Man beheads judge over court ruling

A 22 year old woman in Lagos, Ijeoma Ibezim, used a razor blade to kill her friend, a 25-year old salesgirl, by cutting her in the face following a quarrel over a bucket of water, the police in Lagos said yesterday.

They said the two ladies lived together with two other ladies in the same one-room apartment in the Ajegunle area of Apapa local government area of the state, and that they had been living together without problems until last Saturday, when a minor argument ensued between them.

It was also gathered that the parents of the Fulani man's wife had instituted a divorce suit before the area court in Yashikira over constant beating of their daughter by the husband who they described as a 'rascal'.

The judge after hearing and deliberation on the case, reportedly granted the parents' prayers to dissolve the marriage. The herdsman then resolved to personally deal with the judge, it was also gathered. At the close of work on that day, when the court clerk and assistant took the late judge's books to his home, they met him dead. The head was severed from the body.

The command's Public Relations Officer ASP Dabo Ezekiel said the corpse had already been released for burial.

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Shell cuts output over attack in Niger Delta

SHELL announced on Monday that it has shut in some oil production in Niger Delta after a key supply pipeline was sabotaged.

"We have shut in some output as a result of the vandalisation of the Trans Ramos pipeline in our western operations at the weekend," Shell Spokesperson, Precious Okolobo, told AFP.

He said a leak was observed on Saturday, the leak was stopped and an investigation has confirmed the leak was due to a sabotage.

"Three flow stations were shut down to allow for the investigation. Repairs will commence as soon as possible."

Okolobo did not disclose the volume of production loss suffered.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) issued a statement on Monday to say that it did not attack the pipeline, even though it had threatened at the weekend to call off its truce agreed with Abuja on October 25 last year.

The MEND clarified, nonetheless, that it fully supports the attack by those it called freelance freedom fighters.

Joint Task Force Spokesman, Timothy Antigha, said the situation is being studied.

The MEND has threatened to resume "all-out" violent attacks on oil facilities, claiming it has received no effective peace dividend from the amnesty deal.

It explained that it had ordered the ceasefire in the hope of securing talks with the government, "true dialogue founded on a sincere desire to bring justice to the people of the Niger Delta, and true peace to Nigeria."

But three months on, the MEND said, "It is sufficiently clear that the Nigerian Government has no intentions of considering" its demands.

Oil prices on Monday rose above $73 per barrel (pb), driven by news of attacks on an oil pipeline in Nigeria.

The attacks are a "noticeable setback" for Nigeria's oil industry, said JBC Energy in Vienna.

"If these attacks continue, the recent upswing in the country's crude production from 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) last July to two million (bpd) in January might turn out to have only been a short period of relief for the country's plagued upstream industry," JBC Energy alerted.

Armed groups seeking a fairer share of oil revenue for Niger Deltans have since 2006 staged attacks on oil installations in the region, playing havoc with crude output and international oil prices.

At the peak of the attacks the violence slashed Nigeria's crude production by about one million bpd, which saw Angola overtake it as Africa's top oil producer.

Shell, one of the top oil operators in Nigeria, has seen much of its almost one million bpd output slashed because of the unrest.

Last weekend, it announced the transfer of its interest in three production licences and related equipment in the Niger Delta to a consortium of two Nigerian companies.

Shell Managing Director, Mutiu Sunmonu, said the sale supports Nigeria's goal of expanding opportunities for local energy companies.

"We have been in Nigeria for more than 50 years and remain committed to doing business here. This transaction should be seen in the context of Shell's active portfolio management of its assets and interests across the world," he explained.

"The agreement covers Shell's 30 per cent interest in oil mining leases 4, 38 and 41 covering approximately 2,650 square kilometres in the north western Niger Delta.

"The buyer is Seplat Petroleum Company Limited, a Nigerian company jointly held by two Nigerian firms, Platform Petroleum Limited and Shebah Petroleum Development Company Limited, along with Maurel & Prom of France.

"The agreement is subject to the approval of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the national oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)."

Shell is the operator of the joint venture among the NNPC (55 per cent), Shell (30 per cent), Total E&P (10 per cent ), and Agip Oil (five per cent).

Sumonu said Total and Agip will also transfer their interests in the three oil mining leases.

"The area includes about 30 wells with a production capacity of approximately 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The wells also produce natural gas for domestic and industrial use.

"Crude production is currently shut down awaiting completion of repairs to an export pipeline damaged in late 2008."

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U.S., EU wade into Nigeria crisis

World powers Thursday waded into the row in Nigeria over the president's health, lamenting the "uncertainty" caused by his absence as his deputy promised that he would return home soon.

