Thursday, September 6, 2012

Nigerian navy rescues hijacked oil vessel

The Nigerian Navy says it has rescued the oil vessel, MT Abu Dhabi Star, hijacked by pirates off the Nigerian territorial waters early on Wednesday morning.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the vessel, which was carrying products belonging to Exxon Mobil when it was hijacked on Wednesday at about 3:00 a.m, had a 23-man crew.

Confirming the rescue, Lt.-Cdr. Jerry Omodara, spokesperson, Western Naval Command, Apapa, told NAN that the naval personnel had taken over the ship and were currently ferrying it to Lagos.

Omodara said the details would not be provided "until when the rescue team arrives".

He said that the navy had deployed a helicopter and two patrol vessels to search for the vessel and rescue the crew members in good condition.

The Nigerian Navy had last week chased another oil tanker allegedly hijacked within the country's territorial waters but was later found off the coast of Ondo State with the Russians crew heading for Cotonou.

Nigeria and Benin Republic last year commenced a joint patrol of their territorial waters.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

First Lady Patience Jonathan in German hospital due to food poisoning

Foreign news agencies yesterday quoted unnamed Presidency sources confirming the story of First Lady Patience Jonathan's medical trip to Germany, which was first reported by Daily Trust on Monday.

The Associated Press and the Agence France Presse reported that Mrs. Jonathan has been receiving medical treatment for the past 10 days in Germany for food poisoning.

In the first newspaper report of the First Lady's illness, Daily Trust reported on Monday that 55-year-old Mrs. Jonathan took ill and travelled abroad last week.

But a spokesman for the First Lady, Mr. Ayo Osinlu, told Daily Trust on Sunday that she went abroad to "take a moment's rest" and not for medical attention.

AFP yesterday quoted a Presidency source as saying: "It is true that the First lady is ill. She was flown to Germany for medical treatment some 10 days ago. Initially it was for food poisoning that we know of, but we learnt that she underwent surgery last week. I really don't know yet the purpose of the surgery."

The source added that she had been expected to return to Nigeria last week, but "the German hospital is insisting on her full recovery before her discharge."

The Associated Press said a government official told the agency that Mrs. Jonathan fell sick about 10 days ago, following her hosting a summit of First Ladies from across Africa.

As her case of food poisoning worsened, she was flown to Germany for medical treatment, the official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity as information about Jonathan's illness had yet to be officially made public, despite numerous newspaper reports and rumors circulating on the internet.

President Goodluck Jonathan has made no public comments about his wife's health.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

First Lady Patience Jonathan Undergoes Surgery in Germany


First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, who was flown out for medical treatment over a week ago, has undergone surgery in a German hospital for ruptured appendicitis, sources told THISDAY Monday.
The hospital, the source said, performed the surgery on her last week and she is now recuperating.
Although the presidency said she travelled abroad to rest, sources privy to her trip, said she was flown to the German hospital where she was diagnosed of ruptured appendicitis, necessitating the surgery.
Mrs. Jonathan was said to have been accompanied on the trip by a medical personnel from the Presidential Villa, and a few of her aides.
THISDAY gathered that the decision to fly her abroad followed her deteriorating health condition in Abuja, after she was initially treated for "food poisoning."
It was learnt that Mrs. Jonathan, shortly after returning from a trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), took ill, prompting the invitation of the First Family's medical personnel to attend to her.
She was said to have been treated for food poisoning for four days, "but her condition kept worsening by the day," the source said.
By the fifth day, President Goodluck Jonathan was said to have yielded to the suggestion that she be flown abroad for "thorough treatment."
It was not certain if the inability of the president's doctors to treat her was because of faulty diagnosis or insufficient facilities.
According to the source, "the trip was therefore hurriedly, but discretely arranged, after a German hospital, suspected to be Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden, Germany, had been contacted".
By last weekend, she was said to have regained "full consciousness" on her sick bed and was willing to return home.
THISDAY checks, however, revealed that the hospital authorities are insisting on her full recovery before discharging her.
"They say she has to be completely stable before she can be discharged, because they are still observing her, although the worst seems to be over now," the source said.
When contacted, Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said he was unaware of the first lady's condition.
Similar efforts made to reach the first lady's spokesman, Mr. Ayo Osinlu, were unsuccessful as he did not pick calls to his phone nor respond to text messages sent to him.
But an online forum had quoted him as saying the president's wife travelled abroad for a "moment's rest".

