PODIUM MEDIA

Police in Delta State have arrested the elder brother to Nollywood actress, Regina Daniels, less than two weeks after she got married to Delta State born billionaire, Mr. Ned Nwoko.

The video of the arrest which surfaced online showed Lawrence Daniels in handcuff. In the video, Regina’s mother, Rita Daniels, claimed it was the fourth time the police was arresting Lawrence and that they kept arresting her children, harassing them and taking away their peace. The police were also seen with their guns in the video shared by one twitter user, Laila Ijeoma, while the leader of the team was seen telling Rita Daniels to talk to him. Lawrence also claimed he did nothing to warrant the arrest yet he was being handcuffed; the family kept repeating that they did nothing to warrant the arrest or even being handcuffed. One of the boys present at the scene who is believed to also be one of her children showed his wounded face claiming he was hit with the gun by one of the policemen. Regina Daniels’ mother, Rita kept asking what they had done for the Police to keep trying to tarnish her image and why they could not be allowed to move freely. She claimed it was the fourth time her son was being arrested.

Ooni of Ife to attend Yoruba Cultural Festival in Chicago

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has agreed to be the royal father during the maiden editiin of the Yoruba Cultural Heritage Festival taking place in Chicago, United States of America in September. The Yoruba Cultural Ambassador, Chief Lekan Alabi, said this during his visit to the Ooni’s Palace in Ile Ife on Saturday.

Alabi said that he was at the palace to inform the Ooni about the Yoruba Cultural Heritage Festival and Awards at which the traditional ruler would be the Royal Father of the day.

According to him, Oba Ogunwusi had earlier picked Sept. 6 to Sept 9 for the event , adding that the dates had already been publicised.

Also speaking, the festival’s coordinator, Mr. Wole Duro-Ladipo, said that he was very happy that the Ooni would be in Chicago for the event. “We were clamouring that the Ooni should come and we are delighted that he had agreed to be with us from Sept. 6 to Sept. 9. “Nigerians in Chicago, including the Mayor of Chicago, University of Chicago and Nigerians in United Kingdom are eagerly waiting to receive our revered Royal Father,” he said.

Saturday, 1 June 2019

"UNTIL I KIDNAPP BUHARI OR ATIKU, I WON'T STOP"- KIDNAPPER

“one of them told me he would stop kidnapping if he gets N100 million, or if he succeeds in kidnapping President Muhammadu Buhari, and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar. Of course I laughed, and asked him if he’s sure he wants to ever stop. He laughed, too, and said yes, but after he achieves his target”

Those were the words of Salisu Mu’azu Jos, a Kannywood director, actor and producer, who was recently kidnapped, alongside two others, near Jingir village of Bassa LGA, Plateau State, while on the way back to Jos from Kaduna.

Mu’azu recounts his experience with the kidnappers in this interview with Daily Trust Saturday, where he also revealed some of the Kidnap victims were shot dead.

Salisu Mu’azu: I and my elder brother, Sani Mu’azu Jos, and two others – Danlami Yanke-Yanke and Andy Bature, attended a conference organized by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Small and Medium Enterprise in Kaduna. After the conference, we left Kaduna to Jos at 4:00pm. We stopped at Saminaka and broke our fast, then continued with our journey until we reached a forest near Jingir village. Suddenly, we heard gunshots, and some people with flashlights asked us to stop. We stopped, and they dragged us out and started to hit us. My brother, [actor/director] Sani [Mu’azu] fell down. I told them he was sick, and that we were even coming back from hospital, so they stopped beating him. They took him back to where we parked our car, and gave him his phone back. They asked him if he could drive, and he said yes, so they let him go. Interestingly, later on, one of the kidnappers told me that they we were only their targets, and their informants were trailing us from Saminaka.

Mu’azu: It was unclear initially, but later when everything was calm, I later counted them to be eight, all roughly aged 20 or less, and all definitely of Fulani extraction. DT: Back to the incident.

What happened next?

