Those who have skeleton in the cupboard cannot fight for the people . Unfortunately,98% of Nigeria politicians occupying public spaces have something to hide and cannot speak for the common man on the street. GGM is here to change the narrative. We are the only political Ministry in Nigeria . Ndubusi,GGM
Plateau Killings: Nigeria In Total Collapse
Once regarded as the ‘home of peace and tourism,’ Plateau State in Nigeria’s Northcentral has degenerated into a killing field of sorts. Security of lives and property is no longer guaranteed, as blood-cuddling tales of killings of innocent and hapless residents by suspected bandits and ethnic militia abound. The situation has kept the state government and security agencies on their toes in a bid to fish out the perpetrators. KOLADE ADEYEMI reports
The unscheduled visit of the Plateau State Governor, Barr Caleb Mutfwang, to the Chief of Defense Staff, Maj. Gen. Christopher Musa, and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Maj. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, this week, in Abuja, showed that all is not well in the state.
The visit also confirmed fears that the state governor may be hamstrung in finding a solution to the wanton killings he inherited when he took over governance on May 29. Plateau State, once regarded as the ‘home of peace and tourism,’ in the North Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria, has been the theatre of wanton killings, presumably by bandits and ethnic militia. As of July 7, 2023, no fewer than 204 persons were said to have been killed by gunmen.
Barely a week after that, the casualty figure rose to 346. And at the last count, over 20,000 survivors are said to have been displaced and taking refuge in camps across the state. The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps, too has grown to 14 at the time of compiling this report.
A human rights organization known as Gideon and Funmi Para-Mallam Peace Foundation, which dished out the figures, said they were recorded within the last three months of mayhem (April-July) across the eight Local Government Areas in Plateau State.
Source : Nations Newspaper
TB Joshua’s daughter: Tortured after standing up to ‘Daddy’
The BBC reveals how the late megachurch leader TB Joshua, who is accused of committing sexual crimes on a mass scale, locked up his own daughter and tortured her for years before leaving her homeless on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria.
Warning: Contains details some readers may find distressing
“My dad had fear, constant fear. He was very afraid that someone would speak up,” says one of the pastor’s daughters, Ajoke – one of the first whistle-blowers to reach out to the BBC about the abuse she witnessed at her father’s church, the Synagogue Church of All Nations (Scoan).
TB Joshua, who died in 2021 at the age of 57, is accused of widespread abuse and torture spanning almost 20 years.
Now aged 27, Ajoke lives in hiding and has dropped her surname “Joshua” – the BBC is not publishing her new name. Little is known about Ajoke’s birth mother, who was believed to be one of TB Joshua’s congregants. Ajoke says she was raised by Evelyn, Joshua’s widow, from as early as she can remember.
Until the age of seven, Ajoke says she had a very happy childhood, going on holiday with the Joshua family to places like Dubai. But one day everything changed. She was suspended from school for a misdemeanor, and a local journalist wrote an article referring to her as the illegitimate child of TB Joshua. She was pulled out of school and taken to the Scoan compound in Lagos.
“I was made to move to the disciples’ room. I didn’t volunteer to be a disciple. I was made to join,” she says.
The disciples were an elite group of dedicated followers who served TB Joshua and lived with him inside the maze-like structure of the church. They came from all over the world, many staying at the compound for decades.
They lived under a strict set of rules: forbidden to sleep for more than a few hours at a time, prohibited from using their own phones or having access to their personal emails, and forced to call TB Joshua “Daddy”.
“The disciples were both brainwashed and enablers. Everybody was just acting based on command – like zombies. Nobody was questioning anything,” she says.
Just a child, Ajoke would not follow the rules like the other disciples: she refused to stand up when the pastor came into the room and rebelled against the severe sleeping orders. The abuse started soon after. Not long after arriving, aged seven, she remembers being beaten for wetting the bed and then being forced to walk around the compound with a sign around her neck saying “I am a bedwetter.”
“The message about Ajoke was that she had terrible evil spirits that needed to be driven out,” says one former female disciple.
“There was a time in the disciple meetings – he [Joshua] said people could beat her. Anyone in the female dormitory could just hit her and I remember just seeing people slapping her as they walked past,” she says.
