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Boko Haram’s brutal Islamist insurgency has stalled Nigeria’s development, inflamed ethnic tensions and raised concern among its neighbours, a senior US diplomat said Thursday before bilateral security talks. Wendy Sherman, US under-secretary of state for political affairs, said the United States was ready to help Nigeria “develop a multi-faceted strategy” to contain the violence, but warned that a military crackdown alone would not work. The Boko Haram conflict has “increased tensions between various ethnic communities, interrupted development activities, frightened off investors and generated concerns among Nigeria’s northern neighbours,” Sherman said. The extremist group has said it is fighting to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria and has carried out waves of attacks across the region. Some of the violence has occurred along the northern borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger amid fears that Boko Haram fighters could spill into neighbouring states. The Islamist...

THE Abia state police Command said that it is working hard to find out who beheaded a 17 year old girl in her parents’ farm in Ukome community Umuahia North Council Ares of Abia state The girl, Chioma Emeka Ikwuagwu, was until her brutal killing an SSS 3 student of Holy Rosary College in Umuahia and hailed from Ameke Ibuku in Umuahia North Council Area. She was killed on the 26th of July in her father’s farm in Ukome a neigbouring community and her head severed off but was not taken away. Also, police sources said that no part of Chioma’s body was removed thereby ruling out any link to ritual killing. Following her brutal killing, Ameke community was said to have issued an ultimatum to their Ukome neighbours, urging to say what happened to their daughter or face their wrath. The ultimatum has since expired. According to sources, Chioma, the first amongst five children, two boys and four girls, was until her tragic death lived in Ukome with her father’s relations. According ...

The heavily rumoured Apple iPhone 5C is set to be released in a range of different colours with a new video showing a yellow rear shell that will reportedly adorn the back of the device. Sonny Dickson’s new high-quality video shows a yellow rear shell that purportedly comes from an iPhone 5C that is to be unveiled at an Apple media event next month. The video compares the device to other iPhone models that have been released over the years and shows it has rounded corners and is similar in dimensions to the iPhone 5. The back is made from plastic and this reflects the fact that it will be a cheaper version of the aluminium-backed iPhone 5. Dickson has released other picture sets in recent weeks that have seen various colour-ways that will also be available and reflect the fact the C stands for “Colour”. The earlier pictures suggest that green, white, red and blue devices will sit alongside the yellow one shown in the latest video. It’s widely expected that the new device w...

The olinguito was mistaken for its larger close cousin for more than a century (Pic: Mark Gurney, Smithsonian Institution website) The woolly-furred olinguito is related to raccoons and coatis and lives in the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador (Pic: Mark Gurney, Smithsonian Institution website) A creature that looks like a cross between a house cat and a teddy bear has been named as a new species after being wrongly identified for 100 years. The woolly-furred olinguito, which weighs 0.9kg (2lb), is related to raccoons and coatis and lives in the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador. For more than a century it was mistaken for its larger close cousin, the olingo. But an examination of the skull, teeth and skin of museum specimens has now confirmed that it is a different species - the first New World carnivore to be identified in 35 years. US scientists from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC reported on the discovery. Compared with the olingo, its teeth and skul...

Boko Haram members | credits: File copy A key member of the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, Momogu Bama,  has been killed by  the Joint Task Force in Borno State. He met his death the same day with his  father,   Alhaji Abatcha Flatari, described as one of the spiritual leaders of the sect  in an operation  between the sect members and the JTF operatives in Bama. Momogu,  the second-in-command to the sect’s leader, Abubakar Shekau,  had a  N25m  bounty put on his head by security agencies for information that could lead to his arrest. The Director of Defence Information, Brig.- Gen Chris Olukolade, who confirmed his killing, described him as a vicious Boko Haram leader who took delight in personally slaughtering  the sect’s victims. He added that  Momogu  was the expert  in charge of  mounting  anti-aircraft weapons for  the sect and coordinating  members  in Yobe and A...

Salaudeen Tempers ran high at the Ebute Meta Magistrate’s Court on Wednesay as a 37-year-old developer, Ishola Salaudeen, was arraigned for allegedly duping 106 people of millions of naira. An angry mob assaulted a friend of the defendant shortly after the matter was adjourned. They claimed he was part of their travails. He was, however, rescued by security guards. Salaudeen, who was arraigned on 211 counts of receiving money under false pretences and stealing, was said to have collected sums ranging from N180,000 to N1m for a property from the complainants, many of whom paid into his bank account. The incident was said to have occurred in April 2013 at Oriola Street in the Ketu area of Lagos. It was said that the expectant tenants later converged on the said house on the instruction of Saludeen, waiting to take possession of their apartments. They were shocked to discover that the rooms had been taken by some other people. It took over an hour before the two registrars c...

