Abuja: Suspected Islamic Boko Haram militants have killed 15 Christians by slitting their throats in a village in Nigeria's restive northeast, a relief official said on Sunday. 

Earlier, Lt Col Sagir Musa, a spokesman of the military Joint Task Force deployed by the government to fight terrorism in the area, had given the number of those killed as five. 

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Victor Babayemi, in a statement on Friday, said the suspect, Ayodele Jinadu, was arrested for alleged attempt to decapitate his victim who he had lured to a hotel.

The PPRO said the victim who had machete cuts all over her body was rescued and taken to the hospital where she was treated.

Jinadu said the suspect confessed to the police that he was sent by a man who needed the head for ritual purposes.

The statement read in part, “Operatives of the Ekiti command arrested Jinadu, 30, who lives No. 8, Eleguru Street, Ado-Ekiti, for attempting to take Kacha’s life. The suspect was arrested on December 19 at Sharp Corner Hotel, Ado-Ekiti, where he inflicted severe machete cuts on the victim.

“During interrogation, he confessed that he was sent by a man at Ikere to bring a human head for rituals. His confession led to the arrest of his accomplices, Seun Ariyo, 28, and Tope Bebere, 35, both of Ikere-Ekiti.

“A blood-stained machete and charms were recovered from the scene. The victim was taken to the hospital and she is responding to treatment. The suspects will be charged to court as soon as investigation is completed.”

The police was silent on how she escaped.

Meanwhile, the police in the state have also arrested one Tope Olowoyo, who is alleged to be notorious for stealing buses.

According to Jinadu, the suspect was seen driving a Mazda bus with registration number, XB 624 YRE, in a dangerous manner and was accosted by policemen on patrol.

Olowoyo allegedly confessed that he stole the bus from Agodi Gate area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The PPRO said, “Investigation showed that the suspect is a smart crook who specialises in stealing buses from the parking lot. He led detectives to Zuba, Abuja to recover a Toyota bus with registration number, LG 35 ANG, stolen from Ikere on November 30. Also, detectives recovered from Ilesha, a Nissan bus registration number, XK 790 LSD, stolen from Agbado, Lagos.”

Some weeks back when Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor was reacting to comments that trailed his private jet birthday gift, he pointed out that his ministry has been giving back to the society in many ways, just that Nigerians may not know how much they do because it’s never really publicised. Probably to douse the doubts of those who didn’t believe him, Pastor Oritsejafor’s Word of Life Bible Church in collaboration with its subsidiary, Eagle Flight Micro-Finance Bank has given out cars, tricycles, and grinding machines to the poor.

The event marked the 7th anniversary of a yearly poverty alleviation programme of Eagle Flight Micro-Finance Bank, solely owned by Word of Life Bible Church, founded by current National President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, and it comes up every 26th of December.

In all, six brand new Hyundai cars, 15 tricycles, 100 grinding machines, 3.8 KVA power generating plant, Omega gas cookers, three deep freezers, a set of crystal glass dinning set, 32 LG LCD Tv set, washing machines and 200 bags of rice as consolation prices, amongst other items were given to the needy through raffle draw.

Among those in the crowd who had come with expectation, and who was not disappoin-ted at the occasion was Mrs. Osatemu Tejiri Jennifer. Through the draw, she became the first car owner to the bewilderment of her husband, Mr. Osatemu. The 31-year old mother of one was short of words when she found her way to the stage as she placed her two hands on her chest, unable to speak for several moments over fate that had befallen her.

When she finally found her voice, Osatemu, a teacher in a private primary school in Okwagbe, one of the riverine communities around Warri, was full of appreciation to Pastor Oritsejafor in particular and by extension God, for the car gift which she disclosed, would be deployed into commercial venture to generate income for her family.

Emmanuel Tijere, 46, was until recently had fed his family with proceeds from ridding okada in Effurun, until November 1, when the Delta State government outlawed the ubiquitous motorcycle in Asaba, Warri and Effurun area of the state. After the ban he had no visible means of keeping his family until a friend told him of the poverty alleviation programme of Word of Life.

He promptly applied and won a tricycle for which he was very grateful to the first couple of Word of Life Bible Church. The member of Deeper Christrian Life Bible Church, Effurun District, said: “I thank Papa Ayo and Mama Helen for the generosity. I thank God for the using Pastor Ayo to bless the people of this area.

