MUSIC: KOREDE BELLO'S 'GOD WIN' IS THE FAVORITES OF DJS' IN NIGERIA

The favorites’ of disc-jockeys and a sure hit with night clubs in Nigeria and most of African countries is Korede Bello’s hit song, ‘God Win’. Korede says, “When I was recording the song, it occurred to me that the most active phrase was ‘God Win’. It was present in every line in the song. Besides, I felt that the phrase itself carried a lot of weight and it contained a powerful message that I should share with my fans. So I it was only natural to title it ‘God Win’.”

Korede also felt that ‘God Win’ was a prophetic statement – perhaps designed to artfully manipulate the emotions of the audience,  the fast-rising artiste says that ‘God Win’ is not a gospel song. “I’d say that the song is a testimony of the collective experience of the people around me, not necessarily my personal testimony. It is about the life of the average Nigerian and the challenges that he or she faces every day.

“Also the song, in a way, sums up the aspirations of many people who wish for a break from poverty and disease. Some are getting married everyday and prospering in different ways. We are all grateful to God for the changes in our lives. It is this general feeling of gratitude for God’s little mercies that this song expresses,” he says.

Admitting that the journey from total obscurity to the limelight, which started about five years ago, has not been very smooth, he says, “Let me assure you that unlike some artistes, I did not just come into show business by accident. Before getting to where I am now, I have had my fair share of challenges. For example, ‘God Win’ is not my first album. I had recorded a couple of singles that failed to make an impact in the market before I recorded ‘God win’. It was titled ‘I love Naija’. Although some of the songs in that album, which was released in 2010, did manage to get some attention from the media, they were not successful.”


At Mavin Records, life has assumed a beautiful dimension for Korede. “We are one strong and united family. We all love one another and, beyond being a musical family, we give support to one another at all times,” he says.

Still relishing the success of his last performance in London, courtesy of comedian Julius Agwu, the singer would give anything to repeat the trip, his first major trip since the inception of his career, no doubt. The sheer size of the crowd that had turned up to watch him play on that day showed just how much he is appreciated by music fans in the United Kingdom.

“The ladies, in particular, showed me love in London,” he says.

Unlike some of his contemporaries in the music industry, he has been fortunate enough to enjoy the backing of his immediate family. He says that they never questioned his preference for music as a career instead of other professions because they wanted the best for him. It probably explains why his career has flourished within a short period of time and why he appears to be so cool and confident all the time.

“Na God win,” he says, in Pidgin English.

          

ABOVE THE LAW: WHY I SNUBBED CODE OF CONDUCT TRIBUNAL...SARAKI FULL STATEMENT

Here’s the full press statement from, his spokesperson, Yusuph Olaniyonu, explaining why the Senate President snubbed the code of conduct tribunal

CCT Defiance of Subsisting Court Order : Our Stand

Following the development in the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) today, Friday, September 18, 2015 when the Tribunal chose to ignore the subsisting order of a Federal High Court by sitting, we hereby state our position as follows:

1. While the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, had stated and maintains that he is ready to submit himself to due process of the law on any issue concerning him, he also believes he has an inalienable right to resort to the same judiciary for protection when he feels his fundamental rights are about to be infringed upon.

2. It is for this reason that Dr. Saraki, having satisfied himself that the case filed by the CCB and the manner in which the case was filed show that he will not be given justice, resorted to the Federal High Court for the determination of the issues of competence of the prosecutor as well as compliance with the procedure stipulated in the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.

3. The Federal High Court on Thursday, September 17, 2015, therefore ordered that the all parties in the case should appear before it on Monday, September 21, 2015. The implication of this ruling by a Court of competent jurisdiction is that the sitting today has been overtaken by event. It is for this reason that Dr. Saraki chose to go about with his normal official schedule.

4. Today at the Tribunal, Counsel to the Senate President, Mr. M. A. Mahmud (SAN), raised a motion stating that there is a pending constitutional matter before the Federal High Court to be decided on Monday and that the Tribunal should hold the trial until the constitutional matter is disposed of.

5. We are however dismayed that the Tribunal chose to disregard the order of the Federal High Court and the motion to suspend hearing till Monday when all parties are expected to argue their positions on the constitutional matter.

