Welcome to Okpara Fortune Azubuike's Blog

The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 23-year-old lady, Abosede Omolare, for allegedly stabbing her fiance, Sadiq Dauda, to death during an argument. The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Abimbola Oyeyemi, told a news conference on Friday in Abeokuta that Omolare was engaged to marry Dauda in December. He said that the suspect committed the crime at Onirugba St. in Ijebu-Ode on Tuesday and was arrested on the same day. The PPRO explained that the incident followed minor disagreement over allegation of mismanagement of funds from the gas business which the late Dauda entrusted to the suspect. Oyeyemi said Oyelare claimed that her late fiancé, who she was living with, beat her up and sent her away. He said that Oyelare returned home on the invitation of her fiance’s mother who promised to intervene. He said “She stated that immediately she got home, her fiance descend on her, beat her mercilessly and broke a bottle with which he threatened to st...

Several hundred Muslims staged a protest prayer outside the Colosseum in Rome on Friday over what they see as unfair restrictions on their freedom to practise their faith in Italy. Organisers said they had called the demonstration following the recent closure on administrative grounds of five makeshift mosques. Many Italian Muslims suspect local authorities are responding to a climate of mistrust caused by recent Islamist attacks in Europe by closing down the places of worship on the grounds of easily resolved problems such as the number of toilets on a particular premises. “We feel people are pointing the finger at us,” said Francesco Tieri, a convert to Islam who acts as a coordinator for a number of Islamic groups. “There is no political will to recognise that we are here and that we are a peaceful community. “We are forced to rent places to pray — which for us is like breathing air, if we can’t do it we die.” According to official fi...

The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 23-year-old lady, Abosede Omolare, for allegedly stabbing her fiance, Sadiq Dauda, to death during an argument. The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Abimbola Oyeyemi, told a news conference on Friday in Abeokuta that Omolare was engaged to marry Dauda in December. He said that the suspect committed the crime at Onirugba St. in Ijebu-Ode on Tuesday and was arrested on the same day. The PPRO explained that the incident followed minor disagreement over allegation of mismanagement of funds from the gas business which the late Dauda entrusted to the suspect. Oyeyemi said Oyelare claimed that her late fiancé, who she was living with, beat her up and sent her away. He said that Oyelare returned home on the invitation of her fiance’s mother who promised to intervene. He said “She stated that immediately she got home, her fiance descend on her, beat her mercilessly and broke a bottle with which he threatened to st...

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Turkey’s flagship carrier Turkish Airlines on Friday said it has banned Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphones from all of its flights with immediate effect after reports of fire risk. “Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices can no longer be transported on person, in carry-on baggage, in checked bags or as air cargo on all Turkish Airlines flights with immediate effect,” the company said in a warning note to passengers on its website. The airline did not detail the reasons for the ban, but it comes after reports of exploding batteries and fires, which have led to numerous injuries. That prompted the South Korean electronics giant to recall all Note 7 phones, including replacements. Samsung has also stopped producing the flagship handset. German carrier Lufthansa had announced on Tuesday its ban on Galaxy Note 7 smartphones from all of its flights. Japan this month said it barred all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones from airplanes, following move...

oscar Chelsea star Oscar misses out but Brazil include the Real Madrid pair of Marcelo and Casemiro for the crunch clash next month with old rivals Argentina in World Cup qualifying. Coach Tite on Friday named a strong 24-man squad for the games at home to Argentina on November 10 and away in Peru five days later. Midfielder Oscar, out of favour at Stamford Bridge, is dropped from the squad but left-back Marcelo and defensive midfielder Casemiro are in following a calf injury and a leg break respectively. The Sao Paulo defender Rodrigo Caio gets a call-up, as Brazil seek to cement their place at the top of South American qualifying for Russia 2018. Argentina, led by fit-again Lionel Messi — he will line up against Barcelona team-mate and Brazilian star Neymar — are fifth. Brazil squad: Goalkeepers: Alisson (AS Roma/ITA), Alex Muralha (Flamengo), Weverton (Atletico Paranaense) Defenders: Gil (Shandong Luneng/CHN), Marquinhos (Paris SG/FRA), Miranda (Atletico Madrid/E...

