Spring Exacerbation: NATO Drills on Russia’s Borders a Preparation for War?

It seems that almost every other day NATO begins a new military drill somewhere around the world, and almost half of them are on Russia’s borders. The Alliance has used the Ukrainian crisis to build up its military presence in Russia’s immediate proximity, and Russian military call it as they see it: NATO is getting ready for war.

NATO has just kicked off its Exercise Noble Partner 2016 at Georgia’s Vaziani Training Area, which will last until May 26.

Echo of Iran Nuclear Deal: Iran Vows to Sink US Ships if Threatened

Iran has called the US presence in the Persian Gulf an “absolute evil” and vowed to sink its vessels if “they commit the slightest mistake”; however an Iranian Middle East expert suggests that the tensions in the Persian Gulf are just a pretext and the real root of the standoff between the two lies in the US’ failure in the Iran nuclear deal.

Photos of the suicide bomber killed in Borno today

A male suicide bomber failed in his attempt to attack a mosque filled with Muslim faithfuls in Sulaimanti coummunity in the outskirts of Maiduguri, Borno state today. The terrorist, carrying Improvised Explosive Device (IED), was the lone casualty after the IED strapped on him exploded. 5 persons sustained injuries during the failed attempt. Graphic photos of the suicide bomber after the jump.

Photos: 25yr old Indian woman tortured to death by Saudi employer

25-year-old woman from India, working as a housemaid in Saudi Arabia, was tortured to death by her employer, the woman's family claims. However, the Saudi hospital where she had been treated says she died of "natural causes."

Rapist, 82, who kept his own daughter as a sex slave for 23 years

Despite fears he will offend again, an 82 year old Rapist, Ronald Van der Plaat who kept his own daughter as a sex slave for 23 years and raped her while her head was in a box has been freed from prison in New Zealand.

Nigerian Navy avert Pirate attack on Merchant Vessels

The Nigerian Navy has averted pirate attack on 3 merchant vessels, namely MV Moxon, MT African Beauty and MT Madona. The vessels were attacked around Brass waterways in Bayelsa State on 3 and 4 May 2016. The criminals made spirited effort to seize the vessels but the timely response of the special protective team deployed by the Nigerian Navy successfully dislodged the pirates who fled to evade arrest.

Those involved in clashes between herdsmen and farmers are not Fulanis- Minister tells Senate

The Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, yesterday told the Senate that the criminals involved in clashes between herdsmen and farmers are not necessarily Fulanis. He said this at a Senate investigative hearing on the perennial clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

Photos: Car bombing at Baghdad market kills 50 people including women and children...ISIS claims responsibility

A car bomb in a Shia district of Baghdad, Iraq has killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 60 others this morning according to reports by The Associated Press.

The SUV packed with explosives exploded near a beauty salon in a bustling busy market at rush hour in the Sadr City district. Most of the victims were women and many of the wounded are in critical condition, according to reports released by Iraqi forces to the Associated Press.

$2.1bn arms deal: EFCC arraigns ex Chief of Air staff, Dikko Umar

Former Chief of Air staff，Air Vice Marshal Dikko Umar was this morning arraigned before Justice Binta Nyako of the federal high court in Abuja on a 7 count charge. The former air chief is being investigated for his alleged involvement in the misappropriation of funds meant for arms procurement during the immediate past administration. Air Marshal Umar was Nigeria’s Chief of Air Staff between 2010 to 2012.

N23bn election Bribery Scandal: 'I collected N700m for Ex-Katsina Gov' - Sada

 A former Minister of Mines and Steel, Arch. Musa Muhammad Sada, has told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, his involvement in the alleged N23.29bn election bribery scandal. According to a statement shared on the wall of the EFCC Facebook page, Sada is one of the former ministers in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan who are being investigated by the anti-graft agency.

