Nigerian Couple Reunited After 10 Years Died 24 Hours Later In An Accident

The story of Romeo and Juliet is read by many and taken for granted as just another story, a fairy tale. But, your heart will melt when you hear one of the most shocking stories of the tragic accident involving a Young Shall Grow luxurious bus and a Dangote cement truck, the story of Nneka and Kenneth Ojielo, a couple who died in the accident. Theirs is a story that will bring tears to many eyes because Kenneth had not seen his wife in the last 10 years until Thursday, the day before they both perished in the explosion.
“My sister travelled to Lagos from Enugu on Wednesday. On Thursday, I took her to the airport to welcome her husband. No one could separate them when Kenneth eventually came out with his luggage. They kissed for about 15 minutes and everybody around just stood watching.”
Nneka’s younger brother, Ogonna Abako, told Punch that “Kenneth travelled to Austria in 2003 in search of greener pastures. Before he left, they already had five children. Their eldest child is 21.
“They actually got married very early. Kenneth was 26 years old when they got married while my sister was about 20 years old at the time. Everybody was joyous when we heard he was coming home.”
A picture of the joyous reunion taken by Ogonna’s wife on her mobile phone at the airport showed a couple with much happiness written all over their faces.
But that joy was short-lived.
On Friday, they decided to travel to Enugu. Kenneth wanted to meet his children as soon as possible. The children too were ecstatic in Enugu as they kept calling, asking their father, whom they had not seen in the last 10 years, to get home on time.
Ogonna said, “I drove my sister and her husband to a hotel and lodged them there. The following day, I woke up early to take them to the bus park. We got to Jibowu and realised that the Ekene bus they wanted to take had already left.
“I wanted them to take a smaller bus, but Kenneth insisted he would rather board the luxury bus.”
The couple held hands in the bus and prayed for journey mercies as Ogonna bid them farewell, not knowing it was for the last time. He said he called his sister’s phone at 3pm but it did not connect. He thought there was at network problem.
“When it was 6pm, my sister’s eldest child called and said she had not seen her parents. I then asked my brother to go to the Young Shall Grow park in Enugu. He was told there that only two of the company’s buses took off from Lagos that day, one from Maza Maza and one from Jibowu.
“Many families were waiting for their relations at the park too. The bus that took off from Maza Maza got to the park and that was when the passengers broke the news of the accident to waiting families. Those children will never see their father and mother again,” Abako said as he dabbed at his teary eyes.
Worse is the fact that their bodies cannot be claimed by their family members for burial as they were burnt beyond recognition and were therefore given a mass burial on Tuesday in Benin.
What a sad way to end their journey…all the 10 years hustle of the husband gone. So sad!

Waje’s Work Out Session Has Really Paid Off. Check Out Photos of Her Sweating It Out + Transformation.

She has dropped a couple of pounds and this really suits her. Getting this new look hasn’t been easy though, she has been working hard to curb the excess and stay fit. Below are some photos of her sweating it out with her training partner.

Kwam1's Daughter Goes Half Nude...

• 
  
• 
  

In case you missed it, Honey B. is one of the kids of Nigerian music veteran, Kwam 1 who dropped her debut single, “Up Down” sometime back in March. 

Now, with very suggestive visuals to boot, directed by Visionnaire Pictures, here is the official music video to Honey B.‘s Afro-Dancehall single, “Up Down” featuring cameos from UK-based Dotstar, Cool H and International model/actress Emerald Brooke.

"6,000 Innocent Children Held In Nigerian Prisons" -Report

Nigeria’s notorious jails and detention centres hold an estimated 6,000 children and minors, many of whom were born there and now serve terms with their parents despite a government’s order to effect their release, the United States country human rights report on Nigeria says.

