NAIJAFEED

Monday, May 21, 2012

University professor dies watching Champions League final

A week after the sudden death of the Vice Chancellor of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Babatunde Sofoluwe, another lecturer from the varsity's department of Creative Art, Chief Bassey, has died.

Bassey, a senior lecturer Faculty of Arts, was said to have died in his office Saturday night after watching the UEFA champions League final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich football clubs.

A top management source, who confirmed the demise to Daily Trust, declined to give further details, saying it would be too early to ascertain the actual cause of the death.

"Except there is a medical report or an official statement from the management, it may be too difficult for me to say precisely whether his death has anything to do with match or otherwise," the source said.

Bassey's profile on the University's website, showed that he has authored and co-authored four books as a Senior Lecturer in the department of Creative Art. Prominent among such books include, Creative Art, Definitions, Material and The beginning, UNILAG in the eye of a visual artist.

Daily Trust

John Mikel Obi says Chelsea will win Champion League this season

Friday, May 18, 2012

Chelsea's John Mikel Obi left out of World Cup qualifiers

Nigeria have left Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi out of their squad for a series of World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next month.

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has called for Mikel to declare his readiness to feature for the team.

Mikel has yet to play for the Super Eagles since Keshi took charge of the side in November, but the coach insisted that the Chelsea ace remains very much part of his plans.

"Mikel is in my plans but we will give other players an opportunity aswell," said Keshi on Thursday.

"We need to give players from the local league a chance. After all, how many knew about such players as Uche Kalu, Ejike Uzoenyi or Godfrey Oboabona before now?"

Austin Ejide, Fengor Ogude, Efe Ambrose, Elderson Echiejile and John Utaka have all been recalled in a group of 11 players based overseas, which also features Wigan Athletic forward Victor Moses.

Nigeria will name another squad of 18 players from the domestic league, who are due to fly out this weekend for a friendly in Peru.

The Super Eagles will host Namibia in a 2014 World Cup qualifier on June 3 in Calabar, before travelling to Malawi as the qualifying series continues the following weekend.

They are also due to host Rwanda in a second-leg qualifier for the 2013 Nations Cup to be hosted by South Africa.

Overseas-based players called up by Nigeria

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Lille/FRA), Austin Ejide (Petach Tikva/ISR)

Defenders: Joseph Yobo (Fenerbache/TUR), Efe Ambrose (Ashdod/ISR), Elderson

Echiejile (Sporting Braga/POR)

Midfielders: Fengor Ogude (Valrenga/NOR)

Forwards: Ike Uche (Granada/ESP), Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow/RUS), Sone Aluko

(Rangers/SCO), John Utaka (Montpellier/FRA), Victor Moses (Wigan Athletic/ENG)

CAFONLINE

Once mighty Super Eagles continue to free fall in FIFA rankings

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Heineken takes five lucky winners to Champions League Final in Germany

Five football fans have won the chance to watch the UEFA Champions League final at the Allianz Arena Stadium in Munich, Germany later in May, courtesy of the sponsors Heineken.

In a draw conducted at the Heineken Champions Planet in Lagos, Adewole Abiodun, Caleb Richards, Patrick Nneaemaka, Fomsi Samuel and Busari Adiktat emerged as the winners.

The ceremony was conducted by the Sales Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Hubert Eze. It featured Nollywood actor, Desmond Elliot, ex-Nigeria international, Victor Ikpeba and the Senior Brand Manager Heineken, Jacqueline van Faassen, all of whom picked the winners one after the other.

All the five lucky consumers on Heineken sponsorship to Munich, Germany to watch Saturday's final match of the UEFA Champions League are sharply divided between Chelsea FC and Bayern Munich.

The England FA Cup champions, Chelsea, will take on former European champions, Bayern Munich at the 75, 000 Allianz Arena which incidentally is the home ground of the Bavarians, to determine the winners of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League season.

Expectedly, there have been divergent opinions on where the cup will go to. At the end of hostilities on Saturday, of the five lucky football fans that Heineken is sponsoring to Germany to watch the match live, only Adewole Abiodun is throwing his weight behind Chelsea to win the cup they missed in 2008.

Although most of the visitors and consumers that have visited the Heineken Champions Planet over the years have affection for English Premiership clubs but the rivalry among competing teams is always visible and the travelling consumers seem to have toed the same line of partisanship.

Abiodun insisted that he will root for Chelsea all through the duration of the match.

