. 

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Some theft suspects in police net have described how they drugged former finance minister, Dr Kalu Idika Kalu, before seizing him of money and assets assessed at over N10 million. . 

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The suspects – Diminish Uboh Obi, Samuel Ogana, Satisfaction Omagu and Sunday Emmanuel – were captured at their different dens by agents of the State Knowledge Department, Lagos charge. . 

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Obi, 33, who filled in as a gourmet specialist at Dr Kalu's home at Victoria Island, said he was paid N100,000 for his part in the operation. He said he was constrained to tranquilize his manager since he was owing him N60,000. . 

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Obi conceded adding resting pill to his espresso after which their casualty fell into a profound rest. The female individual from the pack, Omagu, said she was enlisted as a househelp by the posse and presented on the home of a Lagos socialite at Lekki. . 

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She admitted overseeing a narcotic in some espresso which she provided for her manager. She stated, "They instructed me to as a matter of first importance pick up the trust of the lady I am will work with. . 

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They disclosed to me that the lady is mischievous and had treated her previous househelp severely and that it would have been payback time. When I arrived the house, I was informed that they would pay me N40,000 as compensation. . 

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I was happy with the sum, yet having been enrolled by the group I had no real option except to do their offering. A month after I was enlisted, I get under way how to complete the assignment. . 

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On that game changing day, Sunday sent me a sachet of Valium 5 and taught me to crush and blend it in my madam's espresso, which I did. We likewise splashed some substance on her bed that will empower her rest exceptionally well. . 

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In any case, fortunes kept running against us when she felt awkward and requesting that I expel the blanket. I was at my obligation post when the police came to capture me." . 

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The Lagos State Official of Police, Edgal Imohimi, said drugs like Diazepam, Injectable (IPS), Nitrogen (morgodon) tablet granulated into powder and one syringe, were recouped from the suspects

They died in the midst of Dream running away from the grave of dreams that is Nigeria. There is no better way to die. They died risking it all, knowing that there is the possibility of not making it to their destination. This is brave. And foreigners buried them like human beings that they are, with great Honour. Thank you ITALY for honoring our people, for honoring my nation.

The picture of the burial of 26 Nigerian girls who died on their way to Europe really touched me. The Nigerian government and most Nigerians barely care.  I am thanking Italy because I have seen how the dead are treated in Nigeria. We bury them like animals, in mass graves, like they were nothing and had never been anything, especially if the dead are victims of Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen or some victims of human catastrophes with government incompetency written all over it.

I am sure you have seen how people are buried shamelessly in mass graves. It simply shows how we don't care. It is nothing to us as long as these people are not related to us. Human beings have no dignity to Nigerians and the Nigerian government. We have been reduced to only caring for ourselves like animals. The country is a jungle. Nnamdi Kanu called it a zoo, believe me it is worse.

I want you to look at these pictures again. Look at people coming to lay wreath (flowers) on the coffins. In the whole of this sad episode I found something in the way these girls were buried. I feel honoured by the Italian.

I wouldn't blame anyone for trying to leave Nigeria. Even some of us that wouldn't risk the Sahara desert wouldn't mind getting visa and checking out.

Now I hear President Buhari has instituted a committee to probe how they died. Hahahahahahaha!!! Funny character. You don't need a committee to probe how they died or what drives people out of this country, do you?

RIP my girls. You died inside your dreams. Thank you again Italy. Nigeria honestly didn't care. They will never care.

written by: George Onmonya Daniel

Slave markets is on the rise up across Libya trading impoverished African migrants who arrived on the Mediterranean coast dreaming of a greener pasture in Europe. A new investigation has revealed people are being sold as modern-day slaves  at the rate of £300 ($400).

According to CNN which exposed the racket, slave sales are conducted on the outskirts of the nation's capital, Tripoli, where auctions take place for various types of manual labourers. In one case, a video was made available, which shows the sale of "big strong boys for farm work".

An undercover operation revealed similar auctions where around a dozen people were sold in a matter of five to six minutes. "Does anybody need a digger? This is a digger, a big, strong man, he'll dig," an auctioneer calls out in one clip. "What am I bid, what am I bid?"

The interested bidders raise their hands till a final price is decided on following which the new slaves are transferred in the possession of their new "masters".

