Welcome to Geophilworld's blog: 08/12/15

Wednesday 12 August 2015

Check out refugees from Togo who were spotted in Ikoyi this morning (photos)

Asylum seekers from Togo were spotted on Awolowo Road in Lagos this morning, close to the the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Person, NCFRMI, office.

The refugees have since been registered by NCFRMI officials and the agency is working to help them. See more photos below

Check out Young Mississippi couple trying to travel abroad to join ISIS

Jaelyn Delshaun Young, 19, and Muhammad Oda Dakhlalla, 22, were arrested on August 8 at Golden Triangle Regional Airport near Columbus, Mississippi. Both are charged with attempting and conspiring to provide material support to the terrorist group, ISIS.

According to news reports, a hearing on their detention began on Monday August 10th in Oxford. Young and Dakhlalla, both U.S. citizens confessed their plans to FBI agents after their arrest.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner likened them to Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, saying, "They don't need a gun to do harm. They don't need military training to do harm. What they need is a violent, extremist ideology, and that's exactly what they have espoused."

According to the government, FBI agents began interacting online with them in May about her desire to travel to Syria to join the group. In the course of the interaction, the couple revealed their plan to conduct a "nikkah,(Islamic marriage) so they could travel without a chaperone under Islamic law.

The FBI said Dakhlalla and Young both expressed impatience over getting passports. Dakhlalla even paid $340 to expedite passport processing. The couple also revealed their plan to work as a medic and in internet media for the Islamic State respectively.

Image Credit: AP

Mother sentenced to 18 months imprisonment after leaving 3-month-old baby to die (Must Read)

Yvonne Adkins, 32, left her sickly 3-month-old baby, Chantelle lying in a baby rocker and went to indulge in a nine-hour sex romp with a man she met at a bus stop. She awoke the next morning to find her baby dead in her rocker with no blanket or bed clothes.

Adkins who pleaded guilty to child cruelty was given 18 months in prison, suspended for two years.

Judge David Fletcher who presided over the case said;

"Your desire to engage in some sexual activity with someone you hardly knew resulted in you leaving your child downstairs when you knew it was not appropriate to do that. You made a catastrophic decision that you will have to live with for the rest of your life."

Image Credit: (NTI Media)

ISIS brutally behead Croatian hostage kidnapped in Cairo

ISIS in Egypt have beheaded the Croatian hostage who was kidnapped on 22nd July in Cairo. The man named Tomislav Salopek, was seen begging for his life in a chilling video message released last week by ISIS. ISIS had threatened to execute him unless 'all Muslim women' are freed from Egyptian jails. An ISIS supporter shared a photo of his body on Twitter today.

The gruesome image (which has been censored) shows Mr Salopek's severed head placed on his back and buried in the sand.

Salopek before he was killed

Helicopter Crashes Into Lagos Lagoon

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has reported that an unidentified helicopter has crashed into the Lagoon at the Oworonshoki area of Lagos.

NEMA spokesman, Ibrahim Farinloye, in an SMS said no distress call was sent to NEMA alert system from the chopper, but rescue agencies are on their way to the scene of the incident.
More to follow.

I Have No Idea Who Gideon Okeke Is -- Tonto Dikeh

Yesterday, nollywood A-list actress Tonto Dikeh responds to Gideon Okeke's statement.

Saying she doesn't know who he was until yesterday.

She told Channels TV

"The truth be told, I don't know who he is. They had to bring a picture of him to say this is the person and when I saw the picture, I recognized that he's been the one... I do not know him, and I refuse to bring myself to his level to speak about him. I wish him the best in life. That's all I can say" she said.

Chai!!! Singer Christina Aguilera goes topless with semi-nude selfie

The singer shared the photo of herself standing in her bathroom wearing nothing but a pink undies and a fedora and wrote "Just so you know with me, it's all real, all the time. Felt like it was time to start sharing some personal stuff with you guys... And it's just the beginning. Night night. X'."

370,000 policemen to 170 million Nigerians grossly insufficient – Hon. Nkem-Abonta

The House of Representatives on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to recruit more personnel into the Nigeria Police.This call followed a motion moved by Chief Uzoma Nkem-Abonta (PDP-Abia) and adopted by the lawmakers during plenary session.

Presenting the motion, Nkem-Abonta said the call became necessary to in order to mitigate the effects of the dwindling manpower of the police.

