Truck kills pregnant woman, four pedestrians in Oshodi

No fewer than five persons, among them a pregnant woman, were killed in the Oshodi area of Lagos on Tuesday when a sand-bearing truck lost control, ramming into three stationary vehicles in a motor park in the ever-busy commercial area.
The Lagos State Police Command said the driver of the truck, which belonged to The Lord Chosen Church, had been arrested after the accident where at least five other people were injured.
A statement by the command Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, on Tuesday said the crash, which occurred at noon, was due to the failed brake of the truck, popularly known as tipper.
Braide’s statement read, “The Tipper with number plate JJJ 824 XD, which is owned by the Lords Chosen Church, lost control due to brake failure and ran into three stationary vehicles in the motor park.
“Five yet-to-be-identified female pedestrians lost their lives. One of the deceased was a pregnant woman, whose fetus also gushed out, bringing the casualty figure to six in number. About five people were also injured and they are currently receiving treatment at LASUTH.
“We have apprehended the driver of the truck whose name is Lawrence Nwaodu, aged 45 year. The four vehicles involved had been taken to LASTMA office while calm has also returned to the area as policemen were able to curtail the situation.”
The PPRO reminded motorists to ensure that their vehicles were road worthy at all times to “stem the rising tide of fatal motor accidents.”

 

Lagos cholera outbreak caused by contaminated salad –FG

The Federal Government has said the 134 cases of cholera recorded in Lagos State was caused by contaminated African Salad.

The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Ambassador Sani Bala, said this on Monday in Abuja.

He spoke during a joint press briefing with a Non-Governmental Organisation, WaterAid Nigeria, in commemoration of this year’s first United Nations endorsed World Toilet Day with the theme, “The rural meet the urban sanitation.”

Between September and October this year, an estimated 2,771 cases and 124 deaths were reported, with case fatality rate of 4.5 per cent of cholera recorded as of November 12.

But Bala said the yearly occurrence of cholera could be stopped “if there is a mechanism to stop open defecation which will prevent contamination of water sources and foods that are major causes of cholera in the country.”

He said, “Reports from the 14 states affected by the cholera and gastroenteritis outbreak indicated that indiscriminate open defecation practice and lack of toilet facilities, which contaminated water sources and foods, were the major causes of cholera in these states.

“For instance, most of the cases of cholera in Lagos State were caused by eating contaminated salad, while Zamfara State, which recorded 1,000 cases with 50 deaths, was due to consumption of water that have been heavily contaminated with faecal matters.”

Also speaking, the Country Representative of Water Aid Nigeria, Dr. Michael Ojo, represented by the organisation’s Head of Governance, Ms. Tolani Busari, said 37 million Nigerians (23 per cent of the population) still practised open defecation, while about 100,000 children under the age of five died of diarrhoea every year.

She said, “The deadline for the world to meet its Millennium Development Goals is now only two years away, yet in Nigeria, only 31 per cent of the population has access to improved sanitation – this means about 112 million Nigerians do not have access to improved sanitation.

“A staggering 37 million (23 per cent of the population) still practice open defecation. Nearly 100,000 children under the age of five die of diarrhoea in Nigeria every year as a result of the nation’s poor levels of access to sanitation and water.

“It is not just about the unhygienic conditions; without a private toilet women and girls are vulnerable to violence, intimidation and indignity. Lack of decent sanitation also affects productivity and livelihoods.

“Women and girls living in Nigeria without toilet facilities spend 3.1 billion hours each year finding a place to toilet in the open.”

 

Money laundering: EFCC prosecutor’s absence stalls Ikuforiji’s trial

A Federal High Court, Lagos, on Tuesday, was unable to commence the trial of the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, and his aide, Mr. Atoyebi Oyebode, due to the absence of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s prosecuting counsel, Mr. Godwin Obla (SAN).

It was learnt that Obla had written the court and the defence counsel that he would be absent from court because he was to deliver a paper at an undisclosed event on Tuesday.
Mr. Edward Okpe, who represented Obla at the proceedings, reminded the court that the letter was dated November 13, 2013.
Counsel, who represented the accused persons, Mr. Tunde Akinrimisi, told the court that he only got Obla’s letter seeking an adjournment just some moments before the court sitting.
He did not oppose the application for adjournment but noted that the prosecution of the case ought to be paramount.

FIRS quizzes Jimoh Ibrahim over tax liabilities

 

The Chairman of Global Fleets Limited, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, was on Monday invited by the Federal Inland Revenue Service to offer explanations about the alleged huge tax liabilities involving his company.