Slavery is getting a boost in places like Libya that are seeing a wave of desperate migrants from North Africa, hoping to find a better life in Europe. A crackdown by local authorities on boats ferrying people to the coast of Italy has turned smugglers to another profession — that of flesh traders.

At a detention centre in Tripoli, one young man recalled how he ended up becoming an indentured servant after he ran out of money. Victory Oghenero, 21, left Nigeria with his life savings and hopes of a brighter future. On reaching Libya he was forced to live in inhuman conditions and later sold as a day labourer once he could not afford to pay his smugglers.

He expected to pay off his debt through work but was unable to make enough. Finally his smugglers contacted his family for ransom. He was released after paying them a total of more than $2,780.

"If you see most of the people here, check their bodies, you will see marks. They have been beaten, mutilated," he said of his fellow detainees who were reportedly suffered a same fate.

On being made aware of the slave trade in the region, the authorities said they were not aware of the auctions but confirmed the presence of organised gangs operating smuggling rings.

Earlier this yet, the International Criminal Court (ICC) expressed interest in investigating crimes against immigrants in Libya, after the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned about people being sold at slave markets in the country.

source: cnn

Mugabe makes first public appearance
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Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has made his first public appearance since the country's army took over on Wednesday.
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He attended a graduation ceremony in the capital, Harare. Mr Mugabe had been under house arrest for days. The army made its move after a power struggle over his successor.
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The military said on Friday it was "engaging" with Mr Mugabe and would advise the public on the outcome of talks "as soon as possible".

Italy holds funeral service for 26 Nigerian women drowned at sea .
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The city of Salerno held a mass funeral on Friday for 26 young women from Nigeria who drowned earlier this month trying to cross the Mediterranean. The deceased's coffins were laid out in Salerno's Monumental Cemetery this morning, watched by a military guard, local politicians, rescue workers and journalists. .
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A Catholic archbishop and a Muslim imam both said prayers. Each coffin bore a white rose on top, though only two were marked with names: Marian Shaka and Osato Osaro. The bodies will be buried in different cemeteries around Salerno.
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The city's mayor declared Friday a day of mourning. Local schools have been asked to hold a minute of silence, while light displays in the city centre will be switched off on Friday evening in remembrance. .
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The girls' bodies were recovered at sea and brought to Italy on November 3rd. Post-mortem examinations revealed that 25 of the victims had drowned, while one had a wound to her side. .
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All of the girls are believed to have been Nigerian nationals between 14 and 30 years old. Five have been identified so far. Two of them were pregnant, including Osaro with twins. Her coffin bore a pink and a blue rose in their memory. .
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At least 100 other people believed to have been travelling with the women are still missing, all feared drowned. A Spanish military ship rescued around 400 survivors, as well as the 26 bodies, in the Strait of Sicily in early November. .
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They were attempting to make the crossing between Libya and Italy when the rubber boats carrying them capsized. Nigeria has called for an international investigation into the incident.o drowned at sea .
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The city of Salerno held a mass funeral on Friday for 26 young women from Nigeria who drowned earlier this month trying to cross the Mediterranean. The deceased's coffins were laid out in Salerno's Monumental Cemetery this morning, watched by a military guard, local politicians, rescue workers and journalists. .
.
A Catholic archbishop and a Muslim imam both said prayers. Each coffin bore a white rose on top, though only two were marked with names: Marian Shaka and Osato Osaro. The bodies will be buried in different cemeteries around Salerno.
.
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The city's mayor declared Friday a day of mourning. Local schools have been asked to hold a minute of silence, while light displays in the city centre will be switched off on Friday evening in remembrance. .
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The girls' bodies were recovered at sea and brought to Italy on November 3rd. Post-mortem examinations revealed that 25 of the victims had drowned, while one had a wound to her side. .
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All of the girls are believed to have been Nigerian nationals between 14 and 30 years old. Five have been identified so far. Two of them were pregnant, including Osaro with twins. Her coffin bore a pink and a blue rose in their memory. .
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At least 100 other people believed to have been travelling with the women are still missing, all feared drowned. A Spanish military ship rescued around 400 survivors, as well as the 26 bodies, in the Strait of Sicily in early November. .
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They were attempting to make the crossing between Libya and Italy when the rubber boats carrying them capsized. Nigeria has called for an international investigation into the incident.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, 93, has a long history of amazing quotes during a reign that has spanned nearly four decades.

