Suspected killers of Bridget Agbahime arraigned before a Kano State magistrate court

Suspected killers of  Bridget Agbahime were on Friday, June 10, arraigned before a Kano State Magistrate court.

A large number of youths gathered at the popular Kofar Wambai market on June 2, 2016, to take part in a protest that eventually led to the killing of Mrs Agbahime alleged blasphemy against the prophet of Islam. The 75-year-old who hails from Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State, was hacked to death by the angry mob, a killing which sparked international outrage.


The prime suspect Dauda Ahmad, and four others identified as Abdullahi Mustapha, Zubairu Abubakar, Abdullahi Abubakar and Musa Abdullahi were arraigned before Chief Magistrate Court on a four-count charge; incitement, culpable homicide and mischief, based on sections 144, 80, 51 and 327 of the penal code.

Dauda Ahmad was accused of leading others to attack and hack Mrs. Agbahime to death. According to the prosecutor, Dauda Jibrin, on June 2, at about 4PM, Mr. Ahma ent and held the hands of Mrs. Agbahime and slapped her severally on the face before shouting Allahu Akbar with the intent to caused religious upheaval.

He said as Mr. Ahmad shouted Allahu Akbar, Abdullahi Mustapha, Zubairu Abubakar joined him, while others at large, including Salawiyu, Ibrahim, Dini, Isiyaku Mada, Mallam Sani and Yunusa Sufi, also accompanied them to Mrs. Agbahime’s shop located on the first floor, where they beat her with sticks causing serious injuries that led to her death.

Two of the suspects pleaded not guilty to the four charges, while Abdullahi Mustapha and Zubairu Abubakar said they were not even at the scene of the incident.

The Chief Magistrate Muhammad Jibrin adjourned the case to June 28 for hearing to allow the Police conduct all necessary investigation into the matter.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/205056-nigeria-police-arraign-5-suspects-kano-blasphemy-killing.html

A family of eight recreated this adorable photo of newborn sextuplets six years on

A family of eight have recreated a photo of their newborn sextuplets six years on.
The original photo ofRozonno and Mia McGhee's six children, taken by photographer Brian Killian, featured the newborn babies lying on or next to their father.
Killian told TODAY that the photo had received a great amount of attention on social media:

We knew that one was special.
I think people still remember seeing it six years ago. To have six little babies asleep on their dad — that's a unique portrait.

So for the sixth birthday of Elijah, Issac, Josiah, Madison, Olivia and Rozonno Jr. this week, the family decided to recreate the image.
One thing's for sure - they're not so little anymore.
 Picture: Janine and Brian Killian/Peters Photography
The portrait was commissioned to promote the families' new reality show Growing Up McGhee, which follows Rozonno and Mia parenting the six children while simultaneously running their carpet-cleaning business.
The siblings made history as the first known sextuplets to be born in Columbus, Ohio.

http://indy100.independent.co.uk/article/a-family-of-eight-recreated-this-adorable-photo-of-newborn-sextuplets-six-years-on--ZkDmpGybNZ?utm_source=indy&utm_medium=top5&utm_campaign=i100

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A handout portrait photograph released by Buckingham Palace on June 9, 2016 and taken by Annie Leibovitz to mark the Queen's 90th birthday shows Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (L) and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (R) pictured at Windsor Castle just after Easter in 2016. / AFP PHOTO / BUCKINGHAM PALACE / Annie Leibovitz /

A beaming Queen Elizabeth II greeted flag-waving crowds outside St. Paul’s Cathedral Friday despite being delayed by London’s traffic as she made her way to celebrate her official 90th birthday. The sprightly monarch who still keeps a gruelling calendar of official engagements and events kicked off three days of celebrations with a thanksgiving ceremony at the Baroque-style church.
The queen turned 90 on April 21, but British monarchs also have an official birthday celebration nearer the summer to make the most of the warmer weather in a tradition going back 250 years.

