A Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday, granted bail to suspected money launderer, Ismaila Mustapha, AKA Mompha.
According to the TVC, Mompha was granted bail in the sum of N100m.
Recall that EFCC had arrested Mompha on October 19 for alleged internet fraud and money laundering recently at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Mompha was arraigned for alleged N33billion fraud.
Following his arraignment at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos by the EFCC, Mompha on Thursday dragged the EFCC before a High Court in Lagos.
Mompha instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit against EFCC for detaining him beyond the constitutionally stipulated days without charging him to court.
In the commencement of trial on Monday, Mompha pleaded not guilty to a 14-count charge bordering on fraud offences.
Justice Mohammad Liman in ruling ordered that Mompha be remanded in prison custody
The court also adjourned till Friday for hearing of Mompha’s bail application and the commencement of his trial.
Unai Emery has been sacked as Arsenal manager after the club’s worst run of results since 1992.
The decision to sack the Spaniard who was hired as the replacement for long-term manager Arsene Wenger in the summer of 2018, came after Arsenal went without a win in their last seven matches following their Thursday’s 2-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League.
On Friday morning, Arsenal chiefs held a meeting to discuss his future following the loss and decided to sack him after his 18 months at the club.
A statement from Josh Kroenke, son of majority owner Stan, said: ‘Our most sincere thanks go to Unai and his colleagues who were unrelenting in their efforts to get the club back to competing at the level we all expect and demand.
‘We wish Unai and his team nothing but future success.’
A further statement from an Arsenal spokesperson added: ‘The decision has been taken due to results and performances not being at the level required.’
Former Arsenal player, Freddie Ljungberg has been put in interim charge of the team. But it’s understood the club is keen on bringing in Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo as Emery’s replacement.
Contrary to what many people love to believe, watching pornography can actually make you develop erectile dysfunction, rewire your brain to start functioning like that of a child and lead ultimately to mental breakdown.
Porn consumption can kill your ability to get erection or orgasm with real life partner!
These are some of the findings of a neuroscience PhD student and researcher at Canada’s Université Laval, Rachel Anne Barr, who warns that people who regularly watch adult entertainment — a.k.a, pornography — often develop damage to the brain region (prefrontal cortex) that controls morality, willpower and impulse.
The prefrontal cortex region is, crucially, one that does not fully develop until adulthood, she notes.
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According to the researcher, watching porn not only erodes that important region of the brain, it also rewires it into a childish state.
In the report published in The Conversation, Barr says research suggests that pornography could cause consumers to struggle with their emotions and impulses, possibly leading to compulsive behaviour and poor judgment.
Speaking on her research findings, Barr notes, “It’s somewhat paradoxical that adult entertainment may revert our brain wiring to a more juvenile state.
“The much greater irony is that while porn promises to satisfy and provide sexual gratification, it delivers the opposite.
“Science is only just beginning to reveal the neurological repercussions of porn consumption.
“It is already clear that the mental health and sex lives of its widespread audience are suffering catastrophic effects.”
Continuing, the researcher warns, “From depression to erectile dysfunction, porn appears to be hijacking our neural wiring with dire consequences.
“The properties of video porn make it a particularly powerful trigger for plasticity, the brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experience.
“Combined with the accessibility and anonymity of online porn consumption, we are more vulnerable than ever to its hyper-stimulating effects.
“In the long term, pornography seems to create sexual dysfunctions, especially the inability to achieve erection or orgasm with a real life partner.”
Watching porn can be likened to drug-taking and the crash effects, the researcher suggests, noting, “When a person uses cocaine, their brains give off a rush of dopamine, the ‘feel-good’ hormone. The same happens with sex and arousal.
But beyond simply dealing with excitement, that same neurotransmitter also controls memories. Overusing that neurotransmitter can wear down your natural reflexes and habits, leaving the body unsure how to satisfy its needs.
Drug users, for example, can lose appetite, turning to more drugs.
Porn users, Barr says, may start to see porn as a quick fix for their sexual needs, rather than a person.
“The desensitization of our reward circuitry sets the stage for sexual dysfunctions to develop, but the repercussions don’t end there,’ Barr says.
“Studies show that changes in the transmission of dopamine can facilitate depression and anxiety.
“In agreement with this observation, porn consumers report greater depressive symptoms, lower quality of life and poorer mental health compared to those who don’t watch porn.’
