Thursday, November 19, 2015
Video - Nigerian restaurant with waiters on Smart Wheels
A Nigerian restaurant is taking a modern and novel approach to food service in a bid to wow customers. Waiters and waitresses in the restaurant in the city of Ibadan are carrying meals and serving food while riding Smart Balance Wheels.
Nigeria couple living in U.K. face jail time for keeping househelp captive for 24 years
A top doctor and his wife have have been convicted of keeping a man as a slave for nearly a quarter of a century after bringing him to the UK from Nigeria.
Doctor Emmanuel Edet, 61, and his wife Antan, 58, took Ofonime Sunday Edet, now 40, when he was just 12-years-old from his family without their permission in 1989 before he agreed to be their ‘house boy’.
He was held in “invisible handcuffs” from 1989, too terrified to flee the family-of-four’s home where he slaved away as a “houseboy.”
He had agreed to work for them in exchange for money and education - but the couple paid him just £2-a-week and Ofonime was forced to work for a staggering 17 hours every day for 24 years.
The Edets - who worked as a gynecologist and senior nursing sister - controlled what the victim wore and when he could leave the house.
They also ordered him to speak to them in Nigerian and in English to their children while leaving numerous notes detailing the hours he would have to carry out.
He was made to sleep on the floor of their home on a piece of dirty foam - despite their being a spare room in the house.
They also forbade him to enter any of the rooms of the house unless he was cleaning them and set up CCTV cameras in their home to keep an eye on him whenever they went away.
His only treat in his entire time with the family was a trip to Flamingo Land in Scarborough in 1991.
As the family moved about from Caterham to Scarborough, Walsall and then finally west London, Ofonime was kept from others.
They moved to Northolt in 1995 before settling in a rented house in Perivale, west London, in 2001.
The Edets managed to fool people by claiming that the man had been adopted and suffered for years until he saw a report on modern day slavery and contacted the Hope for Justice charity.
Antan and Emmanuel Edet were arrested in March last year and have now been found guilty of holding a person in slavery or servitude, child cruelty and assisting unlawful immigration.
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Brewer, from the Trafficking and Kidnap Unit, said that the victim now has a new life in the UK, with a job and his own home.
He added: “While he will never fully overcome what happened during those 24 years, he is determined to make the most of the rest of his life and today’s conviction will help him feel he can do that. In his own words, he has hope and a future now.”
The Edets are due to be sentenced today.
Yahoo
Doctor Emmanuel Edet, 61, and his wife Antan, 58, took Ofonime Sunday Edet, now 40, when he was just 12-years-old from his family without their permission in 1989 before he agreed to be their ‘house boy’.
He was held in “invisible handcuffs” from 1989, too terrified to flee the family-of-four’s home where he slaved away as a “houseboy.”
He had agreed to work for them in exchange for money and education - but the couple paid him just £2-a-week and Ofonime was forced to work for a staggering 17 hours every day for 24 years.
The Edets - who worked as a gynecologist and senior nursing sister - controlled what the victim wore and when he could leave the house.
They also ordered him to speak to them in Nigerian and in English to their children while leaving numerous notes detailing the hours he would have to carry out.
He was made to sleep on the floor of their home on a piece of dirty foam - despite their being a spare room in the house.
They also forbade him to enter any of the rooms of the house unless he was cleaning them and set up CCTV cameras in their home to keep an eye on him whenever they went away.
His only treat in his entire time with the family was a trip to Flamingo Land in Scarborough in 1991.
As the family moved about from Caterham to Scarborough, Walsall and then finally west London, Ofonime was kept from others.
They moved to Northolt in 1995 before settling in a rented house in Perivale, west London, in 2001.
The Edets managed to fool people by claiming that the man had been adopted and suffered for years until he saw a report on modern day slavery and contacted the Hope for Justice charity.
Antan and Emmanuel Edet were arrested in March last year and have now been found guilty of holding a person in slavery or servitude, child cruelty and assisting unlawful immigration.
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Brewer, from the Trafficking and Kidnap Unit, said that the victim now has a new life in the UK, with a job and his own home.
He added: “While he will never fully overcome what happened during those 24 years, he is determined to make the most of the rest of his life and today’s conviction will help him feel he can do that. In his own words, he has hope and a future now.”
The Edets are due to be sentenced today.
Yahoo
49 dead within 24 hours of multiple Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria
Multiple attacks less than 24 hours apart left at least 49 dead in Nigeria on Wednesday, a day after Boko Haram was named the world's deadliest terror group.
