JTF killed 82 sea pirates, nabbed 1,857 crude oil thieves in N-Delta —Commander

The Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, codenamed Operation Pulo Shield, said yesterday it killed 82 sea pirates and robbers, lost three of its operatives in active service in 2013 to sea pirates, while three others got drowned.

The task force also said its operatives killed 23 kidnappers and conducted 1,025 anti-illegal oil bunkering patrols leading to the destruction of 1,951 illegal refinery camps in the region and arrest of 1,857 crude oil thieves.

Also, over 1,117 Contonu boats, 82 tanker trucks, 81 barges and 1,873 surface tanks were destroyed during the 2013 operational year.

Commander of JTF, Major-General Bata Debiro, stated this in Yenagoa while briefing newsmen on the activities of the command in the last one year in the region. Major-General Debiro said the mandate of the task force was to stop illegal bunkering activities in the upstream sector,  protect oil and gas facilities and installations, secure the environment and other lawful activities in the region.

According to the JTF commander, three of its soldiers were killed by sea pirates at  Andoni, Rivers State, while three others drowned in a  river near Akassa in Bayelsa State.

His words: “In the year under review, JTF successfully conducted several land, maritime and air operations against illegal oil bunkering and refining activities, pipeline vandalism, armed robbery and sea robbery. The task force also  conducted anti-kidnapping operations, cordon and search, destruction of re-emerging militant camps and provided security to oil and gas companies in the past twelve months.
”Over 42 armed robbers were killed and a total of 183 suspects were arrested, 40 sea pirates were also killed, 41 arrested and all manners of assorted arms and ammunition recovered  from January to date.”

On acts of kidnapping, the JTF Commander said though the menace seems to be on the increase, its operatives command killed over 23 kidnappers, arrested 236 suspects and recovered several weapons from the hoodlums.

Kidnappers murder victim after collecting #1.5million ransom

Bridget Osawaru, a 43-year-old nurse, abducted on December 10, 2013, was said to have been allegedly killed by her abductors after collecting N1.5 million ransom from her relatives.

It was gathered that her kidnap too place at her residence along Sapele Road in Benin City and was kept in captivity until she was found dead.

Her abductors were alleged to have collected N1.5 million ransom three days after her kidnapping but refused to release her.

Late Bridget’s body was found near Okhuahe hill in Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo State.
Police sources said injuries were found on her body which indicated that she might have been stabbed.

The sources said that the homicide section at the state Police Command was investigating to ascertain if she was a victim of assassination or not. Police spokesman, DSP Moses Eguaveon could not be reached for comments.

Abducted Lebanese man in Kano regain freedom

KANO — Abducted Lebanese businessman Mr Hassan Zein, has regained his freedom.

Hassan Zein, the Managing Director of M.C Plastic company, was kidnapped in the early hours of Monday last week from the company’s premises at the Sharada Industrial Area of Kano metropolis by unknown gunmen.

Update shortly

Terry G attacked and sent off stage while performing

Terry G attacked and sent off stage while performing

Terry G, who was at the IBB Square, Makurdi in Benue State for Benue youth fiesta was fiercely attacked while performing on stage.

The exciting event which was organized by a house member representing Guma/Makurdi Federal constituency, Barrister Emmanuel Jime, attracted hundreds of people to the area.

It was gathered that while the 'son of the soil' mounted the stage to perform, some youths, suspected to be hoodlums, began to throw sachet water at the musician and later broke bottles and charged towards him.

The security officials managed to bring the situation under control.

Other big Nigerian artistes like J Martins, I Go Dye, Ice Prince and Pastor Nicodemus Mbatsavtampu also performed at the event, which was exciting, before it was interrupted.

T.I. surprising christmas gift for his wife Tiny

People give different kinds of things as Christmas gifts. Many are actually a lot expensive, though some may worth nothing financially but can as well worth a huge meaning. What have you got for this christmas?

Rapper T.I. did it bigger again. T.I. really likes to spoil his wife Tiny. The previous Christmas, Mr. Harris surprised her with a Porsche Panamera Turbo and the next christmas was a new truck, and then a Rolls Royce for a Second Anniversary gift. Now he got her a brand new convertible Bentley as a Christmas present.

T.I knows no joke when it comes to spending for his family, that is indeed his number one priority. Tiny took a pause from celebrating Christmas to share with the world her present from T.I. I guess her love for him will increase to a million times.

