SOUTH AFRICA: MURDER SO SHOCKING ON VAL DAY

 PRETORIA (AFP) – Olympic star Oscar Pistorius broke down in tears in the dock Friday as he was charged with the Valentine’s Day murder of his model girlfriend, a charge he denied “in the strongest terms.”

The 26-year-old South African Paralympian gold medallist sobbed inconsolably as Pretoria magistrate Desmond Nair announced a single charge of killing his lover, blonde covergirl Reeva Steenkamp.

The double amputee was an inspirational hero of last year’s London Olympics.

But on Friday he sat hunched and silent except for audible weeping as the court heard that prosecutors will argue the murder was premeditated, a weightier charge that would carry a life sentence.

A bail hearing was delayed until Tuesday to allow the defence more time to prepare.

He will be kept in police custody until then.

NIGERIA WILL BOIL IF YOU KILL OUR HOLINESS – REV. KING’S CHURCH MEMBERS

Members of Chukwuemeka Ezeugo’s church, have warned Nigerians to be prepared for dire consequences, if their General Overseer, popularly known as Reverend King, is indeed killed by hanging.

This warning emanated from the last Sunday service held at the church, Christian Praying Assembly (CPA), located at Ajao Estate, Lagos. “It will be absolute tragedy in this country if they touch our Holiness, they are just ignorant of this,” the goatee-spotting acting general overseer, Reverend Elijah King, threatened on the pulpit.

BUSTY NOLLYWOOD ACTRESS FOLUKE DARAMOLA MARRIES HEARTTHROB

Popular Yoruba actress, Foluke Daramola,had on Friday February 15, 2013, performed her traditional wedding ceremony in Lagos state.

The wedding ceremony took place at Foluke’s parents’ home at No 2, Gbeleyi Avenue, by Oyemekun Street, Ogba, Lagos.

Foluke Daramola’s new husband is Kayode is the man behind a Lagos based pressure group called FASHOLAMANIA and also the promoter of a group known as Change Agent of Nigeria Network.

VALENTINE FALL OUT: NAIJA BOY EXPOSES EX-GIRLFRIEND ON THE INTERNET AND SCHOOL

Hmmmm...why do girls always send nude pictures to whoever????The love must be very strong ooooo!But what happens when the couples break up?your guess is as good as mine...Vendetta!!!So many things happened on Vals Day...in fact,I have so many stories but I would try as much as possible to blog the very interesting ones...like this one.

The girl you see in the pic is a 200L student of a private University in the South West of Nigeria,the first letter of the name of the school is "A".Also,she lives in Lekki area of Lagos state...and now she has been disgraced!!!

BEYONCE FINALLY REVEALS HER DAUGHTER, BLUE IVY

For the first time since she was a few months old, Beyonce shares a picture of her daughter's face. She's a spitting image of Jay Z. See her lips. 

JONATHAN’S CNN INTERVIEWS PRIVATE INITIATIVE – PRESIDENCY

The presidency said yesterday that the interviews the United States (US) Cable News Network (CNN) had with President Goodluck Jonathan were entirely a private initiative by an American public relations firm, Fleishman-Hillard.
It said the federal government didn’t pay a dime to facilitate them.

It was reacting to a story by LEADERSHIP on Thursday, in which the paper quoted a report by an online media, Premium Times as saying that Fleishman-Hillard Inc had admitted that it arranged the CNN interview for Jonathan at the cost of $40,000 and not the $60,000 initially fixed for the exercise.

VALENTINE DAY TRAGEDY: TRUCK CRUSHES TWO UNDERGRADUATES

It was a pathetic sight at Okesa area of Ado Ekiti on Thursday, Valentine’s Day as two undergraduates met their death when a sand truck crushed them after they had fallen in a motorcycle accident in the area.

The tragedy, which occurred at about 4:00 p.m. on the day, involved Ebenezer Ayoade, a final year Marketing student of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti and Ajayi Kayode, a 200 level Psychology student of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti.

