Clara Chime, First Lady Of Enugu State, Begs Human Rights Groups To Release Her From House Arrest Imposed By Governor Sullivan Chime

Clara Chime, the First Lady of Enugu State, says Governor Sullivan Chime, has placed her under house arrest, and has cried out for assistance to reach human rights bodies to rescue her.

In a letter dripping with pain and suffering, Mrs. Chime disclosed that she married Mr. Chime in October 2008 but that she has been unable to share the matrimonial bed with him for over four years.

Describing her desperate situation, she said that even President Goodluck Jonathan and First Lady Patience Jonathan have intervened with her husband without success.

"My father is late, my Mum and few of my siblings are confused and have done all kinds of prayers they know of, 3 of my siblings prefers me dead than to see me leave the Government house.  He treats my Mum and my siblings bad," she wrote.

The Enugu State First Lady said she has been introduced to two psychiatrists whose names she gave as Dr. Onwukwe and Dr. Agumo, who have prescribed "all kinds of drugs that ends up keeping me acute depressed and also drives me into hallucinations."

The doctors, she noted, are scared of her husband the Governor, to whom nobody can tell the truth.  

According to the letter, the Catholic Bishop of Enugu state (Callistus Onaga), and top priests have come to intervene, as have the President and the First Lady of the nation, without success.  
Mrs. Chime further complains that Governor Chime has ordered her to leave with her four-year old son whom she conceived before their wedding.  However, the governor, according to her, later threatened to disown the boy should she leave with him.

 "He has told everyone he can reach that there is no marriage between us that I can leave if I wish to but whenever I plan to leave he instructs them to lock me in.  I have told him through Sms that I will leave my son behind and leave alone but still he instructed his securities to lock me inside the house."

Mrs. Chime further complains she has lost touch with the real world and all that makes her beautiful because of the side effects of the drugs she is taking, stressing that she is under house arrest for committing no crime.

Of the situation in Government House, she said,

"He does not take care of me personally, the government gives me allowance to run the house and that's where I save little from to take care of my elf, my Mum and few of my siblings," she said in the letter.  He shut me out of his life years ago; I don't have access to his apartment. The problem is enormous; I don't know where to start to explain from."

 

She said that even the security detail in the lodge has resorted to praying for her, while the few that can be bought with money are taking advantage of the situation.
"Police and SS men have been instructed by Mr Sullivan Chime to confine me in a place for a long time now against my wish [but] it is my wish to leave these premises," she said, begging,

"Please assist me to reach to the human rights and say to them to please come hastily and release me."

Source: Sahara Reporters

Immigration Must Refund Job Seekers- House Of Reps

The House of Representatives yesterday, directed the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to refund job seekers their N1,000 each charged as recruitment fee into the services.

The Reps made this query during a Joint Committee public hearing mandated by the House to investigate racketeering of job placement in the public service. At the commencement of the 2-day investigative public hearing, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal expressed concern over what he described as "one of the worst crises Nigerians face today".
"One of the worst crises we face today is the high rate of unemployment and the damage this has caused to our economic, moral and social development as a nation."

At the hearing, the Office of the Head of Civil Service (OHCS) denied granting recruitment waivers, a prerequisite for employment to the Customs to recruit 5,556 in 2011.
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Customs Service were asked to return today having failed to provide the Committee with complete documents on the procedure of the recruitment.

 The agency was also unable to provide documentary evidence to prove that due diligence was adhered to in its recruitment exercises it carried out between 2007 and 2010.The agency was discovered to have no policy on job recruitment since 1991 when it was created.Also, in contravention of the Public Service rules, CAC advertised for employment only in 2010 with appointments based on selection.

In what seemed like buck passing, Director, Human Resources, Labaran Shuaibu, who represented the Commission said she was only two days old on the job and could not give satisfactory responses to many of the questions put to her by the Committee.
The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) also provided conflicting documents to the Committee, while failing to follow due process in its recruitment exercises .While document showed that 2,005 people were employed in 2011, another showed 2,550.
The Committee was enraged when the Secretary to the Immigrations board, Sylvanus Tapgun admitted that he does not know the bank account number where the revenue generated from the employment application forms sold for N1,000 and could not disclose the name and contact of the alleged consulting firm the Service hired to conduct its latest recruitment exercise.
The Secretary also claims to be unaware of House of Representatives' resolution urging the NIS to stop collecting fees for the employment forms, "I did not place the advertisement, it was done by my predecessor, I resume office in September".
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) was also discovered to have flouted Public Service rules by recruiting 5,595 in 2011 without approval from the Head of Service, according to the Permanent Secretary. Career Management Service, Ezekiel Oyemomi.
Similarly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was granted weaver to recruits 801 workers by the Federal Character Commission (FCC) but has recruited 1,146 so far.
At the point, Chairman of the Joint Committee, Andrew Uchendu said the Committee would no longer accept excuse of being new in the office as reason enough to claim ignorance of official matters.