Although Nigerian law forbids the imprisonment of children, by the end of 2012, the government has taken no clear step to implement its order to release and rehabilitate the children, the report, quoting an African Union study, says.
“A report by the African Union on the rights and welfare of the Nigerian child found an estimated 6,000 children lived in prisons and detention centers,” the report says. “Despite a government order to identify and release such children and their mothers, authorities had not done so by year’s end.”
Published by the US state department on country-by-country basis, the document catalogues a range of abuses and rights violations the Nigerian government is guilty of; and particularly delivered a stinging indictment of the government’s record on corruption, extrajudicial killings, disappearances and impunity in 2012.
“Impunity remained widespread at all levels of government. The government brought few persons to justice for abuses and corruption,” the report says.
“Police and security forces generally operated with impunity. Authorities did not investigate the majority of cases of police abuse or punish perpetrators. Authorities generally did not hold police accountable for the use of excessive or deadly force or for the deaths of persons in custody.”
For all, the most serious human rights problem for the nation during the year, the U.S. department said, were abuses committed by the militant sect, Boko Haram, which conducted killings, bombings, kidnappings, and other attacks mainly in northern states.
While the extremist group killed and maimed, the nation also witnessed serious rights violations with illegal killings by security forces, including summary executions, torture, rape, and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of prisoners, detainees, and criminal suspects, the report said.
The U.S. verdict for 2012 is similar to that delivered on Nigeria in 2011. The 2011 report highlighted Boko Haram and Nigeria’s security forces involved in a brutal crackdown on the extremists as the gravest human rights abusers. It also noted the rocketing corruption level in the country.
A year later, the report says, the situation only deteriorated. While impunity flourished, and corruption escalated, the government did nothing to check abuses.
Also, for 2012, the report notes the dramatic clampdown on the media, seen in the arrest of several journalists, and censorship of news reports.
With recent escalation of government onslaught on the media, the 2013 report can only be predictably worse.
The document is compiled from news report, researches, publications by independent organizations and direct interviews with government officials as well as citizens.
On prisons, the report notes the brutal conditions of Nigerian prisons, reputed amongst the world’s harshest and most crowded.
The report said prison and detention centres’ conditions remained “harsh and life threatening” as prisoners, a majority of whom had not been tried, were subject to gross overcrowding, food shortages, inadequate medical treatment, and infrastructure deficiencies that led to wholly inadequate sanitary conditions.
In many of the holding facilities, the report states, female prisoners were held in same units with the males, and those pregnant at the time of incarceration gave birth to, and raised their babies in prison.
The extensive use of unofficial military prisons, including the Giwa military barracks in Maiduguri, Borno State, and the Special-Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) detention centre, also known as the “abattoir,” in Abuja, was also mentioned.
As of March, Nigerian prison authorities said total inmates stood at 50,920 with slightly less than two percent of those being females, and one per cent juveniles.
But overcrowding was a problem as shown in prisons such as Owerri federal prison which held 1,784 against a capacity of 548, the report states.
Ogwuashi-Uku prison in Delta State, with a capacity of 64 prisoners, housed 541, while Port Harcourt prison, with a capacity of 804 prisoners, held 2,955. Ijebi-Ode prison in Lagos, with a capacity of 49 prisoners, held 309.
Most of the country’s 234 prisons, built 70 to 80 years back, lack basic facilities. Lack of potable water, inadequate sewage facilities, and severe overcrowding have resulted in dangerous and unsanitary conditions in the prisons.
 “The government did not make widespread improvements to prisons during the year, but individual prison administrations attempted to collect donations from religious organizations, NGOs, and the National Youth Service Corps to benefit inmates,” the report says.

Corruption In Nigeria Is Over-Amplified”- President Jonathan

The Federal Government was praised for ensuring a transparent bidding process for the power stations.