Sources said the victims, who were both natives of Emure-Ekiti, headquarters of Emure Local Government Area of Ekiti State, rode on the new motorcycle that had collided with another commercial motorcycle near the Ado area command headquarters of the state police command.

419 GANG EXPOSED

Have you ever got letters purportedly from your friends, telling you pathetic stories about their predicament and asking you to pay money into certain bank accounts to help them solve one problem or another? If you have, you may be a potential victim of fraudsters, who hack into the mailboxes of unsuspecting people and sending mails using the owners’ names. It’s another brand of advance fee fraud, popularly called 419, in the country.

Saturday Sun investigation has revealed how the fraudsters operate and has actually got bank account numbers they use.

VIOLATED AT 10, GANG-RAPED AT 19: I TRIED TO KILL MYSELF TWICE –VICTIM

At 37, Blessing Anuoluwapo (not real name) has had enough tragic encounters to last more than a lifetime. At a point, she hated men and vowed never to get married. No one would blame her, having been raped four times! On two occasions, she was gang- raped by people she called friends.

At the age of ten, when children were only concerned with playing and eating, Anuoluwapo was being molested by their houseboy who was twice her age. He first began by touching her, before it later resulted in him having sex with her on a number of occassion.

She didn’t tell anyone because the boy had threatened her. He told her that he would deal with her severely if she ever told anybody. At that age, she was confused and did not know what to do.

2015: BUHARI, TINUBU DROP PRESIDENTIAL AMBITION

•Begin search for younger candidate

Former Head of State and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) presidential candidate in the 2011 general elections, General Muhammadu Buhari and the national leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Senator Bola Tinubu, have dropped their ambition to contest for the nation’s number one job on the platform of the newly formed opposition mega party, All Progressive Congress (APC).

Saturday Sun gathered from close associates of the two opposition leaders that barring last minute change of mind, the duo will not contest the next presidential election as already being rumoured, in order to prove that the recent merger is beyond their individual political ambitions.

‘NIGERIAN EMBASSIES CAN’T PAY SALARIES, BILLS’

Paucity of funds has hit Nigerian Missions abroad with a number of embassies unable to meet basic responsibilities like the payment of staff salaries, as well as electricity and telephone bills.

Saturday PUNCH gathered in Abuja on Thursday that complaints from some of the missions, especially in Europe and Asia, have become more strident.

As a temporary measure, some of the diplomats have resorted to dipping their hands into their personal savings or using their credit cards to get by.

The more enterprising ones among them, especially non-career diplomats, have reached out to their state governors to advance them funds before remittances are made from Abuja.

EX-JAJI COMMANDER MAY SUE ARMY

The former Commander, Infantry Corps and Centre, Jaji, who was redeployed following the twin bomb blasts at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Isah, may have opted to engage the Nigerian Army in a suit over the decision to court-martial him.

A top military source said on Thursday that Isah was exploiting the opportunities offered by the law to enlist the services of a lawyer of his choice to challenge the decision.

But beyond the provisions in the military law giving him the right to hire a lawyer of his choice, Isah is believed to have opted for the legal option to prevent the Army from making him to face a court martial, which has serious implications on his record and achievements as a general in the Army.

DELTA NAMES ASABA STADIUM AFTER KESHI, REWARDS EAGLES

Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan Thursday night made members of the Super Eagles proud of their Nations Cup effort when he organized a befitting reception for them and also rewarded them with money.

The players left Asaba walking taller than their heights. And prominent among them was their chief coach, Stephen Keshi who said he lost words to describe the honour bestowed on him. He said that he would, forever, thank God for creating him a Nigerian from Delta State.

This followed the actions of President Goodluck Jonathan who Tuesday rewarded the players with money and plots of land in Abuja and Dr. Uduaghan who also rewarded the players and coaches with money and also directed that a befitting duplex be built for Keshi in Asaba. Uduaghan also named the Asaba Stadium which is still under construction after Stephen Keshi.