"Nigeria is going through a period of uncertainty because of the prolonged illness of President Musa Umaru Yar'Adua," said a joint statement by the United States, European Union, Britain and France.

The powers said they welcomed constitutional efforts in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and one of the world's top oil producers, to "resolve the question of governing authority in the president's prolonged absence".

The 58-year-old president has been receiving treatment for a serious heart condition in Saudi Arabia since November 23.

"Nigeria's stability and democracy carry great significance beyond its immediate borders," given its importance as a global oil producer and stabilising force in west Africa, said the statement.

It was signed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton.

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Malaysia nabs two Nigerian accomplices

Ten terror suspects including two Nigerians said to be accomplices of Christmas Day United States jetliner failed bomber, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, have been arrested in Malaysia, the country has announced.

They include four men from Syria, two from Nigeria and one each from Yemen and Jordan, said Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, head of a rights group that assists people held under Malaysia's Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial.

The country has not released the name of the suspected terrorists.

They were among 50 people arrested by police while attending a religious talk by a Syrian university lecturer on January 21 at a home near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest city, Syed Ibrahim said. The others were later released.

The Malaysian government-owned New Straits Times newspaper said foreign anti-terrorism agencies told authorities that the suspects were in Malaysia and were linked to a young Nigerian man accused of trying to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear during a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.

The newspaper did not say how it obtained the information or how they were linked.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein refused to give other details yesterday, saying it might jeopardize investigations. He said the detainees posed a "serious threat" to security and their arrests were based on co-operation with foreign intelligence agencies.

"This is a very good wake-up call for us because the playground for terrorists is no longer just one nation. The whole world is their playground," he said.

The suspects include students at a Malaysian university, said Syed Ibrahim, the rights activist. He urged the government to either charge them to court or release them.

Activists identified one detainee as Aiman Al Dakkak, a Syrian university lecturer who has been living in Malaysia since 2003. He gave regular religious classes but did not advocate terrorism to his students, said Muhamad Yunus Zainal Abidin, a Malaysian who was arrested at the class and released several hours later.

Interrogators did not ask those freed about any ties to AbdulMutallab, Muhamad Yunus told a news conference.

Over the past decade, Malaysian authorities have held more than 100 militant suspects, mainly alleged members of the al-Qaida-linked Southeast Asian network Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been blamed for attacks including the 2002 bombing on the Indonesian island of Bali that killed 202 people.

Most were released after being held for years in a northern prison centre. Authorities say they were rehabilitated and no longer posed a threat. None was ever charged in court.

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Stephanie Okereke brings NYFA to Niger Delta

As a way of finding a lasting solution to the incessant cases of youth restiveness and militancy in the constantly troubled Niger Delta region, Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, in collaboration with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has announced the offer of sponsorships to youths from the state to the prestigious New York Film Academy (NYFA) coming to Nigeria in February.

Also, as part of his organisation's empowerment and economic rejuvenation agenda for young people of the Niger Delta region, the Managing Director of the NDDC, Chibuzor Ugwoha, has endorsed and supported award of scholarship to 370 youths from the region.

The 370 lucky candidates drawn from all the South South states are to be trained by the world's leading film school, the prestigious NYFA, who interestingly, will be making a landmark visit to Nigeria in February 2010, for an intensive training programme, holding in the cities of Abuja and Lagos.

The academy's historic training visit to Nigeria will be its first to Africa, organised and powered by Del-York International, a Nigerian-based advocacy and capacity-building company, the coming visit promises to be memorable and all encompassing.

Elaborating on the visit as well as the training for the lucky candidates, Linus Idahosa, the MD/CEO, Del-York International, explained that the Rivers State/NDDC sponsored initiative was a special privilege for youths of Niger Delta to immediately join the growing number of registered candidates sponsored by other institutions and states across the country. He said that it would also help them acquire practical and competitive skills on various aspects of filmmaking and digital communications from world-class masters.

"The course will include hands-on training with cutting edge filmmaking equipment that will be flown in from the U.S. For the Amaechi-led administration, the training forms part of its commitment to curbing the menace of unemployment by empowering young people with functional skills that will make them economically self-reliant and able to contribute to the developmental aspirations of the region," Idahosa said.

"This is a result-oriented programme that will identify raw talents as well as hone the skills of professionals in the industry. Following the training, an international standard movie will be produced involving candidates from the programme."

Meanwhile, top actress Stephanie Okereke, who is also an executive director with Del-York International, has urged all those interested in applying for the programme to visit any Zenith Bank branch and pick-up their registration forms.

"Completed forms should be submitted to the same branch not later than February 18. This is a once in a life-time opportunity with limited spaces, thus early registration is recommended," she said.

Daily Independent

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