Here are 14 Memorable Quotes From Mugabe:

– On staying in office –
1. “Some are saying ‘Mr Mugabe is old, so he should step down’… No! When my time comes, I will tell you.” 2014

2. “Only God who appointed me will remove me — not the MDC (opposition), not the British.” 2008

– On coming to power –
Mugabe’s speech when Zimbabwe won independence was more conciliatory.

3. “It could never be a correct justification that because the whites oppressed us yesterday when they had power, the blacks must oppress them today.” 1980

– On seizing farms –
4. “You are now our enemies because you really have behaved as enemies of Zimbabwe. We are full of anger. Our entire community is angry and that is why we now have the war veterans seizing land.” 2000

– On Britain, former colonial ruler –
5. “The British were brought up as a violent people, liars, scoundrels and crooks… I am told that (former British PM Tony) Blair was a troublesome little boy at school.” 2001

– On gay people –
6. “Worse than pigs and dogs… Those who do it, we will say, they are wayward. It is just madness, insanity.” 2010


– On gay marriage –
7. “(President Barack) Obama came to Africa saying Africa must allow gay marriages… God destroyed the Earth because of these sins. Weddings are for a man and a woman.” 2013

– On Nelson Mandela –
8. “Mandela has gone a bit too far in doing good to the non-black communities, really in some cases at the expense of (blacks)… That’s being too saintly, too good.” 2013

– On Hitler –
9. “I am still the Hitler of the time. This Hitler has only one objective, justice for his own people, sovereignty for his people, recognition of the independence of his people.

10. “If that is Hitler, then let me be a Hitler tenfold.” 2003

– On his affair –
11. Before his first wife died in 1992, Mugabe started a relationship with Grace, whom he married in 1996.

12. “I wanted children and this is how I thought I could get them. I knew what I was doing and my wife knew.” 1998

– On colonialism –
13. “African resources belong to Africa. Others may come to assist as our friends and allies, but no longer as colonisers or oppressors, no longer as racists.” 2015

– On death –
False reports of Mugabe dying were a feature of his old age.

14. “I have died many times. That’s where I have beaten Christ. Christ died once and resurrected once. I have died and resurrected and I don’t know how many times I will die and resurrect.” 2012

Bola Tinubu has said the Goodluck Jonathan administration won a gold medal in corruption.
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Tinubu said this on Thursday during a book presentation in Abuja. According to him: “The prior government used the public treasury as a private hedge fund or a charity that limited its giving only to themselves. So much money grew feet and ran away faster than Usain Bolt ever could. .
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That which could have been spent on national development was squandered in ways that would cause the devil to blush. One minister and her rogues’ gallery picked the pocket of this nation for billions of dollars. .
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While poor at governance, these people could give a master thief lessons in the sleight of hand. In governance, they earned a red card but in corruption, they won the gold medal. .
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It was not that our institutions had become infected by corruption. Corruption has become institutionalized. We have much to do to combat this disease. Not only must we track down the takers. .
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In the long term, we must review the salaries of public servants and create universal credits for our people to reduce temptation. Before this government came into being, Boko Haram wreaked havoc on a daily basis. .
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They hoisted their dreadful flag. Today, that evil flag is not planted over an inch of our precious land. This violent scourge recedes into the darkened shadows of inhumanity from whence it came. .
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People once under its horrid dominion now breathe the air of freedom and safety. Boko Haram has not been completely defeated. But there is no question, that it has been decimated and made shorter and weaker.
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This is no accident. It is the result of the policies and commitment of President Buhari, his government and the men and women of our armed forces who place their lives on the line in silent heroism to protect this nation and its people.
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Had the previous government remained in place, Boko Haram would have surely eaten more territory and devoured more people. This nation might have indeed been divided and cut asunder, not by choice but by the knife of terrorism."

Zimbabwe’s military has read out a statement after taking over the national broadcaster, ZBC, saying it has taken action to “target criminals”.
However, it said this was not “a military takeover of government” and President Robert Mugabe was safe.

Heavy gunfire and artillery were heard in northern suburbs of the capital, Harare, early on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe’s envoy to South Africa, Isaac Moyo, earlier dismissed talk of a coup, saying the government was “intact”.

The statement read out by the military came hours after soldiers overran the headquarters of ZBC. An officer in uniform said: “We wish to assure the nation that his excellency the president… and his family are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed.”

