'If my wife leaves me, she may die'

A 40-year-old man, Mr. Maxwell Madu, has
told the Agege Grade 'A' Customary Court
that if his wife, Grace Oguche, 24, divorces
him, she may die.
Madu said on Monday that his wife had
taken an oath of kolanut and water with
him in her village. He explained that the
oath demanded total loyalty to him.
He added that if the woman defaulted, she
might lose her life.
He told the court that Oguche took the
oath in the presence of her family
members in the village.
He said, "I did not know that my wife was
having an extra-marital affair, and she
was already pregnant for her boyfriend
although, she had a miscarriage.
"She cheated even though she had taken
an oath that she would never leave me.
She took the oath in the presence of her
people because she had run away from
me in the past.
"She had gone to the village to find a way
to break the oath, but they told her it could
not be broken except I was present.
"She is playing with her life."
Oguche had earlier pleaded with the court
to dissolve her union with her husband,
because he could no longer perform in
bed.
She added that Madu had failed in his
responsibilities as a man in terms of
providing for the home and their six-year-
old son since he lost his job two years
back.
Oguche, on Monday, insisted on ending
the marriage since she was no longer
interested in her husband who could no
longer meet her sexual needs.
She claimed that Madu could not
impregnate a woman because they had
tried a couple of times, but to no avail.
Oguche also requested custody of her
male child.
She said, "Ever since my husband lost his
job, I take care of the responsibilities in
the home alone, and he does not
appreciate my efforts.
"He also does not perform well in bed. I
cannot continue in this marriage and I do
not want to leave my son with him."
Madu, however, said his wife was never
satisfied whenever they had sex, adding
that he had begun taking medication to
make him more effective.
He also stressed that he did not want their
son, Bright, to be in his mother's custody
for fear of being neglected.
He said, "My son is the reason I did not
send her packing when her boyfriend
impregnated her. I do not want her to take
the child because she would not take care
of him.
"Even she warned me never to leave my
child with her."

MASSOB threatens showdown with SSS over detained leader

AWKA—THE Movement for the
Actualization of the Sovereign State of
Biafra, MASSOB, has threatened a
showdown with the State Security
Services, SSS, if its regional leader for
Awka North, Mr. Tony Nwodo, was not
freed within 48 hours.
As a result, the movement has given the
SSS 48 hours to release one of its leaders
or take responsibility for what ever
action the group might take.
MASSOB Director of Information, Mr.
Uchenna Madu, said yesterday that the
SSS arrested and detained Nwodo since
last Tuesday on the allegation that he
claimed to be the Governor of Anambra
State.
He warned that the organization would
take any action it deemed fit if Nwodo
was not released immediately.

