagry for allegedly pouring hot water on his ex-lover, one Miss Uzoamaka Nwogbo. The accused, who resides at No. 15, Zoglo Way, Badagry, is facing a one-count charge of assault. The prosecutor, Insp. Innocent Uko, told the court that the accused committed the offence at about 8 p.m. on Sept. 26, at No. 7, Debo Close, Ilogbo, Badagry. Uko said that the accused, who worked as a cleaner in the area and his ex-lover were arguing over a certain matter when he allegedly went to the kitchen, got a pot of hot water and poured it on her. He said that the offences contravened the Criminal Code but the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge. Mr Folabi Dosu, Counsel to the accused, pleaded with the court to grant bail to his client to allow ongoing police investigation in the matter to be concluded. Dosu gave assurance that his client would not jump bail, adding that they would c...

Jega The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega Wednesday declared that the November 16 governorship election would be the best election so far in the country. Speaking on the occasion of a stakeholder’s forum held at the Women Development center, Awka, Jega said the commission had made adequate preparation to make sure there was a credible, free and fair election. However, he appealed to political parties and their candidates to cooperate with the commission to actualize the goal, adding that the body would give all the parties and candidates a level playing ground in the contest. He said INEC had corrected the controversial voters register earlier given to political parties after the recent continuous voters registration in the state which according to him was an error from the computer that brought out the ages of some voters as 16 years which would cause a serious problem during the election. Presenting the corrected copies of t...

The riverside town of Oloibiri  in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State was thrown into mourning, Sunday, when a 24-year-old man, identified as Godsgift, suspected to be mentally unstable, butchered his mother and buried her remains in a shallow grave. The deceased mother of four, aged 67, was identified as Mrs Rose Jonny. It was gathered that the woman was killed in her sleep with a machete by her son who dragged her butchered body through the window and buried her in a shallow grave at the back of her house. The tragic incident, according to a community source, occurred at about 9.30 p.m. Though the claim that the man is mentally unstable could not be verified, he  was said to have told the mother that she would not see the next day. According to a source: “At about 9.30pm, he was reported to have crept into the mother’s room and butchered her in her sleep. “He took her bloodied body out of the room through the window and dragged her to the back of the house wher...

The United States yesterday announced the release of two Americans kidnapped by pirates off southern Nigeria in October. “We welcome the release of the two US citizens who were kidnapped from the Retriever,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. “For privacy reasons, we will not provide any additional information on the two individuals or the circumstances of their release,” she added. Pirates stormed an oil supply vessel off southern Nigeria and kidnapped two American crew members, Nigeria’s navy and US defense officials said last month. In the latest unrest in a region described as a piracy hotspot, a US-flagged C-Retriever owned by American oil servicing company Edison Chouest Offshore was attacked off the city of Brass, Nigeria’s navy spokesman Kabir Aliyu told AFP at the time. The ship’s chief engineer and captain, both American citizens, were kidnapped in the attack, said US defense officials who requested anonymity, and AKE, a private security firm which closely tra...

Oduah For some time now, the Nigerian media have been  inundated with stories of corruption allegation levelled against the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, concerning an unverified claim that the Minister masterminded the procurement of two bulletproof cars through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, one of the agencies she supervises. The way and manner this story has been hitting the front pages of national newspapers only proved that there was more to it than meet the eye. Anyway, the focus of this article is really on the flip side, the unquantifiable damage of the whole gimmicks of corruption allegation in Nigeria. Is it not now very clear that some politicians and never-do-wells who, by misadventure, have found themselves at certain areas of our national economy, aviation inclusive, wish to remain there even in their unproductive age? I have listened to one of them, Captain Dele Ore, during a conference in Lagos. He has maintained and continues t...