I never thought that things like this can be true. I thought that if it is true it is only for members of Word of Life Bible Church. But what I have seen today, I can boldly say that what they are doing here is real and not one of those boju boju thing that people do these days.”

Speaking at the event held at the instance of the Eagle Flight Micro-Finance Bank, National President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, said the gifts were his own way of giving back to the society, especially the less privileged; noting that the essence of wealth was all about sharing with the needy. He appealed to governments at all levels in the country as well as corporate organisations to be more proactive in coming up with similar empowerment programmes that could help cut down the poverty rate in the country.

He said the level of poverty in the country prompted his intervention and tasked churches to start looking towards such direction. While stressing that the responsibility of government at all levels was to cater for the welfare and security of the citizenry, he regretted that some companies operating in the country and in particular, were making money without giving back to their host communities.

“Why is it that wealthy Nigerians and corporate organisations cannot do much more than what the church is doing in terms of bringing succour to the people? Is it the church that people should really be concerned about? There are institutions, corporate bodies, industrial establishments that are entrenched in different communities and are making millions of naira. You want to look at how much some of these companies are putting back into the communities; it would be ridiculous how meager it is”, he lamented.

“I will personally use this opportunity to challenge corporate organisations, micro-finance and commercial banks and all different kinds of organisations to look again at this very important issue. If we have done this little and another does the same thing, when you add all of them together, you will be surprised how many Nigerians will be out of the poverty level”, he noted.

According to reports, a 20-year-old man from the North African country of Tunisia died after eating 28 raw eggs. Dhaou Fatnassi was rushed to the hospital after going on the eating spree with a group of friends. The young man consumed the large quantity of eggs after taking on a playful bet with his pals

“Doctors were called in after the young man felt strong stomach pains, but he died before medical assistance could reach him,” Tunisia’s Shems FM radio station said in a report on Wednesday.

After realizing that something was seriously wrong with their friend, the group called an ambulance to the scene.

IBN Live explains that, while it’s likely the man died due to eating so many raw eggs, an official cause of death has not been determined. An investigation into his passing is presently underway.

Such bets are not unusual among young people who are always eager to push their bodies to the limit.

THE 10-man kidnap gang, which abducted Prof Kamene Okonjo, mother of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been torn apart as a result of sharing the ransom collected for the release of the Queen of Ogwashi-Uku kingdom in Delta State.

The new leader of the gang reportedly bolted away with N1million share of another member of the gang.

The affected member, 32 –year-old Andrew, aka Olokpa, from Edo state, who was desperately in need of  money, decided to go on a reprisal mission by forming a new kidnap gang and was caught by the police.

He is presently on detention at the Delta State Police Command headquarters in Asaba.

He was seized on Thursday when police, acting on intelligence information, lured him to sell one of the guns in his possession, which was used in the kidnap of the queen mother of Ogwashi-Uku kingdom.

His arrest was confirmed to Saturday Vanguard, yesterday, in Asaba by the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba.

Hired for the operation

The suspected kidnapper, who spoke to Saturday Vanguard from the police cell, yesterday, however, asserted he was not among the main 10-man kidnap gang that abducted Prof Okonjo.

He stated that he was merely hired to supply food to Prof Okonjo in the bush, where she was kept on two occasions.

Commissioner Aduba, who maintained that that the police was not in support of payment of ransom to kidnappers and was not told by the family of  Okonjo that they paid ransom to kidnappers, told Saturday Vanguard that nemesis would catch up with the remaining kidnappers, as the police have a database on them.

He confirmed our information  that the second-in-command of the gang, who took over from the former leader and kidnap kingpin, Nwaeze Nwosa, a.k.a Bolaji, after he was shot dead by the police, Thursday, December 13, bolted away with N1 million share of the ransom kept for another member, Olokpa.

The gang members seriously disagreed on the action of the new leader and advised him to return Olokpa’s money to him, as he was the one in who took care of Prof Okonjo in their hideout.

The kidnap leader refused and Olokpa, who was in possession of the arms and ammunition used for the operation was in desperate money for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

He reportedly formed another kidnap gang, which went for an operation in Aboh in Ndokwa area of the state.

The gang successfully kidnapped the victim but was confronted on the way out by the vigilance group in the area, which riddled its vehicle with bullets.

The governor has been rushed to the emergency ward of a government hospital. His driver and police orderly were said to have died at the scene of the accident.