"Honestly am still savouring the excitement of being among the five lucky winners on Heineken sponsorship to the final in Munich and my going there is to support Chelsea, the 'Pride of London' but if it goes the other way round, that is the beauty of football," he said.

However, the only lady in the team to Munich who is a 'die hard' Manchester United fan, Adikat Busari, said she will go all, the way with Bayern Munich since most of her Chelsea friends will not allow her to rest.

"How do you want me to feel if Chelsea win on Saturday? In as much as I wish both teams well but my friends will never let me rest knowing fully well that my team did not win any trophy this season while Chelsea had won the FA Cup, so let them be contented with that," she opined.

The Senior Brand Manager Heineken, Jacqueline van Faassen, noted that the 'friendly' hostility among the travelling consumers is what makes the UEFA Champions League the most glamorous and prestigious club competition in the world.

"The UEFA Champions League over the years has generated millions of followership and one of the main reason is that every passionate football fan will always have something to aspire to even when his or her team is no longer in contention for honours.

"The friendly rivalry is also very visible at the Heineken Champions Planet going by what happened in the out-going season. Many Manchester United fans still follow the competition passionately even after their club had been eliminated in the group stage team," she said.

Since 2007, Heineken premium international lager beer, has consistently sponsored its Nigerian consumers' to the final of the most prestigious club competition, the UEFA Champions League, and this year will be no different as , five lucky winners will enjoy an all expenses paid trip to Munich, Germany.

The lucky five are expected to leave for Munich on Thursday night by KLM to watch Saturday's final.

PUNCH This Day

Video - John Mikel Obi's family speak about kidnapping

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

16 Nigerians facing execution in Indonesia

The Senate will not attempt to shield any Nigerian found guilty of criminal activities in foreign countries, Senate President David Mark has said.

Responding to the concern expressed at the plenary session by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Mathew Ifeanyi Nwagwu (PDP, Imo) that 16 of the 300 Nigerians reportedly serving jail terms in Indonesia would soon be executed, Mark said the Senate would not intervene in the matter.

Mark, however, stressed that the Senate would not allow any Nigerian to be unfairly treated in foreign nations.

"We will not defend any Nigerian who breaks the laws of foreign countries. If they break the laws there, they should face the consequences. This is a warning to other Nigerians abroad. They cannot continue to tarnish our image".

The Senate president, however, did not expressly uphold Senator Nwagwu's suggestion that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olugbenga Ashiru be summoned over the issue.

"We may invite the minister if you want," Mark said.

Daily Trust

457 Nigerians in Brazilian prisons

Nigerian extradited to Singapore for online dating scam

Man who murdered parents and siblings sentenced to death by hanging

Kano High Court Tuesday convicted one Bello Garba Bello, to be hanged to death for killing his parents and three siblings, two years ago at their family house along Zoo road by Gandun Albasa quarters in Kano metropolis.

The presiding judge, Justice Halliru Abdullahi said he was satisfied with the evidence tendered before him that the accused had actually committed the five count charges of homicide for which he was charged.

Justice Abdullahi also declared that the five victims were killed as a result of various degrees of multiple injuries inflicted on them contrary to section 221 of the penal code.

The prosecution counsel, Shu'aibu Sule, said the accused had confessed to have committed the offence in a written statement he made to the police on September 15, 2010.

He presented seven witnesses before the court, including the younger brother of the accused, Farouk, whose testimonies corroborated the charges against the defendant.

THISDAY in Kano recalled that Bello Garba Bello was said to have murdered his father, Garba Bello, an officer with State Security Service (SSS); his mother, Habiba; and three siblings Khalifa, Murja and Hafsa on the night of September 13, 2010.

The defense counsel, Mr. Ahmed Raji had tendered a 17 page written address before the court explaining the circumstances leading to the death of the five persons and exonerating the accused from the charges preferred against him.

According to him, the statement written by Farouk implicating the accused was inadmissible as the witness was below the age of 14 and that Bello Garba, had earlier written a statement on September 14, 2010

exonerating himself before he was forced to write another one on September 15, 2010 confessing to have committed the offence.

Our correspondent recalled that the incident which occurred on the night of September 13, 2010 at the residence of Garba Bello Number 175, Zoo road in Kano municipal had generated public out-cry and sympathy as it was the first homicide case of its kind ever witnessed in the state.

This Day

Related stories: Man discovers wife's body in freezer

Wife beats husband to death