Nigeria Content Online

Barca can’t get tired now

Messi did not score
against Osasuna so we may expect the little Argentine maestro to make
up for lost time against Mallorca. It was the often criticised Zlatan
Ibrahimovic that needed to rescue Barcelona from a poor position.

Pep Guardiola was
not impressed with his team and let that out to reporters after the
match. “We struggled to tighten up and support each other. We lacked
the fluency I had imagined. I have made a mistake; I imagined a game
that has not happened. In the sixth minute I decided to change it. When
Pedro plays with Dani Alves, both are good.” But the performances were
not good on the night. He commended Ibrahimovic for rescuing the
situation:

“When he scores we
do well, because he is a goal scorer. His quality depends on himself
and nobody else.” While Mallorca have surprised all Primera League
watchers with their displays this term, they have not faced an
opposition like the Blaugrana in some time. They currently sit in the
fourth position and have contributed goals from all around the park
with Aritz Aduriz accounting for nine goals. Since they will be playing
at ONO Estadi, they will have the support of their 12th man to bolster
them. Barca cannot afford any slip up with the fixture of games before
them. They play Arsenal, Bilbao and Real Madrid in the next two weeks.

Valencia are doing
well amidst their catalogue of financial woes and have a banker in
David Villa. Villa has scored 18 goals in 26 appearances and is
rumoured to be for sale, more goals will mean more money in the
transfer market. Zaragoza may have to go down again this season to
learn how to stay up.

They have always
had squads that pundits say are too good to go down but they have been
relegated in 2002 and 2008 although to their credit, they got promoted
back to the elite division immediately. They are just two points above
the relegation places. Their Nigerian striker, Ikechukwu Uche who might
have helped in scoring the goals is still out injured.

Season defining match on the cards in Serie A

Roma need to beat
Inter to get to within a point of the leaders and defending champions.
That is a tough task but if there is any side in Italy that has the
Indian sign over Inter, it is the Romans. Leaders Inter Milan ended
their recent dip in form with a 3-0 victory over last place, Livorno to
move four points clear at the top of the table while Roma were made to
work hard for their victory over Bologna.

Their last two
matches in the Serie A have been hard fought draws with Inter having to
come from behind to take a point. Francesco Totti is in a race against
time to be fit for the encounter.

The Giallorossi
will be right back in the Scudetto race if they can beat Jose
Mourinho’s men but Inter have developed more steel with the Portuguese
tactician pulling the strings. The Romans have David Pizarro, Philippe
Mexes and Daniele De Rossi back from bans to bolster the team.

Mario Balotelli
continues to be a bone of contention for Mourinho but as long as Jose
continues to get the results, Super Mario will continue to be on the
sidelines. The Italian of Ghanian parentage seems to have lost his
place to another out of favour player, Ricardo Querasma, who started
against Livorno in Inter’s 3-0 win. He had an assist in that match.

Bundesliga

Bayern will hope
to bounce back from a first defeat in 19 matches when they host VFB
Stuttgart at the Allianz Arena. As negotiations with Franck Ribery
continue, Louis Van Gaal will have an eye on Manchester United’s visit
on Tuesday in the quarter finals of the Champions League. Bayern are
coming off the back of a hard fought 1-0 victory over Schalke 04 in the
semi final of the DFB Pokal Cup on Wednesday with another wonder goal
from Arjen Robben winning the game.

Bayer Leverkusen
have faltered in the last weeks and are following the trend of between
1997 and 2002 when they choke in the run in for the title. Becoming
runners-up in 2000 and 2002 were heart-breaking for supporters as on
both occasions the team had the Bundesliga title within grasp as they
have had all this season before losing to Nurnberg two weeks ago –
their first loss of the season. Visitors, Schalke 04 will be a hard nut
to crack and sit second on the log.

Sports

Title race enters home stretch

Who can bet against
United? Defending champions Manchester United, without injured Wayne
Rooney, travel to the Reebok Stadium with a win in sight none the less.
There is no point risking Rooney with a trip to Munich to face Bayern
Munich in the UEFA Champions League. Normally, when United get into
first place in either February or March, it stays that way till the
last day of the season. There is a yawning gap in quality between these
two sides as, while Wayne Rooney is highest scorer for United with 26
goals, Ivan Klasnic is the leading goal scorer for Owen Coyle’s side
with 6 goals. United have no other injury worry apart from John O’Shea
who is out for the rest of the season. United should keep their
position after the weekend.

Chelsea need to consolidate

Chelsea got a
floundering season back on track with the 5-0 mauling of
almost-relegated Portsmouth on Wednesday, but doubts still linger.
Carlo Ancelotti said as much after the match: “We needed to win and I
hope the bad moment is finished,” the Italian added. “We have to wait
until Saturday because this is a very important test for us.

