Protester accidentally sets himself ablaze while trying to torch a sculpture

A man is currently fighting for his life after he caught fire while attempting to light a government sculpture during a demonstration in Bathinda, India.

The protest consisted of teachers who were expressing their grievances at the Punjab government for not fulfilling the promise made to them to regularise their services after their two-year contract.


As the protest was underway, the victim, Sukhminder Singh Mann, reportedly poured petrol on the effigy and it seems some spilled onto his clothes because he went up in flames soon after. Other protesters helped subdue the flames and rushed him to the hospital.

More photos below...

Jonathan disowns comment on 2019 elections

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has debunked an online report which claimed that he spoke about 2019 elections in a meeting with his kinsmen in his hometown, Otuoke,  Bayelsa state.
A statement issued by Jonathan’s media aide, Mr.Ikechukwu Eze, dismissed the claim as lies, stressing  that the former President was neither in his home state on the stated date nor met with his “kinsmen who paid him an end of year visit”, as claimed in the false report.

The statement said further: “Our attention has just been drawn to a fabricated online publication alleging that the former President Goodluck Jonathan made comments on the 2019 elections, while hosting his kinsmen in Otuoke last Tuesday.

“Those reports are false and bear no truth whatsoever. The former President was not in Otuoke on Tuesday, neither did he make the comments attributed to him. In fact, he has only just returned to his community to spend Christmas having been away for two weeks, so he could not have been hosting anyone there last Tuesday.

“Of what good is it to our national development efforts if some people spend so much energy spreading falsehood about fellow citizens and our nation?

“The former President wishes his fellow compatriots a merry Christmas and prosperous New Year in advance, and advises all to always channel their efforts towards working to attain the nation of our collective dreams.”

Man receives $75 check to restart his life after being wrongly imprisoned for 31 years

A man from Tennessee, Lawrence McKinney, who was wrongly imprisoned for 31 years for a crime he didn't commit has asked for a $1m compensation to restart his life after he was handed $75 by the Tennessee Department of Corrections.

In October 1977, a woman was raped by two strangers and upon questioning by police, identified one of her alleged rapist as her neighbor, Lawrence-  he was then convicted on rape and burglary charges in 1978 and sentenced to 115 years in jail at the young age of 22.

In 2008, DNA evidence cleared Lawrence of any crimes and he was now released from prison the following year, but was sadly given $75 to start his life from scratch.

Lawrence, now 61, is asking the governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslam to exonerate him, which will pave the way for him to receive up to $1m from the government to start up his life. But according to CNN, the Tennessee Board of Parole in September denied Lawrence's request for exoneration.

"The (parole) board reviewed all relevant information related to the crime, conviction and subsequent appeals, as well as all information provided by the petitioner," said Melissa McDonald, spokesperson for the Tennessee Board of Parole.After considering all of the evidence, the board did not find clear and convincing evidence of innocence and declined to recommend clemency in this matter."

"The parole board is not qualified to make these decisions and should not," Jack Lowery, one of McKinney's attorneys said. 

  "For the parole board to step in when many (of them) are not trained in the law is ridiculous.

Lawrence who is now married has revealed he doesn't hold any bitterness as he is now married and has found Jesus Christ.

Lawrence speaking to CNN said; 

"Although I've spent more than half of my life locked up for a crime I did not do, I am not bitter or angry at anyone, because I have found the Lord and married a good wife," McKinney said. "All I ask is that I be treated right and fair for what has happened to me. I didn't do nothing, and I just want to be treated right."

We Did Not Reject Magu, We Only Stepped Down His Screening, Nigerian Senate Says

The Nigerian Senate has stated that it did not reject the nomination of Ibrahim Magu as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The Senate leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume made the clarification in an interview with State House correspondents on Monday.

He spoke after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ndume insisted that the Senate only stepped down Magu’s screening last Thursday “pending when security issues concerning him are cleared”.
He added that the Nigerian Senate would confer with Buhari on his next line of action on Magu in view of the security report against him.

Ndume further stressed that the Senate had not indicted the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal, of abuse of office.
The Borno Senator noted that investigation by the Senate on the SGF was still ongoing and that Nigerians should refrain from making premature conclusions.

Islam Does Not Support Killing To Force People To Become Muslims, Killing In The Name Of Religion Is Criminal, Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar 111 Says

The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar 111, on Monday called on Nigerians to stop using ethnicity and religion to divide the country.
The Sultan, who equally condemned violent conducts by some herdsmen across the country, said the Fulanis should not be tied to such act.
While maintaining that those behind the murderous acts should be seen as criminals, he also stated that corruption should be vehemently condemned no matter who was involved.

