Believers Ready For 'Apocalpse'

Hundreds of people across the world have been preparing for what they believe will be the end of the world on December 21.

The date is the apparent end of the "long count" calendar of the ancient Mayan civilisation.

Believers have gathered in Mexico near

Nollywood Actress Nkiru Sylvanus Regains Freedom

Nollywood actress Nkiru Sylvanus who was kidnapped last Sunday by Unknown gunmen was released yesterday Thursday. The actress was kidnapped when she was returning from a movie location.

while in captivity, the kidnappers demanded for a ransom of 100 million naira. however it is not certain if any amount was paid for her release.
 Slyvanus is also the Special Assistant to Imo State Government on Public Affairs

Principal Suspended For Conducting Virginity Test On Students

The plague of moral decadence troubling the society is compelling some untoward actions aimed at redeeming the young folks from self-destruction. It is probably in a bid to ensure a high moral standard among her pupils that the Principal of Ajuwon High School, in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, Mrs. Olufunke Aladeojebi, took an unusual action earned her an indefinite suspension from the state government.

Aladeojebi, who is widely regarded as a strict disciplinarian, subjected some female students in her school to a virginity test, drawing the ire of their parents who reported the matter to the police for carrying out such a test without consulting them.

According to some of the affected students, the principal was said to have called in a nurse who, together with the principal, dipped their fingers into the students’ organs to ascertain whether they are still virgins or not.

One of the students explained that of the about 300 female students in SSS1, 38 of them who are still virgins were marched into the principal’s office for the test.

She said: “They subsequently divided us into three groups of 10, 15 and 13 and I was in the second group. The principal later addressed us and threatened that any student who fails the test would have her name written in the school’s black book and would be suspended.

“When my class captain emerged from the room, I asked her why was everyone that came out of the office looking depressed? I was held spellbound when she told me that the principal and the nurse dipped their fingers, in turns, into their private parts, adding that she had started bleeding as a result of the penetration.

“Two of my friends who had similar experiences burst into tears as they narrated what happened.”

The state government yesterday announced her suspension over the incident, after a panel set up to investigate the matter turned in a preliminary report and verdict that the principal had no right to conduct such a test on her students.

The state Commissioner for Education, Mr. Segun Odubela, said the ministry had interrogated the principal to give her fair hearing, adding that a five-man panel consisting of officials of both the ministry and Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) has been set up to further investigate the case and make appropriate recommendations on how to deal with the matter.

Commenting on what further action that could be taken against the principal, Odubela said the panel has 14 days to submit its report, noting that "the government is always concerned about the welfare and interest of the students and therefore will not tolerate any act that will compromise their fundamental rights or jeopardise their future”.

He added: “We equally believe in the need to maintain discipline in our schools and to follow due process in the handling of this particular case. We appeal to the parents of the students involved to be patient and allow us to handle the case as dictated by the law of the land and service rules.”

His counterpart in the Ministry of Information, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, said the government would follow due process in handling the matter.

A sexual abuse expert, Mrs. Princess Olufemi-Kayode, condemned the principal’s action, saying: “It’s inappropriate to subject pupils to a virginity test. It’s a barbaric act that should not be tolerated or accepted. A broken hymen is no longer medically proven as evidence of sexual activities.

“I don’t know what law exists in Ogun State in this regard, but if it happens in Lagos State, she would be sued. She actually overstepped her bounds. The pupils were molested. It is simply an abuse.”

Olufemi-Kayode said: “Virginity test is a growing phenomenon in sexual abuse. Statistics from the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) shows that over 25 per cent of adolescents in Nigeria have had their first sexual intercourse by age 15.”

Another NGO, Child Protection Network (CPN), in Abeokuta, described the issue of conducting virginity test on students as wrong.

Its state Coordinator, Mrs. Olapeju Osoba, said: "I don't see a situation whereby a principal will check whether a child is a virgin or not. I do not think any principal has a professional capacity to do that kind of test.

“I don't think I will ever give my consent for anybody in that capacity to conduct a test on my child because that person is invading the privacy of that child, it is not acceptable, I won’t accept it."

