BRITISH PAPERS LINK 'WHITE WIDOW' TO NYANYAN BOMB BLAST...

 

Samantha Lewthwaite, also known as the White Widow, has been linked to the horrific attack in Abuja on Monday, which left 74 dead and hundreds wounded, according to Daily Star, a UK-based newspaper. Lewthwaite, also known as Sherafiyah Lewthwaite, is the widow of 7/7 suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay and one of the world's most wanted terrorism suspects.

On Monday, a huge explosion ripped through a busy bus station in the capital, Abuja, during the peak rush hour.
The enormous blast destroyed 40 buses and left a sickening trail of death and destruction as fuel tanks on nearby vehicles also exploded amid the heat of the blast.

According to Daily Star, while nobody has officially claimed responsibility, security sources fear the bombing may have been a revenge attack for the death of al-Shabaab terror chief Makaburi, aka Sheikh Abubakar Shariff Ahmed - Lewthwaite's mentor - just two weeks ago.

TOYOTA RECALLS HILUX AND RAV4 VEHICLES IN ABUJA...

Toyota Nigeria Limited on Tuesday announced the recall of the 2004-2005 Hilux and the 2005-2006 Rav4 vehicles from the market in order to replace a malfunctioning spiral cable.
It also said the 2006-2008 Toyota Yaris would be recalled to fix its seat track that was found to be unstable in some of the units.
This is coming about a week after Toyota Motor Corporation announced a wide-ranging recall of nearly 6.4 million vehicles worldwide for problems associated with air bags that might not deploy or seats that could move in a crash.
The Executive Director, TNL, Mr. Kunle Ade-Ojo, said at a press conference in Lagos that the Nigerian recall was at the instance of its parent company, TMC, which acted following persistent complaints from both owners and dealers of the affected vehicles about the recurring faults.

Detectives In Lagos To Trace Bomb Car Owner...

WHO owns the Golf car used by the Nyanya suicide bombers? Security agents seem to have got a clue.

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has seen the documents, a source told The Nation yesterday.

Some detectives were said to have been sent to Lagos to track down the owner, who did not provide enough data, according to sources.

The identification of the number plate came from the old registration data system which the FRSC is trying to replace because of some deficiencies.

ANOTHER DELEGATE SLUMPS AT THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE ...

A National Conference delegate, Abubakar Abdulmumuni, on Tuesday slumped and was rushed to an undisclosed hospital in Abuja for medical attention.

Mr. Abdulmumuni slumped after the plenary session of the Conference a few minutes after 6 p.m. while emerging from the auditorium where it was holding.

It could not be immediately ascertained which of the groups the delegate represents at the Confab, which is holding at the National Judicial Institute, Airport Road, Abuja.

WHO owns the Golf car used by the Nyanya suicide bombers? Security agents seem to have got a clue.

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has seen the documents, a source told The Nation yesterday.

Some detectives were said to have been sent to Lagos to track down the owner, who did not provide enough data, according to sources.

The identification of the number plate came from the old registration data system which the FRSC is trying to replace because of some deficiencies.

While the search for the number plate owner continues, President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered Service Chiefs to fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act in which scores of people most of them artisans and junior government workers, died.

Security Forces Identify Abuja Bomber, Body Recovered...

The Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU) of the Nigerian security forces may have identified and recovered the body of the suspected bomber, who set-off the bomb at the Nyanya bus park in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), that led to death of 71 persons and injured 124 others on Monday morning.

Information made available to THISDAY from security sources confirmed that the slightly charred body of the bomber was identified and recovered yesterday with the charms and amulets he must have used for self-protection, still strapped to his body.

The charms and amulets are typical of the type used by members of the terrorist group Boko Haram.

According to security sources, certain leads including a mobile phone were also recovered from his body.

Murder: 14-year-old Bride Charged For Killing Husband, 3 Others...