He also noted that para military agencies were more guilty of flouting Public Service rules on recruitment.

"This Investigative Hearing is therefore long overdue and I am glad that we are finally getting to the root of this very serious anomaly.

"It is tragic that in a nation with such a high degree of unemployment, people can be so heartless as to make job-seekers pay for the opportunity of contributing their quota to the development of their father-land.

"This means that however qualified they are, unless they can cough out the bribe, they won't get the job. This situation cannot be allowed to continue. We are denying our youth the opportunity to provide our country with the right manpower.

 

Two Planes Collide At Lagos Airport

Another near air disaster was recorded at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos yesterday when a Turkish Airline aircraft collided with a Max Air plane which brought in pilgrims from Saudi Arabia.

Although details of the accident were sketchy at press time, airport sources said the Turkish plane had landed safely and was taxing to a stop at the apron, when its wing collided with that of Max Air.

The incident caused minor damages to both planes which were immediately taken away for repairs.

Spokesman of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, confirmed the incident. He described damages to the aircraft as minor.

 

Man In Court For Raping Girl He Met On Facebook

The Nigerian police in Lagos on Wednesday arraigned a 34-year-old man, Omowuyi Kelvin, over alleged rape of a 25-year old girl he met on Facebook.

Kelvin, who was charged before an Isheri Magistrates' Court, lives at Shangisha, a suburb of Lagos.

He is facing a two-count charge of rape and stealing.

The prosecutor, Insp Nurudeen Thomas, told the court that the accused committed the offences at 8.00p.m., on 15 October at his residence.

"The accused invited his victim all the way from Benin to Lagos.

"On arrival, the accused unlawfully detained her for five days in a room, had carnal knowledge of her and stripped her of N5,000, among other valuables," he said.

He said that the offences contravened Sections 285 and 258 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

Section 258 provides for life imprisonment for rape, while Section 285 prescribes three years imprisonment for theft.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty.

Senior Magistrate Adejumoke Olagbegi-Adelabu granted the accused bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.

She adjourned the case till to 27 October for substantive trial.

On 22 July, 2012, Cynthia Osokogwu, a post-graduate student of Nasarawa State University and a clothing retailer was murdered in Lagos by friends she met on FaceBook.

They lured her to a hotel in FESTAC Town, drugged and raped her before she was murdered.

Nigerian Woman Who Lost Her Job In The UK For Refusing To Work On Sundays Plans To Appeal The Ruling

 A devout Christian who lost her job after refusing to work on Sunday is mounting a fresh court appeal this week.

Celestina Mba, 58, lost a previous case after a judge ruled that not all Christians observed the Sabbath as religious. But she is now taking her case to the Court of Appeal and if successful could establish the right of Christians to refuse to work on a Sunday.

Mba, a children's care worker, will argue that every employer has a duty to 'reasonably accommodate' religious beliefs in the workplace. The legal challenge comes after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Britain had failed to protect the freedom of Nadia Eweida, a British Airways employee who was suspended after refusing to remove a cross at work.Mba's lawyer, Paul Diamond, is expected to argue that the ruling in Eweida's favour extends to religious days as well as items of clothing.

Under the new ruling the baptist mother-of-three only has to prove that she herself holds the belief, not that it is a general rule which all Christians observe.

Shopworkers are already guaranteed the right to refuse to work Sundays, but other businesses must prove a legitimate need to force people to work.

If the court rules in Mba's favour it could also grant Muslims the right to take Friday off, and Jews to be excused on Friday and Saturday.If successful, campaigners hope the Court of Appeal ruling would mark a rare victory for Christian causes in British courts Mba, who is now working a new job in south west London which allows her to take Sundays off, quit her previous job in 2010 after a row broke out.

Between 2007 when she was first employed and 2008 Mba claims her employers, Brightwell children's home, were happy to accommodate her request after she mentioned it at her interview.

Mba's case has be launched after Nadia Eweida won her case in the European Court of Human Rights over the right to wear a cross at work Mba's case has be launched after Nadia Eweida won her case in the European Court of Human Rights over the right to wear a cross at work. However in 2008 she was told she would have to work, and began getting other staff members to cover for her, until she was called to a disciplinary hearing in 2010 after which she left.

During the case she said: 'I was willing to work at any unsocial time of shift in order to preserve my Sundays, I was prepared to work nights, or Saturdays .'She argued that she doesn't just go to church on Sundays, but spends the whole day caring for vulnerable people in her community as part of her church's ministerial team. The order to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy is the fourth of the ten commandments. John Deegan, Mba's manager who also gave evidence at the time, told the tribunal he did not believe she had specified she could not work Sundays.

Christian campaigners hope this week's case could provide a welcome victory for a faith they feel has been overlooked when it comes to sensitive issues. Andrea Williams, founder of the Christian Legal Centre, told The Sunday Times: 'The courts have acted to protect the kara bracelet (worn by Sikhs), Afro cornrow haircuts, the wearing of a hijab and a Muslim's right to fast, but have refused to grant protection to the cross of the Christian Sunday.