The development was confirmed by the Director, Communications and Liaison Department of the FIRS, Mr. Emmanuel Obeta.

Obeta, who spoke with our correspondent in a telephone interview, stated that contrary to media reports, the businessman was not arrested.

“He (Ibrahim) was invited by the FIRS to come and make some clarifications regarding issues bordering on tax liabilities,” he said.

When asked if Ibrahim was detained, the FIRS director said the businessman was only quizzed and asked to go.

“When you invite someone to come and make explanations and the invitation is honoured, the logical thing to do is to allow the person to go,” he said.

Ibrahim and the FIRS had in recent times been engaged in series of issues bothering on failure to remit taxes.

For instance, in June last year, the FIRS arrested the Managing Director, Air Nigeria Limited, Mr. Kinfe Kayssay, for the company’s alleged failure to remit N4.86bn tax liabilities to the Federal Government.

Air Nigeria is owned by Ibrahim.

Kayssay was arrested in Lagos by operatives of the FIRS and flown to Abuja for further questioning.

The tax enforcement drive that led to Kayssay’s arrest was led by the Assistant Director, Debt Enforcement and Special Prosecution Unit, FIRS, Mr. James Binang.

Obeta, while confirming the arrest of Kayssay, had said the move was aimed at recovering arrears accruing to the Federal Government from Withholding Tax and Value Added Tax.

Apart from the tax liabilities against Air Nigeria, the company was also alleged to have failed to file annual tax returns for 2011. That of 2012 is also believed to be pending.

Ibrahim, in a statement on Monday, said he was not arrested by FIRS.

He explained that the statement was meant to set the record straight.

He stated, “Our company, NICON Group, purchased 48% shares of Air Nigeria sometimes in 2010 and the Federal Inland Revenue came with alleged tax liabilities for the period of 2006 to 2010.

“They claimed that he who buys assets buys the liabilities of the company. That was in 2012.

“We requested for reconciliation of the taxes which was however not conclusive. We closed down the airline and sold our shares to a commercial bank in Nigeria .”

Ibrahim said that rather than pursuing the new owner for the taxes, FIRS instituted a civil suit against him at the Federal high court.

“The same law of who buys the assets buys the liabilities should apply, which is why FIRS should pursue the liability of Air Nigeria with the new owners,” he stated

Explaining his encounter with the agency, he said, “Yesterday (Monday) the FIRS enforcement unit solicited my assistance about the new buyer, I opted to give them the full details and documents.”

Ibrahim explained that before he gave  FIRS the details of the new owners of Air Nigeria , it (FIRS) had alleged that Air Nigeria procured tax papers in 2010 for expatriates.

 

Teammates conspiring against me —Eto’o

 

Samuel Eto’o has alleged that some of his team mates are conspiring against him ahead of the playoff against Tunisia.

Cameroon host Tunisia on Sunday at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaoundé in a 2014 FIFA World Cup final leg play-off with the scores 0-0 from the first leg.

The Indomitable Lions’ skipper made the allegations on Wednesday during a press conference that he attended together with Coach Volker Finke alongside vice-captains Nicolas Nkoulou and Enoh Eyong.

The Chelsea striker said rumours of a conspiracy against him by some of his teammates are true and alleged that instructions had been issued not to pass the ball to him whenever he is in a good scoring position.

“It is sad to say but it is true. And as the coach is present, I am asking him to make sure it does not happen anymore in our national team. If we were not about to play such a crucial game, I would have asked you to have a look at some of the matches yourselves,” Eto’o said.

And Eto’o went on to explain why he had played so often out of position during the first leg in Radès.

“If I moved back so much towards the midfield against Tunisia, it is before I knew about it already. I had to play like that and I did it, but on Sunday we are talking about Cameroon, about our country. We must put our problems behind us and play for Cameroon,” Eto’o said.

