Is Putin preparing a governmental purge?

This article was written for the Unz Review: http://www.unz.com/tsaker/is-putin-preparing-a-governmental-purge/

As he does once a year, last week President Putin spend over three and a half hours answering 80 questions out of the 3+ million questions which were received. The show, which was aired live on Channel One, Rossiya-1 and Rossiya-24 TV channels, and the Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio Rossii was an unprecedented success which was watched and commented upon by millions of Russians. You can read the full transcript of the show by clicking here, and the transcript of a conversation between Putin and the journalist corps following the show here.

Lagos Police in search of man who stabbed twin brothers after their younger sister refused his advances

The Lagos state police command is presently in search of one Alex Onuora accused of stabbing two brothers, Elvis and Kene Megwa, after their younger sister refused his advances. According to PM News, one of the twins, Elvis Megwa, a mass communication undergraduate at National Open University, died on the spot while his brother Kene is presently lying critically in hospital.

Trouble started when Alex and his friend Alia, accosted the younger sister of the twin brothers at the shop just across the street from their house at Liasu road at council bus stop in Ikotun area of Lagos and made advances at her which she turned down.

Man allegedly defiles step-daughter, lands in Prison Custody

An Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court has remanded a 31-year-old sales engineer, Essien Happiness, in prison custody for allegedly defiling his eight-year-old step daughter. The Prosecutor, Insp. Benedict Aigbokhan told the court that the vile offence was committed at the residence of the accused. According to Leadership Newspaper, the accused defiled and took advantage of his step daughter who lives with him. However, the victim told her mother thereafter & he was arrested. The Chief Magistrate, Mr Tajudeen Elias, remanded the accused in Kirikiri Prison, and adjourned the case till May 25 for Directorate of Public Prosecution’s legal advice.

Shiites Want To Establish Islamic State In Nigeria – DSS

The Director State Security (DSS) has alleged that the ultimate objective of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), also known as Shiites, is the establishment of an Islamic state based on their doctrines.
The DSS also said that the group owes its allegiance to Iran from where they receive financial assistance and support.

Pastor Psalm Okpe Of Fresh Oil Ministry And The Singer That Died In Benin Hotel

News of a female Pastor Yvonne who died in a hotel went viral recently.The face of the pastor who lodged with him in hotel has been finally revealed.Pictured above is Pastor Psalm Okpe of Fresh Oil Ministry, who took Yvonne to a hotel in Benin where she passed a night with him without her husband's knowledge and died under controversial circumstances. Her husband said from the CCTV footage he and his people watched, his wife Lodge in the same room with the pastor, but he had claimed that they were not together. The husband also alleged that the way the pastor was moving as captured by the CCTV showed he knew what led to his wife's death. Sources say the pastor is in detention but some big pastors are asking the husband to drop the case.

Phone Thief's Hand Cut In Delta (pics)

The young man pictured above met his waterloo as he tried to steal a phone by passing his hand through someone's window in Sapele, Delta state. The owner of the house on sighting the man’s hand fiddling for the phone, quickly went for a cutlass and cut of the man’s hand. Mr. Burglar ran away into the night crying with his amputated hand. Pictured above is the burglar at the hospital. See graphic photos below;




Scroll down to see the photos. Graphic Pics

National Grazing Bill Still Active In National Assembly

CONTRARY to the claim of the Senate, the controversial National Grazing Bill is before the National Assembly, Vanguard checks have revealed. Currently, the bill is at the House of Representatives and was sponsored by a first term legislator elected in 2015.

The Senate, in a statement by its Committee on Rules and Business, Tuesday, said the bill that was sponsored by Senator Zainab Kure, who represented Niger Central in the Seventh Senate was not before it, that it was presented for consideration in the last Senate and was rejected.

The Senate denial was in response to the request of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who wanted to know if the Senate was treating any such bill.

Car Crashes As Driver Sleeps Off While Driving On Highway (Photos)

This happened yesterday 19th April 2015 at about 12pm. According to reports gathered from the passengers, they were traveling to Lagos from Asaba. It was a smooth trip until when they got close to "Bypass" in Benin, the Captain (driver) started waving the steering randomly from left to right. At first, they thought he was trying to navigate the potholes on the road but it was pretty obvious that road at that point was good and there was no need for that.