Rev. Chris Okotie, Founder of the Household of God Church and presidential candidate of the recently deregistered Fresh Democratic Party, invited Hazeez Balogun to his Lagos home for an interview recently and spoke on issues including politics, church and his marriages.

How would you react to INEC’s recent deregistration of your party, FRESH?
First, we believe that this is a conspiracy between the ruling party and the INEC. It is unconstitutional and repugnant to the spirit of the constitution and it is an attempt by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to erase the voice of the opposition. It is also a ploy for the ruling party to perpetuate itself in power for as long as it can. We believe that the right thing to do is to go to court and expect the judiciary as the last bastion of our political and democratic experiment to remedy the situation and erase the aberration from our political landscape.

Will you join another party if at the end the party stands deregistered?
It is too early to say anything on that. What INEC has done is a frustration of the whole democratic process. If it is not arrested it is the beginning of what I call a medieval autocracy. This is how Hitler began. We need to, by any means possible, stop this move by INEC. I am very confident that what INEC has done will be reversed by the judiciary. That is why I said it is too early to talk about that now.

Before last year’s elections you asked Nigerians to vote President Goodluck Jonathan out of power, do you have a different view of him now?With all due respect, I speak within the context of conventional propriety. He, as a Nigerian, has been given a great opportunity even though many of us say it is a great mistake and I still believe that. Look at the country; we are neither here nor there. It is the same story of corruption and stagnation. I still believe that Jonathan is a great mistake. I know that the elections were tampered with. He is the President today and I know that history will judge him based on what he does and what he does not do. I believe that, so far, he has done nothing beyond our expectations.

You and Tunde Bakare have a lot in common as men of the cloth who believe in Nigeria and also seek political positions. Do you think he is a man you can work with politically and should more religious leaders take part in politics?
I think Pastor Tunde Bakare has made a commitment to this country by all what he has done and I will be willing to work with him or anyone who has displayed same patriotic spirit. I may not agree with his political party and what they represent but, as an individual, he has demonstrated his own commitment to Nigeria. The Bible says that righteousness exalts a nation and sin is a reproach to a people. If Nigeria is going to change, there must be a paradigm shift; there must be a generational change. When I talk about generation, I am not talking about biological age bracket, but philosophy. The word generation comes from the word genes, and the capacity of an individual is contained within his genes. The genes that the PDP exhibits today have a pathological dysfunction within its protoplasm and therefore cannot take Nigeria beyond where it is today; we are just going through a vicious circle. I represent that generation that is waiting to take Nigeria to the next level and that is why we are not joining the PDP. The future does not belong to PDP and that is why people like me must wait for our time. A revolution is in the offing.

You went into music after obtaining a law degree
Actually, I was still studying law while I was into music. Before I finished schooling I had left music.

With a law degree in view, why did you go into music especially in those days when musicians were not really learned? 
It was the music culture at the time. It exhibited a certain level of violence and irresponsibility. It created an atmosphere that did not go down well with parents and some music lovers. That changed when I was on the scene because people saw someone who was aspiring to be a lawyer and could sing very well. That was why my song was more acceptable. People listened more, not just to the music but also to what I had to say. When I began to speak and was able to articulate my thoughts, people were like this is new.

Was music financially rewarding?
It was good. We did not have the economic problems we have today. In fact, at that time, I was the highest paid musician in my genre. The whole country then was more united. You are accepted whether you come from the East, North or West as long as you are good. Music had a unifying power. Today, it is different because we do not have big companies that represent artistes. All we have are label owners. No company has branches across the country anymore. They really survive more now on endorsements.

When did you get the call to become a pastor?
Jesus appeared to me when I was three years old. My father then was a teacher in Uyo. I was a little boy then and really did not understand what it meant but I would tell everyone that I was a child of God. I had to accept Jesus completely when I was at the age of accountability. I did that when I was on campus in 1983. Then I did not know that I was going to be a minister. It was when I was in law school one morning when God spoke to me about going abroad. That was when I went to Oklahoma to study pastoring.

When people say that God speaks to them, is it that they hear his voice or He appears to them?
The first thing you have to ask yourself is that do you believe that God exists. Do you believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and you believe that they are persons? If they are persons then they can speak. He created the whole world when He spoke. It depends on what He wants to communicate. Sometimes He speaks to you through scriptures; sometimes through healings and prophesies; sometimes He speaks to you Himself and sometimes He sends an angel to speak with you like He sent to Mary.