Barr adds: “The other compelling finding in this study is that compulsive porn consumers find themselves wanting and needing more porn, even though they don’t necessarily like it.
“This disconnect between wanting and liking is a hallmark feature of reward circuitry dysregulation.”
The All Progressives Congress has distanced itself from the suit seeking an amendment of the constitution to allow President Muhammadu Buhari to run for a third term in office.
The ruling party said the suit filed by a “self-proclaimed” member of the party, Charles Enya, was in bad taste, describing him as a busybody and an “enemy” that might have been sponsored by the opposition.
The APC in a statement on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lanre Issa-Onilu, threatened a legal action against Enya and serious disciplinary action, if truly he was a member of the party.
The statement said, “The party had initially chosen to ignore him, however, it has become important to send a clear message to him and such other agent provocateurs.
“At the last National Executive Committee meeting of the party, President Buhari didn’t mince words and he is not the type that talks tongue in cheek. He pointedly said he would abide by the constitution and uphold the oath of office he took, swearing by the holy book he believes in. This, he said, was beside his advanced age which made such an idea beyond his contemplation.”
The APC said it was ready to send a strong signal to enemies of the country like Enya, who might be testing the resolve of the government on its mission to work for the best of the country.
The statement added, “The party is, however, by this statement sending a strong signal to such other busybodies like Charles Enya, who may be contemplating testing the resolve of our government on our mission to work for the best for our country, to be ready to face the law.
“We would follow this new enemy of our country, who is most likely being sponsored by the desperate and misguided opposition, every step of the way, using all legal means to thwart his devilish efforts to create chaos in our country.
“As a party, we would not take kindly to anyone or group causing unnecessary distraction for this administration through anti-democratic actions. As a country, we are several years behind where we ought to be.
“The President Buhari-led administration is focused on the onerous responsibility of delivering good governance. We are focused on revamping our moribund infrastructure, growing the economy, fighting corruption, creating the right environment for our teeming youths to deploy their creative energies, and providing adequate security for all of our people.
“We have tried to find out the status of this character claiming to be a member of our party. If he turns out to be our member, we would ensure the party’s organ that has the responsibility to act on this matter promptly commence the process of expelling him. We are a progressive party and we do not have space for anti-democratic forces and charlatans.”
In the suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Enya had prayed that the clauses restricting the President from seeking another term be removed from the constitution
He asked the court to order the National Assembly and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to remove the constitutional clauses stopping Buhari from getting a third term.
Defendants in the suit are Clerk of the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani-Omolori, the National Assembly and the AGF.
He added that the present two-term tenure was discriminatory.
For his debut album “Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps”, Fireboy DML delivers a mixture of emotions – a lover boy capable of getting you in your feelings and as well as bringing the heat.
Fireboy has been winning hearts and charts ever since breaking onto the music scene with his hit single “Jealous”.
Not relenting from the success of “Jealous”, the 23-year old YBNL signee is a proven songwriter with releases of good music such as “What If I Say” and “King”. This is not surprising considering that the youngster is being mentored by Olamide one of the best and most prolific in the industry.
For a first studio album, Fireboy is daring as “Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps” comes with no guest features. This is a break from the norm that sees new artists tending to overkill their first major projects with guest appearances.
Fireboy is sure of the viability of his style in an industry that pits him against equally new sounds as those of his contemporaries such as Rema, Joeboy and Oxlade.
The 13-track album is a vibe of good feelings and present the Afro-life crooner as a hybrid of Wande Coal and Adekunle Gold.
On “Need You” Fireboy shows off the strength of his voice on gentle guitar riffs as he serenades his love interest with lines such as “You sweet pass mango, you sweet pass agbalumo/No know where I wan go, omo mi o ma gbadun mo”.
We see Olamide/Zanku’s influence on “Omo Ologo”. “Vibration” is that track that makes you grab your lover and get on the dancefloor.
“Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps” without doubt would go down as one of the best Nigerian albums to come out in 2019.
A fabric low poly suicide rope with slipknot placed on the white concrete wall with white space on left. 3D illustration and rendered by program Blender.
A nine-year-old girl, Maria Abah, has allegedly committed suicide in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
The incident occurred on the Bem Hotel Road, Ankpa Quarter, Makurdi.
PUNCH correspondent learnt that the girl was staying with a prophetess and her children.
