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A Nigerian in the United States, Osa Alohaneke, faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in jail, after he was convicted by a court in Fort Bend County, Houston for the 2015 stabbing to death of his fiancée, a Cameroonian. After deliberating for some 13 hours, a jury late Friday afternoon convicted 59-year-old Osa Alohaneke in the slaying of Evelyne Ebane Epiepang, 52. Alohaneke looked down and showed no emotion when the verdict was read in court. Prosecutors alleged that Alohaneke used a kitchen knife to attack Epiepang, his fiancée, and her friend, Veronica Taku. Alohaneke, who was living at the time in a section of southwest Houston that lies in Fort Bend County, was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Jurors acquitted Alohaneke of the assault charges. Epiepang was stabbed more than 30 times and died as she called 911 operators for help. Screams echoed in the courtroom for more than four minutes when prosecutors played the 9...

Fire on Friday night gutted three duplexes in Gowon Estate, Federal Housing Authority, Egbeda, Lagos. According to News Agency of Nigeria reports, no casualty was recorded. The fire was first noticed at 7.15 pm in one of the duplexes before spreading to others. The arrival and efforts of a combined team of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and State Fire Service officials at the scene helped put out the fire. Some of the residents commended the early arrival of the LASEMA personnel, saying that they got to the scene 30 minutes after being called. “They came with five trucks, all with sufficient water that tackled the inferno before it was finally put out,’’ the Community Development Association Chairman, Mr Nathanel Okoro, said. He also praised the DPO of the Gowon Estate Police Station, Mr Adeniyi Adedeji, for personally leading his team to the scene to provide security.

Uganda could begin enforcing the death penalty again, President Yoweri Museveni has said, 13 years after the country's last execution. Mr Museveni said his "Christian background" had prevented him from going ahead with executions, but this "leniency" was encouraging criminals. Human rights groups have warned against the move. In Uganda, 28 offences merit the death penalty, the highest in East Africa. Some 278 people are on death row. "I have not been assenting to hanging of convicts because of my Christian background but being lenient is causing people to think they can cause harm and get away with it," President Yoweri Museveni wrote on Twitter. He also said he would "hang a few" at a graduation ceremony for prison wardens in Kamapala on Thursday. "Executing prisoners won't end crime," the executive director of Uganda's Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, Livingstone Ssewanyana, told the Washington Post. "The...

For the seventh year in a row, the President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has been adjudged as the richest man in Africa with a net worth that Forbes pegged at $12.2bn for 2017. That was an increase of $100m from a year earlier. Bill Gates maintained his position as the richest in the world with a net worth of $86bn, while Warren Buffet and Jeff Bezos were second and third, respectively with a net worth of $75.6bn and $72.8bn. “Dangote is looking beyond cement – his most valuable asset – and has been investing in a fertiliser production company and a large oil refinery. Dangote Fertiliser is expected to start operations in the second quarter of this year,” Forbes stated. Dangote was recently the only African selected among Bloomberg’s world 50 best persons in the year 2017. Wow I think it should be Dangote with the money oooo 😂😂

Members of the House of Representatives are alarmed over what they call the “worrisome spending plans” of the Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative, which had a budget of N45bn in 2017. Between December 2016 and May 2017 alone, the committee spent a whopping N6.1bn on “foodstuffs and catering materials,” “drugs and medical supplies,” “medical services consulting,” “refreshment and meals” and “purchasing of bulling materials.” The PCNI, a temporary intervention measure by the Federal Government, is to provide relief services to Internally Displaced Persons in the North-East. The IDPs are mainly the victims of Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East and are scattered in various camps in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe , Gombe and Bauchi states. Budget documents The PUNCH obtained in Abuja on Thursday, showed that the committee got approval to spend another N21bn in 2017 on largely the same services and got a retention of another N45bn in the 2018 budget now before the National Assembl...

The leader of a Nigerian gang responsible for the death of a British aid worker has been killed, according to the Nigerian army. A manhunt for gang leader Peregbakumo Oyawerikumo, known as Karowei, had been underway in southern Nigeria since last year. He co-ordinated the kidnap of four British missionaries in October. Three were released but one man, Ian Squire, was shot dead in captivity. Kidnapping for ransom is common in southern Nigeria though most often those taken are freed after a ransom is paid. The Foreign Office currently advises against all but essential travel to Delta state, saying there is a "high threat of criminal kidnap". A special military task force said it arrested the gang leader in a village. As the task force led him back to his camp they were ambushed and in the fighting, Karowei was killed, the army said.

