Thursday 9 March 2017

N5 billion fake tyres: Absence of interpreter stalls trial of two Chinese importers

The inability of the prosecution to produce an interpreter on Wednesday stalled the planned arraignment of two Chinese and a Nigerian accused of importing fake tyres into the country.

Taolung Shen, 36, Xu Jing Yao, 22, and Chinedu Madubuike alongside their companies, Sino Nigeria Import and Export Ltd and Nedeca International Limited, were charged with four counts of importation of sub-standard tyres by the Attorney General of the Federation.

The defendants allegedly imported the tyres, said to be the largest seizure in Nigeria, in February.

On Wednesday, the prosecution counsel, Babatunde Alajogun, asked Justice Mojisola Olatoregun allow the charge dated March 3 to be read to the accused.

But the defence counsel, Victor Opara, said the first and second defendants did not speak English.

“I normally discuss with them by means of an interpreter,” he said.

When the judge asked Mr. Alajogun why he did not arrange for an interpreter, the lawyer said he assumed the defendants could speak English because he once heard Mr. Shen speak English.

“It was at your request that we took the case today because you said they had been in custody,” the judge told the prosecutor.

“So why are you not ready? Did you ask if they could speak English? Are you not supposed to ask?

“They are expected to understand the charge. They are expected to follow the proceedings. That’s when you would have fulfilled the legal requirements.”

The judge declined Mr. Alajogun’s request for the Chinese nationals to be remanded in prison pending the availability of an interpreter for their trial.

“I will not. They will go back to where they came from. I don’t persecute people here,” he said.

Mr. Opara promised to bring an interpreter from the Chinese consulate.

“I undertake to produce an acceptable interpreter from the Consulate within 24 hours,” he said.

Justice Olatoregun adjourned till March 20 for arraignment.

The charges:

COUNT 1

That you Taolung Shen, Xu Jim Yao, Sino Nigeria Limited, Nedecca International Limited and Chinedu Madubuike sometimes in the month of February, 2017 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court did conspire among yourself and imported tyres which did not meet the relevant Nigerian industrial standards through means of stuffing various sizes of tyres into one, knowing same to be in a dangerous state or injurious to life of human beings and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 518(2) of the Criminal Code Act Cap C.38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

COUNT 2

That you Taolung Shen, Xu Jim Yao, Sino Nigeria Limited, Nedecca International Limited and Chinedu Madubuike sometimes in the month of February, 2017 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court did import tyres that did not comply with mandatory standards on account of your act of stuffing various sizes of tyres into one which makes the tyres to be unfit for purpose and not complying with the mandatory standard and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 26(2)(b)(iii) of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Act No. 14, 2015 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

COUNT 3

That you Taolung Shen, Xu Jim Yao, Sino Nigeria Limited, Nedecca International Limited and Chinedu Madubuike sometimes in the month of February, 2017 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court did import tyres that did not meet the relevant Nigeria industrial standard on account of your act of stuffing various tyres into one, knowing same to be in a dangerous state and likely to endanger human lives and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 320(2) (b) of the Criminal Code Act Cap C 38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

COUNT 4

That you Taolung Shen, Xu Jim Yao, Sino Nigeria Limited, Nedecca International Limited and Chinedu Madubuike sometimes in the month of February, 2017 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court did fail to furnish returns on the condition of the imported tyres as required by law and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 32(1) of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Act No. 14, 2015 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

Source: Premium Times

Nigerian leaders call for gender equality on International Women’s Day

The wife of the president, Aisha Buhari, has appealed to all stakeholders to work towards ensuring the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.

This, she said, will aid the objective of sustainable development goals.

Mrs Buhari made the appeal on Wednesday in a statement released to celebrate the International Women’s Day.

She said “This year’s theme, Be Bold for Change, encourages taking ground-breaking action that drives the greatest change for women; accelerating gender parity and helping women advance and unleash their limitless potential.

“It is imperative to appeal to all stakeholders, governments at all levels to rise to the global challenge of ensuring the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls in line with the objective of sustainable development goals,” she said.

Mrs. Buhari also used the opportunity to reaffirm her commitment to the cause of women through her initiative “Future Assured” from which thousands of women and children have benefitted.

The Acting President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, in a statement said the Buhari administration remains committed to ensuring the protection of all women from all forms of gender-based violence in the country.

He said Nigerian women will live to fulfil their aspirations in a peaceful and prosperous country.

In his remarks, Senate President Bukola Saraki said that “the Day presented an opportunity for every Nigerian to recognise and celebrate the talent and achievement of women and girls.