Well the Blues face
a side that is never an easy foe in Aston Villa. No Ashley Cole and
Branislav Ivanovic mean that Ashley Young can do havoc from both flanks
when he confronts either Yuri Zhirkov – who has not looked a 100% fit
or the fickle Paulo Ferreira.

Then there is the
hulking figure of John Carew and John Terry and Alex know that they
have to be up for the game. In the reverse fixture, the Villains
exploited Chelsea’s aerial weakness to come back from a Didier Drogba
early goal. The frailty is still there as the Blues have conceded 18
headed goals this term out of 28 conceded in the league. Aston Villa
have drawn their last two matches and need the points in the pursuit of
fourth place and a Champions League slot for next season. Villa may be
without Emile Heskey and Richard Dunne who suffered injuries and will
undergo scans ahead the game.

Chelsea travel to
Old Trafford on April 3 and they need to win their remaining seven
league games to claim a first championship since 2006. “If we win every
game between now and the end of the season, we will be champions,”
Ancelotti concluded.

Arsenal still have a chance

Third placed
Arsenal travel to face Birmingham and have to become the first side to
beat Alex McLeish’s team to stay in the race for the league diadem.
After two consecutive losses, the first time in four months, Birmingham
have to bounce back quickly.

Cameron Jerome is
in a rich vein of form scoring four goals in his last three matches but
the Gunners need the win to continue to hope for the trophy. Led by
captain and highest goal scorer with 15 goals, Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal
will be missing Thomas Vermaleen, whose red card against West Ham and
subsequent protest was thrown out by the FA. Expect a very tough match
with Barcelona in view for the Gunners next at the Emirates.

Other matches
Tottenham continue their Champions League pursuit with a match against
basement side, Portsmouth and it should be a banker for Harry
Redknapps’ side. Jermain Defoe is still out and Roman Pavlyuchenko
should continue. Two sides in good form; Everton and Wolves will tango
at the Moulineux with David Moyes seeking at least a Europa Cup slot
after a disastrous opening to the season.

Everton won away at Manchester City 2-0 and Wolves destroyed West Ham at Upton Park – something will have to give.

Sports

Troops avert another crisis in Jos

Troops avert another crisis in Jos

Troops
of the Special Task Force (STF) on the Jos Crisis, have averted renewed
violence in Bukuru, Jos, Donald Oji, a brigadier general and the leader
of the task force said in a statement on Thursday.

According to him,
three persons, including the Divisional Police Officer of ‘B’ Division,
Bukuru, were injured, while four suspects were arrested during the
aborted violence.

He stated that the
incident, which started about 5.30pm, involved two persons who started
fighting after a game of football, and later developed to a situation
in which youth started blocking the major roads and attacking
passers-by.

Guerrilla attacks

Residents of some
of villages have also complained of guerrilla attacks on individuals in
their villages, with some children missing and dead bodies being found
in hidden places.

Confirming the
development, the state commissioner of information, Gregory Yenlong,
said, “In the last two weeks, not less than 20 people have been killed
in selective killings.”

The dead and missing were mostly street hawkers, commuter drivers, and those that work outdoors till , some residents confirmed.

According to Mr.
Oji, “While we continue to perform our lawful duties, we also appeal to
parents and elders to reciprocate our gesture of restraint by
admonishing their youths in this dangerous path of perpetrating
violence, which they have resorted to.”

The task force said
in the statement that it is exercising restraint not to bring the
necessary force to bear on the undisciplined.

While urging the
general public to go about their normal businesses without any fear, it
assured that the STF was well-positioned to protect them. It added that
the STF had also on Wednesday, assisted the Fan Community in Barkin Lad
Council Area to recover their cows that were rustled in the early hours
of that day. The STF said five cows were recovered, while efforts were
still on to recover the remaining 25. It said troops responded to a
distress call by community leaders and arrested two people in
connection with the incident.

The statement also emphasised that the STF was on the alert to restore normalcy in Jos and its environs.

A spokesperson for
the Hausa Community, Muhammad Sani Mudi, had told a foreign media
organisation that, “We now live in fear, as a result of killings in the
city, which makes it difficult for us to move about freely. We have
lost 23 members to such secret killings in the past two weeks, while 58
others are still missing.”

The police
spokesperson, Emmanuel Ojukwu, in an interview with NEXT earlier in the
week, had said that 41 people would be charged for murder, while others
arrested will face different charges based on what their interrogation
reveals.

‘Joy of the Senate’ loses seat

‘Joy of the Senate’ loses seat

Shortly before
midday yesterday, while the Senate was debating the draft amended
constitution, Joy Emordi, who then still represented Anambra North in
the Senate, received a call.