Dude is always making it rain in his home!

Arsenal bounce to the top spot of the EPL

Gunners come from one goal down to beat West Ham 3-1, as Liverpool fall to fourth after 2-1 loss to Manchester City.
Arsenal have replaced Liverpool at the top of the English Premier League, after the Gunners beat West Ham 3-1 and the Merseysiders lost 2-1 to Manchester City.

The Gunners had fallen behind at West Ham on Thursday when goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny spilled Kevin Nolan's shot and Carlton Cole pounced to score a minute into the second half.

West Ham goalkeeper Adrian was also culpable for Arsenal's equalizer, with Walcott cutting in from the right and striking between his legs in the 68th.

Walcott headed Arsenal in front three minutes later, and Lukas Podolski rounded off the win in the 79th at Upton Park to ensure Arsenal's three-game winless run in the league ended, as West Ham dropped into the relegation zone.

Manchester City ended Liverpool's short stay at the top of the Premier League and moved ahead of their title rival after Alvaro Negredo secured their win.

England's most potent attacking team quickly recovered after Phillippe Coutinho put Liverpool ahead in the 24th minute.

Vincent Kompany headed City level seven minutes later and Negredo's high shot was fumbled into the net by Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet on the stroke of half-time.

Potential bias

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers could face an English Football Association charge for calling into question the referee's integrity and implying potential bias.

"They were horrendous," Rodgers said.

"We never got any decision." 

Aggrieved that Raheem Sterling had a goal ruled out for offside and Luis Suarez was denied a late penalty, Rodgers questioned why a referee from the Manchester area, Lee Mason of Bolton, was given a match involving a Manchester team.

City ended the day as they started: a point behind the leaders, but Liverpool dropped to fourth as a four-match winning run ended.

Chelsea are now two points off the lead after Eden Hazard scored in the 28th minute to give the west London club a 1-0 win over Swansea.

Meanwhile, Manchester United have moved up to sixth following their fightback at Hull.

Hull scored twice inside the first 15 minutes, but David Moyes's side were level inisde 25 minutes. Wayne Rooney's 150th Premier League goal making it 2-2.

In the second half, Hull defender James Chester, who'd earlier opened the scoring for his team, headed in an own goal that gave United the 3-2 win.

Everton's hopes of completing 2013 unbeaten at home in the Premier League vanished as they lost 1-0 at home to bottom club Sunderland after keeper Tim Howard was sent off.

Everton are fifth with 34 points, one more than Newcastle United who thumped nine-man Stoke City 5-1.

Newcastle are closing in on the top four after a 5-1 thashing of stoke.

Tottenham Hotspur are eighth following a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion in Tim Sherwood's first match in charge since being named as the club's permanent manager.

Wins for Crystal Palace at Aston Villa and Fulham at Norwich City meant the three sides that began the day in the bottom three all won, leaving West Ham to drop into the bottom three.

Cardiff City were beaten 3-0 at home by Southampton, raising fresh doubts over the future of manager Malky Mackay.

Mikhail Kalashnikov: Inventor Of World's Most Popular Firearm AK-47 Dies At 94

Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the famed AK-47 rife, has died at the age of 94: The Russian hero had been in intensive care since Nov. 17 in Izhevsk, Russia, where his famous weapon is produced. In recent years, Kalashnikov had suffered from heart troubles.

Mikhail Kalashnikov, whose work as a weapons designer for the Soviet Union is immortalized in the name of the world's most popular firearm, died Monday at the age of 94.
Kalashnikov once aspired to design farm equipment. But even though his most famous invention — the AK-47 assault rifle — sowed havoc instead of crops, he often said he felt personally untroubled by his contribution to bloodshed.

"I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence," he said in 2007.

Kalashnikov died in a hospital in Izhevsk, the capital of the Udmurtia republic where he lived, said Viktor Chulkov, a spokesman for the republic's president. He did not give a cause of death. Kalashnikov had been hospitalized for the past month with unspecified health problems.

The AK-47 — "Avtomat Kalashnikov" and the year it went into production — is the world's most popular firearm, favored by guerrillas, terrorists and the soldiers of many armies. An estimated 100 million guns are spread worldwide.

Though it isn't especially accurate, its ruggedness and simplicity are exemplary: it performs in sandy or wet conditions that jam more sophisticated weapons such as the U.S. M-16.