From the moment Ajoke moved to the church in the Ikotun neighborhood of Lagos, she was treated like an outcast.
“She was, like, kind of labelled the black sheep of the family,” says Rae, from the UK, who spent 12 years living in the church as a disciple. Like most of the former disciples interviewed by the BBC, she opted to only use her first name.
Rae remembers a time when Ajoke slept for too long, and Joshua shouted at her to get up.
Another disciple took her to the shower and “whipped her with an electrical cord and then turned the hot water on”, she says. Recalling the incident, Ajoke says: “I was screaming at the top of my voice, and they just let the water run on my head for a very long time.”
Such abuse was never-ending, she says.
“We’re talking about years and years of abuse. Consistent abuse. My existence as a child from another mother undermined everything he [TB Joshua] claimed to stand for.”
The abuse escalated to a different scale when she was aged 17 and confronted her dad about “accounts, first hand, of people who had experienced sexual abuse”.
“I saw female disciples go up to his room. They were going away for hours. I was hearing things: ‘Oh this happened to me. He tried sleeping with me.’ Too many people were saying the same thing,” she says.
The BBC spoke to more than 25 former disciples – from the UK, Nigeria, US, South Africa, Ghana, Namibia and Germany – who gave powerful corroborating testimony of experiencing or witnessing sexual abuse.
“I couldn’t take it any more. I walked directly into his office on that very day. I shouted at the top of my voice: ‘Why are you doing this? Why are you hurting all these women?’
“I had lost every iota of fear for this man. He tried to stare me down, but I was looking in his eyes,” she says.
Emmanuel, who was part of the church for 21 years and spent more than a decade living in the compound as a disciple, remembers that day clearly.
“He [TB Joshua] was the first person that started hitting her… then other people joined,” he says.
“He was saying: ‘Can you imagine what she’s saying about me?’ Even as much as they were hitting her, beating her, she was still saying the same thing.”
Source : BBC News
Tiwa Savage Petitions Police Over Alleged Harassment By Davido
Tee Blizz who shares a son with Savage had posted confrontational messages about the Unavailable singer including a warning to stop attacking the mother of his child.
Well, the lines have now been connected after a leaked petition by Savage to the Nigerian police over alleged harassment from Davido has surfaced online.
In the document dated 9th of January 2024 and signed by the MTV Europe Award-winning Savage, Davido is accused of offline and online harassment including physical threats over Savage’s continued association with Sophia Momodu with whom Davido shares an eight-year-old daughter.
The petition reads partly: “On the 23rd of December, I made a post which included myself and Sophia on my Instagram story, a feature on Instagram, which allows you to put up a post for 24 hours, and Mr Adeleke sent messages to my manager, who is also a part of his management team, that I shouldn’t worry and should never say a word to him, and that I was taunting him, uttering very disrespectful malicious and derogatory words to my person.”
While a member of Tiwa Savage’s team has confirmed to Channels Television that the petition emanated from the singer, David’s team is yet to respond to messages as of this time.
Source : Channels Television
Anambra Boat Mishap: NEMA, SEMA, Anambra West LG Delegations Visit Victims’ Family At Anam
National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and Anambra West Local Government officials have visited Mr. Sunday Nnalue family of Mmiata Anam, Anambra West LGA, to condole with the family on the death of their sons who were involved in the Thursday, 4th January 2024 boat accident at the Mmiata banks of the River Niger.
The visit, it was gathered, is at the instance of the Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo.
Onyeka, aged 12; Isreal, aged 10; and their mother, Gloria, who was rescued from the boat accident, were said to be returning from holiday when the Kogi-Anambra bound wooden boat they were traveling in rammed into a snag on the water channel and capsized.
Though earlier reports in the media indicate that few people died while more people were rescued, eyewitness accounts at the Nnalue’s family said the opposite, raising questions about the actual death figure in the incident.
Addressing the bereaved family, Mr. Nnanyelugo Ezeani, on behalf of the Southeast Zonal Cordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Mrs Ngozi Echeazu, said the visit was to ascertain the extent of loss suffered, and assured that stakeholders meeting will be convened to discuss concerns raised and find solutions, including ensuring enforcement of wearing of life-saving jacket while traveling through the water; since a stitch in time saves nine.