A 14-year-old bride, Wasila Tasi’u, was on Monday charged before a Rijiyar Zaki Magistrates’ Court in Kano for alleged culpable homicide.
Wasila is facing the charge for allegedly killing her 35-year-old groom, Umar Sani, and three others in Kademi village in Gaya local government area of the state.
The prosecutor, Insp. Yusuf Sale, alleged that the accused poisoned Sani’s food with a substance popularly known as Ota pia pia and the husband and three other persons died at the spot after eating the food.
The prosecutor further alleged that six other persons who ate the meal in the same dish were taken to the General Hospital Gaya, but were later treated and discharged.

Crime: Man, 25, Remanded Over Attack On Actor...

An Ilorin Magistrates Court has remanded one Lekan Bamisaiye, 25, aka Dollar for attacking a popular Nollywood actor, Femi Adebayo, while on set at Tanke area of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

The accused allegedly confronted the filming crew while on location to demand for what he termed ‘land money’ before it could be allowed to continue with production, a request that was rejected by the crew members.

The case was reported at the police ‘F’ division, Tanke, Ilorin on April 7, 2014 at about 6:30pm by one Sodiq Adebayo, a resident of Felele area, Ibadan, Oyo state, who was in Ilorin to shoot a movie.

The complainant said on the same day at about 6pm, while they were shooting on location at Tanke, the accused and his gang attacked them and demanded for ‘land money’.

NEARLY 2 YEARS AFTER INAUGURATION NNPC BOARD YET TO MEET ONCE...

The board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has not been meeting since its inaugural meeting in July, 2012, sources told Daily Trust.

The board, chaired by Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, is mandated by the NNPC Act of 1977 to meet not less than four times in each year.
“The affairs of the Corporation shall, subject to Part II of this Act, be conducted by a Board of Directors of the Corporation,” the law also says.
The act provides three-year tenure for the board, which means that the incumbent board has already spent half of its term.
Officials who spoke to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity said the board never met again since its maiden meeting.

PANIC IN MARKURDI OVER ‘TALKING CHICKEN’...

Residents of Makurdi, capital of Benue state yesterday panicked as a story spread that a chicken being taken to market for sale suddenly started speaking in Arabic.

Residents around the ‘A’ division police station beside Wadata Market, Makurdi fled in different directions over as news of the mystery spread.
Daily Trust gathered that the incident happened at about 12 noon around the Wadata central mosque premises located few meters from the divisional police station.
A woman in the area who gave her name as Aishetu said “I have not seen the chicken myself,” she confessed. “I heard that police have taken it into custody and that is why the station is so crowded. Everybody wants to see it talk,” she said.

JUNIOR POLICE OFFICERS THREATEN TO DOWN TOOLS...

THE rank and file of the Nigeria Police, including inspectors, have threatened to embark on strike, beginning from May 15, if their request for promotion is not granted.

After a meeting held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the enlisted policemen lamented what they described as disparity in the promotion exercise carried out by the police authorities, as against the order by the Police Service Commission (PSC).

Quoting a letter, dated February 12, 2009, which was written to the Inspector General of Police by the PSC on promotion course, the rank and file noted that “the commission graciously approved that the entire 2,886 candidates who sat for the examination be sent for the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) promotion course and be upgraded.”

Plot To Dump Sambo As Jonathan’s Running MateTthickens...

The plot to dump Vice President Namadi Sambo as running mate to President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of next year’s election is far from being over, according to indications last night.

The fresh plot is the brainchild of some political heavyweights from the North who believe that for the PDP to make the desired impact in that part of the country in the election, it must have a presidential running mate that is widely acceptable and politically savvy across the region.Sambo, in their view, is too far removed from the realities of the politics of the region and therefore incapable of either addressing the issues or galvanising support for Jonathan ahead of the 2015 election.

Although the president is yet to publicly announce his intention to seek re-election, political watchers believe that his political machinery is already in place as he meets with different political interests across the nation on a regular basis.

Jonathan's visit: Police, Civil Defence exchange blows at Enugu Stadium...

“We are here to do the same job of security; so they should stop chasing us away with their guns”, what if we were not been trained like them and we decided to chase them back with our own more sophisticated weapon, can they withstand it, one of them told pressmen in confidence. 

Some members of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, posted as part of security at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, venue of the South-East rally of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, exchanged blows with some policemen early this morning.