Foreign Minister says no no Gaddafi men in Nigeria

There is no confirmation that some Muammar Gaddafi loyalists have entered Nigeria from neighbouring countries such as Niger,  Foreign Minister Olugbenga Ashiru has said.

Ashiru told Nigeria reporters covering the 66th UN General Assembly in New York that speculations that Gaddafi’s men had entered some states in Nigeria were untrue.

“Our security agencies are on the alert and I can assure you that anybody who enters Nigeria will be promptly deported from wherever he or she came from,’’ the minister assured.

The minister also said he did not believe Gaddafi or any of his associates would seek asylum in Nigeria.

“I don’t believe that will happen, maybe they will prefer not to come to Nigeria for obvious reasons and I don’t think anyone should express that kind of anxiety,’’  the minister said

Niger, which borders Nigeria in the north, confirmed the presence of some senior Gaddafi officials and at least one member of his family in the country.

Nigerien authorities also confirmed that they were keeping one of Gaddafi’s sons,Saadi, under surveillance along with several others who fled to the country, including Gen. Ali Kana, who commanded Gaddafi’s southern troops.

Interpol has issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, all wanted by the International Criminal Court for suspected crimes against humanity.

About  200 Nigerians still in Libya

Ashiru also told reporters in New York on Saturday that in spite of   the “massive evacuations’’ authorised by the Federal  Government in February and March, some Nigerians still chose  to remain in Libya.

The minister quoted said that  “the last plane that left Libya was virtually empty.”

In March, the National Emergency Management Agency revealed that 4,000 Nigerians were evacuated from Libya.

The minister, however, said he was in touch with some Nigerians still in Libya and had received information that none of them had been killed .

He said the government had contacted Libya’s Transitional National Council (TNC) authorities on the need to ensure the safety of her nationals that were still in the country.

The minister said the TNC had assured him of their safety, adding that his interaction with them confirmed that “they are fine.’’

“There was particular guy (Nigerian) in Libya who sent an SMS to Nigeria which was also forwarded to me.

“I have been in touch with him several times and each time I call him I will ask him how Nigerians there (in Libya) are doing and he will assure me that they are fine.

“I have also asked to know the problem of some those who were arrested and later released, but no one was killed.

He said the Nigerian government was still assessing the security situation in the North African country.

“We will continue to assess the situation and we want to make sure that everything is stable and secure.

“At the appropriate time when we think the situation has stabilised we will take a decision,’’ he added. (NAN)

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Massive amounts of explosives smuggled from China seized

Nigerian officials seized a sizable amount of explosives hidden inside a shipping container from China at one of the West African nation's major ports, an official said Saturday, amid continued unrest and bombings across the oil-rich country.

The container arrived at Nigeria's Tin Can Port on June 14 on the MV Seng-Shi, with its bill of lading claiming the shipment from Huangpu, China contained industrial sockets and valves, said Wale Adeniyi, a spokesman for the Nigeria Customs Service. However, discrepancies on the shipping paperwork raised suspicions of the customs service, which kept watch over the container to see if someone came to pick it up, Adeniyi said.

Officials opened the container Friday to check its contents, he said, adding that they worried whatever could be inside of the containers could grow unstable during Nigeria's continuing rainy season, he said. Officials remain unsure whether the explosives were of a military or commercial grade.

"We saw them in different dimensions with cables, wires (and) some bolts," Adeniyi said.

The customs service handed the explosives over to Nigeria's federal police force. Authorities have launched an investigation into the shipment, Adeniyi said, though no arrests have been made.

Nigeria's chaotic ports in its megacity of Lagos see tons of cargo move through them daily, providing cars, imported food, refined gasoline and other products needed for the nation of 150 million people. Drugs and other illegal goods also flow through the ports, often aided by officials receiving bribes in a country considered by analysts to have one of the world's most corrupt governments.

It isn't the first time a shipment that could be used as weapons have been found in the country. In October 2010, authorities at Lagos' Apapa Port found a hidden shipment of 107 mm artillery rockets, rifle rounds and other weapons from Iran. The shipment was supposedly bound for Gambia. A Nigerian and an Iranian face criminal charges over the shipment.

The explosives shipment also comes as Nigeria faces an increasingly bloody sectarian challenge from a radical Muslim sect known locally as Boko Haram. The sect, which wants strict implementation of Shariah law across the nation split between Christian and Muslims, claimed responsibility for the Aug. 26 suicide car bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria that killed 23 people and wounded 116 others.