Yes, there is corruption within Nigerian government, but it has been over amplified, President Goodluck Jonathan said on Monday.
The president said this at the signing of the Power Reform Transaction contracts at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“Let me continue to assure Nigerians that yes, there are issues of corruption in this country but somehow it has been over-amplified,” Mr. Jonathan said. “People should watch how we have been conducting government business. We have been bringing down the issues of corruption gradually.”
Nigeria needs N530 billion for power
Also at the programme, the Federal Government announced that it needs investment worth $3.4 billion (N530 billion) between now and 2016 to improve on the power currently being generated in the country.
The government, however, said it is working out funding arrangements for the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s long term expansion plan from a mix which will include the Transmission Development Fund, International Development Banks and Multilateral agencies.
Amidst praises on government for ensuring a transparent bidding process, Mr. Jonathan said he was particularly pleased to hear directly from the private sector that the process was transparent adding that the stories of corruption in the bidding process were not true.
Obviously elated by the encomium poured on his administration for the way government has handled the privatization process, the president made the declaration that the issue of corruption in Nigeria has been over-amplified.
“Look at the power sector, when we started initially there were stories in the papers but at the end, even when I was in the U.S., companies from there that participated said publicly that the process was transparent and issues of corruption was not there.
“At least today we have also heard directly, that the process was transparent and that there were no issues of manipulations or corruption,” he said.
Mr. Jonathan further appealed to Nigerians on the need to trust in his administration’s efforts to tackle the issue of corruption adding that “the country belongs to all of us and we will all protect what belongs to us, what belongs to our children and what belongs to the generation yet unborn.”
The President also commended the various stake holders including the Governors, the development partners and the private sector for their interest and investment in the sector and for “having confidence in us to place this huge investment in this country.”
In his speech, the Minister of Power, Chinedu Nebo, disclosed that “installed available generation capacity has risen to 6,000MW while generation capability has increased to 5,228MW with peak generation at slightly above 4,500MW.
“We expect to add additional generation capacity of about 2,200MW from the NIPP projects (1,896MW), IPPs (292MW) and FGN legacy assets (514MW) before the end of 2013.”
He noted that the Federal Government is also investing heavily to boost generation through the large, medium and small hydro plants with total capacity of over 4,234MW. These include Zungeru-700MW; Mambilla -3,050MW; Guarara II -360MW; Itsi-40MW; small Hydro Power -84MW.
“These massive increase in generation underpins the need for a robust transmission grid. Currently, our grid remains a weak link with a wheeling capacity of about 4,800MW. With government’s objective to achieve 10,000MW in 2014 and 20,000MW in 2016, the urgent need to expand our transmission capability to evacuate the projected additions becomes imminent”
“I must admit that it has not been a bed of roses. The reform has had its setbacks and slippages due to the unprecedented size and scope of the reform program. Resolution of labour issues is at advanced stage. We expect to conclude all labour severance settlement issues before the end of June 2013. The process for the sale of Afam Power Plant and Kaduna Disco is on-going,” Mr. Nebo said.
The Minister commended the President for his unprecedented support for the power reform programme stating that the President and his Vice have demonstrated great leadership and dogged courage in taking the needed decisions and initiatives in driving, with personal commitment, the Nigerian Power Sector Revolution.
“I wish to place on record that there is nothing we in the sector have asked from Mr. President that he has not graciously granted. For us, that is the highest demonstration of political will. Sirs, history and generations of Nigerians yet unborn will ever cherish your vision and labour,” he addressed Mr. Jonathan and Vice-President, Namadi Sambo.
Tony Elumelu of Transnational Corporation, who spoke on behalf of the five generation companies who also received their certificates, commended the Federal Government for transparently handling the power process.
He also commended the new partnership between government and the private sector, assuring that they were willing to pay up the balance of 75 percent adding that they will develop the much needed capacity to ensure that Nigerians enjoy power within the shortest time possible.
Mr. Elumelu further called on government to take Nigerian banks into confidence in the financial arrangements for the long term funding of the Transmission Company of Nigeria adding that Nigerian Banks have come of age and are capable of partaking in the funding of the needed $3.4billion.

Nigeria: Late Dagrin Remembered Three Years After...

On April 14, 2010, at about 3 am, a Nissan Maxima 2008 model ran into a parked lorry in front of Alakara Police station, Mushin, Lagos. It's lone male occupant survived but sustained very serious head injuries and was rushed to the Tai Solarin Hospital, Mushin, soon he was moved to the intensive care unit of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH Idiaraba but eight days later, April 22 at 6pm, this young man passed on; a man everyone knew as Dagrin. Today, three years later, fans remember this young dynamic artist who took yoruba rap to the next level. A whole crop of young upcoming and established artistes have toed his line yet, Dagrin's sensational single Pon Pon Pon continues to remain ever green.

