Shola Ameobi to play for Super Eagles

At last it appears that Newcastle United's Nigerian born forward Shola Ameobi has finally decided to play for his fatherland after his name was included in the list of players invited for next month's international friendly against Guatemala.

For years the player, who was born in Nigeria but moved to England with his parents at five when his farther gained admission to the University of Newcastle to read agriculture, had repeatedly snubbed efforts to get him to commit his future to the Eagles instead insisting that he would prefer playing for England's Three Lions.

However, last month newly appointed Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia travelled to England to meet the Newcastle striker after which he announced that the 29-year-old player has had a change of heart and was now ready to play for Nigeria.

Also included on the 20-man list is another England based player, Victor Moses, who plays for Wigan Athletic.

The list, which is Samson Siasia's first since being appointed as Super Eagles manager last month, also has Karabukspor striker Emmanuel Emenike, who recently committed his international future to Nigeria rather than Turkey where he presently plies his trade. Completing the cast of newcomers to the squad are the Italy based duo of Inter Milan's Obiora Nwankwo and Siena's Michael Odibe.

Heartland's Bartholomew Ibenegbu, who scored in a kickabout as Siasia's local Eagles were held to a 2-2 draw by John Obuh's Under-20 team on Thursday in Abuja, is one of two players from the domestic Nigerian league called up by the national team handler. The other is full back Chibuzor Okonkwo, who joined Heartland at the start of the campaign from Bayelsa United.

Full back Adefemi Olubayo, who was a member of the U-23 team, which reached the final of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, gets a surprise call up after languishing in the international wilderness in the wake of his club troubles with Skoda Xanthi of Greece.

The younger brother of Portsmouth striker, John Utaka, Peter, who has enjoyed a prolific spell in Denmark over the past two seasons, returns to the fold to stake a claim for a permanent position.

Seven members of the Super Eagles who were part of the side that did poorly at South Africa 2010 including Joseph Yobo, who replaced Nwankwo Kanu as skipper after the World Cup, are also part of Siasia's Guatemala friendly list.

Full squad:

GOALKEEPERS: Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel Tel Aviv, Israel), Dele Aiyenugba (Bnei Yehuda, Israel)

DEFENDERS: Chibuzor Okonkwo (Heartland), Ayodele Adeleye (Metallurh Donetsk, Ukraine), Taye Taiwo (Olympic Marseille, France), Michael Odibe (A. C. Siena, Italy), Olubayo Adefemi (Skoda Xanthi, Greece), Elderson Echiejile (Sporting Braga, Portugal), Joseph Yobo (Fenerbahce, Turkey)

MIDFIELDERS: John Mikel Obi (Chelsea, England), Obiora Nwankwo (Inter Milan, Italy), Victor Moses (Wigan Athletic, England), Bartholomew Ibenegbu (Heartland), Olufemi Ajilore (FC Groningen, The Netherlands)

FORWARDS: Ahmed Musa (V.V.V. Venlo, The Netherlands), Osaze Odemwingie (West Brom, England), Obinna Nsofor (West Ham, England), Shola Ameobi (Newcastle, England), Emmanuel Emenike (Karaburkspor, Turkey), Peter Utaka (Odense Boldklub, Denmark)

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Another Cocaine Haul Uncovered in Lagos Port

The porosity of the nation's seaports and international borders was once more brought to the fore as another cocaine haul was yesterday discovered in Lagos port. Officials of the National Drug La Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said that with the support of the United States Drug Administration (USDEA) it has uncovered a large consignment of concentrated cocaine at Nigeria's second busiest port, Tin Can Island Port (TCIP), Apapa, Lagos.

Yesterday discovery made it the third time hard drugs would be intercepted in TCIP as cocaine and heron worth billion of naira concealed in machineries were intercepted by security operatives last year.

The management of NDLEA in statement signed by its Head of Public Affairs, NDLEA, Mr. Ofoyeju Mitchell confirmed the development.

Giving an insight to the discovery, the agency pointed out that the narcotics were discovered on Thursday evening during physical examination of a 20 feet container.

The agency said the hard drugs were hidden in floor tiles and cement originating from Bolivia.

"The drug was concealed in twenty-five (25) packs of floor tiles containing 4 parcels each of powdery substance that tested positive to cocaine. A total of 100 parcels weighing 110 kilogramme with an estimated street value of N1.1 billion naira were found in the container", it said.