He said the recruitment of more personnel into the police was crucial in tackling insecurity in the country.
The lawmaker said the current workforce of the Police did not meet the United Nations recommendation of 222 police officers per 100,000 persons.

“I am aware of United Nations’ recommendation of 222 policemen per 100, 000 citizens.
“The population of Nigeria police, according to the immediate past Minister of Police Affairs, Chief Caleb Olubolade, is 370,000 to about 170 million Nigerians’’, Nkem-Abonta said.

He also emphasised the need for improved welfare for the police, pointing out that it would in turn, improve their services in the protection of lives and property.
Mr Jones Onyereri (PDP-Imo), advocated good insurance coverage for the police against any mishaps in the course of their duty.

“This is necessary to support the families of those who die in active service’’, Onyereri said.Ms Linda Ikpeazu (PDP-Anambra), said policemen needed adequate support to function effectively.

Mr Wale Raji (Lagos-APC), condemned situations where policemen were deployed for other purposes other than their primary functions. “Policemen assigned to non-policing jobs should be returned to do their primary functions,’’ Raji stressed.

The lawmakers, therefore, resolved to set up an Ad-hoc Committee to probe the five billion naira Police Recruitment Fund appropriated for by the 6th House and report back within four weeks.

"Why i waited for 3 years to get pregnant"-- Stephanie Okereke Linus

The actress who got married to Linus Idahosa in 2012 got pregnant in 2015.In an interview with Genevieve magazine, she explained the reason for the wait...

“Waiting this long to have a baby is a personal choice and God ultimately decides. You have to be ready mentally and physically. I had a lot of films I was shooting and I was travelling a lot too. My movie is out now and I cannot even promote it across Africa like I wanted to do because I am stuck in one place.

“It’s also God’s timing. Neither my husband nor I were pressured. I feel this is the right time for it to happen. Right after we got married, I was on set shooting. But this year was different. It’s the perfect year for me to year to get pregnant,” she said.

Everything is just falling into place for me - Actress Tonto Dikeh

As shared by the controversial actress in Instagram. Congrats to her!!!

Bus Driver Strips Naked As LASTMA Officials Try To Tow His Vehicle (See Photos)

This happened yesterday at Ago Oniko Roundabout in Lagos. The bus driver stripped naked and got under his bus as LASTMA officials and police tried to tow his bus for a traffic violation.

See another photo below

11-day-old infant battling pneumonia in hospital stabbed in the head by an adult patient

A 10 day old infant who is battling pneumonia has been stabbed in the head with a 12inch knife by another hospital patient.

The 11-day-old tot is fighting for his life after the shocking attack that left the blade stuck 11cm into his brain as he slept in a hospital ward with his mother close-by.

Frantic doctors in Vietnam performed a life-saving operation to remove the massive knife from his head.
The horrific attack on the child, who has not yet been named, just missed his eye.
Mum, Vo Thi Hong Duyen, 32, described the moment she allegedly saw 51-year-old Nguyen Thi Van, who was sharing a room with the pair, attack her baby.

She claims she was woken at 3.40am by a noise in the room and saw a shadowy figure approach her bed, where she lay with her son.

She said: "She jumped at me and we struggled and I heard a scream.
"I saw my baby crying and looked to see the knife in his face full of blood.
"When I started to cry, she ran away."
Mum Duyen said she saw Thi Van stab her baby with a 30cm knife in the head before she was grabbed by hospital staff.

The baby was moved from the Vinh Long hospital to Ho Chi Minh City Children's Hospital No1 where doctors performed a three-hour operation to save his life.

Dr Dao Trung Hieu, deputy director of the hospital, said: "Because of the dangerous location of the blade in the brain of the child, the new-born baby might have become paralysed, suffered respiratory failure, and even died when the knife was removed.

"The baby was stabbed in the left eye socket, through the right brain but the baby's eyeball has been left unscathed.

"However, the most worrying problem post-operative period is the risk of bleeding and an infection recurrence in the brain.

"The baby boy was born on July 28 and was attacked 11 days later."
Thi Van is now being questioned by police.

UK Mirror

Convicted rapist admits brutal attack on a teacher in a prison (See what happened)

A convicted rapist has admitted carrying out a brutal attack on a teacher in an Arizona jail classroom.

Jacob Harvey stabbed his victim in the head with a pen, forced her to the ground and raped her after she was left alone with the convict in a prison classroom, investigators heard.

The teacher had been issuing a high school equivalency test to six inmates at Eyman state prison's Meadows Unit - which houses about 1,300 rapists, child molesters and other sex offenders.

