Man hangs himself 4 days before wedding

What would have turned out to be a joyous mood for the family of Ezeala and the people of Umuezealaegbe, Umuduru in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State became a tragedy as their 25- year -old son, Mr. Adindu Ezeala, allegedly hanged himself four days to his traditional marriage to his heartthrob.

An eye witness from the community also informed LEADERSHIP that Adindu had disappeared from his family compound on October 25 without a word to any of his family members.

Thinking that it was one of his usual time out, the witness added that no member of the family suspected anything coupled with the fact that his motorbike, which he goes to a far distance with, was still parked in the compound.

But the bubble burst the following day when his younger brother walked down the hill behind their compound to answer the call of nature and saw the lifeless body of his elder brother hanging helplessly on a tree.

The father of the deceased, Mr. Lawrence Ezeala, who narrated what happened, described his son as a well behaved child and wondered why he could take his own life.

He added that his son had before his suicide mission, kept N100,000 on his table, which was assumed to be the bride price for his wife, a bank note and his motorbike keys.

When contacted, the Imo State Police command, said investigation into the matter was ongoing.

Leadership

Student bathed with acid after rejecting dating request needs N24 million ($151,390) for treatment

A 100 level student of the Federal University of Technology, Yola, Miss Franca Ogbu, who was bathed with acid on May 5, 2011, is still lying critically ill in a hospital bed as a result of the dehumanising treatment meted on her by her fellow student.

Speaking with newsmen in Makurdi, Nick Eworo, member, representing Obi Constituency in the Benue State's House of Assembly, said Miss Ogbu, who was bathed with acid while she was reading in her school, would need over N24 million to receive medical treatment from Canada to correct the acid burns.

According to Eworo, the victim, Miss Ogbu, was ill treated simply because she turned down an approach from a fellow student who needed her friendship.

Eworo disclosed that even though the police arrested the culprit, information reaching him indicated that he was later released for reasons yet to be made known to the public.

He urged the Benue State's government to liaise with her Adamawa counterpart and investigate the matter thoroughly and bring the culprit to book immediately.

He also urged the law enforcement agencies to intensify efforts in the investigation of the matter and bring the perpetrator of the act to justice.

Eworo further enjoined the government of Benue to immediately intervene and assist the victim with finance to enable her receive good medical treatment.

Eworo also called on his colleagues to do an in-house donation to enable the victim receive some medication and thereafter, prevailed on the executive to do same.

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80 million phones used in Nigeria

An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) non-profit initiative, African Mobile Application (AMA), has said over 80million phones were used in the country.

Speaking during an international exhibition and presentation event held in Lagos last week, one of the group's advisers, Mr. Tayo Oduwole, said the rate at which technology was going, phones would now be used for multipurpose activities, which would monitor personal health issues as well as finding solution to man's immediate problems.

"From available statistics, I can tell you clearly that over 80 million phones are being used in the country and by value, this means that we are entering an era, where ICT would, if it had not completely taken over the affairs of mankind," Oduwole said.

Speaking further, Oduwole said with the development, which had taken place in the ICT sector, more Nigerians now made use of phones compared to when it first arrived in Nigeria.

He added that very soon, phones would begin to serve the purpose of monitoring personal health issues and provide solutions to man's immediate problems.

He told THISDAY that the objective behind the initiative was to discover gifted young developers and harness their intellectual capacity for the good of man and the society and in achieving this, group has organised a competition in order to achieve this.

"The initiative is out to create beneficial impact on people and provide financial benefit to the people at large as the competition provided opportunities for 20 finalists, who were selected from a recent concluded mobile application competition, where they demonstrated and exhibited their applications after several entries," he further added.

Explaining further the rationale of the exhibition, Oduwole said the group sought to provide opportunities for young people to solve critical socio-economic challenges, through the deployment of appropriate applicators and also to increase awareness.

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Nigeria on alert as U.S. warns of Boko Haram attacks

Nigeria was on high alert after the United States warned of fresh attacks following a wave of deadly blasts claimed by Islamists that killed 150 people in the northeast of the country.

Friday's attacks in the city of Damaturu were among the deadliest ever carried out by Boko Haram, an Islamist sect based in the north of Africa's most populous country.

The US embassy in Nigeria warned the sect could next strike hotels and other targets in the capital Abuja during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

"Following the recent Boko Haram, aka Nigerian Taliban, attacks in Borno and Yobe State, the US embassy has received information that Boko Haram may plan to attack several locations and hotels in Abuja," the embassy said.

Security was stepped up in Abuja, which has been a target of past attacks, including an August 26 suicide bomb at the UN headquarters which claimed 24 lives.

Embassy staff were told to avoid the venues and US citizens were urged to exercise "additional caution".

As well as normal in-house security checks, police were also deployed to the hotels, while armed soldiers stopped cars driving close to the hotels in the capital and searched their bonnets and trunks.

The country's state security services played down the latest threat, arguing that police had been on high alert for three months.

"The current threat of attack on the three hotels in Abuja is not news, and for over three months the security services have taken pro-active measures to protect the designated critical facilities and others," the president's security advisor, Andrew Azazi, said in a statement.

Some 13,000 policemen and specialist anti-terror squads were nevertheless deployed to mosques and churches and other locations across Abuja on Sunday, police officials said.

Worshippers were screened by metal detectors before they entered some churches.

The British Foreign Office on Sunday also warned of "a heightened threat of terrorist attacks during the Eid ... weekend across northern states in Nigeria."

It advised British nationals to maintain a "high level of vigilance."

Police have been placed on red alert. "We don't want to take chances, particularly in Abuja," said national police spokesman Yemi Ajayi.

A Western diplomat in the capital said: "Obviously what happened in the last few days, and the US warning, has called for extra monitoring."

In the grief-stricken city of Damaturu where the 150 died, thousands of Muslims gathered for Eid el-Adha prayers at an open ground patrolled by dozens of armed police.

Celebrations in the sleepy city, which is under a curfew, were low key and on Monday its streets were almost deserted and businesses shut. Some people went to a hospital morgue to collect the remains of their loved ones for burial.

President Goodluck Jonathan, who described the wave of gun and bomb attacks in the capital of Yobe state as "heinous", appealed to Muslims to pray for peace as they marked Eid, which ended at sundown on Monday.

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, chief of the world's largest pan-Islamic body the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, "strongly condemned the terrorist attacks" describing them as "criminal ... contrary to all human values and the noble Islamic values."

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton sharply condemned the "brutal attacks" adding: "Such mindless and heinous acts cannot under any circumstances be justified."

While churches and police were among the initial targets, gunmen fired indiscriminately in the streets. Muslims and Christians alike were among those killed.

Militants from Boko Haram, whose name means "Western Education Is Sin" in the regional Hausa language, have in the past targeted police and military, community and religious leaders, as well as politicians.

The latest attacks point to the group's growing determination to take on the government.

"The truth of the matter is we are (now) faced with armed insurgency," said northern-based rights activist Shehu Sani, of the Civil Rights Congress group.

Boko Haram has claimed to be fighting for the establishment of an Islamic state in Nigeria, whose 160 million population is roughly divided in half between Christians and Muslims.

RNW

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