'I never did any business with NIMASA yet I was paid N97.6m' - Witness

Wakili Dauda, a prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Patrick Akpobolokemi, and six others, has told a Lagos State High Court how the agency paid him the sum of N96, 764, 689.00million for doing nothing.

Testifying before Justice R.1.B Adebiyi on Monday, May 9th, Dauda, owner of Kofa Father Nigeria Limited, a Bureau De Change, stated that the sum of N96. 7 million was paid into his account on October 30th 2014, in two tranches of N35, 688,000.00 and N61, 076,680.00 by the agency’s Committee tasked with the Voluntary International Maritime Organisation Member State Audit Scheme (VIMSAS) project Committee of NIMASA. Speaking through an interpreter, Ibrahim AbdulHakeem, a registrar with a Magistrate Court, Wakili further told the court that he was shocked when he received the money.

Tell Eurovision in 1944 Stalin deported Crimean Tatars to protect them from punishment for Nazi war crimes, by Scott

On Saturday, May 14, in Stockholm’s Globe Arena an event called the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest final will take place.

According to the Eurovision Official Rules 2016 posted on eurovision.tv:

1.2) Criteria of eligibility

1.2.1) Songs

“The lyrics and/or performance of the songs shall not bring the Shows, the ESC as such or the EBU into disrepute. No lyrics, speeches, gestures of a political or similar nature shall be permitted during the ESC. No  swearing  or  other  unacceptable  language  shall be allowed in the lyrics or in the performances of the songs.  No  messages promoting  any  organization, institution, political cause or other, company, brand, products or services shall be  allowed in  the  Shows and  within any official  ESC  premises (i.e. at the venue,  the  Eurovision  village,  the  Press  Centre, etc.).  A   breach   of   this   rule   may   result   in disqualification.”

28 Years Old Pastor Arrested For Stealing His Colleagues Car In Abuja

A 28-year-old pastor has been arrested by the police for allegedly stealing a Toyota Sienna car belonging to his pastor friend in Byazhin, Kubwa, Abuja.



The suspect, identified only as Destiny, was said to have been apprehended in Nsukka, Enugu State, where he took the car to.
City News gathered that the suspect, who used to visit the victim’s residence, took away the car key without his friend’s knowledge.

I Found A Lot Of Money On Dariye When I Arrested Him In A UK Hotel, Says Detective.

Peter Clark, a retired detective constable with the UK Metropolitan Police, on Monday, told a federal capital territory (FCT), high court, sitting in Gudu, Abuja, that Joshua Dariye, a former governor of Plateau state, was still wanted in the United Kingdom for money laundering charges.

Dariye, who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 23-count charge bordering on money laundering and diversion of funds before Adebukola Banjoko, the judge, is alleged to have siphoned the state’s ecological fund to the tune of N1.162 billion.
Clark gave a blow-by-blow account of how foreign currencies were allegedly found on Dariye, who is now a serving senator, in September 2014, when the Nigerian politician was arrested at Marriott Hotel on George Street in the UK.

Again, Buhari Promises To Exterminate Militants As Military Invades Gbaramatu

Reveal your identities, ex-militants tell N’Delta Avengers
Osinbajo, Seriake, security chiefs, oil firms hold crucial meetings on oil industry attacks
Following the heightened attacks on oil industry installations in the Niger Delta, the threats by militants to bomb major cities in the country, and break up Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari monday restated his determination to deal squarely with insurgents wherever they are in the country, promising that his administration would ensure the continued existence of Nigeria.

EFCC Invites Shekarau

The Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC) has invited former Kano State governor Malam Ibrahim Shekarau for questioning over N950 million campaign funds.
Shekarau, EFCC sources said, was expected to be at the commission by 10am today.
“Shekarau was invited and is expected to come to the commission’s office in Kano today (Tuesday), he had accepted that in his acknowledgement,” the sources said.
Shekarau, a former minister of education under the Jonathan administration, was invited in connection with the N23bn campaign funds scandal, said the source.