The statement added: “We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes… that are causing social and economic suffering in the country. As soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy.”

The statement did not name those targeted but a government source quoted by Reuters said finance minister Ignatius Chombo was among those detained.
It is not clear who is leading the military action.

The UK Foreign Office advised Britons “currently in Harare to remain safely at home or in their accommodation until the situation becomes clearer”.
The US embassy in Harare tweeted that it would be closed on Wednesday “due to ongoing uncertainty”.

It also advised US citizens in Zimbabwe to “shelter in place” until further notice.
The latest events came hours after Zimbabwe’s ruling party accused the country’s army chief of “treasonable conduct” after he warned of possible military intervention.
General Constantino Chiwenga had challenged 93-year-old President Mugabe after he sacked the vice-president.

source: bbc

The wife of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB),  Uchechi Okwu-Kanu, wrote to Newsweek earlier in October to say she was sure that her husband had been killed and that the Nigerian government was covering up his death.

The lawyer of the IPOB leader, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, said on Tuesday that he did not know whether his client was dead or alive and had not seen him since the alleged raid on Kanu’s home in Umuahia, southeast Nigeria, the BBC reported.

There were gunshots on a wall at the family home of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu features a painted flag of the former Republic of Biafra and holes purportedly caused by bullets, in the city of Umuahia, southeastern Nigeria, on September 27.

The Nigerian military denied that the raid—which Kanu’s supporters say happened on September 14 and resulted in some 20 IPOB members being shot dead—ever took place and have said that Kanu is not in their custody.

The trial has been adjourned until November 20, with the court ordering Kanu’s team to produce him on that date, but the IPOB leader is yet to be found.

FULL TEXT OF PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI BROADCAST.

AUGUST 21, 2017.

My dear citizens,

I am very grateful to God and to all Nigerians for their prayers. I am pleased to be back on home soil among my brothers and sisters.

2. In the course of my stay in the United Kingdom, I have been kept in daily touch with events at home. Nigerians are robust and lively in discussing their affairs, but I was distressed to notice that some of the comments, especially in the social media have crossed our national red lines by daring to question our collective existence as a nation. This is a step too far.

3. In 2003 after I joined partisan politics, the late Chief Emeka Ojukwu came and stayed as my guest in my hometown Daura. Over two days we discussed in great depth till late into the night and analyzed the problems of Nigeria. We both came to the conclusion that the country must remain one and united.

4. Nigeria's unity is settled and not
negotiable. We shall not allow irresponsible elements to start trouble and when things get bad they run away and saddle others with the responsibility of bringing back order, if necessary with their blood.

5. Every Nigerian has the right to live and pursue his business anywhere in Nigeria without let or hindrance.

6. I believe the very vast majority of Nigerians share this view.

7. This is not to deny that there are legitimate concerns. Every group has a grievance. But the beauty and attraction of a federation is that it allows different groups to air their grievances and work out a mode of co-existence.

8. The National Assembly and the National Council of State are the legitimate and appropriate bodies for national discourse.

9. The national consensus is that, it is better to live together than to live apart.

10. Furthermore, I am charging the Security Agencies not to let the successes achieved in the last 18 months be a sign to relax.

11. Terrorists and criminals must be fought and destroyed relentlessly so that the majority of us can live in peace and safety.

12. Therefore we are going to reinforce and reinvigorate the fight not only against;
· elements of Boko Haram which are
attempting a new series of attacks on soft targets
· kidnappings, farmers versus herdsmen clashes,
· in addition to ethnic violence fuelled by political mischief makers. We shall tackle them all.

13. Finally, dear Nigerians, our collective interest now is to eschew petty differences and come together to face common challenges of;

· economic security,
· political evolution and integration
· as well as lasting peace among all Nigerians.

14. I remain resolutely committed to ensuring that these goals are achieved and maintained. I am so glad to be home.

15. Thank you and may God bless our dear Nation.

Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe was under investigation by South African police Tuesday after she allegedly used an extension cord to assault a model in a Johannesburg hotel.

The alleged attack threatened to spark a major diplomatic incident between the two countries, which have strong political and economic ties.

Grace Mugabe, 52, is accused of beating Gabriella Engels, 20, on Sunday evening at the hotel where Mugabe’s two sons were also staying, leaving the victim with injuries to her forehead and the back of her head.