The Sultan made these declarations in Enugu yesterday during official reception of Enugu Rangers, the Flying Antelope, for their victory at the 2016 Nigerian Professional Football League, NPFL organised by the State Government.
He said that it was erroneous for some people to attribute the armed herdsmen that have been killing people and destroying farmlands as a form of Islamising Nigeria.
He pointed out that Islamic religion never supported killing to force people to become Muslims but by persuasion and show of love.

He said: “God cannot make a mistake by putting together this country called Nigeria, he has reasons for that and that is why I tell people who say we want to go our different ways to stop.
“How do you go your different ways, don’t you read history? Please refer to history books. We have Igbo people everywhere in the country and they are industrious. We have Hausa people who have not lived anywhere else excerpt in Igboland, we have the Yoruba who are also in different parts of the country and contributing their quota.

“So let’s show love because you cannot be a good person if you don’t show love to your friends, if you are a good Christian you must love your neighbor as yourself and a good Muslim must love his neighbor as himself and if the two religions teach that, why are we now fighting? It is important for us at this time to love one another for the good of the country”.
Alhaji Abubakar, who condemned what he described as “killing in the name of religion”, advocated for the arrest and prosecution of anyone that committed the act in accordance with the law, explaining that killing by herdsmen among others had endured because Nigerians have refused to confront those behind them

TV Host, Broadcaster and Stand Up Presenter, Aisha Alli-Balogun, Murdered And Daughter Kidnapped

Stand up Nigeria presenter Aisha Thelma Alli, a 28 year old mother of two was murdered on Friday  in cold blood as some unknown armed men tried to kidnap her, her daughter and her pregnant friend who was with her.
According to gathered reports,Thelma tried to stop the king snappers from taking her daughter and she was shot by one of the men in the process of struggle.

Thelma died immediately and not only did the kidnappers take away her daughter, her friend was also taken away and a ransom of 10million was placed on them immediately.
The LASU English graduate has been buried according to Islamic rites but her daughter is still with the men who took her.
The family have called on Nigerians to join them in prayers as they are scared for the life of their daughter.
Very sad.

Thelma's Daughter

May Thelma’s soul rest in peace!

Man poses as lady on Instagram to dupe 33 men

A 22 year-old suspect arrested by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command has said he duped over 33 men while pretending to be a lady on Instagram.
Israel Falope, a Year One part time student of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos, was arrested when officials of the RRS decoy team, who had been monitoring him for some weeks, trailed him to a popular club in Ikeja City Mall on Thursday evening before arresting him.

The officers monitored him and those that he was interacting with at the club before arresting him and a colleague late in the night, the police said in a statement on Sunday.
It was gathered that the suspect recently celebrated his birthday at Hard & Rock, Lekki, Lagos, before his arrest, where he lavished over N500,000 on foods and drinks.
The suspect, who confessed committing the crime, said he has been in the business for more than two years.

The Police revealed that Mr. Falope’s activities on Instagram were placed under investigations when it received a complaint about an Instagram handle @blackberbiedoll, used for criminal activities, which was later traced to him.
Apart from @blackberbiedoll, which he prominently used for fraudulent activities, he maintained @froshwhite007 and @froshwhite separately for same purpose.
A victim, who identified himself as Bernard, told police investigators that he got a friend request from @blackberbiedoll.

“Apparently, the picture on the account was that of a lady,” the victim said.
“The lady in question messaged me on BBM. Honestly, I thought I was chatting with a woman who claimed to be in Nigeria at the time.
“She lied to me that her father was a Nigerian and her mum, a Kenyan, and so we got talking. At a point, she lied that she was building a beauty outfit in Ikota Shopping Mall, VGC and that she was in need of some money to complete the mall.
Mr. Bernard said he only found out the account was a fake after he transferred N1 million to ‘her.’

“Weeks later, I grew suspicious of the account name Olawole Israel Oluwaseun Falope. I ran a search on Google, and then discovered it was all scam,” he said.
“Immediately, I reported the incident to Instagram and that account was blocked and later suspended to prevent others from falling victim.”
Another victim, who did not want his identity disclosed, said he paid N100,000 into her account to support her bogus fashion outfit.

Admitting the allegation, the suspect noted that since he started the act about 2 years ago, he had duped more than 33 men pretending to be a lady on Instagram and that the least amount he received from any of them was N80,000.
“When I started, much as I pretended to be a lady on phone, some men on the other side didn’t believe me,” he said.