AP

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Interview with British Nigerian Hollywood actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje may just be the most badass actor in Hollywood. To "Oz" fans, he's gang leader Simon Adebisi. To "Lost" fans, he's former war lord turned man of god, Mr. Eko. And if you sat through rapper 50 Cent's acting debut, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," he's the twisted drug lord Majestic.

In his latest television stint on Cinemax's explosive new show "Strike Back," Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays a brutal militia leader named Tahir, who holds an innocent aid worker hostage in the Sudan.

Tahir shows little mercy to those who disobey his leadership. For as uncompromising and brutal as Tahir seems, Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who also learned Arabic for the project, was drawn to the project because of the character's many dimensions.

"It's such a rich character," Akinnuoye-Agbaje told The Huffington Post. "This character has many layers. He's a man of absolutely uncompromising principles, and what was intriguing to me was what would drive a person to such extremes?

I was interested in exploring what his motivation was, and why he was committing such seemingly heinous crimes. And then finding out that there was a real, substantive purpose behind it was really intriguing to me.

Nobody is good or bad. Everybody has shades of both, and he is a character who's got both, and he's just extreme in both. He's fighting for a cause. He seems to be an old vestige of a warrior."

Judging from his credits, Akinnuoye-Agbaje walks the line between good and evil quite often, giving seemingly twisted characters emotional depth and understanding.

"Multifaceted and textured characters are always more intriguing to me," said the actor. "You never really just want to play one note. It becomes a bit monotone and boring. I think the most appealing characters for the audience are the ones that you never know whether to root for them or whether to hate them.

That's what keeps people drawn to their television sets. As with Eko, as with Majestic, as with Adebisi, these are characters that you want to hate, but there's a part of them that you secretly want to root for, and that part is called humanity."

Akinnuoye-Agbaje has the ability to give a voice to certain tormented and twisted characters that other actors would shy away from -- such as Tahir and Adebisi -- which is what makes his portrayal of such characters so endearing and authentic.

Yet, he's proven that he can play tortured and twisted quite well, but what about playing someone, well, more normal? In the star-studded "Killer Elite," coming out this fall and starring Robert De Niro, Clive Owen and Jason Statham, Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays Agent, someone who's not a drug lord, criminal or militia leader in the Sudan.

"For the first time really, I played a British character in a shirt and tie," laughed the British-born actor. "He's more behind-the-scenes and pulling the strings, so that was really interesting for me. I also have another film coming out this fall, called 'Best Laid Plans,' and it's a British modern adaptation of 'Of Mice and Men.'

I play the character Lenny, and he's a 37-year-old man with a 7-year-old mentality. And it was a challenge for me, and it was a very tricky task, but that's the rewarding part of what I do -- the exploration of different personalities, traits and characters. Ultimately, you have to just take the plunge and follow your instincts on these characters."

By taking the plunge, Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays bad like no one else -- with vulnerability and depth -- and sometimes, these tormented and twisted characters tend to go against his Buddhist faith. The actor admitted that he had to chant more than usual while playing the brutal Majestic in "Get Rich or Die Tryin'."

"Sometimes I do question it because if you do your job well, the public will associate you with that person," said Akinnuoye-Agbaje, "But then I have to take a step back from it and say, this is my job, this is what I do.

I'm here to play certain characters and give them a voice that they might not have had. That's my job, and like it or not, that's what I'm here to do."

This Day

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Sex worker burns her baby alive

The Oyo State Police Command confirmed on Sunday that a newborn baby (name not given) was set ablaze by unknown persons in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

The parents of the baby and the accomplices were yet to be traced at the time of filing this report.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, Mr. Femi Okanlawon, who confirmed the incident, said two hoteliers had already been arrested in connection with the crime.

According to Okanlawon, information about the incident was received by the police around 11:00 am on Saturday. He explained that the baby was burnt at Lemomu Street, Ekotedo Iyaolobe area of the city.

The Police spokesman said the two male suspects, who were arrested worked with a hotel in the area thereby fuelling suspicion that the baby might have been born by a commercial sex worker.  It is suspected that the mother of the baby who is a hooker set the baby on fire for unknown reasons, then fled the scene.

Ekotedo, a community near the Dugbe Central Business District, is home to many sex workers.

Okanlawon said the command had launched an investigation into the incident and promised that those behind the cruel action would soon be unmasked and be made to face the law.

He said, “A case of suspected murder is in our hands. Our men in Mokola were informed around 11:00am that a newborn baby was set ablaze by unknown persons at Lemomu Street in Ekotedo Iya Olobe area.

“We have arrested two men in connection with the incident. An investigation has also been launched into the criminal act and we believe the people behind the act would soon be tracked down.”

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