“She hasn’t handed herself over yet. We do not know her whereabouts at this stage,” police national spokesman Vishnu Naidoo told AFP.

Grace Mugabe allegedly arrived at the hotel with bodyguards and accused Engels of partying with her sons Robert and Chatunga, both in their 20s, who live in the South African city.

South African Police Minister Fikile Mbalula had earlier said that Mugabe had turned herself in to officers.

“The minister learned later that it just didn’t materialise as it was supposed to,” Naidoo said.

“As long as we don’t have a suspect in custody, we cannot say when they will appear in court.”

Pictures on social media appeared to show Engels bleeding from her head after the alleged incident at the Capital 20 West Hotel, in the upmarket Johannesburg district of Sandton.

“We were chilling in a hotel room, and (the sons) were in the room next door. She came in and started hitting us,” Engels told the Times Live website.

“The front of my forehead is busted open. I’m a model and I make my money based on my looks.”

Police Minister Mbalula told reporters “in terms of foreign citizens, they must understand they have responsibilities, especially those who hold diplomatic passports.

“I cannot just go to Zimbabwe and beat up people there and then the matter will disappear. We have had to act in the interests of the victim.”

– A future president? –
On Monday, Engels registered a case of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm with the police.

Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane, a provincial minister in South Africa’s Gauteng province, told Jacaranda FM radio that the case should be pursued fully through the courts.

“We hope that it will send a strong message to all leaders who abuse their power and assault innocent people in our country,” she said.

Grace Mugabe, who is 41 years younger than her husband Robert, 93, has two sons and one daughter with the Zimbabwean president.

She regularly speaks at rallies in Zimbabwe and is seen as one possible contender to take over from her increasingly frail husband.

Last month she urged her husband to name his chosen successor, reviving speculation about the race to take over from the world’s oldest national leader.

President Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from British colonial rule in 1980.

The succession battle is widely expected to pit Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa against a group called “Generation 40” or “G40” because its members are generally younger, and which reportedly has Grace’s backing.

While Grace Mugabe has in the past denied harbouring ambitions to take over from her husband, at other times she has said she would be prepared to serve in any political position.

She has taken on a larger public role in recent years, speaking regularly at meetings to drum up support for the president and heading the women’s league of the ruling ZANU-PF party.


In speeches this year the president has often slurred his words, mumbled and paused for lengthy periods.

His reign has been marked by brutal repression of dissent, mass emigration, vote-rigging and a sharp economic decline since land reforms in 2000.

The Zimbabwe government has so far made no comment on Grace Mugabe’s case.

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe on Saturday said he was neither stepping down nor dying and that there was no one with his political stature who could immediately take over from him.

The 93-year-old leader has been in charge in the former British colony since independence in 1980.

His health is closely watched by Zimbabweans who fear the country could face chaos if he dies without anointing a successor.

Mugabe told tens of thousands of supporters at a rally in the town of Chinhoyi, in his home province, that doctors were recently surprised by his “strong bone system.”

He has traveled to Singapore three times this year for what officials say is routine medical treatment.

“There is the issue that the president is going. I am not going,” Mugabe told supporters on the grounds of a local university, 100 km west of the capital Harare.

“The president is dying. I am not dying. I will have an ailment here and there but body-wise, all my internal organs … very firm, very strong,” Mugabe said as he leant on the lectern.

Mugabe had walked onto the stage slowly but without assistance.

The issue of who will succeed Mugabe has deeply divided the ruling party, with two factions supporting Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Mugabe’s wife, Grace.

On Thursday, Grace challenged Mugabe to name his preferred successor, to end divisions over the future leadership of ZANU-PF.

She repeated the call on Saturday, adding that Mugabe would lead the process to choose his eventual successor.

Mugabe said although some party officials wanted to succeed him, he saw no one among his subordinates with his political clout to keep the party united and fend off a challenge from the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

“A new man will not have the same stature and the same acceptance as I have managed to secure for the party over the years,” said Mugabe.

(Reuters/NAN)

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, ​IPOB, ​Nnamdi Kanu, ​has declared that the entire people of the Southeast were in support of his secession agenda.

He dismissed reports that he was flouting court order by granting interviews, saying President Muhammadu Buhari and the Department of State Services, DSS, were the ones who regularly disregard the law.

