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For killing a motorist at a police checkpoint,  Police Corporal Obanla Julius is to die by hanging, an Abuja High Court ruled yesterday.

Justice Abubakar Talba held that the prosecution has established and proven the case of culpable homicide.

"Obanla is guilty as charged and I so hold respectively", he said.
Source: Killer cop to die by hanging

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President Goodluck Jonathan has said that his comment on the South West at his zonal presidential rally in Ibadan is grossly misunderstood.

Jonathan said it is unhelpful to public discourse if words are twisted beyond intended meaning. The president said what he meant was that the zone in question was too sophisticated for the abhorrence of mischievous notions and behaviors.

Jonathan posted this reaction as a note on his 'Facebook' wall yesterday.

The President said it was saddening for people to place emphasis on the latter part of his remarks and downplaying the former part where he said the Southwest was too sophisticated and educated, adding that he takes full responsibility for any misunderstanding of the context in which the statement was made.

The note reads: "At my zonal presidential campaign rally in Ibadan, Oyo State, last Tuesday, I spoke about the place of the Southwest in the Nigerian federation. Without mincing words, I spoke about the level of education and sophistication in the region"

Source: 'Rascals'  remarks: I was grossly misunderstood, says Jonathan

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Former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu on Monday night said President Goodluck Jonathan insulted the Southwest with his statement that the region be rescued from the hands of 'rascals'.

"I think the President is wrong because that is an insult to our parents. It is a speech from a drunk sailor fisherman whose boat is about to capsize. That is an insult to our parents; you don't come to this land, seek our votes and then insult our parents that they raised 'rascals,' the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) national leader said.

Source: Tinubu: Jonathan insulted Southwest

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Customs, and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) recovered over N99billion under-declared import duties in Apapa Ports in two months.

The recovery, and January was effected under a Presidential Special Task Force raised by the presidency.

Source: EFCC, Customs recover N99b under-declared import duties

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Months of speculation on the sale of Olorunsogo and Omotoso power plants ended yesterday with the handing over of one of the plants-Olorunsogo, to its Chinese builder.

The Minister of State for Power, Nuhu Wya, after a meeting with the management of the (Olorunsogo) plant and its major contractor, Sepco, handed it a letter of authority from the government.

Source: Fed Govt hands over Olorunsogo power plant to Chinese

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The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) last night endorsed the Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Political Leaders Forum's position on the polity.

According to ACN, NPLF's concern is real and should not be dismissed lightly.

Source: ACN: don't dismiss NPLF's concern

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To tackle the power generation challenges of the administration, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Austin Oniwon, yesterday said the corporation needs N600 billion to build gas infrastructures in the country.

He disclosed this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Gas yesterday.

Source: Power generation: 'NNPC needs N600b for  gas infrastructure'

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The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday took Union Bank Nigeria Plc by surprise as its members arrived its head office and many of its branches by 5.30 am for picketing. The action was the second this week.

Workers, who started arriving from 6.45am were surprised to see the protesting unionists, who prevented them from entering the bank premises. They, therefore, sat down by the roadside at Customs Street and watched as the protesters sang anti-labour songs, calling for the removal of the Group Managing Director, Mrs Funke Osibodu. Some of the directors who could not enter the bank stayed at the car park.

Source: NLC pickets Union Bank again

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Chairman of the Edo State Taskforce on Protection of Pipelines' Vandalisation Committee, Comrade Osakpamwan Eriyo, has accused some officials of the NNPC Benin Depot, particularly those of the NUPENG and PTD of involvement in pipelines vandalism and adulteration of petroleum products in the state.

Eriyo told newsmen that findings by his committee have shown that operators of the Benin depot are the brains behind what he termed 'economic sabotage.'

Source: Vandalism: Task Force accuse NUPENG, PTD

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In the last few months ,the legislative and executive arms of government have engaged themselves in a war of attrition on the pages of newspapers, each trying to prove who is more corrupt or more of a squanderer. The battle started with Professor Itse Sagay's disclosure that our legislators are the highest paid in the world. The legislators shot back by revealing to the press huge allocations in the budget headings such as the N500 million food allowance for the vice president and N1.5 million daily lunch allowance for the presidency.

In all this, the judiciary pretended to be above board. In fact, Rotimi Akeredolu, ex-president of the Nigerian Bar Association went to court on our behalf. But the war of the justices has laid the judiciary claim of innocence to rest. We now know there is no difference between all the three arms of government. A part of 'Paradise of Maggots' (apology to Nuhu Ribadu) cannot be healthier than the whole.

Source: Ondo's socialist path to development