Dariye Bought Pen For £7,000 In 2004 –UK Witness

A retired detective with the Metropolitan Police in London, Mr. Peter Clerk, on Monday, narrated to a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Gudu, Abuja, the operations that led to the arrest of a former Governor of Plateau State, Mr. Joshua Dariye, in September 2004.
Clerk was testifying before Justice Adebukola Banjoko as the ninth prosecution witness in the trial of the former governor on charges of alleged diversion of about N1.162bn Ecological Fund meant for Plateau State in 2004.

Why Buhari Cannot Be Represented At Foreign Meetings – Lai

Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed yesterday said it is in the interest of Nigeria that President Muhammadu Buhari attends meetings that require his presence outside Nigeria, saying that so far, only the president exudes the kind of personae that attracts the confidence of world powers.
Mohammed, who was a guest at a radio and television live programme in Kaduna hosted by Liberty Radio and Television, said sending representatives to such meetings as some people have suggested would not be as effective as having the president attending them in person.

“Give Buhari Time To Look Address Your Demands’’ – APC Tells Niger Delta Avengers

The South-East caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday urged the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to sheath its sword and give President Muhammadu Buhari time to address their demands.
This is contained in a statement released to newsmen in Abuja by the spokesman of the party in the South-East, Mr Osita Okechukwu. The APC group told the NDA to be mindful of the laudable projects the current administration had lined up for the Niger Delta and allow the president some time to execute them.

EFCC Detains Fani-Kayode, Asks Him To Refund N840m

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Monday, detained a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, for allegedly receiving N840m from the party’s campaign funds.
The ex-minister, who arrived at the EFCC headquarters at about 9.45am, is currently being held at the anti-graft office for further investigations.

Fani-Kayode was accused of receiving the said amount from the Director of Finance of the campaign organisation, Senator Nenadi Usman, during the build-up to the 2015 election, which the Peoples Democratic Party lost to the All Progressives Congress.

Buhari: I Chose Bakare To Silence My Critics.

President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed that he chose Tunde Bakare, founder of Latter Rain Assembly, as his running mate in 2011, to prove wrong those who saw him as a religious bigot.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Kastina State Economic and Investment Summit, the president said he made the move to make his critics “shut up”.

Find Solutions To Farmers/Herdsmen Crisis, Buhari Tells Governors

by pmnews ·
President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged state governors to find lasting solutions to the persistent cases of farmers/herdsmen crisis in the country.
The president gave the challenge at an interactive session with members of Katsina Elders’ Forum organised by the Katsina State Government in Katsina.
He tasked the governors to go back to a comprehensive study and report carried out by the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) on how best to address farmers/herdsmen conflicts.
“When I was in PTF we did a comprehensive report on grazing reserves and cattle routes across the country.

Buhari: Fight Against Corruption Not Selective

As Masari says Katsina Has Blueprint to survive without oil
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the ongoing war against corruption is not selective but aimed at ensuring financial and economic discipline in the country.
He spoke on Monday when he visited the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabiru Usman, at his palace in Katsina, Katsina state.

Edo A Must-Win For APC — Oyegun

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, yesterday, said that because of the strategic position of Edo State, the party must win the September 10, 2016, governorship election.

He said: “It is important. It is very necessary to emphasise the fact that for us, it (Edo State) is a critical state strategically. I hope I would not be misinterpreted if I say it is also a must-win state.”
Chief Odigie-Oyegun said this at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, while inaugurating the Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola-led APC Fact-Finding and Reconciliation Committee.

Reps May Include Age Reduction In Constitution Amendment- Dogara

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has hinted that the House will consider lowering the age of eligibility for Nigerians seeking election into political offices in order to allow youths to actively participate in the political process. Dogara also charged youths to participate more actively in politics by breaking voters' apathy and electing leaders who will secure their future and destiny. The speaker disclosed this yesterday while speaking during a dialogue with students drawn from universities across the country at the National Assembly.