In a statement by his Special Assistant on Gender Advocacy, Fatima Kakuri, Mr. Saraki called on Nigerian women to be “bold for change’’ and work towards redefining opportunities for future generations of women.

“In everything that we do, we need to be bold for change. We need to challenge bias and inequality by standing up when women are excluded from positions of leadership,’’ he said

The International Women’s Day is celebrated every March 8 throughout the world to commemorate the struggle for women’s right.

In same development, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Sani Aliyu, called for gender equality as the world marks the International Women Day.

Mr. Aliyu said gender inequality issues are key drivers of HIV/AIDS epidemic in several ways as women currently constitute 59 per cent of HIV positive individuals.

He, however, encouraged women to be bold today and beyond by taking that bold step to speed up gender parity and truly drive the greatest change for women.

“Be Bold to know Your HIV Status. Make positive changes to live a positive and healthy life if you are HIV positive and if you are not, then stay negative by learning how to protect yourself from HIV infection”, he added.

In his message, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, said that Nigeria as a country must invest heavily on girl child education as a means of bridging the gap in school enrolment statistics between boys and girls and disparity in literacy levels.

Mr. Dogara maintained that gender should not restrict the dreams and aspirations of millions of “our daughters, so we all must be bold for change and support the women around us to achieve their goals and maximise their potentials and talents

Also, Cleen foundation, a non-governmental organisation, urged lawmakers and security agencies to curb the rate at which women and girls suffer domestic and sexual violence.

It stated that 2016 particularly saw an increase in the media of reports of domestic violence that led to the deaths of women.

In his message, the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, assured Rivers women that his administration will continue to be women-friendly as it strives to develop the state.

He noted that women are strategically placed in his administration to help in translating the tenets of the New Rivers Development Blueprint into reality.

He also felicitated with women across the globe for their roles in the promotion of peace, development and societal stability.

The Olomu of Omu-Aran, Charles Ibitoye, in his message appealed to government at all levels to strive to encourage more young women, especially in tertiary institutions, to embrace agriculture as a course, profession and vocation

He stated that agriculture remains a veritable platform for achieving the desired economic diversification envisioned for the country.

He said a situation where farming was being categorised as a business for men could be a stumbling block to government’s’ effort at transforming the sector.

Match Report

Borussia Dortmund secured a place in the last eight, blasted there by a hat-trick by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Christian Pulisic’s first Champions League goal

Gabonese striker Aubameyang was unplayable and terrorised the Benfica defence, as Thomas Tuchel’s men overturned a 1-0 first leg deficit.

Tuchel had insisted his side would attack from the off and they were true to his word, taking the lead after just four minutes, Aubameyang heading home after a clever corner routine.

Benfica came back into the game before the break, and should have equalised through Franco Cervi, but his tame effort went straight at Roman Burki.

Within minutes of the second half, the Portuguese side were left to rue that miss.

With Benfica on the edge of their own penalty area, a clever Lukas Piszczek pass found Pulisic, who matched his intelligent run with an impudent finish over Ederson.

Minutes later, Aubameyang - guilty of squandering three earlier chances - tapped home from close range, after a magnificent volleyed cross from Marcel Schmelzer.

And late in the day, Aubameyang had his third, teed up by Pulisic for his 28th goal of the season.

Referee: D. Aytekin

BARCELONA

Aggregate 6 - 5

PSG

E. Cavani 62'

Barcelona 6-1 Paris Saint-Germain (agg. 6-5): Catalans complete fairytale comeback

Getty Images

Mar 8, 2017 21:45:23

An incredible comeback from Barcelona downed Paris Saint-Germain and sent the Catalans into the Champions League quarters with a 6-1 victory at Camp Nou.
More to Follow...

Who Was The Man Of The Match

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, has appealed to the Federal Government to upgrade all polytechnics to universities of technology to end discrimination against technological education in the country.

Adeyemi Aromolaran, Yaba College of Technology branch chairman of ASUP, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Lagos.

The ASUP chairman said that government’s discriminatory policies against polytechnics were retarding the development of technical education in the country.

“We need to look at the British example of running educational programmes, because that is where Nigeria copied the polytechnic education system from.

“Britain had abolished polytechnics long time ago; all polytechnics have been turned to universities of technology in that country,’’ Mr. Aromolaran said.

He noted that admission figures into the nation’s polytechnics and colleges of education were dropping every year due to unfavourable government policies.

“As long as we continue with the system we are running, discrimination will persist and consequently admission into polytechnics will continue to dwindle.