The Chairman and chief executive officer of NDLEA, Mr. Ahmadu Giade lauded the management of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) at the port for their support and cooperation during the search operation.

The NDLEA boss who described the seizure as a positive start in the New Year also gave credit to the USDEA for supplying the intelligence report that led to the successful tracking of the illicit consignment.

His words: "This is a good start for the agency. Drug barons do not need any other warning that the clime is unsafe for their criminal act. I appreciate the role of the USDEA and the Nigerian Customs Service. This spirit of cooperation is good for our collective security interest".

The NDLEA boss stated that investigation was in progress and the suspected consignee was being interrogated by narcotic investigators.

"This search operation is a continuation of undercover work that commenced since November 2010. Investigation is in progress. Already, the suspected consignee is being interrogated and more arrests are in the offing. Together, we shall make the country drug free as no drug baron will go unpunished," he said.

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Troops deployed after 13 killed near Jos

Soldiers rushed to restore calm in a village near Jos yesterday after 13 people were reported killed in an attack on a village and unrest flared in other areas.

I am told that 13 people died in the dawn attack, said Plateau state police commissioner Abdulrahman Akano, adding that officers had been sent to the mainly Christian village of Wareng to verify.

Details of the attack were not immediately clear. The commander Joint Military Task Force (JTF) said unrest had occurred in other areas of the region as well and soldiers had been deployed to restore calm.

"We have quite a number of people killed, Brigadier General Hassan Umaru told AFP. We are trying to contain each of these crises. He could not immediately provide details on the unrest. Umaru first reported incidents in several villages, but later said two villages had been hit.

A local politician also told AFP that 13 people were believed killed in Wareng, alleging Fulani Muslims had attacked Christian Beroms in the village. Emmanuel Danboyi Jugul also accused soldiers of being involved in the attack, though Umaru strongly denied the claim.

Plateau state, including its capital Jos, has long been on edge, but unprecedented Christmas Eve bomb blasts added a frightening new dimension to the unrest. A sect blamed for a series of attacks north claimed responsibility for the Christmas Eve explosions, but authorities cast doubt on the claim and attributed it to political motives with elections set for April.

Scores of people have been killed in clashes in Plateau in unrest many attribute to the struggle for economic and political power between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups.

Christians from the Berom ethnic group are typically referred to as the indigenes in the region, while Hausa-Fulani Muslims are seen as more recent arrivals.

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More killed in Jos intercommunal violence

Christian youths attacked a car full of Muslims returning from a wedding in Jos, Plateau State, seven people inside the vehicle and sparking retaliatory violence that left one other person dead, AP has reported, quoting a Muslim lawyer.

It was the latest unrest in a fertile region that saw more than 500 people killed last year in massacres pitting Christians against Muslims.

AP reports that on Saturday, gunshots echoed through the troubled city of Jos, causing store owners to close their shops and families to hide inside their homes.

The violence began as Christian youths blocked a road leading from a neighboring village Friday night, trapping the Muslims inside their car, said lawyer Ahmed Garba, a member of an Islamic religious council. Garba told journalists Saturday that seven people died in the attack and one person survived.

Garba said once news of the attack spread, Muslims began retaliatory violence in the streets of Jos that has left at least one person dead.

Plateau state police commissioner Abdurrahman Akano said investigators received word of the Friday night attack, but had not found any bodies.

Manassie Panpe, the Red Cross' state secretary, said officials from the aid organisation had found several injured people in the streets Saturday but that information remained scarce.

On Christmas Eve, two bombs went off near a large market in Jos where people were doing last-minute Christmas shopping. A third hit a mainly Christian area of Jos, while the fourth was near a road that leads to the city's main mosque.

Officials initially said at least 32 died from the blasts, while an official with the National Emergency Management Agency told journalists that he had counted 80 deaths from the explosions and the retaliatory violence that followed.

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Former Super Eagle Uche Okafor Is Found Dead

A report on SuperSport.com said that he had taken his daughter to school earlier in the day and was later found to be hanging from a rope in his home.

“Seriously I still find it hard to believe when I got the call from the US yesterday (Thursday) evening. This is a really sad way to begin the year,” former team mate Ben Iroha was quoted by the website.

Dallas coroners have cordoned off the area while carrying out investigations into possible suicide.

Okafor was a member of Nigeria's victorious Super Eagles at the 1994 African Cup of Nations. He also played a game in the country's World Cup run in 1998.

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