‘CHINUA ACHEBE Is Not Dead’ - Kelly Handsome

Kelechukwu Ogbonna Orji popularly known as Kelly Hansome seems to be touched by the death of Nigerian author, Professor CHINUA ACHEBE who is recognized for key role in developing African literature when he took to twitter, a popular social network to show his condolence emotion towards the death of the legendary novelist saying "CHINUA ACHEBE isn't dead because there's a little of him living in us all. Let us all live how we want to be remembered. #THINGSFALLAPART" In case you don't know, Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. He was best known for his first novel and magnum opus, Things Fall Apart, which is the most widely read book in modern African literature.

Intercontinental Distillers Limited Livens Up Encomium ‘Black And White Ball’

At a rare gathering of celebrities, which included distinguished Nigerian politicians, dignitaries and Nollywood’s top acts, African top-rated distiller, Intercontinental Distillers Limited, IDL, the producer of Squadron Dark Rum, Veleta Fruit Wine and Action Bitters, sparked up the night, with well- blended drinks that gave the last Encomium Black and White Ball an unforgettable sparkle, at the Ruby Gardens, Lekki, last weekend. In attendance were Senator Abike Dabiri, Senator Ita Giwa, Senator Ganiu Solomon, Chief Alex Akinyele, representatives of the Lagos State Government, a host of A- list Nigerian comedians like Ali Baba, Julius Agwu, AY,esteemed producers, actors and actresses who were thrilled by the electrifying live performance of ‘Limpopo’ by KC and DJ Jimmy Jatt’s skits and mixes. The Encomium Black and White Ball is in its fourth season. Initiated by Kunle Bakare, the Publisher of Encomium Magazine, the high-octane event is meant to celebrate and reward select personalities, who have done well in their various fields. Similarly, the event also showcases up-coming artistes and designers. This year, the recipient of various categories of awards, ranging from the most stylish governor to the best First Lady, Comedian, Designer and notable personalities were Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, Dame Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, Senator Abike Dabiri, Julius Agwu, Da Viva and a host of others, while Senator Ita Giwa and Chief Alex Akinyele were rewarded for their impactful contributions to Nigeria with Lifetime awards. Speaking at the event, Mr. Innocent Oboh, the Head, Marketing, Intercontinental Distillers Limited, IDL, commended the contributions of the various award recipients vis-à-vis the resilience of every Nigerian. According to him, “that is the spirit of ‘Naija’, and that is what IDL is doing, in promoting the true Nigerian spirit, through various indigenous, well-refined products to celebrate the nation”. The highlight of the night was the rousing rendition of “Limpopo” by KayCee. The audience was thrilled with this masterful rendition and the energy put into it by KayCee. For many, it was, indeed, a true and unforgettable display of the spirit of ‘Naija’.

E-X-C-L-U-S-I-V-E: Paternity Mess Latest: My Mum Told Me Pete Edochie Met Her At Buru-Buru!-Kenyan Model, Ephy Saint Opens Up Story by Alonge Michael/Nigeriafilms.com

Ephy Saint
He’s popularly known as Ephy Saint in Nairobi, Kenya where he reigns supreme as a model and thespian of note. This actor cum model is yet to unravel the mystery surrounding his paternity as he claims to be a son to the veteran actor, Pete Edochie popularly known as Okonkwo by movie buffs.

When Nigeriafilms.com, first came out with a bit of the story, so many things happened, Chief Edochie was contacted by Kenyan journalists and he denied, for the fifteenth time, having anything to do with an offspring in Kenya. A call from our office to his line 080920**16* was not picked and even our sms to him was not attended to. In this interview with Alonge Michael of Nigeriafilms.com, this 23 year-old entertainer said he was really bitter that all his effort to meet his father is futile. Please read this interestingly revealing interview.

Tell me a bit about yourself?

I’m 24 years old, raised by an awesome single mother, who I would gladly give an organ to. I am working so hard to live my dream which is to be the best in the world as an actor / model and a movie maker... I love life and have very fun-loving people around me. I always grow to be me and no one else.

How and where did you grow up?