Dressed in canary yellow, the queen entered the 340-year-old cathedral to a fanfare sounded by state trumpeters of the Household Calvary, accompanied by husband Prince Philip, who himself celebrated his 95th birthday on Friday.
Senior royals including Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Prince William and his wife Kate were joined in the congregation by Prime Minister David Cameron, opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn — a noted republican — and new London mayor Sadiq Khan.
Veteran naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough, who was born in the same year as the queen, read “Reflections on the Passing of the Years” by Paddington Bear author Michael Bond.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, paid tribute to the queen’s “wonderful service” during the sermon.
“You have been an instrument of God’s peace, and through you, God has so often turned fear into wonder — and joy,” he said.
There was a moment of drama when a member of the military fainted on the steps outside the cathedral while waiting for the service to arrive.
To mark the queen’s birthday, the royal family released a double portrait taken by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh who have been married for more than 68 years.
The picture shows the queen in pale pink with Prince Philip wearing a shirt in the same colour.
The three-day celebrations have the theme of public service, with members of the NHS, the police and the fire service represented at the thanksgiving service.
The armed services will be honoured on Saturday — the queen’s actual official birthday — and Sunday will celebrate the work of charities.
The royal couple will host a lunch for visiting governors-general at Buckingham Palace following the service, while the streets of London will be lined with well-wishers on Saturday for the pomp of the Trooping of the Colour ceremony.
Around 10,000 guests are due on the Mall, the road leading to Buckingham Palace, for a street party on Sunday.

FG to Relocate MDAs to Properties Recovered from Treasury Looters

The federal government on Friday disclosed that it will relocate its Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that operate from rented properties across the country into some of the buildings recovered from its former officials who are standing trial for corrupt acts while in office.
This is to enable it cut its expenditure on annual rents.

It also said that it has issued a fresh circular on official allowances for travels and sitting to its MDAs, from which it expects to save up to N14 billion annually.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who briefed journalists in Abuja on the activities of the Efficiency Unit she set up in 2015 to optimise government’s expenditure, made this disclosure.

She also disclosed that a uniform pricing guideline for all procurements to be made by government’s MDAs was underway, and that the guideline will ensure uniformity in prices of items purchased by the MDAs when in place.

The guideline, she noted, will in addition to an ongoing pooling of MDAs’ demands for standard products, enable the government negotiate and secure huge discounts from suppliers of necessary official items.

The minister said within the six months that the unit has operated, the government has been able to generate data on its actual consolidated overhead expenditure between 2012 and 2014.

She said such data have enabled it assess government’s spending patterns on overhead and developed strategies to moderate cost and promote accountability.
“The actions required for the implementation of the strategies for the major overhead expenditure items and others that were classified as quick wins have commenced.

FURTHER DETAILS LATER 

http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/06/10/fg-to-relocate-mdas-to-properties-recovered-from-treasury-looters/

Berlin – German rail company Deutsche Bahn on Friday, said it’s has concluded plans to introduce driverless trains as early as 2021. The chief executive of Deutsche Bahn, Ruediger Grube, told newsmen in Berlin that they were expected to complete work on the driverless trains by 2021. “I expect us to be able to operate parts of our network completely automatically by 2021, 2022 or 2023. “Autonomous driving can be difficult in a complex rail network that includes high-speed and regional passenger and goods trains, but it is possible,’’ Grube said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn, confirmed the report that the first testing of driverless trains would take place on a 30-kilometre track in the eastern state of Saxony later. He said that the trains to be used in the tests had been fitted with cameras and technology aimed to detect obstacles on the track and halt the train before collision. He added that there are also liability questions that had yet to be ironed out. In February, the head-on collision of two commuter trains in upper Bavaria killed 11 people and injured dozens of others. The accident was blamed on the signals control officer in charge of the train.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/06/german-rail-introduce-driverless-trains-early-2021/

Berlin – German rail company Deutsche Bahn on Friday, said it’s has concluded plans to introduce driverless trains as early as 2021. The chief executive of Deutsche Bahn, Ruediger Grube, told newsmen in Berlin that they were expected to complete work on the driverless trains by 2021. “I expect us to be able to operate parts of our network completely automatically by 2021, 2022 or 2023. “Autonomous driving can be difficult in a complex rail network that includes high-speed and regional passenger and goods trains, but it is possible,’’ Grube said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn, confirmed the report that the first testing of driverless trains would take place on a 30-kilometre track in the eastern state of Saxony later. He said that the trains to be used in the tests had been fitted with cameras and technology aimed to detect obstacles on the track and halt the train before collision. He added that there are also liability questions that had yet to be ironed out. In February, the head-on collision of two commuter trains in upper Bavaria killed 11 people and injured dozens of others. The accident was blamed on the signals control officer in charge of the train.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/06/german-rail-introduce-driverless-trains-early-2021/