The protesters. Hundreds of women on Wednesday stormed the streets of Abeokuta, Ogun State, to protest against the recent Senate resolution on child marriage. The protesting women carried placards bearing various inscriptions such as ‘Give us education, not marriage,’ ‘Child marriage is barbaric,’ ‘Woe to husbands of underage,’ and ‘Ogun children reject child marriage.’ The women protesters carried out their action under the aegis of the Concerned Women Forum, which is made up of women groups, market women and men, religious groups, as well as civil society groups. Addressing newsmen during the protest at the Iwe Iroyin House, Oke Ilewo, Abeokuta, secretariat of the Ogun State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, the Iyalode of Egbaland, Chief Alaba Lawson, condemned the passing of the resolution on early marriage by the lawmakers. Lawson wondered why the lawmakers should make such an issue their focus when there were other more important matters that required their...

The Nigerian Medical Association, Rivers State chapter, said on Wednesday that it arrested 12 suspected quack medical doctors and shut down four illegal hospitals in the state. Chairman of the state NMA, Dr. Ibitrokoemi Krukrubo in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Port Harcourt, said the suspects had been handed over to the police. Krukrubo said the suspects were not qualified to practice medicine and did not have the requisite skills and knowledge to treat patients. He said the arrest was part of its drive to rid the state of quack doctors so as to restore sanity and regain the public confidence in the medical profession in the state. He said, “We have shut down about four clinics and we are still investigating others. There’s a way we operate; we get the information and the investigation can sometimes take up to two months. “When we have the facts; we work with the (state) ministry of health and the Police and then shut down the hospitals. `The public needs...

The starting point will be to engage Nigerians in a continuous debate about your manifesto. They want to see the APC’s road map for the future. They are waiting to be convinced. Dear Sirs, I hope this letter meets you in a good, patriotic spirit. Let me first use this opportunity to join other Nigerians in congratulating the opposition on the registration of the long-awaited alternative party, the All Progressives Congress. Its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission was a significant moment for Nigerians. It, hopefully, signals a new dawn considering that for once, a truly national opposition platform which has been elusive in the Fourth Republic, appears to have emerged to challenge the ruling party in 2015 and beyond. In many ways too, the merger of the once disparate opposition parties under a unifying bloc represents a milestone in the quest for the enthronement of genuine democracy. That the union has come at a time when this democracy is under imminen...

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The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Wednesday faulted the statement credited to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, that the union demanded for N92bn, describing the claim as false. ASUU said it never demanded such amount as earned allowances in the 2009 agreement it reached with the Federal Government. Okonjo-Iweala had on Wednesday in Minna, said the Federal Government couldn’t meet the N92bn allowances as demanded by ASUU. The university lecturers, in a statement by the University of Ibadan branch chairman, Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye, described the amount mentioned by the minister as “a the imagination of the minister.” Ajiboye explained that the earned allowances, the union and the governemnt calculated in the 2009 agreement, amounted to N87b, which covered allowances for three and half years for the lecturers in the nation’s universities. He said, the N87bn was a compromise made by ASUU to scale down from N127bn. He added that the N87bn was computed ...

Body enhancement? Yay! Boob jobs? Double yay! As the wind of modernization blows through  Nigeria , lots of new things come in with it, and constantly, the existent norms, rules of engagement, and pop culture gradually wither. Some are redefined to suit the times, while others slowly go out the window of advancement, or flushed down the toilet of obsolesce. Fashion is a huge facet of our existence where these transformations are clearly felt. Our styles, collective and individual, have all taken a tweak or two, to fit in with the trend in vogue. And as the fluxes of new ideas come in, people become bolder, seeking a ‘fix’ or two, previously beyond their scope. Step up,  Body enhancements ! Nigeria never has completely taken on the concept of cosmetic surgeries. In some quarters it’s seen as diabolical. But slowly more and more people move their stands, choosing to accept the flow. In the video below,  Battabox , and their endearing presenter work the street...

What happens when famously tall person Shaquille O'Neal and admittedly short person Kevin Hart get together and try to have a conversation? Pure magic, that's what. The 7-foot 1-inch tall basketball legend and the 5-foot 4-inches tall actor attended the 13th Annual Harold and Carole Pump Foundation Gala Honoring Jamie Foxx at The Beverly Hilton Hotel last week and posed for an adorable/hilarious (cross one out) photo showcasing, quite proudly, their differences. LOOK:

Back in 2012,  Adriana Lima ,  Alessandra Ambrosio  and Lily Aldridge all proved that it's possible to walk the runway in lingerie  mere months after giving birth  during the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. But what about models foregoing the wait and walking the baby bump itself down the catwalk in nothing but skivvies? Now that's  something we don't see as often. You! Lingerie , a maternity and nursing underwear line, put pregnant models front and center during its Spring/Summer 2014 show at this month's Lingerie Fashion Week. Designer Uyo Okebie-­Eichelberger put the expectant ladies in some pretty sexy underthings, complete with delicate lace detailing, thigh high stockings and stilettos. We couldn't be happier to see a lingerie brand showcase what "real" moms-to-be look like. The media's obsession with post-baby bodies, whether it's Kim Kardashian's or Kate Middleton's, seems to have taken over public discourse...