After the other convicts had left the classroom following the test, Harvey had carried out the brutal attack.

The woman, who claimed she had been left alone with the inmates with no guards nearby, said she had screamed for help but none arrived.

Eventually, Harvey allowed her to use a radio to call the prison guards for help.

The 21-year-old has now pleaded guilty to rape, kidnapping and aggravated assault with a weapon at a routine pre-trial hearing in Pinal County Superior Court.

Attorney's Office spokeswoman Tiffany Davila warned he is likely to face life behind bars when he is sentenced next month.

Harvey is already serving a 30-year sentence for raping a woman in November 2011.

Then just 17, he had carried out the brazen daylight attack at his victim's home in Glendale, Arizona.

Harvey had knocked on his victim's door asking for a glass of water but had forced his way inside and raped the woman while her toddler was in the same apartment.

He fled - naked - after her roommate arrived but was convicted after DNA evidence connected him to the crime.

The rapist was sentenced to 30 years in jail where he was initially classified as a high risk Class 4, just one below the highest security level. But within six months his classification had been dropped to lower risk.

Harvey had been in jail for just a year when he carried out the attack on the teacher.

She is now suing the state over the assault which she lamed on lax training, staffing shortages and poor security at the prison.

The 35-year-old said she has been unable to sleep and has been forced to seek therapy after the rape.

Prison officials, who have faced criticism for the attack, are now appealing a $14,000 fine from the Division of Occupational Health and Safety for failing to protect the teacher.

The agency also is investigating the April 13 sexual assault of a corrections officer at the state prison in Yuma.

Daily Mail

Oh! Boy loses eye after being flogged by step mother

A 15-year old boy, identified only as Bolu, lost an eye after his step mother, Esther Modupe, allegedly flogged him in the Onipanu area of Lagos.

It was learnt that Bolu, who was looking forward to writing the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination of a university in Lagos State, is blind in his left eye.

It was gathered that Bolu’s mother separated from her husband, Lekan Williams, about 10 years ago, and her two children were brought up by the husband alone until 3 years ago when Lekan married a second wife- Esther.

It was learnt that Esther, who doesn't yet have a child with Lekan took care of the children before the flogging incident.

It was gathered that Esther and Lekan were arrested by the Surulere Police Division on Monday, August 10.

It was learnt that on Tuesday, June 16, the family, who stayed in a rented apartment on Owodunni Street, had gone to church, leaving the key to the apartment with Bolu.

But the teenager, however, arrived late at home which annoyed Esther, who consequently flogged the boy for returning home late. The cane was said to have hit the boy by accident.

The boy’s eye reportedly became swollen after which he was said to have been rushed to a private hospital. However, the condition of the eye gradually worsened and after a month, Bolu was said to have gone partially blind.

A neighbour who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Esther was friendly to the 2 children left by the 1st wife, adding that it was unfortunate that the flogging caused a problem.

He said:

“Bolu’s mother packed out of this house about 10 years ago. She knew she had two children, but she abandoned them. The man was forced to marry a second wife about three years ago. That was when Esther started living here.

“The woman worked as a private school teacher, and she was very nice to Bolu and his younger brother. The two also liked her, and you will not even know they were not her children. But it turned out that on that day that she was angry and flogged the boy. The cane hit him in the eye.

“They initially thought it was a small thing. But it turned out to be a big problem. The mother then showed up and took him away.”

Another resident and shop owner, identified only as Mama Olu, said the act was unintentional, adding that Bolu, who would be sitting for the post-UTME soon, did not open up on his condition on time.

She said

“Bolu is a cool-headed boy, and he loved the woman too. Esther too was close to the children. She taught them lessons, and bought clothes for them. It is the father that I blame because he did not notice the boy’s condition and take him to a hospital before it was too late.

“Now, the result of the medical test stated that the boy has lost the eye. It is unfortunate; the woman was nice to her step sons.”

It was gathered that Bolu’s mother came to the area on Monday, and took her son away.

The matter has since been brought to the attention of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team, which was coordinating other agencies to provide rehabilitation for the boy.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Patricia Amadin, confirmed the arrest.

Punch

PDP Drags Former Gov Amaechi To EFCC (See Reason)

The Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State on Tuesday petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, detailing alleged corrupt practices that took place under Amaechi

The PDP Deputy Publicity Secretary in Rivers, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, said since President Buhari had promised to maintain a zero tolerance for corruption, he should not be silent on how the past administration in Rivers managed the affairs of the state.