WE THOUGHT BOKO HARAM ATTACKERS WERE BRINGING PEOPLE FOR VACCINATION –INJURED POLIO WORKER

A polio worker who narrowly missed death in the hands of gunmen in Kano narrates her experience, writes David Attah

 Although she was shot in the head and leg, she  never ceases praising  Allah. As she narrated her ordeal, each sentence was punctuated with the name of Allah.

“All I could remember was that we had just settled down for work on the fifth day of the exercise when suddenly we heard gunshot outside. That was all I could remember,” said the 29-year-old mother of four,  Zahara’u Ayuba.

FASHOLA SPLASHES N59M ON EAGLES

…Says victory calls for soul searching
Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State  has said that Super Eagles victory in the recently concluded African Nations Cup in South Africa calls for soul searching as he splashed a total of  N59 million on the team and the supporters club members.

Rewarding the victorious Eagles, the Lagos state governor announced a cash reward of N2.5 million for the Chief Coach, Stephen Keshi, his immediate assistance, Daniel Amokachi; N2 million, while the 4 other assistance were rewarded with N1.5 million each.

The captain of the team, Joseph Yobo got N1.5 million while other 22 players got N1 million each for their effort in the tournament. And the team got N500, 000 for each of the goals scored in the competition. The backroom staff were rewarded with N15 million just as the Nigerian Football Supporters Club were rewarded with N4.5 million.

The governor commended the team determination in the tournament and called for respects for the team coach to enable him perform his duties.

KAREN IGHO: I REFUSED TO HAVE SEX, BATH NAKED IN BBA HOUSE

 Karen Igho, co-winner of Big Brother Amplified in 2011, tellsAdemola Olonilua about her life

How I feel about a new season of Big Brother Africastarting soon

To be honest, the spotlight cannot be shifted from me because it is God that put me there. I know where I am coming from. Do not forget there is a BBA winner from South Africa already and I am still where I am. The thing is, if people like you, they like you. If they want your star to stop shining, it will. If you are humble, grateful and real with people, you would still on top. If you are bitchy, you will not last long. I am taking corrections from people who have been there like Derenle and Uti. I am trying to learn from them. Whoever emerges as winner, I wish them the best.

PUZZLE OVER GOLDIE’S DEATH

The death of 31-year-old singer, Susan Oluwabimpe Harvey, came as a shock to her family, friends and fans. Prior to her death on Valentine’s Day, Goldie had wished her Twitter followers a happy lovers’ day celebration. She tweeted, “Happy Valentine’s day to all my fellows up in here… love today and always… xxx”

Although death is an inevitable phenomenon in human existence, the suddenness of the late pop singer’s death makes one ponder on what could have led to her untimely demise. According to the official statement from her record label, Kennis Music, the late singer complained of a severe headache shortly after her arrival from the United States where she attended the Grammy Awards.

HELP… DON’T LET ME DIE IN KIDNAPPERS’DEN –WOMAN ABDUCTED IN LAGOS AFTER RETURNING FROM US FOR MOTHER’S BURIAL

Less than two months after 29-year-old Kemisola Ogunyemi lost her mother, her family now has a fresh problem to contend with.

The tragedy of losing her mother on December 26, 2012 had brought Kemisola and her husband, Akin, back home from the United States where they had lived in for about a year.

But the joy of seeing the family they left behind in Nigeria has become short-lived as Kemisola was kidnapped about 8.30pm in Ajah, Lagos on Sunday, February 10, 2013 by a gang of kidnappers.

Since the incident, Kemisola’s husband, Yinka, and father have been too distraught to attend to visitors, a family member who sought anonymity told our correspondent.

The relation told our correspondent that Kemisola was kidnapped about one minute’s drive to her Abraham Adesanya Estate home in Ajah.

COURT HEARS AL-MUSTAPHA’S APPEAL APRIL 29

A Lagos Court of Appeal Lagos yesterday slated April 29 for hearing of the appeal filed by the former Chief Security Officer to the late General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, who was sentenced to death last year over his roles in the  murder of the late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.

Al-Mustapha and Lateef Shofolahan, a Personal Assistant to late Abiola, are challenging their conviction by a Lagos High Court on January 30, 2012.

