Headline

Ex-Honduras President Jailed For 45 Years On Drugs Charges

Published

3 days ago

June 26, 2024

Editor

A court in New York on Wednesday sentenced former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez to 45 years in prison after he was convicted of trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States.

Anti-Hernandez protesters gathered outside the Manhattan courthouse ahead of sentencing brandishing placards decrying the former head of state’s crimes.

The sentence, which also included an $8 million fine, was less than the life imprisonment that prosecutors had sought — although Hernandez’s age, 55, means he may die behind bars.

READ : After Much Protests, Deaths, Kenya President, Ruto Withdraws Controversial Tax Bill

Hernandez, who US federal prosecutors said turned his Central American country into a “narco-state” during his presidency from 2014 to 2022, has previously indicated through his legal team he would appeal his conviction.

Hernandez was convicted in March of having facilitated the smuggling of some 500 tons of cocaine — mainly from Colombia and Venezuela — to the United States via Honduras since 2004, starting long before his presidency.

Hernandez used the drug money to enrich himself, finance his political campaign, and commit electoral fraud in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections, prosecutors said.

He was extradited to the United States in 2022, accused of aiding drug smugglers in return for millions of dollars in bribes.

Hernandez follows in the footsteps of other former Latin American heads of state convicted in the United States, like Panama’s Manuel Noriega in 1992 and Guatemala’s Alfonso Portillo in 2014.

AFP

Headline

Executing Four National Budgets Concurrently A Recipe For Disaster – Peter Obi Chides Tinubu

Published

22 mins ago

June 29, 2024

Editor

The Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has faulted what he described as a concurrent implementation of four national budgets by the Nigerian government, saying that it is a recipe for chaos, confusion, and catastrophe.

In a post on his X handle on Saturday, Obi said it is a blatant disregard for fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability.

The former Anambra State Governor also stated that the government’s action will lead to frivolous items in the approved budgets competing with essential projects for limited resources, further exacerbating the suffering of the Nigerian people.

He wrote: “All available evidence has confirmed that the Nigerian government is implementing four national budgets concurrently. This is in blatant disregard for fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability.

“It is also a recipe for chaos, confusion, and catastrophe.

“This intentionally reckless action will lead to frivolous items in the approved budgets competing with essential projects for limited resources, further exacerbating the suffering of the Nigerian people.

“It indicates that the Leaders are out of touch with reality and lack the competence to manage our nation’s finances effectively.

“Unfortunately, this deliberate act of fiscal recklessness is being undertaken by elected representatives of the people, thereby betraying one of the cardinal pillars of democracy. Leaders are elected to responsibly manage public resources in an organized way.

“I respectfully appeal and in fact, demand that this situation be reversed immediately in preference for a more responsible and transparent approach to budgeting.

“We must prioritize the needs of the Nigerian people, not the selfish interests of a few.

“This is a call to action for all Leaders to desist from actions that will further drive the country into economic chaos.

“Neither the National Assembly nor the executive has any excuse to promote or condone such unconscionable behaviour.

“We seek and insist on a nation governed by leaders who are frugal and responsible in their handling of public resources.

“This is the only way we can build a great nation.”

Headline

Police Arrest Female Prison Officer Filmed Having Sex With Inmate In UK Cell

Published

3 hours ago

June 29, 2024

Editor

Police have arrested a woman after footage emerged of a female prison officer having sex with an inmate in an HMP Wandsworth jail cell.

The suspect was taken into custody yesterday on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The video shows a prison officer engaging in sexual acts with an unidentified prisoner at the Category A jail in south-west London. The woman is seen wearing her uniform during the explicit encounter.

The footage, believed to be recent, depicts the officer first performing a sex act on the prisoner before having intercourse with him.

The incident was reportedly filmed by the inmate’s cellmate using a mobile phone. The cell’s interior is visible in the video, showing a TV and piles of clothes on a bunk bed.

Ian Acheson, a former prison governor, commented on the security implications of the incident: “If this footage is authentic, and I’ve been assured it is, the problems confronting a likely new Labour administration go far beyond overcrowding.”

The case has raised serious concerns about security protocols and staff conduct within the prison system.

Headline

‘Too Stressful’; No Intension Of Going Back To Presidential Villa – Patience Jonathan

Published

3 hours ago

June 29, 2024

Editor

Former First Lady Patience Jonathan has said that she has no intention of returning to the Presidential Villa.

She said the stress associated with the office was too much.

Mrs. Jonathan stated this in an event on Friday.

Jonathan in a video seen by The Nation said if anybody calls her to return to the Villa, she would refuse the offer as she is now old.

She added that if God brings one out of the stress, one should be grateful to God.

“If you call me now for villa, I won’t go there. I won’t. Don’t you see how young I am? The stress is so much.

“The stress of Nigeria is so much. If God manages to bring you out of it, you should glorify God and thank him. It is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.

“He has taken you there once, why do you want to go there again? Me I won’t go oo,” she stated.