"During the Vietnam war, American soldiers would throw away their M-16s to grab AK-47s and bullets for it from dead Vietnamese soldiers," Kalashnikov said in July 2007 at a ceremony marking the rifle's 60th anniversary.

The weapon's suitability for jungle and desert fighting made it nearly ideal for the Third World insurgents backed by the Soviet Union, and Moscow not only distributed the AK-47 widely but also licensed its production in some 30 other countries.

Kalashnikov, born into a peasant family in Siberia, began his working life as a railroad clerk. After he joined the Red Army in 1938, he began to show mechanical flair by inventing several modifications for Soviet tanks.

The moment that firmly set his course was in the 1941 battle of Bryansk against Nazi forces, when a shell hit his tank. Recovering from wounds in the hospital, Kalashnikov brooded about the superior automatic rifles he'd seen the Nazis deploy; his rough ideas and revisions bore fruit five years later.

"Blame the Nazi Germans for making me become a gun designer," said Kalashnikov. "I always wanted to construct agricultural machinery."

In 2007, President Vladimir Putin praised him, saying "The Kalashnikov rifle is a symbol of the creative genius of our people."

Over his career, he was decorated with numerous honors, including the Hero of Socialist Labor and Order of Lenin and Stalin Prize. But because his invention was never patented, he didn't get rich off royalties.

RIP Kalashnikov, you have been the cause of the millions RIP in the world.

Please viewers comment, what do u think about Mikhail Kalashnikov's invention? If he had applied his genius to peace or other good innovations, the world might had less inhumanity.

Bloody christmas

It was a bloody Christmas celebration in Lagos and Cross River states as no fewer than nine persons were killed in auto accidents on Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning.

Five people comprising a baby, her mother, two brothers and a driver died on Wednesday in the Lagos State accident, while four youths died in the Cross River accident.

In Lagos, our correspondent learnt that apart from the five people that perished on Christmas day, another lady suffered a fracture after a container which was on an articulated truck fell on a commercial bus on Alaba Suru Road in the Ajeromi-Ifelodun area of Lagos.

Eyewitnesses said the baby, her mother, the two brothers and the bus driver, who were victims of the accident, were returning from the Lagos Island.

It was said the two brothers went to purchase bangers for the New Year celebration.

The crash was said to have been caused by a mentally unstable woman, who laid in the middle of the road, thereby creating confusion for the truck driver who was on top speed.

A resident, Mohammed Wasiu, said, “The incident happened around 8.30am. I saw the mad woman walking around this morning. She just decided to sleep on the road at that time.

“The LT bus was going towards Mile 2. There were about eight people in the bus. The driver decided to stop because someone wanted to get down from the bus.

“As this was going on, the truck was coming on full speed. There were two trucks; one was already ahead, so the second truck driver wanted to catch up.

“When he got to that point and saw the mad woman on the road, he wanted to avoid crushing her. As he maneuvered the truck, its side hit the bus, and the container fell on the bus.”

Wasiu said residents immediately rushed to the scene and began to cut the vehicle with saws in order to save the occupants who were in pain.

Another eyewitness, who did not identify himself, said, “The two brothers who were at the back of the bus were trapped. They had packs of bangers that they just bought. The woman, who wore a shawl, and was carrying a baby, could not also escape. They all died, including the driver.

“It was only a lady that was at the entrance to the door that escaped with a fracture.”

After the accident, angry residents were said to have seized the mentally unstable lady and beaten her up. Some of the residents said it was the second time she would trigger such accident. She was, however, rescued by policemen.

At the rescue operation scene were officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos State Traffic Management Agency, policemen, and the Lagos State Emergency Medical Services.

The NEMA spokesperson, South-West Zone, Ibrahim Farinloye said, “The incident happened at 8.30am, but we were not alerted till around 11.46am. NEMA was able to mobilise other rescue officials to the scene. At the end of the rescue operation, a woman and her baby with two men died, while a lady was rescued alive. She however had a fractured leg. The corpses have been taken to a mortuary in Oshodi.”

The police Public Relations Officer,  Lagos State, Ngozi Braide, said she would call back to give details on the accident.

In Cross River, four youths were on Tuesday killed, while several others were injured after a Mercedes Benz 911 truck rammed into them by the road side at the Akamkpa area of the Calabar-Ikom highway.

The incident, which occurred around the state’s college of education in Awi, Akamkpa Local Government Area, left the community in mourning.