6. It is also a surprise to us that despite the application by the lead counsel to the Senate President that he will produce Dr. Saraki on Monday and the personality of the person involved as the Number three man in the country, the Tribunal insisted on issuing a warrant of arrest as if its intention is simply to embarrass Dr. Saraki. We are not unmindful of the fact that the Tribunal is acting under political influence and external pressure. This is dangerous to our democracy.

7. The conduct of the Tribunal today left nobody in doubt that it cannot do justice on the matter before it. It is also clear that today’s decision is an abuse of the rule of law which portends danger to our judicial system. The Tribunal has equally set a bad precedent in the way and manner it conducted itself during the proceedings.

8. We want to emphasise the fact that this is not part of any war against corruption but using state institutions to fight political opponents and seeking to achieve through the back door what some people cannot get through democratic process.

9. We need to caution here that in a desperate bid to settle political scores and nail imaginary enemies, we should not destroy our democratic institutions and heat the polity for selfish reasons. Let us all learn from history.

9. The Senate President is a law abiding citizen and his absence from the Tribunal today was based on the legal advice he received from his counsel that the Tribunal will respect the decision of the Federal High Court which is obviously a superior court of records. Also, he relied on a letter from the Chief Justice of Nigeria directed to the Chairman of the Tribunal last May that they are not judicial officers and are inferior to the regularsanni High Court as defined by the law and that they take official oath not judicial oath.

10. We will like to state therefore that Dr. Saraki will not do anything to undermine the judicial process and authority but he will always act to protect his fundamental human rights.

PHOTOS: THE IGBINEDION PALATIAL MANSION IN SOUTH AFRICA

 One of the Igbinedion kids shared the photos online. More when you continue

SOURCE: LINDA IKEJI'S BLOG

FRAUD: DIAMOND BANK STAFF IN JAIL FOR N111.2 MILLION FRAUD

Justice Mohammed Yunusa of a Federal High Court, Lagos, yesterday remanded a Diamond Bank employee, Obioha Okengwu, a graduate of Abia State University, at Ikoyi Prisons for allegedly defrauding the bank of N111.2 million.

According to Prosecutor, Effiong Asuquo, the accused committed the offences between April and August 2014 in Lagos, while working in the e-Business unit of the bank, handling daily settlement entries of transactions done on Point of Sales (POS) and Automated Teller Machine (ATM). He said the accused unlawfully credited huge sums of money into his family’s account instead of the bank’s accounts.

“At different times, N37million and N41. 4 million was lodged into two accounts owned by one Uchenna Okengwu.

“The accused also credited the sum of N10 million into the account of one Rosamund Okengwu and N9.5 million paid into one Chukwuemeka Okengwu’s account.”

The prosecutor urged the court to remand the accused in prison pending the commencement of trial.

The offences contravened Sections 20, 27 (b) and 30 (1) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention) Act, 2015.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The case has been adjourned to Sept. 22 for hearing of the bail application.

Pm news

PHOTOS:CHANNELS TV PRESENTER CAUGHT 'LIVE' BLOWING KISS ON NATIONAL TELEVISION

  Wao… this happened a couple of days ago. A Channels TV presenter was reading the news about the Jos building collapse …..and midway through the coverage they returned on air without prompting her. She was shocked to see herself live as she'd been blowing  a kiss to her colleague when the camera returned to her. Her reaction is…. priceless. See that after the cut...

BRIBE TAKING-POLICEMAN KILLS MOTHER OF FOUR & SHOT HER HUSBAND IN LAGOS

A police corporal has killed a mother (Comfort)of four and shot her husband (identified as Sunday Godwin) , a tricycle rider, at Isheri Oshun area of Idimu, Lagos. 

The corporal, now in detention, was said to have opened fire on the couple inside their tricycle with their four children around 11pm on Wednesday.

The children were said to have narrowly escaped flying bullets. The family was returning from a church programme when the policeman and his colleagues, who were on a ‘stop and- search’ duty at Obalagba bus stop, asked the rider for a N50 bribe. The rider’s refusal to give them the bribe reportedly angered the corporal.