All over, with my mum and my grand folks, in Kenya.

With your mum; how about your father?

Hmmm, I don’t know, I never met him.

Can you tell us why?

I can't …He is a magician ...had me and disappeared, so I can't tell much about him.

How did you now turn up to be who you are?

I was brought up by two strong-willed women, my mum and my grandmother, discipline being the core of my upbringing. So I turned out alright I guess.

As a child, what did you think of becoming?

A model, reason being that, I have always loved glamour.

How did you attain this status in the modelling world?

Remaining consistent in my craft and patience also came in handy.

What's your greatest achievement?

Coming to being.

Do you have any regret?

No ... I believe everything happens for a reason.

What influence does your mum have on you?

She made me love me for who I am and taught me to be real with myself and the people around me. I’m the person I am because of her.

What's that thing about you that you would want to change?

My financial status... I want to make more money ...don't get me wrong, not that I don’t have money now but I want to have enough money because I have a mother and younger sister to take care of.

Aside Kenya, where would you love to live?

My father’s land ... Nigeria

Nigeria?

Yes, Nigeria! I learnt he’s a prominent and well known and respected actor in Nigeria from the South Eastern part of the country, as I am made to believe by my mum. That’s the little I know about him.

Are you sure?

My mum said so, in fact, he’s still very much an active participant in the industry.

Taking a closer look at yourself, who do you think your dad is?

Well, my mum said and I want to believe her that multiple award-winning actor, Pete Edochie is my biological father.

How sure are you?

I can't prove it; I only got wind of it last year.

Can you give us reasons why you can’t prove it?

Distance and lack of information from both of them, my mum and him, that is, my biological father, Pete Edochie.

But does your mum realise that you need to know who your true father is?

She does, she kept it away from me until last year when she told me about it. I was shocked.

Have you made effort to reach Pete Edoche after that revelation?

Yes I have, like any other man who might not be in the know about an existing biological child of his; he denied. Saying he has never been to Kenya in his entire life

Through what means did you reach out to him?

My mum sent someone to him and the person return with his message that he said he never had any fling with anybody in Kenya because he has never been there in his entire life.

What was your reaction when he said that?

It’s either he’s lying or he has a twin brother.

This fact you have is not enough to call him your father….

There are talks here and there that he used to live in Nairobi in Kenya in a small town called Buru Buru.

What year?

1987-1988

Has it ever occurred to you that your mum might not be factual about this?

I believe my mother. She has always been there for me, I don’t see a reason why she would lie or hide any information about my father or paternity. This is not a matter to be joked with.

So she told you that Pete Edochie, Nigerian bearded actor is your father?

Yes she did.

The burden now rests on your shoulders to press further on the paternity issue, since you know your mum is not making a mistake then you should stand as a man to unravel the mystery surrounding your birth.

May be this is how God wants it. In Kenya, I am a big name and I have followership but in God I trust. Thanks for your advice anyway.

What attempt have you made to come to Nigeria and solve this riddle once and for all?

If a man wants nothing to do with me and I believe him to be my father, I also don't want much to do with him.

Doesn’t your mother have a picture or something she can put down as evidence?

She was having a picture of the two of them together, according to her, she gave it to a friend to help trace him and that friend said he has misplaced the picture. Now you can see the critical situation I have been placed.

From the look of things, I guess only DNA can settle this paternity issue?

If he truly hasn't been to Kenya as he claimed and I take him through all that, he will hate me the more, so DNA test seems like a long thing right now. I want to believe that everything happens for a reason. I am made to succeed in life. I am not looking for money or anything from Pete, just his acceptance. But of what use is the success for a man to deny the paternity of his child. It’s cruelty and all of us shall meet to account for our various deeds on earth.

Presently where do you live?

I live in Nairobi, Kenya

If there was just one wish you have, what would it be?

I want a complete family.

What surname do you bear?

Muriithi

How? That’s not a Nigerian name as you claim to have a Nigerian father…

Some other man took responsibility of bringing me up but he also left soon after my sister was born, but his mother brought me up that's why I kept the name. He’s a Kenyan

Did this other guy too divorce your mum or just left like your dad?