Monday, September 3, 2012

Drug trafficker attempts to smuggle cocaine in roasted chicken

Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the weekend arrested a man suspected to be in possession of 2.655 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden inside roasted chicken.

According to the agency the arrest was made at the Murtala Muhammed international airport in Lagos during the inward clearance of passengers on a Turkish Airline flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

NDLEA put the street value of the seized drug at about N24 million.

The NDLEA Airport Commander, Hamza Umar who gave the name of the suspect as Vincent Chegini Chinweuwa described the seizure as remarkable.

“We discovered 2.655kg of cocaine hidden inside roasted chicken. It is a remarkable seizure because no one would have imagined cocaine worth several millions inside roasted chicken,” Mr Hamza said.

“During interrogation, the suspect said he thought that the drug will not be detected. In his words,” NDLEA said.

According to the agency, the suspect said: “It took me three days to pack the cocaine inside the roasted chicken. I was confident that the drug will not be detected. I have been living in Brazil since 2006. Life has been stressful because I cannot even visit my wife in Nigeria due to lack of money. I wanted some money to start any business of my choice back home. Unfortunately, I was disappointed upon arrival in Lagos”.

The agency’s spokesperson, Mitchell Ofoyeju said the suspect who hails from Imo State will soon be charged to court soon.

Nigerian wins best player at Arsenal FC International Football Academy

Benjamin Ibrahim Attah, one of Nigeria’s representatives at the just concluded Airtel, Arsenal International Football Academy in Accra, Ghana has emerged the Overall Best Player (Male Category) at the soccer clinic, which attracted talented youngsters from Ghana, Uganda and Zambia.

Attah was decorated with a medal in recognition of his outstanding performance at the Foccer camp by UEFA-Certified Arsenal Coaches, Paul Sevier and Robert Grant.

Speaking during the closing ceremony of the seven-day football clinic, Sevier said Attah was a special player that demonstrated all the attributes of a great footballer during his stay at the foccer Clinic.

“Attah brought with his talent an outstanding personality, character and attitude. Even when he had a minor injury that prevented him from participating in training sessions for two days, he was always cheerful, encouraging all the players in the pitch. He has a very warm and great personality.”

Sevier added: “Attah also has an amazing talent as a goal-keeper. He is shown that he truly understands what it takes to be an exceptional goal keeper. Talents like Attah should be encouraged in their professional career.”

In his response, Attah attributed his success to God. “I thank God for this recognition and I will continue to work very hard as a footballer. I also thank Airtel and Arsenal for providing me with this great opportunity to improve my talent. I am, indeed, very grateful,” he said.

Arsenal legend, Ray Parlour also used the opportunity of the closing ceremony to encourage and advise the players, urging them to take their practice sessions very seriously.

“I signed for Arsenal when I was 11 and played at the first team level for 12 years. One thing that kept me going was the fact that I took my practice sessions seriously. I also demonstrated passion, determination and constantly looked for opportunities to improve.

“I am encouraging all the African young talents at this football clinic to take their training sessions seriously. And when you make your first team debut in International Football, never look back. Just keep improving and listen to your coaches,” Parlour remarked.

The Airtel/Arsenal clinic is part of the strategic partnership the renowned club side entered with Airtel Africa for her five African markets which include Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Uganda and Rwanda.

On the strength of the partnership, Arsenal would offer technical support to the Airtel Rising Stars football development initiative by providing UEFA- trained coaches to assist with training budding talents in each of the five Airtel-Arsenal countries at Arsenal Coaching Clinic for up to 50 footballers.

Nigeria had five representatives at the International Academy. They are: Gift Nevo (Best Goal keeper in the female category), Rafiat Awheda (Golden Boot winner and Most valuable Player, Female category), Ibrahim Benjamin (Best Goal Keeper, Male category), Yakubu Gambo, (Most Valuable Player, Male category) and Bilyaminu Sani (Golden Boot winner, Male Category).

They were all selected by officials of Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON) at the National Finals of the Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) U17 Tournament for Boys and Girls held last month at the Agege Township Stadium in Lagos.