After the call, her
mood changed and she stood up, left her seat and went to the Senate
president’s podium. Mrs. Emordi spent close to seven minutes discussing
with David Mark, the Senate President. Her story held Mr. Mark’s full
attention while plenary was put on hold.

Thereafter, she picked up her hand bag from her seat and left the red chamber and went into the coffee room.

It turned out that
this was her last appearance in the chambers as a senator representing
Anambra North senatorial zone in the sixth session of the senate.

The Court of Appeal
in Enugu had yesterday in a judgment removed Mrs. Emordi and declared
Alphonsus Igbeke of the ANPP the winner of the seat.

Mrs Emordi has just
14-months to complete her tenure as senator which she assumed following
the general election of April 28, 2007.

The court led by
Justice Olakayode Ariwola in its judgement on Thursday held that she
was not the winner of the election into the Anambra North Senatorial
zone and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to
withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to her.

The Joy of the senate

“The Joy of the Senate” as she was fondly called by Mr. Mark, was a hard-line senator.

She always took
clear-cut stance on issues and was instrumental to the dumping of two
of the six constitutional amendment bills that was sent to the senate
by the president.

She had strongly
argued that the bills were poorly crafted and that it was arrogating
too much power to the president. She was also a strong advocate for
gender equality in government activities.

She headed the
senate committee on education, a committee she has chaired since 2005
when she came into the senate by a ruling of the court too.

In June 2008, her election into the current session of the senate was up held by the tribunal.

In her reaction to
the recent judgement, Mrs Emordi said that she respects the judgement
of the Court of Appeal and still believes in the judiciary.

“We will definitely miss her”

Grace Bent, (PDP
Adamawa state) who is her female colleague in the senate said, “It is a
big shock to us in the Senate and especially to the female senators.
Joy is one of our very vibrant and articulate and active female
senators who are well respected.” Mrs Bent however expressed optimism
that Mrs. Emordi will soon be back to the senate.

“The good thing about it is that she just have only one year to go
to the election year and it will give her time to go and start
preparing for the next election.”

FG determined to stop violence in Jos

FG determined to stop violence in Jos

The federal government has said it is determined to stop the killings and intractable violence in Jos and its environs. The government stance was made public by our acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, when he received the interim report of the Presidential Committee on the Jos Crisis.
Mr. Jonathan expressed deep concern over the reoccurring crisis in the area, saying, “We just cannot continue like this.”
According to him, there is a lot of aggression and lawlessness in the area but the federal government is determined to bring it all to an end.
Earlier, the chairman of the committee, Solomon Lar, told the acting president that a full report will soon be submitted, explaining that the committee still needed input from critical segments of the society to finalise the document.
The closed door meeting also had in attendance the Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the meeting, Mr.Jang, said he was at the presidential villa to give a detailed briefing to Mr. Jonathan. “I came to brief the acting president on the latest situation and how far we have gone.” He said he believed the situation will get better, particularly with “the additional forces sent in for deployment in all the various localities to ensure that lives and property are protected.”
Mr. Jang went on to say that other steps are also being taken to ensure that peace returns to Plateau State. “We have started talking to various groups, particularly the Fulanis who have been living here for so many years,” he said.
In explaining the close and good relationship that previously existed between the Fulanis and other tribes in Plateau State, Mr. Jang drew on his own personal history.
“I was born in a neighbourhood of the Fulanis. The neighbour of my father was a Fulani man and I grew up with his children and even went to tend his cows. And if you look at my age now, around 66, then you would understand how long the Fulanis have lived around the Berom and other indigenes of Plateau State.
“We can never wish each other away. You don’t even know the difference between the Fulanis and the natives who are cattle rearers. We want peace on the plateau. We want to live as brothers and sisters. We are Nigerians and we must be able to live together.”
Mr. Jang, however, didn’t seem unaware of the difficulty and enormity of the task of ensuring continuing peace in Plateau State. According to him, “As you know, you can win a war but you cannot win peace, not easily…. People are still bitter with each other but it takes time to win peace.”
Mr. Lar, who also spoke to the press after the meeting, said, “We have come to see him and report to him the progress so far made about the crisis in Jos. As you know, some time in Jos, to be precise January this year, as a result of the fighting that broke out, the acting president appointed a presidential advisory committee to look into the matter and find practical solutions to the problem and later report to government and this is what we have come to do–to report so far the progress made.”
When asked about the details of the interim report they submitted to the acting president, Mr Lar said, “The progress so far made is submitted to him and we would not give it in bits but the president would let the nation know that later, after we have concluded.”
On why the committee decided to present an interim report when they were given two weeks to work, Mr. Lar said it became necessary because of the outbreak of fresh crisis in the state.
In the last 10 years, Plateau State has, at various times, experienced violent clashes between the Muslim and Christian population, which are also loosely divided along ethnic lines. The sectarian killings in the last decade have claimed thousands of lives.