Left, my mum was never married to any of them

Modeling or acting; which one pays your bills the most?

They both have taken and given from each other, but modelling pays much better in Kenya.

Lastly, what’s that secret desire?

I would love to be buried in Nigeria, the land of my father.

Thanks for your time?

You are welcome

Kennis Music Star, Jaywon Survives Horrible Auto Crash

“This Year” crooner, Jaywon was involved in a horrible auto crash on Wednesday night of April 17, 2013.

Fortunately, the Kennis Music ensign, who was on his way from a music video shoot for his single “Catch Me If You Can” featuring Ice Prince & Phenom, survived the car crash and not in a critical condition either.

Reports claim that an undisclosed friend of Jaywon was directly involved in the crash as he drove Jaywon‘s Lincoln Navigator from the video shoot. Jaywon is in healthy condition.
See photos below

‘We Will Find You’ : Obama Tells Boston Bombers

US President Barack Obama vowed Thursday that the Boston marathon bombers would be found and held “accountable” as investigators focused their efforts on two potential suspects.

“Yes, we will find you, and yes, you will face justice,” Obama told a special service in the city, three days after the two bombs killed three people and injured about 180 in a hail of nails and ball bearings.
“We will find you, we will hold you accountable,” he added in a keynote speech on a special visit to show national solidarity with what he called “one of the world’s great cities.”
“If they sought to intimidate us, to terrorize us,” Obama said, then “it should be pretty clear by now that they picked the wrong city to do it.”
The US leader was given several ovations by the 2,000-strong congregation in Boston’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross, which included relatives of the dead, rescuers who helped victims and political leaders.
Obama, who was to meet some victims with his wife Michelle, listened attentively to messages from representatives of all religions in the city.
Nasser Wedaddy, chief of the New England Interfaith Council, spoke for American Muslims and highlighted how the Koran says that killing one person “is like killing all mankind.”
Wedaddy told how he experienced a car bomb while living in Damascus as a child. “What happened on Monday has shocked and horrified us, but it has also brought us together,” he said in a message carefully prepared by Muslim community leaders who fear a backlash if the attackers are found to be militant Islamists.
The archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, read a message from Pope Francis in which he said the people of the city should keep “working together to build an even more just, free and secure society.”
Acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma played with a choir of teenagers, some of whom fought back tears as they sang for the service.
Obama has vowed a relentless hunt for the attackers and authorities say they want to speak to individuals captured in surveillance camera images around the marathon finish line that was devastated by the pressure cooker bombs.
“There is some video that has raised the question of those that the FBI would like to speak with,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a Congressional hearing. But she added that she would not call the men suspects.
No claim of responsibility and no arrests have been made in connection with the twin bombings that are the worst attack in the United States since the September 11, 2001 atrocities.
But media reports said authorities would later release images of two men who could have planted the bombs that sprayed nails, ball bearings and other metal fragments into the crowds.
“Authorities have clear video images of two separate suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings carrying black bags at each explosion site and are planning to release the images today,” the Boston Globe said, quoting an official.
The images were from surveillance cameras in Boylston Street in Boston where the marathon ended.
A law enforcement official confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that investigators have images of at least one potential suspect and are seeking “to locate and identify that individual.”
The suspects have not yet been identified though, reports said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation says it has launched a “worldwide” hunt. But the FBI and political leaders have appealed for patience over the pace of the investigation.
The FBI released photographs of the mangled metal remnants of a pressure cooker believed to have been used for one of the bombs. The lid of one pressure cooker was found on the roof of a hotel near the marathon finish line.
More than 100 of the injured have left Boston hospitals, but about 10 remain in critical condition and some will require new operations.
At least 12 people have lost at least one of their legs because of the blast from the bombs, which fired the metal fragments at low level.
Doctors at Boston Medical Center said a second Chinese student caught in the blast had come out of a coma and was improving. The girl’s family was expected in Boston soon

Dino Accuses Police of Unprofessionalism in ‘Assassination Attempt’

A former Nigerian lawmaker, Dino Melaye, whose claim of an assassination attempt in Abuja was discredited by the police, has accused the force of unprofessionalism.