 

Another American insults Nigerians over Obamacare  

 

It seems President Barack Obama haters in the US love picking Nigerians as soft targets in their campaign against Obama’s healthcare programme.
Last month Republican Sen.Ted Cruz compared the glitches plaguing the website for Obama’s signature health care law to the methodologies of “Nigerian email scammers.”
“You may have noticed that all the Nigerian email scammers have become a lot less active lately,” Cruz said, according to the Houston Chronicle. “They all have been hired to run the Obamacare website.”
The comment before party faithful in Texas, drew the diplomatic anger of Nigeria and an apology was exacted from the senator.
Three weeks after, another American has run riot with her pen.
Ann Coulter, a rabid conservative ideologue, in an article posted in Yahoo(see links below), ridiculed Nigerians, curiously also in connection with Obamacare:

Here is an excerpt of what she wrote, the part that really concerns us, as Nigerians:

“Nigeria, for example, leads the world in criminal enterprises. Every level of Nigerian society is criminal, with the smart ones running Internet scams, the mid-range ones running car theft rings, and the stupid ones engaging in piracy and kidnapping. At the University of Lagos, you can major in credit card fraud…
“There were almost no Nigerians in the United States until the 1970s. Today, there are nearly 250,000 Nigerians in the U.S. (committing the cyber-crime Americans just won’t do!). In 2011, we took in more immigrants from Nigeria than from the United Kingdom (9,246 from the U.K. and 9,344 from Nigeria).

http://news.yahoo.com/speak-nigerian-prince-health-care-press-1-now-000008077.html

 

Akwa Ibom Governor, Akpabio, Supervises Beating Of Opposition Lawmaker

The Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly has descended into a serious crisis after the state governor, Godswill Akpabio, personally supervised the beating of a lawmaker he suspected to be politically opposed to him and his loyalists.
Mr. Akpabio, witnesses said, watched as his loyalists manhandled Onofiok Luke, chairman of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriations, who was accused of being rude to the governor after he rose in defense of another lawmaker accused of challenging a loyalist of the governor at a caucus meeting held two days earlier.
The governor, our sources said, beamed with smiles as members of his kitchen cabinet, comprising Nse Ntuen, chairman of Essien Udim local government and Emmanuel Ekon, a member representing Abak/Ika/Etim Ekpo federal constituency in the House of Representatives, assaulted Mr. Luke for being allegedly rude to the governor.
The incident happened November 2 at a funeral service in honour of the mother-in-law of a state lawmaker, Gabriel Tobi, held in Etim Ekpo local government area of the state.
Mr. Akpabio had at the event summoned some lawmakers and tongue-lashed them for doing nothing after Victor Udofia, a lawmaker representing Ikono/Ini state Constituency, allegedly attacked his loyalist, Aniekan Akpan, a member representing  Ukanafun state constituency, at a caucus meeting of the House.
Witnesses say as the governor fumed and abused Mr. Udofia, who was not at the event, an equally furious Mr. Luke rose in defence of his colleague, telling the governor to abandon his divide-and-rule tactics in the interest of the state.
The governor had directed the speaker of the Assembly, Sam Ikon, to immediately activate a  process that would lead to the suspension of Mr. Udofia from the House. But Mr. Luke reportedly shot back, saying Mr. Udofia committed no offence and that any move to punish him would be resisted.
Angered by Mr. Luke’s audacity, Messrs Ekon and Ntuen descended on him, hitting and punching him repeatedly.
Mr. Akpabio simply looked on, our sources said.
The fight, we learnt, only ended after Paul Ekpo, the state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, intervened.
The Akwa state House of Assembly is now divided along those from the governor’s minority Annang ethnic group and those from the majority Ibibio ethnic group.
Some lawmakers accuse Mr. Akpabio of financially empowering legislators from his ethnic group and then using them to undermine the speaker and other lawmakers from Ibibioland.
Messrs Ntuen and Ekon, who attacked Mr. Luke, are from Mr. Akpabio’s Annang ethnic group while Mr. Luke is Ibibio.
 After the incident, Mr. Akpabio directed his aides to embark on a tour of media establishments to compromise them and get them to drop stories on the accident.
Concerned that the incident might do further damage to his image, our sources within the administration said, the governor also hurriedly convened a press conference where he allegedly bribed reporters with N50,000 each not to report the incident.
Mr. Akpabio could not be reached to comment for this story.
But his spokesperson, who is also the state Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, confirmed there was a disagreement between Mr. Onofiok and the governor.
Mr. Umanah said while talking to the governor on the day in question, the lawmaker raised his voice against Mr. Akpabio.
“Other members asked him not to shout because he was talking to the governor,” Mr. Umanah said. “Later, everything calmed down.”
The commissioner added via a text message, “I was there in person. Nobody beat up Onofiok talk less of doing so before the governor.”
Mr. Onofiok could not be reached for comments. But a source close to him said he had been under pressure from Governor Akpabio in the last few days to address the media to say he was never beaten by the governor’s loyalists.