“This is part of what the union has been agitating against,’’ he said.

The ASUP official said that with the dichotomy between the polytechnic diploma and the university degree, no enlightened person would want his or her child to go to the polytechnic.

According to him, most of the youths are drifting toward acquiring the university education.

“ASUP has not been keeping quiet but government response has not been favourable.

“Recently, another level of discrimination came again from JAMB, since we now have one JAMB examination for polytechnics and universities.

“JAMB now request that a candidate who made polytechnic second choice pay additional fee of N2500 or N3000 before being offered admission into the polytechnic.

“This is the latest form of discrimination against polytechnic education.

“Ordinarily, that is sufficient to discourage any young person from going into polytechnic, not to even talk of college of education.

“When we are agitating that government should remove the dichotomy and other discriminatory policies against polytechnics, now JAMB created another discriminatory policy against the polytechnic,’’ Mr. Aromolaran said.

The ASUP chairman said that until all the unfriendly policies were abolished, the country would not have an effective polytechnic system that would be acceptable by all.

Mr. Aromolaran said the union would continue to protest and resist all attempts to diminish the progress and development of the polytechnic education in the country.

Get 2,000Naira With Just N100 On Airtel Network

Airtel now offering 20 times value of your recharge. As I was surfing on my facebook newsfeed today, I stumbled on Airtel sponsored post concerning the offer. It's really amazing!

Below was the statement from Airtel Nigeria;

The search is on! Get your Airtel SIM back on if you haven’t used it for 30 days or more to enjoy 20 times the value of your recharge. Recharge N100, Dial *241# and get N2,000.

As shown below;

So you can now recharge 100naira and get N2,000 by dialing *241# and some comments makes me think it depends on eligibility.

So get yours now! while it still last.

As he celebrates his birthday today, Praiz delivers a double dose of remixes for his hit singles ‘Body hot’ with StarBoy, Wizkid and ‘Heart beat’ featuring veteran US singer Kenny Lattimore.

“I’d like to celebrate my special day with the special people in my life, my fans”, the X3M Music artiste talks about the remixes with Wizkid and Kenny Lattimore.

Wizkid brought his StarBoy magic to the dancehall styled ‘Body hot’ while on ‘Heart beat’ Praiz and Lattimore deliver the best of R&B. GospelOnDBeatz produced both tracks.

Listen & Download “Praiz Ft. Wizkid – Body Hot (Remix)” Below;

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Listen & Download “Praiz – Heart Beat Ft. Kenny Lattimore” Below;

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Here are interesting photos showing how students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) celebrated their costume day. Ranging from dressing as security operatives to armed robbers, the students ensured they entertained others with their costumes. See pictures below;

Bayern Munich Manager, Carlo Ancelotti, has said that the 5-1 thrashing of Arsenal in the second leg of the Champions League round-of-16 at the Emirate Stadium on Tuesday night was not the true reflection of what happened on the pitch.

The German Champions progressed to the last-8 after dumping the Gunners 10-2 on aggregate and the Manager said the match was a difficult one for his side.

After Theo Walcott’s first half strike, things turned around after Bayern were awarded a penalty and Koscielny was handed a red card.

Lewandowski converted from the spot, before Robben and Costa scored one each and Vidal scored a brace to put Arsene Wenger and his men to the sword.

And Ancelotti believes Arsenal were on top of things before Koscielny was sent off.

He told post-match news conference, “It was not a crazy game, more difficult. Until the penalty the game was really difficult.

“Arsenal played really well for 50 minutes, putting a lot of pressure in the game.

“We had difficulty defensively and also with the ball. We did mistakes that we are not used to doing.

“This result doesn’t really respect what happened on the pitch because Arsenal played a really good game.

“With 10 men it was really difficult. For us, the penalty took out all the pressure that we had.
“We started to play with one more man and we scored a lot of goals but, honestly, the result does not respect what happened.”

Lil Kesh surfaces with “No Fake Love if you can’t love me now,don’t love me later bcos me no want any fake love when am making my paper.

Listen & Download Lil Kesh – No Fake Love Below;

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DMW boss, David Adeleke says he is tired of doing music! Did you hear that? OBO says he is done with music!!!

Just few hours after celebrating his father’s 60th birthday, pop singer, Davido, fondly called ‘Omo Baba Olowo’ O.B.O, gave us another shocking hint concerning his music career.

So Davido goes on a rant on SnapChat on how much of a rich kid he is and that he has made enough money out of music.