Speaking on the implication of such a test, she said there were emotional implications, adding: "children are psychologically traumatised".

She further explained that such children would need to undergo some therapy to overcome the trauma.

On the possible effect of the test on the students, a psychologist, Mr. Olawale Meduoye, said: “Pupils subjected to violation in this manner find it hard to cope in life. They live with the experience for the rest of their lives''

Obasanjo: I'm Still Alive

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday dispelled rumours about his death, saying, "am still alive anyway”.
He made the denial when he met with the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur in Abeokuta.
Obasanjo expressed worry why people should spread death rumour about him.
He said that keeping quiet on issues of national importance was not the best option for him because of his love for Nigeria.
“Because, if there is no Nigeria, there will not be a party and if there is no party, there will be nothing to govern on the platform of the party.
“If there is anything that requires my own comment, position or views I will say it.
"It is my passion, patriotism and love that will continue to make me say my own. If I see something that is inimical to the growth of the party, I will talk,” he said.
Obasanjo expressed his delight over Tukur's visit, describing the PDP chieftain a respected leader.
“It is always a delight to have our oga visit us to see what we are doing and what we are not doing.
“To know our anxiety, aspirations and concerns. And also to disabuse the minds of the rumour mongers. The President is my President. Those who want me and the chair to quarrel; this visit will keep them quiet.

"Without Nigeria there will be no party even when I was in prison I was not quiet," he said.

Tukur said that the main purpose of his visit was to appreciate the former PDP Board of Trustees chairman for his persistent and consistent role not only for the party but for the country and the international community.

"Your support has never been relenting and I have come to say" thank you sir,” he said.

Tukur, however, affirmed the leadership of the Dipo Odujirin-led executive in the state, declaring that the party only

recognised the elected executive.

“Whoever the people have elected as far as I am concerned, is the chairman of our party in Ogun,” he said..
But Odujinrin’s chairmanship was opposed by a faction of the party who claimed a court ruling was in their favour.

"I have come here because of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is the leader of our party and I'm now the chairman.

Okonjo-Iweala's Mother kidnapped

The 83-year-old mother of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was kidnapped Sunday afternoon by unknown gunmen from the palace of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area, Delta State, Obi Chukwuka Okonjo, who is also her husband.

The 83-year-old Kamene Okonjo, who is also the queen mother of Ogwashi-Uku and a retired Professor of Sociology, was abducted at about 1.47 pm by a gang of armed men who seized her at the gate of the palace at Ogbe-ofu, Ogwashi-Uku, and took her away, when her husband was out of town.

Confirming the kidnapping, the Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, condemned the incident, saying it is most unfortunate that a woman as old as Professor Kamene Okonjo, could be traumatised.

He said he had directed the Delta State Police Command and the Special Task Force to rescue the minister’s mother immediately, as her kidnapping was a major embarrassment to the state.

He said no demand had been made by the kidnappers for ransom, but that Delta State Government was focused on recovering the minister’s mother alive and unharmed as quickly as possible.

Also, speaking to on her mother’s abduction, the minister, who arrived the country last night from the United States of America, said she was informed of the incident the minute she switched on her phone at the airport.

She said she was distraught when she got the news, but had to remain calm for her father’s sake.

The minister said the sketchy information made available to her showed that the police orderlies who normally guard the palace were not present at the time her mother was abducted.

She confirmed that her father was in Nasarawa State Sunday or a meeting and one of her priorities last night was to reach him to inform him of his wife’s abduction.

In a statement by the minister's spokesman, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, he said: "It is difficult to say whether those behind this action are the same people who have made threats against the Co-ordinating Minister in the recent past or other elements with hostile motives. No possibility can be ruled out."

He said this was a very difficult time for the entire Okonjo family, "but the family is hopeful of a positive outcome as it fervently prays for the quick and safe return of the matriach."

However, the police in Delta State were said to have arrested a man who allegedly left the compound a few minutes before the incident took place.
The man was said to have informed the housemaid that he was in the palace to take the minister’s mother somewhere in town.

It was gathered that the kidnappers numbering about 10 were lurking around the palace until the woman and her maid had come down to serve soft drinks to some construction workers who were fixing interlocking tiles at the gate.

