Headline
US Warns Citizens Not To Visit Enugu, Delta, Bayelsa, 15 Others
Published
8 months agoon
By
EditorThe US Department of State has advised Americans to reconsider travelling to Nigeria “due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed gangs.”
Following its travel advisory update done on Wednesday, the US noted that some areas “have increased risk”.
It advised its citizens against travelling to Borno, Yobe, Kogi, and northern Adamawa states due to terrorism and kidnapping; Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara states due to kidnapping; Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo, and Rivers states (with the exception of Port Harcourt) due to crime, kidnapping, and armed gangs.
It further noted that “violent crime – such as armed robbery, assault, carjacking, kidnapping, hostage taking, roadside banditry, and rape – is common throughout the country.”
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It said: “Kidnappings for ransom occur frequently, often targeting dual national citizens who have returned to Nigeria for a visit, as well as U.S. citizens with perceived wealth. Kidnapping gangs have also stopped victims on interstate roads.
“Terrorists continue plotting and carrying out attacks in Nigeria. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting shopping centers, malls, markets, hotels, places of worship, restaurants, bars, schools, government installations, transportation hubs, and other places where crowds gather.
“Terrorists are known to work with local gangs to expand their reach.
“There are civil unrest and armed gangs in parts of Southern Nigeria, especially in the Niger Delta and Southeast regions. Armed criminality and gangs, including kidnapping and assaults on Nigerian security services, are also pervasive in this region.
“Violence can flare up between communities of farmers and herders in rural areas.
“The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in many areas of Nigeria due to security conditions.”
It, however, advised citizens who still choose to travel to Nigeria to: “Carry proper identification, including a U.S. passport with a current Nigerian visa, if needed.
“Use caution when walking or driving at night; keep a low profile; Review travel routes and times to vary your predictability; Do not physically resist any robbery attempt; Be extra vigilant when visiting banks or ATMs.
“Monitor local media for breaking events and be prepared to adjust your plans; Be aware of your surroundings; Stay alert in locations frequented by Westerners; Avoid demonstrations and large political gatherings; Review your personal security plans.
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“Have evacuation plans that do not rely on U.S. government assistance. Establish a “proof of life” protocol with your loved ones, so that if you are taken hostage, your loved ones know specific questions (and answers) to ask the hostage-takers to be sure that you are alive (and to rule out a hoax).”
Regarding Borno, Yobe, Kogi, and Northern Adamawa states, the US insisted that the security situation in the states was “fluid and unpredictable due to widespread terrorist activity, inter-communal violence, and kidnapping. Security operations to counter these threats may occur without warning.”
It said, “Terrorist groups based in the Northeast routinely target humanitarian camps, security forces, churches, schools, mosques, government installations, educational institutions, entertainment venues, and road .”
As for Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo, and Rivers states (with the exception of Port Harcourt), the US said crime “is rampant throughout Southern Nigeria, and there is a heightened risk of kidnapping, violent civil unrest, and armed gangs.”
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Headline
Porn Star Testifies Against Trump At Hush Money Trial
Published
2 days agoon
May 8, 2024By
EditorThe porn star at the heart of Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial, Stormy Daniels, testified on Tuesday about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with the former president in a hotel penthouse suite.
Trump, 77, is accused of falsifying business records to reimburse his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels on the eve of his 2016 election against Hillary Clinton, when the lurid story of marital infidelity could have sunk his campaign.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger announced “The people call Stormy Daniels,” as Trump, who is seeking to recapture the White House in November, sat at the defense table in the Manhattan courtroom flanked by his lawyers, AFP reports.
What followed was detailed testimony about the sexual encounter Daniels said she had with Trump – his pajamas, his boxer shorts, the sexual position, that he did not wear a condom – all while the former president, sitting just feet away, stared on in silence, stony-faced.
Trump has denied having sex with Daniels, and his defense team sought, unsuccessfully, to have a mistrial declared.
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The extraordinary courtroom face-off comes six months before election day when Trump will try to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden.
Daniels walked prosecutors through her difficult childhood in Louisiana, a stint as a stripper and her eventually joining the adult film industry.
The 45-year-old, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe where she was employed as a greeter by X-rated movie company Wicked Entertainment.
Daniels said she was 27 at the time and Trump was “probably older than my father.”
She said a member of Trump’s security detail told her the real estate tycoon wanted to have dinner with her. She was reluctant but agreed after discussing it with her publicist.
When she arrived at the penthouse where Trump was staying he emerged wearing “silk or satin pajamas which I immediately made fun of,” Daniels told the jury.
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“I said ‘Does Mr Hefner know you stole his pajamas?’” she said in a reference to the outfit favored by the late Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner.
Trump changed clothes and they began talking about adult movies.
“He was very interested in a lot of the business stuff,” Daniels said.
Trump, who was married at the time to his current wife, Melania, suggested Daniels be on his hit reality television show, “The Apprentice,” she said.
Daniels said she went to the bathroom at one point and when she emerged Trump was on the bed in boxer shorts and a T-shirt.
“It startled me,” she said. “The intention was pretty clear.”
“I was not threatened verbally or physically,” Daniels said, although there was an “imbalance of power.”
She said they had brief sex on the bed “in missionary position” and Trump did not wear a condom.
“I felt ashamed I didn’t stop it, didn’t say no,” Daniels said.
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Daniels said she met with Trump again on several occasions but cut off contact when it became clear she would not appear on “The Apprentice.”