Mu’azu: After they let my brother go, they dragged us into the pitch-black forest. They took us at about 8pm, and we trekked in darkness for almost six hours before they allowed us to take a little rest. A little later, they asked me who they should contact to demand for ransom. They also asked how much I could afford to pay, and I told them N1million, and they immediately began to hit me. That’s when it dawned on me how deep a mess I was in. After the beating stopped, they asked us to continue trekking. We soon got to a hill, climbed it, and got down. We got to the foot of another hill, which had a cave where they obviously use as their base of operations. They didn’t take us inside the cave, though. They tied us outside for the whole three days; rain fell on us, the sun shined on us, and not even once did any of them ask about our well-being. There was nothing like food. If they noticed we were exhausted, they would pluck mangoes for us. They gave us rain water to drink. Ironically, they would force us to thank them for the fruits and water, and also pray for them. But on their part, they ate good food. They had food flasks, and they send one of them to buy food.

DT: Did you see any other of their victims at their camp?

Mu’azu: We only saw one other person, tied up. They later shot him dead, after they asked him three times how much he could pay as ransom and he just kept mute. One of the kidnappers just shot him. Initially, I was very afraid of them, because they threatened to kill us, and they weren’t friendly by any stretch of the imagination. They didn’t engage us in any conversation, either, apart from how ransom can be paid. But later, when we were making progress on the payment, they even became courteous, and engaged us in small talk. They always called Yanke-Yanke, who is a comedian, to talk with them. He would make them laugh, and they soon became friendly. I, on the other hand, am like an introvert; I started talking to them after we agreed on a ransom. One of them told me to pray for them to stop kidnapping, not to meet their waterloo, just for them to quit. Another one of them told me he would stop kidnapping if he gets N100 million, or if he succeeds in kidnapping President Muhammadu Buhari, and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar. Of course I laughed, and asked him if he’s sure he wants to ever stop. He laughed, too, and said yes, but after he achieves his target. Thinking back, many things crossed my mind: I kept thinking that I could die any minute, and I remembered pleasant moments, as well as difficult ones shared with my family. Then later I started looking at the scenario like a movie, and even told myself I have gotten a script to make a film out of.

DT: There are conflicting stories about the amount paid before your release: One stated that you paid N10 million, and another said N3.5 million. Could you please clear the air on that?

Mu’azu: At the beginning, they demanded for N10 million. But after they understood we don’t have that kind of money, we started negotiating. Finally, they agreed to collect the sum of N3.5 million.

DT: How did you find your way to Jos after the ransom was paid?

Mu’azu: After they shared the ransom, they showed us a bush path and told us it would take us to a village, from where we could hop on an Okada to take us to the main road. We got lost, but soon came upon some people loading firewood onto a truck. We explained our situation, and they offered us a ride, to a village called Mariri, in Lere LGA of Kaduna state. Later, we found our way to Jos. Our reunion with our families was a tearful one indeed.

DT: As a survivor, what is your call to government and security agencies on kidnapping?

Mu’azu: What I understand is we need to swing into action in order to tackle the menace. The government and security agencies must work harder to curtail it. I mean, the criminals are all roughly 20-years-old, or even younger, and they had shiny new AK-47s. Where did they get the guns from? It is necessary for government to end kidnapping. They are youths, getting millions of naira criminally. That kind of thing can and will spread, especially to millions of jobless youths if they realize that they can get big money. Government should also do more in the area of job-creation, education, and all those important factors of development.

(Dailypost)

POLY STUDENTS SET SCHOOL ON FIRE

Osun State Poly, Iree students have burnt down the medical center in the school after one of the their colleagues died over the health center’s alleged negligence on Friday evening.

According to reports, the protesting students stormed the school’s health centre on Saturday morning set fire on the school ambulance and other equipment in the clinic.

They alleged that medical personnel had left the clinic as at the time a Higher National Diploma I student, Aminu Sheu Hammed was brought in after slumping in the examination hall.

Sheu had slumped immediately after writing his second semester examination and died hours later at a hospital outside the school campus, Osun Defender reports.

Sheu, a student of the Department of Applied Chemistry was said to have been observing the ongoing Ramadan fast before he suddenly lost balance after submitting his paper to invigilators at the PLT examination hall.

