Rita Dominic, Adesua Etomi, Emem Isong, Alexx Ekubo and More Attend Premiere of Emem Isong’s “Ayamma”

Dec 13th was glitz as several celebrities graced the premiere of renowned Nollywood Producer, Emem Isong-Misodi’s, movie ‘Ayamma’ at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Rita Dominic, Adesua Etomi, Ijeoma Grace Agu, Blessing Egbe, Denrele Edun,  Alexx Ekubo, Mary Remmy Njoku, Funny Bone, Judith Audu, Tana Adelana, Toni Tones, Christina Martin, TK Ahmed, Chelsea Eze, Kiki Omeili, IK Ogbonna, Sambasa and so many others, were in attendance.

It was certainly a night of deep rooted culture, grass root appreciation and an atmosphere filled with laughter. Celebrities stormed the venue looking all glamorous and stunning in their different traditional attires.

The movie which is set in Akwa-Ibom under the production of Royal Arts Academy stars; tells the story of Prince Daraima (Wole Ojo), the fascinating heir to Obong Ikpaisong, who repeatedly dreams of Ihuoma (Adesua Etomi), poor but radiating maiden whose beauty is matched only by her voice. He is in love with the girl of his dreams. In the real world, Prince Daraima is set to marry Princess Ama (Tinsel star, Theresa Edem), the arrogant child to a neighbouring Monarch. Princess Ama observes her groom-to-be captivated by Iko and resolves to nip this obvious threat in the bud.

The movie which will be released in cinemas across Nigeria on Friday, December 23, 2016 stars talented actors such as Adesua Etomi, Wale Ojo, Ime Bishop Umoh, Theresa Edem, Majid Michel, Moses Armstrong and so many others.

“Ayamma is a beautiful story mixed with different features. It is a tale of love filled with music, dance, drama and comedy. It has depth of story, very informative and entertaining and not your usual shoddy old Nollywood classic. It definitely has the whole package. I encourage everyone to visit the cinema to watch the movie as it will start showing on Frday, December 23rd, 2016”, said Emem Isong.

See Photos from the Premiere below:

Checkout Photos from Zahra Buhari and Ahmed Indimi's wedding ball

President Buhari's daughter, Zahra and Billionaire Indimi's son, Ahmed are set to wed tomorrow, 16th, December. They were hosted to an exclusive, invite-only wedding ball at the Royal Wedding Hall, Dunes Centre, Maitama, Abuja.
Guests were 'highly prohibited' not to take photographs at the wedding ball. No photo of the bride and groom yet, but the groom reportedly wore a cream-coloured tuxedo while the bride wore surreal creations, by Elie Saab. More photos after the cut....

Exclusive..Governor Wike caught on tape bribing INEC officials, threatens to kill any who fails him

      

The report from SR and Audio evidence below:

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has been caught on tape as he held a telephone with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), arranging payment to the officials in exchange for their help in rigging the recently concluded legislative elections in the state.

The telephone conversations, exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters, revealed the governor arranging with INEC officials, particularly those sent from Plateau State, to rig the election for candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Etche, Khana, Ikwerre and other key local government areas in the state.

One of Mr. Wike’s phone calls went to a female INEC official who was complaining that the money offered by the governor was not sufficient for the rigging task. An infuriated Governor Wike told the woman that he had already paid the electoral coordinator in Plateau State.

At one point in the conversation, when Governor Wike was told that one of the electoral officers was reluctant to sign one of the result sheets, the governor threatened to demand his money back from the recalcitrant official. Then, as if not satisfied with his threat to collect back his money, Mr. Wike voiced his intent to kill the official, stating that the man would not leave Rivers State alive.

The chilling telephone conversation has exposed the inner workings of Mr. Wike’s scheme to rig the recent election in his state and also the collusion of INEC officials in the illicit deals. Besides, the governor’s intimation of violence also pointed to the possible bloody nature of the games played between politicians who fund the rigging of elections and the electoral officials who facilitate the scheme for quick, and often substantial, cash payments.

SaharaReporters spoke to a top INEC official in Abuja and he confirmed that most of the electoral officers who conducted the recently concluded legislative elections in Rivers State were drafted from Plateau and Oyo States. He added that some of the electoral officials were also drafted from one of the South Eastern states.

