THE AUDACITY OF RAPISTS : Undergraduates rape, rob job seeker, take nude photos ... Punch

The police in Lagos have arrested two undergraduates for allegedly raping a job-seeker, identified only as Nike, and robbing her of valuables in the Igando area of the state.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspects, identified as Valentine and Kusimo, allegedly took turns to rape their victim after luring her into a hotel.

Valentine, an indigene of Imo State, was said to be seeing off the 27-year-old with the hope that she would not raise the alarm when Nike suddenly called for help,

The suspects were subsequently arrested and taken to the Igando Police Division.

The incident happened on Thursday, January 14, 2016, on Idowu Ibiyemi Street, in the Igando area of Lagos State.

A police source told our correspondent that Valentine and Nike had met on a dating site.

He said, “Valentine is a 400-level Civil Engineering student of a university in Imo State. He chatted up the lady on the dating site and from there, their conversation shifted to Whatsapp, a mobile messaging application.

“The suspect told his friend, Kusimo, about the girl and they decided to trick her. Kusimo, a student of a polytechnic in Ogun State, would sometimes take Valentine’s phone and be chatting with Nike, without the girl knowing that it was Kusimo.

“Having done that for some days, they decided to invite her to Lagos.”

It was gathered that Nike, an indigene of Osun State, travelled down from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, where she was based, to the Igando area.

Our correspondent learnt that the victim and Valentine scheduled to meet at his house.

PUNCH Metro gathered that instead of taking her to his apartment, the suspect took her to a popular hotel in the area.

The source said, “The girl did not know she was taken to a hotel because he took her through the back into the room.

“The second suspect, had, however, hid inside the toilet. As the lady entered the room, Valentine shut the door and Kusimo jumped out from his hideout with a bottle. He smashed the bottle on the ground and he told the girl to cooperate or they would kill her.

“While Valentine had two rounds, the second suspect had three rounds of sex with her. After they had raped her, they robbed her of her BlackBerry and N15, 000.

“In order to prevent her from exposing them, they took snapshots of her nakedness and threatened that if she told anyone about her ordeal, they would put the pictures on the Internet.”

PUNCH Metro gathered that after committing the act, Valentine decided to see Nike off.

The victim was, however, said to have raised the alarm, drawing the attention of passersby.

She was said to have narrated what happened to people, which led to the arrest of both suspects.

They were detained at the Igando Police Division, before the matter was transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigation, Yaba.

Another police source, however, said the suspects claimed that Nike agreed to mutual sex with them and only raised the alarm because she was not well paid.

She said, “How can you leave your place in Ibadan for Lagos and claim not to know what you are doing? It is not true that they raped her. She only wanted to make money off the men, and that was why she raised the alarm outside.

“The suspect said she demanded N200,000 for settlement and she is saying she does not want her fiancé and family members to be aware. She is not innocent.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmus, while confirming the incident, said the police had charged both suspects to court.

“Case charged to court,” she said in a text message.

IS THERE ANY REASON WHY WIKE AND HIS LEAKY GOVT CANNOT TAKE THIS MAN TO COURT? : Amaechi denies spending N82m on dinner for Soyinka, dares Wike to go to court ... PremiumTimes

A former governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, has debunked allegations by the state government that he misappropriated the sum of N82 million to organise a dinner for Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka.
In a statement by the Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi Media Office, Wednesday, Mr. Amaechi warned Mr. Wike “and the coterie of court-jesters and attention-seekers” in his administration to desist from peddling falsehood.
Mr. Amaechi, who is the current Minister of Transportation, also warned against making false allegations and criminalizing legitimate government transactions in a bid to smear his reputation.
The statement urged Mr. Wike to go to court if he had any case of fraud or misappropriation of state funds against him instead of “this silly distractions”.
He said the latest allegation by the state government was aimed at distracting the people from Mr. Wike’s “massive electoral fraud” during the last elections.
“Wike must stop this silly distraction. Rivers people are not interested in his lies and witch-hunt. Rather, Rivers people want to know what will happen to their children that he stopped and cancelled the funding of their scholarships abroad.
“Rivers people want to know why is the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), an agency set up by law no longer functioning under Wike?
“Why instead of quality education, a standard set by his predecessor, under Wike, grasses and weeds have taken over the beautiful schools built by Amaechi?
“Rivers people want to know why the standard health facilities and services put in place by the Amaechi administration are rotting away, not this petty rambling.
“Rivers people want to know why the Wike government does not care about the security of their lives and property, as violence and criminals have taken over.
“Rivers people want to know why it feels as if there is no government in Rivers State, and this is in spite of the billions of naira that has accrued to the Wike administration and the tens of billions of naira borrowed,” he alleged.
The statement warned Mr. Wike against dragging the names of globally respected persons such as Mr. Soyinka into his “unbridled, unashamed and ill-advised attack of his former boss and benefactor”.