​In a chat with journalists yesterday, Kanu warned Igbos in the North to leave, saying, ​”​It is up to them (to stay), they have been in the North, and they have been killing us (Igbos) since 1945. If you chose to live in the North, you chose to be a sacrificial lamb because one day, they will kill you”.

Kanu also lambasted Arewa youths who gave the October 1 ultimatum to Igbos and described them as “street urchins”.

The IPOB leader also gave his position on the November 18 governorship election in Anambra State.

​His words: “​There will not be any election in Anambra on the 18th of November, 2017, and there won’t be any going forward until they give me a date for a referendum.

​”​They know what to do, it is very simple. They should convene a meeting, I attend or I send my representative and they give us a date. That is very simple. That is the only way we can have elections​”​.
​
Asked ​if he was not bothered that Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other Igbo leaders have distanced themselves from his call for election boycott, Kanu said, “No, I’m not because the people are with us. We control the people 100 per cent. And come to Anambra on the 18th of November, 2017, the whole world will be amazed”.

​”If people come out to vote, IPOB ​will not ​do​ anything. We are entirely peaceful. We are not stopping anyone from voting. If you want to vote, you can go and vote. We are democrats​”​.

​On his interviews and if he considered them being against his bail conditions, the IPOB leader replied, “You (journalists) asked me a question. Do you suggest I should ignore you? I am not giving an interview, I am responding to the question you asked me.

“The judge is a very learned fellow. She cannot stop me from speaking. Buhari and the DSS have been in multiple breach of court order after court order. I wish you can go to the DSS and ask Daura, what is his name? Lawal whatever his name is, the DSS Director General, why doesn’t DSS obey court orders?

“They are the ones flouting the court orders. It’s not me. What I am doing is entirely legal. You ask me a question and I respond because if I keep quiet, you see me as a very arrogant fellow”.

​Kanu said ​further that ​
Igbos who insist they will remain in North ​are on their own even as he declared that Arewa youths were not an issue.

​”​I don’t know who they are. Inconsequential street urchins​, badly educated. Not polished nor cultured enough to offer any opinion on any issue of great importance. So why should I respond to them?

“Nobody can stop us. We are unstoppable. I can say with every ounce of confidence, Biafra will come. If you like, go and own one thousand storey building in Kafanchan, that is your business. It has nothing to do with us. We are fighting for our freedom.

“Look at these kids here, they are paying fees to go to school. They are striving to survive every blessed day because of a very failed system of governance and you want me to abandon them because you own a hotel in Funtua? I can’t do that.”

Read Also:

👉 US TRANSGENDER ARMY: Trump just punched us in the gut that we could so easily be dismissed from our service

When Elaina Odom saw that Donald Trump had announced that the military would no longer allow transgender people to serve in the military, she was devastated.

Less than a year after the Pentagon had announced that people like her — those who identify with a different gender from the one assigned at birth — would be accepted by the military that they had chosen to risk their lives for, the president of the United States had signaled that she and other transgender people in the armed services were, in fact, expendable in the eyes of the military.

“It hit hard. I felt like someone had just punched me in the gut that we could so easily be dismissed from our service,” Ms Odom told ThreeSixtyTidings. “That people would think that we’re that much of a burden. That we’re a financial burden on the military.”


Mr Trump announced through several tweets this week that, after having consulted with the US generals and military experts, the United States military would no longer allow transgender people to serve in the armed forces. The surprising announcement came months before his armed forces were required to finish a review of transgender policies in the military. Details around what he meant with his tweets, were scarce.

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the US Military,” Mr Trump wrote. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.”

Sergeant Odom, 30, has been an active duty member of the US Army for 11 years, a time during which she risked her life in Afghanistan, and rerooted her family several times to be stationed all over the world from North Carolina to South Korea and back.


For most of that service, she identified — at least outwardly — as a man. But, she decided to be honest with her self, her colleagues, and the world two years ago. In a massive Facebook post explaining who she was and why she was planning a transition, Ms Odom came out as transgender.

She says that coming out has transformed her life in more ways than the obvious. Once a heavy drinker, she says that being honest about herself has helped her to calm that habit. Once easily upset, she says she has been a more positive person since then.

“I’ve had a positive mental attitude change,” she said. “I went from being very negative, to being positive. I actually have gotten to where I don’t drink. I’m not having as many issues as before.”