Best man dies after being playfully thrown off boat during stag do

                                   

 A man has described the horrifying moment he threw his friend overboard as a prank during a stag do and he failed to resurface.

City banker Nishanthan Gnanathas, known as Nish, was the best man for his friend Youssef Ismail during the trip to Portugal on July 16.Pal Andre Van Eck told an inquest how he picked up Nish and chucked him into the water from a boat during a cruise.


He failed to resurface and the 31-year-old's body was recovered four days later.The group of 12 friends had been enjoying the first beer of the day after anchoring the boat for lunch at about midday on the River Tagus.

Mr Van Eck told the court:

 "I went to see the captain. I said, 'look, somebody needs to get overboard. Is it alright if I chuck the best man over?'
"It wasn't in an offensive way.
"He said 'no, it is a bit dangerous because the boat is moving, he might get dragged under'."I thought, that is fair enough"Eventually we stopped. I went back to the captain a couple of minutes after. I went, 'can you stop being swept under?'"He said, 'yes. Do what you like, it's no problem.'

"We were on the boat standing, and Nish was just opposite me." Just before that, he went to get his phone, and Youssef took the phone off him. He said, 'look, I will take the photos'."

He said they were chatting for a bit, before he "told the guys to move out of the way"."I picked him up, and I threw him over.
"And to my recollection, he grabbed one of the rails, and half swung back on himself, hitting the side of the boat - whether it was his head or his body, I don't know, but there was a big bang.
"He went under.
"I was just about to jump. I saw Youssef had jumped already. And that was the last time I saw Nish.
"I swam underneath the boat, but we couldn't find him. My assumption was he would just come to the surface at some point."

We picked on Nish a bit because he was the best man"It wasn't in a bad way - you know, when we went to restaurants and the food was late, it was Nish's fault."We were all going to go into the water at some point. We even planned to swim to the shore, and go to the beach."The intention to hurt him was never there."

 He apologised to Nish's mum Mary, dad Packianathur, and his sister after giving evidence, telling them: "I am really sorry."
Mr Ismail, whose stag do it was, said:
                                      

 "We were on the boat and we pulled over."Nish ended up in the water. He hit his head on the way in, everyone went 'ooh'.About six seconds later, myself and Andre jumped in. But I couldn't find him, the water was very green."We were there until the police showed up.

 Coroner Fiona Wilcox recorded a verdict of misadventure.

She said:

I have found you entirely without guilt in this."This was an absolutely tragic accident that could not have been reasonably anticipated - just horse play that went tragically wrong.

Giving evidence, Mr Van Eck told the court they teased Mr Gnanathas throughout the stag do, adding: "We had horse play all the time - just a stag do.

He said he had planned to throw Mr Gnanathas in the water at that specific spot - which the others knew about - after consulting with the captain, who assured him it was "safe".

Lagos drops Female Head of Service in corruption saga with her husband

The Lagos State Government has replaced the embattled Head of Service of the state, Mrs. Olabode Ademola, with Mrs. Folashade Adesoye, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

The former HoS along with her husband, Justice Adeniyi Ademola had been accused by the Federal Government of fraud following a raid on their home by the operatives of the DSS.

They were arraigned on 11 counts bordering on gratification, including conspiracy to receive and receiving gratification of N30m from Joe Agi and Associates, on Tuesday.

The state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde said, “Mrs. Ademola sought permission to be excused from her duty as the Head of Service while she proved her innocence in the allegation against her.

Buhari orders finance ministry to pay Falcons today

                         

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate payment of all outstanding allowances and bonuses being owed the Super Falcons, an official said on Wednesday in Abuja.

The Falcons had earlier on Wednesday embarked on a protest march against the non-payment of their allowances by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

The footballers, who won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, AWCON, for the eighth time in Cameroon, initially refused to leave their hotel rooms at Agura Hotel in Abuja.

They had, upon returning from the competition which they won on December 3, been waiting for the payment at the hotel where they were accommodated by the NFF.

Speaking later, the Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Abba Kyari, told State House correspondents on Wednesday that the issue had been resolved.

He said government had since directed appropriate authorities to settle the players’ allowances and bonuses.