He expressed hope that concerns shown by government at federal, state and local levels will go a long way in giving the bereaved family the needed courage to put the incident behind and move on with life.
Contributing, the Executive Secretary, Anambra State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Chief Paul Odenigbo, who thanked God for sparing the life of a member of the Nnalue’s family, said government will be properly briefed for possible assistance, just as proper investigations will continue to help in forestalling future occurrence.
On his part, the Transition Committee Chairman of Anambra West LGA, Mr. Felix Ikechi, who also remarked that the joint visit was for commiseration and to get first hand information from a victim and those affected by the unfortunate incident, advised that going forward; nobody travels through the waterways without wearing life-saving jacket, a measure he said will be made a policy, adding that there is need to regulate and monitor activities of those traveling and conveying people and goods through the waterways.
He, later, gave financial support to the family.
Father of the deceased, Mr. Sunday Nnalue, who narrated how he was summoned through phone calls to the accident scene where he found his wife alife and two children dead, thanked government for the concerns towards him and his family at the difficult moment.
Earlier, some family members, relatives and sympathizers who joined in receiving the delegation, including Chief Matthias Ameke and Mr. Jude Emeka, said by the visit, Governor Soludo has shown he is leading a government with human face.
They, however, called for attention to the waterways; just as it is done to the road, as well as provision of healthcare services along riverine areas.
Credit: ABS Facebook
Ghanaian chef Faila has been cooking for 9 days — over 200 hours
Since January 1, 2024, she’s been locked in a sizzling battle against the clock, attempting to smash the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon. And on day 9, with over 200 hours under her belt, the heat is only just on!
Faila set up camp at the Modern City Hotel in Tamale, her kitchen transformed into a battlefield of clanging utensils, aromatic spices, and endless creativity. Her goal? To surpass the current record of 119 hours and 57 minutes, held by Irish chef, Alan Fisher, who broke Nigerian chef Hilda Baci‘s record of 93 hours and 11 minutes in November 2023.
Faila’s marathon menu is a vibrant tapestry of Ghanaian flavors and has attracted a hungry crowd of supporters, eager to catch a glimpse of the record-breaking chef and fuel their taste buds.
The journey hasn’t been without its challenges. Sleep is a luxury, replaced by stolen naps between stirs and chops. Fatigue whispers promises of rest, but Faila finds her fuel in the cheers of her fans, the rhythmic clinking of spoons, and the intoxicating aroma of her culinary creations.
News of the chef’s culinary crusade has spread like wildfire, making her a national sensation. Politicians have rallied behind her, celebrities have pledged support, and the aroma of her success has even wafted overseas. Her story is a testament to the power of passion, perseverance, and a good pot of jollof rice. She was initially billed to cook for five days, but reset the timeline to end on January 10.
As Faila enters the final stretch of her cook-a-thon, the world watches with bated breath. Will she emerge victorious, her name etched in the Guinness World Records alongside culinary legends? The answer will soon be revealed. But one thing is certain – Chef Faila has already cooked her way into the hearts of Ghanaians and beyond, leaving an indelible mark on the culinary landscape, one delicious dish at a time.
Source: Pulse News
Breaking : Court Adjourns Kanu’s N1bn Suit Against FG Till March 4
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja has fixed further hearing for March 4, 2024 in a fresh N1 billion suit filed by the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, against the Federal Government and three others.
The others are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Department of State Services (DSS), and its Director General, Yusuf Bichi.
Justice James Omotosho rescheduled hearing in the fundamentals rights enforcement suit on Monday following the absence of the applicant’s lawyer.
At the mention of the case, no lawyer announced appearance for the applicant, while the respondents were represented by two lawyers Enoch Simon (for the Federal Government and the AGF) and I. Awo for the DSS.
Simon informed the court that his clients were only served with the hearing notice and had not been served with the suit’s originating processes.
The lawyer said he was in court out of respect for the law.
After listening to the lawyers, Justice Omotosho adjourned till March 4 for hearing and ordered that a hearing notice be issued and served on the applicant.