In January this year Nadia Eweida praised Jesus after winning her seven year long appeal after she was suspended from her job as a British Airways air stewardess when a customer complained that they found a cross she was wearing offensive.

The ruling, which was praised by David Cameron, said that a uniform dress code didn't supersede her right to express her faith.

Source: Daily Mail UK

Uruguay Is Planning To Legalise And Sell Marijuana From Next Year

Uruguay is planning to start selling marijuana legally next year, a top official said, though the Senate must approve the proposed legislation.

The country is hoping to act as a potential test case for an idea slowly gaining steam across Latin America — that the legalization and regulation of some drugs could sap the cartel violence devastating much of the region.

"The illegal market is very risky and offers poor quality," National Drug Board chief Jose Calzada was quoted as saying in Sunday's El Pais newspaper.

The state "will provide a safe place to buy, a good quality product and, moreover, will sell at a standard price.

"Thegovernment proposes to sell marijuana for $1 a gram, slightly below the current market rate that runs about 30 pesos ($1.40) a gram.

By putting the government in charge of the marijuana industry, which is estimated to be worth $30 million to $40 million a year, the plan aims to curtail illegal trafficking and the violence that comes with it.

The proposed law would allow people to cultivate up to six cannabis plants for their own use, belong to a membership club that could grow up to 99 plants, or buy the drug at pharmacies, with a limit of 40 grams a month per person.

In August, the bill, which is backed by President Jose Mujica's leftist government, was passed by the lower house of Uruguay's legislature.

It now awaits action by the Senate. There are still legislative hurdles to overcome, including allocating money to pay a new director for the Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis, which wasn't included in this year's budget. Opposition parties have also fought against the idea and a poll released over the summer found 63 percent of Uruguayans were against it.

Many opponents fear the legalization of cannabis would turn Uruguay into a pot tourism hub and encourage the use of stronger drugs. But it was argued that the current policies have failed and estimates Uruguay, a small country with just 3.3 million people, spends upwards of $80 million a year on combating drugs but seizes just $4 million to $5 million worth of contraband.

The legality of cannabis for general or recreational use varies from country to country. Possession of cannabis is illegal in most countries, and has been since the beginning of widespread cannabis prohibition in the late 1930s. However, many countries have decriminalized the possession of small quantities of cannabis, particularly in North America, South America, and Europe.

Furthermore, possession is legal or effectively legal in the Netherlands, North Korea, and the U.S. states of Washington and Colorado. On 28 May 2013, Colorado became the world's first fully regulated recreational cannabis market for adults. A larger number of countries have decriminalized or legalized cannabis for medical purposes.

Libyan Prime Minister Kidnapped

Libyan Prime Minister #Ali Zeidan has been kidnapped from a hotel in #Tripoli by a group of armed men.Government officials have confirmed that he was snatched from a hotel he was staying at in the capital and taken to an unknown destination. Guards at the Corinthia Hotel have described the incident, which saw two of Zeidan's guards also taken, as an 'arrest'.

The men that have taken Mr Zeidan are believed to be former rebels. Two groups are reportedly suspected of the kidnapping, the chamber of revolutionaries and the brigade for the fight against crime, which in principal fall under the defence and interior ministries.

Twoyears after a revolution toppled #Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's central government has been struggling to contain rival tribal militias and Islamist militants who control parts of the country.

On Tuesday, Mr Zeidan called for the West to help stop militancy in his country.

The men are believed to arrive at the hotel in a convoy of vehicles at dawn and led Mr Zeidan out of the hotel.There is thought to have been no gunfire.

A statement on the Libyan Government's website read: 'The head of the transitional government, Ali Zeidan, was taken to an unknown destination for unknown reasons by a group.

'The kidnap comes after Islamist militant groups were angered last weekend when a top al Qaeda suspect was captured by U.S military in Tripoli.

Libyan militants had vowed revenge for the capture of Abu Anas al-Liby by U.S Special Forces.

He was seized in an early morning raid over the bombing of U.S embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998.

Extremists took to Facebook to urge fellow Libyans to target ships and planes as well as taking U.S. citizens hostage in order to exchange them for imprisoned jihadists.

The Revolutionaries of Benghazi, Al-Bayda and Derna wrote on Facebook:

"We condemn this act, and pledge before God to fight those who betrayed their country and involved themselves in this plot.

"We also say to the Libyan people that we didn't fight against the dead leader to replace him with a traitor or foreign agent who would deliver up our compatriots out of loyalty to the infidels.

"Apparently they made good their promise.

Mr Zeidan's kidnap comes just hours after he met with a member of al-Liby’s family on Wednesday.

Mr Zeidan was appointed Prime Minister by the General National Congress in Libya in October last year and took office the following month.