Nigeria loses 245 students to campus cultism

Nigeria loses 245 students to campus cultism

Between
1993 and 2003, at least 245 students have died due to the activities of
cultists in higher institutions in Nigeria, Ayoola Ogunkunle, a
professor of Agronomy and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Ibadan, claimed.

The academic said
this in Ibadan on Tuesday while delivering the maiden anti-cultism
lecture entitled, ‘War Against Campus Cultism: A Necessity for National
Development.’

The lecture, which
held at the university’s Trenchard Hall, was organised by its
Anti-Cultism Campaign Committee. Mr. Ogunkunle alleged that cultism has
killed more people, and at a faster speed, than HIV and AIDS in
campuses.The former Dean, Students’ Affairs of the university,
advocated an equal, if not better, measure of attention given to the
campaign against HIV and AIDS to campus cultism which, according to
him, is very complex and more difficult to diagnose than the pandemic.

He added that
cultism is waging an indirect war against national development as it
destroys the lives of the young members of the population who represent
the major labour force and the future leaders of the nation.

“A struggle for the soul”

Mr. Ogunkunle
described the war on the vice as “a struggle for the soul of the nation
which must be fought by all,” saying, “it must be continuous,
consistent, and unyielding in view of the stubborn and secretive nature
of cultism.”

According to him,
cultism has bred violation of fundamental human rights of others,
examination malpractices, disruption of the academic calendar,
immorality, armed robbery, and destruction of life and property in the
campuses and larger society.

A pioneer member of the Anti-Cultism Campaign Committee, established
11 years ago in the university, the guest lecturer said one major way
to rid the campuses of cultism is for the Federal Government to take
proactive steps by, for instance, creating a section in the Ministry of
Education dedicated to managing, funding, and monitoring the success of
anti-cultism activities in tertiary institutions in the country.

Men in court for stealing goods worth N29m

Men in court for stealing goods worth N29m

Four men were on
Thursday were arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court sitting in
Ikeja, for allegedly stealing goods and cash worth over N29 million,
all property of Regatta Industrial Limited.

Joseph Ukpong, a
32-year-old man, alongside Joshua Ajani, 37; Mathias Ita, 33, and
35-year-old Sunday Samson were charged for a three-count offence
bordering on conspiracy and stealing.

The defendants were
alleged to have committed the offence along with other persons who were
said to be at large, on March 7, 2010, somewhere along Acme Road in
Ogba, at about 10.00pm.

They were alleged
to have broken into the warehouse of Regatta Industrial Limited, and
made away with the cash and goods worth N29, 660, 000.

It was noted that
the offences are contrary to and punishable under sections 516A (1),
413(1) and 390(9) of the criminal code, Cap C 17, Vol. II, laws of
Lagos state of Nigeria, 2003.

One of the charges,
as prepared by the police prosecution counsel, Haruna Ebhodagbe, reads
thus: “That you, Joseph Ukpong ‘m’, Joshua Ajani ‘m’, Mathias Ita ‘m’,
Sunday Samson ‘m’ and others at large, on the same date, time and place
in the aforementioned magisterial district, did steal Sony camera
valued at N85, 000, one computer system with CPU valued N50, 000,
virgin material 860 bags valued N6, 375, 000, peyele material valued
N3, 750, 000, finished goods valued N1, 200, 000, 220 pieces of car
tyre valued at N1, 700, 000 and cash of N1, 200, 000, total valued at
N29, 660, 000, property of Regatta Industrial Limited and, thereby,
committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 390(9) of
the criminal code, Cap C 17, Vol. II, laws of Lagos state of Nigeria,
2003.”

When the charges were read to the defendants, they pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Counsel to the
defendants, Osita Eghonu, urged the court to grant the defendants bail
on liberal conditions. He noted that the offences for which they are
charge are bail-able ones. He also stated that the recovered goods are
in the custody of the police, and the innocence of the defendants can
only be proofed during trial.

Mr. Ebhodagbe, the
police prosecution counsel, did not oppose the bail of the defendants.
He, however, urged the court to grant them bail on stringent
conditions. He noted that the police had to go as far as Abia State
before they could arrest the defendants and recover the stolen goods.

Consequently, the
presiding magistrate, Temitope Olatokun, granted the defendants bail in
the sum of N1 million with two sureties in like sum.

“The defendants are
admitted to bail in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in like
sum. The sureties must depose to an affidavit of means showing that
they are worth the amount of bail. They are also to show three-year tax
clearance.”

The matter was adjourned to April 28, 2010 for mention.