In the suit filed for Kanu by his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, the IPOB leader is seeking a declaration that the respondents’ act of forcible seizure and photocopying of confidential legal documents pertaining to facilitating the preparation of his defense, which were brought to him at the respondents’ detention facility by his lawyers, amounted to denial of his rights to be defended by legal practitioners of his own choice.
He also sought a declaration that the respondents’ act of refusing or preventing his counsel from taking notes of details of counsel’s professional discussions/consultations with him at DSS detention, with said discussions/consultations relating to preparation of his defence amounted to denial of his right to be given adequate facilities for the preparation of his defense by legal practitioners of his own choice, among others.
Source : Channel News
BREAKING : How I went into hiding for eight years — TB Joshua’s ex-disciple
A former disciple of the Late Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, popularly known as TB Joshua, Paul Agomoh, has disclosed that he had to go into hiding for nearly eight years, after his initial attempt to expose the activities of the late presiding Pastor of the Synagogue Church of All Nations.
Agomoh disclosed this to journalists, following a screening of a 150-minute-long investigative report carried out by the BBC Africa Eye, titled “Disciples: The Cult of TB Joshua,” which featured testimonies from former disciples and church workers, accusing the late prophet of manipulation and physical abuse, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, on Monday evening.
While stating that he was the first Prophet under the SCOAN, Agomoh said he was pursued around across Cotonou, Lagos and Ghana, by loyalists of Prophet TB Joshua who believed that his revelations were blasphemy against the prophet.
“I was the first prophet of the Synagogue church, and I spent more than a decade in the Synagogue between 1995 and 2006. And I just want to thank the BBC. This is a journey I started in 2009. I released a video with Sister Bisola, ‘The Deception of the Age’. When I left there, the incident that led to my leaving is not a story I can finish here. It is a terrible experience. I decided to leave. When I left, I could not sleep, I could not rest. The burden was so much on me. I had to move out with the help of some pastors in ministry, and my friends.
“We brought this out, but a lot of people said ‘Agomoh has come, he is blaspheming against our man of God’. They started chasing me everywhere. For a good eight years, I laid low, not doing any ministerial job, not doing any public jobs. I laid low, just with the help of a few pastors. About three years ago, was when I started coming out gradually. I was pursued everywhere, from here to Cotonou, you know these are the nearest places you can run to, from Cotonou to Ghana, back to Lagos, I was running,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Archbishop of the African Church, Abuja, Peter Ogunmuyiwa, stated that the investigative report was not an indictment of the church, but rather an indictment on the late Pastor TB Joshua, noting that he couldn’t be labelled a criminal, since no court had charged him before his demise.
“It is not an indictment on the church, it is an indictment on who is accused. And it is quite unfortunate that he is not alive to defend himself. All this would have been very good if he was still alive. And when he was alive, what moves were taken to confront these issues and get him convicted? So, he is a dead person now, he is gone, and it is not for us to say he died as a criminal, because no state law convicted him while he was alive.”
Ogunmuyiwa added that while such reports saddened bodies like the Christian Association of Nigeria, of which he was a member, the body did not have legislative powers or a law that covered CAN, to deal with such persons or church. He however called on the government to make laws to regulate churches and license seminaries to tutor pastors.
“I also believe that, if possible, let there be legislation to regulate. So that people will not just be behaving anyhow. You can’t just come out today and say you are a Pastor, which institution, which seminary, which college of theology did you go to before you say you’re a Pastor? And then the government should find a way of registering and then licensing those schools to regulate them, just like we have the university commission. I think it is high time they introduced that into religious bodies also so that we will be getting ministers that are well trained, and that are recognized by the state,” he said.
Source : Punch Newspaper
Tinubu Suspends Humanitarian Affairs Minister Betta Edu Over N585m Paid into Private Account
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, over the allegations of fraud that were levelled against her.
This development was announced in a statement released on Monday by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, hours after Tinubu had ordered a probe into the suspended minister over a sum of N585 million which was paid into a private account.
In the statement, Ngelale also said that President Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to thoroughly investigate the financial transactions of the ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and poverty alleviation.
The statement read, “In line with his avowed commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in the management of the commonwealth of Nigerians, President Bola Tinubu suspends the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, from office with immediate effect.
“The President further directs the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to conduct a thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transactions involving the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, as well as one or more agencies thereunder.