“The problem has been resolved. They have done us proud and we congratulated them. The Ministries of Sports and Finance have been directed to pay tomorrow (Thursday).
“I don’t know the details of the arrears. But they have been directed to pay,” the presidential aide said.

In her remarks, captain of the Falcons, Rita Chikwelu, lamented that the NFF did not treat them well when playing in Cameroon during the 2016 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Explaining their ordeal, she said they were ordered out of the hotel at Douala in Cameroon the very night they won the competition.

 

She said this led them to sleeping at the airport with the competition’s trophy they won by beating hosts Cameroon 1-0 on December 3.

“Officials of NFF did not encourage us at all in Cameroon. We never saw the NFF President (Amaju Pinnick) and General Secretary (Mohammed Sanusi) in Yaounde when we played in the semi-finals.
“Surprisingly, we saw them in the crowd at Douala where we played the final match and having won that night they asked us to leave.”

Aisha Buhari shares first official photo of Zahra and Ahmed together

President Buhari's wife,  Aisha,  just shared this beautiful photo of her daughter Zahra,  and her husband to be,  Ahmed who are set to Wed tomorrow.
This is the first photo of the couple seen in a photo together.  The family denied the initial first photo which circulated the media as their pre-wedding photo.  She shared the photo and asked Nigerians to join her in prayers.  See after the cut...

Couple To Die By Hanging For Murder, Armed Robbery

An Osun State High Court sitting in Ile Ife has sentenced a couple – Fatai Jimoh and Lateefat Jimoh – to death by hanging for armed robbery and the murder of one Mrs. Bukola Taiwo of Ikeketu, Ile Ife.

Taiwo was said to have gone on a business trip to Ile Ife on August 12, 2009, and slept over at the Jimohs’ apartment.

It was learnt that the victim, who was a palm oil dealer, used to come from Ibadan, Oyo State, to buy palm oil at Ile Ife.

Taiwo was said to have bought 70 jerrycans of palm oil and kept them at the apartment of the couple. But the couple reportedly sold 48 jerrycans and promised to pay her back when she discovered the theft.


The couple, however,  attacked the woman, who later died in a hospital.

The convicts were arraigned on June 2, 2014, on three counts of murder, conspiracy to murder and armed robbery respectively, which violated Section 316 (1), with punishment under Section 319, Cap 34, Law of Osun State and Section 1 (1) 2 (a) of the Robbery and Fire Arms (Special Provision) Act, Law of the Federation of Nigeria, 2000.

The couple had pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

The prosecutor, during the trial, had called four witnesses and tendered 10 exhibits.

The prosecutor had told the court that Fatai strangulated the victim, while his wife smashed Taiwo’s head with a hammer after which the couple stole the victim’s purse and removed the sum of  N48,780.

The Principal State Counsel, Mr. Faremi Moses, presented the hammer which the couple used on the deceased and other exhibits before the court.

The witnesses called by the prosecuting counsel were a police inspector, a pathologist from the University College Hospital, Ibadan, the Baale of Ikeketu and a neighour, who witnessed what happened.

Justice Onibokun, in his judgment, said the wife’s confessional statement to the police was taken as paramount and her confession was true.

The judge found the husband and wife guilty of two out of the three charges preferred against them.

Onibokun said, “The evidence of the prosecutor is cogent, reliable and credible, and the accused are therefore found guilty of murder and armed robbery after careful examination of the facts before the court.

“I hereby sentence them to death by hanging for murder and armed robbery, while they are discharged for conspiracy.”

Lovely Photos Of Policemen As Groomsmen At A Wedding Ceremony

These photos of a police officer groom and his police squad have caught the attention of social media users, leaving express their love for Nigeria Police. See more photos...

Delta lawmaker dies in London hospital

The member representing Warri South Constituency 1 in t‎he Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Omawumi Beatrice Udoh is dead.
According to Daily Post,  the lawmaker died of cancer related disease in London.

The Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt.Hon. Ovwigho Monday Igbuya confirmed her death.


A statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Mr. Henry Ovie Ebireri described the death of late Udoh as a rude shock.

