Bomb factory discovered!

The Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Command, Mr. Muhammed Katsina, on Monday said the command had uncovered another bomb factory in Okaito, a remote village in Okehi Local Government Area of the state.
From December 2011 till date, four different bomb factories had been uncovered in Kogi State. One was at Kabba, while the remaining three were at Lokoja, Okene, Okehi and Adavi areas.

Speaking with journalists in Lokoja, he said police officers uncovered the bomb factory with the help of the suspect arrested in connection with last Sunday's bomb explosion near Living Faith Church and Deeper Life Christian Church, along Okene-Obehira Road in Okene.

Katsina said the police recovered from the bomb factory, 46 Improvised Explosive Device, three bottles of potassium Chloride, 15 fuses, 15 capacitors, five litres of acid and one electrical detonator.

Others items, according to him, were Bibles, Qurans, 250m detonating cord, three remote controlled siren GSM sets, rolls of firing cables, nails of various sizes, ammunitions, motorcycle, and other household items.

He said the factory buildings were designed as a church and a mosque ostensibly to deceive people while in actual fact, they were buildings where bombs of various sizes were manufactured and transportation to other places.

He, however, did not name the owners of the buildings, but said investigations were ongoing.

While parading the suspect, Katsina warned that those arrested in connection with any crisis or insecurity in any part of the state would be punished according to the law, no matter how highly placed.

He also advised property owners, especially landlords to scrutinise prospective tenants thoroughly before giving out their properties.

Also, less than 48 hours after an attack by suspected terrorists gang in the Mahuta Village of Kaduna State, the police in the state said on Monday that they raided a bomb factory located at Rafin-Guza, near Kawo, where it impounded different cans of explosives and bomb-making powder.

Police Public Relation Officer of the state command, Aminu Lawan, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said one person was reportedly killed during the attack which was repelled by the youth of the area.

The Kaduna State Police Commissioner, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar Jingiri, at a press briefing at the headquarters of the command, said a "confessed terrorist" led the police to the hideout where other items were equally recovered.

These included two bags of chemicals, a jerry can of acid, two masks, an AK47 magazine with 27 rounds of live ammunition and eight car alarm systems.

The commissioner had earlier on July 12, said his men arrested three bandits who robbed a filling station manager at Maraban Yakawaada, Giwa Local Government Area.

Nigeria begins fuel importation from Niger republic

Fuel marketers in Katsina have begun importing refined petroleum products from the newly-built refinery in neighbouring Niger Republic

Niger-refined diesel is already available in many filling stations in Katsina State, and marketers say plans are on to begin importing petrol from the Soraz refinery.

The refinery was opened in November in Zinder, just 80 kilometres north of the border with Nigeria, with enough capacity to satisfy domestic requirements and a huge surplus for export.

Until the recent development, Nigeria imports refined products only from far away countries including India, Brazil and Netherlands.

A company belonging to business mogul Dahiru Mangal started importing diesel from the Soraz refinery in April to outlets in Katsina State.

“We have been importing diesel from Niger for almost four months now. We have so far made three trips of 30 trucks each,” an official at D.B. Mangal Petroleum, Alhaji Lawal Dahiru Mangal, told reporters in katsina

Checks at some of the filling stations selling the Niger-refined diesel show that a litre sells at N160, compared with the N170 price of diesel brought up North from the ports in Lagos.

The Mangal company sells the imported commodity to end users at its own filling stations and to other retailers in the state.

Alhaji Lawal said the company has obtained import license from the Federal Government and “also met all requirements put in place by the government for importation of the commodity.”

Asked if they will consider bringing in petrol, he said, “For now we are not importing petrol from Niger but arrangements are on for its importation. We are studying the situation for now and if we are okay with the gains we will start.”

He added that the price of the commodity varies even at their own D.B. Mangal filling stations depending on the distance of the retail outlet.

“The price of the commodity within Katsina metropolis is different from the price at D.B. Mangal’s outlets outside Katsina,” he said, adding “We have permanent customers from within and outside Katsina State that are buying the commodity from us.”

Some of the drivers of D.B. Mangal Petroleum confirmed the facts.

“We are importing 30 trucks of diesel per trip from Niger. So far we have made three trips in four months. Right now, we have about eight trucks of diesel that are not offloaded,” one of the drivers said.

A fuel attendant at the I.M. Petroleum in Katsina also told Daily Trust that they “have bought diesel from Mangal twice” so far.

He said the commodity is cheaper at Mangal’s company when compared with the price of diesel imported to Nigeria through the seaports. “Availability at Mangal company also matters; you can always get the commodity from Mangal,” he said.

No official of the Department of Petroleum Resources in Abuja was available for comments yesterday. Spokeswoman for DPR, Mrs Belema Osibodu, did not answer her calls and did not respond to a text message sent to her.

But a source at the department said there were some discussions about diesel import permits applied by some companies who want to import from Niger Republic.

The source said since diesel is a deregulated product, marketers may import the commodity when they satisfy regulatory requirements.

The Niger refinery, located some 900 km east of the capital Niamey, is a 20,000 barrel-per-day capacity and will be fed entirely by oil from the newly-launched Agadem oilfield, a further 700 km east.

It will initially draw crude from three Agadem wells with reserves totalling 480 million barrels. Local consumption of refined products accounts for 7,000 barrels a day with plans to export the rest.

The refinery is 60 percent-owned by Chinese state oil company CNPC and 40 percent by Niger. It follows a $5 billion deal signed between the two in 2008 to concurrently build the plant and develop crude oil from Agadem.

WE WILL EXPOSE CORRUPT SENATORS-------David Mark

SENATE President David Mark has vowed to expose corrupt senators and those engaged  in acts capable of tarnishing the image of the National Assembly.