👉 why we will not effect the Transgender policy - US Military Chief

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was allegedly sent away from the palace of Obidiegwu Onyesoh, the traditional ruler of Nri, a community in Aniocha local government area of Anambra state, for reportedly violating tradition.

Speaking with journalists in Awka, the state capital on Thursday, Ifeanyi Onyesoh, personal assistant to the monarch, said Kanu and his supporters attempted to force their way into the palace.

“They tried to forcefully open the entrance gate of the palace and it was this unruly conduct that made the traditional ruler to telephone the security agents who responded promptly and dispersed Kanu and his supporters,’’ Onyesoh said.

Onyesoh said Kanu and his wife, Uchechi, and supporters violated the tradition of the town during their visit on July 19 and that the people were angry.

Onyesoh said a day before Kanu’s visit, 12 young people came to the palace of Eze Nri requesting an appointment with the traditional ruler.

“I was the person that received them and so I told them to go and come back with a written letter so that they will get official reply from the palace since the delegation looked unusual, in that there was no titled person among them,” he said.

“At this point, they all left and what we saw the next day was Kanu visiting Nri community with a huge crowd of his supporters.

“He (Kanu) went straight to the house of one Chief Shadrack Mbanefo, a subject of the traditional ruler of Nri.

“The feelers we later got, was that the said Mbanefo claimed he handed over the `Offo Nri ’, (symbol of royalty) to Kanu, and even allowed Kanu to visit the historic ‘Ohianwehi forest’ revered as ‘forest of life’ by Igbo tradition.

“This forest is believed to be the place the first burnt offering was offered by the Jewish Igbo ancestors when they migrated from Israel more than 2,000 years ago.”

Onyesoh said Nri people considered Kanu’s conduct as a taboo because no high profile visitor entered the community without first visiting the traditional ruler, “let alone a sacred place without the knowledge of the ruler”.

He expressed regret that Kanu and his supporters after visiting Mbanefo r.

Onyesoh said the people regarded Kanu’s action as an affront on their values and so resolved not to sweep the matter under the carpet.

“It is a taboo in Nri and equally against the Anambra state traditional rulers’ council law for a high profile visitor to visit a community without first paying homage to the traditional ruler,” he said.

“The people of Nri and her traditional ruler are not against Nnamdi Kanu and his agitation/aspiration but what we cannot take is for Kanu to come and mess up the Nri culture and tradition under whatever motive.

“The community will drag him to customary court to ensure that nobody else gives such insult to the community and its heritage.

“If Kanu wants a title, Eze Nri is not aware of such aspiration.

“If Kanu indeed met with anybody and claimed he was given `Offo Nri’, it means he is seeking the title through the back door and for the title he claimed was given to him by `Adama’ (Mbanefo ), a servant to Eze Nri, is a nullity.

“Nri is the ancestral home of all Igbo people and for him to visit Nri in the manner he did means he has no knowledge of Igbo tradition and culture.

‘’So, he must first study Igbo tradition and culture and properly be advised before he misleads himself.’’

Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo has said that the only condition Nigerians should add the prefix “Your Excellency” to the names of elected government officials and other dignitaries was if they can justify such title by building a virile society for all.

He stated this in Abuja while declaring open the 16th Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers (Africa Region) (CSPOC).

The Acting President also called for synergy between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. He said that the cooperation was necessary for the good of any country and its people.

Osinbajo said: ”So while we speak of our legislative halls as hallowed chambers, our courts as temples of justice, and the executive villas as corridors of power, all suggestive of grand but isolated institutions. The reality for the majority of our peoples is the misery of the slums and the indignities of powerlessness.

“So, while we describe ourselves as Excellencies, distinguished and honorable the vast majority our people would in their most polite moments say that they see neither excellence nor much honour in their own lives.

“The leadership positions we occupy is a short lease that providence and the electorate have given us to shape the present and determine the future of millions and the generations that will be born to them, it would be foolish indeed to think that it is an occasion for self aggrandizement or the pursuit of selfish interests.

“The responsibility that privilege and power place upon us is to do our utmost to change the current bleak narratives and projections for our nation and the world.

“It is therefore my submission that the burden that the privilege of leadership places upon us is that our tenured positions in the executive and legislature must not be wasted on conflicts and division. The problems are too grave, the lives and livelihoods of millions depend on our cooperation we cannot afford to fail.”