File: Police officers investigate the site of an attack / AFP PHOTO / THOMAS KIENZLE A man in Southern Germany was beaten to death by four men after he publicly urinated near a church, police said on Thursday. Police are searching for the four men who hurled insults and attacked the 51-year-old man recently after he was seen urinating close to a church in Freiburg, a city in Germany’s traditionally Catholic south. According to police, the man told his son about the attack before succumbing to his injuries later that day. However an autopsy confirmed that he died as a result of the attack. Report says public urination on Church buildings has become an issue of public concern in Germany, corroding the buildings’ sandstone foundations and leading authorities to institute hefty fines.

Adeleke on a hospital bed A bricklayer, Adeleke Oyadara, has been tortured to death in Kujore, Iwelepe, in the Sagamu area of Ogun State, after he was accused of robbery. PUNCH Metro  learnt that a businesswoman, identified only as Bolanle, had claimed that she was robbed by the deceased on September 10. Bolanle, around 8pm of the next day, was alleged to have gone to Adeleke’s house with some hoodlums. They were said to have descended on the 50-year-old and beaten him to a pulp before putting him in a truck they brought. Our correspondent learnt that on the way, the group was intercepted by some vigilance group members, who took the case to the Sagamu Police Division. The victim was said to have been referred to a hospital, and died a few weeks later. The victim’s wife, Toyin, said her husband was taken away from the house around 8pm on September 11. She said, “On that day, a man knocked on our door around 8pm. Suddenly, a woman, who had hid behind him, ...

Dame Patience Jonathan  Wife of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, has urged a Federal High Court in Lagos to restrain a human rights organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, from coercing the Attorney General of the Federation to prosecute her over “unfounded and malicious allegations that she stole $15m.” Patience claimed that the $15m over which SERAP allegedly asked the AGF to prosecute her was a gift she received over the last 15 years from friends and well-wishers. The Executive Director of SERAP, Adetokunbo Mumuni, said in a statement on Thursday that the organisation had been served with court papers in Patience’s suit marked, FHC/L/CS/1349/2016. According to Mumuni, the suit was filed by members of the Union of Niger Delta Youth Organisation for Equity, Justice and Good Governance on behalf of themselves and Patience. The plaintiffs sought a court order of interim injunction restraining SERAP from using any judicial pro...

Habiba Isa. Photo: Olaide Oyelude THE Katsina State branch of ‘Jama’atu Izalatil Bidah wa Iqamatis Sunnah’ (JIBWIS) has clarified that the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumuni Usman, is not the one who married the 14-year-old girl, Habiba Isa, who was allegedly forcefully converted to Islam and forced into marriage. The Islamic group, at a press conference in Katsina on Tuesday, said  Habiba’s husband was “a young man called Jamilu Lawal.” The group, which spoke through its chairman, Sheikh Yakubu Hassan, cautioned against people dragging the name of the royal father into the controversy. The group said, “The allegations recently made by Christian leaders in the state that the Emir of Katsina forcefully converted an underage Christian girl, Habiba Isa, to Islam and then married her is an insult to Muslims and a deliberate attempt to pollute the peaceful atmosphere that the community enjoys in the state. JIBWIS has all the evidence that ...

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday night cleverly avoided to be dragged into the raging controversy over who nominated him to be President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate in the 2015 presidential election.  Although he confirmed that “somebody somewhere” must nominate one before occupying a position, Osinbajo refrained from disclosing who nominated him.  Controversy broke out recently when the author of Buhari’s biography, “Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria”, Prof. John Paden, claimed in the book that the President chose Osinbajo as his running mate despite the alleged opposition of a national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Despite the general belief that Tinubu was instrumental to the emergence of Osinbajo who served as his Attorney-General when he (Tinubu) was the governor of Lagos State, the author claimed that the names of Tinubu; the then La...

Immediate past Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (retd.)   The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Thursday opened its case against a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (retd.), and 10 others, who are being tried for an alleged fraud of N22.8bn.   The defendants, who were arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos on June 29, 2016, had on July 8, 2016, indicated their intention to enter into a plea bargain with the EFCC.   They had then sought an adjournment to enable them to perfect their bail terms and smoothen their talks with the anti-graft agency.   But at the resumed proceedings in the case on Thursday, the prosecutor opened its case and called its first witness, apparently due to breakdown of plea bargain talks between the parties.   Standing trial alongside Amosu are two other officers of the Nigerian Air Force – Air Vice Marshal Jacob Adigun and Air Commodore Gbadebo Olugbenga. ...

Donald Trump Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump said Thursday that he would accept a “clear election result” next month, but reserved the right to challenge the outcome if he felt it was “questionable.” Trump stuck firm to his unprecedented defiance of US democratic norms, telling supporters: “I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election — if I win.” But he went on to say: “I will accept a clear election result, but I will also reserve my right to contest and file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result.”

  Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump / AFP PHOTO / MOLLY RILEY Another woman came forward Thursday claiming that Donald Trump groped her and made inappropriate sexual remarks, adding to accusations of nine other women that have emerged in the past days. Karena Virginia, 45, a New York-area yoga instructor, said at a news conference that she was assaulted by the celebrity billionaire and Republican presidential nominee at the 1998 US Open tennis tournament. Virginia, reading from a written statement, said that Trump pointed at her to other men and said “‘hey, look at this one. We haven’t seen this one before. Look at those legs’ as if I was an object rather than a person.” Virginia, who was 27 at the time, said that Trump grabbed her by the arm and touched her breast. “‘Don’t you know who I am, don’t you know who I am?’ he said,” according to Virginia’s statement. “I felt intimidated and I...

Sexual assault Three men were on Thursday paraded by the Abia State Police Command for alleged sexually abused a 12-year-old girl. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Leye Oyebade, who paraded the suspects in Umuahia, said that the command would not relent in its resolve to rid the state of criminals. He explained that the three men were arrested in Amuvi village in Arochukwu Local Government Area on October 8 for defiling a 12-year-old girl. The commissioner said that the suspects took turns to sexually abuse the victim, adding that the suspects were arrested following an alarm by her guardian. One of the suspects, Uche Nwaokoro, admitted that he committed the crime and said that it was the devil that made him do it. Nwokoro said that he used to lure the victim to his house with gifts and that he regretted his actions. Speaking with newsmen, the victim’s guardian said, “the suspects encouraged my sister to be disobedient and always runaway from the house wh...

  Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump / AFP PHOTO / MOLLY RILEY Another woman came forward Thursday claiming that Donald Trump groped her and made inappropriate sexual remarks, adding to accusations of nine other women that have emerged in the past days. Karena Virginia, 45, a New York-area yoga instructor, said at a news conference that she was assaulted by the celebrity billionaire and Republican presidential nominee at the 1998 US Open tennis tournament. Virginia, reading from a written statement, said that Trump pointed at her to other men and said “‘hey, look at this one. We haven’t seen this one before. Look at those legs’ as if I was an object rather than a person.” Virginia, who was 27 at the time, said that Trump grabbed her by the arm and touched her breast. “‘Don’t you know who I am, don’t you know who I am?’ he said,” according to Virginia’s statement. “I felt intimidated and I...

Nicholas, Lovely Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested two suspected drug traffickers for allegedly laundering hard currencies estimated at about N175m from Greece and Austria. It was learnt that the suspects – Edos Nicholas and Hallowell Lovely – were arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport during the screening of passengers onboard a Turkish flight. PUNCH Metro  gathered that Nicholas was found in possession of €279,190, while $30,000 and £46,450 were recovered from Lovely. They reportedly concealed the sums inside envelopes and shoes. Nicholas, who claimed to be working in a bakery in Austria, told investigators that several people had given him the money abroad for onward delivery to their relatives in Nigeria. The suspect said, “The money does not belong to me. It was given to me by different people in Europe to give to their relatives. I have been living in Vienna, Austria, for over 15 years....

  A  37-year-old man, Rasak Adekoya, who allegedly beat his 10-year-old son, Wariz, to death, has said he beat his son on Tuesday, October 11, because he stole mobile phones at a party. Adekoya, who said he never intended to kill his son, explained that the boy brought him shame by stealing the mobile phones at a party, as well as money belonging to his stepmother. Adekoya, who was arrested by men of the Ogun State Police Command, is currently being detained at the homicide department at the state police headquarters,  Eleweran,  Abeokuta. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state,  Abimbola Oyeyemi, had said the suspect was nabbed by policemen attached to the Ago Iwoye Division following a tip-off from members of the community. He said preliminary investigation revealed several marks on the body of the victim as a result of series of torture from the suspect. Oyeyemi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, said, “The corpse has been deposite...

  Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola . Photo: Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola was defiant he will not change his ways despite a harrowing night for goalkeeper Claudio Bravo on his return to Barcelona as a Lionel Messi hat-trick inspired a 4-0 Barca win on Wednesday. Bravo was sent-off with City trailing just 1-0 for saving Luis Suarez’s effort when outside his area after gifting the ball to the Uruguayan striker, putting Guardiola’s decision to jettison England number one Joe Hart under more scrutiny. “Until the last day I am a coach I will try to play from the goalkeeper,” said Guardiola. “Of course you cannot play all the time, but it was a mistake and it sometimes happens.” Bravo enjoyed two almost faultless years at Barca before joining City in August, but has endured a shaky start under Guardiola’s firm instructions to build City’s attack from the back. “He (Bravo) has a lot of experience, he is one of the best ...