At least 15 were killed and more than 100 wounded Wednesday in the northern town of Kano after two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a busy market. Those attacks came less than a day after 34 people were killed and 80 wounded in an explosion at a market in the northeastern city of Yola late Tuesday.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the incidents bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram, which is attempting to create an Islamic caliphate, or state, in Nigeria. The group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State earlier this year.
The attacks broke a three-week hiatus in bombings after a series of suicide attacks culminated in twin blasts in mosques in two northeastern cities on Oct. 23, leaving 42 dead and wounding more than 100.
The Global Terrorism Index said Boko Haram was responsible for 6,644 deaths in 2014, a one-year increase of 317%. The Nigerian terror group overtook the Islamic State, which was responsible for the deaths of 6,073 people, according to the report published Tuesday by the Global Peace Institute.
Overall, Boko Haram's 6-year terror campaign has left more than 20,000 dead and forced another 2.3 million to flee.
Nigeria has experienced the largest increase in terror deaths ever recorded by a single nation, the study added. The nation is facing another insurgency by Fulani militants who killed 1,229 last year.
On Wednesday, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the arrest of a former government official and others accused of stealing over $2 billion intended to fund the fight against Boko Haram. Sambo Dasuki, the national security adviser to the previous president Goodluck Jonathan, is accused of awarding fictitious contracts to buy four fighter jets, 12 helicopters and ammunition.
Buhari said if the funds had been properly used, "thousands of needless Nigerian deaths would have been avoided." Dasuki, a retired army colonel, denied the accusations.
acebook activated "Safety Check" following Tuesday's blast in Nigeria, marking just the second time the feature was used after a terror attack. It was first used in the wake of Friday's assaults on the French capital, which left 129 people dead.
However, some users claimed the use of the tool in the wake of the Paris attacks made it seem like those killed in acts of terrorism in other parts of the world — like those a day earlier in Beirut, where more than 43 were killed — didn't matter as much.
"After the Paris attacks last week, we made the decision to use Safety Check for more tragic events like this going forward. We're now working quickly to develop criteria for the new policy and determine when and how this service can be most useful," CEOMark Zuckerberg said in a post late Tuesday on his Facebook page.
Previously, Safety Check had only been activated in cases of natural disasters. The tool allows people to inform their friends they are safe and check the status of others.
"Unfortunately, these kinds of events are all too common, so I won't post about all of them. A loss of human life anywhere is a tragedy, and we're committed to doing our part to help people in more of these situations."
USA TODAY
At least 15 were killed and more than 100 wounded Wednesday in the northern town of Kano after two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a busy market. Those attacks came less than a day after 34 people were killed and 80 wounded in an explosion at a market in the northeastern city of Yola late Tuesday.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the incidents bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram, which is attempting to create an Islamic caliphate, or state, in Nigeria. The group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State earlier this year.
The attacks broke a three-week hiatus in bombings after a series of suicide attacks culminated in twin blasts in mosques in two northeastern cities on Oct. 23, leaving 42 dead and wounding more than 100.
The Global Terrorism Index said Boko Haram was responsible for 6,644 deaths in 2014, a one-year increase of 317%. The Nigerian terror group overtook the Islamic State, which was responsible for the deaths of 6,073 people, according to the report published Tuesday by the Global Peace Institute.
Overall, Boko Haram's 6-year terror campaign has left more than 20,000 dead and forced another 2.3 million to flee.
Nigeria has experienced the largest increase in terror deaths ever recorded by a single nation, the study added. The nation is facing another insurgency by Fulani militants who killed 1,229 last year.
On Wednesday, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the arrest of a former government official and others accused of stealing over $2 billion intended to fund the fight against Boko Haram. Sambo Dasuki, the national security adviser to the previous president Goodluck Jonathan, is accused of awarding fictitious contracts to buy four fighter jets, 12 helicopters and ammunition.
Buhari said if the funds had been properly used, "thousands of needless Nigerian deaths would have been avoided." Dasuki, a retired army colonel, denied the accusations.
acebook activated "Safety Check" following Tuesday's blast in Nigeria, marking just the second time the feature was used after a terror attack. It was first used in the wake of Friday's assaults on the French capital, which left 129 people dead.
However, some users claimed the use of the tool in the wake of the Paris attacks made it seem like those killed in acts of terrorism in other parts of the world — like those a day earlier in Beirut, where more than 43 were killed — didn't matter as much.
"After the Paris attacks last week, we made the decision to use Safety Check for more tragic events like this going forward. We're now working quickly to develop criteria for the new policy and determine when and how this service can be most useful," CEOMark Zuckerberg said in a post late Tuesday on his Facebook page.