WIFE SETS HUSBAND ABLAZE ...FOR SPENDING 10 DAYS WITH CO-WIFE

The question on the lips of neighbours of a senior legislative aide to Senator Mohammad Sani Sale, representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Mallam Mohammad Ibrahim Matazu penultimate Thursday was what manner of jealousy would make a woman set her husband ablaze?

It was the same question on the lips of mourners, who trooped into the victim’s home last Wednesday, when the news of his eventual death as result of the burnt he sustained from the incident hits the neighborhood. 
He was said to have died at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Shika at about 4pm on the fateful day.

DRUGGED AND ROBBED

A Chinese, Zhang Bafan, who is in Nigeria on a business trip, has raised the alarm over what he described as an attempt by some Nigerians to take away his goods without payment and instigate his repatriation back to China.

Narrating his ordeal, the visiting Chinese claimed that two Nigerians, simply identified as Rowland and Ifeanyi, drugged him in his hotel room, carted away his money put at above N1 million and went to his warehouse at Agric Estate, Badagry expressway in Lagos, where they carted away his goods.

‘SHE WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERSON I EVER MET’ – HUSBAND OPENS UP ON LATE NIGERIAN SINGER GOLDIE

It would have been disappointing if drama did not follow her death. Goldie, the unpredictable Goldie is pulling surprises even in death.

Just last night, a man believed to be her husband emerged, posting intimate pictures on Facebook, sharing same on her twitter handle, and engaging with several curious fans (he even issued a warning to Prezzo, the man many of us have come to know as the late singer’s bonafide partner).

There were rumours she may have been married or involved with an expatriate, but no one could confirm during her lifetime. But what was hidden for years tore the lid and came out last night, with the startling revelation by the man whose name is  Andrew Harvey.

While still mourning his wife and preparing to come to Lagos, he was kind enough to speak exclusively with Nigerian Entertainment Today…

POPE’S SUCCESSOR: DOUBTS OVER CARDINAL ARINZE’S ELIGIBILITY

Contrary to presumptions, Nigeria’s Cardinal Francis Arinze, may after all not be eligible to vote or be voted for when the College of Cardinals converge at the Vatican to elect a new Pope to replace Pope Benedict XV1. This is because he is over 80 years old.

Some western media had listed Arinze as a top contender in speculative stories on the prospects of a black Pope emerging. "Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana and Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria are in the frame to become the first ever-black pope, certainly in the modern era," reports the British Telegraph newspaper on Wednesday.

But under the terms put in place by Pope Paul VI, cardinals who had reached the age of 80 before the conclave opens had no vote in Papal elections.

BET HONOURS PAYS TRIBUTE TO HALLE BERRY, CHAKA KHAN, T.D. JAKES, OTHERS

Uplifting awards show BET Honours 2013 ignited the Warner Theatre, Washington, D.C., USA with a series of soul-stirring performances from Erykah Badu, Wayne Brady, Brandy, Mint Condition, Jimmy Jam, Alicia Keys, Ledisi, the SOS Band and Terry Lewis.

Hosted by gorgeous Bad Boys II and City of Angels actress Gabrielle Union, this year’s star studded event was taped on Saturday, January 12, 2013 and will premiere across Africa on BET International on Saturday, February 16.

EXODUS, THE MOVEMENT OF BRITISH-BORN NIGERIANS…BACK TO NIGERIA

Although many young Nigerians dream of Britain as an Eldorado and would even give a limb for a British visa, many well-educated Britons of Nigerian descent are choosing to relocate to their parents’ country of birth. KIMBERLY WARD speaks with some of the returnees to find out why they decided to make the transition from Britain, their adoptive country, to Nigeria, their fatherland

In a reversal of the brain-drain phenomenon that hit Nigerian in the 80s and 90s, many highly-qualified young Nigerians who grew up in the UK are relocating to Nigeria, bucking the decades-long trend of Africans migrating to Europe in huge numbers in search of greener pastures.