After a life as a musician before going to study to be a pastor, how was it like when you began your ministry?
First, I was worried that I would not be taken seriously after my antecedent as a musician. I thought people would not consider what I was doing as a serious spiritual endeavour, but I was wrong. When I started ministering and I extrapolated from the scripture people started listening. We started very small. In fact, we started from my sitting room as a gathering point. Little by little we started to grow. That is how the work of God is. Like a seed we started to germinate and grow and today He has prospered the work.

It must have been challenging
Yes, there were organisational structures. I discovered that there are so many practices within the body of Christ that was unscriptural. I spoke up and said this is not the biblical position. It became very controversial. People thought that I was being overzealous. Some thought that I was presumptuous, but eventually they went back to the scriptures and found out that I was right.

Churches are becoming big businesses today and many pastors are living large while their followers are languishing in poverty. Some even fly private jets...
Let me put it this way, every minister of God is entitled to what God provides. It is not the congregation that provides; it is God. God can use the congregation or whoever. So, if the Lord makes provisions for that (private jet) then such a person has no reason to decline. I do not know what is going on in any ministry, but I will say that anything that we own must be scripturally based. Prosperity is a part of the gospel and not the entire gospel. It is a means to an end and not an end by itself. Your congregation is your first priority. When you walk into our auditorium, you will see that I care about my congregation. The facilities we have there you will not find anywhere else. Go to our children’s church or our nursery, you will see the facilities there are first-class. You would think the children there are those of multi-millionaires. You have to take care of the congregation first and foremost before anything else. When we first began, I did not have what I have today. Before I became prosperous, God had to test me to see if I will take care of my congregation. That is why you will see that we had air conditioning in the children’s department even when we just began. We also made sure that the church had property. We have landed properties and things like that. We believe in ‘seek ye first the kingdom of God and every other thing will be added unto you’. That is what I can say about my own ministry. We also cater for the poor.

If provided, would you own a private jet?
If it is necessary, why would I not? Right now, I do not need a private jet. I do not do the kind of job that requires a private jet. I do not have branches all around the country where I have to fly back and forth. I do not need it. It is not just about having a private jet; it is also very difficult to maintain. So, if a minister has the resources to do it, that is between him and God who provided it for him. It is really not my business. The most important thing is are you feeding the flock? Are you there as a pastor to teach? Does the spirit of God trust you to take care of the flock? These are the questions I ask myself even before I buy a car. Something must be clearly understood; prosperity is of God. It is not God’s desire that we are poor. Jesus became poor so that we can be rich.

Do you agree that some church leaders are getting rich at the expense of their followers?
I do not know. You need to supply me with empirical information to prove that. What I know is that there are many people who pose as Christians whereas they are not. I have challenged some of them in the past. They call themselves pastors and prophets. They do not belong to the flock of God. These are the ones we should be worried about because they are not Christians. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They claim to be children of the almighty God; you know those ones because I have dealt with them in the past. These are the ones who are involved in money laundering and behaviour that the church is being criticised for. It is not everybody who says I am a pastor that is a true pastor.

Large churches tend to own schools and universities; are we to see Household of God University soon?
It is possible. It depends on how the spirit directs. The church is the work of God; it is the vineyard of the almighty God. He determines what to do. Should Churches own universities? I say yes of course. It is part of the teachings. We must prepare this generation spirit, soul and body. If you remember in the past, churches owned schools. It is a step in the right direction. The moral rearmament of those times was stronger than what it is today. I will encourage churches to start schools and universities.

Are we to witness your third marriage?
I do not want to talk about that at this time. Spiritual matters cannot be understood by carnal minds. There are mysteries involved in the workings of a spiritual person. It is hard to be understood by minds that have not been elevated to such lofty heights. When we get to that bridge we will cross it.

Will it not be difficult for married couples in your church to approach you for counselling on marriage issues?
No. Those who spoke more about marriage issues in the Bible were not married. The revelation concerning marriage was given to us by Saint Paul who was a single man. Even Jesus spoke about marriage and he was not married. It is not the experience that teaches you what marriage is; it is the word of God. As long as you present the revelation of the word to your congregation and they apply it, then they will succeed. With the covenant that God has with man, God is stable; it is man who is not. If you notice, God brought Adam and Eve together in the Garden of Eden; they failed God, and God did not fail them. So, when people come together, they fail each other. If they do not subscribe to the word of God that marriage will not succeed. So, if there is an adherence to the word of God, the marriage will succeed. When you see that a marriage does not succeed, you should know that there must be a departure from the word of God.