INSECURITY: Lagos remains vulnerable as CCTV project goes moribund

• It's not abandoned – Govt
IT seems residents and visitors to Lagos
State, will have to wait a little longer for
the commencement of the multi million
naira contract for the installation of
Close Circuit Televisions, CCTVs, in the
state aimed at addressing perennial
security and traffic challenges.
The electronic devices with capacity to
capture and register images and events
metres away, also aid effective
surveillance of the environment in
events of criminal and emergency
activities such as motor accidents,
burglaries, robberies, car thefts, fire
outbreaks, civil disturbances, collapsed
buildings, suspicious movements and
kidnaps, which are tracked and
processed for quick response by those
concerned.
The state government, about three years
ago announced plans to install CCTV
cameras across the metropolis but till
date the project is yet to fully
commence.
CCTV launch: In 2009, the state
government launched a pilot phase of
CCTV only in three locations in the state.
They were on Falomo Bridge, Third
Mainland Bridge and Eko Bridge.
The destroyed Lagos Close Circuit
The destroyed Lagos Close Circuit
Television, CCTV
Effectiveness of concept
The project, which was by all standards
successful, was to check the
effectiveness of the concept. Before
then, the Federal Government had
intimated the state government of its
intention to control the installation and
running of the project with Abuja and
Lagos, selected for the first phase.
The Federal Government under its
National Public Security System
Programme, planned to install a
thousand cameras in Lagos for a start
but 906 were effectively installed. The
devices were located on major roads,
which include: Lagos International Trade
Fair Complex, Amuwo-Festac Link Road,
Apapa, Festac Town, Ikeja, Victoria
Island, among other strategic areas.
Challenges: Some of the challenges
confronting the project, which is being
solely financed by FG, it was gathered,
apart from the finance, were sites for
permanent location, vandalisation as
well as non availability of accurate data-
bank of citizenry and biometrics. It was
learnt that all the cameras installed on
the Lagos-Badagry Expressway had
been removed because of the ongoing
road expansion along the axis.
Commissioner for Science and
Technology, Mr. Adebiyi Mabadeje, while
reacting to the development, expressed
confidence that the project would soon
see the light of the day. He explained:
"FG approached the state government
that it was installing the CCTV in Lagos
and we later said the state government
will not have to spend tax payers'
money on what the FG has concluded to
do in the state.
The FG said that it would roll out a
thousand cameras in the state for a
start. They have done 906. This
represents the number that the state
government has physically seen. And we
have been working with the central
government on this. "The cameras will
not be everywhere now but we know
that the intention of the central
government is to deploy it to all the
nooks and crannies of the state later. It
will eventually reach other remote areas
of the state.
"The project started with urban areas.
Contrary to wide spread comments that
the project was moribund, the project
has not been abandoned. It is in phases.
The FG has not directed the state
government to stay action. All they said
was that they needed access to the right
of way in the state, for the installation of
the CCTV cameras. Right now, the project
is on. We have seen the pictures they
generate. It is not just a CCTV camera, it
also act as a communication project that
also provide voice and video for the
security agencies in the state."

4 die,10 injured as rival youths clash in Anambra

ONITSHA — No fewer than four persons
were feared dead, yesterday, while 10
others sustained various degrees of
injury when two rival youth groups
suspected to have come from Ogbaru
Area Council of Anambra State engaged
themselves in a bloody clash.
The face-off, according to the source,
was over the control and ownership of
a motor park known as Aba Park located
in the heart of Upper Iweka in the
commercial city of Onitsha, along the
ever-busy Onitsha-Owerri Road.
Also, property worth millions of naira,
including vehicles and shops, were
reportedly damaged during the clash
which resulted in traders at the Ogbaru
Relief Market shutting their shops to
protect their lives and wares.
Trouble was said to have started when
one of the warring factions allegedly
stormed the park early in the morning to
forcefully take over its control.
On arrival, the source stated, the other
faction attempted to bar their rival from
entering the park but in an apparent
move to force themselves in, both
factions clashed.
While the clash lasted, during which
machetes and other dangerous
weapons were freely used. Those that
died were said to have had their skulls
ripped opened.
Confirming the incident, yesterday, in a
telephone chat,Police Area Commander
for Onitsha, Benjamin Wordu, an
Assistant Commissioner of Police put the
casualty at only two while the State
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO)
said he was aware of only one casualty,
adding that the police were already on
top of the situation.
Reacting to the bloody clash, the
Association of Igbo Youths Organisation,
AIYO, warned that it would no longer
tolerate incessant clandestine activities
of militant youths from Onitsha and its
environs.
Sounding the note of warning, the AIYO
State Coordinator, Mr. Chukwuemeka
Omeinyi Oga, added that the Igbo race
would not continue to engage in
wanton destruction when other tribes
are developing their areas.
On the alleged discovery of flags with
insignia of the Movement for the
Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra
(MASSOB) littered the scene of the clash,
MASSOB's National Director of
Information, Comrade Uchenna Madu,
dissociated MASSOB from the incident.

