There are 1.5m IDPs in Nigeria -UN

Yesterday, The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nigeria Mr Daouda Toure pleaded for more resources to meet the needs of 1.5 million internally displaced people.
During the activities to mark this year’s World Humanitarian Day celebration with the theme: “Inspiring the World’s Humanity”in Abuja, Toure said:

    “We appeal for more resources to respond particularly to the education and health needs of the displaced people.

    “What is available is not commensurate with the situation on ground as the crisis in the North-East is not publicised enough.

    “Nigeria is the major contributor to peace keeping in the world, so the international community need to contribute more resources, step up their support and restore the livelihood of these vulnerable people.

    “We need to come and help them, help their brothers and sisters and help them get a better future for their children.’’

Toure added that the major challenges facing the humanitarian community today was the lack of access to security and limited resources.
He called on stakeholders to mobilise themselves and examine the reasons for the slow response and support needed to tackle the security challenges.
Earlier, Mr Muhammad Sani Sidi, the Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), stated that the capacity to handle the present IDPs was not enough.

Sidi added that though a lot of effort and resources had been channelled towards the displaced persons, it was not enough because of their increasing population.

He said that responses to the needs of the IDPs were dwindling due to lack of adequate capacity.
Sidi said there was the need for proper coordination to enable them to harness all available resources to improve the living standard of the IDPs.

He said that the day was set aside to celebrate the gallantry of humanitarian service providers.
He said the theme of the day was intended to steer actions of people around the world for a greater humanity and advocate for more peaceful world.

    “We are celebrating people who have sacrificed their lives for peace in the world.

    “These are people who have lost their lives or survived different threats to life while providing humanitarian services especially in violent conflict situations.

    “This celebration is an opportunity to advocate for a peaceful world, bring hope to people affected by disaster and guarantee safety of humanitarian providers rendering service in the Northeast.’’

He stated that Nigeria had faced a lot of challenges in recent times with the Boko Haram insurgency.
Sidi commended and thanked the UN and all stakeholders for their support and cooperation during the period.

The UN Secretary-General  Ban Ki-moon, is scheduled to arrive in Nigeria on Sunday, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said yesterday.
A statement said the UN chief would meet President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday and subsequently engage in other field activities.



The Nation

Court jails fuel station owners for illegal oil transactions

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday ordered the arrest of 2 fuel station owners, Lookman Onabanjo and Lukman Gafan, for allegedly dealing in petroleum products loaded from vandalised pipelines.
50-year-old Onabanjo and Gafan, 52, are the Chief Executive Officers of Gaffa Oil and Gas Limited and Bugon Oil and Gas Limited, respectively.

The 2 were remanded shortly after their separate arraignment before Justice Mohammed Yunusa.
Arraigned and also jailed along with Onabanjo were Sani Idris, 34, and Bode Jonah, 39.
One Solomon Afolabi, 30; and Adesimisola Ogunsanya, 36, were also arraigned along with Gafan and remanded with him.
In the charge filed against Onabanjo and his co-accused, the police prosecutor, M.O. Omosun, alleged that the accused were, on August 15, 2015, caught with 16,000 litres of petrol loaded in several 50 litre jerrycans.

According to Omosun, the petroleum product which the accused dealt in belonged to PPMC and they did so without appropriate licence.

The petroleum product was said to be worth N1.55m.

The prosecutor said Onabanjo and others violated Section 3(6) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17 of the Revised Edition, Law of the Federation of Nigeria, Act, 2007.
He added that they were liable to punishment under Section 17(b) of the same Act.
Onabanjo and others, however, pleaded not guilty.
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In the case of Gafan, the prosecutor accused him and his alleged accomplices of illegally loading 25,000 litres of petrol from a vandalised pipeline into a Mercedes truck with number plate APP 04 QX.

According to the prosecutor, the accused loaded the said quantity of petrol, valued at N1.6m, without obtaining lawful permit from the Pipeline and Product Marketing Company, which owned the petroleum product.

They were said to have committed the same offence on August 15, 2015 in violation of Section 3(6) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17 of the Revised Edition, Law of the Federation of Nigeria, Act, 2007.

Gafan, Ogunsanya and Afolabi, pleaded not guilty, the prosecutor urged the justice to remand them in prison pending trial.


    “My Lord, in view of the plea of the accused persons, we will humbly be asking for a short adjournment date to bring our witnesses to court. We are also asking that the accused persons be remanded in prison custody,” Omosun said.

But the counsel for the defendants, Mr. McAnthony Aikharialea, filed a bail application for them and urged the court to grant it in liberal terms.

Justice Yunusa adjourned till August 28, 2015 to rule on the bail application.



Punch

Pipeline vandal says he didnt know selling petrol obtained from it was a crime

 

A 30 year old suspected member of a syndicate vandalising pipelines of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Jamiu Ajani, said yesterday he did not know selling petrol obtained from vandalized pipelines was a crime.

The syndicate was intercepted by the task force at Owode area of Ikorodu in a Chevrolet truck, while transporting the stolen products to buyers in various parts of Lagos State.
Ajani was arrested alongside his accomplices, Demola Lawrence and Raymond, by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Task Force on Pipeline Vandalism, which recovered 300 units of 50-litre jerry cans loaded with premium motor spirit, PMS, from them.

 Ajani said:

    “I used to sell building materials at Ketu before venturing into this business. It was some of my customers from Ikorodu that got me into the business.I discovered that they were making more money than I. So I begged them to show me the way. They said I could not go into the creeks because I do not know how to swim, but I could always buy and sell the products to people who need it.