“The suspended Minister is hereby directed to hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and she is further directed by the President to fully cooperate with the investigating authorities as they conduct their investigation.
“Furthermore, the President has tasked a panel that is headed by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance to, among other functions, conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on the financial architecture and framework of the social investment programmes with a view to conclusively reforming the relevant institutions and programmes in a determined bid to eliminate all institutional frailties for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households and win back lost public confidence in the initiative.
“These directives of the President take immediate effect.”
Edu had refuted the allegations against her, saying that no one will embezzle government funds under her watch as her ministry’s watchwords are integrity accountability, and that the claims were efforts of her opponents to see about her downfall.
Source : Arise News
UBA Surpasses N1 Trillion Market Capitalisation On Nigerian Exchange, Share Price Hits N29.90
The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc on Monday, joined the elite group of companies with market capitalization of over N1 trillion as its share price also hit N29.90 per share.
At the close of trading on Monday, the bank’s market capitalization hit N1.02 trillion, making it the third most capitalized financial institution in the country – a remarkable boost from N283.8 billion at the beginning of 2023. The bank has 34.19 billion shares in issue.
The N1 trillion market capitalization feat comes amid the bank’s share being named as the highest performing stock in the banking sector in 2023, which underscored its robust growth trajectory and unwavering market confidence.
Specifically, between the start of January 2023 and on Monday, the price of UBA shares had appreciated by over 250 per cent from N7.60 per share, the bank noted in a statement.
Commenting on the bank’s impressive performance, the Chairman, UBA Group, Tony Elumelu, said the bank’s remarkable journey in 2023, culminated in its shares being acclaimed as the highest performing stock within the banking sector.
He pointed out that this not only highlighted the bank’s strategic prowess but also reflected its commitment to delivering unparalleled value to shareholders and stakeholders alike.
Elumelu said, “As UBA celebrates these significant milestones, we will like all our stakeholders to know that we remain steadfast in our mission to drive sustainable growth, foster innovation, and create value for its diverse clientele across Africa.
“We are witnessing the impact of the business transformation drive UBA embarked on years ago and executed well. Naturally, the market has taken note of and is duly rewarding our efforts.
“To our stakeholders, our promise is that we will continue to work harder, deliver on what we know how to do well and create impacts across geographies where we currently operate.”
Also, UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, who expressed delight at the bank’s performance in the past few months, said with its unwavering commitment to excellence and execution, the bank continues to set benchmarks in the banking sector, reinforcing its position as Africa’s global bank of choice.
He said, “Market participants have begun to appreciate the latent capacity in UBA’s business model as the bank unlocks enormous potentials in its pan African and international operations.
“The bank’s unique competitive advantage lies in people, processes, and technology. With Operations and offices in 24 countries and on four continents, UBA is the only African bank with deposit-taking license in the USA.”
Alawuba added,” The bank’s fundamentals remain strong with impressive financial results that have continued to deliver sustainable value for its shareholders.
“At current price, UBA trades at price-to-earning (P/E) and price-to-book (P/B) multiples of 2.27 and 0.59 which are a reflection of the market’s expectations of the Bank’s future growth potentials.”
UBA is listed on the Premium Board of the Nigerian Stock Exchange in recognition of the Bank’s strong adherence to international best practices on corporate governance and remains committed to creating value for its over 275,000 esteemed shareholders spread across the globe.
The outgone year, 2023, has been a splendid year for the bank, becoming the most profitable bank in Nigeria in 2023, with a shareholders’ fund that has grown from N992 billion in 2022 to N1.8 trillion as of September 2023.
UBA was also appointed as the Local Arranger and Local Depository Bank for the $3.3 billion FX Liquidity support facility for Nigeria in partnership with Africa Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank), providing solutions to economic challenges in Nigeria characterized by shortage of FX liquidity.
Likewise, in 2023, UBA won the 2023 FMDQ Gold Awards in three Categories including the Best FX Liquidity Provider; Dealing Institution of the Year and Best Money Market Liquidity Provider. This recognition is a testament to UBA’s impressive capital strength.
UBA is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to over 25 million customers across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries.
With presence in New York, London, Paris, and Dubai, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.
Source : Arise News