Fire Guts 50 Shops In Ladipo Auto Spare Parts Market

There was a fire outbreak at Ladipo Auto spare parts market, Mushin Lagos at about 2 am yesterday morning which razed about 50 shops to the ground.
No definite cause for the fire has been ascertained so far. One source told The Nation that the fire was caused by a gas explosion while another source said it was by irregular power supply. The fire reportedly started from the Osoro/Akinwumi area of the market.
One of the traders at the market, Chukwu Ebuka Ekeneze said:
“The fire was caused by gas; there is a woman who cooks nearby we heard her gas was left on and that lead to the fire outbreak,” he said.

‘We Faked Street Fights To Rob Hotels, Guests’ (picture)

Four suspected cult members, belonging to Eiye Confraternity, yesterday said they used to fake street fights in order to attack hotels in Lagos State. According to the police, the suspects, Rahmon Sanusi (25), Muftau Jinadu (22), Kareem Idris (22) and Fuad Azeez (25), used to pose as guests in hotels before they swoop on genuine lodgers, to rob them.

Recovered from them were one locally-made pistol, two live cartridges, machetes and assorted charms. The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, said the suspects were also cultists who used to carry out series of fight at Oyingbo and its environs.

Ondo Begins Bitumen Exploration With 10,000 Barrels Per Day

April 20, 2016

The exploration of bitumen in Ondo State will kick off immediately with 10,000 barrels per day, even as the state government has signed a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) with an American firm, Liquefied Resources, on the exploration and extraction of the commodity.

Secretary to Ondo State government, Dr Aderotimi Adelola, signed on behalf of Ondo State government while the President of Liquefied Resources, Mr Thomas Cooley, signed for his company at an event, which held at the state Executive Council Chamber with Governor Olusegun Mimiko and his deputy, Alhaji Abdulazeez Oluboyo, in attendance.

Chad Intercepts ISIS Weapons Going To Boko Haram

Chad has intercepted a large cache of different types of weapons sent from ISIS affiliate in Libya and going to Boko Haram insurgents in the Lake Chad region.

The weapons were seized two weeks ago, underscoring the increasing ties between Boko Haram and the Islamic State, which now has a foothold, from its northern base of Sirte, south of Libya, next door to Chad.

Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc, commander of US special operations in Africa made this revelation in Ndjamena today as US ambassador to the United Nations; Samantha Power came for a visit.

I Stole From Banks Because The Operatives Were Careless —robbery Suspect

A 34-year-old suspect, Ibrahim Abudulamdi, paraded, yesterday, by the Lagos State Police Command, said he is not a robber, but goes to bank to steal after studying the environment.

“I am not a robber, I go into banks to steal, not to rob. When I get there I pretend that I want to lodge some money. For instance, when I went into FCMB to withdraw money, I went straight to the bulk room after monitoring the environment carefully, I saw some money and I collected it.

Fulani Herdsmen Attack Oyo Farmers

Farmers in Lagun, Iyana Offa, Offa, Atagba, Lapata and their surrounding communities in Lagelu Local Council Area of Ibadan, Oyo State, have alleged that a group of Fulani armed men attacked their communities at night, injured a guard and carted away valuables on Tuesday.

More than five farms and surrounding agrarian communities were allegedly visited in the attack, with eyewitnesses saying they also suspected that the attackers were Fulani herdsmen because of their mode of dressing.

Tribunal Rejects Saraki’s Appeal For Trial Judge To Disqualify Himself

The Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, on Thursday, threw out the application by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, where he sought for the self disqualification of the Chairman of the tribunal, Danladi Umar.

Saraki through one of his counsels, Oluyele Rapheal informed the tribunal of a pending application for the tribunal Chairman , Danladi Umar to disqualify himself.

Rapheal in his argument insisted that the application be heard due to the alleged shady dealings of the Chairman.