Nwanosike, who spoke with journalists in Port Harcourt, urged the President not to spare anyone found culpable, adding that proceeds from some of the past transactions in the state could not be traced.

Reacting to statements credited to some members of the All Progressives Congress on the state of Rivers economy, Nwanosike lamented that the current administration in the state had to borrow to pay salary arrears, which the Amaechi administration failed to pay.

According to Nwanosike,

“Since the President of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, has told the world that he is a man with zero tolerance for corruption, we, the people of Rivers, are asking that there should be no sacred cow. We are saying that corruption in Rivers State should be investigated and justice should be done.
“As we speak to you, we cannot trace the proceeds that emanated from all the government’s transactions that that took place in Rivers State.”

The PDP chieftain explained that a petition had been sent to the EFCC over the alleged fraudulent transactions involving the immediate past administration in the state between December 1 and 8, 2014.

He said,

“Can you imagine that between December 1 and 8, 2014, with one address – 25 Trans-Amadi Road, Port Harcourt, over N21bn of Rivers funds were transferred? We are asking, where did these funds go?”

On the claim by the APC governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, that some PDP members in the state were planning to defect to the APC, Nwanosike challenged him (Peterside) to mention the names of such PDP members.

In his reaction, however, a former aide to Amaechi, Chief Tony Okocha, said Amaechi had never been afraid of probe, adding that the ex-governor was transparent in all he did for the people of the state.

Okocha explained that the PDP in the state was only interested in soiling the good name of the former governor and maintained that the party would not achieve such an aim.

Punch

Nigerian Born NFL Player Released By NY Jets After Punching Teammate In locker Room Over $600 (See Photo)

Linebacker Ikemefuna Enemkpali, known as IK, in the wake of a locker room altercation that left Jets quarterback Geno Smith with a broken jaw, was immediately released by the New York Jets on Tuesday.

Ik who is a free agent was selected by the New York Jets in the sixth round (210th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft on a $510,000 contract. The Jets made the move official on their Twitter account. According to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, Geno Smith is expected to miss between six and 10 weeks after Enemkpali punched him.

Jets head coach Todd Bowles was extremely displeased with the incident, which will test his quarterback depth significantly.

"There was an altercation in the locker room," Bowles said. "Had nothing to do with football. Something very childish. He got cold-cocked, sucker-punched, whatever you want to call it, in the jaw."

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport provided some context with regard to the fight and why it ultimately occurred.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter. This was what happened:

The Jets selected Enemkpali in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL draft out of Louisiana Tech with the knowledge that he had a history of violence, according to Dane Brugler of CBS Sports.

When Enemkpali was 19, he punched a police officer during a bar fight before being subdued with pepper spray and a stun gun. Enemkpali was later charged with simple battery, placed on 13 months' probation, and ordered to complete 32 hours of community service and an anger-management course.

IK released a press statement to apologize for his actions. He said:

“I apologize to the Jets organization, coaches, teammates and fans,” the statement reads. “Geno and I let our frustration get the best of us, but I should have just walked away from the situation. I deeply regret and apologize for my actions. It was never my intention to harm anyone. I appreciate the opportunity I had with the Jets.

”IK's full name is Ikemefuna Chinedum Enemkpali. He's 24 and was born and raised in Pflugerville, Texas. He has 2 sisters, Nneka and Chinelo, and one brother, Osi.

Gunmen Killed APC Chieftain & Two Others On Monday Night

A former member of the Benue State House of Assembly representing Ukum state constituency, Mr. Douglas Bergha, and two other persons were shot dead by unknown gunmen at Kundav, in the Ukum Local Government Area of the state.

Bergha, who was contesting the chairmanship election in the local government on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, was a Peoples Democratic Party member while in the Assembly.

The former lawmaker was trailed by the gunmen and murdered in the presence of his family members at his Kundav home around 7pm, on Monday.

It was also gathered that after killing the APC stalwart, the gunmen killed two other persons who have yet to be identified.

The Assistant Police Public Relations Officer, Matthew Oku, confirmed Benue State Command, the report but said only two people were killed.

Oku said the gunmen, after killing the former lawmaker, also shot dead a motorcyclist who reportedly stood in their way.

Meanwhile, the APC chairman in the state, Abba Yaro, described Bergha’s murder as unfortunate and called on security agencies to track the killers and bring them to justice.