He corked his gun and shot the man and his wife. The woman died immediately while her husband is still battling to stay alive at the hospital. He was rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, but was rejected and referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Mushin Lagos. Angry tricycle riders besieged Isheri Oshun Police Station, determined to set it on fire.

But for the quick arrival of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, in charge of Operation in the command, the station would have been burnt to the ground. The DCP rushed to the station with a team of policemen, saved the station and addressed the angry mob.

Addressing journalists yesterday at the state Command Headquarters, the Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni, said that the corporal, attached to the Isheri Oshun Police Station, would be charged for murder.

He added that the Divisional Police Officer, in charge of the station, had been issued a query for flouting the instruction of the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase. Owoseni, who described the incident as sad, said: “We will not tolerate any act of barbarism or indiscipline.
The police corporal had been arrested and necessary disciplinary actions would soon be taken. He would be charged for murder. The incident happened around midnight. We want to put an end to recklessness among our policemen.
“The DPO has been issued a query for disobeying IG’s instruction on policemen going about their duty with improperly labeled vehicle and uniform. The team leader and other policemen with the corporal will also be disciplined.”

A witness said the incident occurred about 11pm. He said: “I was inside a filling station where I work as a security guard when I heard the policeman tell the victim to give him the N50. But the tricycle rider told him he was just coming from a church programme and that he had no money.

“I overheard the policeman who was identified as Aremu tell his colleagues that he would kill the rider for refusing to give him the money. Before I knew what was happening, I heard a gunshot. Immediately after the shot they left the scene in their patrol van.

“Those of us who were still outside at that period rushed to rescue the victim, while some other people ran after the policemen. We then alerted other members of the tricycle riders who resided in the community about the happening.

“When the Ikotun branch chairman of the tricycle riders and other members arrived the scene, we took the couple to a private hospital in the community for treatment, they requested for a police report before they could attend to them. It was in the process that some people went to Area ‘M’ Police Command to report the incident officially and get a police report.

“The Area Commander went with the tricycle riders to the hospital. After given them first aid, the couple were later referred to LUTH, while the wife later gave up the ghost.” Owoseni, who latter addressed the protesters, told them not to take laws into their hands.

The commissioner said the culprit had been arrested and would be charged for murder. He said: “We have deposited N110,000 for his (the rider’s) medical bill. Another N100,000 was also deposited in the hospital. We are going to foot the medical bill and take care of the children of the man, because the incident is part of our problem.”

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY KIDNAPPING 3 CHILDREN IN LAGOS

Mrs Nimotu Raheem, 42, was yesterday paraded by Lagos State Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni for allegedly kidnapping three children at an Arabic School in Itire-Ikate, Surulere, Lagos.

The children are a set of twins Taiye and Kehinde, 4, and a 16-month old boy, Fatai Adeola.

Owoseni said police rescued the suspected kidnapper from being lynched by an irate mob on Wednesday night. He said the suspect had demanded for the boy from his mother, who obliged her without questioning her motive.

“It was another woman who saw the manner the suspect demanded for the child and the mother gave the child out without any resistance or questions that now raised alarm. For the quick intervention of the police from Itire, the suspect would have been mobbed.

“At first, the suspect acted like a dumb person but after some tactics used on her by our operative, she started talking. We also got information that she has mental problem. All that she has said so far is useful to our investigation,’’ he said.

The police chief said the suspect had given the police some useful lead, promising to bring all those involved, including the sponsors to book.

The police chief appealed to public to be vigilant, stressing that if not for the alertness of an old woman, the suspect would have gone with the kids and  enjoined parents to monitor their children in Arabic and western schools and raise the alarm when they see strange faces around them.

Mrs Raheem, who said she had a two-year-old child in the same Arabic school, explained that she wanted to take the children to their parents.“I went to take my child and also the twins to their parent,” she said.

An eye-witness Amina Ayinla said: “The suspect took the twins at about 7pm from Arabic school in the area and claimed that she was a relative of the twins’ mother but unfortunately for her, the grandmother of the twins saw her and alerted the neighbours who gathered and rescued them from her.”

Fatai’s mother, Temilola Adeola said the suspect used charm to take his son away from her in the Arabic class.