Previously, Safety Check had only been activated in cases of natural disasters. The tool allows people to inform their friends they are safe and check the status of others.
"Unfortunately, these kinds of events are all too common, so I won't post about all of them. A loss of human life anywhere is a tragedy, and we're committed to doing our part to help people in more of these situations."
USA TODAY
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Fuel shortage crisis hits Nigeria
A severe fuel crisis has hit Nigeria with long queues of angry motorists waiting for hours outside petrol stations in major cities to fill up.
Importers are accused of withholding petrol because of a payment dispute with the government, which they deny.
This is the biggest fuel shortage in Nigeria since President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May.
Nigeria is Africa's main oil exporter but imports most of its petrol because it lacks the capacity to refine it.
The fuel is imported at a subsidised price under a scheme operated by the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Earlier this month, the government approved the payment of $2.1bn (£1.4bn) to the importers, or wholesale fuel sellers, to settle subsidy claims.
However, payment has been delayed because parliament has not yet approved it.
The BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi in the capital, Abuja, says previous governments tended to pay the wholesale fuel sellers without parliamentary approval.
But it seems that President Buhari is trying to stick to the law by refusing to release such a large sum of money without parliamentary scrutiny, he says.
Mr Buhari took office partly on a pledge to curb corruption in the oil sector.
'Huge scam'
One motorist in the main northern city, Kano, told the BBC Hausa Service that he spent the night in his car while waiting in a queue to fill petrol.
"I have been here for more than 12 hours and I don't know if I will get the fuel at all," he said.
Another motorist said he was in the queue for about eight hours and "only people with connections were being allowed to buy the fuel".
The fuel subsidy scheme has become an enormous scam, our correspondent says.
The wholesalers often pretend to bring in a lot more oil than they do and pocket the money they get for the petrol that is not delivered, he says.
In May, the country was brought to a standstill when the importers went on strike following a row over payments with the outgoing government of President Goodluck Jonathan.
BBC
Importers are accused of withholding petrol because of a payment dispute with the government, which they deny.
This is the biggest fuel shortage in Nigeria since President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May.
Nigeria is Africa's main oil exporter but imports most of its petrol because it lacks the capacity to refine it.
The fuel is imported at a subsidised price under a scheme operated by the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Earlier this month, the government approved the payment of $2.1bn (£1.4bn) to the importers, or wholesale fuel sellers, to settle subsidy claims.
However, payment has been delayed because parliament has not yet approved it.
The BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi in the capital, Abuja, says previous governments tended to pay the wholesale fuel sellers without parliamentary approval.
But it seems that President Buhari is trying to stick to the law by refusing to release such a large sum of money without parliamentary scrutiny, he says.
Mr Buhari took office partly on a pledge to curb corruption in the oil sector.
'Huge scam'
One motorist in the main northern city, Kano, told the BBC Hausa Service that he spent the night in his car while waiting in a queue to fill petrol.
"I have been here for more than 12 hours and I don't know if I will get the fuel at all," he said.
Another motorist said he was in the queue for about eight hours and "only people with connections were being allowed to buy the fuel".
The fuel subsidy scheme has become an enormous scam, our correspondent says.
The wholesalers often pretend to bring in a lot more oil than they do and pocket the money they get for the petrol that is not delivered, he says.
In May, the country was brought to a standstill when the importers went on strike following a row over payments with the outgoing government of President Goodluck Jonathan.
BBC
Nigerian officials loot $2 billion dollar anti-terrorism fund
Thousands of Nigerians have died needlessly in terrorist attacks as officials looted more than $2-billion (U.S.) in funds intended for weapons to fight the insurgents, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari says.
In a statement late on Tuesday night, Mr. Buhari revealed details of “fictitious and phantom” military contracts of stunning scale and cynicism – including $1.7-billion allocated for four jets, 12 helicopters and unspecified amounts of bombs and ammunition. The equipment was never provided and the money disappeared, he said.
The stolen money has made it easier for Boko Haram to kill thousands of people while the Nigerian military lacked the weaponry to defeat it, the statement said.
Mr. Buhari ordered the arrest of all officials “complicit” in the “fraudulent acts,” including the former National Security Advisor, retired lieutenant-colonel Sambo Dasuki.
Boko Haram, a radical Islamist militia in northeastern Nigeria that has sworn allegiance to the so-called Islamic State movement, has now overtaken Islamic State to become the world’s deadliest terrorist organization, according to a new report.