WHERE YAM IS NOT SERVED, JONATHAN'S GOATS MAY STARVE : Arrested PDP spokesperson, Metuh, on hunger strike – Family ... PremiumTimes

Olisa Metuh’s family has denied that the spokesperson of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, received N1.4 billion from the office of the National Security Adviser.
Mr. Metuh was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, on allegations of corruption, and remained in detention by Wednesday evening.
In a statement signed by Gilbert Metuh, Wednesday, the family demanded that Mr. Metuh be released or charged to court.
The statement said the PDP spokesman acknowledged he delivered on an assignment for former President Goodluck Jonathan, and was duly paid.
The family said Mr. Metuh has refused to eat in detention over fears he might be poisoned.
“Our biggest concern for now is the health and safety of our son, who even before his arrest had alerted the nation about various threats to his life, a stance that is not unconnected to his position as the spokesperson of the opposition,” the statement said.
“Our position is more so as he has refused to eat following fears of intentions to poison him in detention.”
Read the family’s statement:
The Metuh family – the Obi-Ezeani-Nnewi– has noted with grave concern the continued incarceration of our Diokpa and spokesperson of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Olisa Metuh (Ugochidebelu Nnewi) since his arrest Tuesday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Whereas the charges for which Chief Metuh is being detained for over 48 hours now have not been formally made known to the family and the general public, we have noted some sensational publications in a section of the media claiming that our son collected the sum of N1.4 billion from the arms deal cash and has been collecting N4 million monthly from the Office of the former National Security Adviser.
We have confronted our son with this allegations and he assured us that they are completely false.
However, he acknowledged that in the course of his duties as the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, the then leader of the party and president of the country directed him to carry out some urgent national assignment relating to his office, which the former president duly funded and which he duly carried out to the satisfaction of the former president.
The family therefore views the publications bandying the figure of N1.4 billion and alleged collection of N4 million stipend from the Office of the NSA as deliberate blackmail aimed at inflaming public sentiments against our son.
Our biggest concern for now is the health and safety of our son, who even before his arrest had alerted the nation about various threats to his life, a stance that is not unconnected to his position as the spokesperson of the opposition.
Our position is more so as he has refused to eat following fears of intentions to poison him in detention.
In view of the above therefore, we DEMAND that the EFCC immediately release our son, Chief Metuh (Ugochidebelu Nnewi) from detention or charge him to court.

THINGS AND TIMES ARE CHANGING FOR THE BETTER : US donates $11m mine resistant vehicles to Nigerian army ... Vanguard News

In a bid to fulfill its promise of helping Nigeria fight the Boko Haram insurgency, the United States will today, donate 24 mine-resistant and armor-protected vehicles to the Nigerian Army.

Mine Resistant Armoured vehicles

The vehicles, which are valued at $11m, would be handed over to the military authorities at the Nigerian Army 9th Brigade Parade Ground, Ikeja Army Cantonment in Lagos.
A statement yesterday, by the Public Affairs Section of the United States Consulate General Lagos, said: “The US is pleased to donate 24 Mine-Resistant, Armor-Protected (MRAP) vehicles valued at $11m to Nigeria’s military authorities.
“The equipment donation represents part of the continuing US commitment to Nigeria and its neighbours to counter Boko Haram’s senseless acts of terror and promote regional security.”

THE DE-GOATIFICATION OF METUH : PDP’s Olisa Metuh Planned Trip To Dubai, Then Escape To Caribbean Island ... SaharaReporters

Olisa Metuh, the national publicity secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who was yesterday arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had booked a flight to Dubai as part of an apparent plan to escape from Nigeria. A travel itinerary obtained by SaharaReporters revealed that Mr. Metuh was scheduled to leave Abuja today on an Emirates Airline flight to Dubai. 

Booked on the same flight was Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who was supposed to travel with the PDP spokesman.
A law enforcement source in Abuja told SaharaReporters that Nigerian officials had received a tipoff that Mr. Metuh intended to wind his way from Dubai to the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis. The source claimed that Mr. Metuh had obtained citizenship of St. Kitts and Nevis through substantial financial investment.
“Our information is that Chief Metuh was planning to move there [St. Kitts and Nevis] to avoid possible arrest and trial [for corrupt enrichment],” the source stated.
On Tuesday, four EFCC operatives arrived at Mr. Metuh’s Abuja home and picked him up. Both Mr. Metuh and officials of the PDP initially played down his arrest, claiming that the party spokesman was “merely” invited for a chat by the EFCC. But they changed their tune later in the day, alleging that the Muhammadu Buhari administration planned to eliminate Mr. Metuh because he was a tough spokesman of the main opposition party.
EFCC investigators looking into the reported misappropriation of more than $2 billion of defense funds by former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, claim that they had traced at least N1.4 billion of the funds to a firm owned by Mr. Metuh.
Federal prosecutors have charged Mr. Dasuki, a retired colonel, of diverting funds meant for the procurement of military weapons and equipment to political campaigns for the reelection of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Several high-profile politicians and media proprietors have so far been named as beneficiaries of significant cash dole-outs made by Mr. Dasuki.