I can only play for Barca, says Messi

DOHA – Argentine football star Lionel
Messi said Monday he could not play for
any team other than Barcelona, where
he has been since the age of 13.
"I cannot play with any team other than
Barcelona," he told reporters in Qatar,
where he took part in a charity event.
But he added in answering a question
about a possible transfer that he "did
not know what the future hides."
Messi joined Barcelona when he was still
just 13 and climbed through the
Catalans' ranks, making his first team
debut at just 17.
He has gone on to win the Champions
League three times with the Spanish
giants as well as La Liga six times, and
two Spanish Cups.
On top of that he has been named world
player of the year four times in a row.
Despite all his personal accolades, Messi
refused to accept he is indispensible to
Barca, insisting, according to a
translation into Arabic: "I am part of a
group, and we all work to help each
other."
Whilst in Doha, Messi launched a joint
programme between his charity
organisation and Qatari
telecommunication company Ooredoo,
aimed at helping children in the Middle
East, North Africa and South Asia.

Islamist spokesman surrenders in Mauritania

NOUAKCHOTT, Senegal (AFP) – A senior
operative in an Al Qaeda-linked group in
war-torn northern Mali has surrendered
to Mauritania, a security source told AFP
on Monday.
Ansar Dine spokesman Senda Ould
Boumama "went to the Mauritanian
armed forces on the border", near the
southeastern town of Bassiknou, on
Saturday evening, the source said
without giving further details.
According to Mauritania's independent
ANI news agency, Ould Boumama was
transferred during the weekend to the
capital Nouakchott, where he is being
interrogated by police.
He first expressed a desire to surrender
and be extradited to face trial in
Mauritania, his home country, in a
telephone call on April 17 to ANI, which
is frequently used by Al Qaeda's north
Africa chapter to post messages.
Ould Boumama claimed to have been the
target of an assassination attempt,
although he did not reveal the origin.
The surrender will be seen as a further
blow to Ansar Dine four months after
France led a military operation to oust
the organisation and other Islamist
militias from the towns they had
occupied across northern Mali last year.
The militants and Tuareg rebels took
northern Mali in the wake of a military
coup in the capital Bamako last year that
left Mali, formerly once of the region's
most stable countries, in disarray.
Ansar Dine later implemented a brutal
interpretation of Islamic sharia law on
the people of the north, carrying out
amputations and public executions.

Military operations already yielding results - Presidency

President Goodluck Jonathan has thanked
Nigerians for their support for the state of
emergency declared last week in Borno,
Yobe and Adamawa States.
Senior Special Assistant to the President,
Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, made this
known in a statement on Sunday.
The statement read, "President Goodluck
Jonathan has expressed gratitude to all
Nigerians for the overwhelming support
they have given to the declaration of state
of emergency in Borno, Yobe and
Adamawa states. The President also
thanked the leadership of the National
Assembly and many of its members, who
have through calls and personal
visitations, given solidarity and support
for this extraordinary step taken by the
President in order to halt the mindless
killings, bombings and general insecurity
that had prevailed in that part of the
country.
"The President also notes with
gratification the positive disposition and
understanding of the governors of the
federation, especially the Northern
Governors Forum, Leaders and Elders in
the North, traditional rulers, religious
leaders, cultural and political groups
nationwide, including opposition political
parties, civil society organisations and the
media.
Okupe said the President was appreciative
of the efforts, loyalty, commitment and
sacrifice of members of the armed forces
and other security agencies, who had
demonstrated commendable patriotism
and gallantry in compliance with the order
of the Commander-in Chief.
Okupe further stated, "Mr. President also
appreciates the encouragement by
members of the diplomatic corps and
international community, and promises
that as a disciplined force, members of the
Armed Forces will operate according to
acceptable international rules of
engagement and will pay particular
attention to the safety and well-being of
the citizens of the affected states during
this period of emergency rule.
"Mr. President also notes that the efforts of
the Armed Forces have already started
yielding positive results, as available
information confirm that the insurgents
have been dislodged from their previous
safe havens and camps, while many have
been apprehended, and their activities in
the affected states have been brought to a
total halt."