The report by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a global think tank, said Boko Haram was responsible for 6,644 deaths last year, while Islamic State killed 6,073 people last year.
Nigerians have long complained of massive corruption in the Nigerian military and security agencies, and soldiers have often said that they lacked the equipment to fight Boko Haram, but the new investigation is the first to give details and name the alleged mastermind of the looting.
Mr. Buhari, who took office in May after defeating former president Goodluck Jonathan in an election, appointed a 13-person committee to audit Nigeria’s military spending over the past eight years. The committee began work on Aug. 31, but its interim report has already found “illicit and fraudulent financial transactions.”
The statement on Tuesday night said the Nigerian military was in “desperate need” of equipment and ammunition when the funds were stolen.
“Had the funds siphoned to these non-performing companies been properly used for the purpose they were meant for, thousands of needless Nigerian deaths would have been avoided,” said the statement, issued by Mr. Buhari’s spokesman, Femi Adesina, and later tweeted on Mr. Buhari’s official Twitter account.
“It is worrisome and disappointing that those entrusted with the security of this great nation were busy using proxies to siphon the national treasury, while innocent lives were wasted daily,” the statement said.
In addition to the phantom contracts for jets and helicopters, Mr. Dasuki ordered Nigeria’s central bank to transfer more than $130-million to foreign bank accounts “for unascertained purposes, without any contract documents to explain the transactions,” the statement said.
It said it was “disturbing” that the investigation also discovered that other contracts were awarded to companies that had consistently failed to deliver what they were required to supply in previous contracts.
Mr. Dasuki denied the allegations. Speaking to Nigerian media on Wednesday, he said he was “surprised” and “embarrassed” by the allegations.
Mr. Dasuki, one of the most powerful officials in the former Goodluck Jonathan government, has been under house arrest for the past week on accusations of money laundering and illegal arms possession.
The Globe and Mail
In a statement late on Tuesday night, Mr. Buhari revealed details of “fictitious and phantom” military contracts of stunning scale and cynicism – including $1.7-billion allocated for four jets, 12 helicopters and unspecified amounts of bombs and ammunition. The equipment was never provided and the money disappeared, he said.
The stolen money has made it easier for Boko Haram to kill thousands of people while the Nigerian military lacked the weaponry to defeat it, the statement said.
Mr. Buhari ordered the arrest of all officials “complicit” in the “fraudulent acts,” including the former National Security Advisor, retired lieutenant-colonel Sambo Dasuki.
Boko Haram, a radical Islamist militia in northeastern Nigeria that has sworn allegiance to the so-called Islamic State movement, has now overtaken Islamic State to become the world’s deadliest terrorist organization, according to a new report.
The report by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a global think tank, said Boko Haram was responsible for 6,644 deaths last year, while Islamic State killed 6,073 people last year.
Nigerians have long complained of massive corruption in the Nigerian military and security agencies, and soldiers have often said that they lacked the equipment to fight Boko Haram, but the new investigation is the first to give details and name the alleged mastermind of the looting.
Mr. Buhari, who took office in May after defeating former president Goodluck Jonathan in an election, appointed a 13-person committee to audit Nigeria’s military spending over the past eight years. The committee began work on Aug. 31, but its interim report has already found “illicit and fraudulent financial transactions.”
The statement on Tuesday night said the Nigerian military was in “desperate need” of equipment and ammunition when the funds were stolen.
“Had the funds siphoned to these non-performing companies been properly used for the purpose they were meant for, thousands of needless Nigerian deaths would have been avoided,” said the statement, issued by Mr. Buhari’s spokesman, Femi Adesina, and later tweeted on Mr. Buhari’s official Twitter account.
“It is worrisome and disappointing that those entrusted with the security of this great nation were busy using proxies to siphon the national treasury, while innocent lives were wasted daily,” the statement said.
In addition to the phantom contracts for jets and helicopters, Mr. Dasuki ordered Nigeria’s central bank to transfer more than $130-million to foreign bank accounts “for unascertained purposes, without any contract documents to explain the transactions,” the statement said.
It said it was “disturbing” that the investigation also discovered that other contracts were awarded to companies that had consistently failed to deliver what they were required to supply in previous contracts.
Mr. Dasuki denied the allegations. Speaking to Nigerian media on Wednesday, he said he was “surprised” and “embarrassed” by the allegations.
Mr. Dasuki, one of the most powerful officials in the former Goodluck Jonathan government, has been under house arrest for the past week on accusations of money laundering and illegal arms possession.
The Globe and Mail
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