Eyewitnesses said as soon as the woman came down from the main building towards the gate, the criminals moved quickly, grabbed and pushed her into a waiting Golf Volkswagen car.

“The abductors when they walked into the compound were heavily armed. They were about 10 in number.

“They bundled up the men fixing the interlocking tiles and asked them to lie face down. Immediately they saw her, they bundled her into a waiting Golf Volkswagen while another car was parked outside,” they said.

One of the assailants, said eyewitnesses, braced the odds and went upstairs to collect the woman’s handbag. Another eyewitness said another maid, who sighted the kidnapper upstairs, hid herself in the kitchen

Why Northern Governors Stayed Away From Meni Jonathan's Burial

Contrary to earlier insinuations that governors of the 19 Northern states boycotted the burial of President Goodluck Jonathan’s brother, Meni, at the weekend in Bayelsa State, over unresolved political issues, Daily Sun gathered that the governors may have acted based on the body language of the President’s family

. Initial speculations had it that while the Northern governors stayed away from Otuoke as a result of strained relationship with the President over a number of issues, including revenue sharing, the security challenge in the region, and his rumoured re-election plans for 2015, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governors also stayed away to protest what they might have considered the President’s “bad faith” after the 2011 elections they helped him to win.

Lagos, a key ACN state, is still smarting from the President’s recent stoppage of a $600 million World Bank loan. Penultimate week, Governor Raji Fashola (SAN) dragged the President to the House of Representatives, appealing to the lawmakers to resolve the loan impasse. Similarly, they were said to have cited the issue of timing of the burial, coming at a time when many of them had made commitments and given their words to attend the wedding of Vice President Namadi Sambo’s daughters slated for the same day.

However, a close aide of the President who does not want to be named, told Daily Sun that nothing can be further from the truth. According to him, the family never intended a big ‘celebration’ for the demise of a man who died 45 years of age. “Remember, his mother is still alive. He has an elder brother. If anything, I think his death was untimely and that is not the type of burial you would want to celebrate and invite all the dignitaries,” the source said.

Rather than celebrate, he said, the Jonathan family simply wanted to mourn their loss quietly. “If you also notice that the late Meni left behind two wives, nine very young children and a grand child, the wisest thing for now would be to soberly reflect on what to do to assist the very young family he left behind and not to be insinuating political undertones to the event.” He said it was in keeping with the desire to mourn quietly that the family did not event print any formal invitation cards for the burial.” They only took paid advertorial to announce the funeral program.”

Even at that, the source said, it would be wrong to say that the governors abandoned Jonathan. He noted: “Virtually all the governors had visited the President at Aso Rock to commiserate with him. It was there that they got the “message” that the burial would not be a carnival. In fact, the little “noise” that was made about the burial was probably because the President’s family was involved. “However, many of them, including the governors of Kogi and Benue states actually sent their deputies to the burial in Otuoke at the weekend, while the governors from the neighbouring states in the South-East and South-South attended.” According to him, “many journalists do not even know deputy governors, so they could not differentiate them from the crowd.

That was why they hurriedly concluded that their states boycotted the burial.” He said it was most “inhuman” and “insensitive” to attach any political meanings to the pattern of attendance at the rural, noting that but for the fact that President Jonathan was directly involved, he probably would have attended the Kaduna wedding himself. Interestingly, Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who allegedly was one of the ACN governors who boycotted the President’s function, made it to Sambo’s daughters’ wedding, in Kaduna.

The burial of the President’s brother, coincided with the wedding of Sambo’s two daughters – Huwaila and Aishat – in Kaduna. Besides former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari and ex-military president, Gen Ibrahim Babangida, Governors of Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Katsina and Gombe States were by Sambo’s side. Also at the Vice President’s event were governors of Bauchi, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara and Taraba states. Wife of the Benue State Governor, Mrs Yemisi Suswam represented her husband. At Otuoke, however, were Senate President David Mark, Speaker, House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal, his deputy Emeka Ihedioha, as well as governors of Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Rivers, Delta and Abia states

The Sun