    “I was introduced to some buyers at Ijora and some other parts of Lagos State. I buy a 50-litre jerry can for N2,000 and I sell it for N4,000.“On my first job one month ago, I bought 250 50-litre jerry cans for N500,000 from an Ijaw woman, known as Mama Bose, and I sold them for N1,000,000.

    “The second job was just last week and I bought 150 jerry cans of 50 litres for N300,000. My biggest job was the one that led to my arrest. I bought 300 jerry cans from Mama Bose for N600,000 and I was hoping to make a profit of over N600,000.

    “My boy, Damilola, the driver of the truck we were using and I were intercepted by police on our way to supply the products to a buyer. I did not know selling petrol from vandalised pipelines was a crime.”

Vanguard

Bode George asks Buhari to probe Tinubu, Fashola

PDP Chieftain Bode George has asked President Buhari to probe the administrations of former Lagos state governors, Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola. In a statement released yesterday August 19th, Bode George said Buhari cannot claim to be fighting corruption and not investigate the circumstances surrounding the controversial N78 million tundefashola.com website.

     "We are living in a very interesting time. There is an air of repugnancy everywhere most specifically in my state where the immoral stench and the dark odium of Mr. Babatunde Fashola’s administration is daily being unearthed.

    What is most disgusting and annoying in all these is the arrogant and the befuddled attempt of Mr. Fashola to justify the apparent reckless misappropriation of Lagos state taxpayers’ money to set up a personal web site. Fashola shows no remorse, no semblance of regret, no guilty nudging of conscience. Instead, he still attempts to ride a high horse, puffing and stomping in feigned seraphic innocence. We are not fooled. We knew all along that the emperor had no clothes. Using N78m of taxpayers’ money to build a website is reckless misappropriation. The phony over N29bn used to build a mere kilometre long link bridge is outrageous venality. “The spurious N1.5bn allegedly spent on phantom pedestrian bridges is another con game. And there are so many of these screaming illegalities observable in the record of our poster boy of yesterday!. In a more just society, Mr. Fashola should be facing a comprehensive investigation rather than being considered for any appointment at all. President Buhari should use the Fashola case as an acid test of sparing no one with any intimation of public malfeasance. Rather than engaging in a smug chest beating of innocence, Mr. Fashola should first remove himself from any consideration of public appointment and openly call for a judicial probe of his eight years in office. Nothing else will bring out the true picture. Lagos State is now the biggest debtor in the federation with over a trillion naira in bad debts. It may take at least 40 years before Fashola’s indebtedness can be defrayed! What a malady!. In the end there is no way to divorce Fashola from Bola Tinubu. They are both linked in unutterable complicity. If Fashola stands today in tarnished allegations, Tinubu, his godfather, cannot possibly distance himself in innocent escapism. If Fashola now rots in the mud, we must look through the depths to understand the instigating and factor. Whenever Fashola is cooling his feet at the interrogation centre, Tinubu should not be far behind.””he said What is most disgusting and annoying in all these is the arrogant and the befuddled attempt of Mr. Fashola to justify the apparent reckless misappropriation of Lagos state taxpayers’ money to set up a personal web site. Fashola shows no remorse, no semblance of regret, no guilty nudging of conscience. Instead, he still attempts to ride a high horse, puffing and stomping in feigned seraphic innocence. We are not fooled.”

Annie Idibia shares photo of herself with her adorable daughters

Brothers behead sister and parade her head in the name of honour killing

Two Indian brothers decapitated their teenage sister and paraded her severed head through their village because they disapproved of her 'romantic relationship' with one of their cousins.

Several people watched in horror as Phool Jehan, 17, was dragged out of her house, severely beaten and beheaded by her 2 brothers this past Monday. They however, did not tell the police what had happened.

The crime was only later reported by a local security guard, one officer explained.


According to Indian Times, Police have been unable to find the two brothers, named Nanhe and Gul Hasan, whose ages are not known. After killing their sister, they left her body on the street as they roamed around the north-Indian village with her head.

According to reports, they shouted: 'This is what happens as punishment for having an affair.'

Honour killings are common across India, but such brutal slayings are extremely rare. While the brothers are on the run, police have detained Jehan's cousin to question him, said another police officer.

Nigerians in the diaspora can now do their BVN registration

Nigerians in Diaspora that have Nigerian bank accounts and are yet to do their Bank Verification Numbers BVN registration can now do so without leaving their resident country as the Central Bank of Nigeria has made two options available for them to conveniently do the registrations.

According to circular dated August 18th and signed by the CBN's Director of Banking and Payment System, Dipo Fatokun, Nigerian bank customers in the diaspora can do their registration via option one; present themselves to the offshore branches/subsidiaries of any Nigerian bank (where such facilities have been made available), for the BVN enrollment.

“The deployment of scanners and other devices to these locations have started in earnest. Nigerian banks abroad are expected to capture necessary data, generate a BVN and communicate same to the customers. Thereafter, the customers are expected to forward the assigned BVN to their banks, for linkage with their accounts.

A web portal to achieve this linkage to bank accounts has been developed and deployed, while the process of such linkage will be made available by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) to all those enrolled abroad,” the circular stated The second option is through the use of an company known as the Online Integrated Solution (OIS).

The company will establish stations for data capture and generation of BVN at the cost of £30 per transaction which is to be paid by the customer. The company is expected to capture necessary data for online transmission to the NIBSS, who would thereafter, generate the BVN and communicate same to the customer.

“The customer may approach OIS for BVN, where the communication from NIBSS is not received within 48 hours after the enrolment. Thereafter, Nigerian bank customers in the diaspora are expected to forward their BVN to their banks for linkage with their accounts as in option one above,” it explained.