Hypertension, commonest cardiovascular disorder, says Cardiologist

A medical practitioner, Dr
Anthony Adimekwe, on Friday described
hypertension as the commonest
cardiovascular disorder, as well as the
number one cause of life-long drug
treatment.
Adimekwe, a Resident Cardiologist in the
Department of Internal Medicine,
University of Calabar Teaching Hospital
(UCTH), disclosed this during an
interview with the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
According to him, there is an urgent
need to promote public awareness of
hypertension and to encourage the
public to prevent and control this `silent-
killer'.
The World Hypertension Day (WHD) is
commemorated on May 17, every year.
The theme for the 2013 event is
"Healthy Heart Beat – Healthy Blood
Pressure''.
According to the cardiologist,
hypertension is an increase in blood
pressure to a level that can damage
body organs. It is commonly known as
High Blood Pressure.
"Hypertension has to do with an
increase in the level of blood pressure. It
has to be high to such a level that it can
damage body organs.
"In medicine, that level has been defined
to be greater than or equal to
140/90mmHg of blood pressure, as
measured using a sphygmomanometer,
on a person's arm. Hypertension usually
has no symptoms.
"However, to diagnose hypertension,
this raised blood pressure must be seen
to be consistently raised at three
consecutive measurements, taken at
least one day apart from each other," he
said.
Adimekwe noted that the prevalence
rate of hypertension in the country was
about 32.8 per cent.
"In Nigeria, a recent rural and semi-
urban community-based study in Enugu
State puts the prevalence of
hypertension in Nigeria at a range
between 32.8 per cent and 46.2 per
cent.
"While a meta-analytical study published
recently in the well-respected online
PubMed publication
(www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/23272273 ) estimates the
nationwide prevalence to be between
8%- 46.4%," he said.
The cardiologist identified two major
types of hypertension.
"There are two types of hypertension.
There is the primary and the secondary
hypertension. The Primary constitutes
about 95 per cent of the cases, while the
Secondary is about five per cent.
"Primary hypertension is largely genetic
and hereditary; thus, it runs in families.
"However, the predisposing factors of
hypertension include too much intake of
salt, alcohol, absence of fruits and green
vegetables in the diet, lack of exercise,
living a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and
many other factors.

Some Nigerians richer than the nation – Bishop Onuoha

Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of
Okigwe South, Rt. Rev. David Onuoha,
has expressed worry over what he
termed "the serious threat corruption is
posing to our corporate existence as a
nation".
Rt. Rev. Onuoha made the lamentation in
his address at the second session of the
seventh synod of the diocese held at
Saint Matthew's Church, Umuezeala Nsu,
Ehime Mbano local council area of Imo
State.
"It is no longer news that our country
sets a new record on this every year
and all efforts at reducing the incidences
of this national embarrassment
succeeded only in the breach", the
bishop lamented.
He was particularly irked that the ever
rising profile of corruption in the land
means that the issue will remain in the
public domain until a solution is found.
"The issue is not these mind-boggling
annual revelations. What should disturb
us as a nation are the denials, the
rebuttals and deliberate refusal to
acknowledge an obvious fact", Onuoha
said.
Continuing, the fiery Anglican cleric said:
"What this clearly indicates is that this
nation and her leaders are not in a hurry
to fight this malaise. That we are in a
society where funds meant for projects
and services that will benefit all and
make for national growth are brazenly
stolen by a privileged few and still
people from the same society appear to
quarrel with views of massive
corruption in Nigeria calls for a great
concern".