Lady Gaga has been sporting a new look these days, ditching her shiny costumes and platinum blond wigs for grungy ensembles and her natural brunette locks. And on the cover of the September issue of V Magazine , Mother Monster proves that she's willing to head back to her roots in order to create a different vibe. The 27-year-old singer, who just released her new single "Applause," poses nude in the magazine, sporting wet hair, a cropped sequined jacket and jeans on the cover. "That look was very hard for me because that is how I looked when I was 19 until I was 21 years old … Maybe longer," Gaga tells V, discussing her dark hair and minimal makeup. "I got my hair cut like that when I was 18 and all these really painful things happened during this time." Gaga admits that she would have never been where she is today  without her tumultuous past, which included putting herself in risky situations. "I have an ability to experience pain f...

"Bachelor" contestant and model Gia Allemand died Wednesday, according to E! News. The 29-year-old, who appeared on Season 14 of the ABC dating show, was hospitalized in critical condition in New Orleans Monday following "a serious emergency medical event." Details of the medical event were not released, but it was later revealed that Allemand was placed on life support, E! reported. TMZ confirmed the news of Allemand's death with a family member. People magazine confirmed via a hospital source. Her family and her NBA star boyfriend, New Orleans Pelicans player Ryan Anderson, were by her side when she was admitted to University Hospital. A representative for Allemand and a media contact for ABC's "The Bachelor" could not be immediately reached for comment. After the news of her death surfaced, Season 14 bachelor Jake Pavelka and Season 14 winner Vienna Girardi both tweeted their condolences. Ali Fedotowsky, who competed on the season ...

Lagos state governor Babatunde Fashola has given Orji Kalu 14 days grace to pay up his land use charge, after the business man claimed that his Ikoyi home has been sealed off following a threat to sue the Lagos state government over an unrelated matter. The Lagos state government was alerted on the misleading claim by Kalu in quick action stated that Kalu’s property in Park View Estate, Ikoyi was seized pursuant to Section 40 of the Revenue Administration Law of Lagos State for failure to pay the statutory annual land use charge despite three separate notices delivered to the said property. In a statement released by the Aderemi Ibirogba, the Hon. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, state government expects that all residents of the Lagos are expected to follow the law and process and one of it is to discharge such responsibilities to the state, but on the part of Kalu, he has failed to do that. Governor was alerted by the agency after sealing off Kalu’s Ikoyi home on Tu...

The Islamic Terrorist group, Boko Haram has suffered a major loss as Momodu Bama, who is said to be the second in-command to the group’s leader Abubakar Shekau, was killed in a faceoff while the troops were in pursuit of the terrorists who have been unleashing mayhem in Borno and Yobe communities. According to a press statement signed by the Director Defence Information Brigadier General Chris Olukolade,other terrorists arrested by the troops in an encounter that took place around the Bama corridor confirmed that it was indeed the second in-command to the Boko Haram leader. Momodu Bama has been personally leading the attacks against troops and innocent citizens in the communities of Yobe and Adamawa. Bama known to be a specialist in manning the anti-aircraft guns of the group was a vicious and heartless fellow, with a penchant for personally slaughtering and executing his victims.  Momodu Bama has been a most wanted terrorist with a bounty of N25million already placed on hi...

There appears to be no end in sight for the on-going strike embarked upon by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities as the Federal Government has declared that it does not have the resources to meet the financial demands of the University lecturers. The Minister of Finance, Dr. Okonjo Iweala indicated this in her speech at the opening of a two-day meeting of Commissioners of Finance and Accountants Generals of states ministries of Finance in Minna. She noted that the N92 billion being demanded by the University lecturers is not within the reach of the Federal Government. ‘At present, ASUU wants the federal government to pay N92bn in extra allowances, when resources are not there and when we are working to integrate past increases in pensions. We need to make choices in this country as we are getting to the stage where recurrent expenditures take the bulk of our resources and people get paid but can do no work’. She stated that if the demands of the university lectu...

Nigeria strengthened their credentials as the best team on the African continent when they defeated South Africa 2-0 in the Nelson Mandela Challenge at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. Substitute Uche Nwafor netted a brace as the Super eagles proved to be more clinical in front of goal, while Bafana were unable to convert their chances. The visitors unlocked the Bafana Bafana defence in the 11th minute with a long ball that almost fell for Nnamdi Oduamadi, but Itumeleng Khune came out of his line to make a brave interception before gathering the ball. Three minutes later it was the hosts who threatened with long range efforts at the other end but Reneilwe Letsholonyane saw his shot blocked on the edge of the box before Tshepo Masilela fired wide moments later. Gordon Igesund’s side had a much better chance to take the lead in the 24th minute when Bernard Parker broke through on the right before delivering a low ball across the goalmouth, but Siphiwe Tshabalala arrived late at the f...