You are a man of style; your hair and your suits always stand out. 
Being a recording artiste sharpened my taste. I am more fashion conscious. I do not want to call myself a fashionista because that may sound cliché. I have good taste. The suit I wore recently on Sunday came off the runway from Dolce and Gabana’s new collection. When you look at the Bible, God was very particular about the apparel of the priesthood. I like good clothes and maybe it has to do with my orientation. Fashion has a way of giving you confidence.

It is said that when going to Household of God Church, you go with your Bible and your dictionary. You surely have a passion for fancy words.It is called grandiloquence. Some people have said that I have elevated diction. Truly, I use that just to get attention. Coming from my background some people thought that I did not have the intellectual capacity to do the job of a minister where you convey deep spiritual truth to people. When I was in school, I just love that elevated diction. It became a part of my communication. I read a joke recently about Patrick Obahiagbon and I trading words. It was all made up, but was very funny. Each man has his own style. Communication is very personal and you choose how you want to communicate. When I am speaking with ‘the press I speak with the same level of grandiloquence. I am from Delta. Pidgin English is our lingua franca. When I am at home I speak our language.

You have also established the Karis award, how do you pick awardees and winners?
We have a department in the church called the Benevolence Department; it handles the selection. We have nominations from all over the country and we investigate who deserves it.

Will you be contesting in the presidential election in 2015?
That is if Nigeria survives till then. If you look at the trajectory of our development you will see that a nation moving on this part cannot survive. That is why the United States made a prediction that by 2015 or thereabout Nigeria would have become a failed state and disintegrate. That is because they see the part that we are toeing. The part that the PDP has mapped out can only lead to destruction. I believe people who say that there will be a revolution. If Nigeria is still here I will definitely contest. But I believe that there is going to be a new Nigeria. There is going to be a kind of revolution that will bring Nigeria to a place of awakening or renaissance of some sort.

When you say revolution, do you consider that in this part of the world, when there are uprisings, usually, the military takes over? What exactly do you picture as a revolution?I do not know the form that it will take, but what I know is that it is not possible for Nigeria to carry on this way. The present government can only take us to the edge of the precipice. God dismantles every form of oppression, and I know that He is watching over Nigeria and He is going to dismantle all these juggernauts that believe that they own this country. This elitist philosophy of the PDP with which they have repressed Nigerian people will come to an end. How it is going to happen I do not know, but I know that something is going to happen that will remove from our consciousness, the nightmare that we have suffered as a result of irresponsible governance.

A lot of things are wrong with the country, if you indeed become the president, what will you do to bring immediate changes?There is no difference between Nigeria and other African countries. The problem is PDP. If they go, things will change.

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said his administration is slow because it takes the time needed to properly think over policies and programmes so as to avoid making mistakes.

“By human thinking our administration is slow; I won’t say we are slow but we need to think through things properly if we are to make lasting impact,” Jonathan said during the Christmas Day service at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Life Camp, Abuja.

“If we rush we will make mistakes and sometimes it is more difficult to correct those mistakes,” he added.

This was not the first time that the President was admitting to the tardiness of his administration, though he previously gave a different reason for that.

In July, Jonathan said at the PDP national executive committee meeting that the Boko Haram insurgency was the cause of the slow pace of his administration. But earlier in January, the President told a New Year church service audience that he was “slow at taking decisions to avoid costly mistakes.”

Yesterday, Jonathan harped on the need to avoid making mistakes as the reason for the slow pace of his government.

But he added that his administration also reacts quickly where this is required, like in the flood disaster earlier in the year.

“I want to assure Nigerians that any step we take whether little or giant, we won’t go back. And where we need to act fast we will do so, that we demonstrated with the flood disaster because it required immediate response,” he said.

The President called on the clergy to play active role in reforming the people.

“The church has a great role to play if the transformation must succeed because you can’t transform without reformation and it is the role of the church to do so. I urge the church to come up with various programmes to talk about how we Nigerians can be reformed,” he said.

“People play politics with things that affect even their own lives. You wonder why a person that carries saw to go and cut down a conductor carrying cables that produce electricity, because you want a government to fail, this happened somewhere in Enugu. You begin to wonder if they are humans. That is why we need to reform if we must transform.”

