Dariye was given diverted N1.162b for land reclamation - witness

A letter signed by former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye requesting for funds to reclaim lands damaged by erosion and mining activities was admitted as exhibit yesterday by a Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting at Gudu, Abuja.

The former governor who now represents Plateau Central in the Senate is standing trial on
23 counts of criminal diversion of the N1.162b  ecological funds meant for land reclamation and flood channelisation project in the Bokkos area of the state preferred against him by the EFCC.

The anti graft agency's second prosecution witness, an accountant in the Federal Civil Service, Mr. James Adewesu, mounted the witness box on Wednesday to give details of the processes leading to the release of the funds to Dariye, who he said personally collected the cheque for the N1.162b bn from the Ecological Fund Office at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.

Adewesu who said he was serving in the accounts department of the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, where the account of the Ecological Fund  was domiciled told the court that the cheque was released to Dariye following the approval of the state’s request by then former Vice-President,  Atiku Abubakar, who was the chairman of the Ecological Fund Office.

The witness then read a letter signed by Dariye and titled
“SOS: An appeal for Federal Government’s assistance on reclamation of lands devastated by past mining activities in Plateau State.”

The court admitted the letter as exhibit.

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Who wouldn't want him for a husband? (Photo)

Every woman loves a dutiful husband.

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The things men do for love

Man spotted carrying his wife's handbag... http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2016/02/man-spotted-carrying-his-wifes-handbag.html

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Former lawmaker in police net for buying stolen vehicle

A former councillor in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State, Mr Sunday Abo has been arrested by the Nasarawa State Police Command for buying stolen vehicles from armed robbers.

Parading the suspect in Lafia, the Nasarawa State Police PublicRelations Officer, ASP Ismail Numan, said that the former councillor was arrested for buying an Acura saloon car stolen from a Catholic priest at gun point.

Numan said that a gang of armed robbers had on November 11, 2015, attacked one Rev Fr Christopher Omaku at Mararaba in Nasarawa State, dispossessing him of his belongings.

“They also robbed him of his Acura saloon car. Further investigations led SARS operatives to Otukpo to arrest the receiver of the vehicle, Mr. Aboh Sunday, who was a former councillor of the area,” he said. .

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17 Reasons Why 2Baba Is Not a Song Thief By Efe Omorogbe

This is the reaction of 2Baba's camp as articulated by his manager, Efe Omorogbe concerning the allegation of song theft by his former Plantashun Boiz colleague, Austin Ahmedu, aka Blackface.

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1. 2Baba and Blackface do have a bunch of songs they co-wrote in their days as Plantashun Boiz.

2. Both artistes have collectively and individually recorded and commercially released materials from this collection.

3. 2Baba has always given Blackface (Austin Ahmedu) co-writing credit every time he recorded any song that has Blackface’s input – No matter how minimal.

4. Blackface has neither given 2Baba (Innocent Idibia) co-writing credit nor sought ‘permission’ to record any of the materials they jointly authored.

5. Blackface has earned royalties off his shared publishing rights for about a decade.

6. A huge chunk of income he has made derives from royalties earned by the commercial exploitation of the successesful materials performed/recorded by 2Baba.

7. 2Baba did not and couldn’t have stolen ‘Let Somebody Love You’ from Blackface. The song was released about 2 years ago. Blackface complained about his name being misspelt on the CD sleeve and we personally apologised to him.

8. Yes. Blackface contributed to the writing of the first verse of the song. The second verse was entirely 2Baba. Bridget Kelly wrote her verse and Efe Omorogbe wrote the outro verse.

9. Efe Omorogbe is not 2Baba’s manager on ‘Let Somebody Love You’ but a co-writer.

10. The outro verse was lifted from the song ‘How?’ written in 1997 and recorded in 1999 at Dolphin studios, Surulere. Blackface didn’t write that bit. Couldn’t have written that bit. Blackface cannot in 2016, touch Efe Omorogbe’s writing from 1997.

11. Blackface should be honoured to have shared co-writing credit with 2Baba. I am. For each and every song we have collaborated on.

12. Blackface should be grateful 2Baba recorded their co-authored materials to ensure a lifetime of royalty income for him.

13. Blackface should record and release his own version of ‘Let Somebody Love You’ and keep 100% publishing on that version. Oops! 2Baba will still be entitled to a share.

14. Blackface is not in 2Baba’s league as a songwriter. Their post-Plantashun Boiz’ catalogs speak for themselves.

15. Blackface should go to court to seek redress if he indeed believes he has a case.

16. Blackface should know that nobody ever secured a court judgement via a twitter rant or media tour.

17. Blackface must have realised by now that the unfortunate tirade has not made “Killa” a hit. At least, not at the moment.

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Boko Haram: Soldiers kill 100 terrorists, rescue 1200 villagers

After a fierce gun battle, Nigerian troops on Monday destroyed over 100 Boko Haram fighters and rescued about 1200 villagers held captive by the insurgents.

Abujacitynews learnt that the soldiers confronted the insurgents at a local market in Boboshe village where they usually gathered on Mondays to trade.

Acting on a tip-off, the troops stormed the market where they engaged in a ferocious firefight with the insurgents who usually came there armed.

After they subdued the insurgents in Boboshe, the soldiers moved into Garindawaji and Mamawarhi communities where over one thousand captives were set free.

Some of the freed villagers said that they had been held captive for over two years.

Among them was Fatima whose husband was killed before her very eyes after which the terrorists dragged her away. She doesn't know what has become of the two children she left behind, but now has a baby for the terrorists.

The Deputy Governor of Borno State, Usman Mamman Durkwa visited the village yesterday and after a brief meeting with the soldiers ordered the evacuation of the freed villagers to the IDP camps in Maiduguri.

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WHO warns zika virus could spread to Africa, Asia, Europe.

The World Health Organization, WHO, has warned that Africa, Asia and parts of Southern Europe are susceptible to the spread of the zika virus.

Anthony Costello, WHO Director for Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, said on Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland that if it was confirmed that the mosquitoes that carried Zika virus were present in Africa, parts of southern Europe and Asia, particularly South Asia, then there could be a problem.

He said that as a precautionary measure, WHO has declared an international public health emergency due to Zika’s link to thousands of recent birth defects in Brazil.

Costello said that the WHO has set up a global response team to harness the experiences learned from the ebola crisis to fashion a solution to the zika problem.

He said that the organization was concerned that zika could spread to other areas of the world where the populations have not developed immunity to the virus.

He disclosed that the WHO was working on guidelines for pregnant women and a definition of microcephaly including a standardised measurement of baby heads.

He advised that mass community engagement in areas with the mosquitoes and their breeding grounds, and rapid development of diagnostic tools are essential to containing the virus, since the development of a vaccine could still be years away.

NAN

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