“we are rich, am not doing music again. Davido quits music! We no need am, I no dey do show again. After all, I have all awards, I no want again.”

“We are too rich,” he said.

Well, if you’re still in doubt watch the clip below. What do you make out of it? It must be an obvious joke, right?

Watch Video Below;

La Liga: Barcelona go top as Ronaldo rescues point for Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo may have lost some speed on account of age but he has not lost the ability to be a headliner.

Real Madrid were in the throes of defeat before their talisman scored two goals in four minutes to end the match at 3-3.

With just that point, Real slipped behind their eternal rivals, Barcelona, who hammered Sporting Gijon 6-1 after which manager Luis Enrique announced that he would be stepping down from the job come the end of the season.

Los Blancos had to accomplish the draw the hard way as Gareth Bale was sent off two minutes into the second half as a red mist descended on the Wales star. He was initially shown a yellow card by referee David Borbalan for a kick out at Jonathan Viera but was then shown a straight red card for lifting his hand to the Las Palmas playmaker.

Zinedine Zidan’s men then lost the plot as Sergio Ramos handed the Islanders a penalty before Keylor Navas completely misjudged a ball to allow Kevin Prince Boateng score his team’s third at Santiago Bernebeu.

Real were awarded another controversial penalty on 85 minutes, which Ronaldo converted. He then powered a header past Javi Varas in the 89th minute to rescue a point for the deposed table leaders.

Real still have a game in hand (against Celta Vigo) and all they can do if they win the match is go two points ahead of Barcelona. This scenario now makes the second edition of this season’s El Clasico on April 23rd a dicey encounter for both clubs as Real seek a first league title in five years.

The management of the University of Ilorin on Wednesday warned its newly admitted students against watching pornographic materials.

The 10,886 students, admitted for the 2016/2017 academic session, were also admonished to desist from involving in cultism on and outside the university campus.

The Vice-Chancellor of the institution, AbdulGaniy Ambali, who spoke at the Matriculation ceremony held in Ilorin, urged the students to adhere to the university rules.

Mr. Ambali, who advised the students to adhere strictly to the rules guiding the institution’s operations, noted that anyone found contravening the school rules would be shown the exit door.

The vice-chancellor in his speech told the students that they were the lucky few out of 110,675 applicants who sought the university’s admission.

According to him, this is the highest number of applicants for a single Nigerian university.

He said that 103,482 candidates chose Unilorin as their first choice, while about 65,417 of the candidates scored 180 marks and above in
their Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examinations.

Mr. Ambali, a professor of veterinary medicine, said that 75,605 candidates registered for the Post-UTME screening and the university gave admissions to 13,570, but 10,886 out them registered.

Commenting on the importance of the admission granted them by the university, the vice-chancellor noted that the admission was a golden opportunity that would launch them to lofty heights if properly treasured.

“I expect the best from you, our new students. I expect nothing, but hard work, from you. There is no room for vices here, once you are caught, you are gone.

“This set means a lot to me because you will be the last I will be admitting before I finish my tenure as the Vice Chancellor,” he said.

Also speaking, Rebecca Okojie, the acting registrar of the institution, warned the students to shun cult activities on and
outside the campuses.

Mrs. Okojie said that the university also had zero tolerance to indecent dressing, urging them to desist from watching pornographic films and videos on the campus.

Pages

Thursday 9 March 2017

N5 billion fake tyres: Absence of interpreter stalls trial of two Chinese importers

The charges:

Wednesday 8 March 2017

Nigerian leaders call for gender equality on International Women’s Day

Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Benfica (Agg 4-1) Aubemeyang Rescues Dortmund

Match Report

Barcelona 6 - 1 PSG, Roberto Gives Barcelona Last Minute Winner

BARCELONA

PSG

Barcelona 6-1 Paris Saint-Germain (agg. 6-5): Catalans complete fairytale comeback

Upgrade polytechnics to universities of technology, ASUP Instigate Nigerian govt

Get 2,000Naira With Just N100 On Airtel Network

[Music] Praiz Ft. Wizkid – Body Hot (Remix) + Heart Beat Ft. Kenny Lattimore

See How OAU Students Celebrated Their Costume Day In Style (Photos)

‘Arsenal Deserved Better’- Bayern Boss Ancelotti Reveals

[Music] Lil Kesh – No Fake Love

(Video) I Have Won All The Awards, I No Dey Sing Again – Davido

Thursday 2 March 2017

La Liga: Barcelona go top as Ronaldo rescues point for Real Madrid

UNILORIN matriculates 10,886, warns students against pornography