Government charges Charles, Henry Okah for kidnapping

The federal government has charged Charles Okah and his brother Henry Okah for the abduction of nine expatriate oil workers in the restive Niger Delta this year.

According to papers filed in the magistrate court in Abuja yesterday, Henry Okah, who is on trial in South Africa over the Nigeria Independence Day bombings, was shown as being at large.

Charles, arraigned with three others at a magistrate court in Abuja, was accused of "criminal conspiracy, criminal intimidation, threat to lives and causing grievous bodily harm."

They were accused of kidnapping and abduction of nine expatriate oil workers of Addax Oil at the Bonny Anchorage in Rivers State this year.

The kidnapped workers according to the prosecution counsel Charles Osagie are four Indians, three French men and two Russians.

Charles and three other men denied taking the hostages, as all the accused pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them by court officials.

The magistrate Mrs Oyebola Oyewunmi ordered that they be remanded in State Security Service custody until December 24th.

Charles was arrested last month over the Indepe-ndence Day attacks in Abuja. His brother remains in custody in South Africa and is accused of masterminding the car-bombings that killed 12 people and left several others injured.

The oil workers were freed last week in a raid of militant camps in the Niger Delta spearheaded by the Joint Task Force. Nineteen oil workers were rescued unhurt in the military operation.

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Lagos to overtake Cairo as Africa's most populous city

With a projected 12.4 million inhabitants in 2015, Lagos is set to become Africa's most populous city, ahead of Cairo's 11 million inhabitants. The projection was contained in a report released on Wednesday by the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

The report urged African nations to prepare for massive urban population growth, the UN correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria.

According to UN-HABITAT, Cairo, home to 15 per cent of Egypt's population is presently ranked Africa's most populous city with 11.1 inhabitants, ahead of Lagos's current population of 10.9 million. However by 2020, Kinshasa's 12.7 million would also have overtaken Cairo's then 12.5 million population.

Also, Kinshasa will be the fastest-growing city in absolute terms, by no less than four million, a 46 per cent increase for its 2010 population of 8.7 million.

The report said Lagos was the second fastest with a projected 3.5 million addition, or a 33.8 per cent increase.

"Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Ouagadougou, Cairo, Abidjan, Kano and Addis Ababa will all see their populations increase by more than one million before 2020," it said.

With the average for the 10 proportionally fastest growing cities put at about 51 per cent, the report said, Abuja, Bamako, Luanda, Lubumbashi and Nairobi are projected to grow at rates between 47 peer cent and 50 per cent over the current decade. Similarly, Dar es Salaam, Kampala, Mbuji_Mayi and Niamey are projected to grow between 50 per cent and 57 per cent.

Joan Clos, Executive Director of UN_HABITAT, said: "urbanisation is here to stay and within a few decades Africa will be predominantly urban.

"The issue now is for regional and national governments, local authorities and all other stakeholders to pull together to ensure the efficient management of urban agglomerations.

'Smart urban policies could help spread the benefits and lift the continent out of poverty.

The report, entitled "The State of African Cities 2010: Governance, Inequalities and Urban Land Markets", highlighted some positive developments on urbanisation in the continent.

It noted the general reduction in the number of slum dwellers across Africa and the potential of urban corridors across the continent to drive growth, especially of land-locked countries.

However, the report warned that Africa would suffer disproportionately from the effects of climate change and that accurate counting of slum dwellers is very difficult, because many poor people move between urban and rural locations in search of work.

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Pope benedict honours Obi

Catholic Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI,  has bestowed an honour on Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi.

The award is said to be in appreciation of Obi’s selfless, remarkable and distinctive contributions to human development and nation-building.

Pope Benedict XVI approved the recognition on the recommendations of the Bishops of the Association of Episcopal Conference of Anglophone West Africa, AWCAWA.

The pontifical honour was conferred on behalf of His Holiness by His Grace, Archbishop Joseph Ukpo of Calabar during the 6th convocation of Catholic Institute of West Africa, CIIWA, Port Harcourt.

The governor, whose award was received by the State Commissioner for Works, Mr. Calistus  Ilozumba, thanked His Holiness for the award which, he said, would inspire the governor to do more for humanity.

Established in 1981 by the Catholic Bishops of Anglophone West Africa, CIWA has a tradition of “pioneering inculcation within the framework of contextualizing theology.”

Created with a dual pontifical and civil charter, there are currently plans to elevate the institute to an ecclesiastical university.

Speaking on Governor Obi’s acceptance of the award against his perceived reluctance to accept honours by organizations and communities, Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Communications, Mr. Ifeanyi Ubabukoh, said every rule had an exception.

“The governor is mindful that he is still at work; some awards are genuine and  will inspire him to work harder; some others are anything but noble and  will only distract him,” he said.

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