SOLD HIMSELF FOR A PITTANCE : I got N150,000 to install Radio Biafra transmitter – Suspect ... Punch News

Members of the Indigenous People of Biafra protesting at the Alaba International Market in Lagos...

A telecommunication maintenance engineer, David Nwawuisi, has revealed that he got an initial payment of N150,000 to install a Radio Biafra transmitter on an MTN mast in Ngwo, Enugu State.

The 29-year-old, who was on the payroll of Ericsson, the firm managing mast sites for MTN, revealed this in a statement which he made to the Department of State Services on July 27, 2015.

Nwawuisi, who disclosed that he was managing 45 MTN sites for Ericsson, said the Radio Biafra transmitter had operated for three months on MTN mast before it was discovered and his subsequent arrest by the DSS on July 15, 2015.

Nwawuisi, who obtained a B.Sc degree in Biochemistry from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology in 2010, said he was being paid N73,000 plus per month by Ericsson.

He stated that it was the same amount he was being paid as a trainee when he joined the company as a trainee in 2014.

He narrated how he was contacted by one Chidiebere Onwudiwe, whom the Federal Government said was at large, and one Obioma, to seal the deal for the installation of the transmitter at the mast site.

Nwawuisi stated, “I came to know about Chidiebere and Obioma one day the security woman called me to tell me that that they will like to install a radio ( transmitter) on one of my sites at Ngwo in Enugu State and I told them that I don’t know who they are that if they can make out time so that we can see face to face because I don’t know them and that was in May.

“So the next day, they called me. I was working in one of my sites at St. Michael Catholic Church Asata in Enugu State. I asked them to come down to that site and that was the place I saw them for the first time and they introduced themselves as Chidiebere and Obioma. They also asked for my name and I said David. They also asked for my native name and I said Chukwugozie and from there Chidiebere started saying that the radio (transmitter) they are asking for my permission to install in my site is to help them educate our people (Igbo) and let them know their brothers and where they come from….

“They called me again to remind me of that and that was when I told them ok and we agreed that they are going to be paying N25,000 only per month which they paid six months upfront. N75,000 cash was given to me that day they came for the installation and out of that I gave N5,000 to the security woman. The balance was paid into my account at Ecobank after the First Bank (account) I gave to Obioma failed to accept the payment.

“The payment of the balance was done two weeks after the installation of the radio (transmitter). On three different occasions, Chidiebere and Obioma called me to do some maintenance on the radio (transmitter). I gave them access into the site and left and when they finished, the security woman informed me that they are through and I came and locked the site.

“The items Chidiebere came (with) were an electronic that looks like a decoder and a DSTV dish which was installed on the fence. The other items were installed inside the MTN site shelter. The equipment has been there for three months and on July 15 the MTN staff went to the site and called me from the site and asked me what the equipment is. The name of the MTN staff is Mr. John Ibekwe. When he was calling, I couldn’t get what he was asking due to the environment because I was driving and when I parked, I called the security woman to ask her and she told me that is the equipment that Chidiebere and Obioma installed that his asking of.

“I called back the MTN man to tell him what the equipment is for, that is a Radio Biafra (transmitter) that was installed by Chidiebere and Obioma. I told him that I will like to see him which he asked be to come to Shoprite and I came and after I was taken to the MTN office by the MTN security patrol team. From the office, after telling them how the equipment came about and how I got to know about Chidiebere, I was taken to Enugu DSS office.” (sic)

He stated that the MTN thereafter uninstalled the Radio Biafra transmitter.

He added that the last time he spoke with Chidiebere on the telephone was when he was at the DSS office in Enugu.

The Federal Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Mohammed Diri, who signed the fresh charges, the case summary and other processes accompanying them on behalf of the government, alleged that Nwawuisi agreed to install the transmitters “and did install IPOB radio transmitters on MTN masts for a consideration.”

The prosecution alleged that the transmitters were smuggled into Nigeria by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, and were discovered during a search in Madubugwu’s residence.

The Federal Government had charged Nwawuisi and Benjamin Madubugwu along with the founder of Radio Biafra and Kanu, with treason and other related offences including management and assisting in the management of an unlawful society (IPOB).

The accused persons were charged with six counts before the Federal High Court in Abuja but have yet to be arraigned.