The body of the girl was said to have been found in the early hours of Thursday on the floor of the bathroom with a wrapper tied around her neck, suggesting that she committed suicide.
When our correspondent visited the scene of the incident, which also houses a church being run by the prophetess, the guardian was said to have gone to the police headquarters in connection with the incident.
A neighbour, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the girl’s death was a mystery.
He alleged that one of the prophetess’ children celebrated her birthday on Wednesday, only to find the body of the girl in the bathroom the next day.
Efforts to speak with the woman’s children were not successful as they politely declined making comments.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Catherine Anene, confirmed the incident.
She said the matter was reported to the police around 11.30am on Thursday.
Anene said the corpse had been deposited in the morgue of the St. Theresa’s Hospital in Makurdi and the case was under investigation.
The PPRO stated, “On Thursday, November 28, 2019, around 11.30am, a report was received that one Maria Abah, 9, was found to have hung herself in the bathroom. Her corpse has been deposited in the St. Theresa’s Hospital morgue.
“The case is under investigation. Further development will be communicated to you in due course.”
A bill seeking to remove gender restrictions for rape cases has passed second reading at the senate.
The bill, which seeks an amendment to the criminal code act, 2004, also seeks to delete the statute of limitation in cases of defilement.
The bill was sponsored by Oluremi Tinubu, senator representing Lagos central.
Tinubu is seeking the removal of gender restrictions on rape offences as well as a proposal of stiffer penalties for kidnapping.
In her lead debate on the bill, the senator objected to the provision of section 218 of the criminal code which states that “anyone who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of thirteen or attempts same is guilty of felony and liable to life imprisonment or fourteen years imprisonment, respectively.”
According to her, prosecution of an offender under the section constitutes a limitation that should be extended as against the act’s provision which allows for only two months after the offence is committed.
“This is untenable in a country where investigations often take longer than two months”, Tinubu said.
“Considering the shortage of police personnel, relative to our population as prescribed by international standards, the two months limitation is unlikely to be met at all.
“With the development and innovation in forensic technology and the accessibility or otherwise of such infrastructure in Nigeria, rushed investigations with a view to commencing prosecutions within a two month period leave a possibility of a huge margin for error.”
The bill also seeks an amendment to section 221 of the criminal code which provides that “where a person has or attempts carnal knowledge of a girl being of or above the age of thirteen and under the age sixteen, an ‘idiot or imbecile’, he shall be liable to imprisonment for a period of two years provided that the prosecution is commenced within two months after the offence is committed.”
The senator described the criminal code act which defines rape as an offence against women as “grievous”, saying it perpetrates the socio-cultural belief that men do not need to consent to sexual acts.
The lawmaker said “there are incidents of non-consensual sex perpetrated against the male gender”.
The bill proposes an amendment to section 221 to substitute words like “idiot or imbecile” with “mentally challenged”.
Tinubu said while words like idiot, moron, and imbecile were professionally used to measure intelligence quotient (IQ), they have acquired pejorative connotations, become derogatory and obsolete, and should no longer be contained in our laws.
Comparing the penalties for kidnapping (imprisonment for a term of ten years) with that of robbery, which is 21 years, Tinubu asked: “Why is the punishment for stealing property and replaceable things higher than what is obtainable when you steal a human being?”
“The frequency of kidnap across the federation and its resulting trauma, not to mention the number of lives lost to the crime, make it imperative to review our laws with a view to ensuring appropriate punishment for perpetrators and deterrence for would-be perpetrators.”
After the debate on the bill, Senate President Ahmad Lawan referred it to the senate committee on judiciary, human rights, and legal matters for further legislative work.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has not withdrawn the criminal charges it filed against Diezani Alison-Madueke, former minister of petroleum resources.
The commission filed a 14-count charge of money laundering against Alison-Madueke, Dauda Lawal, a former executive director of First Bank; Ben Otti, Nnamdi Okonkwo, Stanley Lawson and Lanre Adesanya, in 2018.
They were accused of diverting $153 million public funds in the build-up to the 2015 presidential election.
Attempts to arraign the accused have been stalled several times.
Reacting to reports that the charges against the suspects have been withdrawn, Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC spokesman, said it is not true.
He said the suspects, including Alison-Madueke, were charged separately because some of them are frustrating the trial.
“At no time did the commission withdraw the charge, which is still before Justice Muslim Hassan of the federal high court, Lagos,” Uwujaren said.