“I then downloaded an app on Google which transformed my voice into that of a lady whenever I am having conversation.
“I got several pictures of Shayla, a pretty United States based lady, on my profile. Since then, men have been disturbing me and calling to request for a date.”
“What I do is that I assess people based on their appearance on Instagram, add them and thereafter open up conversations with them before I start bringing up all manners of stories in order to dupe them.

“At a point, I lied to most of them that I had an accident and I lost my ATM. I told them that I need some money. Some of them were generous enough to drop money into my account.”
Mr. Falope said he also told lies about putting up a boutique and saloon at Ikota, VGC and Lekki and that he needed money to finish setting them up.

“I know I made a mistake downloading Shayla’s pictures and used them for fraudulent purposes,” he said.
“I am telling you the truth, those that I have collected money from can’t be more than 33.”
Police said investigations revealed that the owner of the profile pictures the suspect used, @Shayla, had complained to Instagram that some Nigerians were using her profile pictures to scam unsuspecting members of the public.
It was also disclosed that the suspect claimed to be a friend of Toke Makinwa, Tonto Dike, Don Jazzy, Peter Okoye, Toyin Aihmaku, Tee Y Mix, Oristsefemi, Timaya, Sean Tizzle, Dami Adenuga, Femi Otedola, Mike Adenuga Jnr, Ramsey Noah, and other celebrities.
“I know all of them,” the suspect said.

“I attend a lot of shows, I meet them, take photographs with them, even exchange numbers. Like sister Toke Makinwa, Tonto Dike, Uncle Ramsey Noah, these are the kind of celebrities I look up to and I want to be like them.”
But RRS investigators confirmed that he was following a lot of Nigerian celebrities on Instagram but they could not confirm if any of them fell prey to Mr. Falope’s antics, as many of his Instagram chats with them got no response.
They added that a Ghanaian business-man who Mr. Falope claimed to have met at a popular club in Nigeria, rebuffed his request to engage him in a chat.
They also noted that Mr. Falope claims of being a half-caste, fashion designer, stylist, cosmetologist, and model were all part his fraud to make people fall for him.
He was never a trainee or a specialist in any of this, the police added.

“Our source added that he is not an half cast as he claimed to be, rather he bleached his skin,” the police said.
“He didn’t deny this claim. He admitted bleaching his skin to escape the taunting of girls that he was a very ugly guy.”
The police said items recovered from the suspect included, an iphone 6, 1 Samsung Galaxy A5, an Apple tablet, hand and neck chains, some money and a handbag.
Confirming the development, the Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmos, warned Nigerians to be careful on the internet because scammers are on the prowl worldwide.
The suspect has been transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, for further investigations.

Premium Times

A New Story Of The Boy Rescued From Sealed Wall Blocks By ChannelsTV

Few days ago, the rumour about  a young boy that was rescued from a wall in Ondo State after being stuck there for days hit the internet.
Several reports emerged as to how he ended up inside the wall of the house which looked old and dilapidated.

However, Channels TV crew visited the sight of the incident to find out what the people in the town really knew about the boy and the weird incident. The boy was identified as Aduragbemi Saka.
According to Channels TV, the house where the boy was found is located at 3B Akinfemisoye Street, Oduduwa Area in New Town, Ondo State.
The owner of the house reportedly travelled out of the country several years ago, so wasn’t at the location of the incident when it happened, but the building was being occupied by students of Adeyemi College of Education.

According to residents of the area who knew the boy, he lived with his grandmother and is mentally challenged. They said he ran away from his grandmother as she was taking him to Church for healing and that he probably fell into a little space between the walls of the house and a food canteen next to it, by accident. 

Residents said they heard a voice talking within the wall saying that he was Judas Iscariot and that he was the one who killed Jesus. 


They said they initially ignored the voice, but then the next day , they heard the voice within the wall singing so they contacted the Police before they broke the wall and rescued him.
After the boy was rescued, he was taken to his Grandmother, a little boy interviewed by Channels TV said Aduragbemi was taken to State Specialist Hospital in town.
Hospital sources confirmed that the boy had been admitted but had since been discharged.
Watch the video below:

Breaking: Get Read For Wuthdrawal-MMM Nigeria Reveal When They Will Start Payment (More Details)

MMM Nigeria To Pay Before January 14th 2016 – Allegedly
Ponzi scheme, MMM Nigeria is set to bounce earlier than its projected one-month suspension, Naij reports.

MMM Nigeria operators revealed to Naij that “some Mavro will be released before the 30 days release date probably in batches.”
Lets Wait Till they start Paying.