Mark stressed that no amount of blackmail will deter the institution from carrying  out its oversight functions. He,  however, cautioned members of the public against compromising lawmakers  in the discharge of their duties, stressing that the National Assembly will continue to clear itself in its strong determination to meet the expectations of the electorate.


Speaking  at the National Assembly-Private Sector Forum organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in Lagos, the Senate president  noted that allegation of corruption against the National Assembly was  exaggerated.


According to him,  "There are those who say that the National Assembly takes the bunch of the budget. This is very ridiculous. I know that what goes to the National Assembly is not more than 2.5% of the total budget.  The National Assembly members are always accused of corruption but Nigerians ,to a large extent ,are responsible for this alleged corruption.


"If a businessman gives a bribe to a lawmaker, is it only the lawmaker that is corrupt? If the business man didn't offer the bribe, the lawmaker will not accept. But the question remains: Why did he accept it? If our National Assembly members are found wanting, we will  discipline them.


"We will clean our house to earn the respect of those that elected us into our respective offices.  We will continue to clean our house and those who bring us to shame will get their punishment accordingly."


Stressing that the legislature as an arm of government is on a steady growth and improving by each legislative day, Mark recalled that the level of rancour that characterized the legislative houses between 1999 and 2003 has been reduced.


"We  would continue to improve on legislative business until we attain a level where the average Nigerian will be satisfied with our performance", he said.

Sons of the soil in Abuja want state status

Indigenes of the Federal Capital Territory under the umbrella of Original Inhabitants Development Association of Abuja [OIDA], have appealed to the federal government to give the territory the status of a state with its own governor and state house of assembly.


Their demand for Gbakka state is being worked out through constitutional amendment at the National Assembly.


Addressing a news conference in Abuja, chairman, board of trustees of the association, Dr. Abubakar Wodi said the original inhabitants of Abuja have been alienated from the scheme of things in the federal capital territory with the forceful acquisition of their land since 1976.

The association expressed regrets over the continuous neglect of the original inhabitants of Abuja in terms of full participation in governance and provision of educational, economic, social, political opportunities and infrastructural facilities saying it is a social injustice against the original people of the area.

Senator Gyang Datong shot dead in Jos

Update: However, Ruwang Dantong, the brother of the deceased, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the senator collapsed and died of a heart attack after seeing the dead bodies of his murdered kinsmen.


A Serving Senator, Senator Gyang Datong (Plateau North, PDP) has been shot dead by gunmen while attending a funeral in the state on Sunday.

A statement from the Plateau state commissioner of Information, Abraham Yiljap confirmed the shooting.
Senator Datong won his first election into the Senate in 2007 and was re-elected in 2011. He was previously a member of the Federal House of Representatives representing Barkin Ladi/Riyom federal constituency.



Also shot dead is Hon. Gyang James Fulani, the Chief Whip of the Plateau state House of Assembly. Hon. Fulani was representing Barkin Ladi constituency. Barkin Ladi is about 25 kilometres from the state’s capital, Jos.


Another lawmaker representing Barkin Ladi/Riyom federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Simon Mwatdkon is currently hospitalised after recovering from coma.


Over 37 people were killed in Barkin Ladi at the weekend in a new cycle of violence between Fulani herdsmen and Berom tribesmen who live in the two local government areas.


Over 9 villages were attacked by people believed to be Fulani in the raids on Saturday.


The attack reportedly took place at the venue of the burial of some of the victims of Saturday’s attacks.



Abraham Yiljap, the state's Commissioner of Information, confirmed the assassination in a statement.


Gyang Fulani, a member of the Plateau State House of Assembly, was also reportedly shot during the attack. It is not yet clear if he survived.

Family of nine killed

   

Tragedy struck this morning at Umuakoro Village in Emekuku Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo state as 9 bodies of the Pascal Njoku Family were found dead at their residence in the early hours of today.

Sources said Mr. Pascal Njoku who works and resides in Port-harcourt, Rivers state, came back home for the final burial of his mum who died some months ago and he was accompanied by his wife, 5 children, his sister-in-law and her son. Shortly after the burial event yesterday night, they all went to their respective rooms to sleep.

However, in the early hours of today, all nine of them were found dead. At the moment the reason of their deaths could not be ascertained but sources said their mouths were all foaming profusely when the bodies were brought out of the rooms.

The Imo State Commissioner of health Obi Njoku who visited the scene of the occurence said from the foaming found in their mouth, there is a possibility that they might have died of food poisioning but however, the state government will carry out an autopsy to know the cause of their death.

Meanwhile, in a telephone conversation with the state Police Public relations Officer Mister Vitalis Olugu, he said the case has been reported to the police and the police have swung into action to know the cause of their death, no arrest has been made.

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Serena Williams win 5th wimbledon title and 300 million naira equivalent!!!

Serena, who pockets a cheque for £1.15 milllion ($1.78 million, about N300 Million), is the first woman over 30 to win Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova in 1990 and she needed all the experience gathered over her illustrious career to survive a remarkable revival from Radwanska.

After being completely out-classed for the first set and a half of her maiden Grand Slam final, Radwanska had Serena on the ropes before the sixth seed finally recovered her composure to reclaim the Venus Rosewater Dish in just over two hours on Centre Court.

Williams has now equalled her sister Venus's tally of five titles at the All England Club, but more significantly the 30-year-old's 14th Grand Slam crown is her first at the majors since her last Wimbledon triumph in 2010.

Inspired by the painful memories of her shock French Open first round exit against Virginie Razzano last month and a spell in hospital with a serious illness 18 months ago, Serena has been determined to reestablish her primacy. It is mission accomplished, but only just.

"I can't even describe it. I almost didn't make it a few years ago when I was in hospital. Now I'm here again and I'm so happy," a tearful Serena said.