“The only development was that the commission took a prosecutorial decision to split the initial 14-count charge to enable separate arraignment of the defendants following a spate of adjournments that prevented the arraignment of the defendants more than one year after the case was listed.”
“The charges were first filed on November 28, 2018. Since then, every attempt to arraign the defendants had been frustrated by one excuse or the other. In more than four times that the matter was called for arraignment, it was either that Lanre Adesanya was sick and bedridden in a London hospital or Nnamdi Okonkwo was hypertensive and on admission in a hospital or Stanley Lawson had had a domestic accident and could not appear in court.
“It was clear that these recurring excuses were ploys to frustrate the arraignment. To get around this, the Commission took a deliberate decision, which was disclosed in open court, to separately prosecute the defendants in different courts. This explains why the four count amended charge brought against Dauda and Lawal did not include other defendants, except the two who are at large( Diezani Alison-Madueke and Ben Otti). And the ingredients of the offence stated therein only pertains to Lawal’s involvement in the alleged crime, which is the receipt of $25million from the $153million 2015 Peoples Democratic Party presidential election slush fund.
“The non-inclusion of other defendants in the original charge in the amended four count charge does not mean that have been exonerated by the Commission of any criminal allegation.”
There was palpable tension, on Wednesday, at the national headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission as security operatives prevented Senator Dino Melaye and journalists from gaining access to submit whether described “additional petition.”
The camera of a Journalist was seized but later released when Melaye intervened.
After some minutes, he had his way and ushered himself, supporters and journalists, into INEC.
At INEC, Melaye insisted that he would not leave until a National Commissioner comes to receive the petition.
Melaye is contesting the November 16 election in Kogi West which was said to have been marred by violence and electoral malpractices.
Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari, during the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the All Progressive Congress (APC) said he was not going to stand re-election for a third term in office. Not a few Nigerians queried what necessitated that speech. The constitution is clear on the terms of office for the President and State Governors.
Granted, alot has been said in the media about the third term agenda of the President. It’s been speculated that should the third term bid fail, persons at the helms of affairs are determined to retain the Presidency in the North. Of course, with some alleged Southern support.
Just yesterday, I saw a post by the spokesman to former Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, Lere Olayinka, detailing how an APC chieftain from Ebonyi State approached a Federal High Court to ‘create’ the condition that would make President Muhammadu Buhari eligible to stand election for a third term come 2023. Shockingly, we are still in 2019. We elected him just this year! He hasn’t even stayed one-quarter of his second term in office.
The member of the APC, Hon Charles Oko Enya is said to have approached a Federal High Court in Abakaliki, seeking an order to direct the National Assembly and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to remove constitutional clauses hindering the President and State Governors from seeking third terms in office. Nothing can be more democracy-threatening, and worrisome for true Nigerians.
In his suit with the number: FHC/AI/CS/90/19, which was filed at the court last Wednesday and made available to newsmen by his counsel, Hon Enya is seeking the possible expungement of the very sections of the 1999 constitution that crush the ego and thoughts of anyone seeking to be the life-leader of our dear country.
Dictatorship is never coming back to Nigeria; the earlier Hon Enya and whoever his ‘backers’ are know that, the better. It is assumed that seeking political office is a means to serve the people. In our part of the world, it’s a means to have the people serve you and impoverish them the more.
Nigerians, most especially the youths, are set to embark on a protest to show our discontent with a bill that’s undergoing ‘vetting’ at the National Assembly. This bill seeks to shut every dissenting voice to whatever the government does; good or bad. That can’t be. This is a democracy. Imagine the insensitivity of the ruling party to the plight of the average Nigerian and their desperation to impose an almost senile man on over 200million persons! Are there no better heads?
Fronts and actions like these are probably the reasons they seek to shut us all up. But, we can’t live like slaves in our own land. Power always resides with the people.
If President Muhammadu Buhari has been a student of history, he’d have known that no backdoor and seemingly unaware stance of his to the third term rootings for his Presidency will hold ground in Nigeria. Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo had resources to change Senate Presidents as he wished, yet, he couldn’t have his way with a third term.
Nothing can be done to the constitution without the National Assembly. Although the leadership of the National Assembly have made the Legislative arm a puppet of the Executive, we’ll not fold our arms and watch our country and citizens ‘oppressed’ by a supposedly powerful but minute fraction of our country population. Power, ultimately, belongs to the people.