Seun Egbegbe Has Fled Nigeria To Malaysia To Delay iPhone Theft Trial

The founder of Ebony Films, Alhaji Oluwaseun Kazeem aka Seun Egbegbe has reportedly fled the shores of Nigeria to Asia weeks after he was attacked at Computer Village in Ikeja Lagos for allegedly stealing 10 iPhones.
An insider claimed that the showbiz promoter left Nigeria two weeks ago in a bid to work and cover up for all his losses while his critics alleged that he fled to escape his upcoming trial.

Egbegbe who was scheduled to appear before an Ikeja Magistrate Court on the 18th of February 2016 may not return before then as he has hired a lawyer to represent him in court, a smart ploy to delay justice in the matter.
His publicist however claimed that he went there for medical checkup

We killed Bello for bringing incomplete ransom – Kidnapper

The three men alleged to have kidnapped and killed the human resources manager of the Dangote Industries Limited, Istifanus Bello, have said he was murdered for bringing incomplete ransom.

The suspects – Abdullahi Saliu, Babuga Adamu and Abubakar Gide – told PUNCH Metro that Bello got them angry after bringing N5.6m instead of the N10m agreed for the release of four expatriates earlier kidnapped by their gang.

They said Bello was killed after he had been held for three days because he allegedly refused to call his employer to pay the balance of N4.4m.

PUNCH Metro had reported that Bello had gone to the Ijebu-Igbo area of Ogun State with N5.6m as ransom payment for the four expatriates.

While the foreigners were released, he was abducted and later killed.

His corpse was reportedly recovered from a river by the police.

Investigations by the Abba Kyari-led Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team resulted in the arrest of Saliu, Adamu and Gide in Lagos, Kwara and Ogun states.

The men, who were Fulani herdsmen, were on Tuesday transferred from the Force headquarters in Abuja to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja, Lagos, pending the conclusion of investigation.

In an exclusive chat with our correspondent, the suspects, who spoke in Yoruba, said 10 of them carried out the operation.

Twenty-year-old Saliu, an indigene of Kano State, said they were led by one Alti, who fired the shot that killed Bello.

He said, “We were 10 that carried out the operation and we were all fully armed. We had attacked and abducted the four expatriates while they worked in a quarry located in a forest in Ijebu-Igbo; they were guarded by two policemen who had an AK-47 rifle and a pump-action rifle. We surrounded the quarry, overpowered the policemen and took one of their rifles. We didn’t touch them.

“We then moved the expatriates into the forest where we fed them with bread and soft drinks. We made contact with their families and the company and demanded N30m ransom. We later reduced the money to N20m and then N10m.

“Some days later, the man (Bello) brought N5.6m. Our leader, Alti, was angry and after releasing the four expatriates, he seized the man. He said he must call his family members or the firm to pay up the remaining N4.4m or else he would be killed in three days. But the man said he does not have any number to give us and he does not have any money. After the three days elapsed and nobody came for him, he was shot dead.”

Saliu said he was paid N150,000 from the ransom after which he left the group.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspects dumped the victim’s corpse in a river and tied it to a log to prevent the corpse from floating.

Another suspect, Adamu, 25, said he had persuaded Alti against killing the victim, adding that the leader rebuked him.

“I was given N190,000 for my role. I still have the bulk of the money. When the man brought the ransom, I was the one that led the group to take the money. I was able to do this because I have lived in Ijebu-Igbo for over 10 years; I was brought up here. When Alti insisted on killing the man, I told him to take the man far from where our cows graze; I said it was none of my business if he killed him,” he added.

The third suspect, 24-year-old Gide, from the Gumi Local Government Area of Sokoto State, said Adamu made him to join the group.

He said his role was to buy food for the expatriates.

A source told PUNCH Metro that the police and some vigilance group members had first apprehended Saliu and transferred him to the Ogun State Special Anti-Robbery Squad, adding that when they didn’t have a breakthrough, the IGP team was invited.

He said, “After we intervened, Saliu confessed to us and took us to where the man’s corpse was. It was already decomposing when we found it. Fish had even picked out his eyes. We contacted some council officials, who removed the corpse and deposited it in a mortuary from where some employees of the Dangote company picked it.

“From the information we gathered, we arrested Adamu’s brother, who gave us his address in a forest in Epe, Lagos. We got him arrested around 2am while he was fast asleep with other herdsmen in an open space.

“We later moved to Kwara State to arrest the last suspect, Gide. A policeman had pretended that he had a special assignment and he needed a woman and a hotel to stay in, and since Gide was very familiar with the area, he believed he could help out. After dribbling us for three days, he finally showed up and we arrested him.

“We are still searching for the remaining seven suspects, including the one with the police gun which they took at the quarry; and we will get them.”

The Force Public Relations Officer, Donald Awunnah, said investigations were ongoing.