Achebe’s body arrives today

The remains of celebrated writer, Chinua
Achebe is expected to be flown into the
country, today to kick-start a week-long
burial rites. Achebe died on March 21,
2013 at 82.
Meanwhile, the people of Ogidi,
hometown of the literary icon, weekend
said they were prepared to work with
other committees set up for a befiting
buril of their illustrous son.
Achebe, a former president general of
Ogido Town Union, belonged to the
highest titled group in Ogidi known as
Ndichie Une.
Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe
Chairman of media and publicity sub-
committee of the committee set up by
Ogidi for burial as well as a member of a
similar committee set up by the
Anambra State government, Chief Bob
Manuel Udokwu, who briefed news men
in Awka, said that what matters to Ogidi
people is that their son was accorded a
befitting burial.
According to details of the burial
activities released by Udokwu, Achebe's
body would arrive Nigeria on May 19.
There would be prayers at the
Ecumenicasl Center, Abuja same day,
while cultural events and reading of
Achebe's books would take place the
following day. There would also be an
Airport reception for him by members
of the Association of Nigerian Authors,
ANA,and Ogidi people at the Abuja
Airport before the body departs for
Enugu Airport where the body would be
received by South East governors to be
led by their chairman, Mr. Peter Obi.
He said that though the body would not
be taken to the University of Nigeria,
Nsukka, there would be a procession for
him and other ceremonies in that
institution, while the body would arrive
Awka on the 22nd to be received at the
Amansea border by a cross section of
Anambra people.
Thereafter, there would be a brief
church service for him at the Alex
Ekwueme square in Awka to be led by
the Anglican Bishop of Awka. The body
would arrive Ogidi on 23rd for a funeral
service at St Phillip's Anglican Church,
Akpakaogwe,Ogidi where the primary
school attended by Achebe

65 suspected terrorists arrested in Maiduguri

The Defence Headquarters said
on Saturday in Abuja that 65 persons
suspected to be terrorists had been
apprehended by its Special Task Force
(STF).
A statement signed by Brig.-Gen. Chris
Olukolade, Director of Defence
Information, said the terrorists were
caught while attempting to infiltrate
Maiduguri as they fled their various
camps now under attack.
The statement said the arrest was a
continuation mission aimed at ridding
the nation's territories of all insurgent
activities.
According to the statement, a total of 11
vehicles, four tricycles and 24 GSM
handsets were also seized in the
process.
"All the suspects are in custody of the
Joint Task Force and are currently being
interrogated,'' it said.
The statement added that most of the
terrorists' camps were found to have
been deserted by fleeing insurgents
when STF troops stormed their occupied
localities.
"The facilities have now been occupied
by our troops,'' it said further.
The statement said further that, in
another development, troops have
engaged and dislodged elements of
insurgent groups who carried out the
May 7 attacks on citizens in localities
such as Gamboru ward.
It said a total of 10 suspected terrorists
were confirmed dead during the
operation while weapons such as
rocket-propelled grenade launchers,
assorted ammunition and rifle
magazines were recovered.
The statement also said some of the
fleeing insurgents from various camps
have been noted to be in search of fuel
from neighbouring communities.
"Citizens are advised to report to the STF
any group of persons roaming around
the local communities with large
quantities of containers in search of
fuel.
"The advancement of troops is
continuing on all fronts as scheduled,'' it
added.
The statement said the Defence
Headquarters had further enjoined the
troops to sustain the intensity of the
operations.(NAN)

Wizkid beat PSquare, Flavour, others to win African Artist of the Year

In the just concluded Ghana Music
Awards, Wizkid fell giants; beating super
hot artists P-Square, Iyanya, Davido,
Flavour and D-Banj to win the African
Artist of the Year award.
The awards took place at the La Palm
Hotel in Accra.

Army begins offensive against Boko Haram, raids Sambisa camp

KANO – Nigeria has begun an offensive
against Boko Haram Islamists, raiding
camps in a remote northeastern park,
while more than 2,000 troops have been
deployed to retake territory seized by
the insurgents, a military source told AFP
Thursday.
"Our men raided some terrorist camps in
the Sambisa Game Reserve," in Borno
state, said the senior officer who
requested anonymity. "So far 2,000
troops have been deployed to Borno,"
he added, declining to comment on the
forces sent to the other affected states
of Yobe and Adamawa.(AFP)

Uche Jombo and hubby take a road trip for their one year anniversary

The couple took a road trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey, for their one year wedding anniversary.

BET Awards '13: 2face & Ice Prince nominated for Best International Act: Africa

BET Awards just released their 2013 nominees list. 2face Idibia and Ice Prince were nominated in the Best International Act: Africa category. The two Nigerian music stars were nominated alongside R2bees from Ghana, Radio and Weasel from Uganda, Donald from South Africa, and Toya Delazy from South Africa. The award will hold 30th June. See the full nominees list HERE

Oh, FYI, Drake leads this year's awards with 12 nominations.