He urged Nigerians to continue to have faith in his administration as it remains committed to the transformation agenda.

“We have laid solid foundation for power, agriculture and transport sectors and I can assure you we will not go back again,” he added.

In his sermon, Primate of all Nigeria/Bishop of Abuja Diocese, Most Rev Nicholas Okoh, urged the Federal Government to rid the country of various security challenges including Boko Haram insurgency, armed robbery, kidnapping and political intimidation.

He said those involved in armed robbery and kidnapping cannot blame unemployment for their crime but greed, as no employment can pay them N50 million or more per job done as they constantly make from crime.

“We cannot justify them (kidnappers) by looking at the issue of unemployment. A kidnapper is looking for big money and not a job. There is no place of employment that can pay you N50 million or more for one job done. There is something wrong with our psyche if kidnappers have settled for that as a source of livelihood,” he said.

He said because of Boko Haram insurgency, many Christians stay away from the church, adding: “We need to embrace peace in this country. We have of late been praying to have peace between man and man in our country. The Christian faith does not encourage tit for tat for the frequent killings because Christians are peace bearers. Irrespective of provocations, we must promote peace.”

Why didn’t you explain to her that you were not interested in the test?

I explained to her that my parents would be mad at me if they got to know that I did such a test without their consent but she brought out a cane and threatened to beat me mercilessly.

What happened afterwards?

Our principal marched me into her office and the school’s nurse asked me to put off my pants and laid me on the bed. She wore a glove, spread my thigh and dipped a finger into my private part. The school nurse then told the principal who was beside her that I was a virgin.

What did your principal do after the nurse said you are a virgin?

The principal said I “should not open my thigh” to any boy or man. She subsequently gave me two Ogun State customised exercise books.

Did you lose blood?

Yes, I lost blood. I didn’t notice it initially. It was the next person who saw me while dressing up that told me that my pants were stained with blood. But, I can’t say if it was the blood from my menstrual period because my menstrual period just ended or the blood was as a result of the virginity test.

Did your principal know you lost blood?

She didn’t because I left the place almost immediately and she was busy attending to other pupils.

How did your parents get to know about the incident?

I washed my blood-stained pants when I got home. I didn’t initially want to tell my mum but she noticed that I was keeping to myself. When she now queried to know what was wrong with me, I explained everything to her.

Did your principal warn you against telling your parents?

No, she didn’t. But I wouldn’t know what she might do to me if she got to know that I told my parents about it because she is strict and we all fear her. That was why I felt reluctant to tell my parents.

How have you been feeling since you underwent the test?

I have been doing fine just that I’m not happy about the incident because my classmates have been looking down on me. They keep saying that we have been “disvirgined.” I feel ashamed of myself.

Are you a virgin?

Yes. I have not had s**x before but with what everybody is saying I don’t know if I am still a virgin. I really wish I’m still one.

Apparently some suspected thieves are more innocent than the other or how else can one rationalize the craze for dispensing jungle justice on ‘petty’ thieves while those alleged and known to have looted the public till still walk freely on the streets like peacocks? 

Friday would mark an unfortunate day for a man suspected to be a motorcyclist thief, when he was set ablaze by angry youths at a workers’ village, along Kilema Doma road in Lafia, Nasarawa State, while allegedly trying to snatch a motorcycle, popularly called okada in the area.

The unfortunate incident which was confirmed by the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer (DPPRO), Nasarawa State command, Mr Cornelius Ocholi, revealed that the victim was set ablaze by a local vigilante group in the area while his accomplices escaped. 

He explained that before his men got to the scene, the deed had already been done even as “effort made by the police to get the names of the accomplice proved abortive as nobody could be found at the scene of the event, where the suspected thief was set ablaze.” He however cofirmed that seven persons have been arrested in connection with the incident. 

Different eye witness, accounts say angry youths, who arrested the suspect, told him to take some of them to the scene of the incident, where he was beaten and set ablaze, while another claimed that the suspected thief died while receiving medical attention at Araf Dalhatu Specialist Hospital, Lafia. 

However, the Nasarawa State Police Commissioner, Mr Abayomi Akaremale, has warned members of the public to desist from taking laws into their hands as according to him, what the mob did was unlawful, adding instead of setting the suspect ablaze, they should have reported the matter to police.