According to the polytechnic’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Tope Abiola, Sheu was said to have been rushed to the school’s clinic at about 4:30pm where medical personnel on duty made frantic efforts to resuscitate him but to no avail.

Abiola said that Sheu was immediately referred to another hospital in the polytechnic town in order to get more hands from other medical personnel.

Unfortunately, Sheu gave up the ghost few minutes later at Ogo Oluwa hospital where he was taken to in the school ambulance.

Abiola said that the deceased was observing the Ramadan fasting and that he might have slumped due to loss of strength.

2019 UTME: JAMB releases 4,536 more results

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released 4, 636 more results of its recently conducted Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The board’s Head, Media and Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, made this disclosure in a statement on Friday in Lagos. The number of the just released results of candidates were among the 34,120 that were initially withheld while announcing the results on May 11.

The Registrar of the board, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede had explained that of the total number of results withheld, 15, 145 candidates’ results were withheld for further clarifications as identical twins and siblings. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a total of 1,868, 508 candidates had registered for the examination that took place from April 11 to April 18. “Today, following consideration of the committee set up for the screening of the 4,760 candidates whose results were withheld due to multiple facial matches, with different names, during the 2019 UTME, JAMB has finally released the results of 4,536 absolved of complications. “This release became necessary following a facial match recognition carried out by specialised software and IT experts. “The board has also released the results of 231 other sets of candidates who sat for the same examination at the Nigeria Navy Secondary School, Abeokuta in Ogun,” Benjamin added. He further explained that from diligent investigation it was discovered that all these candidates did not have a hand in all that transpired in that school. The spokesman said the centre had since been suspended for acts not acceptable by the board. He noted further that out of the total number of candidates that were subjected to the screening, the board would further subject the results of 127 more candidates for further physical examination. “Those to be subjected to this further physical examination will be contacted soon. “They must appear before an inspection team to clarify other likely areas of multiplicity,” he said. Benjamin disclosed that the 127 candidates had been grouped into zones for convenience and easy accessibility. “Candidates in the South West will converge at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Office in Yaba, Lagos, while those in Ibadan and Ekiti will converge at the JAMB offices in Ibadan and Oyo respectively. “Those in the South-East will be converging in Owerri in Imo, while those in the North-East will be screened at the board’s office in Gombe, while candidates in the North-West will go for their screening in Kaduna. “Others from the North-Central states such as Kwara, will converge in Ilorin while those from Plateau, Nassarawa and the Federal Capital Territory will converge at the board’s headquarters in Abuja,” he said According to him, the result of 97 others established to have been involved in multiple registration and other forms of infraction still have their results withheld. (NAN)

Drug abuse set me back in life – Tonto Dikeh

Drug abuse, according to experts is capable of affecting a person’s life, physically, psychologically, financially and otherwise. While some don’t make it out of the addiction, others do and live better lives. This is the case with controversial actress and mother of one, Tonto Dikeh.

In a recent interview on BBC Pidgin, the actress revealed that she had once battled with hard drugs and that it brought about some setbacks in her life.

She also said she wants to use her foundation to help in the rehabilitation of drug addicts so that they can live a drug-free life. “I recently went into drug rehabilitation because it’s something that has set me back a lot in life and I’ve not really talked about it in public. So, given the fact that I am who I am today and I’m clean, I want to take the ‘Say No To Drugs’ back to the streets through the Tonto Dike Foundation,” she said.

Monday, 3 June 2019

Newspaper Headlines

Sunday, 2 June 2019

Shocking: Police arrest Regina Daniels’ brother after marriage to Ned Nwoko

Ooni of Ife to attend Yoruba Cultural Festival in Chicago

Saturday, 1 June 2019

"UNTIL I KIDNAPP BUHARI OR ATIKU, I WON'T STOP"- KIDNAPPER

POLY STUDENTS SET SCHOOL ON FIRE

2019 UTME: JAMB releases 4,536 more results

Drug abuse set me back in life – Tonto Dikeh

Grand Finale of Yoruba Nation Interfaith 3-Day Prayer Marathon

Dear Parents

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