Taylor Swift assembles her "A-Team" of Ed Sheeran and Future for a round of international parties in the official music video to "End Game," which dropped overnight. Joseph Kahn takes director duties for TayTay's latest glossy clip, which sees the pop star hit the party scene in Miami, Tokyo and London. The pop star also slams shots with her good pal Sheeran at a karaoke bar in Tokyo, orders kebabs and drops by a house party in London on New Year's Eve.

Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele, has been listed as a member of the cast of 2018 superhero movie Avengers: Infinity Wars, alongside international movie stars Robert Downey Jr and Chris Hemsworth. According to popular movie review website, IMDB, where the actress’ name was published, she will be a member of Dora Milaje, a team of women who serve as personal bodyguards of the Black Panther, the spiritual leader of Wakanda. While Akindele has yet to confirm the news herself, her name and picture can be found in the official cast for the movie and her appearance in it would mark the first time a Nollywood actress will be featured in a superhero movie. Yeee Go Funke aka Jenifer this is really great keep breaking records we at naijabusta loves you 😍😍

Everything seemed to be set for Alexis Sanchez to be reunited with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but now cross-town rivals Manchester United have joined the race, according to reports. In fact, Mourinho contacted Wenger and offered Mkhitaryan as part of the deal, a player the French manager is intrigued by. The former Borussia Dortmund player could be heading to London if they can get past the issues concerning his high wages, at the moment there’s some distance between the parties. Should Arsenal and Manchester United reach an agreement, Manchester City could be left disappointed.

Contrary to the statement credited to Femi Adesina, a senior spokesperson to President Muhammadu Buhari that his son, Yusuf, was ready for "discharge" from an Abuja hospital. He was later ferried out of Nigeria through the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport early this morning. Yusuf is headed for treatment at St. Josef Hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany according to Presidency sources. The departure of Yusuf to Germany followed earlier departure last night by his sister, Mrs. Halima Buhari-Sherif and the official physician to the first lady, Kamal Mohammed. Both arrived Stuttgart earlier today on a Bombardier Challenger 600

James Franco is reportedly not doing well following sexual assault allegations that have recently come out against the actor. The 39-year-old The Disaster Artist, who skipped the Critics' Choice Awards on Thursday, is "in a really bad place" according to a report by People. "So bad that he changed his phone number," a source said. "His close friends are trying to be there for him but it's been hard - he's only talking to a select group of people.

I miss Jonathan ooo. Now that Buhari is the president, his wife hasn't made Nigerians laugh and forget their sorrows like first lady Dame Patience did? The   woman increased the life span of an average Nigerian. Examples of her "award winning speeches" include: 1- * Nigeria is a great CONTINENT. 2- * My husband and Sambo IS good people. 3- * I rather KILL myself than commit SUICIDE. 4- * My fellow widows. 5- * I travelled to abroad to rest in peace. 6- * My husband is the best couple on earth. 7- * The doctors are responding to treatment. 8- * For those who said I speech bad English, I left them for God. 9- * Ojukwu is dead, but his Manhood still lives on. 10- * Na only you waka come? 11- * Chai ! Chai !! Chai !!! This blood we are "sharing" 12- * diaris God o... 13- * on behave of N2million I donate my family. 14- HAPPY baiday to my Husband your days are numbered 15- *To all those who think Goodluck Jonathan has failed, I hav...

President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State over the reported killings, injury of several persons and wanton destruction of property in Guma and Logo Local Government Areas of the state in the New Year. Mr. Ortom said on Tuesday that armed herdsmen killed over 20 and injured over 30 in Benue between Monday and Tuesday in Guma and Logo local government areas. He disclosed this while addressing journalists in Makurdi after the State Council Security Meeting. On Wednesday, hundreds of Benue youth protested the killings, blocking the major entry points into the state. They called for presidential intervention to forestall future attacks. In his reaction, Mr. Buhari, while expressing sadness at the “wicked and callous” attacks, assured the governor and people of the state that relevant security agencies have been directed to do everything possible to arrest those behind the regrettable incidents and avert further attacks. “This is one attack...