A 65-year-old Mutare man is accusing his Muslim clergy (Sheikh) of being responsible for his second wife’s pregnancy after a long illicit affair between the two.

Cabo Juma, a Muslim devotee of Mozambican origin who suffered a stroke in 2006, bitterly complained that the sheikh, Nordine Banda of the church’s Dangamvura parish in Mutare has been in love with his wife, Jessica Chiweshe, for a long time and his efforts to seek redress within the church yielded nothing.

Juma said the affair led to the irreparable damage to his matrimonial relationship. Apparently, the two (Sheikh Banda and Juma) were very close friends at one time.

When contacted for comment, both his wife and Sheikh Banda dismissed the allegations.

“I really do not want to comment much on the issue and I think the chairman of the church is the one who can give you a comprehensive comment. I will not say much about the prevailing situation because I know the truth will soon be out. They are saying I impregnated her, but I know I am innocent. His aim is to have me removed from this place or else get me fired from the church, but all along I thought it will not get this far,” said Sheikh Banda.

In a separate interview, the woman in the centre of the storm, Jessica Chiweshe, doubted her husband’s mental stability.

“These allegations are a mere smokescreen meant to conceal the real issue at play. It has all to do with the politics in the church whereby at one point some people did not want the pastor while others stood by him. I happened to belong to the faction that supported the pastor. This is where it all started and later, my husband became so abusive to the extent that I sought refuge at the pastor’s place and that fuelled suspicion that I was going out with the pastor, but that was not true. In any case, if you managed to talk to Cabo Juma, do you think he is mentally stable? Since he suffered a stroke in 2006 he has not been the normal man I knew all along. I think the only thing that I have to do is to go to court and get a peace order against this man,” said Jessica before she declined to answer more questions.

When the Dangamvura Islamic Society chairman, Juma Yard, was reached for comment, he said:

“I am the chairman and have the powers to fire the pastor if he is wrong. If he is guilty of sleeping with anyone’s wife then he should be fired, but the problem is that we do not have any evidence to support the allegations. According to the Islamic law (the Shariah law), there is supposed to be convincing evidence for action to be taken against the perpetrator, but in this case there is no evidence,” he said.

However, in wide ranging interview last week, Juma, who is hardly fluent in Shona, maintained that the pastor and his wife were in love.

“I am deeply hurt that my sheikh, who also happened to be my friend at one point, could do this to me. It all started as rumours way back and I did not want to believe it. I started hearing about it when I was in hospital after I suffered a stroke. At times I would hear that the pastor visited my place without my knowledge and it appears he would take advantage of his knowledge on my whereabouts. He would invite my wife every Saturday to do the cooking at church unlike other women who were NOT invited personally.

“For example, on 27 March this year, when this issue became known, I lied to him that I was leaving for Sakubva, Devonshire where my first wife stays. He came to my second wife’s place, right at our bedroom window around 10.30pm and called my wife while disguising his voice. I pretended as if I was asleep and my wife (Jessica) abruptly woke up, almost unclad and went straight to open the door for him. She must have given signs that I was around, but I was already angry about the whole thing and I told them right away that I didn’t want to see the pastor again at my place.

“I also immediately banned my wife from going to Mozambique and Harare for business trips because that is where they would occasionally accompany each other. I know the pastor could be one responsible for Jessica’s current pregnancy since I am not the one. I’m no longer interested in her,” he said

Source: MyZimbabwe

A damning verdict has been passed on the present crop of Directors in Nigeria’s civil service as President Goodluck Jonathan accused them of greed and amassing properties.

The president gave this indication last Thursday at the funeral service of late Kaduna State Governor, Mr. Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa at Saint Paul Catholic Church, Fadan Kagoma, Jama’a Local Government Area of Kaduna state.

Jonathan urged civil servants to emulate the late governor who never lived a flamboyant lifestyle while serving his fatherland.

His words: “Yakowa talked about peace, love, and unity always. He was a nationalist but death comes when it will come. When it comes it is what matters. His death is unfortunate, but it is the Will of God. I was encouraged by the speech of the widow (Amina) that Yakowa’s death brought unity and peace.”

Speaking further, Jonathan added that: “Yakowa was a nationalist. He played his roles very well as a civil servant of the old not as a civil servant of today when a director has more houses than Dangote.

“There was no ethnic or religious divide in his blood. It is time for all Nigerians to preach peace, love and unity because this is what Yakowa represented when he was alive,” he noted.