Mr. Melaye said he expected the reaction countering his claims from the police following his earlier assessment of their reaction to his complaints.

“I am not surprised at what the commissioner of police said,” he declared.

Mr. Melaye questioned how the police, who got to the scene of the incident 12 hours after the attack – expected to find evidence.

He accused the police of negligence saying they prepared a full report on the incident without admitting his statement and assessing damages on his car.

He agreed that his car windows are not bullet proof, as already stated by the police, but argued that they are double-placed-treated glasses only penetrable by close range shots.

He said the police have consistently ignored calls for protection following previous threats to his life.

“I wrote to them in January and September 2012 complaining of threats to my life and up till now, nothing happened,” he said.

Shell Shuts Key Oil Pipeline

Shell has shut a key oil pipeline in southern Nigeria to repair damage caused by oil thieves, leading to a cut of around 150,000 barrels per day, the company said Wednesday in a statement.

The Nembe Creek Trunkline in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer with output at about two million barrels per day, will be closed for an undisclosed period.
“The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) shut down the Nembe Creek Trunkline (NCTL) on Monday (15th April) to remove crude oil theft connections and investigate suspected oil theft leaks,” it said.
“Production of some 150,000 barrels of oil per day has been deferred due to the shutdown. As a result, SPDC has declared force majeure on Bonny Light export,” the statement added.
SPDC is Nigerian subsidiary for the Anglo-Dutch firm.
The 97-kilometre (60 miles) NCTL pipeline has been closed several times as a result of crude oil theft leaks and fires between December 2011 and May 2012, it recalled.
Oil theft has been estimated as costing Nigeria some $6 billion (4.7 billion euros) per year.
The pipeline was shut for 10 days last month following a major leak of Bonny Light crude, one of the main grades of crude oil produced in Nigeria.
The company had then declared force majeure, a legal term releasing it from contractual obligations due to circumstances beyond its control.
The company removed 157 points of sabotage on its pipelines last year, but 90 points still exist, the company earlier said.
“We’re concerned that the NCTL has been targeted by crude oil thieves repeatedly since we installed the new line in 2010 at a cost of $1.1 billion,” said Managing Director of SPDC Mutiu Sunmonu in the statement.
“The current exercise aims to remove a significant number of oil theft connections and repair any leaks on the pipeline,” he said.
“Crude theft continues to affect people, the environment and the economy, and urgent action is needed by all stakeholders to tackle the problem,” Sunmonu saids.
Last month, he said that oil theft in Nigeria had reached unprecedented levels, rising to 60,000 barrels per day for Shell alone.
A 2009 amnesty deal led to a sharp decline in unrest in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, but criminal activity has since flourished.
While Shell blames most of the spills on sabotage, activists argue that the company does not do enough to prevent such incidents and effectively clean up the damage when they do occur.

“If Not For My Brother, Yomi Casual Will Be Nobody” -Top Celebrity Designer, Makun Omoniyi

If truly the number of celebrities that rock your outfit will determine how good you are, definitely Makun Omoniyi a.k.a Yomi Casual deserved a standing ovation as 80% of the artistes we have in Nigeria rock his wears. Meanwhile, what we have on the cool dude is far beyond his creativity but how he attributed his success story to his elder brother, Ayo Makun better known as AY.  In a brief chat, he said “If not for my brother, Yomi Casual will be nobody.  He gave me all the support that anybody can wish for. He would have given me money, he’s a big boy and he has money. He would have put me on a pay roll paying me 50k per month and I will be sorting myself. I would have been with him like a lazy boy.  But then, when he saw me, he knew I have passion for fashion and he didn’t want to kill that passion, he said Yomi: I will teach you how to fish. He said trust me, people that have handwork are the one making money in Lagos. So, instead of given you money, I will help you. He put my advert on TV for free. My advert was on AY Show on DSTV and other ten different stations in Lagos. At that point, my name was even bigger than me. When I tell people that, I’m Yomi Casual they will ask me if I’m okay because they expect to see a very big guy. So I hold the success to my big brother, AY.”