Nigeria’s power transmission grid collapsed on Tuesday night, a development that led to a widespread blackout across the country. It was learnt that the collapse was due to a fire incident on the Escravos Lagos Pipeline System of the Nigerian Gas Processing and Transportation Company Limited. The incident led to a shutdown of the pipeline that supplies gas to six thermal power plants, which prompted the collapse of the country’s electricity grid at 10:20 pm on Tuesday. This was confirmed by the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing in a statement issued around 12:44 am on Wednesday. The ministry said it was regrettable that after a sustained period of increasing production and distribution of power since September 2017 to date, the Nigerian Gas Processing and Transportation Company Ltd reported a fire incident on its Escravos Lagos Pipeline System near Okada, Edo State on Tuesday, January 2, 2018. It said, “The sudden loss of generation due to interruption in gas supply fr...

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Registrar Prof Ishaq Oloyede has said no fewer than 2 million candidates are expected to register for this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME). Prof Oloyede declared that the examination body returned N7.8 billion to the Federal Government coffers from the proceeds of examination forms sold in 2017. He stated that the fund was sourced from the N12billion income made during the year. He said the board had effected changes in the  process and procedure for registration and conduct of examination for candidates to curb hitherto malpractices in the processes. The JAMB boss told reporters at the weekend  in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital. He said contrary to the insinuation that the board increased the examination fee, which enabled the milestone, the JAMB boss said the agency rather made some reductions in the fee payable for the examination. He said the examination board also significantly red...

Two women of the 700 persons rescued from Boko Haram insurgents have given birth at a military holding facility in Monguno Local Government Area of Borno State. The Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 8 Division, Col. Timothy Antigha, disclosed in a statement issued in Maiduguri. Antigha said that over 700 persons abducted by Boko Haram insurgents had escaped from their captors and received by the 242 Battalion, Monguno. He said the abductees including males, females and children were forced to work as farm labourers by the insurgents. He said that two women among the freed persons safely delivered babies while at the facility. The army spokesman added that the intensified onslaught against the insurgents under Operation Deep Punch II had weakened and decimated their positions, which enabled the persons to escape. “Over 700 farmers, fishermen and members of their families hitherto held by Boko Haram terrorists as farm workers have fled the various islands in Lake Chad to Mon...

The Traditional ruler of Numana Chiefdom in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Gambo Makama and his wife were on Monday killed by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen in a fresh attack on the community. The fresh attack which occurred in the early hours of the New Year is coming barely five days after two communities in Jema’a Local Government Area were also attacked by gunmen. No fewer than 11 people were killed in the attack. The spokesman for the Kaduna State Police Command, Muktar Aliyu told Channels Television that the gunmen invaded the residence of the traditional ruler located in Tsauni Gulere village at about 12:00 a.m. on Monday morning, January 1st, 2018 and shot him and his pregnant wife as well his son. According to him, the gunmen also set the traditional ruler’s house and his vehicle ablaze and thereafter escaped into the bush before the arrival of policemen. Aliyu said that more security operatives have been deployed to the affected community while a manhunt f...

MEN of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in the Cross River State Police Command have killed a revenue collector, identified as Edward Inyambe, and arrested another on the alleged orders of the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Prof. Anthony Eneji. Southern City News learnt on Sunday that the incident, which happened on Friday in Gakem, Bekwarra Local Government Area, was alleged to be an attempt to take over the collection of revenue of ‘non-cocoa’ produce from a consultancy firm appointed by the state Internal Revenue Service. As of Saturday, aggrieved youths had burnt down some houses in reaction to the death of Inyambe and the arrest of another collector, Edward Idiege, by SARS operatives. An eyewitness, Solomon Odey, alleged that the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Eneji, brought in some SARS operatives in a van to arrest some revenue collectors, who were said to have opposed his taking over the collection point in the area.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday addressed Nigerians in a live television broadcast to commemorate the New Year. Here are some of the top quotes drawn from the President’s speech below: 🗣We must change our way of doing things or we will stagnate and be left behind in the race to lift our people out of poverty and into prosperity. 🗣We have got to get used to discipline and direction in economic management. The days of business, as usual, are numbered. 🗣Great nations are built by enterprising people who turn their hands to anything that circumstances dictate. 🗣No human law or edifice is perfect. Whatever structure we develop must periodically be perfected according to changing circumstances and the country’s socio-economic developments. 🗣When all the aggregates of nationwide opinions are considered, my firm view is that our problems are more to do with process than structure. 🗣Politicians must avoid exploiting ethnicity and religion by linking ethnicity with relig...