“She was a dogged fighter who has the interest of her constituents at heart. The Assembly would greatly miss her

I wish to convey to you the deepest condolence of the Delta State House of Assembly. It is really hard to believe. It is just so sad. Hon. Omawumi distinguished herself as a member of the Delta State House of Assembly. 

Her death is a great loss to the state. She built a bridge of hope and unity among her people. She played politics of development. She was dependable in every facet of her life”, the Speaker stated

Toke Makinwa responds to OAP, Uche's marriage proposal

Earlier yesterday, City FM OAP, Uche Agbai took to his Instagram to pour encomium on Media personality, Toke Makinwa and also ask her to marry him.
Well, Toke Makinwa saw it and have responded. See after the cut...

Police Parade Suspected Snatchers Of Rivers Poll Materials

The police on Wednesday in Abuja paraded five suspects for allegedly hijacking electoral materials during the legislative rerun election in Rivers State last Saturday.

The Force spokesman, Donald Awunah, stated that the police recovered from them, a green Independent National Electoral Commission branded bag, eight booklets of  ballot papers meant for Emohua Local Government Area, and one INEC accreditation incident reports booklet.

The police also recovered one statement of results booklet and one blood-stained All Progressives Congress agent card from the suspects–Noble Nwaerema, Dike Deinpiribo, Valentine Alalibo, Onwunari Warmate and Iloke Stephen.


Awunah said arms and ammunition recovered from the suspects included, one AK47 rifle, one assault rifle, six magazines and 112 rounds of live ammunition.

He explained that Nwaerema was arrested on December 10, 2016 by the state Anti-Robbery Squad operatives along the Rumusi Elele Road, adding that the suspects claimed that he was hired by the youth president of Itu-Ikwere community together with eight others imported from a neighbouring state.

“They invaded Emohua Local Government and carted away electoral materials meant for polling units within the area; intelligence report confirmed the electoral materials were taken to a government facility and escorted by armed personnel,” Awunah stated.

The spokesman said that the quartet of Deinpiribo, Alalibo,  Warmate and Stephen belonged to a group of cultists and professional political thugs.

The boys, he added, claimed to have been engaged by one Boma Goodhead who procured two Ak47 rifles and commissioned his driver, one Iryo to convey the weapons in his black Toyota Prado SUV and handed same to the suspects in Degema.

The spokesman stated that the suspects were responsible for several armed attacks that took place during the elections in places like Abonnema, Emuoha, Elele, Eteche and Omoku where a police officer was gruesomely killed.

“The rifles and 112 rounds of ammunition were recovered from them, other members of the killer gang fled and detectives are on their trail,” he emphasised.

Awunah said that some security personnel were arrested for professional misconduct, “actions, inactions, omission and commission that were detrimental to the electoral process.”

Meanwhile, the state Governor, Nyesom Wike, has said that the violence unleashed on the state during the December 10 rerun elections was planned by some politicians and selected APC governors.

Wike said the violence and theft of mandate of a few constituencies by security agencies were bankrolled by the governors of Plateau, Benue, Kano and Bauchi States through the donation of N1bn each.

Wike expressed regret over the brazen manner that “federal might” was negatively used to ensure the return of APC candidates at all costs.

But the state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Chris Finebone, described the allegation as mere imagination, adding that no APC governor donated money in respect of the rerun election.

Finebone said,  “I think the whole obsession with federal might by Governor Wike stems from his use of federal might to rig himself to power in 2015, the APC has nothing to do with that. Governor Wike should exorcise the spirit of what he did in 2015 so that he will be free from his present hallucination around federal might that is not in use today unlike it was done during the last PDP federal administration.”

Singer MC Galaxy Cries Out... He Invested N25m In MMM

Popular singer Mc Galaxy has also claimed he invested as much as N25million in the MMM ponzi scheme that has currently frozen the accounts of all participants in Nigeria.

I thought this thing was for Nigerians who are struggling. But it is obvious that even people you see as comfortable are also desperately looking for ways to make money without working. Lol!

For one person to invest N25m in MMM using different accounts, how will it not crash?

MC Galaxy said it was his manager who pushed him into MMM.

He wrote; "That moment when u waiting for January 2017... God cover me over my enemies and MMM, 25m na waooo! My manager Wole Ogundare push me to this smh #sad"