Republican nominee Donald Trump (L) looks as Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton speaks during the final presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 19, 2016. Photo: Mark RALSTON / AFP The third and final debate of the caustic 2016 US presidential election started with a sober tone… but ended up with Donald Trump questioning the fundamental underpinnings of the nation. Here are four key moments: November 9 If Americans entered the debate concerned about what happens the day after this brutally fought election, Trump did little to assuage their fears. An hour into the 90-minute battle, the Republican nominee was asked whether he would respect the election result and concede if he lost. His answer will go into the history books. “I’ll look at it at the time. What I’ve seen is so bad,” he said, repeating unfounded allegations of vote rigging. Fellow Republicans rushed to...

  Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton departs the stage following the third and final US presidential debate with Republican nominee Donald Trump (background) at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 19, 2016. Photo: Paul J. Richards / AFP Turning his final presidential debate appearance into an unprecedented assault on US political convention, Donald Trump refused Wednesday to say that he would respect a Hillary Clinton victory in November. As the last head-to-head encounter of the toxic 2016 campaign descended into mud-slinging, the Republican mogul doubled down on claims that his Democratic rival’s supporters plan to rig the vote. And when asked whether he would commit to recognizing the result of the November 8 vote no matter what, the reality television star said: “I’ll tell you at the time. I’ll keep you in suspense, OK?” Clinton declared herself “appalled...

Director-General, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside The House of Representatives Committee on Marine Safety on Tuesday grilled the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Mr. Dakuku Peterside, over a controversial contract to recover NIMASA’s alleged $5bn debts. A firm, SNECO Financial Services, which was incorporated on April 4, 2016, was awarded the contract. The House committee, which is chaired by Mr. Umar Bago, is in possession of petitions, alleging breach of due process and fraud in the award of the contract. One of the petitions clearly stated that under the terms of the contract, SNECO would take 13 per cent of the recovered debts, a figure the committee queried for being “huge.” Lawmakers observed that this would be about $65m profit for the firm. Bago said, “We have the petitions here. The petitioners consider this a waste of public funds. “Why will NIMASA engage an...

Obama, Trump President Barack Obama on Tuesday slapped down Donald Trump’s claim that the 2016 presidential race is rigged, telling the Republican nominee to “stop whining” and get on with his campaign. The withering riposte, in language usually used to scold a moody teenager, came on the eve of the third and final presidential debate between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Obama discarded diplomatic decorum, skewering the Republican mogul from the Rose Garden in front of visiting Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Trump has ramped up conspiracies about America’s election system as his poll numbers have plummeted in the wake of sexual assault allegations against him. He trails Clinton by around seven points nationwide and bookmakers in Europe — where political betting is legal — have already begun to pay out on a Clinton win. But the White House is increasingly concerned that Trump and his supporters will not recognize the election’...

Fayose & Obanikoro A  former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that he gave the sum of N2.3bn to the Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, in the run-up to the Ekiti State governorship election in 2014. Obanikoro was said to have also told operatives that N60m was converted to dollars at N168 per to a dollar and given to Fayose. The PUNCH  learnt on Tuesday that the minister told operatives of the anti-graft commission, who continued his interrogation in Abuja on Tuesday, that he personally handed over N5,357,357 to the governor on an occasion. A top operative of the commission, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said Obanikoro told his interrogators that the money was transferred to Fayose on the instruction of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, (retd.). The source alleged that following the instructions from the former NSA, the sum of N1.3b...

Transport Minister, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi A Justice of the Supreme Court, Inyang Okoro, who is among the seven judges arrested by the operatives of the Department of State Services between October 7 and 8, has accused the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, as the one who instigated his ordeal. He said in his four-page letter dated October 17, 2016 and addressed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, that he strongly believed that Amaechi had a hand in his travails because the Supreme Court ruled against the All Progressives Congress’ governorship candidates in Abia, Akwa Ibom and Rivers states. He also said during the raid on his house in Abuja which started around 9pm on October 7 and ended at about 1am on October 8 by the DSS operatives, the sums of $38,800 and N3.5m were recovered in his residence. He said the sums of money recovered during the search of his home by “so many heavily armed men” were the balance of his unspent estaco...

Ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday declared that it was not the job of President Muhammadu Buhari to address the deadly clashes between herdsmen and farmers. This is coming as he decried the increasing level of hunger being experienced by Nigerians across the country, stressing that it was sad to note that about 65 per cent of the citizens were faced with food insecurity. He also urged the Federal Government to drastically reduce or ban the importation of staple food crops, as Nigeria had the potential to produce most of the agricultural products that were being imported into the country. Obasanjo spoke during the 23rd Annual LAPO Development Forum which had as its theme ‘Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture in Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities,’ and was organised by the Lift Above Poverty Organisation in Abuja. The former President stated that he often got angry whenever people blamed Buhari for not making comme...

Nigeria Senate. The Senate on Tuesday urged all the parties in the negotiation that led to the release of 21 of the Chibok girls to ensure that other hostages in Boko Haram’s captivity were rescued. The upper chamber of the National Assembly, while thanking those who negotiated the release of the 21 schoolgirls, noted that a large number of abductions by the sect were not reported, adding that the negotiators should look beyond the Chibok girls to rescue more victims. Leader of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, who raised the matter on the floor of the Senate during Tuesday’s plenary, said no fewer than 1,000 persons were in Boko Haram captivity. He said, “The 219 girls are not the only girls that were abducted. Their (exact) number is not known but there are more than 1,000 of them, I can bet on that. Some of them have gone unnoticed; some of them are missing; some of them, only God knows where they are and in what condition they have found themselves. “I wa...

Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and Former Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Appropriation Committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is intensifying a discreet investigation into the allegations made by the former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, against the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, and other principal officials of the House. A top operative of the commission told  The PUNCH  on Tuesday that the operatives involved in the investigation into the allegations made by Jibrin was at an advanced stage. The source said the commission had grilled officials of 16 federal ministries in connection with the probe into the allegations contained in the petition written to the commission by Jibrin, who was suspended by the House in September. It was further stated that operatives of the commission had gathered some evidence on some of the issues raised in the petition. ...

Trump, Clinton. Photo: AFP Hillary Clinton has widened her lead over Donald Trump nationally and in key swing states three weeks before Election Day, a poll showed Monday, as the Republican presidential nominee struggled to find a way back into the race. Trump, whose campaign has been reeling in the face of lewd comments about women and accusations of sexual assault, has doubled down on claims of “large scale voter fraud” in the US election, despite denials from within his own party. And his team has deployed his wife Melania in a media blitz to try to tamp down the furor over the allegations, with interviews set to air late Monday on CNN and early Tuesday on Fox News. “Those words, they were offensive to me and they were inappropriate. And he apologized to me. And I accept his apology. And we are moving on,” Trump told Fox, in an excerpt released by the network. The Republican nominee takes the stage Wednesday with his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in t...

• Scene of the incident Photo: Samson Folarin Tragedy struck in Gaun community, in the Magboro area of Ogun State, after two children, Taiye and Kehinde Oluwasegun, were burnt to death in an inferno that gutted their parents’ bungalow on Tuesday. PUNCH Metro  learnt that the incident happened around 8pm while the family was preparing to have dinner. Our correspondent gathered that the first born of the family, Iyanu, had tripped over a jerrycan of fuel, which also spilled some of its content in the parlour. While the mother mopped the spillage, the fuel was said to have flowed to a lantern in the house, which triggered an explosion. Residents, who were alerted by calls for help, reportedly rescued Iyanu; the second child, Korede; and their parents. However, the twin children, aged three, were burnt to death. When our correspondent visited the area on Wednesday, he observed that everything in the house was burnt as smoke still billowed from burnt property in the ...

Transport Minister, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi A consortium of foreign and Nigerian lawyers, representing 26 families, who lost their loved ones in the 2012 Dana Airlines crash in Lagos, has written to the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, demanding the release of the final Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau report, stating the exact cause of the crash. More than 150 passengers were killed in the crash along with six crew members and 10 members of the public on the ground. Twenty-six families, in a letter by a United Kingdom law firm, Irwin Mitchell, said the failure of the AIB to release the final report on the crash had prevented them from achieving closure four years after the tragedy. The lawyers said the lack of any concrete information on the exact cause of the air crash remained a source of distress for their clients. They said the failure of the AIB to release its final report had constituted a stumbling block to the suits filed by their clients as it had made ...