After Trump announced his candidacy for president, Daniels said her publicist suggested she could sell her story and put her in touch with Keith Davidson, a Hollywood lawyer who testified previously at the trial.
“My motivation wasn’t money, it was to get the story out,” Daniels said.
She said she entered into a non-disclosure agreement in October 2016 on the eve of the presidential election negotiated by Davidson and Cohen for which she was paid $130,000.
“I couldn’t tell my story, he couldn’t tell the story,” she said.
After a lunch break, Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche asked Judge Juan Merchan to declare a mistrial, objecting to some of Daniels’ testimony, particularly her claim that she was threatened in 2011 by a man in a Las Vegas parking garage who allegedly warned her not to talk about Trump.
“It’s extremely prejudicial to insert safety concerns into a trial about business records,” Blanche said.
Merchan denied the motion, saying “I don’t think we have reached a point where a mistrial is in order.”
Trump is under a partial gag order prohibiting him from publicly attacking witnesses, the jury or court staff.
Merchan has already fined him $10,000 for breaching the gag order and warned Trump he may face jail time for future violations.
Headline
Naira Abuse: Trouble Looms As Group Petitions EFCC, Wants Edo APC Candidate Prosecuted
Published
2 days agoon
May 8, 2024By
EditorThe All Progressives Congress candidate in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, is at risk of being sentenced to six- months imprisonment in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria Act of 2007 as a coalition of civil society organisations under the aegis of the Network of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria accused him of abusing the Nigerian currency, the naira.
The group lodged the complaint with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against Okpebholo in a petition dated May 2, 2024, and addressed to the chairman of the EFCC.
The petition was signed by the group’s National Coordinator, Victor Kalu, and National Secretary, Ali Abacha.
The coalition claimed the senator is guilty of the offence of naira abuse and mutilation, citing the CBN Act of 2007, which declares such actions as punishable offences.
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The coalition said it is “disappointment that prominent individuals, including lawmakers, have violated this provision of the CBN Act.”
Meanwhile, they commended the EFCC for its “swift response in arresting and charging individuals who have been caught on viral videos abusing and defacing the Naira at social events such as the cases of Mr Okuneye Idris Olarewaju, popularly known as Bobrisky, and Mr Pascal Okechukwu, also known as Cubana Chief Priest, who have faced legal consequences for their actions.”
While praising the EFCC for its actions, the coalition demanded that all individuals captured in viral videos abusing the Naira should be promptly arrested and brought to justice, as no one is above the law.
They called on the EFCC and other law enforcement agencies to investigate the “viral video involving Senator Monday Okpebholo, who is seen engaging in Naira abuse and mutilation.”
They added that Okpebholo should be held accountable for his actions as a representative of the people.
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They, however, warned that failure to address the viral video involving Okpebholo would result in the coalition taking further actions.
They threatened to mobilise their members, supporters, and democracy advocates for a peaceful protest against the EFCC, citing selective action and bias if the EFCC failed to address the viral video involving Okpebholo.
In his response, the senator refuted the allegation, saying it was false.
Okpebholo, in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, described the allegation as a hatchet job targeted at smearing his image ahead of the September governorship election.
He blamed his detractors and the opposition camp as being the brain behind the campaign of calumny.
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While stressing that he has never been arrested by the police for any civil or criminal offence, the lawmaker insisted the man in the video circulating on social media was not him.
He said, “As a private and public person, I have never sprayed or mutilated the naira in my over 50 years on earth. It baffles me why these agents will fabricate fake news to tarnish my image ahead of the election. I therefore called on the IGP to investigate the faces behind the petition and prosecute them accordingly.
“They are scouting for fake news and non-existent things to blackmail me and lie to Edo people. Unfortunately, we know what they are up to. They are smelling the defeat already. Edo people have already decided, and no amount of State-sponsored intimidation will work.
“In Edo State, President Bola Tinubu-led APC administration is working. The federal government is reconstructing federal roads in Edo Central, Edo North, and Edo South. That is why Edo people must take sides with the APC and vote for me as the next governor of Edo State.
“We will bring the Federal Government closer to the Edo people. We have been isolated for too long, and it is time to end that alienation.”
PUNCH
Headline
Mother Throws Disabled 6-year-old Son Into Crocodile Infested River [PHOTOS]
Published
3 days agoon
May 7, 2024By
EditorA mother has thrown her disabled six-year-old son into a crocodile-infested river where he has reportedly been mauled to death by reptiles.
Savitri Kumar, 26, from Uttara Kannada, a district in Karnataka, India, had a heated argument with the boy’s father, Ravi Kumar, 27, who repeatedly ordered her to “throw the child away,” the Times of India reports.
Police say her husband allegedly questioned her decision to give birth to a child with a disability.
When the parents fought about their son again on Saturday evening, May 4, Savitri was “distressed” and reportedly threw her son into a waste canal that flows into the Kali river, which is infested with crocodiles.
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Neighbours who witnessed this called the police, who deployed divers to search for the boy in the water, but to no avail, as it was dark.
They returned on Sunday morning, May 5, and found the child’s body, which showed bite marks all over.
The boy suffered severe injuries and was missing a hand, which a police officer suggested indicated that the boy was mauled to death by one or more crocodiles.
A post mortem has been ordered to determine the six-year-old’s cause of death.
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The couple also has another son aged two and is said to frequently fight about their older son’s speech impediment.
Officers have launched an investigation into the incident.
A police officer told local media that it was a “murder” case and that both the husband and wife have been arrested.
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