Court Stops The Swearing In Of Victoria Nyeche - See Reasons

Court stops The Swearing in of Victoria Nyeche for criminal impersonation, illegal use of Assembly Letterhead

Recovered Vehicle In A Police Station In Port-Harcourt. Photos

According to a Facebook user (Soty Ray), this car has been in police custody for months now without any particulars or any other form of claims to it... Read what he wrote below; IMPORTANT!!! PLS HELP REBROADCAST........Lost but Found Navy Blue Toyota Corolla Car - Abuja - ABC 327 VH @ Nkpolu police station, Mile 3. Port Harcourt...... Today as usual I went to the police station & saw this car parked.The DCO said that the car was seen along the road in December 2015 (obviously a stolen car, maybe from another state even). Four months in police custody & nobody has come to claim it. No vehicle particulars or any document to trace the owner. If the car is yours pls contact the DCO of Nkpolu, Mile 3 police station (UST junction)... Help rebroadcast till it gets to the owner. God bless you.

Fish Eats Drowned Guy At Elegushi Beach (PHOTO)

This is not good at all. One has to be very careful whenever you go out to catch fun at the beach. If you know you can't swim, don't go near the water. This young man got drowned at one of the Lekki Beaches; days later the body was recovered by coast-guards with parts of his body eaten up by fishes.....

Surgeons remove sword lodged next to man's heart in heart-stopping footage

Footage shared online shows a team of doctors hard at work as they try to remove a sword lodged just a millimetre away from a man's beating heart. The medical professionals are seen sliding the weapon past the man's vital organ in an attempt to safely remove it.

Rivers state police declares man wanted

The Rivers State Police Command has declared one Solomon Ndigabara ”m”, a native of Yeghe community of Gokana Local Government, Rivers State. He is wanted for the alleged arson he planned and executed on 22/02/2016 on a property worth millions of naira in Bori, Khana Local Government.

He is dark in complexion, about 5.9 inches tall and in his early fifties of age. His last known address is Yeghe community of Gokana Local Government, Rivers State.

Any person or group of persons with useful and actionable information as to the whereabouts of the wanted person should report to the nearest police station or call the following Police distress lines08032003514, 08028915460, 08028915462 and 08160723892, please.

DSP. AHMAD K. MUHAMMAD, POLICE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER, FOR : COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, RIVERS STATE COMMAND.

Bomb blast at IDP camp in Borno

According to a report on Channels TV, two female suicide bombers have attacked an IDP camp situated in Bama, Borno state. Number of casualties is yet unknown. More details later.

Students reportedly sentenced to two months for hawking fuel & constituting a nuisance in Abuja

A male student and his female partner have been sentenced to two months imprisonment, each, by an Abuja Grade 1 Area Court for hawking fuel in a jerry can along Abuja-Kubwa expressway, an act which constitutes an embarrassment to the Government.

According to the prosecutor, a team of police officers apprehended & arrested the accused, bringing them to the police station with 55 litres of fuel in their possession.

NNPC Distributes 1,194 Trucks Of Petrol Nationwide

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation said 1,194 trucks of petrol were loaded nationwide on Tuesday.

This is contained in the corporation’s Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) daily supply nationwide schedule released in Abuja.

According to the statement, twenty one import vessels laden with a total volume of 844.1 million litres have been confirmed to arrive in the month of April for NNPC.

US Forces Locate Chibok Girls-New York Times

MAROUA, Cameroon — The American and African forces sent to Cameroon to fight Boko Haram have, on several occasions, located clusters of the schoolgirls kidnapped by the militant group two years ago, United States officials said.

Rescue operations have not been carried out, the officials said, because of fears that any ensuing battle with Boko Haram fighters would put the captives at risk, or incite some form of retaliation against hostages still being held in other areas.

American officials said a combination of local intelligence, intercepted communications and drone footage had been used to locate groups of the 276 girls abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School in the Nigerian town of Chibok two years ago this month. Some of the girls have since been tracked to Nigeria’s sprawling Sambisa Forest.

Evidence Against Saraki Burnt In GTBank - Witness

Michael Wetkas, a detective of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says some of the documents that were evidence of transactions in the foreign account of Senate President Bukola Saraki got burnt.

Wetkas, who was responding to a question from Paul Usoro (SAN), Saraki’s lawyer, on some fund transfers from the senate president’s Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) account to his alleged American Express bank account, said that in the course of his investigation, officials of GTB told him that some of the documents showing the transactions got burnt.