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Former Nigerian Petroleum Minister Shettima Ali Monguno was abducted by gunmen outside a mosque in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, a military official said. Monguno, 87, was petroleum minister when Africa’s biggest oil producer joined OPEC in 1972 and conference president at three meetings in Lagos and Vienna, according to the organization’s website. “We are aware on the incident,” Sagir Musa, a spokesman for the military Joint Task Force in charge of the security in the state, said today by phone from Maiduguri, without giving further details. Boko Haram Islamists active in the city are increasingly relying on kidnapping-for-ransom to fund their violent campaign for Islamic rule, Musa said on April 28. The group group has carried out bomb and gun attacks in which hundreds of people have died in the country’s north and capital, Abuja. Monguno had in the past urged President Goodluck Jonathan to engage Boko Haram in talks and consider giving them amnesty to end the

Vessel dates back to Achaemenid Empire in 4th or 5th century BC Had been owned by British family since 1950s until they decided to sell it Sale shocked auctioneers who expected bowl to go for £30,000-50,000 A 2,500-year-old glass bowl from the ancient Persian Empire has been sold for nearly £2,500 at auction. The extraordinary antique has survived upheavals including the wars of Alexander the Great, the arrival of Islam and a string of colonial conflicts. Amazingly, it has remained intact and apparently in near-mint condition ever since it was made in the 4th or 5th century BC. Sold: This ancient Persian bowl went up for auction in London this week and fetched nearly £500,000 The 8in-wide green bowl had been a treasured keepsake for a British family which acquired it in the 1950s. When they decided to sell the beautiful object, auctioneers Bonhams expected it to fetch between £30,000 and £50,000. But at the auction of antiquities in London yesterday, the bowl was sold to an unnam

EME’s star boy Wizkid, is back in full swing with a monster track titled Jaiye Jaiye featuring Africa’s most celebrated icon, Femi Anikolapo Kuti. The multi award winning Grammy nominee, Femi Kuti, gives the track a new school high-life mix as he puts his superb saxophone skills to its full capacity. The track, Jaiye Jaiye produced by Sarz, shows Wizkid talking about his increasingly successful music career. Apart from this historic collaboration, Wizkid has worked with some of the biggest names in the local and international music industry including Akon, The Game, Kardinal Official, Wale, Young Jeezy, M.I, Ice Prince among others. Listen to Wizkid’s Jaiye Jaiye here

THERE was mayhem in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Thursday, as a former governor of Oyo State and national leader of the Accord Party, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, narrowly escaped being lynched by thugs suspected to be from the state chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Ladoja, who just returned from London where he met with Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, also a former governor of the state, was attacked by thugs at Olomi area of the state, close to the state headquarters of the NURTW, where he went to welcome defectors from the ACN and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into the Accord Party in Oluyole Local Government Area of the state.

Chris Kelly died at the age of 34 on May 1, 2013 The case is not yet closed for the late Chris Kelly . On Thursday, May 2 -- one day after the Kris Kross 90s rapper died at age 34 -- an autopsy was completed, but the official cause of death is still pending toxicology results, E! News reports . The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office has determined that there was no indication of foul play in the 34-year-old rapper's untimely death, but officials are still trying to determine whether it was a drug overdose that ultimately killed Kelly.

  Chelsea's Frank Lampard celebrates after winning against FC Basel in their Europa League semi-final second leg soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London May 2, 2013. (Reuters) - Chelsea's rollercoaster of a season could yet end with another night of European glory after they knocked FC Basel out of the semi-finals on Thursday to set up a Europa League final against Benfica. Goals from Fernando Torres, Victor Moses and David Luiz in a nine-minute spell early in the second half gave Chelsea a 3-1 second-leg win over the Swiss champions at Stamford Bridge for a 5-2 aggregate success.