BREAKING: Telecoms giant MTN agrees to pay Nigerian $1.7 billion fine

South African telecoms giant MTN said Friday it would pay a $1.7 billion fine to the Nigerian government in a “full and final settlement” over its failure to disconnect unregistered mobile phone users.
The company said in a statement that “MTN Nigeria has agreed to pay a total cash amount of Naira 330 billion over three years.”
Africa’s biggest wireless operator was fined $3.9 billion last year and has since been in negotiations with the government over the payout.http://www.punchng.com/telecoms-giant-mtn-agrees-pay-nigerian-1-7-billion-fine/

Bauchi gets first female CJ amidst protest

The Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, has appointed Justice Rabi Talatu Umar as the first female Chief Judge of the state, despite several petitions against her.

Some concerned indigenes of Bauchi State had written several petitions to the state House of Assembly against the appointment of Justice Umar.The petitioners challenged her appointment on the grounds that she is not the most senior counsel to be appointed as Chief Judge. They alleged that she is not an indigene of the state and is also a relative of Governor Abubakar.

But speaking with The PUNCH, the Senior Special Assistant to the Bauchi State Governor on Media, Sabo Mohammed, dismissed the petitions as he described them as baseless.

He said the Bauchi State House of Assembly had cleared her, hence her appointment as substantive Chief Judge.

Governor Abubakar, in a speech during the swearing-in of Justice Umar at the Multi-purpose Indoor Sports Hall, Bauchi, on Thursday, said her appointment was in pursuit of Section 271 (4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.

He said she had proven, over the years, to be an incorruptible legal practitioner.

Abubakar stated, “The officer I have sworn in today has, over the years, proven to be an upright, impartial and incorruptible adjudicator and has distinguished herself as a seasoned legal officer by the way she has been handling her official assignment.

“I am therefore confident that she will bring all these qualities into play in the discharge of her duties as the state Chief Judge.”

The governor charged her to live above board as a lot was being expected from her, especially at this critical period of the nation’s history.

He urged her to initiate a number of reforms aimed at improving the legal system in the state in order to be in tune with the change mantra disposition of the present administration.

He called on other members of the bench to give the new Chief Judge the necessary cooperation to discharge her duties effectively.

“I want to remind members of the bench of their status as impartial arbiters, who must not only dispense justice but must be seen to be dispensing justice without fear or favour.

“As the last resort of the common man, they must live above board and give good account of themselves to, not only the people but also to God Almighty, who will surely judge them in the hereafter.”

Abubakar also called on the judiciary to continue to sustain and consolidate the rule of law without compromising their independence. He promised that his administration would give them the necessary support they need to dispense justice.

http://www.punchng.com/bauchi-gets-first-female-cj-amidst-protest/http://www.punchng.com/bauchi-gets-first-female-cj-amidst-protest/

INEC employs blind ex-Corps member

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has employed an ex-youth Corps member, Daniel Oluwatobi, who lost his sight while serving as INEC ad hoc staff in Yobe State for the 2011 elections.

Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who led a team of INEC’s National Commissioners, Secretaries and Directors to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) headquarters for the presentation ceremony, praised Corps members for their patriotism, dedication and commitment to election duties.

He described them as part of “our most committed, patriotic and non-partisan election duty staff. There is no way we can have a successful election without this crop of dedicated staff.”

Yakubu recalled that he promised to employ Oluwatobi when he visited the NYSC headquarters to condole with the Director-General, Brig. Gen Sule Kazaure on the death of a youth Corps member, Samuel Okonta.

“Today, we are fulfilling that promise. Oluwatobi has requested to be posted to Ogun State, and to Ogun State he has been posted,” he said.

He then presented the appointment letter to Brig. Gen Kazaure, who in turn handed it over to Oluwatobi.

Kazaure  thanked the INEC Chair for the gesture. He stressed the need for a review of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between INEC and NYSC, in the areas of security, transportation, allowances and insurance cover for corp members.

Oluwatobi gave a salute and a shout to acknowledge the gesture.

http://thenationonlineng.net/inec-employs-blind-ex-corps-member/